habitants, some 10,500,000 in number, are of various races, The ruling race is the Turks, who number about 1,200,000. Allied to them are the Turkomans and Yarruks, who are nomads. Another nomadic people are the Kurds, and in the mountains are the robber tribes of the Lazes. The Greeks and Armenians are most progressive and have most of the trade, and with the Jews own most of the land.
Here were the ancient and famous countries of Ionia, Phrygia, Lydia, Galatia, Cilicia and Cappadocia, with Troy, Ephesus, Smyrna and many other noted cities. Asia Minor was the scene of great conquests. Here took place the wars of the Medes and Persians with the Scythians, of the Greeks with the Persians, of the Romans with Mithradates and the Parthians, of the Arabs, Mongols and Turks with the Byzantine empire. Notwithstanding all these wars, the country still enjoyed some measure of prosperity, until it fell into the hands of the Turks, whose harsh military rule has almost ruined it. The chief modern vilayets (Turkish provinces) are Smyrna, Angora, Trebizond, Ismid, Konia and Brussa. A number of railways now traverse Asia Minor.
Asp, a name loosely applied to several kinds of venomous serpents. A kind of viper in southern Europe and a snake in India, closely allied to the cobra, have received this name. Several kinds of vipers are found in Palestine, and it is not certainly known to which one the word asp in the Bible refers. Cleopatra's famous asp, by means of which she committed suicide, is believed to have been a snake called the homed viper,
As=par'a-gus is a tuberous rooted, perennial herb, which in some varieties is the size of a shrub. It is widely distributed in warm countries of the temperate climes and in the tropics, but is cultivated in all civilized countries. The plant grows wild on the southern coast of England, and on the plains of Russia it so abounds that the cattle devour it like grass. Its varieties number nearly 150, the best and most widely known being the esculent asparagus. For more than 2,000 years it has been cultivated for the succulent young shoots produced from the thick root stocks in spring. It is first grown a year or, if necessary, two years in a nursery bed, then transplanted to a permanent one. Shoots should not be gathered before the second spring after planting in permanent quarters. As a rule the thicker the head the better. The plant yields annually for ten or twelve years. Its important enemies are rust and beetles.
As'pen, also known as quaking asp and as white poplar, is a tree of much interest and beauty. It came originally from the cooler parts of Europe and Asia, and belongs to the genus Populus. In this country it is distributed generally north of Pennsylvania and Kentucky, and grows on the mountains of the west, south to Mexico. It is a tall, slender tree, is said to reach in the forests to the height of 100 feet, but the usual variation is from 40 to 80 feet. The bark, save at the base, is light colored; the leaves, which are a glossy green above and yellowish green below, twinkle and tremble owing to the arrangement of the long flexible stem and the light leaf-blade. There is much delicate color in the aspen, in the bark, the catkins and the unfolding leaves. It is a prized ornamental tree, grows rapidly, but is short lived. The seeds are wafted a considerable distance by means of the long hairs with which they are surrounded. It is valuable on lands devastated by forest fires, being one of the first trees to spring up in clearings and protecting later growths. It is used in turning and in the manufacture of wood pulp, but is not valued for fuel. The large-toothed aspen is a stiffer, less attractive tree, though the weeping varieties of this are employed for ornamental purposes. Its distribution in this country is from Nova Scotia to Minnesota and south to Tennessee.
Asphalt (ǎs'fălt) is bitumen of purer form, being a mineral and solid or semi-solid. Its name comes from Locus Asphaltites, Latin for the Dead Sea, where asphalt once abounded. It is black or brown in color, brittle in consistency (though this varies from a bright pitchy condition to thick masses of mineral tar) and compact. It melts easily about the boiling point of water, burns without making ashes, and emits a thick smoke of pitchy odor. It is widely distributed, especially in tropical and subtropical regions, but deposits of sufficient quantity for commerce and the industries occur only in a few localities. It is a product of the decomposition of vegetable and animal substances, the three preceding products being naphtha, petroleum and mineral tar. Asphaltic stone is limestone impregnated with bituminous matter. Asphalt cement is refined cement tempered with petroleum. Mastic is asphalt cement mixed with powdered limestone and sand. Asphalt concrete is crushed stone cemented with mastic and compressed. Simple asphalt is found at Auvergne (France), Caxatambo (Peru), Cuba, southern California, Switzerland, Trinidad (an island off Orinoco River) and Venezuela. Colorado, Italy, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Utah also contribute. Asphaltic limestone occurs largely in Europe. Auvergne once supplied most asphalt, Caxatambo exports a very pure variety of high luster, Cuba yields considerable asphalt of fine quality, but the supreme sources of supply m quality as in quantity are Trinidad, Call-
