321 



ASELLUS. 



ASPHALTUM. 



332 



upper part of the tube of the filaments ; the leaflets cucullate, having 

 a horn-formed process protruding from the bottom ; the anthers termi- 

 nated by a membrane ; pollen masses compressed, fixed by the tapering 

 tops, pendulous ; the stigma depressed ; the follicles smooth ; the seeds 

 coarse. Most of the species are North American herbs, with opposite, 

 alternate, or verticillate leaves. 



A. Syriaca, Syrian Swallow- Wort, has simple stems with lanceolate 

 oblong or oval leaves, gradually acute, and tomentose beneath; drooping 

 umbels, Lamarck states that the native country of this plant is Syria 

 and Egypt. The nectaries or leaflets of the corona, like some other 

 species of Asclepias, act as fly-traps. The sap of this plant is white, 

 and contains a considerable quantity of caoutchouc. It has been 

 recommended as an expectorant. The seeds are covered with down, 

 which it was at one time proposed to spin into textures for wearing 

 apparel ; it is, however, more adapted for stuffing mattresses and 

 pillows. 



A. C'uratsarica, Bastard Ipecacuanha, has a simple stem, with 

 oblong-lanceolate glabrous leaves tapering at both ends ; umbels 

 erect, solitary, lateral. It is a native of Curacoa, Essequibo, Cumana, 

 and Trinidad. Its roots are frequently sent to England as ipecacuanha. 

 The juice in the West Indies is reputed to be antheimintic and styptic. 

 The root dried and powdered acts as an emetic, but not so efficaciously 

 as the root of the true Ipecacuanha (Chepadii Ipecacuanha). The roots 

 of A. prulifera are also emetic. 



A. tuheroia. Tuberous Swallow-Wort, has suberect stems, very hairy, 

 and branched at top ; scattered oblong-lanceolate hairy leaves ; umbels 

 disposed in a terminal sub-corymb. It is a native of North America, 

 in stony places and sandy fields. The roots are famed for diaphoretic 

 properties, and in Virginia it is used for this purpose in inflammatory 

 diseases, more particularly in pleuritu and dysentery. The A . decumbent 

 of some authors is probably only a variety of this species, and has the 

 same properties. 



Many other species of this genus are used as medicines in the 

 countries where they grow. The buds of A . stipitacea are eaten by 

 the shepherds of Arabia after the manner of asparagus in this country. 

 The whole plant of A. aphylla, may be eaten. A. 7-7 i''/. an East 

 Indian species, is very poisonous. It kills cattle which eat it, but it 

 is used in Hindoo medicine in typhus fever. The mriky sap of A. 

 ladiftra is quite innocuous, and is drunk in India as a wholesome 

 food; whilst, on the other hand, the milk of A. lanijlora and .1. 

 procera is acrid and irritating. The juice of A. laniflara is used with 

 butter and lard as an ointment for itch, and that of A . procera is applied 

 to hides for removing the hair before tanning. The A. atthmatica an'd 

 A. rincetoficum have both active properties, and are now included under 

 the genus Cynanckum. [CTKAXCHUM.] 



Many of the species of Aiclepiaa are handsome border-flowers, and 

 worthy of cultivation. They thrive well in peat-earth, or a light rich 

 soil of any kind. They may be propagated by dividing the root in 

 the spring, or by sowing the seed. Many of the species will require 

 protection at the roots during severe winters. The tropical and sub- 

 tropical species require the ordinary treatment of other stove and 

 greenhouse plants. 



ASE'LLUS, ageuus of Malocopterygious Fishes, to which Willughby 

 referred theWhiting-Pout, and Ling. They are now referred respectively 

 to the genera Morrhua and Lota. 

 ASH. [FRAXixns.] 



ASP, a name commonly given to several species of venomous serpents. 

 By naturalists the term is confined to the Vipera aspis, which is an 

 inhabitant of the European Alps. The asp which is historically 

 interesting from having been employed by Cleopatra as the instrument 

 of her own destruction, is supposed to be the Cerastes Hatudqnatii. The 

 As-p (imri's) is often mentioned both by Greek and Roman writers. From 

 various circumstances, however, and particularly from the description 

 of Pliny ('Nat. Hist.' viii. 35.), it is evident that the most common 

 and celebrated is the species to which the modern Arabs give the 

 name of El Haje, or Haje Nascher. This animal measures from 3 to 

 5 feet in length : it is of a dark green colour, marked obliquely with 

 bands of brown ; the scales of the neck, back, and upper surface of the 

 tail are slightly carinatcd, and the tail is about one-fourth part the 

 length of the whole body. The Haje is closely allied to the Cobra 

 Capello, or Spectacled Snake of India, the chief apparent difference 

 being its want of the singular yellow mark on the back of the neck, 

 from which the latter species derives its name. In other respects 

 these two serpents are nearly of the same size ; they are equally 

 venomous, and both have the power of swelling out the neck when 

 irritated, and raising themselves upright upon their tails to dart by a 

 single bound upon their enemies. 



The poison of the Asp is of the most deadly nature. Pliny, in the 

 passage above referred to, gives the following account of this celebrated 

 serpent : " The neck of the asp is capable of distension, and the only 

 remedy against its bite is the immediate amputation of the wounded 

 part. This animal, otherwise so much to be dreaded, has a sentiment, 

 or rather a kind of affection, truly wonderful. It never lives alone, the 

 male and female being constantly found together, and if one happens 

 to be killed, the other seeks with the utmost fury to avenge its death. 

 It knows and selects the destroyer from among crowds ; it follows him 

 to great distances, surmounts every obstacle, and can only be deprived 

 of its revenge by the most speedy flight, or the intervention of some 

 NAT. HIST. civ. vor. r. 



rapid river. It is difficult to say whether nature has been more pro- 

 digal of evils or remedies. For instance, she has bestowed upon this 

 reptile, so terrible from the deadly effects of its poison, so indifferent 



a vision, its eyes being placed on the sides of the head so as to prevent 

 it from seeing straight before it, that it is frequently trodden under 

 foot before it is aware of its danger." Forskocl, a Swedish naturalist, 

 who has written on the animals of Egypt, informs us that the jugglers 

 of Grand Cairo have the art of taming the Haje, as those of India do 

 the cobra capello, and teaching it to dance for the amusement of the 

 populace ; taking care, however, to deprive it of its poison fangs, 

 though even then they avoid its bite when irritated. The habit which 

 this serpent has of erecting itself when approached, made the ancient 

 Egyptians imagine that it guarded the places which it iuhabited. They 

 made it the emblem of the divinity whom they supposed to protect the 

 world; and accordingly they have represented it on their temples 

 sculptured on each side of a globe. 



ASPA'RAGUS, a genus of plants belonging to the natural order 

 Liliaceae. It is comprised by some botanists under the order Atpha- 

 delta. The species eaten under the name of Asparagus is the A* 

 officinalit. [ASPARAOVS, in ARTS AND So. Div.) There are a great 

 number of species, natives of Asia and Africa, which are cultivated 

 in our gardens rather as matter of botanical interest than on account 

 of their beauty or utility. The roots of A . racemota and A. adacendeiw 

 are employed medicinally in the North of India. 



ASPEN. [POPULUS.] 



ASPERGI'LLUM, a genus of Tubicolous Molhisca, furnished with 

 a bivalve shell incrusted as it were in a tubular testaceous sheath. 

 This tubular sheath gradually lessens in diameter to the aperture 

 which is farthest from the incorporated bivalve. The end nearest to 

 the bivalve is dilated into a concave disk, with a central fissure, and 

 perforated with minute but raised holes. The disk is bordered by a 

 tubular frill. There are but few species, and of these AtperyiUum 

 Jaranum, known to collectors as the Watering-Pot, is the most 

 common. 



ASPE'RULA, a genus of plants belonging to the natural order 

 Kbiatea! or Galiacece. The genus is known by its funnel-shaped 

 corolla, and by the fruit being dry and not crowned with the limb 

 of the calyx. 



A. odora'a, the Woodruff, has its leaves six or eight in a whorl, with 

 perfectly white flowers. It occurs in woods, and is found throughout 

 Europe. It is abundant in some parts of England. The whole plant 

 is remarkable for its fragrance when dried. 



A. Cynanchicha has its leaves four in a whorl, and flowers of a lilao 

 colour. It is found on dry banks and hills in limestone districts. It 

 is common in Great Britain, where it is called Quinsy- Wort on account 

 of its supposed value as a remedy in sore throat. It is slightly 

 astringent. Two other species, A. arvensis and A. taurina, are 

 doubtful natives, but found wild now in England. 



(Babington's Manwil of British Botany.) 



ASPHA'LTUM (a Greek word, &<ripa\Tos, of unknown etymology), 

 frequently known by the name of Slaggy or Compact Mineral Pitch, 

 is one of the varieties of Bitumen arising from the decomposition of 

 vegetable matter. It occurs massive, of a dark brown or black colour, 

 with a conchoidal fracture and a resinous lustre. It is opaque, and 

 exceedingly brittle at a low temperature, but softens and fuses by th<j 



T 



