ARUM 



407 



ASBESTOS 



ARUM, ay' rum, the name given to a num- 

 ber of plants which greatly resemble the Jack- 

 in-the-pulpit, to which they are related. The 

 showy lily-like part which is usually called the 

 flower is not really a flower at all, but is known 



ARUM 

 Leaves, flower and cross-section of latter. 



as the spathe, while the flowers are tiny incon- 

 spicuous things massed about the central spike. 

 Many varieties are cultivated in hot-houses 

 on account of their beauty. The stems and 

 leaves contain a bitter juice, and the bulbs 

 from which the plants spring contain a starch 

 which may be used for food. See CALLA ; JACK- 

 IN -T HE-PULPIT. 



ARYAN, ahr' yan, meaning lord of the soil, 

 is the name given to that branch of the human 

 race whose members are supposed to have 

 lived originally in Central Asia, east of the 

 Caspian Sea and north of the Hindu Kush 

 Mountains. They are also called the Indo- 

 European and Indo-Germanic race. With the 

 exception of the Turks, the Magyars of Hun- 

 gary, the Basques of the Pyrenees and the 

 i.s of Lapland, all the nations of Europe 

 sprang from this branch of the human family. 

 Centuries ago the Ayrans became the ruling 

 race of India and their ancient language was 

 Sanskrit. All modem languages sprang from 

 these people. Sec LANGUAGES or TUB WORLD. 



ASAFETIDA , a* a // ' i da, also spelled ASA- 

 rosriDA, is a gumlikr ilniK having a powerful. 

 disagreeable odor much stronger than that of 

 garlic. It is employed in medicine to prevent 

 spasms and to calm mild attacks of hysteria. 



ASAFETIDA 



In the latter case, some one says, the patient 

 finds the medicine so extremely distasteful that 

 he controls himself and thus a second dose is 

 unnecessary. 



Asafetida is ob- 

 tained by drying 

 the milky, juice 

 from the roots of 

 a large plant of 

 the parsnip fam- 

 ily that grows in 

 Asia. It is found 

 on the market 

 most commonly 

 in the form of 

 small, brownish 

 lumps. In spite 

 of its disgusting 

 odor, asafetida is The plant - flower and fruit 

 used in South America, India, Persia and 

 France as a seasoning. Years ago people used 

 to hang a little bag containing asafetida about 

 the neck as a protecton against scarlet fever, 

 .but that is one of the beliefs closely allied to 

 superstition that now prevails only in very 

 ignorant minds. 



ASBESTOS, as bes' tos, a substance properly 

 classified as a mineral, although it possesses 

 qualities peculiar both to the mineral and vege- 

 table kingdoms. It is, in fact, a species of the 

 hornblende family of minerals, composed of 

 perfectly smooth, separable fibers, sometimes 

 delicate, flexible and elastic, sometimes stiff 

 and brittle. It is heavy in its crude state, but 

 the fibers can be made as light as down after 

 they are treated for commercial uses. Sepa- 

 rating the asbestos fiber from the mineral gives 

 a snowy mass of what might be termed mineral 

 wool. Three or four processes of carding bring 

 this material into shape to be woven into cloth, 

 packing or whatever form may be desired. 

 The commercial value of asbestos depends 

 upon its quality of indestructibility. It suc- 

 cessfully withstands the attacks of fire, acids 

 and time. By ancient peoples it was made into 

 a cloth for shrouds for bodies burned on funeral 

 pyres. Asbestos is found in many parts of 

 the world; several states of the American 

 Union produce it in limited quantities, notably 

 ('aliform:!. Wyoming ami Montana, but the 

 1'rinriji.il Mipi'ly r<>tm\s from Quebec. Tin- 

 Canadian production has reached 196,000 tons 

 yearly, worth n. ;irly $4,000,000. 



It is the fact that asbestos will not burn 

 which makes it of so much value. Its uses are 

 many and varied. Absolutely pure asbestos- 



