ASH WEDNESDAY 



aster," resulted in the loss of more than 100 

 lives. T - H - 



ASH WEDNESDAY, the first day of Lent. 

 It derived its name from a practice which was 

 common in the Church in medieval times and 

 Mill survives in somewhat altered form. It 

 was customary to preserve the ashes obtained 

 by burning the palms after Palm Sunday 

 (which see). The ashes were sprinkled by the 

 priest on the heads of those who came as peni- 

 tents on that day. In the Roman Catholic 

 Church to-day the priest blesses the ashes near 



ASIA 



the altar and puts them on the foreheads of 

 the clergy and congregation. As he touches 

 each forehead he intones in Latin: "Remem- 

 ber, man, that thou art dust, and into dust 

 them shalt return." 



The Protestant Church in Germany does not 

 observe the day; and while it is celebrated in 

 the Church of England and the Protestant 

 Episcopal Church in America, the ceremony 

 which gave the day its name has been greatly 

 changed and simplified during the past hundred 

 years. See LENT. 



SI A, the vastest land mass on the 

 globe, comprising more than one-third of the 

 entire land surface. What the name means is 

 not known, but it is held by some authorities 

 to. be derived from an Assyrian word meaning 

 the rising sun, and thus to signify the East, 

 just as the word Europe is believed to denote 

 the West, or the setting sun. The area of 

 Asia, 17,250,000 square miles, is one and a half 

 times as great as that of Africa, the second 

 largest grand division, five times that of 

 Europe exclusive of its islands, and greater 

 than that of North America and South Amer- 

 ica combined. Its estimated population of 

 918,000,000 is more than half that of the whole 

 world, yet there are within it vast stretches that 

 are uninhabited, and other tracts where the 

 population is but five to the square mile. To 

 offset this, there are other parts of the conti- 

 nent where people are crowded together as they 

 are nowhere else in the world. 



Political Divisions. A large part of Asia is 

 under the control of European governments, 

 but there are a number of independent coun- 

 tries. These are (1) the Chinese republic, 

 which includes China proper, with yet some 

 claim to Manchuria, Mongolia, East or Chinese 

 Turkestan and Tibet; this division has an 

 area of about 4,278,000 square miles; (2) Japan, 

 with an area of 174,700 square miles ; (3) Siam, 

 with an area of 230,000 square miles; (4) Per- 

 sia, 635,000 square miles; (5) Oman, in Arabia, 

 82,000 square miles; Nepal and a number of 

 small states in Arabia and in the Himalayas. 



The semi-independent countries are Afghan- 



istan (250,000 square miles) and Baluchistan 

 (134,650 square miles), under the domination 

 of Great Britain. Korea was independent until 

 1910, when it became a Japanese province with 

 the name Chosen. The interests of European 

 nations in Asia are as follows: 



France. Pondicherry and four minor pos- 

 sessions in India; Indo-China, including An- 

 nam, Cambodia, Cochin-China and Laos;, and 

 Kwang Chau Wan, leased from China. Total 

 area, 256,000 square miles, of which less than 

 400 are outside of Indo-China; total popula- 

 tion, 17,500,000. 



Germany. Kiauchau, leased from China, 

 taken by the Japanese in 1914. Area, about 

 200 square miles, population about 192,000. 



Great Britain. Aden colony and protec- 

 torate; Bahrein Islands (in the Persian Gulf); 

 Ceylon; Cyprus; Hong Kong and adjoining 

 leased territory; India; Straits Settlements; 

 Federated Malay States protectorate ; and 

 Weihaiwei, leased from China. Total area, 

 about 1,875,000 square miles, of which 1,802,629 

 are in India; total population, about 322,- 

 000,000, of which over 315,000,000 are in India. 



Portugal. Macao, in China; Goa and two 

 minor possessions, in India. Total area, 1,642 

 square miles ; total population, about 600,000. 



Russia. Siberia; Trans-Caucasia; Steppes; 

 Turkestan; Trans-Caspia ; and the vassal 

 states of Bokhara and Khiva. Total area about 

 6,400,000 square miles; total population, about 

 30,000,000. 



Turkey. Asia Minor; Armenia and Kurdi- 

 stan; Mesopotamia; Syria; and part of Arabia. 



