ASPASIA 



ASPHALT 



For salads the blanched or whitened variety 

 is much preferred, and it is this variety which 

 is placed on the market in cans. Asparagus 

 is wholesome, but contains so large a propor- 

 tion of water that its food value is very low. 



Asparagus plants should be allowed to grow 

 three years from the seed before they are 

 cut; after that for ten or twelve years they 

 will continue to afford an annual supply if 

 the beds are protected from frost by straw or 

 litt IT during the winter. The full-grown plant 

 has a beautiful feathery top, shaped like a 

 miniature tree, and bears small flowers and 

 bright red berries. Some varieties are culti- 

 vated for ornament and are incorrectly known 

 as ferns. The United States is one of the chief 

 asparagus-growing countries. 



ASPASIA, as pa' she a, the most celebrated 

 woman of ancient Greece, was born at Miletus, 

 in Ionia. About 460 B.C. she became the wife 

 of Pericles, though their marriage was not 

 regarded as legal because the laws of Athens 

 forbade the union of a citizen with a woman 

 of foreign birth. The wit, beauty and intelli- 

 gence of Aspasia made her a worthy com- 

 panion of the talented Pericles, and their home 

 became the meeting place of the most learned 

 and distinguished men of Athens. Their son 

 was given the full rights of citizenship by a 

 special decree. See PERICLES. 



ASPEN, or TREMBLING POPLAR, a species of 

 poplar which is native of the cooler parts of 

 Europe and Asia, but common in Canada and 

 the United States. The tree is hardy and 

 grows rapidly. As the slender trunk becomes 



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(a) Younff 

 white Ha 

 nprlng. (b) 

 form, son 



? unfolding. The leaves look 

 when they open early In th- 



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st round, with fine teeth. 



higher the lower branches drop off, leaving ;i 

 knot surmounted by a roll of bark which ap- 

 I>i'.-ir like eye and eyebrow against the pearly 

 white trunk. The light green, almost circular 

 leaves, with saw-tooth edges, are set upon 

 long, thin stems and flutter in every breath 



of wind, which suggests the popular name of 

 the tree, the quaking aspen. The wood is used 

 to make charcoal and for making bowls, trays, 

 troughs and pails. 



ASPHALT, as'falt, not as'fawlt, a mineral 

 pitch, sometimes called mineral tar when it 

 occurs in liquid condition. It is a form of 

 bitumen (which see), and in its natural states 

 is black or brown in color, brittle and glossy. 

 When heated it melts easily and gives off a 

 strong odor, much like that of pitch. Pure 

 asphalt burns without leaving ashes. Large 

 deposits of liquid asphalt are found in the 

 vicinity of Santa Barbara, California, and in 

 Leyte Province, Philippine Islands. Trinidad 

 produces the largest quantity of asphalt in the 

 world, Pitch Lake, from which most of the 

 product is taken, having an area of 114 acres. 

 The asphalt continues to flow into the lake, 

 which is the crater of an old volcano, from 

 some underground source, so that notwith- 

 standing the large quantity taken out each 

 year, the supply remains practically undimin- 

 ished. About 80,000 tons are taken from the 

 lake each year. What is known as Bcrmudez 

 asphalt is taken from another lake in Vene- 

 zuela. Another well-known deposit, called 

 Gilsonite, is found in Utah. 



Asphalt Pavement. Crude asphaltum must 

 be put through a refining process before it can 

 be used to make street paving. As the first 

 step the asphaltum is placed in great tanks 

 and melted down, the material being stirred 

 continually during this process. That the 

 material may melt at a lower temperature 

 than it would otherwise, a certain portion of 

 substance remaining in the tank after crude 

 petroleum has been distilled is put into tin- 

 asphaltum; all of the oils in the substance 

 are thus saved. The resulting mixture is 

 called paring cement. During the process 

 sharp, clean sand is being heated in large re- 

 volving drums to a temperature of about 300. 

 This is added to the mixture according to a 

 certain proportion, a specified amount of 

 bonate of lime being also added. Then the 

 three substances are thoroughly mixed by 

 means of a number of iron arms, all of which 

 revolve very rapidly. The entire mixture is 

 ready to be used in laying the pavement. 

 It takes three tons of the crude Trinidad ma- 

 terial to make two tons of refined asphalt. 



A certain amount of preparation is required 

 before the street is ready for the paving mate- 

 rial, for it must be graded and rolled very 

 carefully. Then on the road bed is laid a 



