ART 



ASH 



pull these off, and, if you want a new 

 plantation, put them out as you did 

 the original plants : they will bear, 

 though later than the old ones, that 

 same year. By great care, they may 

 be made to bear three vears. 



ARTICHOKE, Jerusalem. Hdi- 

 anthus luherosus. A small sunflower, 

 with nutritious tubers. It yields 

 from 150 to *>:00 bushels of roots, less 

 in size than potatoes ; the lops, cut 

 before flowering, also produce abun- 

 dant fodder. Hogs root up the tu- 

 bers greedily, and thrive well upon 

 ihem. When steamed or boiled, they 

 are palatable. It is one of the plants 

 found by Boussingault to draw its 

 nitrogen almost entirely from the 

 air ; hence it is recommended as an 

 ameliorating crop, when turned in 

 before the tubers are formed. 



It is usually propagated by sets 

 from the roots in April, grows in any 

 moist soil, especially such as is sandy 

 and light : the cultivation is the same 

 as for the potato. When raised for 

 its tuber, it is liable to become 

 troublesome, from the germinating 

 power of even the smallest pieces 

 left in the soil. It keeps in the ground 

 all winter, or may be preserved un- 

 der sand. In the .Middle States it 

 thrives well. It is extensively used 

 in France as provender for cattle, 

 hogs, &.C., and is equal to potatoes in 

 nourishment. 



ARTICULATA, ARTICULATE.S. 

 A term applied by Cuvier to a primary I 

 division of the animal kingdom, char- 1 

 acterized by an external skeleton in [ 

 the Ibrm of a series of rings artic- j 

 ulated together and surrounding the j 

 body ; by an internal gangliated ner- 

 vous system, the ganglions being ar- 

 ranged symmetrically along the mid- 

 dle line of the body, and by having 

 distinct respiratory organs. Insects 

 and various worms are of this order 



.■\RTICUL.\TED. Jointed In 

 botany it signifies a slight connexion, 

 such as tint of the leal with the stem 

 in exogens, which allows them to fall 

 off when dead. 



ARTICULATION. The connex- 

 ion of the bones of the skeleton by 

 joints. 

 DS 



ARUM. The genus of the Indian 

 turnip. 



ARUNDO. The reed plants. Sev- 

 eral species, growing on sand, bind it 

 together : arundinaceous, reed-like. 



ARVTCOLA. The genus of hold- 

 mice. 



ASAFCETIDA. A fetid gum res- 

 in obtained from the root of the Ferula 

 asajictida, whence it exudes, by in- 

 cision, in the form of a milky juice, 

 which, when dried by exposure to 

 the sun, acquires a mottled appear- 

 ance and pink colour. It is a native 

 of the south of Persia, and is used in 

 medicine as a stimulant and antispas- 

 modic in hysteric and nervous disor- 

 ders, and in spasmodic cough, asth- 

 ma, and flatulent colic. 



ASCARLS, (pi.) ASCARIDES. In- 

 testinal worms. See Worms. 



ASCI. Little membranous bags 

 containing sporules. Asadium, the 

 leaf-pitcher. 



ASCITES. Dropsy of the belly. 



ASH-TREE. Fraiinus excelsior. 

 European ash, a handsome tree, with 

 valuable timber. The weeping ash 

 is a variety. This tree is a native 

 of America, hut not very abundant. 

 The white ash (F. acuminala) is a val- 

 uable and common tree of the United 

 States. A sweet gum {ina,ui<i) exuded 

 from many species, especially from 

 the /''. oniiis of Italy, and couunauds 

 a high price at the druggists as a lax- 

 ative medicine. 



ASHES. The incombustible part 

 of animal and vegetable substances. 

 In agriculture several varieties are 

 used, which will be briefly described. 



Wood asfics are most abundant from 

 leaves, bark, and )oung twigs. The 

 composition differs with the tree and 

 soil. The following analyses from 

 Sprengel will serve as a general guide : 



41 



