[1] The epithet distinguishes it from Ascoli Satriano (anc.
_Ausculum_), which lies 19 m. S. of Foggia by rail.
[2] It contains a fine polyptych by Carlo Crivelli (1473).
ASCONIUS PEDIANUS, QUINTUS (9 B.C.-A.D. 76; or A.D. 3-88), Roman
grammarian and historian, was probably a native of Patavium (Padua). In
his later years he resided at Rome, where he died, after having been
blind for twelve years, at the age of eighty-five. During the reigns of
Claudius and Nero he compiled for his sons, from various sources--e.g.
the Gazette (_Acta Publica_), shorthand reports or "skeletons"
(_commentarii_) of Cicero's unpublished speeches, Tiro's life of Cicero,
speeches and letters of Cicero's contemporaries, various historical
writers, e.g. Varro, Atticus, Antias, Tuditanus and Fenestella (a
contemporary of Livy whom he often criticizes)--historical commentaries
on Cicero's speeches, of which only five, viz. _in Pisonem_, _pro
Scauro_, _pro Milone_, _pro Cornelio_ and _in toga Candida_, in a very
mutilated condition, are preserved. In a note upon the speech _pro
Scauro_, he speaks of Longus Caecina (d. A.D. 57) as still living, while
his words imply that Claudius (d. 54) was not alive. This statement,
therefore, must have been written between A.D. 54 and 57. These valuable
notes, written in good Latin, relate chiefly to legal, historical and
antiquarian matters. A commentary, of inferior Latinity and mainly of a
grammatical character, on Cicero's Verrine orations, is universally
regarded as spurious. Both works were found by Poggio in a MS. at St
Gallen in 1416. This MS. is lost, but three transcripts were made by
Poggio, Zomini (Sozomenus) of Pistoia and Bartolommeo da Montpulciano.
That of Poggio is now at Madrid (Matritensis x. 81), and that of Zomini
is in the Forteguerri library at Pistoia (No. 37). A copy of
Bartolommeo's transcript exists in Florence (Laur. liv. 5). The later
MSS. are derived from Poggio's copy. Other works attributed to Asconius
were: a life of Sallust, a defence of Virgil against his detractors, and
a treatise (perhaps a symposium in imitation of Plato) on health and
long life.
Editions by Kiessling-Scholl (1875), and A.C. Clark (Oxford, 1906),
which contains a previously unpublished collation of Poggio's
transcript. See also Madvig, _De Asconio Pediano_ (1828).
ASCOT, a village in the Wokingham parliamentary division of Berkshire,
England, famous for its race-meetings. Pop. of parish of Ascot Heath
(1901), 1927. The station on the Southwestern railway, 29 m. W.S.W. of
London, is called Ascot and Sunninghill; the second name belonging to an
adjacent township with a population (civil parish) of 4719. The
race-course is on Ascot Heath, and was laid out by order of Queen Anne
in 1711, and on the 11th of August in that year the first meeting was
held and attended by the queen. The course is almost exactly 2 m. in
circumference, and the meetings are held in June. The principal race is
that for the Ascot Gold Cup, instituted in 1807. The meeting is one of
the most fashionable in England, and is commonly attended by members of
the royal family. The royal procession, for which the meeting is
peculiarly famous, was initiated by George IV. in 1820.
See R. Herod, _Royal Ascot_ (London, 1900).
ASCUS (Gr. [Greek: askos], a bag), a botanical term for the membranous
sacs containing the reproductive spores in certain lichens and fungi.
Various compounds of the word are used, e.g. _ascophorous_, producing
asci; _ascospore_, the spore (or sporule) developed in the ascus;
_ascogonium_, the organ producing it, &c.
ASELLI [ASELLIUS, or ASELLIO], GASPARO (1581-1626), Italian physician,
was born at Cremona about 1581, became professor of anatomy and surgery
at Pavia, and practised at Milan, where he died in 1626. To him is due
the discovery of the lacteal vessels, published in _De Lactibus_ (Milan,
1627).
ASGILL, JOHN (1659-1738), English writer, was born at Hanley Castle, in
Worcestershire, in 1659. He was bred to the law, and gained considerable
reputation in his profession, increased by two pamphlets--the first
(1696) advocating the establishment of some currency other than the
usual gold and silver, the second (1698) on a registry for titles of
lands. In 1699, when a commission was appointed to settle disputed
claims in Ireland, he set out for that country, attracted by the hopes
of practice. Before leaving London he put in the hands of the printer a
tract, entitled _An Argument proving that, according to the Covenant of
Eternal Life revealed in the Scripture, Man may be translated from hence
into that Eternal Life without passing through Death_ (1700). Coleridge
has highly praised the "genuine Saxon English," the "irony" and "humour"
of this extraordinary pamphlet, which interpreted the relation between
God and man by the technical rules of law, and insisted that, Christ
having wiped out Adam's sin, the penalty of death must consequently be
illegal for those who claim exemption. How far it was meant seriously
was doubted at the time, and may be doubted now. But its fame preceded
the author to Ireland, and was of material service in securing his
professional success, so that he amassed money, purchased an estate, and
married a daughter of the second Lord Kenmare. He was returned both to
the Irish and English parliaments, but was expelled from both on account
of his "blasphemous" pamphlet. He was also involved in money
difficulties, and litigation about his Irish estate, and these
circumstances may have had something to do with his trouble in
parliament. In 1707 he was arrested for debt, and the remainder of his
life was spent in the Fleet prison, or within the rules of the king's
bench. He died in 1738. Asgill also wrote in 1714-1715 some pamphlets
defending the Hanoverian succession against the claims of the Pretender.
ASH[1] (Ger. _Esche_), a common name (Fr. _frene_) given to certain
trees. The common ash (_Fraxinus excelsior_) belongs to the natural
order Oleaceae, the olive family, an order of trees and shrubs which
includes lilac, privet and jasmine. The Hebrew word _Oren_, translated
"ash" in Isaiah xliv. 14, cannot refer to an ash tree, as that is not a
native of Palestine, but probably refers to the Aleppo pine (_Pinus
halepensis_). The ash is a native of Great Britain and the greater part
of Europe, and also extends to Asia. The tree is distinguished for its
height and contour, as well as for its graceful foliage. It attains a
height of from 50 to 80 ft., and flowers in March and April, before the
leaves are developed. The reddish flowers grow in clusters, but are not
showy. They are naked, that is without sepals or petals, and generally
imperfect, wanting either stamens or pistil. The large leaves, which are
late in appearing, are pinnately compound, bearing four to seven pairs
of gracefully tapering toothed leaflets on a slender stalk. The dry
winged fruits, the so-called keys, are a characteristic feature and
often remain hanging in bunches long after the leaves have fallen in
autumn. The leaves fall early, but the greyish twigs and black buds
render the tree conspicuous in winter and especially in early spring.
The ash is in Britain next in value to the oak as a timber-tree. It
requires a good deep loam with gravelly subsoil, and a situation
naturally sheltered, such as the steep banks of glens, rivers or lakes;
in cold and wet clay it does not succeed. As the value of the timber
depends chiefly on its toughness and elasticity, it is best grown in
masses where the soil is good; the trunk is thus drawn up free from
large side-branches. The tree is easily propagated from seeds; it throws
up strong root shoots. The ash requires much light, but grows rapidly,
and its terminal shoots pierce easily through thickets of beech, with
which it is often associated. Unmixed ash plantations are seldom
satisfactory, because the foliage does not sufficiently cover the
ground; but when mixed with beech it grows well, and attains great
height and girth. Owing to the dense mass of roots which it sends out
horizontally a little beneath the surface of the ground, the ash does
much harm to vegetation beneath its shade, and is therefore obnoxious as
a hedgerow tree. Coppice shoots yield excellent hop-poles, crates,
hoops, whip-handles, &c. The timber is much used for agricultural
implements, and by coach-builders and wheelwrights.
A variety of the common species, known as var. _heterophylla_, has
simple leaves. It occurs wild in woods in Europe and England. Another
variety of ash (_pendula_) is met with in which the branches are
pendulous and weeping. Sometimes this variety is grafted on the tall
stem of the common ash, so as to produce a pleasing effect. It is said
that the weeping variety was first observed at Gamlingay, in
Cambridgeshire. A variety (_crispa_) occurs with curled leaves, and
another with warty stems and branches, called _verrucosa_. _F. Ornus_ is
the manna ash (see MANNA), a handsome tree with greenish-white flowers
and native in south Europe. In southern Europe there is a small-leaved
ash, called _Fraxinus parvifolia_. _F. floribunda_, a large tree with
terminal panicles of white flowers, is a native of the Himalayas. In
America there are several species--such as _Fraxinus americana_, the
white ash; _F. pubescens_, the red ash; and _F. sambucifolia_, the black
ash.
The "mountain ash" belongs to a totally different family from the common
ash. It is called _Pyrus Aucuparia_, and belongs to the natural order
Rosaceae, and the tribe _Pomeae_, which includes also apples, pears, &c.
Its common name is probably due to its resemblance to the true ash, in
its smooth grey bark, graceful ascending branches, and especially the
form of the leaf, which is also pinnately compound but smaller than in
the true ash. Its common name in Scotland is the rowan tree; it is well
known by its clusters of white blossoms and succulent scarlet fruit. The
name of poison ash is given to _Rhus venenata_, the North American
poison elder or sumach, belonging to the Anacardiaceae (Cashew family).
The bitter ash of the West Indies is _Simaruba excelsa_, which belongs
to the natural order Simarubaceae. The Cape ash is _Ekebergia capensis_,
belonging to the natural order Meliaceae, a large tree, a native of the
Cape of Good Hope. The prickly ash, _Xanthoxylon Clava-Herculis_ (nat.
ord. Xanthoxyleae), a native of the south-eastern United States, is a
small tree, the trunk of which is studded with corky tubercles, while
the branches are armed with stout, sharp, brown prickles.