Laevo-asparagine is slightly soluble in cold water and readily soluble
in hot water. It crystallizes in prisms, containing one molecule of
water of crystallization, the anhydrous form melting at 234-235 deg. C.
Nitrous acid converts it into malic acid, HOOC.CHOH.CH2.COOH. It is
laevo-rotatory in aqueous or in alkaline solution, and dextro-rotatory
in acid solution (L. Pasteur, _Ann. Chim. Phys._, 1851 [2], 31, p. 67).
Dextro-asparagine was first found in 1886 in the shoots of the vetch
(Piutti). It forms rhombic crystals possessing a sweet taste. It is
dextro-rotatory in aqueous or alkaline solution, and laevo-rotatory in
acid solution.
Hydrolysis by means of acids or alkalis converts the asparagines into
aspartic acid; whilst on heating with water in a sealed tube they are
converted into ammonium aspartate. The constitution of the asparagines
has been determined by A. Piutti (_Gazz. chim. Ital._, 1888, 18, p.
457).
ASPARAGUS, a genus of plants (nat. ord. Liliaceae) containing more than
100 species, and widely distributed in the temperate and warmer parts of
the Old World; it was introduced from Europe into America with the early
settlers. The name is derived from the Greek [Greek: asparagos] or
[Greek: aspharagos], the origin of which is obscure. _Sperage_ or
_sparage_ was the form in use from the 16th to 18th centuries, cf. the
modern Italian _sparagio_. The vulgar corruption _sparrow-grass_ or
_sparagrass_ was in accepted popular use during the 18th century,
"asparagus" being considered pedantic. The plants have a short,
creeping, underground stem from which spring slender, branched, aerial
shoots. The leaves are reduced to minute scales bearing in their axils
tufts of green, needle-like branches (the so-called _cladodes_), which
simulate, and perform the functions of, leaves. In one section of the
genus, sometimes regarded as a distinct genus _Myrsiphyllum_, the
cladodes are flattened. The plants often climb or scramble, in which
they are helped by the development of the scale-leaves into persistent
spines. The flowers are small, whitish and pendulous; the fruit is a
berry.
Several of the climbing species are grown in greenhouses for their
delicate, often feathery branches, which are also valuable for cutting;
the South African _Asparagus plumosus_ is an especially elegant species.
The so-called smilax, much used for decoration, is a species of the
_Myrsiphyllum_ section, _A. medeoloides_, also known as _Myrsiphyllum
asparagoides_. The young shoots of _Asparagus officinalis_ have from
very remote times been in high repute as a culinary vegetable, owing to
their delicate flavour and diuretic virtues. The plant, which is a
native of the north temperate zone of the Old World, grows wild on the
south coast of England; and on the waste steppes of Russia it is so
abundant that it is eaten by cattle like grass. In common with the
marsh-mallow and some other plants, it contains asparagine or aspartic
acidamide. The roots of asparagus were formerly used as an aperient
medicine, and the fruits were likewise employed as a diuretic. Under the
name of Prussian asparagus, the spikes of an allied plant, _Ornithogalum
pyrenaicum_, are used in some places. The diuretic action is extremely
feeble, and neither the plant nor asparagine is now used medicinally.
Asparagus is grown extensively in private gardens as well as for market.
The asparagus prefers a loose, light, deep, sandy soil; the depth should
be 3 ft., the soil being well trenched, and all surplus water got away.
A considerable quantity of well-rotted dung or of recent seaweed should
be laid in the bottom of the trench, and another top-dressing of manure
should be dug in preparatory to planting or sowing. The beds should be 3
ft. or 5 ft. wide, with intervening alleys of 2 ft., the narrower beds
taking two rows of plants, the wider ones three rows. The beds should
run east and west, so that the sun's rays may strike against the side of
the bed. In some cases the plants are grown in equidistant rows 3 to 4
ft. apart. Where the beds are made with plants already prepared, either
one-year-old or two-year-old plants may be used, for which a trench
should be cut sufficient to afford room for spreading out the roots, the
crowns being all kept at about 2 in. below the surface. Planting is best
done in April, after the plants have started into growth. To prevent
injury to the roots, it is, however, perhaps the better plan to sow the
seeds in the beds where the plants are to remain. To experience the
finest flavour of asparagus, it should be eaten immediately after having
been gathered; if kept longer than one day, or set into water, its finer
flavour is altogether lost. If properly treated, asparagus beds will
continue to bear well for many years. The asparagus grown at Argenteuil,
near Paris, has acquired much notoriety for its large size and excellent
quality. The French growers plant in trenches instead of raised beds.
The most common method of forcing asparagus is to prepare, early in the
year, a moderate hot-bed of stable litter with a bottom heat of 70 deg.,
and to cover it with a common frame. After the heat of fermentation has
somewhat subsided, the surface of the bed is covered with a layer of
light earth or exhausted tan-bark, and in this the roots of strong
mature plants are closely placed. The crowns of the roots are then
covered with 3 to 6 in. of soil. A common three-light frame may hold 500
or 600 plants, and will afford a supply for several weeks. After
planting, linings are applied when necessary to keep up the heat, but
care must be taken not to scorch the roots; air must be occasionally
admitted. Where there are pits heated by hot water or by the tank
system, they may be advantageously applied to this purpose. A succession
of crops must be maintained by annually sowing or planting new beds.
The "asparagus-beetle" is the popular name for two beetles, the "common
asparagus beetle" (_Crioceris asparagi_) and the "twelve-spotted" (_C.
duodecimpunctata_), which feed on the asparagus plant. _C. asparagi_ has
been known in Europe since early times, and was introduced into America
about 1856; the rarer _C. duodecimpunctata_ (sometimes called the "red"
to distinguish it from the "blue" species) was detected in America in
1881. For an admirable account of these pests see F.H. Chittenden,
_Circular 102 of the U.S. Dep. of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology_,
May 1908.
The "asparagus-stone" is a form of apatite, simulating asparagus in
colour.
ASPASIA, an Athenian courtesan of the 5th century B.C., was born either
at Miletus or at Megara, and settled in Athens, where her beauty and her
accomplishments gained for her a great reputation. Pericles, who had
divorced his wife (445), made her his mistress, and, after the death of
his two legitimate sons, procured the passing of a law under which his
son by her was recognized as legitimate. It was the fashion, especially
among the comic poets, to regard her as the adviser of Pericles in all
his political actions, and she is even charged with having caused the
Samian and Peloponnesian wars (Aristoph. _Acharn_. 497). Shortly before
the latter war, she was accused of impiety, and nothing but the tears
and entreaties of Pericles procured her acquittal. On the death of
Pericles she is said to have become the mistress of one Lysicles, whom,
though of ignoble birth, she raised to a high position in the state;
but, as Lysicles died a year after Pericles (428), the story is
unconvincing. She was the chief figure in the dialogue _Aspasia_ by
Aeschines the Socratic, in which she was represented as criticizing the
manners and training of the women of her time (for an attempted
reconstruction of the dialogue see P. Natorp in _Philologus_, li. p.
489, 1892); in the _Menexenus_ (generally ascribed to Plato) she is a
teacher of rhetoric, the instructress of Socrates and Pericles, and a
funeral oration in honour of those Athenians who had given their lives
for their country (the authorship of which is attributed to Aspasia) is
repeated by Socrates; Xenophon (_Oecon._ lii. 14) also speaks of her in
favourable terms, but she is not mentioned by Thucydides. In opposition
to this view, Wilamowitz-Mollendorff (_Hermes_, xxxv. 1900) regards her
simply as a courtesan, whose personality would readily become the
subject of rumour, favourable or unfavourable. There is a bust bearing
her name in the Pio Clementino Museum in the Vatican.
See Le Conte de Bievre, _Les Deux Aspasies_ (1736); J.B. Capefigue,
_Aspasie et le siecle de Pericles_ (1862); L. Becq de Fouquieres.
_Aspasie de Milet_ (1872); H. Houssaye, _Aspasie, Cleopatre, Theodora_
(1899); R. Hamerling, _Aspasia_ (a romance; Eng. trans. by M.J.
Safford, New York, 1882); J. Donaldson, _Woman_ (1907). Also PERICLES.
ASPASIUS, a Greek peripatetic philosopher, and a prolific commentator on
Aristotle. He flourished probably towards the close of the 1st century
A.D., or perhaps during the reign of Antoninus Pius. His commentaries on
the _Categories, De Interpretatione, De Sensu_, and other works of
Aristotle are frequently referred to by later writers, but have not come
down to us. Commentaries on Plato, mentioned by Porphyry in his life of
Plotinus, have also been lost. Commentaries on books 1-4, 7 (in part),
and 8 of the _Nicomachean Ethics_ are preserved; that on book 8 was
printed with those of Eustratius and others by Aldus Manutius at Venice
in 1536. They were partly (2-4) translated into Latin by Felicianus in
1541, and have frequently been republished, but their authenticity has
been disputed. The most recent edition is by G. Heylbut in _Commentaria
in Aristotelem Graeca_, xix. 1 (Berlin, 1889).
Another ASPASIUS, in the 3rd century A.D., was a Roman sophist and
rhetorician, son or pupil of the rhetorician Demetrianus. He taught
rhetoric in Rome, and filled the chair of rhetoric founded by Vespasian.
He was secretary to the emperor Maximin. His orations, which are praised
for their style, are lost.
ASPEN, an important section of the poplar genus (_Populus_) of which the
common aspen of Europe, _P. tremula_, may be taken as the type,--a tall
fast-growing tree with rather slender trunk, and grey bark becoming
rugged when old. The roundish leaves, toothed on the margin, are
slightly downy when young, but afterwards smooth, dark green on the
upper and greyish green on the lower surface; the long slender petioles,
much flattened towards the outer end, allow of free lateral motion by
the lightest breeze, giving the foliage its well-known tremulous
character. By their friction on each other the leaves give rise to a
rustling sound. It is supposed that the mulberry trees (_Becaim_)
mentioned in 1 Chronicles xiv. 14, 15 were really aspen trees. The
flowers, which appear in March and April, are borne on pendulous hairy
catkins, 2-3 in. long; male and female catkins are, as in the other
species of the genus, on distinct trees.
The aspen is found in moist places, sometimes at a considerable
elevation, 1600 ft. or more, in Scotland. It is an abundant tree in the
northern parts of Britain, even as far as Sutherland, and is
occasionally found in the coppices of the southern counties, but in
these latter habitats seldom reaches any large size; throughout northern
Europe it abounds in the forests,--in Lapland flourishing even in 70
deg. N. lat., while in Siberia its range extends to the Arctic Circle;
in Norway its upper limit is said to coincide with that of the pine;
trees exist near the western coast having stems 15 ft. in circumference.
The wood of the aspen is very light and soft, though tough; it is
employed by coopers, chiefly for pails and herring-casks; it is also
made into butchers' trays, pack-saddles, and various articles for which
its lightness recommends it; sabots are also made of it in France, and
in medieval days it was valued for arrows, especially for those used in
target practice; the bark is used for tanning in northern countries;
cattle and deer browse greedily on the young shoots and abundant
suckers. Aspen wood makes but indifferent fuel, but charcoal prepared
from it is light and friable, and has been employed in gunpowder
manufacture. The powdered bark is sometimes given to horses as a
vermifuge; it possesses likewise tonic and febrifugal properties,
containing a considerable amount of salicin. The aspen is readily
propagated either by cuttings or suckers, but has been but little
planted of late years in Britain. _P. trepida_, or _tremuloides_. is
closely allied to the European aspen, being chiefly distinguished by its
more pointed leaves; it is a native of most parts of Canada and the
United States, extending northwards as far as Great Slave Lake. The wood
is soft and neither strong nor durable; it burns better in the green
state than that of most trees, and is often used by the hunters of the
North-West as fuel; split into thin layers, it was formerly employed in
the United States for bonnet and hat making. It is largely manufactured
into wood-pulp for paper-making. The bark is of some value as a tonic
and febrifuge. _P. grandidentata_, the large-leaved American aspen, has
ovate or roundish leaves deeply and irregularly serrated on the margin.
The wood is light, soft and close-grained, but not strong. In northern
New England and Canada it is largely manufactured into wood-pulp; it is
occasionally used in turnery and for wooden-ware.
ASPENDUS (mod. _Balkis Kale_, or, more anciently in the native language,
ESTVEDYS (whence the adjective _Estvedijys_ on coins), an ancient city
of Pamphylia, very strongly situated on an isolated hill on the right
bank of the Eurymedon at the point where the river issues from the
Taurus. The sea is now about 7 m. distant, and the river is navigable
only for about 2 m. from the mouth; but in the time of Thucydides ships
could anchor off Aspendus. Really of pre-Hellenic date, the place
claimed to be an Argive colony. It derived wealth from great _salines_
and from a trade in oil and wool, to which the wide range of its
admirable coinage bears witness from the 5th century B.C. onwards. There
Alcibiades met the satrap Tissaphernes in 411 B.C., and thence succeeded
in getting the Phoenician fleet, intended to co-operate with Sparta,
sent back home. The Athenian, Thrasybulus, after obtaining contributions
from Aspendus in 389, was murdered by the inhabitants. The city bought
off Alexander in 333, but, not keeping faith, was forcibly occupied by
the conqueror. In due course it passed from Pergamene to Roman dominion,
and according to Cicero, was plundered of many artistic treasures by
Verres. It was ranked by Philostratus the third city of Pamphylia, and
in Byzantine times seems to have been known as Primopolis, under which
name its bishop signed at Ephesus in A.D. 431. In medieval times it was
evidently still a strong place, but it has now sunk, in the general
decay of Pamphylia, to a wretched hamlet.
The ruins still extant are very remarkable, and, with the noble Roman
theatre, the finest in the world, have earned for the place (as is the
case with certain other great monuments) a legendary connexion with
Solomon's Sheban queen. On the summit of the hillock, surrounded by a
wall with three gates, lie the remains of the city. The public buildings
round the forum can all be traced, and parts of them are standing to a
considerable height. They consist of a fine nympheum on the north with a
covered theatre behind it, covered market halls on the west, and a
peristyle hall and a basilica on the east. In the plain below are large
thermae, and ruins of a splendid aqueduct. But all else seems
insignificant beside the huge theatre, half hollowed out of the
north-east flank of the hill. This was first published by C.F.M. Texier
in 1849, and has now been completely planned, &c., by Count
Lanckoronski's expedition in 1884. It is built of local conglomerate and
is in marvellous preservation. Erected to the honour of the emperors
Marcus Aurelius and L. Verus by the architect Zeno, for the heirs of a
local Roman citizen (as an inscription repeated over both portals
attests), its auditorium has a circuit of 313.17 feet. There are forty
tiers of seating, divided by one _diazoma_, and crowned by an arched
gallery of rather later date, repaired in places with brick. This
auditorium held 7500 spectators. The seats are not perfect, but so
nearly so as to appear practically intact. The wooden stage has, of
course, perished, but all its supporting structures are in place, and
the great scena wall stands to its full height, and produces a
magnificent impression whether from within or from without. Inwardly it
was decorated with two orders of columns one above the other, with rich
entablatures, much of which survives. In the _tympanum_ is a relief of
Bacchus (wrongly supposed to be of a female, and called the Bal-Kis,
i.e. "Honey Girl"). The position of the sounding board above the stage
is apparent. Under the forepart of the auditorium, built out from the
hill, are immense vaults. The whole structure was enclosed within one
great wall, pierced with numerous windows. This structure was probably
put to some ecclesiastical Byzantine use, as certain mutilated heads of
saints appear upon it; and later it became a fortress and received
certain additions. It is now under the care of the local _agha_ and not
allowed to be plundered for building stone.
See C. Lanckoronski, _Villes de la Pamphylie et de la Pisidie_, i.
(1890). (D. G. H.)
ASPER, AEMILIUS, Latin grammarian, possibly lived in the 2nd century
A.D. He wrote commentaries on Terence, Sallust and Virgil. Numerous
fragments of the last show that as both critic and commentator he
possessed good judgment and taste. They are printed in Keil, _Probi in
Vergilii Bucolica Commentarius_ (1848); see also Suringar, _Historia
Critica Scholiastarum Latinorum_ (1834); Grafenhan, _Geschichte der
klassischen Philologie im Alterthum._ iv. (1843-1850). Two short
grammatical treatises, extant under the name of Asper, and of very
little value, have nothing to do with the commentator, but belong to a
much later date--the time of Priscian (6th century). Both are printed in
Keil, _Grammatici Latini_. See also Schanz, _Geschichte der romischen
Litteratur_, S 598.
ASPER, HANS (1499-1571), Swiss painter, was born and died at Zurich. He
wrought in a great variety of styles, but excelled chiefly in flower and
fruit pieces, and in portrait-painting. Many of his pictures have
perished, but his style may be judged from the illustrations to
Gessner's _Historia Animalium_, for which he is said to have furnished
the designs, and from portraits of Zwingli and his daughter Regula
Gwalter, which are preserved in the public library of Zurich. It has
been usual to class Asper among the pupils and imitators of Holbein, but
an inspection of his works is sufficient to show that this is a mistake.
Though Asper was held in high reputation by his fellow-citizens, who
elected him a member of the Great Council, and had a medal struck in his
honour, he seems to have died in poverty.
ASPERGES ("thou wilt sprinkle," from the Latin verb _aspergere_), the
ceremony of sprinkling the people with holy water before High Mass in
the Roman Catholic Church, so called from the first word of the verse
(Ps. iv. 9) _Asperges me, Domini, hyssopo et mundabor_, with which the
priest begins the ceremony. The brush used for sprinkling is an
aspergill (_aspergillum_), or aspersoir, and the vessel for this water
an _aspersorium_. The act of sprinkling the water is called _aspersion_.
ASPERN-ESSLING, BATTLE OF (1809), a battle fought on the 21st and 22nd
of May 1809 between the French and their allies under Napoleon and the
Austrians commanded by the archduke Charles (see NAPOLEONIC CAMPAIGNS).
At the time of the battle Napoleon was in possession of Vienna, the
bridges over the Danube had been broken, and the archduke's army was on
and about the Bisamberg, a mountain near Korneuburg, on the left bank of
the river. The first task of the French was the crossing of the Danube.
Lobau, one of the numerous islands which divide the river into minor
channels, was selected as the point of crossing, careful preparations
were made, and on the night of the 19th-20th of May the French bridged
all the channels from the right bank to Lobau and occupied the island.
By the evening of the 20th great masses of men had been collected there
and the last arm of the Danube, between Lobau and the left bank,
bridged. Massena's corps at once crossed to the left bank and dislodged
the Austrian outposts. Undeterred by the news of heavy attacks on his
rear from Tirol and from Bohemia, Napoleon hurried all available troops
to the bridges, and by daybreak on the 21st, 40,000 men were collected
on the Marchfeld, the broad open plain of the left bank, which was also
to be the scene of the battle of Wagram. The archduke did not resist the
passage; it was his intention, as soon as a large enough force had
crossed, to attack it before the rest of the French army could come to
its assistance. Napoleon had, of course, accepted the risk of such an
attack, but he sought at the same time to minimize it by summoning every
available battalion to the scene. His forces on the Marchfeld were drawn
up in front of the bridges facing north, with their left in the village
of Aspern (Gross-Aspern) and their right in Essling (or Esslingen). Both
places lay close to the Danube and could not therefore be turned;
Aspern, indeed, is actually on the bank of one of the river channels.
But the French had to fill the gap between the villages, and also to
move forward to give room for the supports to form up. Whilst they were
thus engaged the archduke moved to the attack with his whole army in
five columns. Three under Hiller, Bellegarde and Hohenzollern were to
converge upon Aspern, the other two, under Rosenberg, to attack Essling.
The Austrian cavalry was in the centre, ready to move out against any
French cavalry which should attack the heads of the columns. During the
21st the bridges became more and more unsafe, owing to the violence of
the current, but the French crossed without intermission all day and
during the night.
The battle began at Aspern; Hiller carried the village at the first
rush, but Massena recaptured it, and held his ground with the same
tenacity as he had shown at Genoa in 1800. The French infantry, indeed,
fought on this day with the old stubborn bravery which it had failed to
show in the earlier battles of the year. The three Austrian columns
fighting their hardest through the day were unable to capture more than
half the village; the rest was still held by Massena when night fell. In
the meanwhile nearly all the French infantry posted between the two
villages and in front of the bridges had been drawn into the fight on
either flank. Napoleon therefore, to create a diversion, sent forward
his centre, now consisting only of cavalry, to charge the enemy's
artillery, which was deployed in a long line and firing into Aspern. The
first charge of the French was repulsed, but the second attempt, made by
heavy masses of cuirassiers, was more serious. The French horsemen,
gallantly led, drove off the guns, rode round Hohenzollern's infantry
squares, and routed the cavalry of Lichtenstein, but they were unable to
do more, and in the end they retired to their old position. In the
meanwhile Essling had been the scene of fighting almost as desperate as
that of Aspern. The French cuirassiers made repeated charges on the
flank of Rosenberg's force, and for long delayed the assault, and in the
villages Lannes with a single division made a heroic and successful
resistance, till night ended the battle. The two armies bivouacked on
their ground, and in Aspern the French and Austrians lay within pistol
shot of each other. The latter had fought fully as hard as their
opponents, and Napoleon realized that they were no longer the
professional soldiers of former campaigns. The spirit of the nation was
in them and they fought to kill, not for the honour of their arms. The
emperor was not discouraged, but on the contrary renewed his efforts to
bring up every available man. All through the night more and more French
troops were put across.
At the earliest dawn of the 22nd the battle was resumed. Massena swiftly
cleared Aspern of the enemy, but at the same time Rosenberg stormed
Essling at last. Lannes, however, resisted desperately, and reinforced
by St Hilaire's division, drove Rosenberg out. In Aspern Massena had
been less fortunate, the counter-attack of Hiller and Bellegarde being
as completely successful as that of Lannes and St Hilaire. Meantime
Napoleon had launched a great attack on the Austrian centre. The whole
of the French centre, with Lannes on the right and the cavalry in
reserve, moved forward. The Austrian line was broken through, between
Rosenberg's right and Hohenzollern's left, and the French squadrons
poured into the gap. Victory was almost won when the archduke brought up
his last reserve, himself leading on his soldiers with a colour in his
hand. Lannes was checked, and with his repulse the impetus of the attack
died out all along the line. Aspern had been lost, and graver news
reached Napoleon at the critical moment. The Danube bridges, which had
broken down once already, had at last been cut by heavy barges, which
had been set adrift down stream for the purpose by the Austrians.
Napoleon at once suspended the attack. Essling now fell to another
assault of Rosenberg, and though again the French, this time part of the
Guard, drove him out, the Austrian general then directed his efforts on
the flank of the French centre, slowly retiring on the bridges. The
retirement was terribly costly, and but for the steadiness of Lannes the
French must have been driven into the Danube, for the archduke's last
effort to break down their resistance was made with the utmost fury.
Only the complete exhaustion of both sides put an end to the fighting.
The French lost 44,000 out of 90,000 successively engaged, and amongst
the killed were Lannes and St Hilaire. The Austrians, 75,000 strong,
lost 23,360. Even this, the first great defeat of Napoleon, did not
shake his resolution. The beaten forces were at last withdrawn safely
into the island. On the night of the 22nd the great bridge was repaired,
and the army awaited the arrival of reinforcements, not in Vienna, but
in Lobau.
See sketch map in article WAGRAM.
ASPHALT, or ASPHALTUM. The solid or semi-solid kinds of bitumen (q.v.)
were termed [Greek: asphaltos] by the Greeks; and by some ancient
classical writers the name of _pissasphaltum_ ([Greek: pissa], pitch)
was also sometimes employed. The asphalt of the Dead Sea (known as
_Lacus Asphaltites_) received considerable notice from early travellers,
and Diodorus the historian states that the inhabitants of the
surrounding parts were accustomed to collect it for use in Egypt for
embalming. In common with other forms of bitumen, asphalt is very widely
distributed geographically and occurs in greater or less quantity in
rocks of all ages. There is some divergence in the views expressed as to
the precise manner of its production, but it may certainly be said that
the principal asphalt deposits are merely the result of the evaporation
and oxidation of liquid petroleum which has escaped from outcropping
strata. The celebrated Pitch Lake of Trinidad was long regarded as the
largest deposit of asphalt in existence, but it is said to be exceeded
in area, if not in depth also, by one in Venezuela. The Trinidad "Lake"
has an area of 99.3 acres, and is sufficiently firm in places to support
a team of horses. The deposit is worked with picks to a depth of a foot
or two, and the excavations soon become filled up by the plastic
material flowing in from below and hardening. The depth of the deposit
is not accurately known. The surface is not level but is composed of
irregularly tumescent masses of various sizes, each said to be subject
to independent motion, whereby the interior of each rises and flows
centrifugally towards the edges. As the spaces between them are always
filled with water, these masses are prevented from coalescing. The
softer parts of the lake constantly evolve gas, which is stated to
consist largely of carbon dioxide and sulphuretted hydrogen, and the
pitch, which is honeycombed with gas-cavities, continues to exhibit this
action for some time after its removal from the lake. The working of the
deposit is in the hands of the New Trinidad Asphalt Company, who hold
the concession up to the year 1930 on payment to the government of a
minimum royalty of L10,000 a year. A circular line of tramway, supported
on palm-leaves, has been laid on the lake to facilitate the removal of
the asphalt. Very large quantities are exported for paving and other
purposes, the annual shipments amounting to about 130,000 tons from the
lake and about 30,000 tons from other properties. The amount of asphalt
in the lake has been estimated at 158,400 tons for each foot of depth,
and if the average depth be taken at 20 ft. this would give a total of
3,168,000 tons; but in 1908, though 1,885,600 tons had been removed in
the previous thirty-five years, there was but little evidence of
reduction in the quantity. The Venezuelan deposit already referred to is
in the state of Bermudez, and the area of it is reported to be more than
1000 acres. The asphalt of Cuba is a well-known article of commerce, of
which 7252 tons was exported to the United States in 1902. The principal
deposits are near the harbour of Cardenas (70 ft. thick), in the Pinar
del Rio, near Havana (18 ft. thick), at Canas Tomasita (105 ft. thick);
and a specially pure variety near Vuelta.
The comparative composition of Trinidad and Cuba asphalt is given in the
following table:--
+---------------------+---------+------------+------------+
| | Refined | Refined | Refined |
| |Trinidad,|Cuba (soft),|Cuba (hard),|
| | Melting | Melting | Melting |
| |point 185| point 115 | point 160 |
| | deg. F. | deg. F. | deg. F. |
+---------------------+---------+------------+------------+
| Water. | 0.17 | 0.13 | 0.11 |
| Volatile bitumen. | 51.81 | 64.03 | 8.34 |
| Sulphur. | 10.00 | 8.35 | 8.92 |
| Ash (earthy matter).| 28.30 | 19.51 | 16.60 |
| Fixed carbon. | 9.72 | 7.98 | 66.03 |
| +---------+------------+------------+
| | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 |
+---------------------+---------+------------+------------+