Aristolochiaceæ, a native of Europe, growing in woods; rare, and perhaps not truly indigenous, in Great Britain. The whole plant has acrid properties; the roots and leaves are aromatic, purgative, and emetic. The use of Asarabacca. however, as an emetic has been much super- seded by that of Ipecacuanha, which is milder and safer. The powdered roots and leaves en- ter into the composition of cephalic snuffs, which cause sneezing, and are employed as a counter- irritant in cases of headache, ophthalmia, tooth- ache, etc. The plant contains a volatile oil and a crystalline substance called asarin, to which it seems to owe its active properties. The genus Asarum is distinguished by twelve horned stamens, distinct from each other and from the style, and by a bell-shaped three- lobed perianth. Asarum europæum has a very short stem, with two shining kidney-shaped leaves on long stalks, from the axil of which springs a single drooping greenish-purple flower. A nearly allied species, Asarum Canadense, a native of the United States, is stimulant and diaphoretic, and is used under the name of Canada Snakeroot, instead of Aristolochia ser- pentaria. It is also called Wild Ginger and used as a spice, being of a warm aromatic qual- ity, and not acrid like its European congener.
AS'ARUM. See Asarabacca.
ASBEN, as-ben'. See Air.
ASBES'TIC. A name given to a mixture of second-grade asbestos and serpentine, obtained as a by-product in asbestos mining. The material is crushed and mixed with lime to form a light, strong, fireproof wall-plaster, which can be given an excellent finish.
Asbes'tolith is a somewhat similar material, made from short-fibred asbestos, used for flooring and fireproofing. See Asbestos.
ASBES'TOS (Gk. da/Sfarof, inextinguishable,
incombustible, from a, a negat. + ajSevnivai,
sheiini/nni, to extinguish). A fibrous mineral,
used chiefly for protection against heat, its
structure permitting it to be matted or woven.
The asbestos of commerce belongs to two mineral
species — viz., true asbestos and chrysolite. The
former is a variety of amphibole (q.v.), closely
allied to tremolite, actinolite, and hornblende.
It is a silicate of magnesia and lime together,
and iron-oxide and its fibres are sometimes com-
bined together in a compact mass, sometimes
easily separable, elastic, and flexible. It is gen-
erally of a whitish or greenish color. The variety
known as Rock-cork, resembling vegetable cork,
is soft, easily cut, and lighter than water.
Rock-leather and Rock-wod are varieties of
true asbestos, somewhat similar to Rock-cork,
but not so light. Chrysolite, the second mineral
called asbestos, is a fibrous variety of ser-
pentine, a silicate of magnesia. The Italian
product is true asbestos, Canadian asbestos
being chrysolite. The finest variety of asbes-
tos, with easily separable fibres, is called ami-
anthus (Gk. unpollutable). Amianthus cloth
was indestructible by fire, and was used by the
ancients to enwrap dead bodies placed on the
funeral pile, in order to preserve the ashes of
the body. Asbestos deposits of commercial value
occur in Italy. Tasmania, New South Wales,
Canada, and the United States. Asbestos is
now employed for boiler coverings, for the radi-
ating surfaces of heating apparatus, as an ab-
sorbent in lamps, as an insulator in electric
mechanisms, and for a great many other pur-
poses in connection with manufactures, such as
making paint, which forms an almost fireproof
coat that protects wood against sparks and
small flames. Cloths made of asbestos are used
for curtains in theatres, for firemen's clothing,
etc. Made into a lining felt, asbestos serves as a
good insulator for heat, and has great value for
packing steam ducts, pistons, hot-air joints, etc.
Asbestos paper and board is made in much the
same manner as ordinary paper and pasteboard,
by reduction of the mineral to pulp, and sub-
sequent pressing, drying, etc. The asbestos pro-
duced in Canada is almost pure white, and has
long fibres. It can be spun into fine thread and
woven into rope or yarn. Although the prop-
erties of asbestos were known to the ancients,
and even to some extent utilized by them, the
substance has been extensively employed for
practical purposes only in recent times. Most
of the American supply of asbestos is obtained
from Canada. See the articles Amphibole; Serpentine; and Asbestic: and consult Jones, Asbestos. Its Properties and Uses (London. 1890); article on "Asbestos" in Mineral Industry, Vol.
VI. (New York. 1897).
ASBJÖRNSEN, ȧs-byẽrn′sen, Peter Christen (1812-85). A distinguished Norwegian student of folk-lore and zoölogy, born at Christiania. He studied at Christiania University, and taught for several years. He made long journeys on foot for scientific purposes, in the course of which he collected popular tales and legends, which, in coöperation with his friend Jörgen Moe, the future Bishop of Christiansand (1838), he published, and later several times
supplemented (Norwegian Folk Tales, 1842-44;
Norwegian Fairy Tales and Folk Legends, 1845).
His scientific researches earned him traveling
stipends at intervals from 1846 to 1853. He
then studied forestry, and held various official
positions in connection with the forest and turf
industries from 1860 to 1876, when he was
pensioned. He made several important discoveries
in deep-sea soundings, and wrote on zoölogy and
other scientific subjects; but this side of his work
is quite overshadowed by work in folk-lore,
which shows literary talent and much originality.
He did not, like the Grimms and Arnason,
aim merely at reproduction, but retold the
stories in settings that illustrated the life and mental
horizon of the people, with exquisite bits of
natural description that found immediate and
wide recognition.
ASBOTH, ŏsh'bōt, Sándor (Alexander)
(1811-68). A Hungarian-American soldier.
After fighting under Kossuth (1848-49), he
accompanied him to America in 1851, and became
a citizen of the United States. During the Civil
War he commanded divisions under Frémont
and Curtis, as brigadier-general, and was
seriously wounded at the battles of Pea Ridge
(March 7-8, 1862) and Marianna (September
27, 1864). He resigned with the brevet rank of
major-general (August, 1865), and was United
States Minister to the Argentine Republic (1866-68),
where he died of his wounds.
ASBURY, az1)er-i. Francis (1745-1816). The first bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church ordained in the United States. He was born at Hamstead Bridge, 4 miles northwest
