AS'PIRA'TOR (Lat. ad, to + spirare, to breathe I . An apparatus used to draw air or other gases through bottles or similar vessels, which 'finds extensive use in the examination of gases by chemists. The simplest form con- sists of a tight vessel filled with water, with a stopcock connected with the upper end, and a second stopcock at the lower end. By opening these two stopcocks, the suction produced by the passage of the water out of the lower open- ing draws the gas into the receptacle. Various forms of apparatus based on this principle are used for industrial purposes.
ASPIROZ, as-pe'roth, Manuel de ( 183G — ) .
A ilexican statesman and diplomat. He was
born at Puebla, and graduated in 1855 at the
University of Mexico.' He fought in the war
against the French, and in 1SG7 was appointed
Assistant Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
in the newly established republic. From 1873
to 1875 he "was Mexican consul at San Fran-
cisco, and in 1875 was elected to the Senate.
He was a professor of law in the College of
Puebla from 1883 to 1800; again became As-
sistant Secretary of State for Foreign Afl'airs
in 1890; and iii 1899 succeeded Senor Romero
as Mexican Ambassador to the United States.
His works include Codigo de extranjeria de los
Estados-Vnidos ilexicanos (1876) and La liber-
fad civil como hase del derecho internacional
privado (1896).
ASPLE’NIUM (Gk. aaTrXipov, aspUnon,
spleenwort, from d, a euphonic + o-ttXij^, splen,
spleen). A genus of ferns, of the order or
sub-order Polvpodiacefe. The species are nu-
merous, there' being about 200, widely diffused
both in the Xorthern and Southern hemi-
spheres. Many of them are of great beauty;
and the small" size of some recommends them
to cultivators of ferns who find themselves
much limited as to space. The species of this
genus may lie readily recognized by their free
veins and" their elongated sori, which are covered by the indusium. Some of the species bear
the English name Spleenwort, as Asplenium
trichomanes, viride, adiantmn - nigrum, etc.,
having been formerly supposed efficacious in
removing obstruction's of the viscera. They
have now fallen completely into disuse, but
were at one time very much employed, princi-
pally in the form of sirupy decoctions. Some
of them, as Asplenium trichomanes and As-
plenium adiantum-nigrum, are frequently called
Maidenhair. At least a dozen species are met
with in the eastern United States, of which the
tall-growing ones, 1 to 4 feet high, Asplenium
filix-fa-mina, Asplenium angustifolium, and As-
plenhwi thehjpleroides are the best known.
They are often cultivated, especially the first
named, of which there are said to be at least
half a hundred varieties. The genus Asplenium
has had a long life-period upon the earth, it
having appeared first during Middle Jurassic
time, since which period it has spread over the
entire land sirface of the globe.
ASPRAMONTE, as'pra-mun'ta. An Italian
epic poem fnimded on thi^ traditional defeat of
the Saracens by Charlemagne near a place called
in the legend Asparamonte. Its author is un-
known, but it was published in 1516, at Milan,
a year after Orlando Furioso.
142 ASS.
ASPROMONTE, as'pro-mOn'ta (It., 'steep
mount'). A mountain near Keggio, in South-
western Italy (ilap: Italy, K 9). It rises 6365
feet above the sea, and is famous on account of the
defeat and capture of Garibaldi by the forces of
Victor Emmanuel, August 29, 1862, which took
place near it.
ASPROPOTAMO, as'pr6-pot'a-m6. See AcHE-
LOUS.
AS'QUITH, Herbert Henry (1852—).
An English statesman, born at Morley, York-
shire. He was educated at the City of London
School and at Balliol College. Oxford. His
college training prepared him especially for the
practice of law. and he was admitted at Lin-
coln's Inn in 1876, and four years afterwards
became a queen's counsel. His political career
began in 1886, when he was elected to Parlia-
ment for East Fife, by which district he was re-
elected in 1892 and in 1895. It was his intro-
duction of the amendment to the Queen's speech
in August, 1892, that led to the dissolution of
Lord Salisbury's Government, and he became
Home Secretji'ry in ilr. Gladst<me's Cabinet
which followed." He served on the Ecclesiastical
Commission until 1S95. His activity and effec-
tiveness during the Home Rule debates made
him the most conspicuous figure in the House.
The position he assumed during the labor
troubles of 1893 won the confidence of Parlia-
ment, and led to his appointment as an arbi-
trator of the strike of the London cabmen in
1894, a difficult office which he. discharged liy
an award that was satisfactory to both sides.
He drew up the bill providing for the dis-
establishment of the Church of Wales intro-
duced in 1894, and supported that measure
until it was rejected by the House. Although
technically a Liberal, and usually a thorough-
going supporter of that party's policies. Jlr.
Asquith declared in a public speech in London,
on June 20, 1901, that he and the branch of the
party he represented favored the Government's
policy in the Boer War; and he contended that
this "attitude did not justify an attack upon his
party loyalty.
ASS (A. S. assa, Goth, asilus, Rus. oselii, Lat.
asinus, probably of Eastern origin; cf. Heb.
athon, she -ass) or Donkey, when domesti-
cated. A member of the family Equida?. and
genus Equus. of horses, zebras, etc. Two species
are recognized by Blanford and other specialists
— one Asiatic iind the other African. Asses
resemble zebras rather than horses, in their less
size, the presence of callosities on the forelegs
alone, and the shortness of the hairs of the
mane and tail, the latter (rather long) bearing
mainly a terminal tuft. They differ from the
zebras in color, in not having stripes (except
as hereafter mentioned) and in having some-
what longer ears — but never so long as in the
donkey. Both species roam desert regions in
small" bands, and are extremely hardy, agile,
and swift. Their colors are pale, harmonizing
with their surroundings, and their voices are
between the neighing of the horse and the bray-
ing of a donke}'^ Both are killed for food, and
occasionally captured, bxit are intractable.
Asiatic ".4ss. The Asiatic ass [Equus hemionus) is distributed over all the arid interior of Asia, from Syria to eastern Mongolia and northern India, although more restricted now
