found chemical changes, with the incorporation of niiilcc'ulc-s of nilrojicn and sulpliur, and in some eases of pliosphurus. C'arboliydrates tlius become convertetl into amides and ]n-oteiJs of various ]<inds. These processes go on most vig- orously in the leaves of the green plants, prob- ably because there is formed by the leaves a good tupply of available carbohydrates, and to them are brought the nitrates and sulphates from which Ihe other atomic groups needed may be obtained. 15ut assimilation may occur wherever there is suitable food and active protoplasm. Like .all other vital processes, it can go on only under certain conditions of temperature, moisture, etc. See Cell; Pbotopl.vsm ; Photosynthesis; Xu- TRITION : Food of Pl.vnts. For assimilation in animals, see Nutrition.
ASSING, iis'sing, Ludmilla (1821-SO). A
German biographer, the niece of Vamhagen von
Ense. She was adopted by her uncle after the
death of her parents and received a superior
education. She wrote for newspapers and re-
views, and in 1857 a biography of Elisa, Coun-
tess von Ahlefeldt. She edited and published,
after her uncle's death, Alexander von Humboldt's
letters to him; also her uncle's memoirs and his
diaries, in fourteen volumes. The political mat-
ter in the diaries so offended the court, that she
was prosecuted and sentenced to eight montJis'
imprisonment. But she had gone to Florence,
and the punishment could not be indicted. She
immediately published the remaining volumes of
tiie obnoxious diary, to which the court answered
by the fonn of a trial and sentence to further im-
prisonment for two years.
ASSING, EosA Mahia (178.3-1840). A Ger-
man poet, sister of Varnhagen von Kn.se. In
181,5 she married Assing, a Kiinigsberg physician,
and settled at Hamburg, where her house soon
became the resort of literary people, of whom one
of the most eminent was the poet Chamisso. Her
poems were issued in the year of her death under
the title, h'ox)i Marias poetischer Nachlass.
ASSINI, as-se'ne. A seaport village and trad-
ing station in the Baule district, French Sudan,
Africa. It lies between Lake Tando and the sea,
on the Ivory Coast, about 120 miles west of Cape
Coast Castie. Population. 3000.
ASSINIBOIA, as-sin'i-boi'a (Ojibwa, asinni,
stone + bird, the Dakota). A district in Canada,
formed in 1882 out of the Northwest Territories,
containing 90,340 square miles (Map: North-
west Territories, G 4). It is bounded on the
north by Saskatchewan, on the east by Manitoba,
on the south by the United States (Montana and
North Dakota) , and on the west by Alberta. The
eastern third of the district belongs to the second
or middle plateau (see Northwest Territories) ,
and has an average elevation of about 1000 feet.
The remainder of the district to the w'est belongs
to the third or west plateau, with an average
elevation approaching 3000 feet. There are
some stretches of level plain, but much of the
surface is broken, some of the hill groups being
very prominent. The northern and eastiim por-
tions of the district are drained by the Sas-
katchewan and Qu'.'Vppclle rivers ; the south-
western portion is drained by -the tributaries of
the Missouri. The precipitation is liglit, and the
tem])erature is subject to great extremes of heat
and cold. The severity of the winters is often
moderated by the warm chinooks from the west.
The greater portion of the district consists of
prairies. The eastern plateau is best ada])ted
to agriculture, there being a great deal of very
fcxcelient wheat land, and mixed farming is prac-
ticable. In this section the agricultural indus-
try has develo]ied considerably in very recent
years. On the western jdateau there is a greater
variety of soils, and it is not so well adapted to
cultivation, but is excellent for grazing purpo.ses.
Lignite is found in a large portion of the dis-
trict, and is mined in the southeast corner. The
Canadian Pacific Railroad runs east and west
through the central ]iortion of the district, and a
branch line runs nortli into Saskatchewan, and
another feeder approaches it from the southeast.
Kegina is the capital of the district, and also of
the Northwest Territories. For further details
see Northwest Territories.
ASSINIBOIN, as-s!n'i-boin ('stone-boilers.'
a name given liy some of the Algonquian tribes.
in allusion to their former method of boiling
water by dropping hot stones into it) . A tribe of
Siouan stock, formerly roving over the plains
between the Missouri and the middle Saskatche-
wan, on both sides of the Canadian border. They
are said to have been originally a seceded band
from the Yankton Sioux, and speak a dialect of
the Sioix language. l)Ut are generally consid-
ered distinct from that tribe. Thej' number about
2670, of whom 1300 are gathered on reservations
at Fort Belknap and Fort Peck, in Jlontana,
while the remainder are on reservations on the
other side of the line in British America.
ASSINIBOINE. A Canadian river, formed
by the junction of the Qu'Appelle and Souris
rivers, in ilaedonald County, Manitoba, whence
it flows northeastward into the Red River at the
city of Winnipeg (Map: Manitoba, K 5). From
the source of its principal headwater, the Iju'Ap-
pelle, in the southeast of the Saskatchewan dis-
trict, to its outlet in the Red River, it has a
course of over 400 miles. The river and the
Assiniboia Territory derive their names from the
Assiniboin Indians. See Assiniboin.
ASSISI, as-se'se (anciently, Umbrian Assisium). An episcopal city in Central Italy, 15 miles east of Perugia (Map: Italy, G 4). It is famous as the birthplace of Saint Francis, whose body rests here in the crypt of the first monastery, of the Franciscan Order, which he founded in 1208. The monastery was suppressed in 1866, and part of the building was converted by the Government into a school for the sons of teachers. Its two churches, built one above the other, also date from the Thirteenth Century, and contain many old and valuable paintings and other objects of interest. Besides the 'convento sacro,' there are eleven other monasteries, of which the largest is the Portiuneula, which has a richly decorated church, with a cupola by Vignola. Every year, at the beginning of August, Assisi is visited by great numbers of pilgrims. .Vssisi has remains of the ancient Assisium, including the foruin, the baths, and the aqueducts. In the piazza there stands a beautiful portico of the ancient temple of Minerva. There are olive groves and mineral springs in the vicinity. The manufactures are insignificant. Pojmlation, in 1S81, 6704; in moi (commune) , 17,378. Consult Cruikshank, The Umhrian Towns (London, 1901).
