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ASIPHONATA 300 ASPARAGUS Asiatic steppe, more adapted for the flocks and herds of nomadic tribes than for agriculture; while the coasts, rich in all European products, fine fruits, olives, wine, and silk, have quite the character of the S. of Europe, which on the warmer and drier S. coast shades into that of .A XT* 103. The ' inhabitants, some 10,000,000 in number, consist of the most various races. The dominant race are the Os- manli Turks, who number 7,000,000, and are spread over the whole country; allied to these are the Turkomans and Yuruks, speaking a dialect of the same language. There are also hordes of nomadic Kurds. Among the mountains E. of Trebizond are the robber tribes of the Lazes. Under Turkish rule the administration of the country fell into eight vilayets or governments, with their capitals in Brusa, Smyrna, Konieh (Iconium), Ada- na, Sivas, Angora, Trebizond, and Kas- tamuni respectively. Here was the early seat of Grecian civilization, and here were the countries of Phrygia, Lycia, Caria, Paphlagonia, Bithynia, Lydia, Pamphylia, Isauria, Cilicia, Galatia, Cappadocia, etc., with Troy, Ephesus, Smyrna, and many other great and famous cities. Here, from the obscure era of Semiramis (about 2,000 years B. c), to the time of Osman (about 1,300 A. D.), the greatest conquerors of the world contended for supremacy; and here took place the wars of the Medes and Persians with the Scythians; of the Greeks with the Persians ; of the Romans with the Mithridates and the Parthians; of the Arabs, Seljuks, Mongols and Os- manli Turks with the weak Byzantine Empire. Here Alexander the Great and the Romans successfully contended for the mastery of the civilized world. But, notwithstanding all these wars, the country still continued to enjoy some measure of prosperity till it fell into the hands of the Turks, under whose military despotism its ancient civilization was sadly brought to ruin. For conditions in Asia Minor which resulted from the World War, see Armenia; Greece; Tur- key; AzERBAiDJAN, REPUBLIC OF; and World War. ASIPHONATA, or ASIPHONIDA, an order of lamellihranchiate , bivalve mol- lusks, destitute of the siphon or tube through which, in the siphonata, the water that enters the gills is passed out- ward. It includes the oysters, the scal- lop shells, the pearl oyster, the mussels, and in general the most useful and valu- able mollusks. ASKABAD, the administrative center of the Russian province of Transcaspia, Turkestan, on the Trans-Caspian rail- way, situated in the Akhal Tekke oasis, and occupied by Skobeleff in January, 1881, after the sack of Geok Tepe. Its distance from Merv is 232 miles, from Herat 388 miles. It is of considerable commercial importance. Pop. about 50,000. ASKJA (ask'ya), a volcano near the center of Iceland, first bl-ought into notice by an eruption in 1875. Its crater is 17 miles in circumference, surrounded by a mountain-ring from 500 to 1,000 feet high, the height of the mountain itself being between 4,000 and 5,000 feet. ASMON^ANS (az-mon-e'ans), a fami- ly of high priests and princes who ruled over the Jews for about 130 years, from 153 B. c, when Jonathan, son of Mat- tathias, the great-grandson of Chasmon or Asmonaeus, was nominated to the high priesthood. They were also known as the Maccabees. ASOKA, an Indian sovereign, who reigned 255-223 B. C. over the whole of northern Hindustan, grandson of Chan- dragupta or Sandracottus. He embraced Buddhism, and forced his subjects also to become converts. ASP, or ASPIC, the kind of serpent peculiar to Egypt and Libya, which has obtained great celebrity from having been chosen by Cleopatra to give her an easy death. Its poison is so quick and deadly in its operation that it kills with- out a possibility of applying any remedy. It is believed to have been the naia haje. It is the same genus as the cobra capelio, but differs in having the neck less wide, and having the color greenish, bordered with brown. It is probably the asp (aspis) of the New Testament (Rom iii: 13). The common asp or cherssea (viperoi aspis) is olive above, with four rows of black spots. Its poison is severe. It is common in southern Europe, the Alpine region, and is found as far north as Sweden. ASPARAGTTS, a plant of the ordet liliaccx, the young shoots of which, cut as they are emerging from the ground, are a favorite culinary vegetable. In Greece, and especially in the southern steppes of Russia and Poland, it is found in profusion; and its edible qualities were esteemed by the ancients. It is usually raised from seed; and the plants should remain three years in the ground before they are cut; after which, for 10 or 12 years, they will continue to afford a regular annual supply. The beds are protected by straw or litter in winter. Its diuretic properties are aa-