ASCH-ASCHAM.

ASCH, ásh: t. in the w. of Bohemia, 14 m. w.n.w. from Eger. It has cotton, silk and woolen manufactures. Pop. (1880) 13,209.

ASCHAFFENBURG, á shaf fen-borg': chief t. on the right bank of the Maine, in the Bavarian district of Unterfranken; lat. 50° 1′ n., long. 9° 7' e. It is built upon an eminence, and has both a healthful and attractive situation; but the streets are narrow, irregular, and slope steeply towards the river. The castle of Johannisberg, built 1605-14, by Johann Schweikhardt, elector of Mentz, and the favorite hunting residence of many of his successors, forms a quadrangle, with towers at each corner, and overlooks the whole town. Besides the collegiate church, the military barracks, and the town hospital, A. possesses a Roman villa, built by King Louis I., 1849, in imitation of the Castor and Pollux edifice discovered at Pompeii. A. is celebrated for its manufacture of colored papers; it has considerable trade in wood, building-stone, tobacco, wine, etc. A. existed as early as the invasion of Germany by the Romans, who built a castle here. In 974, Otto I., Duke of Swabia and Bavaria, founded the collegiate church, which greatly increased the prosperity of the place. After Otto's death the town came into the possession of the abps. of Mentz, and remained with them until the dissolution of the Germanic empire. In 1814, with the principality of which it is the capital, it was ceded to Bavaria. Pop. (1880) 12,152, principally Rom. Cath.

ASCHAM, ǎs'kam, ROGER: 1515-68; b. Kirby Wiske, Yorkshire: distinguished English writer and classical scholar. He received his early education in the family of Sir Anthony Wingfield, and in 1530 entered St. John's College, Cambridge, where he took his degree of B.A., 1534. The study of the classics, especially Greek, had recently been revived at Cambridge, and the natural bent of A. impelled him with ardor to these studies. His reputation as a classical scholar soon brought him numerous pupils; and in lack of a Greek chair at that time, he was appointed by the univ. to read lectures in the public schools. He at first opposed the then new method of pronunciation, still used in England; but afterwards adopted and defended it. His leisure hours were given to music, penmanship, and archery. In defense of the latter art, he wrote, in 1544, a treatise entitled Toxophilus, the pure English style of which, independently of its other merits, ranks it with classical English literature. For this treatise, dedicated to Henry VIII., he was rewarded with an annual pension of £10, equivalent to about £100 of the present money. About the same time, he was appointed university orator. In 1548, on the death of his former pupil, Grindal, he was called to supply his place as master of languages to the Lady Elizabeth. In this office he gave the highest satisfaction; but at the end of two years abruptly resigned it, on account of some offense he had taken at some persons in the princess's household. That he did not lose favor at court, however, is manifest, from his

ASCHERSLEBEN-ASCIDIA,

having soon been appointed secretary to Sir Richard Mory. sin, ambassador to the court of Charles V. He spent three years in Germany, and published an account of his observations in that country. He also made a short tour in Italy. During his absence, he had been appointed Latin secretary to Edward VI. On his return, after the death of the king, the interest of Gardiner, Bp. of Winchester, secured his appointment to the same office under Mary; his pension also was doubled. His prudence and moderation preserved him from offending by his Protestantism. After the death of Mary, Elizabeth retained him at court in the double capacity of secretary and tutor, which he discharged till his death. His principal work, The Schoolmaster, a treatise on classical education, was pub., 1571, by his widow. His Latin letters and poems have been frequently reprinted. The best edition of the former is that of Elstob (Oxford, 1703). To an edition of his English works, by the Rev. J. Bennet (1767), is prefixed a life by Dr. Johnson.

ASCHAM, a case for the reception of the bow, arrows. strings, and other accoutrements of the archer, derives its name from the author of the Toxophilus.

ASCHERSLEBEN, ásh-ers-lā'ben: t. in the dist. of Magdeburg, prov. of Prussian Saxony; lat. 51° 46′ n., long. 11° 27' e.; on the river Eine; 32 m. distant from Magdeburg. The inhabitants are occupied chiefly in agriculture and gardening; its trade is not very important. It has, however, considerable manufactures of woolens, linens, earthenware, etc. Pop. (1880) 19,501; (1890) 22,865.

ASCIDIA, n. plu. ăs-sid'i-ă, or ǎs-kid'i-ă, or AscID'IANS, n. plu. -i-ǎnz [Gr. askidion, a little bag]: small marine organisms, belonging (with the Salpida) to the Tunicata. The classification of the Tunicata has been much debated. Once grouped with the Mollusca, they, the Polyzoa, and Brachiopoda were subsequently separated from the mollusks, and made to constitute the Molluscoidea; while recently the affinities of the A. with the Vertebrata have had special interest in connection with the theory of development. See MOLLUSCA: POLYZOA: ZOOLOGY: DARWINIAN THEORY. The ascidians, with the other Tunicata, are acephalous, or destitute of a head, and are enclosed, not in a shell, but in an elastic tunic with two orifices, composed of a substance apparently identical with the cellulose of plants, consisting only of carbon and hydrogen. Within the external tunic is a muscular membrane, regarded as corresponding to the mantle of other mollusca, and the openings of which agree with those of the tunic. The greater part of the cavity of the mantle forms a branchial sac, the lining of which, folded in various ways, constitutes the gills (branchia); and into it, by the respiratory movements, currents of sea-water are continually brought, passing out through the vent or anal orifice. Multitudino cilia in the mouth and branchial sac cause by their action this continual flow of water. The motion of the cilia is apparently quite involuntary. By this flow

ASCIDIA.

of water, the particles of food requisite for the animal are brought in, so that the aeration of the blood and the supply of the stomach are carried on together and by the same means. The esophagus or gullet opens from the branchial sac, which is indeed regarded as probably an expansion of the upper part of it-a dilated pharynx. Under the branchial sac is the stomach; and the alimentary canal, which is more or less tortuous, finally returns upon itself, so that the two orifices are not far separate. The liver consists of follicles produced into tubes, and

communicating with the stomach by

a a single opening. There is a heart and a circulation of blood, with the remarkable peculiarity of alternations in its course, the circulation every now and then pausing and being reversed. The transparency of many of the ascidians permits these and other internal movements to be easily observed. The nervous system is very simple, consisting of a single ganglion, situated between the mouth and the anal orifice, sending out filaments to both of them, and other branches over the surface of the mantle. The mantle is capable of contracting suddenly to eject a ganglion; d, the man- jet of water, and with it any body tle (the external tunic the presence of which is disagreebeing removed). able. The mantle contracts and ejects water, also when the animal is touched, and this appears to be the only means of defense. There is no

Nervous System of
Ascidian.

a, mouth; b, vent; c,

trace of eyes or other organs of special sense.

The ascidians are found in all seas, and often constitute an important part of the food of fishes. Some of them are occasionally used as human food, as Cynthia microcosmus on the shores of the Mediterranean. Many of them

Section of Social Ascidian.

a, mouth; b, vent; c; stomach; d, intestinal canal;
e, common tubular stem.

are very small, but some attain a size of five or six inches in diameter, and when touched eject water to a considerable height, the largest of them to about three feet. They are all fixed by the base, in their mature state, to some