The following is a comparison of Trinidad and Venezuela (Bermudez) asphalt:—
| Refined Trinidad. | Refined Bermudez. | |
| Specific gravity at 60° F. | 1.373 | 1.071 |
| Bitumen soluble in carbon bisulphide | 61.507% | 92.22% |
| Mineral matter (ash) | 34.51% | 1.50% |
| Non-bituminous organic matter | 3.983% | 1.28% |
| Portion of total bitumen soluble in alcohol | 8.24% | 11.66% |
| Portion of total bitumen soluble in ether | 80.01% | 81.63% |
| Loss at 212° F. | 0.65% | 1.37% |
| Loss at 400° F. in ten hours | 7.98% | 17.80% |
| Loss at 400° on total bitumen | 12.811% | 18.308% |
| Evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen at | 410° F. | none at 437° F. |
| Softening-point | 160° F. | none at 113° F. |
| Flowing-point | 192° F. | none at 150° F. |
Asphalt in its purest forms is generally black or blackish brown in colour, and is frequently brittle at ordinary temperatures. Apart from its principal use in the manufacture of paving materials, it is largely employed in building as a “damp-course” and as a water-excluding coating for concrete floors, as well as in the manufacture of roofing-felt. It also enters largely into the composition of black varnish. The material chiefly used in the construction of asphalt roadways is an asphaltic or bituminous limestone found in the Val de Travers, canton of Neuchâtel; in the neighbourhood of Seyssel, department of Ain; at Limmer, near the city of Hanover; and elsewhere. The proportion of bitumen present in asphalt rock usually ranges from 7 to 20%, but it is found that rock containing more than 11% cannot be satisfactorily used for street pavements, and it is accordingly customary to mix the richer and poorer varieties in fine powder in such respective quantities that the proportion of bitumen present is from 9 to 10%. The richer rock is utilized as a source of asphalt “mastic,” which is employed for footpaths, floors, roofs, &c. Excellent foundations for steam-hammers, dynamos and high-speed engines are made of asphaltic concrete.
(B. R.)
ASPHODEL (Asphodelus), a genus of the lily order (Liliaceae), containing seven species in the Mediterranean region. The plants are hardy herbaceous perennials with narrow tufted radical leaves and an elongated stem bearing a handsome spike of white or yellow flowers. Asphodelus albus and A. fistulosus have white flowers and grow from 1½ to 2 ft. high; A. ramosus is a larger plant, the large white flowers of which have a reddish-brown line in the middle of each segment. Bog-asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum), a member of the same family, is a small herb common in boggy places in Britain, with rigid narrow radical leaves and a stem bearing a raceme of small golden yellow flowers.
In Greek legend the asphodel is the most famous of the plants connected with the dead and the underworld. Homer describes it as covering the great meadow (ἀσφόδελος λειμών), the haunt of the dead (Od. xi. 539, 573; xxiv. 13). It was planted on graves, and is often connected with Persephone, who appears crowned with a garland of asphodels. Its general connexion with death is due no doubt to the greyish colour of its leaves and its yellowish flowers, which suggest the gloom of the underworld and the pallor of death. The roots were eaten by the poorer Greeks; hence such food was thought good enough for the shades (cf. Hesiod, Works and Days, 41; Pliny, Nat. Hist. xxi. 17 [68]; Lucian, De luctu, 19). The asphodel was also supposed to be a remedy for poisonous snake-bites and a specific against sorcery; it was fatal to mice, but preserved pigs from disease. The Libyan nomads made their huts of asphodel stalks (cf. Herod. iv. 190).
No satisfactory derivation of the word is suggested. The English word “daffodil” is a perversion of “asphodel,” formerly written “affodil.” The d may come from the French fleur d’affodille. It is no part of the word philologically.
See Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopädie, s.v.; H.O. Lenz, Botanik der alten Griechen und Römer (1859); J. Murr, Die Pflanzenwelt in der griechischen Mythologie (1890).