Asia, the largest of the recognized continental divisions of the globe. The name, which was originally used in a much more limited sense than at present, comes to us from the Greeks, though believed by many to be of Semitic origin; its import is still a matter of question. The estimates of the area of Asia differ very considerably. That of Elisee Reclus gives the extent of the continents as follows, in square miles: Asia, 16,771,879; America, 14,902,989; Africa, 11,244,958; Europe, 3,822,320; Australia, 2,972,916; total, 49,725,062. Thus, considering Australia a continent, Asia comprehends almost exactly one third of the solid land of the globe, exclusive of the great groups of islands called Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. In this estimate the Japanese islands are regarded as belonging to Asia, although separated from the continent by considerable channels. Asia, thus considered, is bounded by the Arctic ocean, the Pacific, the Indian ocean, the Red sea, the Mediterranean, the Archipelago, the Black and Caspian seas, and European Russia. On the extreme N. E. it is cut off from America only by the narrow Behring strait.

Between Asia and Africa the only connection is the isthmus of Suez. The separation between Europe and Asia is rather geographical than physical or political, the low range of the Ural mountains, which for the greater part forms the nominal line, being little more than a watershed, and running almost midway through the Russian empire. Europe is physically a corner arbitrarily cut off from the northwest of the great Asian continent. The bulk of Asia forms a solid square lying between the Arctic circle and the tropic of Cancer, and lon. 65° and 120° E. Among the projections from this solid square on the west are the peninsulas of Asia Minor and Arabia; on the north, the Siberian capes; on the east, the N. E. extremity of Siberia, with its southern prolongation of Kamtchatka and the peninsula of Corea; on the south, India and the Malay peninsula. Asia as a whole forms a great trapezium, its main axis running N. E. to S. W., chiefly through Siberia, the intersecting line passing N. and S., nearly on the meridian of 100°, from Siberia on the north, in lat. 78°, to the S. extremity of the Malay peninsula on the south, almost under the equator.

Including the Japanese islands, and a few others which may be properly considered as belonging to the continent, Asia thus extends from lat. 78° N. to the equator; or, including the islands of Sumatra and Java, and some minor insular prolongations of the Malay peninsula, to lat. 10° S.; and from lon. 26° E. to 190° E., equivalent, counted in the other direction, to 170° W. Asia thus includes every climate of the globe, and all varieties of soil and production. The coast is deeply indented on every side. On the west it is cut into by the Mediterranean and the Black sea; on the north by numerous bays and gulfs of the Arctic ocean; on the east by the Okhotsk sea, the sea of Japan, the Yellow sea, and the gulf of Tonquin; on the south by the gulfs of Tonquin and Siam, the bay of Bengal, and the Arabian sea, and its prolongation, the Persian gulf. Its entire coast line is somewhat more than 33,000 m.; Reclus puts it at 35,886 in. - The great mountain ranges, which contain many of the loftiest summits on the globe, are arranged in the form of knots, from the central point of which ranges radiate in various directions.

There are four grand systems, the Altai, the Hindoo Koosh, the Himalaya, and the Armenian, which divide the whole continent into a series of plains and plateaus of greater or less elevation. The central point of the Altai group is in the geographical centre of the continent, about lat. 50° N., lon. 90° E. Half way across the continent its median line runs E. and TV. upon the parallel of 50° N., splitting into various folds. It sends a branch S. W., which unites with the Belur Tagh and the Hindoo Koosh; and one N. E., which under the names of the Yablonnoi and Stanovoi runs to the Arctic ocean. The Altai range separates the great northern plain of Siberia from the steppes of Mongolia and Mantchooria. The centre of the Hindoo Koosh range lies in about lat. 35° N., lon. 73° E. It branches eastward, under the names of the Kuen-lun and Karakorum, into Chinese Tartary, and westward to the S. shore of the Caspian, where the range receives the name of Elburz and approaches the Armenian group.

The Hindoo Koosh, with its prolongations, separates the great desert of Gobi from China and Thibet, and divides the steppes of Turkistan from the plateau of Iran. The Himalaya, from the extreme western point, where the Indus cuts through it, to the eastern extremity, where the hills fail altogether on the right bank of the Brahmapootra, measures 2,000 m. in length, with an average breadth of 180 m. The western Himalaya, around the valley of Cashmere, has no peaks exceeding 16,000 or 18,000 ft. in height. In the middle of the range rise the stupendous peaks of Gaurisan-kar or Mt. Everest, 29,002 ft. above the level of the sea, Dhawalagiri, 26,826 ft., and Kinchin-junga, 28,156 ft. Aconcagua in Chili, now held to be the highest peak of the Andes, is 22,422 ft.; its head is therefore a mile and a quarter below that of Mt. Everest. Northward, under the name of Belur Tagh, the Himalaya range is continued between Independent and Chinese Tartary, where it is joined by the Thian-shan mountains, which stretch into the desert of Gobi and the upland plains of Mongolia, and here and there connect with the Altai system.

The eastern extremity of the Himalaya is connected with at least five chains, which radiate fanwise, traversing parts of China and Further India. The Armenian group, of which Ararat is the culminating point, lies in parallel folds at the head of the peninsula of Asia Minor, between the Caspian, the Black sea, and the Mediterranean. It connects N. with the Caucasus, a somewhat isolated chain between the Caspian and Black seas, and in the west forms the Taurus; of its southern branches, the one, Libanus, follows the course of the Mediterranean; the other, running southeastwardly, forms the eastern boundary of the Mesopotamian plain. Besides these main groups are many ranges which claim mention. Among these are the Chang-pe Shan, a coast chain of Mantchooria; the Khingan Oola, on the E. border of the desert of Gobi; the Pe-ling, Nan-ling, Yun-ling, and Yun-nan in China proper; and the Vindhya and Eastern and Western Ghauts in Hindostan. In S. W. Asia there is the chain of the Arabian peninsula, joining on to Libanus. A notable chain branches off in the far northeast, near the arctic circle, traverses the coast of the peninsula of Kamtchatka, and disappears under the ocean, its summits appearing in the Kurile, Japanese, and Loo Choo islands.

It forms the ocean rampart of the continent, enclosing between it and the mainland the seas of Okhotsk and Japan. - Apart from the mountain ranges Asia may be considered as consisting of two vast upland plateaus and six great lowland plains. The eastern plateau is a tract nearly as large as the whole of Europe, including the table land of Thibet and the desert of Gobi, extending N. to the Altai, and S. E. to the gulf of Tonquin. It is separated from Hindostan by the Himalaya range, some of the passes through which are higher than the loftiest peaks of the Alps. Cultivation is here carried on as high as 10,000 ft., and pasturage is found 2,000 ft. higher. On the southeast this table land is bounded by the Yun-nan and other almost unknown alpine ranges of China. On the north it is separated by the Altai mountains from the great plain of Siberia. The western plateau, or Iranian table land, has a general elevation of about 5,000 ft., rising sometimes to 7,000, or sinking to 2,000 or 1,200. It may be divided into three parts: Iran proper or Persia, Armenia, with Azer-bijan and Kurdistan, and Asia Minor. Persia has a mean elevation of 3,000 ft. A large part of its surface consists of salt plains covered with sand and gravel.

In the Armenian division, the table land is compressed to half its more eastern width. Asia Minor, the western division, is bounded along the shores of the Black sea by wooded mountains which rise to the height of 6,000 or 7,000 ft. These sections present many diversities of soil and scenery. A considerable part of Persia is barren and arid, but interspersed with beautiful valleys. The coasts of the Persian gulf are generally sandy and sterile. A large portion of Khora-san and the adjoining regions is a desert of clayey soil, impregnated with salt and nitre, varied here and there with patches of verdure. Beloochistan is mostly an arid plain covered with coarse red sand. The mountainous region of Armenia, extending toward the Black sea, abounds in fertile valleys set among rugged hills. There are several smaller and detached plateaus. Imbedded in the Ural mountains is a large plain rich in minerals. The highlands of Syria rise gradually from the neighboring deserts to an elevation of above 10,000 ft., and slope by a succession of terraces down to the narrow coast plain of Palestine, with a deep depression, the valley of the Dead sea, 1,300 ft. below the level of the ocean.

In India the plateau of the Deccan rises to the height of 1,500 or 2,000 ft., shut off by the Western Ghauts from the level coast of Malabar, by the Eastern Ghauts from that of Coromandel, and by the Vindhya and Malwa mountains from the low plains of Hindostan. There are six great Asian lowlands: 1. That of Siberia on the north, which stretches from the northern declivities of the Altai mountains to the shores of the Arctic ocean. It is mostly cold, barren, and gloomy, hardly fitted for the abode of man. 2. The lowland near the Caspian sea and the Aral, a sterile waste, much of it lying below the level of the ocean. 3. The Syro-Arabian lowland, the southern and western parts a desert, with few green spots. But wherever there is water this lowland is wonderfully productive. Its N. E. section, lying between the Euphrates and the Tigris, known formerly as Mesopotamia and Babylonia, once supported powerful nations. Though now sterile and almost uninhabited, it needs only the restoration of the ancient system of irrigation from the two great rivers to render it one of the most productive regions of the earth. 4. The lowlands of Hindostan, comprising the great Indian desert, in the northwest, together with the fertile plains of Bengal, a region not exceeded even by China for capacity to support a dense population. 5. The Indo-Chinese lowlands, comprising the long levels of Burmah, watered by the Irrawaddy, and the low alluvial regions of Cambodia and Siam. 6. The immense Chinese lowlands, commencing in lat. 40° N., and spreading southward to the tropic of Cancer. This plain, containing an area of about 200,000 sq. m., nearly that of France, supports a population of more than 100,000,000, in proportion double that of England, more by half than that of Belgium, and much more than twice that of any other country in the world, except a portion of India. - The hydrography of Asia is regulated by its mountain ranges.

There are six main river systems: 1. That of Siberia comprises the Obi, the Yenisei, and the Lena, each, roughly speaking, about 2,500 m. long. These carry off the waters of the Altai chain into the Arctic ocean. The Obi, the most western of the great Siberian rivers, is formed by two rivers rising in the Altai range. In lat. 61°, a little N. of the parallel of St. Petersburg, it receives its great affluent the Irtish, and the stream falls into the Arctic ocean in lat. 67°. The double basin of the Obi occupies a third of the area of Siberia. The Yenisei drains an area of about 800,000 sq. m., receiving in its course many large branches. It debouches in lat. 72° into the gulf of Yenisei. The Lena, draining about 700,000 sq. m., rises in the mountains N. of Lake Baikal, runs N. E. for half its course to Yakutsk, receives in lat. 63° the Aldan, its greatest tributary, and thence runs between masses of frozen mud, in which are found the remains of extinct species of the elephant and rhinoceros, falling into the ocean near lat. 73°, nearer to the pole than the mouth of any other great river.

The Obi is the only Siberian river navigable for any distance; but, like all the others, it is frozen over for a great part of the year. 2. The Chinese river system comprises four minor divisions. The Hong-kiang or Si-kiang, rising in the province of Yun-nan, after an E. S. E. course of 1,000 m., falls into the bay of Canton. The Yang-tse-kiang descends in several streams from the Pe-ling mountains, which divide China proper from Tartary. Its length is nearly 3,000 m., a fifth part of which is navigable for large ships. In volume of water it is exceeded only by the Amazon and the Mississippi. It divides China proper into two nearly equal parts, passing through the most populous provinces. Its course is very winding, the general direction being first southeasterly and then northeasterly. It falls into the Yellow sea in lat. 32° N. The Hoang-ho or Yellow river, 2,500 m. long, has its source near that of the Yang-tse-kiang, but for a long distance the rivers are separated by mountain chains which border the table land. They then approach, and in 1851 their mouths were only 100 m. apart. In that year the Hoang-ho burst through its northern banks, and in 1853 its lower course had wholly changed, its present mouth in the gulf of Pe-chi-li being 260 m. N. of the former one.

Nine similar changes are recorded within 2,500 years, the various mouths ranging over a coast line of nearly 350 m. Nearly all of the Chinese rivers are tributaries of these two great streams, the principal exceptions being the Hong-kiang and the Pei-ho or White river, which have their own basins. The Pei-ho, rising near the great wall, becomes navigable a few miles E. of Peking, and is an important channel for trade. It is also connected with the great canal. The Amoor, having its source in Mongolia, for a great part of its course separates Chinese Mantchooria from the Russian Amoor Country. Its lower course is wholly within the Russian dominions. Its length measured along its windings is nearly 2,400 m., or about 1,600 in a direct line. It falls into the sea of Okhotsk, in lat. 53°. 3. Of the Indo-Chinese system, the principal rivers are the Irrawaddy and the Salwen, which water Burmah; the Menam, .which traverses Siam; and the Mekong, or Cambodia, which flows through Anam. These rivers traverse regions little known. 4. The Brahmapootra and the Ganges form a double system.

The Brahmapootra, according to the still doubtful assumption which makes the Dzang-botziu its upper course, rises in the lofty table land of Thibet, its head waters being not far from those of the Indus. After watering the long valley of Thibet, it makes a sudden bend to the south, cuts through the Himalaya chain near its E. end, and falls into the bay of Bengal, its waters near the mouth sometimes interlocking with those of the Ganges. The latter rises on the southern side of the Himalaya, and after running 8. E. through the plains of Bengal, and receiving in its course 12 large rivers, falls into the bay of Bengal. The Brahmapootra and the Ganges drain an area of about 500,000 sq. m., and there is scarcely a spot in Bengal more than 20 m. distant from one of their tributary streams, navigable even in the dry season. 5. The Indus rises near the head waters of the Dzang-botziu, but breaks through the Himalayan chain toward the N. W. end, and after a course of 1,800 m. falls into the Arabian sea, on the opposite side of the peninsula of Hin-dostan. It drains about 350,000 sq. m. 6. The Euphrates and the Tigris, rising in the mountains of Armenia, flow for some distance close to each other, but after descending into the plain diverge to a distance of more than 100 m., again approach, and finally unite, falling into the Persian gulf under the name of the Shat-el-Arab. The region between them is the Mesopotamia of the ancients.

The length of the Euphrates is about 1,800 m.; that of the Tigris, which pursues a more direct course, about 1,150. The basin of the Euphrates and Tigris occupies about 250,000 sq. m. - The lakes of Asia are of less importance than those of America or Africa. The Caspian and the Aral, however, commonly called seas, may more properly be regarded as lakes. The former, 700 m. long and 200 broad, lies 83 1/2 ft. below the level of the Black sea. Although it receives the waters of the Volga, the largest river of Europe, it has no outlet, and its waters are salt. The Aral, 300 m. long and at its centre 150 broad, lies about 40 ft. above the same level; its waters are salt, but less so than those of the Caspian. It is probable that these two lakes were once united. Lake Baikal, in S. Siberia, has an area of about 13,000 sq. m., being, next after Superior, .Michigan, and Huron, the largest body of fresh water on the globe, and lies about 1,400 ft. above the ocean level. Lake Balkash, or Tenghiz, 250 m. long and 70 broad, has an area of upward of 8,000 sq. m., approaching that of Erie. China has six considerable lakes, of which the two largest, Po-yang and Thung-thing, have each an area of about 3,000 sq. m., a third of that of Erie. The Tengrinoor in Thibet is of about the same dimensions.

In Turkish Armenia is the great salt lake of Van. In Persia are the large salt lake of Urumiah, the small fresh-water lake of Hamun, and the little salt lake of Bakhtegan. Lake Asphaltites, or the Dead sea, in Palestine, is notable for its great depression and the exceeding saltness of its waters. - The proportion of Asia practically uninhabitable, either on account of extreme cold or the absence of water, is very great. A considerable part of Siberia lies north of the zone of cultivation. The great sand plain of Gobi, larger than France and England, is practically a desert. E. of the Caspian lies the large sandy desert of Khiva in Turkistan; and a still larger one occupies the centre of Iran. The great peninsula of Arabia is mainly a desert, which stretches northward and includes a considerable part of the plain of the Euphrates, having altogether an area of nearly 1,000,000 sq. m. Between the plains of Hindostan and the left bank of the Indus lies the Indian desert, 400 m. broad. Probably fully a quarter of Asia may be considered a desert region. - The climate of Asia embraces every general variety and every local incident: the rainless and riverless plains of Gobi, and the superabundant moisture of the Indian seacoast; the extremes of heat and cold in Siberia and the steppes; the more equable and agreeable climate of Asia Minor; gradations of temperature indicated both by a latitude ranging from the equator almost to the pole, and by a range of elevation from several hundred feet below the level of the sea to 29,000 feet above it.

In no part of the earth's surface are the modifications of temperature, and consequently of products, more strongly marked; while in some spots the inhabitants behold at one view in their valleys and hillsides the animal and vegetable life of the tropics, of the temperate, and of the frigid zone. The vast plains of Siberia are exposed to the extremes of temperature. In Tobolsk the thermometer for weeks during the summer remains at from 80° to 90°, while the. mean winter temperature is below zero. At Yakutsk the mean annual temperature is 13'43°, while in the summer it rises to 80°. The reason for this extreme variation is the distance of these plains from the ocean. The veil of mist which in more equable climates moderates the intensity of the rays of the summer sun is wanting; while in the winter no breeze laden with moisture is present to temper the extreme cold natural to the high latitude. The prevalent winds are from the southwest. These reach eastern Siberia after having traversed wide stretches of land covered with ice and snow, and being thus deprived of their caloric and moisture, they become cold land winds. This applies to the whole of Asia N. of lat. 35°. Compared with the maritime portions of Europe, the difference is striking.

In Peking, lat. 39° 54', the mean annual temperature is 9° lower than at Naples, which lies a little to the north; and 4.5° lower than at Copenhagen, which is 17° nearer the pole. The rainless plain of Gobi, just N. of and considerably less elevated than Thibet, is exposed to such extremes of temperature that only the hardiest shrubs can exist. The western plateau is also excessively cold in winter and excessively hot in summer. In northern India the great differences in elevation occasion great variations of climate within very moderate distances. Over an immense region one may pass in a single day through all the range of climates; torrid at the foot of the mountains, temperate on their sides, arctic at the top. In southern India regular rainy and dry seasons, occasioned by the monsoons, greatly modify the climate. The direction of the prevailing winds also affects the temperature. On the southern declivity of the Himalayas, in lat. 30° 45', the snow line begins at the elevation of 12,982 ft.; on the northern declivity the warm winds from the Thibetan plateau raise the snow line to 16,030 ft. - Asia is rich in minerals.

Gold is widely diffused in the Ural and Altai mountains, China, Persia, and Japan; silver in Siberia, Cochin China, and India; copper and iron in very many localities; mercury in China, Japan, and India. The island of Banca vies with Cornwall in the production of tin. Coal has been found in northern China and Japan; the area of its production is not ascertained. Petroleum, in its various forms, is abundant in parts of China and India, in Siam and the valley of the Euphrates, and on the shores of the Caspian. Salt is common all over the continent. Precious stones are more widely diffused in Asia than in any other part of the globe, every variety being found. The mines of India have produced nearly all the great diamonds discovered. The most valuable pearls are those found on the coasts of Ceylon and of the Persian gulf. - The geological features of Asia are considered under the special heads of the different countries and mountain ranges. The continent presents fewer traces than any other of volcanic action. Volcanoes are confined mainly to the peninsula of Kamchatka, many of the mountains of which are only masses of lava. The peninsula of Cutch and the delta of the Indus present here and there traces of volcanic action, and are often agitated by subterranean forces.

Mt. Ararat is also a volcanic peak. But the long line of islands forming a prolongation of the Asiatic continent is the great volcanic region; and the Japanese islands are also volcanic. The broken isthmus which connects the Indo-Chinese peninsula with Australia is a great line of fire. From Papua to Sumatra every large island is pierced with one or more volcanic outlets. Java has the largest number. - The flora of Asia, while in general similar to that of the other continents in corresponding latitudes, yet presents some peculiarities. Asia is espe-cially the land of spices, odoriferous gums, and medicinal plants. North of the 60th parallel, the ground is perpetually frozen at a very small depth below the surface. Here and there trees are found as high as 70°; but for the most part the soil is covered with snow and ice for nine or ten months of the year. When this melts the plains are clothed with mosses and lichens, mixed with dwarf willows, and the swamps and morasses with coarse grass, sedges, and rushes. In the far north the plants live between the air and the earth, their tops scarcely rising above the soil, while their roots creep upon the very surface. The few woody plants trail along the ground, rarely rising an inch or two above it.

The salix la-nata, the giant of these miniature forests, never grows more than 5 inches high, while its stem, 10 or 12 feet long, lies hidden among the protecting moss. Somewhat further south, a beautiful flora makes its appearance in the brief hot summer. Potentillas, gentians, saxifrages, ranunculi, artemisias, and many others spring up, blossom, ripen their seed, and die in a few weeks. The Siberian steppes are bounded on the south by forests of pine, birch, and willow. The upper courses of the great rivers are bordered with poplars, elms, and maples. The Siberian pine, with edible seeds, reaches the height of 126 feet; the pinvs cem-bra grows around Lake Baikal almost up to the line of perpetual snow. The greater part of Thibet is sterile. Frost begins early in September and continues till May. In some parts snow falls every month of the year. There are, however, many sheltered spots, heated by radiation from the bare mountain flanks, where grains and fruits of every kind flourish. Wheat, barley, buckwheat, and rice are native; maize has been introduced, and is successfully cultivated. There are olives, pears, apples, peaches, apricots, grapes, mulberries, and currants; the various species of melons are noteworthy for their quality and quantity.

The Himalayan mountains form a distinct botanical district. Immediately below the snow line the vegetation is of an arctic character; lower down there are forests of pine, oak, walnut, and maple; the flowers are mainly species of rhododendron. At an altitude of about 5,000 feet the transition from a temperate to a tropical flora takes place. The transition zone lies between the 35th and 27th parallels of N. latitude, where the tropical flora becomes mixed with that of the temperate zone. The prevailing plants on the Chinese low grounds are glycine, hydrangea, camphor, laurel, the wax tree, cleroden-dron, rose of China, thuja, and olea fragrans, the flowers of which are used to flavor the finest teas. The India pride, paper mulberry, and other plants cover many of the hills. Of the tea plant there are two main species. The one, bearing small leaves, furnishes the tea consumed at home and exported to Europe and America; the other, with larger leaves, furnishes the brick tea consumed mainly in Thibet and N. E. Siberia; as used it is mixed with butter, forming a soup rather than a beverage. Rice is here the most important cereal.

The plains of Hindostan are so completely sheltered from the cold northern winds, and heated and watered by the monsoons, that the vegetation early assumes a tropical character. In the jungles among the lower ridges of the Himalaya ferns and orchidaceous plants abound. Trees of the fig tribe are a special characteristic. Some, as the banian, throw off shoots from their branches, which take root on reaching the ground, and become independent trunks, sending off other branches, which also take root, until a forest is formed around the parent stem. Palms of many kinds abound in India; of some species every part is useful to man. Cotton is of spontaneous growth. The native fruits of India are numerous. The orange, the plantain, the banana, the mango, and the date, areca, palmyra, and cocoanut palms, are all of Indian origin. The flowers are notable for their brilliancy of color. The island of Ceylon, which may be regarded as the southern extremity of the Indian peninsula, is the home of those species of laurel of which the bark constitutes cinnamon and cassia. The flora of Arabia is peculiar, being chiefly marked by the number of the plants producing odoriferous and medicinal gums.

Oceans of barren sand, dotted here and there, wherever water is found, with oases, like islands, cover a great part of Arabia and the adjacent Syria. The prevalent vegetation consists of grasses growing under the shade of the date palms; while plants of the acacia tribe spring up scantily in the arid sand. Coffee, originally brought from Abyssinia to Arabia, has thence been widely diffused; the production in Arabia is small compared with the whole amount. The chief features of the Asiatic flora, excluding the arctic regions, may be thus summed up: The principal forest trees are aloes, bamboo, birch, chestnut, cypress, ebony, fir, gutta percha, ironwood, larch, mangrove, maple, myrtle, oak, palm, pine, poplar, rosewood, sandalwood, teak, and willow. The fruits are almond, apple, apricot, banana, banian, betel, cashew, citron, cocoa, date, fig, grape, guana, guava, lemon, lime, mangosteen, mulberry, olive, orange, pandanus, peach, pear, plantain, plum, pomegranate, shaddock, tamarind, and walnut. The most important spices and condiments are camphor, cassia, cinnamon, clove, mace, and nutmeg. The tea and coffee plants furnish the bulk of the non-alcoholic beverages of the world. The leguminous plants, such as the bean, pea, and lentil, present a great variety of species.

The yam supplies the place of the potato. Cereals are widely diffused in their proper localities. Tobacco has been introduced, and is extensively cultivated. The sugar cane is indigenous. Hemp and flax are produced in large quantities. Among the native drugs are aloes, anise, camphor, datura, jalap, myrrh, opium, and sarsaparilla. - The zoology of Asia covers a wide field. It includes the whole class of domesticated animals. The ass, camel, goat, hog, horse, and ox came from Asia. Of the deer tribe there are many species, from the antelope to the reindeer. The Asiatic elephant differs considerably from its African congener. Besides some special anatomical peculiarities, it is distinguished by the smaller size of the ears and tusks, the latter being often entirely want-ing. In Africa the elephant has probably never been domesticated; in Asia it has from time immemorial been made the servant of man in peace and war. Of oxen there are at least four distinct species: the Indian ox (bos In-dicus), remarkable for its large hump, and held sacred by the Hindoos; the yak (bos grun-niens) of central Asia, used as a beast of burden rather than of draught, notable for its silky tail; the buffalo (bos bubalus\ often found wild, but capable of domestication; and the gayal (bos garaeus) of Indo-China. Among goats, that of Cashmere is famous for its silky hair, from which the costly shawls improperly styled camel's hair are made.

Persia has a peculiar variety of sheep with a fatty tail. Many varieties of dogs exist; among the nobler species are the mastiff of Thibet, used for carrying burdens, and the Persian greyhound. Generally the dog is accounted an unclean animal, but a small species is fattened for food in China, the hams being considered a great delicacy. In India the pariah dog is the principal scavenger. Of the greater carnivora, the lion, leopard, and tiger are the chief. The Asiatic lion is smaller than the African, and lacks the flowing mane which forms the striking feature of the male of the African species. A species of leopard, the cheetah, has been partially tamed, and is used in hunting. The tiger is peculiar to Asia, abounding in the warm plains of the south and east, never crossing the deserts which separate India from Persia, but sometimes straying as far north as Siberia. Wolves and foxes are numerous in the colder, hyaenas and jackals in the warmer regions. There are numerous species of bears; those of the cold regions are large and ferocious; those of the warmer parts are small and inoffensive, living mainly upon insects, fruits, and honey. Among about 422 species of quadrupeds found in Asia, 288 are stated to be peculiar to that continent.

The tropical portions abound in monkeys, of which the species are numerous; some have long tails, some short ones, others none at all; but none have the prehensile tails of some American species. The birds of Asia include eagles, vultures, and falcons, of the predatory orders, with nearly all the varieties of game and domestic fowls, except the turkey. Lizards and other saurian reptiles are numerous in the rivers of the warmer parts of the continent; the gavial is the largest of its species. Pythons and other large serpents are found in the jungles. Of the larger venomous serpents, the cobra de capello is the most dreaded. Of fishes, the sahnonidce are abundant in the northern rivers, constituting the chief food of the natives and their train dogs. The gold fish is a native of China. Of molluscous animals, the pearl oyster claims special notice, found chiefly in the Persian gulf and on the coasts of Ceylon. - Russian Asia includes the whole of the continent north of about 50°, with considerable southern extensions in the extreme east and in the west, reaching beyond 39°, the chief of which is a strip between the Black sea and the Caspian, including Caucasia and some territory acquired from Persia. Russia is slowly extending her domination among the independent tribes toward India, which it threatens to reach at no very distant date.

Chiefly between lat. 50° and 40° lie Turkistan, Mongolia, and Mantchooria, inhabited by tribes which are more or less independent. Chiefly between lat. 40° and 30° lie Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, and Thibet, with China at the east, extending southward to a little below 20°, and the main Japanese islands. Between lat. 30° and 20° lie Arabia, extending southward beyond 13°, southern Persia, Beloochistan, and the northern portions of Hindostan and Further India. South of lat. 20° are the main parts of the Indian peninsulas, the eastern including Burmah, Siam, and Anam, with the Malay peninsula, reaching southward almost to the equator. - The population of Asia is estimated at about 790,000,000, or nearly three fifths of the entire inhabitants of the globe. It is very unequally distributed over the continent. China proper and British India, with an area of less than 2,500,000 sq. m., have upward of 500,000,000; while Siberia, with about 5,000,000 sq. m., has less than 4,000,000. At least half the population of the globe is concentrated in China and India. Ethnologists usually group the inhabitants of Asia into three great classes: 1. The Mongolian race embraces almost all the peoples of the north, east, and southeast, including Siberia, Tartary, China, Thibet, and the Indo-Chinese peninsula, besides the dominant people of Turkey. But while the physical characteristics of the Chinese are similar to those of the Tartars, so great is the distinction between their languages that many have considered them as of a wholly distinct race. 2. The Aryan race embraces the main populations of Hindostan, Afghanistan, Beloochistan, Persia, and Caucasia, besides Russians, Greeks, Armenians, and others in Siberia, Turkey, and elsewhere. 3. The Semitic race includes the Syrians and Arabians, besides Jews in various parts.

The Malay race appears on the continent only in the peninsula of Malacca. (See Ethnology.) Only a small part of the inhabitants of Asia can be properly designated as barbarous, for most of them have from time immemorial possessed a literature and established forms of government. Nor can they be called half civilized with much more propriety than the term might be applied to the ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, Greeks, and Romans. Their civilization, however, assumes a type presenting marked differences from that of Europe and America. Up to a certain point, and in certain directions, the Asiatics made great advances in every department of thought and culture; but that point once reached, the progress of development was checked. In China the laws, literature, art, and industry have remained almost fixed for ages. So, too, although in a somewhat less degree, in India. The changes which have been wrought have sprung from without, from the pressure of foreign races or the influence of a new religion, rather than from a principle of growth from within. Their very languages show a lack of progressiveness. The Chinese language now is the Chinese of 2,000 years ago.

The Arabic of the Koran is the Arabic of to-day. - The religions of Asia fall mainly within three great classes: Buddhism in China and Japan, respectively modified by and mingled with Confucianism and Sintoism; Brahminism in India; and Mohammedanism existing in almost every region, but especially in the Turkish dominions, Persia, and the smaller states of western Asia. The pagans on the one hand, and the Christians and Jews on the other, are too few to be taken into the general account. The Greek church may nom-inallv number 7,500,000, the Roman Catholic 4,500,000, the Protestant 500,000. Religion seems to be almost the only changeable thing in Asia. In two centuries Buddhism became the predominant religion of 300,000,000 people; in half that time Islamism spread from Arabia to Persia, Hindostan, and Tartary; and within a few years Babism, a new religion, has sprung up in western Asia, and is rapidly spreading in Persia, Turkey, and India. (See Babism.) - The political institutions of Asia present a variety of forms, among which the republican and constitutional are not to be found. Strict absolutism is the prevailing form. In many parts of Arabia and Tartary various nomadic tribes have a patriarchal government, under their own chiefs, although they nominally recognize a higher authority.

In the true sense, only Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, China, Japan, Burmah, Siam, and Anam can be called independent countries. All others are more or less dependent upon the great empires of Asia or Europe. In China the government is an absolute mon-archy. More than a third of the continent is under the government of Russia and England. The most extraordinary foreign conquest is that by the British, which in a century and a quarter has made England mistress of more subjects than were ever ruled by any Roman emperor. Compared with the British posses-sions, those of the French in Cochin China and the Portuguese in India and at Macao in China are quite insignificant, while Holland and Spain possess only islands near the continent. Turkey should be considered an Asiatic power with possessions in Europe, rather than a European power with possessions in Asia. Great Britain, Russia, France, and Portugal are therefore the only European powers who hold any portion of Asia. The principal political divisions of Asia may be classified as follows, placing the independent powers first in the order of their importance, and grouping some of the minor ones together: 1. China proper, with the islands of Formosa and Hainan. Chinese dependencies: Thibet, Chinese Tartary, Mongolia, Mantchooria, and Corea. 2. Turkey in Asia: Asia Minor, Turkish Armenia, Syria, Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, and part of Arabia. 8. Japan. 4. Persia. 5. Arabia. 6. Afghanistan, Herat, Beloochistan. 7. Further India: kingdoms of Anam, Burmah, and Siam. 8. Turkistan: khanates of Bokhara, Khiva, Kokan, and Koondooz. 9. Russian Asia: Siberia, Amoor Country, Russian Turkistan, Caucasia. 10. British India and native states under British influence. 11. French possessions: Cochin China, Pondicherry. 12. Portuguese possessions: Goa, Macao. Only roughly approximate statements of the area and population of most of these divisions can be given, for which reference is made to the separate articles upon them. - Asia is regarded as the birthplace of mankind.

It is the cradle of all the great religious movements - of Hindoo pantheism and Buddhism, Hebrew monotheism and Persian dualism, Christianity and Mohammedanism - and the earliest seat of science and literature. Here flourished in hoary antiquity the secluded empire of China, and the Aryan communities which produced Zoroaster and the Vedas, and reared the stupendous monuments of Ilindo-stan. Asia was the seat of the Assyrian, Chaldean, Median, Persian, Syrian, and Parthian empires. The names of Babylon and Nineveh, of Jerusalem, Sidon, Tyre, Palmyra, and Anti-och, of Susa, Ecbatana, Persepolis, Ctesiphon, and Seleucia, of Sardis, Ephesus, and Miletus, keep before our minds the ancient glories of Asiatic power and culture; while in after ages Bagdad, Bassorah, Damascus, Aleppo, and even the distant Samarcand and Balkh in the wilds of central Asia, bespeak the progress of Asiatic civilization and intelligence. Phoenicia was the great teacher of Greece and the other countries bordering on the Mediterranean. When western civilization had been developed, Asia Minor was the theatre where Asia and Europe met. Persia and Hellas for a century and a half wrestled for supremacy, until semi-Hellenic Macedonia established her sway over both.

The Seleucidse of Syria became the successors of Alexander in the East, but finally yielded to the Parthians on one side and the Romans on the other. Rome extended her power to the Euphrates, and Asian Nicomedia was for a time a favorite seat of her emperors. In neighboring Nicasa Constantino had the dogmas of her new religion, received from Jerusalem, established. But Arabia produced a new faith and a new race of conquerors, and the caliphs triumphed over the Coesars of the East, and restored power to its ancient seats on the Euphrates, Tigris, and Orontes. Reestablished Persia was merged in their dominions. Sultan Mahmoud of Ghuzni conquered Afghanistan, and carried Mohammedanism beyond the Indus. In the west of Asia the cross, about a century later, began a deadly struggle with the crescent, which lasted for ages, and terminated with the total discomfiture of the crusaders. Turkish tribes, Seljuks and others, had in the meanwhile become the chief rulers of Moslem Asia. But now a vast human flood, under Genghis Khan, surged in from the plains of eastern Asia, overwhelmed China, India, and western Asia, and rolled on as far as the centre of Europe, thus renewing the devastations of the Huns and other northern Asiatic tribes who desolated the West-Roman empire before its fall.

The Mongols retired from Germany, but their yoke remained firmly fixed on Russia, where the Golden Horde held sway for more than 200 years. In Bagdad they terminated the dynasty of the Abbasside caliphs. At the same epoch they established the successors of Genghis Khan on the throne of Afghanistan and northern India, and thus gave rise to the great empire of which Delhi afterward became the capital. The great body of the Mongols themselves embraced Buddhism. The Mongols of India adopted Mohammedanism. By the same irruptive movement, the native dynasty of the Chinese was displaced, and a Mongol line of sovereigns set up in their stead, of whom Kublai Khan was the first and ablest. The conquests of these fierce tribes, which had penetrated from the Chinese wall to Silesia and the shores of the Mediterranean, induced a feeling of terror in Christendom. Attempts were made by missionaries, sent into the heart of Asia, to establish friendly relations with the Mongols. Marco Polo also travelled in central Asia and Mongolia, and, after residing for a period at the court of Kublai Khan, the conqueror of China, brought home admirable accounts of central Asia, China, and India. The vast Mongolian empire of Genghis had, after a few generations, crumbled into pieces.

The tribes from whom the guards of the throne and persons of the caliphs had been chosen had assumed the position of independent conquerors, and had founded the Ottoman empire. In 1299 Othman led his followers into the ancient province of Bithynia, nearly opposite Constantinople, and made Brusa his capital. Amurath and his son Bajazet soon overran the provinces of Asia Minor, and crossing into Europe possessed themselves of the Byzantine provinces. A new invasion of the Mongols under Tamerlane now swept over Asia and overthrew Bajazet (1402), but Amurath II. restored the Ottoman power, and his successor Mohammed II. established himself in Constantinople (1453). Under Solyman the Magnificent (1520-'66), the Ottoman empire reached its present limits, comprising Asia Minor, Syria, the country as far as the Tigris, and a part of Arabia. A quarter of a century after the permanent establishraent of Mohammedanism in Constantinople, Bernardo Diaz doubled the Cape of Good Hope (1480). Two years later Vasco da Gama arrived at Calicut, and afterward Almeida and Albuquerque were sent out and formed Portuguese settlements, Goa being captured and made their capital (1510). At this period China was in the hands of a Chinese dynasty, which had been established in 1358 by the extirpation of the Tartar rulers.

In central Asia the thrones of Samarcand, Ispahan, Afghanistan, and Khorasan were filled by descendants of Genghis or Tamerlane. A number of petty chiefs maintained their independence; and the Uzbecks, the successors to the country of the Turks, harassed all the territories within their reach. In Persia the first of the Sufi dynasty had just ascended the throne. Albuquerque directed a successful expedition against Malacca, where he received the submission of Pegu and Siam. He also seized Ormuz at the mouth of the Persian gulf. A Portuguese embassy was sent to China, and the Portuguese having gained the favor of the court of Peking by extirpating a band of pirates that infested the coast, permission was given them to settle at Macao. From this point and from Goa they directed their operations, and in 50 years were masters of the Spice Islands, and monopolized the whole trade of the eastern ocean. The subjugation of northern India by the emperor Baber in 1526, and a succession of able princes, consolidated the empire of the Moguls in India. Abbas the Great, shah of Persia (1587-1628), raised the Persian empire to its highest pitch of modern greatness. - The brilliant successes of the Portuguese in India inspired adventurers of other nations with hopes of wealth.

But it was not till 1600 that the English East India company was formed, and in 1612 English factories were established by leave of the native authorities at Surat, Ahmedabad, Cam-bay, and Gogo. In 1644 the native dynasty of the Chinese was terminated by the rebellion of the mandarin Li-tse-ching, and the Man-tchoo Tartars again ruled the vast empire of China. About the same time the settlement of Madras was founded by the East India company, and subsequently the factory at Calcutta; and in 1661 the Portuguese ceded to the English the island of Bombay. The East India company, which had been unsuccessful as a trading undertaking, was reorganized, and in 1708 a new body of adventurers was formed, and admitted to a participation in its rights and privileges. This body was destined before the lapse of a century to acquire and consolidate a larger and more powerful empire than had ever been governed by the Moguls in India. Dutch and French trading companies had also obtained a footing in India. On the death of Aurungzebe in 1707, the aifairs of the empire had rapidly fallen into confusion. The various rajahs became virtually independent, and the Mahrattas, who first appeared as freebooters during the reign of Aurungzebe, extended their dominions across the peninsula.

In 1746, war having broken out between England and France, Labourdonnaie, the French governor of Mauritius, conducted an expedition against Madras, the chief British settlement in India, which capitulated on the under-' standing that it should be ransomed. Dupleix, governor of the French settlement of Pondi-cherry, conceived the scheme of consolidating the states of Hindostan into one mighty empire, and with the aid of native allies was at first successful against the English; but Clive saved the menaced existence of the East India company, and by 1760 the British had subdued the finest provinces of Bengal, Behar, and part of Orissa. From that time the limits of the British empire in India have steadily increased. A great revolt of the natives was put down in 1857-'8, and the government was immediately afterward transferred from the East India company directly to the crown. - In the north a few Cossacks brought Siberia under Bussian dominion toward the close of the 16th century, and Peter the Great obtained a foothold in central Asia by assisting the shah of Persia against the Afghans. A plot concocted with Turkey for the dismemberment of the Persian kingdom was defeated by the energy of the usurper Nadir Shah, who for a brief space restored the waning glories of the Persian name, and passing the Indus pursued a career of conquest as far as Delhi. During his return he was murdered by mutineers (1747), and again the Persian empire was dismembered, Afghanistan being erected into an independent kingdom by Ahmed, one of Nadir's followers.

The Bussians have during the present century gradually extended their power, consolidating their rule over the Caucasian regions, and acquiring new possessions on the Aras, the Amoor, and the Jaxartes. Turkey has had conflicts with Russia, Persia, and her own vassal, Mehemet Ali of Egypt, but has escaped without a considerable loss of territory. Persia has been constantly declining, and has lately suffered a terrible depopulation from famine. China has seen foreign enemies in her capital, and half her territory ravaged by a powerful insurrection. Japan has been compelled to open her ports and cities to the abhorred occidentals. Afghanistan has been torn by foreign and domestic wars. Arabia has witnessed the overthrow of the Wahabites, and several minor conflicts, but is on the whole as isolated and unsubdued as ever. What was formerly Independent Tartary is now half reduced by Russia. The political influences of Asia are balanced by British supremacy in the south and Russian in the north. These two great powers have long antagonized each other at the court of Persia, the key to central Asia and northern India. In China, Russian influence is perhaps greater than that of any other nation.

In the west, Turkey keeps up the appearance of a great power, but her influence in general Asiatic affairs is a cipher.