ASTRAKHAN 438 



the valley of the Columbia River. Fort Clat- 

 sop had been built there in 1805 by the Lewis 

 and Clark Expedition. The place was to be 

 a central depot in a system of fur-trading 

 poets extending from the Great Lakes west- 

 ward. In 1813 it was seized by the English, 

 who renamed it Fort George. In 1818 it again 

 came into possession of the United States, 

 though it was occupied by the Northwest 

 Company, English fur traders, until 1845. It 

 was incorporated as a city in 1876. c. OF c. 



ASTRAKHAN, as'trakan, the name given 

 to the fur or wool of a particular variety of 

 lamb bred in Southern Russia, Persia and 

 Afghanistan, deriving its name from the town 

 of Astrakhan in Russia. Its curly, glossy fur 

 is in great demand for collars, cuffs, muffs and 

 other ornaments for winter garments. The 

 wool is of finer texture, more silky and is more 

 durable than that of uny other variety of 

 lamb. Its superior qualities are attributed to 

 the action of the climate, as animals of the 

 same breed, exported to other countries, pro- 

 duce inferior wool. The skins of the lambs 

 are sold in open market for sums varying from 

 25 cents to $1.50, but when dyed and ready 

 for wear they are very expensive, a good 

 astrakhan collar costing from $12.50 upwards. 



The name astrakhan is also applied to a 

 cloth made in imitation of the fur. 



ASTRAKHAN, an important port and manu- 

 facturing center of Southeastern Russia, cap-* 

 ital of the province of the same name. It is 

 situated on the delta of the Volga River, 

 about forty miles from the Caspian Sea. Fish, 

 caviare, isinglass, leather, furs, astrakhan, silk 

 and cotton are extensively exported. Impor- 

 tant commerce is carried on with all Caspian 

 ports and with inland towns by means of the 

 great waterway of the Volga. The town is on 

 low-lying land and has only a few good build- 

 ings, the streets being, for the most part, nar- 

 row and dirty. Population in 1911, 150,100. 



ASTRINGENT, astrin'jent, from words 

 meaning to bind or to contract, refers to a 

 medicine which contracts the organic textures 

 and canals of the body, thereby checking or 

 (1 iin i rushing excessive discharges. There are 

 two classes of astringents used by physicians, 

 namely, vegetable and mineral. The vegetable 

 astringents all contain tannic and gallic acids, 

 catechu, kino, oak-bark and rhatany. Mineral 

 astringents include mineral acids, zinc, iron, 

 lead, silver, nitric and hydrochloric acids, alum, 

 lime-water and chalk. 



ASTROLOGY is the predecessor of astron- 



ASTROLOGY 



omy in that its pursuit required the accumu- 

 lation of a considerable range of astronomical 

 data; this aspect was known as natural astrol- 

 ogy. But the motive that supported the in- 

 quiry was that of predicting and controlling 

 human fate; this phase was known as judicial 

 astrology. The two interests were more de- 

 tached than was true of the (later) relations 

 of alchemy and chemistry. The superstitions 

 of astrology (see SUPERSTITION) were compre- 

 hensive and inherent in the underlying ideas 

 of the system. Assyria, Arabia, Greece, Rome 

 and Western Europe practiced and continued 

 the astrological lore. Its practice included the 

 determination of fortunate days for various 

 enterprises (see DIVINATION); fixing the site 

 of temples; prophesying the issue of events; 

 prescribing medicines according to astrological 

 affinities; diagnosing disease by means of tin- 

 relations of the several parts of the body (or 

 the vital system) to the positions of the plan- 

 ets; and most prominently, the casting of 

 horoscopes. 



All these practices were determined by the 

 zodiac, which was the name given to that part 

 of the heavens containing the paths of the sun. 

 moon, and principal planets. It was divided 

 into twelve portions by reference to the con- 

 stellations in the several divisions. Thus, the 

 Ram (Aries) leads ("the first house") and is 

 the sign under which the child is born. The 

 sign of Jupiter (see ZODIAC) is the astrological 

 origin of the I which still heads the physi- 

 cian's prescriptions. It should be observed 

 how naturally the several "occUlt" sciences 

 worked together; the course of events, the 

 treatment of disease, the guidance of the 

 affairs of life were regulated by notions which 

 were at once alchemistic and astrological. 



The underlying conception of astrology is 

 that the courses and appearances of the 

 heavenly bodies exert a "moral" or prophetic 

 influence upon the earth and its inhabitants. 

 Divination and prediction were its chief func- 

 tions. For this purpose an elaborate system 

 was devised; for the data were limited to the 

 relations of position of sun (moon), planets 

 and constellations. To bring these into rela- 

 tion to human fate, each of the four ages of 

 man childhood, youth, -.adult life and old 

 age- were assigned three divisions (houses) in 

 the zodiac, by giving each an ascendant, a 

 dominant and a declining "house". By dis- 

 tributing the several human virtues of quali- 

 ties or fates, such as content, cowardice, valor, 

 justice, riches, disease, injury, accident, war, 



