ASS 



ASS 



Alexander invaded it, was poflefied by a woman, as Plu- 

 tarch, Curtius, and Juftin, agree: (he was, as they fay, the 

 wife of Aflaceniis, and, according to the latter, her name 

 was Cleophes. The Affaceni, when they were attacked by 

 Alexander, had, according to Arrian, (1. iv. c.24, 25.) 

 20,000 horfe, 30,000 foot, and 30 elephants, ready to taice 

 the field. Their capital v/as Maflaga, called by Curtius 

 Mazaga, by Strabo Magofa, and by Diodorus MafTaca, 

 which Alexander took by aflault, though he was wounded 

 on the occaiion, and repeatedly repulfcd; and he then pro- 

 ceeded to fummon Bazira, the capital of the next adjoin- 

 ing territory. After the capture of the rock Aornus, 

 Alexander made a fecond expedition into the country of 

 the Affacani, in order to get polTeflion of fome elephants 

 which were fcnt thither that they might not fall into his 

 hands. Thefe elephants were at laft found in the paftures 

 near the Indus, and fent off by land to the grand army. 

 The coimtiy of the Affaceni, afterwards called AJIiina- 

 gur, anfwers, fays major Rennell, (Mem. p. 173.) to the 

 prefent Sewad or Sowhad ; or at leatl Sewad was one of 

 the divifions of Afhenagur. See Ashenagur, and Se- 

 wad. 



ASSACH, or AssATH, in Anliqu'ity, a kind of pur- 

 gation, anciently ufed in Wales, by tlie oaths of three 

 liundred men. It was abrogated b}- 1 Hen. V. c. 6. 



ASSAD, in Zoology, the name by which fome Arabic 

 writers call the lion. 



ASSA-DuLCis. See AsA-DuUis. 



ASSAFA, AssAFENSis, m-Andent Geography, zri f^ii- 

 copal fee of Africa, in Mauritania Sitifenlis. 



ASSA-FCETIDA, or Asa-foetida, in Pharmacy, 

 Teuffd'sDrech, Germ. (De^^l's Dung.) 



This curious and valuable article of the Materia Medica 

 is a gum refin procured from the root of a large umbellife- 

 rous plant, growing in the mountains of feveral provinces in 

 Perfia, and on the borders of the Perfian gulf, and called in 

 the language of the countr)' h'lngifeh. For the botanical 

 dcfcription of this plant, fee Ferula AJJa-Fatida. 



The aflafcctida is brought over in m.affes of various fizc 

 and form, of a yellow brown, or bluifh colour, iaterfperfed 

 with roundiih pieces white in the infide, which arc the affa- 

 foetida in tears, and the pureft. 



The tafte of this gum is bitterifh, acrid or biting, and 

 vei-y permanent on the tongue ; when chewed, it becomes 

 plaftic, and fcon diffolves in the faliva into a white milky 

 liquid. Affafcetida is principally dillinguifhed (as its name 

 imports) by its exceflively ftrong fcctid fmell, fomewhat re- 

 fembhng that of garlic ; which is extremely diffufible and 

 permanent. The odour, however, is not of a fickening 

 or very oppreffive quality, and fo readily can the organs be 

 accuitomed to it, that this gum makes a favourite feafoning 

 for food in many countries of the Eaih 



By chemical analyfis, affafcetida is found to confift of an 

 effential oil, a refin, and a gummy fubftance, fo that it is 

 with great propriety reckoned among the gum refins. 

 Trommsdorf obtained about fifteen or fixteen grains of 

 effential oil from an ounce of the gum, which in one experi- 

 ment fwam upon the water with which it was diftilled, and 

 in another partly fank to the bottom. The remaining gum 

 yielded 108 grains of refin, and 292 grains of gum. The 

 analyfes of Ncuman and Cartheufer exhibit the fume ingre- 

 dients, but in different proportions. Both fpirit and water 

 diftilled off this gum refin are ftrongly impregnated with its 

 ungrateful odour. If affafcetida be digefted with wanii wa- 

 ter, the hquor prefently whitens, and by long Handing the 

 whole is reduced into a foft pulpy mafs of a dirty yeUow, 

 owing to the folution of the gummy part. By trituration 



with water, this gum is entirely diffolved into a milky li- 

 quor which remams uniformly turbid for a confiderable 

 time. It is partly foluble in exprcffed oil, but fcarcely fo 

 in the efiential oils. 



The following curious and authentic account of the me- 

 thod of coUefting the affafoet'da is given from ocular tefti- 

 mony by Kcempfer, who vifited the country in the year 

 16S7. The plant which yields this valuable gum refin 

 (and called i 1 Perfia hhigifth) is found abundantly on the 

 mountains around Heraat, the c;ipital town of the province 

 of Chorafa^i, and in the province of Laar, which extends 

 from the river Cuur to the town of Congo on the Perfian 

 gulph. Beyond this, on the Arabian fide, the plant is faid 

 to lofe much of its ftrong odour and acrid quality, fo that 

 goats brovvze upon it with great delight and advantage. 

 The richer the foil, the more valuable is the gum. The 

 principal harveft of this fubflance is made on the mountains 

 around the fmall town of Difguum, in the province of 

 Laar. 



The root of the hingifeh grows for many yeai-s increafing 

 in fize, till fooner or later it fends forth the flowering um- 

 belliferous ftem, after which, on the fucceeding year, the 

 whole plant perifhes. The crop of gum therefore is pro- 

 cured from the root before the time of flowering. When 

 the root is four years old, it is about the thicknefs of a 

 man's arm, and of confiderable length ; it fe'dom yields any 

 gum before this age, and the older it is, the greater is the 

 quantity of produd. The root is heavy, fmooth externally, 

 when growing in a rich foil ; but fcaly in a fandy foil. It 

 is often found bifurcated or further divided at about a foot 

 below the furface. The upper part, which rifes above the 

 foil, is thickly befet with (liort fibres ftanding up like hairs. 

 The rind of the root is eafily feparable when frefh, the fub- 

 ftance within is fmooth and moift, confifting of a tough 

 fibrous part, inclofing a pulpy cellular portion, full of an 

 oily white juice, of a moll iutenfcly foetid fmell, which 

 when expofed to the air becomes firft clammy and yellow, 

 and at laft hardens into the gum affafcetida. The intenfity 

 of the fmell is the teft of the goodnefs of the gum, and the 

 odour of the frefli juice or recent gum is beyond all compa- 

 rifon more fcetid than that of the gum as it is received by us. 

 Hence in the gathering feafon, the whole town of Difguum 

 fmelis of it ; a fingle fliip is exciufively devoted to tranfport- 

 ing the bulk of this commodity to the ports in the Ferfian 

 gulf; and in carrying fmaller parcels they are tied to the 

 top of the mall to pievent their infecting evei-y thing on 

 board. In a fhort time, however, this intenfity of fmell 

 goes off. 



The whole gathering of the affafcetida is performed by 

 the inliabitants of Difguum in four different journeys to the 

 mountains. The demand for the article in foreign countries 

 being firft afcertained to be fuiiicient to indemnify the trou- 

 ble of colkcling, the gatherers divide into companies of 

 four or five each, and proceed to the mountains about the 

 middle of April, when the leaves of the plant are turned 

 yellow and decaying, a fign that the root is in a proper 

 ftate to yield the juice. The firft operation is to remove 

 the foil for a hand's breadth from the plant, and to ftrip 

 off the leaves and the hair-like fibres, leaving the root per- 

 fedlly bare and fmooth, which is again earthed round and 

 covered with a bundle of its own or any other leaves at 

 hand, to fcreen it from the fun. Thefe bundles of leavei 

 are confined by a large ftonc, left the wind Ihould blow 

 them off ; for without this precaution, the heat of the fun 

 would deftroy the roots in a day's time, and the juice 

 would be fpoiled. Each party of four or five men take to 

 themfelves about two thoufand plants, and when feveral 

 P 3 myriadf 



