AST 



be avoided, A moderate quantity of butclier's meat, and 

 pou'trr, roaflcd or boiled, .will be proper every d:iy, with a 

 finali propo'.tion of the mort digeftiblc and nutritious venrg. 

 tables. Strong ale (hould be wiiolly forbidden. In fome 

 fe-.v inftances, no hann feeins to have arifen from the ufe of 

 frefh fmall beer or porter ; but in general toad and water 

 will be the mod fuitable bevera;;c. Wine (liould be allowed 

 very fpaiintrly. In regulating its quantity, the age, confti- 

 tution, and habits of trie pntient (hould be duly attended to. 

 It does not appear that the fm-king of tobacco, which 

 fome phyficians have recommended, is really beneficial in 

 thefe complaints. 



A3 this dilVafc occurs fo frequently, and is of fo obftinate 

 a nature, thofe who have the misfortune to be afiiided with 

 it ncceffarily bccc;r;ie tlieir own phyCcians. Hc^nce we have 

 been induced to extend pur obfervatii)ns, on this fubjeft, to 

 a gre::;';!- length than we fhall hereafter do (with verj' few 

 exceptions), on fingle difeafes. But we have yet to add a 

 vord or two on the hirnoural ajlhmn. U;!der this term fome 

 phyficiaiis ha-zt comprehended the anaf;<.rca of the lungs ; 

 but we underlland by it that fpecies or variety of (hortnefs 

 of breath and wheezing, which is accompanied with a con- 

 ftant cough, and expeciortition of mucus, and which is dif- 

 tinguiflied from phthifis and catarrh by being unattended 

 jvith fever. It is diitinguilhed from a droufy of the chell, 

 by the abfcnce of a numbnefs of the arms ; and (after the 

 ceflation of a temporary aggravation of the fliorl-brcathing 

 from accidental c.iufes), by the patient being able to bear 

 the horizontal pollure It is the pituitous afthma of fome 

 writers. Cnllen has referred it to dyfpnoea; but it rather 

 belongs to this head, as it generally begins under the form 

 of convu'live aftlima ; and, like it, is liable to accidental ag- 

 gravations from changes of the weather, and the other ex- 

 citing caufes before mentioned. In regard to its therapeu- 

 tical treatment, emetics and expe>Sorants (joined with a:thcr 

 and other antlfpafmodics) ; and blillcrs and ilTucs, are as 

 fer\'!ceable here as in the convuliive ailhma; but the employ- 

 ment of diuretics is more particularly indicated ; fuch as 

 fquill, acetated kali, and the digitalis. Ten or fifteen drops 

 of the tincture of this herb, or one grain, or a grain and a 

 half of the powdered leaves, joined with a fourth part of 

 opium, (hould be given at a dofe, and be repeated twice in 

 twelve or fourteen hours, until the iliortncfs of the breath is 

 relieved by a flow of urine, or until fuch an eflecl is produced 

 on the pulle, the head, or the bowels, as fhall make it ne- " 

 celfai-)' to fiiipend the ufe of the medicine. Dccoftions of 

 feneka or dulcamara (fee Practical Synopfis of the Materia 

 Mtdica, vol. i. p. 152. 231.) miy be prcfcribcd in place 

 of the digitalis, where this lad (liall be found to difagree. 

 The patient ihould wear flannel next his flcin, except during 

 the funimer, and fliould at all times be prirticularly attentive 

 to keep his feet warm and dry. 



Among fvdematic writers, Willis, Hoffman, and CuUen, 

 flionld be confult^'U on this diftafe ; and among the authors 

 of diltind treatifes, Floyer on Afthma 169S, Ryan on ditto 

 179:;, and Bree on Dilordered Relpiration 1800. 



ASTI, in Ge^jnrnphv, a large city of Piedmont, the ca- 

 pital of the county of Afti, fituate in a delightful and fer- 

 tile valley, on the banks of the Tanaro. Few cities in 

 I^ombardy exceed it in its palaces and public buildings ; and 

 the fuvrounding country is erabellifhcd by the fe:;ts ot the 

 nobility and gentry. By the extent of its walls, wh.ch 

 inclofe the fubuibs, it may be ftippofed to have been for- 

 merly well fowificd ; but thofe works are now decaying. 

 Tlie cathedral is an elegant llrudliire with a lofty roof, a 

 fine cupola, and good painting in frefco : upon this is an 

 infcription whieh esprcffes that it was anciently a temple of 



AST 



Juno, 



1, and converted into a Chridian church by a St. .Sunjs, 

 uiic of Jefus's feventy difciples. It has more tliaii thirty 

 other churches, parochial and conventual. Several remains 

 of antiquity are fecn in this place ; and it is faid to have been 

 a favourite town with Augudus C^far and the emperors. 

 It is the fee of a bifliop, fuffragan of the archbidiop of 

 Milan ; 24 miles ead from Turin, and 20 wtit from Altf- 

 fandria. N. lat. 44"" 50'. E. long. 8= 2'. Sec Asta. 



AsTi, in yliuhnt Geography, a people of Europe, ia 

 Thrace, who podelTed the town of Calyba. 



ASTICA, or Astice, a countiy of Thrace, extending 

 along the Euxlne fca, and commencing at a fn.all didance 

 nortli-wed of Cocftan'.inople. 



ASTIGI, or AsTiGis, Ecija. a town of Spain, in Bi- 

 tica, upon the Singilis, nearly fouth of Corduba.» This 

 town was a Roman colony, and denominated " Au^-ufta 



irm.a. 



ASTIGI JuLiFNSis, a town of Spain, fituatc between 

 the river B.T-tis and the fea. Pliny. 



ASTIPULATOR, in the Roman order, the perf:,n by 

 whofe confent and leave a nun takes the religious habit. Du 

 Cange. 



ASTONISHMENT, denotes a high degree of wonder 

 or furprifj : Johnfon defines it a confufion of mind from fear 

 or wonder. Dr. Cogan, in his " Philofophical Treatife of 

 the Paffions," concifcly defines high adoniftiment as the 

 incubus of the mind, which feels nothing at the inflant fo 

 much a=! its inability fo act. 



ASTORCHA, in Botany, a name by which fome aii- 

 thois call the yellow fticcbcis, and others the purple, com- 

 monly called the Arabian. 



ASTORES Island, in Geography, lies north-ead from 

 the north point of the ifland of Madagafcar, in the Indian 

 Ocean. S. lat. i^P 22'. E. long. 53° 20'. 



ASTORGA, a city of Spain, in the province of Leon, 

 fituate in a plain near the river Tueria. It is a drong place 

 and the fee of a biihop, fuffragan of Compoftella. It was 

 formerly the capital of the Afturias, but is now onlv the 

 chief place of a m.arquifate ereCled here in 1465. It is 

 called " the city of prieds," from the number of ecelefiadics 

 belonging to the cathedral ; twenty-eight miles nearly weft 

 of Leon. N. lat. 42" 33'. W. long. 6'" 16'. 



ASTRABAD, a town of Perfia, and capital of a didriA 

 of the fame name, is fituated at the fouth-eaftem extremity 

 of the Cafpian fta, near a confiderablc bay, with a chain of 

 mountai;:s behind. The Ruifians land at this bay, and then 

 proceed to the capital. The province of Adi-abad lies in 

 the nortii-wed pait of Perfia, having Chorafan on the cad, 

 part of Tartary on the noith, and Comis and a branch of 

 mount Taurus to the fouth. The eountr)- in general is 

 mountainous, and the foil, except near the banks of the ri- 

 vers which run through it, fandy and barren. The produc- 

 tions of this province are filk, rice, and cotton, like thofe 

 of Mazanderan, and its exports and imports nearly limilar. 

 The commerce of Adrabad is chiefly with Candahar. This 

 city lies very convenient for a harbour to the cadem didricts 

 of Chorafan, Bucharia, Samsrcand, and even India. N. 

 lat. 36" 5c'. E. long. 54°. 



ASTRACAN j^lousr, in Z'^olo«y, the Englidi name of 

 the Mus I'hsus of Gmelin, and Zarizyn rat of Penn.ant. See 

 Ph^t.i-s Mus. 



ASTR.A.KHAN, or Astrachan, in Geography, a city 

 of the Ilnffian emp're, formerly the capital of the kingdom 

 of that name, having a large and commodious harbour, 

 with a dock-yard and fpacioi:s quays, fituate on an illand in 

 the Volga, not far from its outlet into the Cafpian, in 4^° 

 22' lat. "and 65° 43' long. It contains four monaderies, 



twenty- 



