AST 



AST 



denoted an heir to whom the inheritance was given by his 

 predecefTor in his own life, bj- a writing in form. 



The word is formed from ojln, an ancient French term 

 for ;he hearth of a chimney. 



ASTRASSUS, in Andent Geography, a town of India, 

 on this fide of the Ganges. Ptolemy. 



AST RATA, an ifland of the Arabian gulf, on the 

 coall of Ethiopia. Ptolemy. 



ASTREA.in J/i/om<//ojy,afpecies of Pii al.en A {Kotlua), 

 of a brown colour both above and bencatli ; diik traiifparent ; 

 and thorax fnowy-white, dotted with black. Thit iiifcdl 

 inhabits New Holland. Fabricius, &c. 



ASTRICTION, from ojintigo, I bind, in Medicine, a 

 term which, when it refers to the inteftiiial canal, denotes 

 collivenels ; v\hen it refers to the flcin, denotes a want of 

 perlpiration. It is feldom ufed by modern phyficians. 

 ASTRICTOR Toga. See Toga. 



ASTRILD, in Ornilholw^y, a fj)ecies of LoxiA that in- 

 habits the Canai-y iflands and various otlier parts of America 

 and Africa. It is rather larger than the co.nmon wren, of a 

 brown colour, undulated with blackifli; bill, orbits of the 

 eye, and breafl fcarlet. Gmel. .Sec. 'I'his \s frin^illa undii- 

 lala. Pall. Senegallui firiatus , BrilT. Le Senrgali niye. Buff. 

 IVax-biH oi Edwards, and wax-lill groJbcaL of I^atham. 



Individuals of this fpecies vary much in colour, and there 

 are in particular two varieties that dcfervc attention ; namelv, 

 the red-rnmped grofoeak, and white-rumped grofbeak, (p) 

 Senegallus pedlore exalbido, uropygii fafcia rubra ; and (y) 

 Sencgallus corpore fubtus ex rofeo albo of Gmelin. Both 

 of thele are about the fize of the former; the red-rumped 

 kind has the breall and belly of a dirty white, and, bcfides 

 the upper tail coverts being crimfon, has a bar of the fame 

 colour acrofs the vent. In fome fpecimens, the under parts 

 jnclme to yellow ; the fides of the rump, and wing coverts 

 fpotted with white ; and the bill bordered with black ; one 

 of this kind was brought by Sonnerat from the i(Ie of 

 France. BufFon calls the red-rumped variety le feveran, and 

 moineau du Senegal. The white-rumped kind alfo inhabits 

 Sencg;i! ; the throat and lides of the neck are bluiih white; 

 the rcil of the underparts and rump white, tir.ged with rofe 

 colour; top of the head, neck, and back blue, paltll on the 

 head ; and legs red. The colour of the legs diilindly marks 

 this variety from the former, for in the firit-m.entioned kind 

 they are brown, and in the fecond dark grey. 



ASTRINGENS, crocus marlis. See Crocus. 

 ASTRINGENTS, in the Materia Mutica. This term 

 is applied to a clafs of fvbftanccs whicii, according to Dr. 

 Cuilen's accurate definition, when applied to the human 

 body, " produce a contraftion and condciifation in the foft 

 lolids, and thereby increafe their deniity and force of cuhe- 

 fioii. If applied to longitudinal fibres, the contraftion is 

 made in the length of thele; but if applied to circular fibres, 

 thev diiriiniih tlie diameters of the vellels or cavities which the 

 veffels furround." 



Allringency in any fubllance is mod accurately detefled 

 by the taile, by corrugating the tongue, and giving a fciila- 

 tion of liarihntfs and roughnefi to the palate. 



Allringents appear to aft nearly in a fimilar manner on 

 ihe fimple or dead animal fibre as on the living folid, in either 

 tafe thickening and hardening; v/hen applied to the liv- 

 ing fulid, they produce increafe of tone and ftrength, re- 

 ftrain inordinate actions, and check exceflive difcharges 

 from any of the veffels or cavities; and to the dead fibre 

 occafion that denfity, toughnefs, impervioufnels to water in 

 a greater or lefs degree, and infufceptibility to the common 

 caufes of putrefadtion, in which coiifills the proccfs of 

 Tan.nisc, or preparation of leather- 



No fingle chemical tell (except the direct experiment on 

 animal fibre) will always detect the property of aitringency, 

 as this is found to rtfidc in many ditlcrcnt clafil-s of fub- 

 ftances. Acids, efpecially the llronger mineral, arc power- 

 fully allringent ; as alio are feveral metallic falts, luch as 

 tlie folutioiii of iron, zinc, copper, and lead in various acids; 

 likewife a few earthy falts, fuch as alum and fclenite, or 

 fulphate of Hme; alio alcohol, or any kind of ardent fpirit, 

 the operation of wliich in hardening animal fibre is very 

 remarkable. But the moil numerous clafs of aflringeiits 

 are thofe taken from the vegetable kingdom, efpecially from 

 the barks of feveral trees, and foinc of the natural gum 

 refins. Modern chemillry has afcertaincd fome highly im- 

 portant fadts concerning the nature of the vegetable allrin- 

 gents, which ihould be noticed liere in order to corrctl fome 

 erroneous opinions that are rery prevalent in all medical 

 writers. The property of flriking an inky blacknefs with 

 folutions of iron, has been conllantly given as one of the 

 fureil tells of allringency in vegetables. Of this, the fami- 

 liar inllance of making common writing ink with an infu- 

 fion oi the oak gall-nut, is known to every one; but it 

 fliould be remembered, that this property is owing to a 

 peculiar acid, the Gallic, and not to the true ailringent 

 principle, in modern chemical language called Tannin, to 

 which the acid of galls here happens to be united. Of 

 this we (hall treat fully, under thefe important articlc£-j 

 but the pharmaceutical chcmill Ihould now be aware, that> 

 the tell of blacknefs with iron is by no means a fure indica- 

 tion of allringency, but only a probable prefumption of its 

 prefence. Thus one of the ilrongell of the known allrin- 

 gents, the terra japonica, or catechu, will not give the 

 fmallefl degree of blacknefs to folutions of iron, as it con- 

 tains only tannin, the true allringent principle; and not the 

 GuUic acid. The proper tell for this fubilanee, belides the 

 eflecl on the tongue, is a folution of any kind of animal 

 gelly; of which more hereafter. 



When the true allringent principle is naturally mixed with 

 any acid, the talte oi accrlnefs is given, in which the corruga- 

 tion ot the papills of the tongue is moll peculiarly remarkable. 

 The juices of feveral unripe fruits, the gall-nut, and many 

 of thofe aftringeiits that contain much gallic acid, and 

 give a ilrong black with iron, are examples of this. 



Tannin is itfelf fomewhat bitter, and appears to be alfo 

 united, in many cafes, with fome principle w hich gives it more 

 than its ufual bitteriiefs. This is probably the cafe with 

 moil of the ailringent bitters employed in medicine, and it is- 

 in this combination, that alliiugents prove fo eminently 

 tonic. In fome inl^ances Xao tannin is united with a fweet 

 fubilance, as in tiie examples of the catechu, and the lignunv. 

 campcchenfe. 



Allringents when employed exteraallyrto ilop himor- 

 ihage, arc then termed Styptics. 



Allringents are very largely ufed in medicine, and with 

 the hlghell advartage. The cafes where they are mod un- 

 equivocally beneficial, and in which the operation may be 

 afcrib^d purely to the allringiiit property, are diaiThocas, or. 

 fcrous evacuations from the iiitcitinal canal. They have 

 alfo long been thouglit of ufe in lellraining difcharges of 

 different kinds, even wlien not dircftly applied to the part^ 

 fo that allringent mcdichica are frequently givtu by the 

 ftomach, in order to check j)rofuie fluor albus, gleet, and 

 foraetimes hasmoptyfis. Their operation iu fuch cafes, how- 

 ever, is much more quctlloiiable, and tlie benefit here pro- 

 duced, perhaps, may with more propriety be afcribed to a 

 tonic or llimulant property. 



ASTROBII, in A'uhiit Gcop-Jfhy, a people of Afia,. 

 near the Indus. Aniau. 



.\STROBOLISM, 



