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AXAS, in Geography, a town of America, in the interior 



A X I 



part of New Albion. N. lat. 39° 5'. W. lonj;. 1 14^ 



AXAT, or AzAT, a town of Fi-ance, in tiie department 

 of the Aude, and chief phce of a canton, in the dillnct of 

 Qiiillan, on the Aude ; twenty-five miles fouth of Carcaf- 

 fonne, and five S. S. E. of Quillan. 



AXBERG, a town of Sweden, in the province of Neri- 

 cia. 



AXBRIDGE, a town of England, in the county of 

 Somcrfct, about eight miles nortli of Wells, and 151 

 weft of London. The river Ax divides the bridge from 

 Over-Weare, and gives the place its appellation. This 

 town is pleafantly fituatcd at the fouth-wellern roots of the 

 dark Mendip hills. It has a corporation confiiling of a 

 mayor, baihff, eight capital burgeflcs, and twenty-two 

 common councilmcn ; and lent members to parliament, till 

 excufed at the requeft of the inhabitants, in the reign of 

 Edward the third. Its market for corn, fiiecp, pigs, ^cc. 

 is on Saturday, and two fairs are held here annually for the 

 fale of cattle and cheefe. Its only manufaiilure is knit-hofe, 

 in which a great number of families is employed. The 

 church is particularly noted fr,r its beautiful and uniform 

 architefture, and for the llately monuments which it con- 

 tains. Moll of them are ereited to the memory of the 

 Prowfe family, many of whom were interred within the 

 walls. This town contains 190 houfes, and icoo inhabi- 

 tants. About two miles call of Axbridge is the village 

 of Cheddtr which is celebrated for its Sne cheefe ; and tx- 

 traordinary rocks or cliffs. The viUage is fitualcd .under 

 Mendip hills, having the flat moors which extend to Glafton- 

 bury on the fouth fide, and a high ridge of hills on the 

 north. The Chedder chffs feem to have been the effeci 

 of fome great convulfion of nature, which rent the 

 hill afunder and formed an opening or chafm completely 

 through it. This chafm i« now appropriated to a road, 

 which leads from the bottom to the top of the hill, having its 

 fides formed b-y the high craggy rocks. The length of 

 this gap is nearly two miles, in a winding direction. In 

 many parts the cliffs rife to the height of full 300 feet, 

 quite perpendicularly, fome terminating in bold pinnacles, 

 others in irregular fragments like fliattered battlements, and 

 others impending over head in an awful manner. Yews pro- 

 jedl out of feveral of the fiffures, forming lofty canopies, and 

 many of the rocks wear long mantles of i\'y, which produce 

 a pitturefque appearance, and form a pleafing coiitraft to 

 the craggy nakednefs of others. The romantic and grand 

 appearance of thcfe rocks attrafts the notice of many tra- 

 vellers. Mendip hQls, which are often called the alps of 

 Somerfetfhire, abound with lead and calamine, and hke the 

 fimilar hills of Derbyfhire, contain many vaft caverns and 

 fnbteiTaneous vaults. Various coralloid relics are found in 

 this limeftone. Several curious plants are alfo obtained 

 here, among which the following are the moft rare ; Jiauthtt 

 cufiiu (Chedder Pink) d. aretiarws, and thahdrum minus. 

 Maton's Obfervations on the Wcftern Counties, and Collin- 

 fon's Hiftory of Somerfetfhire. 



AXEL, a ftrongly fortified tawn of Flanders ; it was 

 taken from the Spaniards by Maurice, prince of Naflau, in 

 1586 ; nine leagues W. of Antwerp. N. lat. 51° 15'. E. 

 long. 3° 45'. 



AXENS, a town of Germany, in the county of Tyrol ; 

 nine miles S. W. of Infpruck. 



AXHOLM, an irtand of England, in the N. W. part of 

 Lincoln fhire, formed by the rivers Trent, Idel and Dan, 

 about ten miles long and five broad ; the lower part is 

 marihy ; the middle part fertile, and produces flax in abun- 



dancf. The chief town, or rather village, thinly inhabited, 

 is called jlrey. 



AXIA, in yfnc'unl Geography, a town of Greece, in the 



country of the Locrian Ozoliani Alfo, a town of Italy, 



in Etruria ; and the inhabitants were called ylxiala. 



AXL-\CA, a town of Sarrr.atia, to the left of the river 

 Sagaris, and north ol OdelTus (Oczakow). 



AXIACES, a river of European Sarmatia, a little 

 above Dacia : and the people who inhabited the dillrifl to 

 the right of this river were called ylxind. 



AXIC.A, or AziCA, an ancient town of India, on this 

 fide of the Ganges. Ptolemy. 



AXILLA, m jinalomy, or Ala, the cavity under the 

 upper-part of the arm ; commonly called the arm-pit. 

 The word is a diminutive ol axis, q. d. /ii.'/e axis. 

 Abctfles in the axilhe are ufually dangerous ot account 

 of the many blood -vtflTe Is, lymphatics, nerves &.c. thci-c- 

 ahout, which form feveral large plexus. — Bv the ancient 

 laws, criminals were to he hanged by the axilla if they were 

 under the age of puberty. 



AiiLLA, in Botany, is the fpace comprehended between 

 the ftems of plants and their leaves. 



Hunce we fay, thofe flowers grow in the axillse of the 

 leaves ; i. e. at the bafe of the leaves or jull within the an- 

 gles of their pedicles. 



AXILLARY, in jlnatomy, fomething that belongs to 

 the axilU, or lies near them. 



Axillary Artery, a certain portion of the great artery 

 which fuppiics the upper part of the the trunk, and upper 

 extremity. See Art Ear, Di/tribution of thofe Veffels. 



Axillary Vein, a certain extent of the vein cor.'-efpond- 

 ing to the above-mentioned arteiy. See the account of Uie 

 Diflribution of the Veiks. 



Axillary Nerves, are branches of the four lower cer- 

 vical and firft dorfid, which form a plesus in the axillae. See 

 Nerve, Dijhilution of. 



Axii-LAKY G.'anJs, the glands belonging to the abforb> 

 ing veffels which are fituatcd in the axilli. See Abso&b* 

 I .\ G Vessels, Djjiribufion of. 



Axillary Leaves, in Botany. See Leaf. 

 AXIM, in Geography, a fmall diftriift or canton of Africa, 

 on the Gold Coail, between cape ApoUonia, and Trea 

 Puntas. The chmate is unhealthy, being fo moid, that, 

 according to the proverb of the country, it rains eleven 

 months and twenty-nine days in the year. The maize, on 

 account of the humidity of the foil, is neither plentiful nor 

 excellent ; but it produces a great qnantity of rice, which 

 is exported to all the kingdonis of the Coaft, in exchange 

 for miUet, yams, potatoes, and palm-oil ; and it pelds alfn 

 water-melons, ananas, bananas, cocoa?, oranges, two kinds of 

 lemons, and all forts of fruits and vegetables. Axim alfo 

 produces great numbers of black cattle, (heep, goats, and 

 tame pigeons, as well as other fowls. The whole country- 

 is filled with populous villages ; fome on the fea-fide, others 

 farther up the country ; and all of them rich and beautiful. 

 The intermediate lands are well cultivated, and the foil is fo 

 fertde as richly to compenfatc the labour of the hulbaadman : 

 befides which the natives are wealthy, from a conllant traf- 

 fic they maintain in gold with the Europeans. The capital 

 of this dirtrift is Axim, or Achombene, ftanding under a 

 Dutch fort, and fcreencd behind by a thick wood, that 

 covers the wliole dechvity of a neighbouring hJU. The 

 river Axim runs through the town, and the coail is defended 

 by a number of fmall-pointed rocks, which projeck from 

 the ftiore, and render all accefs to it dangerous. The Euro- 

 pean fettlenicnts are, i. The Dutch fort of St. Anthony, 



ftandir.£^ 



