258 A S C 
4. Alcobohis glaber, the firtoolh afcobolus: found 
among cow-dung lying in fliady places; but is not ealiiy 
dilcernible on account of its minutenefs, and dark brown 
colour, which is nearly the fame as that of its place of 
growth. When dried, it becomes quite black. 
ASCODRU'TiE, f. a feet of heretics, in the fecond 
century, who rejected the f.icraments, on this principle, 
That incorporeal things cannot be communicated by things 
corporeal, nor divine myfteries by any thing vifible. 
AS'COLI, or Ascoi.i de Satria'no, a town of Italy, 
in the kingdom of Naples, and province of Capitanata ; 
the fee of a bilhop, fuffragan of Eenevento. This town 
was almoft deltroyed by an earthquake in 1399: it is 
lixty-five miles eaft-north-eaft of Naples. -Lat. 41. 8.N. 
Ion. 33. 18. E. Ferro. 
AS'COLI, a town of Italy, fitnated on a mountain, near 
the Tronto, forty-fix miles Couth of Ancona. 
ASCOT,IA, a feltival celebrated by the Athenian huf- 
bandmen in honour of Bacchus, to whom they facrificed a 
lie-goat, becaufe it dellroys the vines, (Ovid. Fafl. i. 357 .) 
and, to fhow the greater indignity to an animal hated by 
Bacchus, the peafants, after having killed him, made a 
foot-bail of his fkin. Virgil lias beautifully deferibed the 
occafion of the facrifice, and manner of celebrating thefef- 
tival. Georg;, ii. 380. 
ASCO'M A,/, [from arao;, a bottle.] The eminence of 
the pubes at the years of maturity, fo called from its rtiape. 
ASCO'NA, a town of SwilFeriand, lituated on the Lo¬ 
carno Lake, with a collegiate feminary, founded in the 
fixteentii century. 
ASCOPHORA,/! in botany, a genus of the clafs cryp- 
togamia, order fungi. Elfential generic characters—Fun¬ 
gus eredt, on a Cetaceous (talk: head globular-oblong, 
mHated, opake, elaltic, bearing the feeds externally. 
Species. I. Cluttered on a common convex receptacle. 
1. Afcophora limbiflora : receptacle at length deprefFed ; 
heads globular, nodding, deciduous; ttems capillary, lax. 
2. Afcophora difeiflora : heads long-ovate, deciduous. 
3. Afcophora aniculata : brownilh-black ; heads long, 
jointed, pointed at top. 
II. Detached. 4. Afcophora mucedo: aggregate; 
head fphserical, bunting at the long (talk. 
Afcophora fragilis: crowded; head fphacrical, burft- 
jng in the middle; item rather (ltort. 
6. Afcophora ftilbum : ovate, fhining ; ftem (liort. 
7. Afcophora ovalis ; oval, becoming rugged and open¬ 
ing many ways ; ftem rather long. 
ASCOY'TIA, a town of Spain in the province of Gui- 
pnfcoa, on the river Urola, two leagues eu(t of Placentia. 
AS'CRA, in ancient geography, a town of Greece, in 
Boeotia, near mount Helicon. From its having been the 
place where Hettod was brought up, though he was born 
at Cuma in Eolis, it was called his country. 
* A^CRI'BABLE, adj. That which may beaferibed.— 
The greater part have been forward to rejedt it, upon a 
miftaken perfuafion, that tbofe phenomena are the efteifs 
of nature’s abhorrency of a vacuum, which feem to be more 
fitly afcribable to the weight and fpring of the air. Boyle. 
To ASCRI'BE, v. a. \_afcnbo , Lat.] To attribute to as 
a cattle._Totbis we may juftly afcribe thofe jealoufiesand 
encroachments, which render mankind uneafy to one ano¬ 
ther. Royers. —To attribute as a quality to perfons, or ac¬ 
cident to fubfiance.—Thefe perfections mult be fome- 
where ; and therefore may much better be aferibed to God, 
in whom we fuppofe all other perfections to meet, than to 
any thing elfe. Tillotfon. 
ASCRIPTION,/. Ufcriptio , Lat.] The aCt ofaferihing. 
ASCRIP rrTII.y or Adscripti'tii, under the feudal 
tenures, were perfons, who, coming from abroad, fettled 
in the lands of tome lord, whofe fubjefts or fervants they 
commenced, and were fo annexed to the lands, that they 
were transferred or fold with the fame. AJcriptitii is fome- 
t.mes alfo ufed in fpeaking of aliens or foreigners newly 
admitted to the freedom of a city or country; and,, in the 
A S E 
military laws, for the recruits appointed to fupply the 
Ioffes of the legions, called alfo accenfi. 
A SCR I FT 1 'TIO US, adj. [ ajiriptitius , Lat.] Thaj 
which is aferibed. 
ASCRIV'iUM, anciently a town of Dalmatia, on the 
Squis Rhizicus; now Cattaro, the capital of the territory 
of Cattaro, in Venetian Dalmatia. 
AS'CULUM APU'LUM, anciently a town of Apulia, 
mentioned in the war with Pyrrhus; now called AJcoli, a 
city of Capitanata, in the kingdom of Naples. 
AS'CULUM PICE'NUM, anciently a town of the Pi. 
ceni, and the capital ; now Afcoli, on the river Tronto. 
AS'CYRUM,yi [a and av.vgyz, not rough, a foft plant.] 
In botany, a genus of the clafs polyadelphia, order poly- 
andria, in the natural orderof rotacea;. The generic cha¬ 
racters are—Calyx: perianthium four-leaved; the outer 
leaflets oppolite, very minute, linear; the inner heart. 
fitaped, large, flat, ereft ; all permanent. Corolla: petals 
four, ovate; the outer oppofite, very large ; the inner lefs„ 
Stamina : filaments numerous, briftle-fhaped, (lightly uni¬ 
ted at the bafe in four parts; antherae roundifh. Piftil- 
lum: germ oblong; fiyle fcarcely any; ftignta Ample. 
Pericarpium : capfule oblong, acuminate, one-celled, two- 
valved, inclofed by the larger leavesof the calyx. Seeds : 
numerous, fmall, roundifh, fixed to the edge of the valves. 
— EJfential CharaBcr. Calyx four-leaved; petals four*, 
filaments many, in four divi(ions. 
Species. 1. Afcyrum crux Andres, or common afey- 
rum or St. Andrew’s crofs: leaves ovate, ftem round, pa- 
nicle dichotomous; ftem no more than fix inches high. 
From between the divifions of the branches, loofe panicles 
of yellow flowers are produced ; but, being very fmall, 
they make little appearance. Native of North America. 
Miller cultivated it in 1759, having received it from Hu<Ti 
duke of Northumberland, who procured it from America, 
It flowers in July and Auguft. 
2. Afcyrum hypericoides : leaves oblong, branches an- 
cipital. This isan elegant little ftmib with yellow flow¬ 
ers. It is a native of South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland 
and the cooler mountains of Jamaica. 
3. Afcyrum villofum : leaves hirfute; ftem about three 
feet high. The flowers are produced at the ends of the 
ftalks, and are of the fame ftiape and colour with conimon 
St. John’s wort. 
Propagation and Culture. Thefe are all perennial Ame¬ 
rican plants; the ftems decaying in autumn. Having 
little beauty, they are feldom cultivated but in botanic 
gardens. The firft may be increafed by laying down its 
branches in a moift foil and fhady (ituation. The other 
forts rarely produce feeds in England, but may be propa¬ 
gated by cuttings made of the young Ihoois in May, which, 
it planted in pots, and plunged into a moderate hot-bed; 
w ill take root in five or fix weeks, when they may be tranf. 
planted into a warm border, where they will endure the 
cold of our ordinary winters; but in fevere frofts they 
are frequently deftroyed, unlefs the roots are covered with 
tan to keep out the fro ft. See Hypericum. 
AS DRUBAL, the name of feveral renowned Cartha¬ 
ginian generals. See the article Carthage, vol. iii. p. 836, 
A'SE ,J. [from ctHu, to naufeate.] A nuuiea, or loathing 
of food. 
ASEERGUR', a towui of Hindooftan, in the province 
of Candeifh, fi teen miles from Burhampour, and eighty- 
five fouth of Indore. 
ASEIAC', a town of Perfia, in the province of Chu- 
fift.tn, thirty leagues fouth-weft of Ifpahan. 
AbE'KI, or Has.eki, the name which the Turks give 
to the favourite fultanelFes, who have brought forth Ions, 
See the article Constantinople, vol. v. p. no.* 
ASEL'LUS,y. in entomology. See Oniscus. 
ASE'MOS, J. [from u. neg. and tr/ipx, a figm] An epi¬ 
thet applied to events that fall out contrary to all ap¬ 
pearance, and without any manifeft caufe. 
AS'ENATIi, [Heb. peril.] The name of a woman. 
ASEPT'A, 
