3 >o A S T 
cuttings, any time during the Cummer. Thefe fliould he 
planted in (mail pots filled vvitli light earth, and plunged 
into an old hot-bed ; where* if they are (haded from the 
fun, and gently watered, they will put out roots in fix 
weeks, when they may be placed in the open air; and, in 
about a month after, they lliould be (eparated, each into 
a fntall pot filled with light Tandy earth. In O&ober they 
muft be removed into the greenhoufe, and placed where 
they may enjoy as much free air as pollible, but be fecured 
from froft and damps, either of which will deftroy them; 
fo that they are much eafier preferved in a glafs-cafe, where 
they will enjoy more light and air than in a greenhoufe; 
but they mult not be placed in a (love, for artificial heat 
■will foon defiroy the plants. Thefe forts are at prefent in 
few Englifli gardens. The North American fpecies, which 
make at lead three-fifths of the genus, together with the 
Alpine and Italian ftarworts, are eafilv propagated by part¬ 
ing the roots in autumn ; they are mod of them hardy, and 
will thrive in almofl any foil or fituation : for thefe reafons, 
and becaufe they adorn the latter feafon with the abun¬ 
dance and variety of their fpecious flowers, they are very 
valuable plants, efpecially among (limbs, and in large or¬ 
namental plantations, properly mixed with golden-rods, 
and other perennial autumnal hardy plants. Some of the 
fpecies, No. 6, 41, 42, prefer a lliady fituation, and moifl 
(oil. They are apt to fpread very much at the roots, fo 
as to be troublefome ; and the feeds of Come few are blown 
about, and come out like weeds. The Italian (larwort 
has not been fo much cultivated in England, fince the 
great variety of American fpecies has been introduced, 
though it is by no means inferior to the bed of them, and 
in home refpefils preferable to mod; for it is not fo fubjeft 
to creep by the root as many of the American forts; nor 
do the dalks require fupporting as they do, for thefe fel- 
dom grow more than two feet high, and are generally fo 
drong as to be in little danger of being broken by the wind. 
This is alfo propagated by parting the roots, foon after the 
plant is out of flower ; for thofe which are removed in the 
fpring will not flower fo drong the (ucceeding autumn. 
The roots lhould not be removed oftener than every third 
year, where they are expected to produce many flowers. 
The China ader, being an annual plant, is propagated by 
feeds, which mud be fown in the fpring on a warm bor¬ 
der, or rather upon a gentle hot-bed, jud to bring up the 
plants; for they fliould be inured to the open air as foon 
as pollible, to prevent their being drawn up very weak; 
when the plants are big enough to remove (three inches 
high), they lhould be carefully taken up and planted in a 
bed of rich earth, at (ix inches didance every way, ob- 
ferving to (hade them from the fun till they have taken 
new root; and, if the feafon proves dry, they mud be of¬ 
ten refrefhed with water. In this bed they may remain a 
month or five weeks, by which time they will be drong 
enough to tranfplant into the borders of the flower-garden, 
where they are defigned to remain ; or into pots, to adorn 
court-yards, &c. the plants (ltould be taken up carefully, 
with large balls of earth to their roots, and the ground 
dug up, and well broken with the fpade, where the holes 
are made to'receive the plants; after they are planted, and 
the earth clofed about their roots, there fliould be fome 
water given them to fettle the earth. This work fliould, 
if pollible, be done when there is rain, for then the plants 
will foon take new root, after which time they will require 
no other care but to keep them clear from weeds. In 
Augufl thefe plants will flower, by which time, if the 
ground be rich, they will be two feet high, and furnidied 
with many fide-branches, each terminated by a large ra¬ 
diated flower, forming one of the greated ornaments of 
the flower-garden in autumn. The feeds ripen the be¬ 
ginning of October, and fliould be gathered when they are 
perfectly dry. In order to preferve the varieties with dou¬ 
ble flowers, thofe which grow upon the fide branches, be¬ 
ing commonly fuller of leaves than’ the flowers on the main 
Item, (hould always be preferved for feeds. See Arc- 
yotis, Arnica, Buphthalmum,Carpksiu.m, Ch&y- 
2 
AST 
SANTHEMUM, ChP.YSOCOMA, CINERARIA, CONYSC/t, 
Erigeron, Gorterxa, Inula, Senecio, Solidago, 
and T ussilago. 
Aster, or Stella Marina. See Asterias. 
AST ERA B AT', a province in the north-end part of 
Perlia, having Tabriflan on the ead, part of the Cufpian 
Sea and part of Jorjan on the north, Korafan on the wed, 
and Koumas on the folith. It is a mountainous country, 
except near the banks of the rivers that almofl furround 
if, where it is pleafant and fruitful, producing grapes of 
a prodigious fize. In other parts the foil is Tandy and bar¬ 
ren. Aflerabat is the chief town, which gives name to a 
gulph in the Perfian fea, at the bottom of which it flands. 
Lat. 36. 40. N. Ion. 72. 10. E. Greenwich. 
ASTE'Rl A,y. a name by which fome authors have call¬ 
ed the falco paluvibarius, or projhaztik. See Falco. 
Asteria, in fabulous hiflory, the daughter of Ceus, 
married to Perfes, fon of Crius, by whom (lie had the ce¬ 
lebrated Hecate. She enjoyed the favours of Jupiter, un¬ 
der the form of an eagle ; but, being afterward angry with 
her, die was changed into a quail. Ovid. 
Asteria is alfo the name of a gem, ufually called the 
cat's eye, approaching to the nature of the opal, in having 
a bright included colour, which drifts about as it is moved. 
It has, however, only two colours, a pale brown and $ 
white ; the brown feeming the ground, and the white play¬ 
ing about in it, as the fire-colour in the opal. It is hard, 
and will take a fine polifli, but is ufually worn with its na¬ 
tive fliape and fmoothnefs. It is found in the Ead and 
Wed Indies, and in Europe. The ifiand of Borneo affords 
fome very fine fpecimens, but they are ufually (mail; they 
are very common in the hands of rivers in New Spain ; and 
in Bohemia they are not unfrequently found immerfed in 
the fame maffes of jafper with the opal. 
Asteria is alfo the name of an extraneous foffil, call¬ 
ed in Englifli the Jiar-Jlone. Thefe follils are final 1, fliort, 
angular, or fulcated, columns, between one and two inch¬ 
es long, and feldom above a third of an inch in diameter : 
compofed of feveral regular joints ; when feparated, each 
refembles a radiated flar. They are, not without reafon, 
fuppofed to be a part of fome fea-fifli petrified, probably 
the aderias or fea-dar. The afleria is alfo called allrites, 
aflroitcs, and ajlerifais. They may be reduced to two kinds: 
thole whofe whole bodies make the form of a dar ; and 
thofe which in the whole are irregular, but are adorned as 
it were with condellations in the parts. Dr. Lifler, for 
diflinddion’s fake, only gives the name ajleria to the former 
fort, didinguirtiing the latter by the appellation of ajlroi- 
tes-, other naturalids generally ufe the two indiferiminate- 
ly. The afleria of the ancients, appears to be of this lat¬ 
ter kind. The quality of moving in vinegar, as if anima¬ 
ted, is fcarcely perceivable in the adroites, but is (ignal in 
the afleria. The former mud be broken in fmall pieces 
before it will move ; but the latter will move, not only in 
a whole joint, but in two or three knit together. Thefe 
dones are found in many parts of England ; but at Cley- 
don in Oxfordfhire they are larger than common, but'of a 
fofter fubdance. 
ASTE'RIAS, Star-fish, or Sea-star, f. agenusof 
infedls of the order of vermes mollufca. It has a depreff- 
ed body, covered with a coriaceous coat; is compofed of 
five or more fegments, running out from a central part, and 
furnidied with numerous tentacula, having the mouth in 
the centre. The conformation of the mouth is this : the 
under part of each lobe runs towards a point with the reft 
at the centre of the body ; and thefe feveral prod unions 
of the rays make a fort of lips, the ends of each of which 
are armed with a number of fliarp teeth, which ferve to 
to take and convey the food into the body. From this 
mouth there goes a feparate canal to all or many of the 
rays, which runs through their whole length, and becomes 
gradually narrower as it approaches the extremity. The 
tentacula refemble the horns of fnails, but ferve the ani¬ 
mal to walk with. They are capable of being contradfted 
or fhortened: and it is only at the creature’s moving that 
