304 AST 
by the Tartars in the year 1668, and retaken by the czar, 
who employed for this purpofe a great number of flat-bot- 
lomed veflels, in which he tranfported his forces down the 
Volga from Cafan. 
The city of Aflracan, including the fuburbs, is in cir¬ 
cuit near five miles. The number of inhabitants are cal¬ 
culated at 70,000, including Armenians and Tartars-, as 
well as Perlians and Indians. The garrifon confifls of fix 
regiments of Ruffian troops, who, when this place was 
alarmed from the fide of Perfia, had eredted in the adja¬ 
cent plain a great number of fmall batteries, to fcour the 
fields, and obftrudt the approach of the enemy. The houfes 
of Aflracan are moftly built of wood. The higher parts 
of the city command a profpedt of the Volga, which is 
here about three miles in breadth, and exhibits a noble 
appearance. The marfliy lands on the banks of it render 
the place very fickly in the fummer: the earth, being 
impregnated with fait, is extremely fertile, and produces 
abundance of fruit, the immoderate ufe of which is at¬ 
tended with epidemical diflempers. Sicknefs is likevvife 
the confequence of thofe annual changes in the atmofphere 
produced by the Hoods in fpring and autumn. All round 
the city of Aflracan, at the diftance of two miles, are feen 
a great number of gardens, orchards, and vineyards, pro¬ 
ducing all forts of herbs and roots. The grapes are ac¬ 
counted fo delicious, that they are preferved in fund, and 
lent to court by land-carriage at a prodigious expence ; 
yet the wine of Aflracan is very indifferent. The fummer 
being generally dry, the inhabitants water their gardens 
by means of large wheels worked by wind or horfes, which 
raifc tire water to the highelt part of the garden, from 
whence it runs in trenches to refrefh the roots of every 
fingle tree and plant. The neighbouring country produces 
hares and partridges, plenty of quails in fummer, with 
wild and water fowl of all forts in abundance. 
About ten miles below Aflracan is a fmall ifland called 
Bofnaife, on which are built large (lorehoufes for the fait, 
which is made about twelve miles to the eaftward, and, 
being brought hither in boats, is conveyed up the Volga, 
to fupply file country as far as Mofcow and Twere. The 
quantity of fait annually dug for thele purpofes amounts 
to tome millions of pounds, the exclufive property of 'which 
is claimed by the crown, and yields a confiderable reve¬ 
nue; for the foldiers and bulk of the people live almofl 
entirely on bread and fait. The neighbourhood of thefe 
falt-works is of great advantage to the fifheries, which ex¬ 
tend from hence to the Cafpiun Sea, and reach to the fouth- 
eafl as far as Yack, and even 100 miles above Zaritzen. 
The principal fitli caught here are fturgeon and belluga. 
Thefe are faired and put 011-board veflels, and lent away 
for the ufe of the.whole empire, even as far as Peterfburg. 
Of the roes of the belluga, which are white, tranfparent, 
and of an agreeable flavour, the fithers prepare the caviare, 
which is i'n fo much efieem all over Europe. Thefe fiflie- 
ries were firft eftablilhed by one Tikon Demedoff, a carrier, 
who fettled in this place about lixty years ago, his whole 
wealth confiding of two horfes. By dint of (kill and in- 
duftry, he toon grew the richeft merchant in this country: 
but his.-fuccefs became fo alluring to the crown, that of 
late years it hath engrofl’ed fome of the fifheries as well as 
the falt-works. 
From the end of July to the beginning of October, the 
country about Aflracan is frequently infefted with myriads 
of locufts, which darken the air in their progreflion from 
the north to the fouthward ; and, wherever they fall, con- 
fume the whole verdure of the earth. Thefe infects can 
even live for fome time under water: for, when the wind 
blow s acrofs the Volga, vaft numbers of them fall in clitf- 
ters, and are rolled alhore ; and their' wings are no fooner 
dry, than they rile and take flight again. 
Heretofore the inhabitants of Aflracan traded to Klniva 
and Bukharia; but at prefent thefe branches are loft, and 
their commerce is limited to Perfia and the dominions of 
Rullia. Even the trade to Perfia is much diminiilied by 
the troubles of that.country ; neverthelefs, the commerce 
AST 
of Aflracan is flill confiderable. Some years ago, the city 
maintained about forty vetfels, from 100 to 200 tons bur¬ 
den, tor the Cafpian traffic. Some of thefe belong to the 
government, and are commanded by a commodore, under 
the direction of the admiralty. This office is generally 
well flocked with naval flores, which are fold occafionally 
to the merchants. The trading (flips convey provifions to 
the frontier towns of Terkie and Kitlar, tituated on the 
Cafpian Sea; and tranfport merchandize to feveral parts 
of Perfia. The merchants of Aflracan export to Perfia, 
chiefly on account of the Armenians, red leather, linens, 
woollen cloths, and other European manufactures. In re¬ 
turn, they import the.commodities of Perfia, particularly 
thofe manufactured at Cafan ; fuch as (ilk faflies inter¬ 
mixed with gold, for the ufe of the Poles ; wrought iilks 
and fluff's mixed with cotton ; rice, cotton, rhubarb, and 
other drugs; but the chief commodity is raw (ilk. The 
government has engrofied the article of rhubarb, the great¬ 
er part of which is brought into Ruffia by the Tartars of 
Yakutfki, bordering on the eaffern Tartars belonging to 
China. They travel through Siberia to Samura, thence 
to Cafan, and laftly to Mofcow. The revenue of Aflra¬ 
can is computed at 150,000 rubles, or 33,0001. arifing 
chiefly from fait and fifh. 
ASTRAD'DLE, adv. [from a and Jlraddle.] With 
one’s legs acrofs any thing. 
ASTR/E'A, a name given by fome to the fign Virgo , 
by others called Erigone, and (ometimes Itis. The poets 
feign that Juttice quitted heaven to refide on earth, in the 
golden age ; but, growing weary of the iniquities of man¬ 
kind, (lie left the earth, and returned to heaven, placing 
■ herfelf in that part of the zodiac called Virgo, v\here (lie 
became a conftellation of (tars, and from her orb (till looks 
down on the ways of men. 
ASTR^di'US, in fabulous hiflory, one of the Titans, 
hufband to Aurora, and father of the winds and (tars. 
Perceiving that his brothers had declared war againft Ju¬ 
piter, he armed the winds on his fide : but Jupiter plunged 
them under the waters, and Aftrams was changed into a (tar. 
AS'TRAGAL, f. [ar^ayoA©-, the ankle or ankle- 
bone.] A little round member in the form of a ring or 
bracelet, ferving as an ornament at the tops and bottoms 
of columns. See Architecture. 
Astragal, in gunnery, a round moulding enconj- 
paffing a cannon, about half a foot from its mouth. 
ASTRAGALOI'DES,yi in botany. See Astraga¬ 
lus and Phaca. 
ASTRA'G ALOMANCY, f. [from and 
divination.] A fpecies of divination performed 
by throwing fmall pieces, with marks correlponding to the 
letters of the alphabet; tiie accidental difpofition of which 
formed the antwer required. This kind of divination was 
pradtifed in a temple of Hercules, in Achaia. 
ASTRA'GALUS,yi [ocr^aya*.©-, vertebra, or talus, the 
feed being fqueezed in the legume into a (quarifli form in 
fome fpecies. It is the name of a fhrub in the Greek wri¬ 
ters.] In botany, a genus of the clafs diadelphia, order 
decandria, natural order papilionacete or leguminofae. The 
generic characters are—Calyx: perianthium one-leafed, 
tubular, five-toothed, acute ; lower toothlets gradually 
lefs. Corolla : papilionaceous ; banner longer than the 
other petals, reflex on the (ides, emarginate, obtufe, 
(traight; wings oblong, (liorter than the banner; keel 
length of the wings, emarginate. Stamina: filaments dia- 
delphous, fimple; and novemfid, almofl (traight; antherae 
roundilh. Piftillum: germ nearly columnar; ltyle Tubu¬ 
late afeending ; (tigma obtufe. Pericarpium: legume two- 
celled; the cells bent to one fide. Seeds: kidney-fhaped. 
•— F.jfenlial C/ia>abler. Legume two-celled, gibbous. 
Species. I. Stems leafy, eredt; not proftrate. 1. Aftra- 
galus alopecuroides, or fox-tail milk-vetch: caulefcent, 
l’pikes cylindric fubfeffile, calyxes and legumes woolly. 
This rites with an upright hairy (tern about two feet high, 
having long pinnate leaves with eighteen or twenty pairs 
of ovate leaflets. The flowers are produced in large dole 
obtuf# 
