Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/200

ASTRABAD. 30' E., about 20 miles from Astrabad Bay (Caspian Sea) (Map: Persia, E 3). It is sur- rounded liy a wall, and its streets and houses are substantially built and well kept. There are a number of ruined buildings, including the splendid palace erected by Shah Abbas. Astrabad contains an e.vtensive bazaar and several fine mosques. It- was long the residence of the Rajah princes, who are related to the present ruling house of Persia, and a number of whom are still living at As- trabad. The trade with Russia, which country has a naval station and a fort on the Island of Ashurada, in Astrabad Bay, has increased of late. The chief articles of export are cotton, rice, silk, grain, carpets, salt, and caviar. The port of Astrabad is Gez, a little village with a popula- tion of about ,1200. Astrabad is connected by a caravan route with Afghanistan, and is the seat of a Russian consulate. The population is estimated at 18,000.

ASTR.Æ'A ( Gk. 'Aerpala, A fslraia ). A name applied by Ovid to the constellation Virgo, who, according to the story, left the earth at the end of the Golden Age, In grief at the wickedness of the Iron Age, and returned to the gods. Astrsea is also the name of one of the jjlanetoids (q.v.). ASTR.ffiA, The Divine. Mrs. Aphra Behn, 'the first Englishwoman to live by her pen.' A vivacious and ingenious, though somewhat coarse, dramatist and novelist of the Eighteenth Cen- tury. Author of Oroonoko, the story of a 'royal slave.'

ASTRÆA RE'DUX (Lat., 'Astrsea brought back' I . A jioem written by Dryden, commemorat- ing the return of Charles II. It was puljlished in 1000, only two years after the appearance of the same poet's obituary eulogy of Cromwell, "Heroic Stanzas." Admirers find in the later poem a line which they think explains the ap- parent contradiction in the poet's sympathies. According to them, the line, "To stanch the blood by breathing of the vein," means that Cromwell was justified in the execution of Charles II.'s father, but that Charles II.'s speedy succession to Cromwell was equally advantageous for Eng- land.

AS'TRAGAL (Lat. astragalus, from Gk. ia- Tpdya/.o(, astrayalos, the ball of the ankle-joint). In architecture, a rounded bead molding, either plain or divided into rounded sections; also the molded strip applied to the stiles of folding- doors.

ASTRAG'ALUS (Lat., Gk. ha-payaU,:, astra- galus). A bone of the foot, which, by a convex upper surface and smooth sides, forms, with the leg-hones, the hinge of the ankle-joint. Its lower surface is concave, and rests on the os calcis, or hccl-bonc, to which it is att.ached by a strong ligament. In front it has a round head, which rests in the concavity of the scaphoid, another bone of the tarsus, and upon an elastic ligament, its pressure upon which gives in a great measure the necessary elasticity to the foot. It is at this joint that inversion and eversion of the foot take place. It will be seen that the astragalus is a bone of great impor- tance, as it supports the weight of tlic body in standing and enters into most of the movements of the foot. It is occasionally displaced, gen- erally in a forward direction.

ASTRAGALUS. A genus of shrubby or herb- aceous plants belonging to the order Legutninosce and embracing about one thousand species. They are found in almost all parts of the world except in Australia. The leaves are pinnate and the pods more or less two-celled. They are couunonly met with on dry soils, A number of species, among them Astragalus gmnmifer, yield gum tragacanth. In the western United States many species abound, and poisonous properties are at- tributed to some, which are called 'loco weeds.' Astragalus mcUissima is a very common 'loco weed,' and horses or cattle eating it are said to lose appetite for anything else, become deranged, and finally die. See Gums.

ASTRAKHAN, as'tra-Kiin'. Originally, a province of the ilongol Empire, but united with the Russian Empire in 1.554. At present Astra- khan (within narrowed limits) forms one of the southeast governments of Russia in Europe, bordering on the Caspian Sea ( Map : Russia. G .5). It is the fourth Government of Russia in order of size, having an area of over 91,3.37 square miles. The Government of Astrakhan is almost entirely a barren waste, the only fertile portions being the banks of the Volga, which divides the province into two equal parts, the steppes of the Kalmuks on its right, and of the Kirghiz on its left. The principal industry of the population is herring-fishing, in which are also engaged al)out 30.000 persons from the adjacent govern- ments. The annual catch of lierring ranges from 21,000.000 in bad years to 78,000,000 in good. Tne sturgeon fishery is very extensive. An aux- iliarj' to the fishing industry is the procuring of salt from the lakes and from the marshes of the steppes, to the amount of about 300,000 tons an- nually, giving employment to more than 5000 persons. Another industry of importance is cat- tle-breeding, the only means of subsistence of the Kalmuks, Kirghiz, and a considerable portion of the Tartars. Agriculture thrives but poorly in this barren waste. The population, numbering 879,000 in 1892, and 905,000 in 1897, is composed of diverse elements — Russian, Tartar, Georgian, Armenian, Bokharese, Persian, and Hindu; about 300,000 people constitute the nomadic tribes of the Kirghiz and Kalmuks.

ASTRAKHAN (named after the Khan Aster). The capital of the government of the same name in Russia, situated on- an island of the Volga, 60 miles from the Caspian Sea and 933 miles southeast of Moscow (ilap: Russia, G 5). It is the seat of a Greek archl>ish<ip and an Armenian bishop ; has Greek, Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Armenian churches ; many mosqiies, an Indian temple, and a seminary, for priests. The town is situated on very low ground, the average elevation reaching but 8% feet above the level of the Volga, and its highest point not exceeding 46^4 feet. It is irregularly built; the streets are filthy, since they are neither paved nor ever sprinkled or swept. There is no modern sewerage system, and cesspools contami- nate the air. The low situation of the town has made it necessary to surround it by a wall of earth rising about 14 feet above the ordinary water-level of the Volga; all of which gives the place rather an Oriental ap])earance. The position of the town on the Volga, the great- est river in Europe, and its proximity to the Caspian Sea, an advantage which has been