ASTRUC, Jean, a celebrated physician, was born in 1 684 at Sauves, in Languedoc. His father, a Protestant clergy man, bestowed great pains upon his early education, after which he studied at the university of Montpellier, where, having commenced the study of medicine, he took his degree as doctor of physic in 1703. In 1706 he lectured at Montpellier as substitute for Professor Chirac. He studied most diligently all medical authors, both ancient and modern, and in 1710 published a treatise on muscular motion, which greatly increased his reputation. In that year he was appointed to the chair of anatomy at Toulouse. In 1717 he was appointed to teach medicine at Montpel lier. Subsequently he was appointed successively superin tendent of the mineral waters of Languedoc, first physician to the king of Poland, and, in 1731, regius professor of medicine at Paris. Here his lectures on the practice of physic attracted students from other universities, as well as from foreign countries. He prosecuted his studies with unwearied assiduity to an advanced age, and was thus enabled to write many valuable works on medical subjects. He died on the 5th of May 1766, in the 82d year of his age. Of his numerous works, that on which his fame princi pally rests is the treatise entitled De Morbis Venereis libri sex, 1736, 4to. This was afterwards enlarged to 2 vols. 4 to; it was translated into French by Jault, 4 vols. 12mo, and has beon frequently translated into English. In addition to many other works, principally on midwifery and cognate subjects, he published some treatises not connected with medicine, one with the title of Conjectures sur les Memoir es originaux qui ont servi d Moise pour ecrire la Genese, Bruxelles (Paris), 1753, 12mo; and two dissertations on the Immateriality, Immortality, and Liberty of the Soul, Paris, 1755. A long analysis of the Conjectures is given in the supplement to Herzog s Real-Encyk. d. Prot. Theol.
ASTURIAS, one of the ancient provinces of Spain, for merly (from 1388 downwards) conferred as a principality on the heir-apparent to the throne. By the new division of Spain in 1833, the province took the name of Oviedo, though not to the exclusion, in ordinary usage, of the older designation. It is bounded on the 1ST. by the Bay of Biscay, on the S. by Leon, on the W. by Galicia, and on the E. by Santander, which is now incorporated with Old Castile. It consists of a portion of the northern slope of what is properly a part of the Pyrenean system, and is covered in all directions with offshoots from the main chain, by which it is almost completely shut in on all sides. Only a few of the passes across the mountains are prac ticable for carriages, and most of them are difficult even for horses. Along the coast there is a narrow strip of level ground, which consists largely of bare and moor-like reaches, covered with furze. The province, as might be supposed, is watered by numerous streams and rivers, which have hollowed out beautiful and picturesque valleys ; but owing to the narrowness of the level tract, their courses are short, rapid, and subject to floods. The most impor tant is the Nalon or Pravia, which receives the waters of the Caudal, the Trubia, and the Narcea, and has a course of 62 miles; after it rank the Navia and the Sella. Along the whole extent of the coast, a distance of 130 miles, there is not one good port. In that of Riba de Sella a large frigate may anchor, and Gijon will admit a vessel drawing 16 or 17 feet of water; but the entrance is in both cases difficult and dangerous. The climate of the district is generally mild, but overchargqd with humidity, and in the higher regions the winters are protracted and severe. The broken character of the surface prevents any thing like extensive agricultural industry, but abundant pasturage is found in the valleys. The wheat crop fre quently fails. Rye succeeds better, and is often mixed with the maize which forms the principal food of all but the higher classes. Chestnuts here, as elsewhere in Spain, an important article of diet are very abundant on the hills, and the tree supplies valuable timber. Other timber- trees, such as oak and beech, are found in the moun tains, along with various medicinal plants, such as helle bore, angelica, and valerian. Apples are abundant, and cider forms the common drink of the people ; but little attention is paid to vines. The horses of Asturias are specially gentle and sure-footed, ranking among the best in Spain, and excelling those of Andalusia in strength, though surpassed by them in beauty. Wild deer, boars, and bears are not uncommon among the mountains ; and the sea-coasts, as well as the streams, abound with fish of various kinds, including salmon and lampreys, which are sent to the markets of Madrid.
With regard to mineral wealth, Asturias can no longer boast, as it did in the days of the Romans, of satisfying the quest of the " pale seeker after gold, " but it possesses valuable coal-measures, which are worked at Langres, Mieres, Santo Firme, &c., and furnish a supply to Cadiz, Carthagena, and other ports in the Mediterranean. The yield in 1868 was 2,720,000 met. quintals, or upwards of 267,000 tons. Beneath the coal-beds there is frequently a large development of hematite or iron ore; copper mines are worked in the neighbourhood of the river Aviles ; and lead, magnesia, arsenic, cobalt, lapis lazuli, alum, antimony, jet, marble, and rock-crystal are found in various parts of the province, while amber and coral are gathered along the coast. Fuel of various kinds being plentiful, several manufactories of copper utensils are maintained, which supply some parts of Leon and Castile with kettles, pots, and similar articles. There used, besides, to be a large royal cannon-foundry near Oviedo. Coarse cloth is manu factured in the province, but not in sufficient quantity to supply the inhabitants. The roads in Asturias are not of a very satisfactory description, with the exception of the Camino real, or royal highway, leading from Gijon to Leon and Madrid, which was projected by Jovellanos, himself a native of Gijon, and cost so much that Charles V. inquired if it were paved with silver. It is carried by means of bridges and embankments over every impediment of a rug ged and mountainous territory. A railway has been formed from Gijon to Langres, about twenty-five miles inland, where there are mines ; and a more important line uniting Gijon to Leon has for long been " in course of construction."
towns of importance are Gijon, Aviles, Llanes, and Luarca. Ten miles E.S.E. of Oviedo is the collegia! church and sanctuary of Covudonga, famous for its connection with the struggle of Pelayo against the Moors. The people of Asturias have been called the Swiss of Spain : they are robust, patient, and hardy ; unenterprising, but laborious ; hospitable to strangers, and enthusiastic lovers of their country. Like the Swiss, they leave their homes in large numbers, and make a living in the southern cities as ser vants arid water-carriers, the married women even often hiring themselves as nurses in Madrid and elsewhere. The native dialect is called Bable, and among other distinctive marks em ploys /for the usual Spanish h in many words, thus approaching nearer to the original Latin. There is a special clan among the Asturians called the Baqueros, who lead a nomadic life, tending their cattle in winter on the coast, and in summer on the mountains of Leytariegos. They never marry beyond the bounds of the tribe. The ancient Asturians or Astures so called, it is supposed, from the old Spanish root ast, a hill-fortress were in pos session, not only of the present province, but also of what is now the northern part of Leon, where they have left their name to the city of Astorga. The district south of
the Cantabrian mountains was subjugated by the Romans
