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
