A S I
Called in Cornwall, the blind, and more ufually, the bib. 5. The Afellus Mglefimts, or haddock. 6. The Afellus mollis, or common whiting. 7. The Afellus mollis ?nimr, the mollo of the Venetians. 8. The Afllusjlriatus^ called by the Germans, the darfch. 9. The Afellus favefcens, cal- led by the Germans, the blank. To which may be added the Afellus merlucius, or hake ; and the Afellus hngus, or ling. All which fee under their proper heads. Willughby's Hilt. Pifc. p. 160.
Asellus is alfo a name ufed by many authors for the common millepedes, called in Englifh, woodlice and fows. John/, de Infect. 126- See Millepedes, Cycl. and Suppl.
ASHES (Cyd.y-The JJbes of all kinds of fuel make a fine manure for lands. They are the moft proper for cold and wetlands, and mould be kept dry till the time of ufing them, that the rain may not walh out their falts. One load of dry JJbes are found by the farmers to go as far as two loads that have been more carelefly kept. The wetting them moderately fometimes with urine, or foap-fuds, adds to their virtue. Six loads of common JJbes are generally allowed toan acre, but two load of thofe, preferv'd in this manner, will be fufficient for the fame quantity of ground.
The advantage that vegetable JJbes are of to land is abundantly feen in the profit of the farmer, by burning his ftubble, bV. But fea-coal AJbes are the beft for cold lands, and their virtue is found to be the moft lafting of that of any kind.
JJbes are a great improvement for grafs ground, as well as ploughed lands. On the former they are to be ftrcwed in April, and on the latter, as foon as the corn is fown. Soap-Jfas, after the foap-boilers have done with them, are found alfo to be of very great advantage to cold and fowre lands. The worft fort of land we have, which is naturally over-run with furze and heath, has been tried with this ma- nure, in large quantities, and vaft crops of wheat have been obtained from it for fix years together. Mortimer's Huf- bandry.
Kiln-Jjbesy fuch as arc made of ftraw, furze, &c. are as good as any, but they are very light. The maltiters in the Weft of England fift thefe over their corn and grafs, but being very light, this muft by no means be done in windy weather, and fucceeds beft of all when done juft before rain or fnow. Pot-aJJics, after the pot-afh-men have done with them, are alfo of great fervice ; but as they have been, in a great mea- fure, deprived of their fait, they are to be laid on in confide- rable quantity.
I'urf-ajhes are very good for all forts of land, but efpecially for clay land ; but thefe are much the better, when mixed fifft with lime. Miller's, Gardener's Diet.
P^-Ashes. See Pot-Ashes.
ASIARCHA, Ac-ia^;, in antiquity, the fu peri n tend en t of the facred games in Alia. Montfauc, Pakeogr. 1. 2. c. 6. p. 161.
The Jftarcha differed from the Galatareha, Syriarcba, &c. This dignity is alfo called High Priejl of Afia, A^wgius Ao-t«?, in the Latin verfion of the New Teftament, Prince of Afia, Pnnceps Afia. Act. c. xix. v. 31. ti»i? h x«i tm Atnx^x^. Qiiidam de Afise principibus. Calm. D. Bibl. p. 211. Not. 'Tis difputed to what Aha, or divifion of the Eaft, the Afi- arebs were allotted ; whether to Afia Minor, or ihe Procon- fular Afia. V. Wale. Parerg. Acad. p. 152. Some will have the Afiarchs to have been perfons of rank, chofen in the way of honour, to procure the celebration of the folemn games, at their own expences. V. Grot, and Hamm. Annot. ad A£t. xix. 31. Calm. loc. cit.
ASIICTOS, in natural h;ftory, a name given by the antients to a ftonc, defcrib'd to have been of a black colour, variegated with fpots and veins of red.
Pliny tells us this ftone had the remarkable property of retain- ing heat a long time, and that, when once warmed, it would not grow cold again in a week. Salmafius quarrels with the word, and fays, that it ought to be Apfyelos, a-lvxloc.
ASILUS, in zoology, the name ufed by many for the Lutcola, or Regulus non criflatus^ an extremely fmall bird, common among willows. Ray's Ornithology, p. 164. See Lu-
TEOLA.
AS1NARII, an appellation given, by way of reproach, to the antient Chriftians, as well as Jews, from a miftaken opinion, among heathens, that they worfhipped an afs. The appellation was originally given to the Jews, and only became applied to the Chriftians, by confounding the two religions : The Jews were charged with keeping a golden afs's head in the fand/tuary of the temple, to which, on certain occaftons, they paid adoration ; in memory of a herd ofafTes, which, in their pa/Ting through the wildernefs, {hewed Mofes the way, under a cruel want of water, to a fpring. V. Tacit, Hift. 1". 5. c. 3.
Some had even the impiety to reprefent Chrift with an afs's ears, and one foot hoofed, holding a book, with the infeription Deus Cbrijiianorum wox"^. Crinit. de Honeft. Difcipl. 1. 1. c. 9.
ASINIUS Lapis, a name given by fome writers of the middle ages, to a ftone, faid to be found in thofe places frequented by the wild afs. Suppl. Vol. I.
ASP
The defciiption of it is, that it is white, with a caft of' yel- low ; its figure roundifh or oval, and its ufual fize that of a walnut; and that it was foft in comparifon of the generality of ftones, and was fubject to leave holes on the furface* which did not penetrate thro' its whole fubftance ; and finally, that where it was broken, it appeared bright and doily, and of a pale yeJlowifti colour.
Its virtues were againft djforders of the head, the bites of ve- nomous animals, and poifbns. There does not feem to be an/ ftone now known that perfeftly refembles this, according to the description ; but if we confider the general inaccuracy of the writers of thefe times, it appears more than poffible, that this ftone may have been the Bezoar, badly defcrib'd. See Bezoar. ASINUS Pifcis, in zoology, a name given by fome authors ra- the Mglejinus, or common haddock, called alfo Onos. Wil- hgbby's Hift. Pifc. p. 170. See the article j^Lglefinus. ASIO, in zoology, a name given by Aldrovandus, and others, to the otus, or Mer horn owl. Aldrovand. de Avis. See the article Orus. ASKER, a name ufed in fome parts of England for the water- newt, or Elf. Ray's Engl. Words, p. 2. ASLANI, in commerce, a name given to the Dutch doller, current in moft parts of the Levant. Savar. D\6t. Comm. T. 1. p. 166.
The word is alfo written corruptly, AJfelani, It is originally Turkifh, and fignifies a lion, which is the figure ftamped on it. The Arabs taking the figure of the lion for a dog, call it Abukejh.
The Afanik filver, but of a bafe alloy, and oftentimes coun- terfeit. It is current for 115 or 120 afpers. See Asper. ASP, in natural hiftory, a fmall poifonous kind of ferpent, whofe bite gives a fpeedy but eafy death. It is faid to be thus denominated from the Greek ao-wi;, fhield, in regard to its manner of lying convolved in a circle, in the center of which is the head, which its exerts, or raifts, like the umbo or umbilicus of a buckler.
This fpecies of ferpent is very frequently mentioned by au- thors, but fo carelefsly defcribed, that it is not eafy to de- termine which, if any of the fpecies known at prefent, may properly be called by this name. It is faid to be common in Africa, and about the banks of the Nile : And Bellonius mentions a fmall fpecies of ferpent which he had met with in Italy, and which had a fort of callous excrefcence on the forehead, which he takes to have been the Afpis of the an- tients. Ray's Syn. Anim. p. 288. See Asp. Naturalifts mention three fpecies of Afps ; the firft called Cherjaa, the fecond Chelidonia^ and the third Ptyas, the moft fatal of all. V. Gall, de Theriac. c. 8, Aldrovand. I. de Serp. & Drac. c. 7.
It is with the Afp that Cleopatra is faid to have difpatched- herfelf, and prevented the defigns of Auguftus, who intended to have carried her captive to adorn his triumphal entry into Rome \ But the fa£t is contefted : Brown placis it among his vulgar errors. The indications of that queen's having ufed the miniftry of the Afp, were only two almoft infenfible pricks found in her arm. In reality, Plutarch fays, it is un- known what death fhe died of b . — [* A?gin. 1. 5. c. 19. b V. Brozun, Vulg. Err. 1. 5. c. 12. p. 212.] Lord Bacon makes the Ajp the leaft painful of all the inftru- ments of death : He fuppofes its poifon to have an affinity to opium ; but to be lefs difagreeable in its operation a ; which docs not fo well quadrate with the defcription of the fymptoms given by Diofcorides and others. Immediately after the bite, the fight becomes dim, a fenfible tumour arifes, a moderate pain is felt in the ftomach b .— [ a Bac. Nat. Hift. Cent. 7. §. 643. b Diofcor. 1. 6. c. 54.]
Matthiolus adds, that the bite is followed by a ftupor of the whole body, palenefs, coldnefs of the forehead, continual yawning, nictitation of the eyelids, inclination of the neck, heaviness of the head, finking into a profound fieep, and laftly convulfions. Mattbiol. Comm. ad loc. cit. Diofcor. The bite of the Afp is faid by Ariftotle to admit of no remedy. Pliny and /Fgineta allow of no other cure, but to cut off the wounded part. Others recommend burning the part, with the internal ufe of hot alexipharmic medicines. V. Kirch. Mund. Subter. 1. 9. §. 2. T. 2. p. 143. Burggr. Lex. Med. T. t, p. 1156. feq.
The antients had a plaifter called &' Ao-mSuv, made of this ter- rible animal, of great efficacy as a difcutient of ftrumae, and other indurations, and ufed likewife againft pains of the gout. The flefh and fkin, or exuvia of the creature, had alfo their fhare in the antient materia medica. Gal, Theriac. ap. Al- drov. loc. cit. p. 213. Aet. 1. 15. Brun. & Burggr. Lex. Med. in voc. ASPARAGUS, in botany, the name of a genus of plants, the characters of which are thefe : The flower is of the rofaceous kind, being ufually compofed of fix leaves, arranged in a cir- cular form ; from the center of theflower arifes a piftill, which finally becomes a foft fruit, or a roundifh berry, containing a number of hard feeds. To this it may be added, that the leaves are always fine and {lender.
The fpecies of Jfparagus, enumerated by Mr. Tournefort,
are thefe : 1. The common garden Afparagus. 2. The fine-
3 I leav'd
