very leafy; flowers greenish yellow, in short, dense As trocar yum

( Bot. ) See COCOEE. spikes. Astrakhan, or A STR A CAN, an extensive govt. of European Ru ia, lying along the N.W. of the Caspian sea, and divided by the Volga into two nearly equal portions. Area , 63,237 sq. m. A. is one of the least important provinces of the Ru ian empire. It consists almost entirely of sandy steppes and saline lakes; but in the delta of the Volga, agriculture and gardening are succe fully practised. The heats in summer, and the frosts in winter, are equally extreme. Fisheries form the principal wealth of this government, and about 30,000 barrels of caviare are exported annually. The inhabitants are mostly nomads, and include a variety of races. Pop . 708,911. ASTRAK'HAN, a city, and cap. of the above government, lies on the Volga, about 30 m. from its mouth; Lat. 46° 27' N.; Lon. 48° 6' E. This "Alexandria of the Scythian Nile," as it is sometimes called, consists of three divisions:-the Kremlin , or citadel; the Bielogorod (white town); and the Slobodes , or suburbs. It has crooked streets, with the houses nearly all built of wood. Manf. Cottons, woollens, and silks; distilleries, tanneries, . A. is the entrepôt of the trade with countries E. of the Caspian, and it is the principal harbor of that sea. A., besides being the residence of a Greek archbishop, po e es Moslem, Armenien, Hindoo, and Protestant places of worship. Pop . (1897) est. 95,000 ASTRAKHAN, is also the name of a fine fur, the product of sheep found in Asia.