21ST CENTURY NORTHUMBRIA HERBAL PROJECT NEWSLETTER No.4 MARCH 2019 Contents: This issue contains some articles and poetry in full; others are shortened with the full article available on the Regional website on the Herbal Project site at https://u3asites.org.uk/northumbria/page/85303. In this issue of the newsletter we have a range of poetry and folklore from Felicetta Smith, a fascinating article from Margaret Timothy about the health benefits of indoor plants; Carol Burnett gives a progress report on her physic garden; some historical medicine articles show traditional remedies from County Archives (going as far back as 1610) and also how medicines moved from herbal to chemical ingredients.
Websites and Books.
With a plethora of herbal sites on the internet it is difficult, if not impossible, to separate the wheat from the chaff and to know which sites are contain reliable information and are not sites which are mainly vehicles to sell particular products. With this in mind and after feedback about the difficulty of knowing where to find quality information, we are soon adding to the Herbal Project section of the Regional website a list of websites that give good quality and reliable information about herbs as medicines. If anyone has other websites that they have found useful and reliable, please let me know so we can add to the list.
Books: As with the internet, there are many, many herbal books out there – some based on historic herbals, some on specific conditions, some more generalised and so on ….. This makes preparing a book list difficult but not impossible. As a starting point, Carol has prepared a list of books, and I have added a list of herbalist-authors who write with authority of herbs and herbal matters – again available for download from the Regional website. Anne Larvin Alnwick U3A Email: [email protected]
REMEDIES FROM THE ARCHIVES
Our county archives are treasure troves of historical information and included in these troves are remedies and recipes for traditional medicines.
Woodhorn Museum, just outside Ashington, holds the majority of Archive records for Northumberland and a visit there can unlock some fascinating information on traditional treatments and remedies from earlier centuries. (Woodhorn/Archive staff are currently updating their on-line archive and so searches can be frustrating and sometimes unproductive): https://northumberland.spydus.co.uk/cgi- bin/spydus.exe/MSGTRN/OPAC/BSEARCH_ARC?HOMEPRMS=ARCPARAMS
If the Northumberland Archive yields little, it may be helpful to do the same search in the National Archive database. The link below shows the results from a search for the Bamburgh Dispensary: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_q=Bamburgh+Dispensary Nice to see that the Dispensary had a ‘wine account’ and from this, they dispensed wine daily to their patients! The Dispensary was actually a hospital at the castle with in-patients as well as out- patients, set up in the late eighteenth century, but more about that another time.
Another archive resource is the County Durham and Darlington Archive at County Hall in Durham City: http://www.durhamrecordoffice.org.uk/article/8338/Home. They describe themselves as ‘a mine of information’ so it could be happy hunting.
And finally, the Tyne & Wear Archives are held at the Discovery Museum in Blandford Square just off Westgate Road. https://twarchives.org.uk/collection/catalogue
A relatively recent on-line resource is The Cullen Project. http://www.cullenproject.ac.uk/ transcribed and brought to the internet by University of Glasgow in association with the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh. Dr William Cullen, who died, aged 80 years, in 1790, left a fascinating archive of letters, consultations and prescription. He was an Edinburgh doctor, who was very famous and influential in his day – a friend of Adam Smith, David Hume and others. Some of his patients hailed from the Borders and North Northumberland but his fame meant that he corresponded with patients and physicians from the whole of the UK and Europe with the occasional correspondence with the West Indies and America. Among his more illustrious patients, he had at least one consultation about Dr Samuel Johnson with James Boswell shortly before Dr Johnson died in 1784 (No, it wasn’t his treatment that killed him!). This archive is well worth a good rummage around, showing, as it does, the medical approach in the late eighteenth century at a time when plant medicines had moved largely towards ‘exotic’ plants from distant, overseas origins, and an increasing use of chemicals such as lead or mercury as part of a remedy. What is also very evident in the consultation letters is the emphasis that Dr Cullen places on the type of diet followed, the exercise taken and spa baths. He frequently recommended cold water baths - just the ticket if you are feeling ill or fragile.
From the Northumberland Archive
Visiting the Northumberland Archive, held at Woodhorn colliery museum, there are many records that provide an insight into past centuries’ treatment of health and disease. The earliest I found was a book started in 1610, ‘A Book of Physicke & Chyrugery’ by Edward Potter, which included a treatment ‘for memory’. Over the following 2 centuries it was added to by various un-named people. Later records include a recipe for Fern Soap, a remedy for burns and a recipe of 21 herbs marinated in brandy as a ‘surfett water’. Details of these and more remedies from the archive can be found if you click on a link on the right side of the Regional website Herbal Project page.
An Exploration of North East Traditional Plant Remedies by Margaret Timothy INDOOR PLANTS FOR HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Plants can transform the look of a room. Their role in helping our health and wellbeing is less widely known. Horticultural scientists advise that house plants can benefit our physical and emotional health through removing toxins and particles. NASA tests in a space craft packed with plants showed markedly better air. Within their BioHome project NASA has found common house plants serve as living air purifiers. Living closer to nature can also help you to live longer. Hospital patients who have a view of nature recover from illness and surgery more quickly than those who don’t. Indoor air can be up to 10 times more polluted than outdoor air. Toxic gases emitted from paints, cleansers, air fresheners, vinyl floors, carpets, upholstery fabrics, furniture and much more can cause damage to our bodies. Plant-filled rooms contain 50-60% fewer airborne moulds and bacteria than rooms without plants. Plants can capture potentially harmful gaseous and volatile chemical compounds in 3 ways through small pores in their leaves, by diffusion through the plant cuticle on the leaf surface and through the activity of micro- organisms
Varieties of dracaena(a small shrub), ficus(figs), nephrolepis(ferns) and syngonium(vines) can remove the largest quantities of these compounds. A spider plant placed in a small enclosed space can remove 96% of carbon monoxide from the air.
Plants boost air humidity levels through evapotranspiration – the movement of water from leaves and soil into the atmosphere Therefore they can relieve the impact of ‘sick building syndrome’ which can cause dry skin, itchy eyes, respiratory irritations and headaches. Peace lilies and ivy have particularly high transpiration rates.
Groupings of plants with variation in plant shape, size and colour often grow better as humidity naturally increases around them – reducing stress on the plants as well as people The positive effect is not fully understood but care for plants can give a sense of purpose and reward and in work situations there can be perceived wellbeing through a theory called ‘attention restoration’ .Many research projects have found reduced fatigue and stress in office workers when plants were present. There were also less cold-related illnesses less sick days taken.
Plants with the best benefits. The following plants are most effective in removing chemicals-:
Mother Fern Dragon Tree Ivy
Ficus Phalaenopsis (orchids) Peace Lily
Ferns Chrysanthemum Palms
Spider Plant Orchids Mother-in-law’s tongue
Gerbera Azalea
Carol’s Physic Garden Adventures Part 2
In the Oct 2018 issue of our newsletters I told you the story of my idea to create a mini physic garden at my home near Alnwick. I told you how it developed from a neglected patch of grass to 5 planters containing medicinal plants which I was able to watch grow and, more importantly, use.
Although Spring 2018 was very late in arriving, most of the plants survived, eventually grew and were still producing leaves and flowers well into October. For example, the marigolds look wonderful in the picture taken 6th Oct and the trailing Tom Thumb tomatoes were still producing fruit at the beginning of Nov! I have yet to try the green tomato chutney I made.
October 6th 2018 17th January 2019
Although we had some snow in mid- January, as I write in mid Feb 2019 spring seems to have arrived! The Moroccan mint is growing and there are new shoots on the fennel. In the side path patch the mugwort will need to be contained and the lemon balm is nearly ready to pick and use. The other mint varieties are slower to shoot and it will be interesting to see how they do.
17th February 2019
My plan for the next few weeks is to have another patch of garden dug over. I will transplant larger plants such as Angelica, Valerian and Wormwood, leaving space in the planters to experiment with new herbs. I need some trailing medicinal plants for the planters such as creeping thyme. The seeds didn’t germinate last year so I will try seedlings. I hope my miniature apple, pear and plum trees bear fruit this year. The Morello Cherry seems to like its sunny position against a south facing wall, so I think I will purchase 1 or 2 more. I may have to grow some more annuals such as nasturtium, marigold and borage although I suspect they will have self-seeded and will pop up all over the garden!!
Another project for 2019 is to grow and explore the medicinal uses of the various varieties of Artemisia, especially Artemisia annua (Sweet Annie) which is used as an antimalarial treatment.
It is so good to get out into the garden again and I will soon be making fresh mint teas and nettle soup again! Carol Burnett, February 2019
HEROIC MEDICINE
In today’s world of modern pharmaceutical drugs prescribed by doctors and dispensed by chemists, it is easy to forget that plants were main orthodox medicine of the day for more than a millennium. Plant medicine was not limited to the ‘Still Room’ or the local ‘wise woman’ but was the basis of physicians’ and apothecaries’ practice until the eighteenth century and the increasing influence of chemical treatments including metals and minerals.
The idea that germs caused diseases did not become part of mainstream medicine until the late nineteenth century: during cholera epidemics in mid Victorian times, it was thought by most doctors to be due to ‘miasmas’ in the air rather than attributed to, the then unknown concept, of a bacterium. The name ‘heroic medicine’ was given to medicine practised at that time because of the powerful doses given – often requiring a truly heroic constitution to survive! For example, the standard treatment for cholera, as advised by doctors in Newcastle in the 1853 Cholera epidemic, was: 1. Dose patient with calomel (mercury) - ½ grain every 20/30 minutes 2. Give patient a mixture of egg white, brandy and potassium nitrate – 1 to 2 teaspoonfuls every 5/10 minutes. 3. Apply mustard plasters to the stomach 4. Strap the patient to his/her bed and finally 5. After the crisis (and assuming neither the disease nor the treatment had been fatal), shave the patient’s head and apply cold poultices.
In contrast, the standard herbal (or as it had become known in some areas, medical botany) treatment required: 1. Keep the patient warm with hot herbal drinks 2. Rectal injections/enemas of Oak bark, Tormentil root, Myrrh, Bayberry root bark, Cayenne, and Ginger root. 3. Give lobelia leaf tea as an emetic 4. After the crisis, strengthen with slippery elm and arrowroot.
Treatment Ingredients Mercury – A common medicine for centuries and a particular favourite treatment for those with syphilis. No-one knows how many deaths and/or disabilities this treatment caused over the centuries. Potassium nitrate - Nowadays used in the production of fertilisers, rocket propellants and fireworks. Yummy. Mustard seed (Brassica alba) Plasters – A poultice based on mustard seed powder and applied to the skin as a ‘counter irritant’ and which brings blood (and heat) to the area where the poultice is applied. Oak bark (Quercus rubra); Tormentil root (Potentilla erecta); Bayberry root bark (Myrica cerifera) – these herbs are all highly astringent and thus used to treat (and reduce) diarrhoea. Myrrh resin (Commiphora molmol) – used as a tincture in this case, Myrrh is a powerful anti-inflammatory and antibiotic herb. Cayenne fruit (Capsicum minimum); Ginger root (Zingiber officinalis) – both herbs are warming (think ‘Deep Heat’!) and Cayenne has also been more recently trialled as a pain relief when applied to the skin because it numbs the nerve endings at certain dose levels. Lobelia (Lobelia inflata) – Employed in this instance as an emetic, an effect achieved at high doses of the herb. Traditionally used as expectorant and anti-asthmatic especially when leave are smoked – just ask Marcel Proust.
As the eighteenth century progressed, chemical and mineral medicines became increasingly popular, and plant medicines developed into using ever more exotic plants from around the world, rather than native plants; over- the-counter patent medicines became more widely available – and wilder in their claims of curing or healing too. Richard Lewins sold medicines from his Chemist shop in Morpeth in the early 1820’s until the mid-nineteenth century.
An advert for his shop (below) and what medicines he sold was found in the Northumberland Archive at Woodhorn museum. Many of the drugs advertised for sale, directly to the public in this shop, contain metals or minerals which are nowadays considered poisonous and not for human consumption; only a few are common, traditional plant-based medicines such as Valerian, Lavender, and Sweet Violet. The patent medicines advertised in Richard Lewin’s bill poster are evidence of an industrialisation of popular medicine with branded products becoming more widely advertised and available in shops.
https://communities.northumberland.gov.uk/007017FS.htm Some ingredients are now well-known today as homeopathic medicines but in the 19th century it was more likely that doses of such herbs sold by Mr Lewin were at the ‘heroic’ level rather than homeopathic levels. (Homeopathy as a medical philosophy and treatment was not developed until the early 19th century and did not become popular until mid-19th century).
For an expanded article and explanation of several of the medicines sold by Richard Lewins and other chemists, see the Herbal project page on the Regional website.
FOUR THIEVES VINEGAR Thought to have developed as a preventive (and maybe a cure) for the Black Death /The Plague which stalked Europe in the Middle Ages, Four Thieves Vinegar is an herbal mix of antibiotic/antiseptic herbs which, who knows, might offer new avenues for modern day antibiotic research. Individually fairly powerful, together more powerful.
Question: Who were the thieves? We do not know their names. They robbed the sick and the dead and because they were Answer: thieves their punishment may have been to bury the dead. Question: Where?
Answer: Marseille or Toulouse, Southern France
Question: When?
Answer During the Black Death 1347-1351 or the Plague of 1628-1631
Question: How was the plague spread ? The Black Death was carried by fleas that were on the black rats. It also spread by human Answer contact. New research said it is more likely by human fleas! Question: What was special about the thieves?
Answer They did not catch the plague.
Question: Why did they not catch the plague?
Answer The Thieves said it was because they had a special vinegar!
Question: What was in the vinegar?
Answer There are different recipes but the basic recipe was a vinegar infused with herbs
Question: Why might it have protected the thieves from catching the plague? The thieves may have been immune to the plague; People did know that herbs were antibacterial at time but did not know about germs, although they knew certain plants helped in sickness and we know some of the plants they Answer used did work: Vinegar is a disinfectant used since Greek times; Garlic is antibacterial. Meadowsweet contains salicylic acid that is in aspirin. Question: When did the doctors wear black robes with a mask and beak?
Answer It may not have been till the 17th century
Question: Why did they have a beak? Sickness was thought to be caused bad smelling air, sometimes called miasma. Answer There sweet smelling dried plants in the beak. Could this have been why doctors got the name Quacks?
A couple of recipes for the vinegar!
Four Herb Vinegar White wine vinegar Antibacterial; Antiseptic Wormwood Insect Repellent Meadowsweet Antibacterial; Antiseptic Wild Marjoram Antibacterial; Antiseptic Sage Antiseptic; Antibacterial; Insect Repellent Clove Insect Repellent; Antiseptic; Anti-inflammatory Campanula Insect Repellent; Anti-inflammatory Angelica Antiseptic. (Although Angelica not used much today, it was highly valued). Rosemary Antimicrobial; Antifungal White Horehound Antibacterial Camphor Insect Repellent
Or perhaps An Alternative Four Herb Vinegar Dried Rosemary Antibacterial; Antifungal; Anti- Inflammatory Dried sage Antiseptic ; Antibacterial; Insect Repellent. Dried lavender flowers Antiseptic Fresh rue Antifungal; Disinfectant Camphor dissolved in spirit Sliced Garlic Antibiotic, Disinfectant Bruised Cloves Antimicrobial Distilled Vinegar Antibacterial, Disinfectant
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_thieves_vinegar https://www.pressreader.com/uk/bbc-history-magazine/20160104/282853664973267 https://bethtrissel.wordpress.com/the-journey-behind-colonial-american-romance-novel-traitors-legacy/ https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/people-politics/was-king-arthur-just-a-myth/ http://www.biomelsante.com/en/four-thieves-vinegar-natural-antiseptic-recipe-4-thieves-vinegar/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_doctor_costume “Plants For a Medieval Herb Garden in the British Isles” by Beth Trissel “The Herb and Spice book”. Sarah Garland “Herbs and Healing Plants” Dieter Podlech “The Herb Bible” Peter McHoy and Pamela Westland SAGE
Family Lamiaceae Genus Salvia Species Salvia Officinalis
‘Salvus’ means saved healthy. The Greek and Romans first used sage as a preservative. The Arabs thought it could extend one’s life. This was picked up the Crusaders who believed it extended life. In Salerno* it was said “why should die the man in who's garden grows sage”. *Salerno was the site of the most famous Medieval medical school in Western Europe. The Chinese, when trading with the Dutch in seventeenth century, would trade three chests of tea for one chest of sage. Sage is an herb used by Native American Indian Tribes as incense and a purifying plant, offering protection against evil. It is burned in cleansing ceremonies and in medicine bundles and amulets.
Gardener's Path https://gardenerspath.com/plants/plant-folklore/ Mysterious Croatia https://mysteriouscroatia.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/sage-queen-of-medicinal- herb/ Native American Sag Mythology www.native-languages.org/legends-sage.htm New World Encyclopedia www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Sage
BASIL Family: Lamiaceae (mint family) Genus: Ocimum Species: Ocimum basilicum There are several species of the genus Ocimum, the one commonly used here is Sweet Basil Basil grows wild in Africa, Asia and some Pacific Islands and it is thought to have come to Europe from India. Basilicum may originate from basileus the Greek word meaning ‘king’, or from basilisk the late Middle English word derived from Latin and meaning ‘little king’ or ‘serpent’.
Ocimum comes from the Greek ozo, which means smell. - The French call Basil the herb royal, perhaps from the Greek name meaning king. - Basil is also associated with scorpions, this may be from the Latin meaning serpent. Scorpions were said to be found under pots of basil, and some believed basil may turn into a scorpions. A French doctor called Hilarius thought smelling basil might cause scorpions to evolve in the brain. - The Egyptians used basil in skin balms, and in their embalming of the dead. - The Romans considered it magical plant associated with Venus. - Jewish folklore thought it gave strength will fasting - The Greek Orthodox Church use Holy Basil in their preparation of Holy Water. - Legend says that St Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, found basil growing on the site of the cross. - In medieval times some thought it to be poisonous. (Ed. Which makes a change as in the Middle Ages, and a bit beyond, so many herbs were thought to protect or cure poisonous bites whether from snakes or mad dogs) - Lord Bacon 1561-1627 in his Natural History said basil turned into thyme when exposed to the sun. Basil is sowen in gardens in earthen pots ...it is good for the hart and for the head. The seede cureth the infirmities of the hart, taketh away sorrowfulnesse which cometh melancholies, and maketh a man merrie and glad Gervase Markham 1616 HOLY BASIL
Another species of Basil is Holy Basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum previously Ocimum sanctum), and known as Tulsi in Ayurvedic medicine. It is a sacred herb to Hindus. The Hindus planted it around their temples and placed it around their dead to protect them in the afterlife. It is thought of as a spirit that protects family in the home. At one time Hindus would swear on Basil instead of the Bible in a British Court of Law. Devotion to the Tulsi plant, sweet basil; A lady ascetic, 1800s, Rajasthan. (freepik.com)(Ancient origins website Below) Whilst considered of great significance throughout much of history and in many cultures, in the 1980s the British Ministry of Agriculture’s bulletin on herbs stated basil to be of little or no importance!
Tomato Basil and Mozzarella Salad I do not give amounts as this depends on choice, taste and how many people are sharing the salad. Cherry Tomatoes Basil Mozzarella Salt and pepper Olive Oil Wine vinegar Chives or spring onions and Capers optional - Cut the tomatoes in half - Tear the basil leaves - slice mozzarella - chop the chives or spring onions - Add capers to the dish - Add salt, pepper, olive oil, vinegar and mix.
If making salad in advance, add cheese just before serving. If using Balsamic vinegar, serve the cheese separately, as the dark vinegar discolours the cheese.
Herbs - http://academics.hamilton.edu//our_research_files/foodforthoughtherbs.pdf Ancient Origins - https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/sacred-plant-eternal-love-and-healing- mythology-and-magic-basil-009395 MYSPICER.COM - https://www.myspicer.com/history-of-basil/ New World Encyclopedia - http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Basil Our Herb Garden - http://www.ourherbgarden.com/herb-history/basil.html The spruce Eats - https://www.thespruceeats.com/the-history-of-basil-1807566 A Pinch of Herbs . Katy Holder & Gail Duff
The Rowan Tree Its Latin name is Sorbus aucuparia: ‘Sorbus’ for red or reddish brown; ‘aucuparia’ meaning ‘bird catch’; and ‘Rowan’ meaning ‘red’. The Rowan tree is also called Mountain Ash even though it isn’t a member of the Ash family. Flowering in May, it is sometimes confused with Elderflower which flowers at the same time. The Goddess Hebe spread youth-giving ambrosia from a chalice to the gods. Hebe dropped the chalice. Demons tried to steal the chalice. An Eagle fought the demons. Drops of blood and feathers dropped to the ground from the Eagle. There grew a tree with leaves like Eagle feathers and red berries from the blood, the Rowan. In Norse mythology, Man was made from the Ash tree and Woman from the Rowan,
The Rowan has white flowers, this makes a Goddess or Faerie Tree There is a five pointed star on a rowan berry opposite the stalk end, a pentagram. A pentagram wards of evil and so does the colour red. Rowan Trees are planted at the front of a house as a protection against evil. All herb information, poetry and recipes from Felicetta Smith, Durham U3A
And, to finish, here is a less than flattering poem about a Newcastle Apothecary:
THE NEWCASTLE APOTHECARY By George Colman, the Younger. Printed 1797
A Man, in many a country town, we know Professing openly with death to wrestle; Ent’ring the field against the grimly foe, Arm’d with a mortar, and a pestle.
Yet, some affirm, no enemies they are; But meet just like prize-fighters, in a Fair: Who first shake hands before they box, Then give each other plaguy knocks, With all the love and kindness of a brother: So (many a suff’ring Patient saith) Though the Apothecary fights with Death, Still they’re sworn friends to one another.
A member of this Aesculapian line, Lived at Newcastle upon Tyne: No man could better gild a pill; Or make a bill; Or mix a draught, or bleed, or blister; Or draw a tooth out of your head; Or chatter scandal by your bed; Or give a glister.
Of occupations these were quantum suff: Yet still he thought the list not long enough; And therefore Midwifery he chose to pin to’t. This balanced things: for if he hurl’d A few score mortals from the world, He made amends by bringing others into’t
His fame, full six miles, round the country ran; In short, in reputation, he was solus: All the old women called him a ‘fine man’! His name was Bolus
Benjamin Bolus, though in trade, (Which oftentimes will Genius fetter) Read works of fancy it is said; And cultivated the Belles Lettres.
And why should this be thought so odd? Can’t men have taste who cure a phthysick? Of Poetry through Patron God, Apollo patronises Physick
Bolus loved verse….and took much delight in’t, That his prescriptions he resolved to write in’t.
Nor opportunity he e’er let pass, Of writing the directions, on his labels, In dapper couplets….like Gay’s Fables; Or rather like the lines in Hudibras.
Apothecary’s verse…and where’s the treason? ‘Tis simply honest dealing – not a crime – When patients swallow physick without reason, It is but fair to give a little rhyme..
He had a patient lying at death’s door, Some three miles from town – it might be four; To whom, one evening, Bolus sent an article, In Pharmacy, that’s called cathartical. And, on the label of the stuff, He wrote this verse; Which one would think was clear enough, And terse….
‘When taken, To be well shaken’
Next morning, early, Bolus rose; And to the patient’s house he goes. Bolus arrived; and gave a doubtful tap; Between a single and a double rap
The servants let him in, with dismal face, Long as a courtier’s out of place- Portending some disaster; John’s countenance as rueful look’d, and grim, As if th’Apothecary has physick’d him, And not his master.
‘Well how’s the Patient?’ Bolus said. John shook his head. ‘Indeed! – hum! Ha! – that’s very odd! ‘He took the draught?’- John gave a nod. ‘Well, - how? – what then? – speak out, you dunce!’ ‘Why then’ says John ‘we Shook him once’ ‘Shook him! – how?’ Bolus stammered out: ‘We jolted him about’ ‘Zounds! Shake a patient, man! – a shake won’t do’ ‘No, sir – and so we gave him two’ ‘Two shakes! ‘Ods curse! ‘ ‘Twould make the Patient worse’ ‘It did so, Sir! – and so a third we tried’ ‘Well, what then? - ‘Then, Sir, my master died’.