The genesis of the American materia medica : including a biographical sketch of "John Josselyn, gent," and the medical and materia medica references in Josselyn's "New-Englands rarities discovered," etc., and in his "Two voyages to New-England," / with critical notes and comments by Harvey Wickes Felter.

  • Felter, Harvey Wickes, 1865-1927.
Date:
[1927]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The genesis of the American materia medica : including a biographical sketch of "John Josselyn, gent," and the medical and materia medica references in Josselyn's "New-Englands rarities discovered," etc., and in his "Two voyages to New-England," / with critical notes and comments by Harvey Wickes Felter. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    62/70 (page 58)
    Tobacco, it is generally made the complement of our entertainment, and has made more slaves than Mahomet.[P. 76] The Indians in New Eng- lang use a small round leafed Tobacco, called by them, or the Fishermen Poke.58 It is odious to the English. . . .” Tobacco 59 [p. 76] : (<The vertues of Tobacco are these, it helps digestion, the Gout, the Tooth-ach, prevents infection by scents, it heats the cold, and cools them that sweat, feedeth the hungry, spent spirits rcstoreth, purgeth the stomach, killeth nits and lice; the juice of the green leaf healeth green wounds, although poysoned; the Syrup for many diseases, the smoak for the Phthis- ick,60 cough of the lungs, distillations of Rheume 61 and all diseases of a cold and moist cause, good for all bodies cold and moist, taken upon an emptie stomach, taken upon a full stomach it precipitates digestion, immoderately taken it dryeth the body, enflameth the bloud, hurteth the brain, weakens the eyes and the sinews “White Hellebore 62 [pp. 76-77] is used for the Scurvie by the English. A friend of mine gave them first a purge, then conserve of Bear-berries,63 then fumed their leggs with vinegar, sprinkled upon a piece of mill-stone made hot, and applied to the sores white Hellebore leaves; drink made of Orpine 64 and sorrel65 were given likewise with it, and Sea-scurvie grass.66 58 See notes by Tuckerman in “Rarities/’ pp. 54-55., reproduced in this series (see note 35, under Josselyn’s “Rarities”). (Felter.) 59 Nicotiana Tabacum L. Tobacco. All of this note concerning Tobacco is italicized by Josselyn, showing the great importance he evidently attached to tobacco. See also note 35 on Tobacco under Josselyn’s “Rarities.” (Felter.) 60 Phthisis: variously spelled in Josselyn’s works ptisick and phthisick. (Felter.) 61 Rheume. Rheum or Rheuma comes from the Greek, meaning “flux,” or “to flow,” and in early medicine had reference to any watery or catarrhal discharge. (See Dor- land’s, Gould’s and other dictionaries). Epidemic rheume was Influenza, particularly of the moist type. Hooper (Medical Diet, of 1850) gives: “Rheuma—the discharge from the nostrils, or lungs, coming from cold; hence, the following lines of the School of Salernum: Si flit ad pectus, dictur rheuma catarrhus, Ad fauces branchus, aid nares esto coryza/’ (Felter.) 62 Veratrum viride Ait. Green Hellebore, American White Hellebore or Indian Poke, often mistaken by others for the European Veratrum album or White Helle¬ bore. (Felter.) 63 Bear-berries [see also “Rarities,” p. 65] are Cranberries (Vaccinium Oxycoccus L, (small cranberry) and Vaccinium macro carp on Aiton (large or American cran¬ berry). (Felter.) 64 Orpine is a Sedum or Stonecrop, probably here the Garden Orpine or Live-for¬ ever, Sedum purpureum Tausch. (Felter.) 65 Elsewhere [“Rarities,” p. 54] Josselyn refers to the “sorrel, with the yellow flower,” accepted by Tuckerman as the Oxalis corniculata L., or Lady’s Sorrel. Two other “sorrels” are common to America—the Oxalis Acetosella L. (common Wood Sorrel or White Wood Sorrel) and the Rumex Acetosella L. (Field or Sheep Sorrel), the latter a dock very common in sheep pastures. As the docks are commonly known