Southern Medical Botany of the 19th Century *was* msg to Butch

[Guest guest]

Well, I've tried to send this twice to Butch, but we know superonline.com

is screwing him up bigtime... then I realized the 'herbs' part of this

would be appropriate to share with this group:

 

Hi butch

 

Someone posted a link to the Porcher Medical Botany book, a Southern

classic. I thought you'd like to see it, so here's the link:

 

http://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/porcher/porcher.html

 

Full of historical ethnobotanical info I'm sure you'll love.

 

Here's the entire post from the herbalist:

 

Whoo-hooo....I am so excited. Maybe I am the last person to discover this

resource, but I just found Porcher online!!! I have always wanted to get a

look at Porcher because so many other more recent herbals reference his work,

and because he is talking about MY plants for once! I have read about half of

it now and it is fascinating. While Porcher is still practicing in the time of

medical mercury and bloodletting, he focuses here on botanical remedies for

the confederate troops in the field. Lots of malaria and dysentery, but

some gems as well. For example, his discussion of black cohosh is

excellent. I am still

confused by his use of the term " tonic " -- it appears that he uses it

mostly to

refer to astringents?

 

There are also several other medical/herbal resources on this UNC-Chapel Hill

" Documenting the South " website. I list several items of interest below. There

is also a field surgeon's guide at this site that you might want to skip

unless

you are into field amputations (yech). Enjoy! --Susan of the South

 

Source Description:

TITLE: Resources of the Southern Fields and Forests, Medical, Economical, and

Agricultural. Being also a Medical Botany of the Confederate States; with

Practical Information on the Useful Properties of the Trees, Plants, and

Shrubs

 

Porcher, Francis Peyre, Surgeon P. A. C. S.

xxv, 601 p., ill.

CHARLESTON: STEAM-POWER PRESS OF EVANS & COGSWELL, No. 3 Broad Street. 1863.

Link: http://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/porcher/porcher.html

(Susan's note: Porcher goes family by family and describes the plants and

their

actions and also economic uses. An index is provided by transcribers. Taxonomy

is outdated.)

 

Source Description:

TITLE: Standard Supply Table of the Indigenous Remedies for Field Service and

the Sick in General Hospitals.

7 p. [Richmond?] [s. n.] 1865.

Call Number 1065 Conf. (Rare Book Collection, University of North Carolina at

Chapel Hill)

Link: http://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/remedies/remedies.html

(Susan's note: This is an apothecary supply list of basic botanical medicines

for confederate field hospitals.)

 

Source Description:

TITLE: The Cherokee Physician, or Indian Guide to Health, as Given by Richard

Foreman, a Cherokee Doctor; Comprising a Brief View of Anatomy, With General

Rules for Preserving Health without the Use of Medicines. The Diseases of the

U. States, with Their Symptoms, Causes, and Means of Prevention, are

Treated on

in a Satisfactory Manner. It Also Contains a Description of a Variety of Herbs

and Roots, Many of which are not Explained in Any Other Book, and their

Medical

Virtues have Hitherto been Unknown to the Whites; To which is Added a Short

Dispensatory.

Richard Foreman and Jas. (James) W. Mahoney

308, 5 p. Asheville, NC. Edney & Dedman. 1849.

Call number VC615 M21c (North Carolina Collection, University of North

Carolina

at Chapel Hill)

Link: http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/foreman/foreman.html

(Susan's note: The title says it all. The anatomy and disease descriptions are

of the time. The materia medica is interesting and there are some good

preparation recipes at the end. No english or latin names for some of the

plants. I can't wait to spend some more time with this one!)

 

Source Description:

TITLE: General Directions for Collecting and Drying Medicinal Substances of

the

Vegetable Kingdom: List and Description of Indigenous Plants, etc., Their

Medicinal Properties, Forms of Administration, and Doses. Confederate

States of

America. Surgeon-General's Office

Link: http://docsouth.unc.edu/surgeon/surgeon.html

(Susan's note: This resource is also incorporated as an introduction in

Porcher.)

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