Special Event on the Farm
Herbal Remedies One of the farm children has fallen ill!. Help the farm wife diagnose the disease and harvest herbs from the garden for a cure. Learn the difference between decoctions, infusions, plaisters and poultices, and learn how these remedies were used to treat the dreaded maladies of the 18th century. For the current year's event schedule, please see our calendar of events. Events may be cancelled due to weather conditions.

Information About Herbal Remedies

Please note: information is for education only. Many remedies in the 18th century we now know to be harmful. Please do not use any of this information without first asking your physician.

An overview of herbal remedies in the 18th century

Remedies

Quiz: What's Your Constitution?

Herbs in the eighteenth century were used in four major ways:

1. to flavor food
   
2. to heal illness
   
3. to repel insects
   
4. to dye cloth and yarn

Most herbs had many uses. On Herbal Remedies Day we will focus mostly on the medicinal uses of herbs.

What did the doctors think?

Physicians in the eighteenth century followed a theory of health that was based on the four ancient elements: earth, air, water and fire. They believed that the body had four major humors called blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. Doctors thought that sickness occurred when the humors were unbalanced. For example, as a patient you might have "too much" blood. To get the body back in balance, doctors removed excess humors through bleeding, vomiting, blistering, urinating, sweating or salivating. To add humors back in, doctors would give certain food, herbs or drugs. As you can imagine, these remedies often hurt the patient as much as it cured them!

Did any of this matter to our farm family?

Probably not much. For one thing, our family would be too poor to go to a doctor. First the farm mother would try to heal her family using her own herbal remedies. If she did not succeed, she would consult a more experienced neighbor or family member. These poor farm wives may not have even known about the doctors' complicated theory of humors.

So what did the common folks think?

One primitive theory that poor people believed in is called "the doctrine of the signature." This is the belief that the outward appearance of a plant revealed its medicinal uses. They thought God gave the plant a certain shape or color so that people could recognize how to use the plant. We do not know exactly what poor women did to heal people, because they could not write it down. They learned about herbal remedies from their mothers, and passed the knowledge down to their daughters.

Where did the herbs come from?

The European colonists brought herbs from Europe and planted them in the New World. They also discovered new American herbs, such as ginseng and snakeroot. Our farm family would forage for some herbs in the wild, and plant some herbs in the kitchen garden. There was no herb garden separate from the vegetables.

Here are some of the ways an herbal remedy can be prepared:

An infusion: A liquid made by soaking an herb - usually its dried leaves or flowers - in liquid. An herbal tea is really an infusion.
A decoction: A liquid made by boiling an herb.
A poultice: A soft, moist mass of bread, meal, herbs, etc. applied to the body.
A plaister: A solid or semi solid remedy, spread on cloth or leather and applied to the body.
An electuary: Powder dried herb and mix with three times as much honey.
An oil: Fresh or dried herb is soaked in oil to extract the essences of the herb. Usually applied externally.
An ointment: Fresh or dried herb is soaked in lard to extract the essences of the herb, then mixed with beeswax and turpentine. Applied externally.

These are some of the maladies of the 18th century:

Bloody Flux - fever, severe pain in the bowels and blood in stools. (In the 21st century, this is called "dysentery")
Consumption - a cough of long continuance, which inflames and ulcerates the lungs, accompanied by fever and spitting of blood. Causes the patient to lose strength and flesh. (In the 21st century, "consumption" is called tuberculosis.)
Fever and Ague - fever accompanied by fits of chills and pain in the head.
Flegme or Phlegm - congestion in the chest.
Gravel - kidney stones
Pleurisy - violent cough with shooting pain low in one of the sides. It is painful to breath and even more painful to cough.
Quinsey - fever with swollen throat that makes it difficult and painful to swallow.

Here are some exerpts from 18th century books that give instructions for remedies (remember, do not try any of these; they are for educational purposes only):

Ague From Martha Bradley's The British Housewife, 1756
Asthma From Martha Bradley's The British Housewife, 1756
Cough or Consumption From Martha Bradley's The British Housewife, 1756
Bloody-Flux From William Parks' Every Man his own Doctor: Or, The Poor Planter's Physician, 1734
Sprain From Martha Bradley's The British Housewife, 1756
Cancer From William Parks' Every Man his own Doctor: Or, The Poor Planter's Physician, 1734
Miscarriage From Martha Bradley's The British Housewife, 1756

Quiz: What's Your Constitution?

In the 18th century, a person's body type could be classified into four categories: sanguine, bilious, phlegmatick and melancholick. It was considered healthiest to be a combination of all four types. To discover your constitution, answer the following questions:

1. The amount of blood in your face makes your complexion:

A. of moderate color
B. of high color
C. pale
D. very pale

2. The amount of flesh on your body is:

A. moderate
B. thin
C. generous
D. lean

3. Your temper is:

A. easy and cheerful
B. quick and hasty (you anger easily)
C. sedate and inactive
D. grave and severe

Please note: information is for education only. Many remedies in the 18th century we now know to be harmful. Please do not use any of this information without first asking your physician.

Now count the number of As, Bs, Cs and Ds; each letter corresponds with one of the four constitution types:

If your constitution is an even mix of all of four, congratulations! You are a healthy 18th century person. Be sure you eat a balance of all the types of food: hot, cold, wet and dry, so you keep your constitution in balance. You could also eat foods that are of an even temperature, and an even amount of wet and dry: potatoes, rice, sugar and tea being among them.

Source: Bradley, Martha. The British Housewife, 1756.