Dr. Ward's and Dr. Saunder's Remedies for Dropsy / A Recipe from Sir Benjamin Strange by Dr. Carmichael Smith

[ Dr. Ward's and Dr. Saunder's Remedies for Dropsy / A Recipe from Sir Benjamin Strange by Dr. Carmichael Smith ] Dr. William James Almon

Contributors
Contributor Role
Compiler
Contributor Name
Dr. William James Almon

Date: Late 18th century; exact date unknown.

Publication Format
Manuscript

Type
Medicine

Symptoms
dropsy
edema

Ingredients
jalap
cream of tartar
elaterium
mustard seed
horseradish
sherry
Madeira

Places
Halifax
Nova Scotia
London
England

Source: Manuscript Notebook of Dr. William James Almon
Institution: Nova Scotia Archives | Source Origin: Almon Family Fonds | Reference: MG 1 / Microfilm Reel 10,045

Description

Methods used by Doctors Ward and Saunders for treating dropsy, followed by a recipe by Dr. Carmichael Smith transcribed by Sir Benjamin Strange, p. 71. It is unclear whether the latter recipe is intended to treat dropsy or another ailment.


Images
Transcription

Jalap & Cream Tartar twice a week was the
great Doctor Ward’s Remedy for a Dropsy --
Dr. Saunders recommends an Infusion of the
Rad: [Scuper Sere] -- He also uses the Elaterium
with great success --
______________________________________________________

A Receipe from
Sir Benjamin
Strange Ben
by 
Dr. [--] Carmichael
Smith

           Take of Mustard Seed bruised half an Ounce, of Horsereddish
           scraped fine two drachms, of squills two drachms shred fine,
These Ingredients must be put into a quart of Sherry or Madeira
and kept at the side of a fire for 48 hours, shaking the bottle
frequently, then strain it off and take a tea cupful of it
Morning and evening. 
 

Annotations
A well-known purgative derived from the squirting cucumber. Can be fatal if used in large quantities.
(Also Smyth) Likely the London physician John M. Scudder describes as devising a disinfecting agent around 1790 (The Eclectic Medical Journal, Vol. 38, No. 1, 1878, p. 35). See also Joseph Jones, M.D., Medical and Surgical Memoirs Vol. 3, Part 2. (New Orleans, 1890).
Flowering bulbs used for a variety of medicinal purposes.