Cup of Tea? To be or not to be

March 28th, 2018

Is the tea in your cup genuine?

The fact is, had one been living in the early 19th Century, one might occasionally encounter a counterfeit cup of tea.  Food adulterations to include added poisonings and suspect substitutions were a common problem in Europe at the time. Continue reading Cup of Tea? To be or not to be

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Category: Editor

Tobacco as Medicine

March 28th, 2018

The first published illustration of Nicotiana tabacum by Pena and De L’Obel, 1570–1571 (shrpium adversana nova: London).

Tobacco can be used for medicinal purposes, however, the ongoing American war on smoking has all but obscured this important aspect of ancient plant.

Tobacco is considered to be an indigenous plant of the Americas and over 60 species are known to exist.  Columbus first ran across cultivated tobacco in 1492.   The word tobacco is a misnomer as the original names given to the various species included petum, betum, cogioba, cohobba, quauhyetl, picietl and yietl. Continue reading Tobacco as Medicine

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Category: Apothecary

He that holds fast the golden mean, And lives contentedly between, The little and the great, Feels not the wants that pinch the poor, Nor plagues that haunt the rich man’s door, Embittering all his state.

— Cowper