Folio 2. Page 47. Recto

Folio 2. Page 47. Recto

Recipe or Medicine for Starch Clyster and Turpentine Clyster.

Starch Clyster
Jelly of Starch 4 ouncez: Linseed oil
half an ounce- liquify the jelly
over a gentle fire & {n/g} ┌gently┐mix in
the oil- In the Dysentery- this
Clyster may be administered after
every loose stool, to heal the intestines
& blunt the sharpness of
the humours- forty or fifty drops
of Laudanum may occasionally be
added- it will then be the Astringent
Clyster-

Turpentine Clyster
Common decoction,two ounces; Venice
Turpentine, dissolved in the Yolk of an
Egg, half an ounce; Florence oil one
ounce,- this diuretic Clyster is proper
in obstructions of the urinary Vessels
& in cholicky complaints arising from
Gravel-

Raised (superscript) letters are lowered, contractions are expanded, and added letters italicised retaining the apostrophe.  Illegible or lost text, dots for letters illegible {.....}. Editor inserted text is┌ ┐.

Charlotte Starkie

Gillespie Family

1782 to 1808

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Starch ClysterJelly of Starch 4 oz: Linseed oil half an ounce- liquify the jelly over a gentle fire & gently mix in the oil- In the Dysentery- this Clyster may be administered after every loose stool, to heal the intestines & blunt the sharpness of the humours- forty or fifty drops of Laudanum may occasionally be added- it will then be the Astringent Clyster-

Turpentine ClysterCommon decoction,two ounces; Venice Turpentine, dissolved in the Yolk of an Egg, half an ounce; Florence oil one ounce,- this diuretic Clyster is proper in obstructions of the urinary Vessels & in cholicky complaints arising from Gravel-

Linseed oil is derived from Flax. Growing flax was a major farming occupation in Lancashire until it was overtaken by cheaper Gernan imports. Flax was used in the growing textile industry and Blackburn "Cotton Town" was a major user in the industry.

Adding Laudanum to the relatively harmless Starch Clyster makes it a dangerous poison.
    
Central to the treatment of unbalanced humours was the use of herbs. Specific herbs were used to treat all ailments simple, common and complex etc., from an uncomplicated upper respiratory infection to the plague. For example, chamomile was used to decrease heat, and lower excessive bile humour. 
     Eighteenth-century practices such as bleeding a sick person or applying hot cups to a person were, in fact, based on the humoural theory of imbalances of fluids (blood and bile in those cases).
     Of course Huntroyd would have had a substantial herb garden to provide the ingredients.

Turpentine is poisonous so this medicine is not recommended in spite of modern quacks saying it can be used.

Gravel is a disease characterised by small stones which are formed in the kidneys, passed along the ureters to the bladder, and expelled with the urine.

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