| Description Of Item | Ingredients listed in the recipe are:
For the decoction: sene leaves and stalks [casasia or cassia augustifolia], English liquorice, cinnamon, and spring water, then cream of tartar, syrup of vinegar, and ‘balme water’.
For the broth: veal neck, polypodium oak fern roots, parsley roots, succory root, fennel root, ‘raysins of the suime’ [grapes], mace [nutmeg tree’s seed’s aril], nutmeg.
For the cordial: ‘Confectio Alkermes’ [electuary made with kermes, aloes extract, ground pearls, musk, ambergris, gold leaf, rose water, cinnamon and sugar], ‘species de geimnis venis’, [illegible] Galeni, ‘conserve of the flowers Anthos’ that is made with rosemary, buglosse, and red roses, and syrup of ‘cortive citri’ [citrus].
It instructs to soak the sene, liquorice, and cinnamon in spring water, then stew it over ‘charcoale fire halfe burnt’ while slowly stirring until it is cold, then strain it with a linen cloth.
This decoction should be used within 5 days. It needs to be reheated before use, and other ingredients added to it. Then the patient should lie in a warm bed for an hour but without sweating or sleeping. After a few hours, the patient should have the broth.
Before taking the decoction, it is recommended to take for 2 or 3 mornings a dram of electuary of ferns. Three days after taking the decoction it is recommended to take the cordial, or opiate.
The last sentence, in another handwriting: ‘This I tooke my selfe John Mearewall?’, same as in BAJ/1/A.
Recipe is marginalia in library copy of Nicholas Culpeper, A Physical Directory (1650) – library reference S10.22.
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