[Sca-cooks] mustards

[Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise]

> > In England, when? I was thinking that water would have 
> > to be boiled, otherwise you would be taking a chance 
> > on using water which was contaminated with microbes. 
> 
> 'microbes' ... yeah ... and _everything_ else.  
> 
> Stefan, how could they have generally known about health 
> hazards of water in the Renaissance?  In Holland, about 
> 1595 the microscope was invented by Zacharias Jansenn 
> (his business was grinding lenses for eyeglasses).  Later, 
> Anton van Leeuwenhoek began to make microscopes as a hobby.   

Well, bad water tends to lead with acute directness to dysentery, which 
tends to give people a clue. The 
association of standing water or bad smelling water in particular with 
health risks were known.

Just because we don't know _why_ something is bad for people doesn't 
necessarily mean we can't see when it causes problems.
 
> I recall reading a comment (IIRC, NY Times) that modern 
> archeological examination of period cesspools (coprolites) 
> in London showed that the residents played host to every 
> parasite known to man.  

Well, yes. But the point is that you want to keep a nice balance of 
those sorts of things. That's why there are so many herbs known in 
period for de-worming people. :)

-- 
-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net 
"I don't get the facts wrong.  It's everything else I screw up."
    -- _The Librarian: Quest for the Spear_