[Sca-cooks] Lemons in Middle English

[Jeff Gedney]

>As I understand it, use and discovery of lemons and limes as remedies for
>scurvy is relatively recent- Brandu, would you care to comment?
>

Actually, from every indication, the remedy was discovered and lost several times. the medical philosophy of the day was that scurvy was caused by emanation from the sea and sea air as man was a terrestrial creature and while the land nourishes a man, the sea is harmful to him. That notion of bad air (Mal Aria) was so pervasive in medical philosophy that it was retained even in the face of mounting empirical evidence of the antiscorbutic properties of citrus and other fruits. It was not until well after period that the connection was firmly made.

I have a book "Medicin and the Navy", that deals to some extent the subject, but it is at the office, you will have to wait until tomorrow for a more detailed answer.


Capt Elias
-Renaissance Geek of the Cyber Seas

-------------------------------------------------------------
If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather 
wood, divide the work, and give orders.  Instead, teach them
to yearn for the vast and endless sea. 
  - Antoine de Saint Exupery