Garlic... A Modern Herbal
by Mrs. M. Grieve
Garlic
Botanical: Allium sativum
(LINN.)
Family: N.O. Liliaceae
---Synonym---Poor
Man's Treacle.
---Part Used---Bulb.
The Common Garlic a member
of the same group of plants
as the Onion, is of such
antiquity as a cultivated
plant, that it is difficult
with any certainty to trace
the country of its origin.
De Candolle, in his treatise
on the Origin of
Cultivated Plants,
considered that it was
apparently indigenous to the
southwest of Siberia, whence
it spread to southern
Europe, where it has become
naturalized, and is said to
be found wild in Sicily. It
is widely cultivated in the
Latin countries bordering on
the Mediterranean. Dumas has
described the air of
Provence as being
'particularly perfumed by
the refined essence of this
mystically attractive bulb.'
---Description---
The leaves are long, narrow
and flat like grass. The
bulb (the only part eaten)
is of a compound nature,
consisting of numerous
bulblets, known technically
as 'cloves,' grouped
together between the
membranous scales and
enclosed within a whitish
skin, which holds them as in
a sac.
The flowers are placed at
the end of a stalk rising
direct from the bulb and are
whitish, grouped together in
a globular head, or umbel,
with an enclosing kind of
leaf or spathae, and among
them are small bulbils.
To prevent the plant running
to leaf, Pliny (Natural
History, XIX, 34)
advised bending the stalk
downward and covering it
with earth, seeding, he
observed, may be prevented
by twisting the stalk.
In England, Garlic, apart
from medicinal purposes, is
seldom used except as a
seasoning, but in the
southern counties of Europe
it is a common ingredient in
dishes, and is largely
consumed by the agricultural
population. From the
earliest times, indeed,
Garlichas been used as an
article of diet.
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---History---
Garlic was placed by the
ancient Greeks (Theophrastus
relates) on the piles of
stones at cross-roads as a
supper for Hecate, and
according to Pliny garlic
and onion were invocated as
deities by the Egyptians at
the taking of oaths.
It was largely consumed by
the ancient Greeks and
Romans, as we may read in
Virgil's Eclogues.
Horace, however, records his
detestation of Garlic, the
smell of which, even in his
days (as much later in
Shakespeare's time), was
accounted a sign of
vulgarity. He calls it 'more
poisonous than hemlock,' and
relates how he was made ill
by eating it at the table of
Maecenas. Among the ancient
Greeks, persons who partook
of it were not allowed to
enter the temples of Cybele.
Homer, however, tells us
that it was to the virtues
of the 'Yellow Garlic' that
Ulysses owed his escape from
being changed by Circe into
a pig, like each of his
companions.
Homer also makes Garlic part
of the entertainment which
Nestor served up to his
guest Machaon.
-
There is a Mohammedan
legend that:
-
'when Satan stepped out
from the Garden of Eden
after the fall of man,
Garlick sprang up from
the spot where he placed
his left foot, and Onion
from that where his
right foot touched.'
There is a curious
superstition in some parts
of Europe, that if a morsel
of the bulb be chewed by a
man running a race it will
prevent his competitors from
getting ahead of him, and
Hungarian jockeys will
sometimes fasten a clove of
Garlic to the bits of their
horses in the belief that
any other racers running
close to those thus baited,
will fall back the instant
they smell the offensive
odour.
Many of the old writers
praise Garlic as a medicine,
though others, including
Gerard, are skeptical as to
its powers. Pliny gives an
exceedingly long list of
complaints, in which it was
considered beneficial, and
Galen eulogizes it as the
rustics' Theriac, or
Heal-All. One of its older
popular names in this
country was 'Poor Man's
Treacle,' meaning theriac,
in which sense we find it in
Chaucer and many old
writers.
-
A writer in the twelfth
century - Alexander
Neckam - recommends it
as a palliative for the
heat of the sun in field
labor, and in a book of
travel, written by
Mountstuart Elphinstone
about 100 years ago, he
says that-
-
'the people in places
where the Simoon is
frequent eat Garlic and
rub their lips and noses
with it when they go out
in the heat of the
summer to prevent their
suffering from the
Simoon.'
Garlic is mentioned in
several Old English
vocabularies of plants from
the tenth to the fifteenth
centuries, and is described
by the herbalists of the
sixteenth century from
Turner (1548) onwards. It is
stated to have been grown in
England before the year
1540. In Cole's Art of
Simpling we are told
that cocks which have been
fed on Garlic are 'most
stout to fight, and 50 are
Horses': and that if a
garden is infested with
moles, Garlic or leeks will
make them 'leap out of the
ground presently.'
The name is of Anglo-Saxon
origin, being derived from
gar (a spear) and
lac (a plant), in
reference to the shape of
its leaves.
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---Cultivation---
The ground should be
prepared in a similar manner
as for the closely allied
onion.
The soil may be sandy, loam
or clay, though Garlic
flourishes best in a rich,
moist, sandy soil. Dig over
well, freeing the ground
from all lumps and dig some
lime into it. Tread firmly.
Divide the bulbs into their
component 'cloves' - each
fair-sized bulb will divide
into ten or twelve cloves -
and with a dibber put in the
cloves separately, about 2
inches deep and about 6
inches apart, leaving about
1 foot between the rows. It
is well to give a dressing
of soot.
Garlic beds should be in a
sunny spot. They must be
kept thoroughly free from
weeds and the soil gathered
up round the roots with a
Dutch hoe from time to time.
When planted early in the
spring, in February or
March, the bulbs should be
ready for lifting in August,
when the leaves will be
beginning to wither. Should
the summer have been wet and
cold, they may probably not
be ready till nearly the
middle of September.
The use of Garlic as an
antiseptic was in great
demand during the past war.
In 1916 the Government asked
for tons of the bulbs,
offering 1s. per lb.
for as much as could be
produced. Each pound
generally represents about
20 bulbs, and 5 lb. divided
up into cloves and planted,
will yield about 38 lb. at
the end of the growing
season, so it will prove a
remunerative crop.
-
The following appeared
in the Morning Post
of December 12,
1922:
-
'A Dog's Recovery
-
'Mr. W. H. Butlin,
Tiptree, records the
following experience: A
fox-terrier, aged 14
years, appeared to be
developing rapidly a
pitiable condition, with
a swollen neck and an
ugly intractable sore at
the root of the tail,
and dull, coarse coat
shedding abundantly. I
administered "Yadil
Antiseptic" in his
drinking water and in
less than a month the
dog became perfectly
sound and well, a
mirabile dictu, his
coat became firm, soft,
and glossy.' (Yadil is a
patent medicine said to
contain Garlic.)
-
'In cases of arterial
tension, MM. Chailley-Bert,
Cooper, and Debrey, at
the Society of Biology,
recommended about 30
drops of alcoholic
extract as a remedy. To
be administered by the
mouth or intravenously.'
Although only the cultivated
Garlic is utilized
medicinally, all of the
other species have similar
properties in a greater or
less degree. Several of the
species of Allium are
natives of this country.
The CROW GARLIC (A.
vineale) is widely
distributed and fairly
common in many districts,
but the bulbs are very small
and the labour of digging
them would be great. It is
frequent in pastures and
communicates its rank taste
to mike and butter, when
eaten by cows.
NOTE.--Professor Henslow
calls A. vineale the
Field Garlic, and A.
oleraceum the Crow
Garlic.
RAMSONS (A. ursinum)
grows in woods and has a
very acrid taste and smell,
but it also has very small
bulbs, which would hardly
render it of practical use.
Ransoms is also very
generally known as
'Broad-leaved Garlic.'
The FIELD GARLIC (A.
oleraceum) is rather a
rare plant. Both this and
the Crow Garlic have,
however, occasionally been
employed as potherbs or for
flavouring. It is an old
country notion that if crows
eat Crow Garlic, itstupefies
them.
Ramsons, the wild Wood
Garlic, but for its evil
smell would rank among the
most beautiful of our
British plants. Its broad
leaves are very similar to
those of the
Lily-of-the-Valley, and its
star-like flowers are a
dazzling white, but its
odour is too strong to admit
of it being picked for its
beauty, and many woods,
especially in the Cotswold
Hills, are spots to be
avoided when it is in
flower, being so closely
carpeted with the plants
that every step taken brings
out the offensive odour.
There are many species of
Allium grown in the garden,
the flowers of some of which
are even sweet-smelling (as
A. odorum and A.
fragrans), but they are
the exceptions, and even
these have the Garlic scent
in their leaves and roots.
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---Constituents---
The active properties of
Garlic depend on a pungent,
volatile, essentialoil,
which may readily be
obtained by distillation
with water. It is a sulphide
of the radical Allyl,
present in all the onion
family. This oil is rich in
sulphur, but contains no
oxygen. The pecular
penetrating odour of Garlic
is due to this intensely
smelling sulphuret of allyl,
and is so diffusive that
even when the bulb is
applied to the soles of the
feet, its odour is exhaled
by the lungs.
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---Medicinal Action and
Uses---
Diaphoretic, diuretic,
expectorant, stimulant. Many
marvelous effects and
healing powers have been
ascribed to Garlic. It
possesses stimulant and
stomachic properties in
addition to its other
virtues.
As an antiseptic, its use
has long been recognized. In
the late war it was widely
employed in the control of
suppuration in wounds. The
raw juice is expressed,
diluted with water, and put
on swabs of sterilized
Sphagnum moss, which are
applied to the wound. Where
this treatment has been
given, it has been proved
that there have been no
septic results, and the
lives of thousands of men
have been saved by its use.
It is sometimes externally
applied in ointments and
lotions, and as an
antiseptic, to disperse hard
swellings, also pounded and
employed as a poultice for
scrofulous sores. It is said
to prevent anthrax in
cattle, being largely used
for the purpose.
In olden days, Garlic was
employed as a specific for
leprosy. It was also
believed that it had most
beneficial results in cases
of smallpox, if cut small
and applied to the soles of
the feet in a linen cloth,
renewed daily.
It formed the principal
ingredient in the 'Four
Thieves' Vinegar,' which was
adapted so successfully at
Marseilles for protection
against the plague when it
prevailed there in 1722.
This originated, it is said,
with four thieves who
confessed, that whilst
protected by the liberal use
of aromatic vinegar during
the plague, they plundered
the dead bodies of its
victims with complete
security.
It is stated that during an
outbreak of infectious fever
in certain poor quarters of
London, early last century,
the French priests who
constantly used Garlic in
all their dishes, visited
the worst cases with
impunity, whilst the English
clergy caught the infection,
and in many instances fell
victims to the disease.
Syrup of Garlic is an
invaluable medicine for
asthma, hoarseness, coughs,
difficulty of breathing, and
most other disorders of the
lungs, being of particular
virtue in chronic
bronchitis, on account of
its powers of promoting
expectoration. It is made by
pouring a quart of water,
boiled hot, upon a pound of
the fresh root, cut into
slices, and allowed to stand
in a closed vessel for
twelve hours, sugar then
being added to make it of
the consistency of syrup.
Vinegar and honey greatly
improve this syrup as a
medicine. A little caraway
and sweet fennel seed
bruised and boiled for a
short time in the vinegar
before it is added to the
Garlic, will cover the
pungent smell of the latter.
A remedy for asthma, that
was formerly most popular,
is a syrup of Garlic, made
by boiling the bulbs till
soft and adding an equal
quantity of vinegar to the
water in which they have
been boiled, and then
sugared and boiled down to a
syrup. The syrup is then
poured over the boiled
bulbs, which have been
allowed to dry meanwhile,
and kept in a jar. Each
morning a bulb or two is to
be taken, with a spoonful of
the syrup.
Syrup made by melting 1 1/2
OZ. of lump sugar in 1 OZ.
of the raw expressed juice
may be given to children in
cases of coughs without
inflammation.
The successful treatment of
tubercular consumption by
Garlic has been recorded,
the freshly expressed juice,
diluted with equal
quantities of water, or
dilute spirit of wine, being
inhaled antiseptically.
Bruised and mixed with lard,
it has been proved to
relieve whooping-cough if
rubbed on the chest and
between the shoulder-blades.
An infusion of the bruised
bulbs, given before and
after every meal, has been
considered of good effect in
epilepsy.
A clove or two of Garlic,
pounded with honey and taken
two or three nights
successively, is good in
rheumatism.
Garlic has also been
employed with advantage in
dropsy, removing the water
which may already have
collected and preventing its
future accumulation. It is
stated that some dropsies
have been cured by it alone.
If sniffed into the
nostrils, it will revive a
hysterical sufferer. Amongst
physiological results, it is
reported that Garlic makes
the eye retina more
sensitive and less able to
bear strong light.
The juice of Garlic, and
milk of Garlic made by
boiling the bruised bulbs in
milk is used as a vermifuge.
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---Preparations---
Juice, 10 to 30 drops.
Syrup, 1 drachm. Tincture,
1/2 to 1 drachm.
Wine of Garlic - made by
macerating three or four
bulbs in a quart of proof
spirit is a good stimulant
lotion for baldness of the
head.
Used in cookery it is a
great aid to digestion, and
keeps the coats of the
stomach healthy. For this
reason, essential oil is
made from it and is used in
the form of pills.
If a very small piece is
chopped fine and put into
chicken's food daily, it is
a sure preventative of the
gapes. Pullets will lay
finer eggs by having garlic
in their food before
they start laying, but when
they commence to lay it must
be stopped, otherwise it
will flavor the eggs.
Mrs. Beeton (in an old
edition of her Household
Management, 1866) gives
the following recipe for
making 'Bengal MangoChutney,'
which she states was given
by a native to an English
lady who had long been a
resident in India, and who
since her return to England
had become quite celebrated
amongst her friends for the
excellence of this Eastern
relish.
Ingredients. 1 1/2 lb. moist
sugar, 3/4 lb. salt, 1/4 lb.
Garlic, 1/4 lb. onions, 3/4
lb. powdered ginger, 1/4 lb.
dried chilies, 3/4 lb. dried
mustard-seed, 3/4 lb. stoned
raisins, 2 bottles of best
vinegar, 30 large, unripe,
sour apples.
Mode. The sugar must
be made into syrup; the
Garlic, onions and ginger be
finely pounded in a mortar;
the mustard-seed be washed
in cold vinegar and dried in
the sun; the apples be
peeled, cored and sliced,
and boiled in a bottle and a
half of the vinegar. When
all this is done, and the
apples are quite cold, put
them into a large pan and
gradually mix the whole of
the rest of the ingredients,
including the remaining
half-bottle of vinegar. It
must be well stirred until
the whole is thoroughly
blended, and then put into
bottles for use. Tie a piece
of wet bladder over the
mouths of the bottles, after
which they are well corked.
This chutney is very
superior to any which can be
bought, and one trial will
prove it to be delicious.
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