A Midland Almanac and its Remedies: St. Anthony’s Fire

The Pennsylvania, New-Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia 1797 includes a list of remedies near the end of the almanac that provide insight into what diseases the locals were suffering from at this time and the cultivated landscape which caused and remedied them. One of the sicknesses described is “St. Anthony’s Fire,” which was an illness caused by fungus or ergot that grows on ryegrass and is thus often ingested through rye bread (Foscati 28). The sickness causes vasoconstriction, and the symptoms primarily manifest first in one’s hands and feet, likely because the blood vessels are smaller and fewer, so the effects are more noticeable. The description of it as “fire” comes from the burning sensations it causes in one’s limbs. If left untreated, it causes hallucinations and the aforementioned extremities to fall off (Foscati 65). The disease was prevalent throughout the Middle Ages but reduced as connections between the fungus and rye bread were established from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries (Foscati 205). By the eighteenth century, many writings on St. Anthony’s fire were preoccupied with diagnosing plagues from antiquity to the beginning of the century with it in retrospect rather than current epidemics (Foscati 212). This almanac tells the reader to “for a month, drink every morning...half a pint of elder flower tea, and the same in the afternoon” (Ivins 30). Considering the vasodilatory properties of anthocyanins like elderflower berries and the large amount of tea consumption this remedy encouraged, the reader likely would have recovered after following this prescription (Fairlie-Jones 1).

The inclusion of this disease and remedy in this almanac intended for the Midlands, and its exclusion from other almanacs examined in class, provides insight into and prompts questions around the land use, labor force, and disease in this area. Considering this fungus only grows on rye grain, it can be concluded that ryegrass cultivation was widespread at the time for food consumption. However, those harvesting the grass may have been unfamiliar with the disease or lacked the generational knowledge that would have allowed them to identify the fungus and get rid of it. Furthermore, the mention of the disease’s remedy suggests its occurrence was significant enough to warrant its place among such few and select diseases mentioned, pointing again to this lack of knowledge. The general audience of this almanac, unlike the farmer’s almanacs or those intended for young tradesmen, also suggests that this disease and cure was unknown for a significant and diverse portion of the colonists. However, the effective remedy suggests the adaption and use of land to produce local remedies rather than importing other treatment or grains from elsewhere. Thus, the inclusion of this remedy signifies the local resourcefulness and independent spirit of these Midland colonies, as well as the initial obstacles they faced in adapting to a new land.

Works Cited

Fairlie-Jones, Lucy et al. “The Effect of Anthocyanin-Rich Foods or Extracts on Vascular

Function in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials.” Nutrients vol. 9,8 908. 20 Aug. 2017, doi:10.3390/nu9080908

Foscati, Alessandra. Saint Anthony's Fire from Antiquity to the Eighteenth Century. Translated

by Francis Gordon, Amsterdam University Press, 2020.

Ivins, Samuel. The Pennsylvania, New-Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia almanac, for

the year of our Lord, 1797 ... the astronomical calculations by Samuel Ivins ... Calculated for the meridian of Philadelphia; but may, without sensible variation, serve for any of the middle states. Printed [by Peter Stewart and Robert Cochran] for James Rice & Co., Market-Street, corner of South-Street, [1796]. Eighteenth Century Collections Online, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CW0108287637/ECCO?u=umd_um&sid=bookmark-ECCO&xid=6acbf27f&pg=30. Accessed 22 Oct. 2021