History Of Garlic

2. History of Garlic

Garlic is a hardy perennial bulb, native to the Mediterranean region of Africa and Europe. Its history dates back many centuries, and it was long used for rubbing the newborn infant’s lips, and as a protection against disease by tying it around the throat.

The sun, the Cross, and garlic are the only three things reputed to scare away vampires. Both the ancient Egyptians and Greeks regarded garlic as having supernatural powers.

During the 17th century, garlic was credited with protecting many European households from the ravages of the Great Plague. In New England during Colonial times, garlic cloves were bound to the feet of smallpox victims. Cloves were also placed in the shoes of whooping cough sufferers. For intestinal worms, raw garlic juice or milk which had been boiled with garlic was often drunk. A clove or two of garlic pounded with honey and taken two or three nights successively, is good for rheumatism, herbalist lore tells us.

During World War I, garlic was used as an antiseptic in hospitals. Pads of sphagnum moss were sterilized, saturated with water-diluted garlic juice, wrapped in thin cotton, and applied as bandages to open wounds.