Peacock Dung (Burges Collection of Materia Medica, late 1700s)

Description

Animal dung has a long history in medicine, with five types still appearing in the official London Pharmacopoeia of 1721. One of these was peacock dung, which would have been infused in liquid and given as a kind of medicinal tea in the treatment of epilepsy. By the time the next pharmacopoeia came out in 1746 there was no animal dung in official use.