Name Index

To

Notes on the Devonshire Colic and its connection to Cider

Trans. Devon Assoc., vol. 17 (1885), pp. 324-334.

by

Frederick Willcocks

Prepared by Michael Steer

Devon colic is a condition caused by lead poisoning that occurred in Devonians during parts of the 17th and 18th centuries. The first written account comes from 1655. Symptoms began with severe abdominal pains and the condition was occasionally fatal. William Musgrave's publication De arthritide symptomatica (1715) included the first scientific description of "Devonshire colic" However, the precise cause was not discovered until the 1760s when Dr George Baker observed that the symptoms were similar to those of lead poisoning. He pointed out that lead was used in the cider making process both as a component of the cider presses and in the form of lead shot which was used to clean them. Publication of his results met with some hostile reaction from cider manufacturers, keen to defend their product. Google with the Archive Organization has sponsored the digitisation of books from several libraries. The Internet Archive makes available, in its Community Texts Collection (originally known as Open Source Books), books that have been digitised by Google from a number of libraries. These are books on which copyright has expired, and are available free for educational and research use. This rare book was produced from a copy held by the University of Michigan Library, and is available from the Internet Archive.