Donkey milk knowledge archive · Historical source

Buchan’s “Domestic Medicine” (1769): asses’ milk for consumption, in large quantities

In his household medical guide of 1769, the Scottish physician William Buchan recommended asses’ milk in incipient consumption. Usually, he complained, it was taken too late and in too small quantities; half a pint three or four times a day would be better.

Historical account: The information reproduced here reflects the knowledge of its time. It is not scientifically substantiated, is not a recommendation and cannot be applied to today. Donkey milk is a food, not a remedy.
1769EdinburghMedical guide for lay readers (family physician)
Author
William Buchan (1729–1805), physician in Edinburgh
Work
Domestic Medicine; or, the Family Physician, Edinburgh: Balfour, Auld and Smellie 1769
Passage
Chapter “Of Consumptions”, section on diet, pp. 212–213 of the first edition
Time & place
1769 (first edition) · Edinburgh
Type of source
Medical guide for lay readers (family physician)

In the original words

What the original says

Asses milk is generally reckoned preferable to any other; but it cannot always be obtained; besides, it is generally taken as a medicine, whereas, to produce any considerable effects, it ought in a manner to make the principal part of the patient’s food.

Asses’ milk is generally considered preferable to any other; but it cannot always be obtained; besides, it is usually taken as a medicine, whereas [according to Buchan], to produce any considerable effect, it ought in a way to form the main part of the patient’s food.

English (18th century)Buchan, Domestic Medicine (Edinburgh 1769), Kapitel „Of Consumptions“, S. 212

I have known very extraordinary effects from asses milk in obstinate coughs, which threatened a consumption of the lungs; and do verily believe, if used at this period, that it would seldom fail; but if it be delayed till an ulcer is formed, which is generally the case, how can it be expected to succeed?

I have seen very extraordinary effects from asses’ milk in obstinate coughs that threatened a consumption of the lungs, and firmly believe that, used at this stage, it would seldom fail; but if one waits until an ulcer has formed, which is usually the case, how can it be expected to help?

English (18th century)Buchan, Domestic Medicine (Edinburgh 1769), S. 212–213

Asses milk ought to be drank, if possible, in its natural warmth, and in the quantity of half an English pint at a time.

Asses’ milk should [according to Buchan] be drunk, if possible, at its natural warmth, half an English pint at a time.

English (18th century)Buchan, Domestic Medicine (Edinburgh 1769), S. 213

English rendering: our own translation by the DON DONKEY’S editorial team, following the sense of the text.

Digitised copy · 1769Page 212 of the first edition of Buchan’s “Domestic Medicine” (Edinburgh 1769), chapter “Of Consumptions”: the paragraph “Asses milk is generally reckoned preferable to any other”.

A look at the original

What the passage looks like

Page 212 of the first edition of Buchan’s “Domestic Medicine” (Edinburgh 1769), chapter “Of Consumptions”: the paragraph “Asses milk is generally reckoned preferable to any other”.

The page comes from a freely accessible digitised copy. Click to open the passage at the library.
Wellcome Collection, Digitalisat via Internet Archive; Public Domain Mark

View in the digitised copy →

Background

Who, when, what kind of text

William Buchan had studied medicine in Edinburgh and practised for some years in Yorkshire before returning to Edinburgh. There, in 1769, he published “Domestic Medicine”, a book meant to show lay readers what they could do themselves to prevent and treat disease. Its emphasis was on way of life, diet and simple remedies rather than expensive drugs.

The book became one of the most successful medical guides of its time. It went through numerous enlarged editions, American reprints and translations into several languages. The first edition quoted here comes from the Wellcome Library in London. In later editions Buchan changed some wording; in the third edition (London 1774), for example, the same section is on pages 194–195.

Content

What the source reports about donkey milk

In the chapter on consumption, at the time mostly pulmonary tuberculosis, Buchan recommends, after fresh air and exercise, a mild diet of vegetables and milk. He regards asses’ milk as the most esteemed milk for the sick. But he criticises the habit of drinking it only “as a medicine”, a gill or two a day; in this way, he says, it can achieve nothing and is given up too soon.

Buchan reports “very extraordinary effects” in obstinate coughs at the early stage, but considers it hopeless once an ulcer has formed in the lungs. He advises half a pint, if possible still warm from the animal, three or four times a day with a little light bread, so that it becomes a meal. If it purges, conserve of roses may be added.

Drunk warm in bed, asses’ milk often throws the patient into a sweat; Buchan therefore suggests giving it after the patient rises. In other chapters of his book too, for coughs after smallpox or measles and for asthma, he names asses’ milk as part of the diet.

At a glance

Figures & facts from the source

1769first edition in Edinburgh, Balfour, Auld and Smellie
pp. 212–213passage on asses’ milk in the chapter “Of Consumptions”
½ pintrecommended amount per dose, ideally still warm from the animal
3–4 ×doses per day instead of only morning and evening
1–2 gillsusual daily amount that Buchan considers too small (1 gill = ¼ pint)

Timeline

Where this source stands in the history of donkey milk

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Critical assessment

How reliable is this source?

Source value

First edition, verifiable page by page in the Wellcome Library scan. Buchan’s guide reached a very wide public; the passage shows what families in Britain and North America read about asses’ milk in the late 18th century.

Experience, not proof

Buchan relies on his own observations (“I have known”), not on comparative series. Notable is his criticism of common practice: he does not think asses’ milk overrated, but considers its use in small doses ineffective.

Today’s assessment

Tuberculosis is treated with antibiotics today; no curative effect of donkey milk on it has been demonstrated. The passage documents dietary medicine before the discovery of the tuberculosis bacterium in 1882 and is not advice for today.

Our assessment

Buchan’s guide was the only medical book in many households. That asses’ milk appears there as “preferable to any other” shows how firmly it belonged to the British invalid diet of the late 18th century.

References

Sources to check

More sources and studies in the research archive. Summarised by the DON DONKEY’S editorial team, as of November 2026.