Donkey milk knowledge archive · Historical source

A London treatise on donkey milk from 1754 after the physician Friedrich Hoffmann

The 50-page pamphlet translates the Halle physician Friedrich Hoffmann into English. It contains simple comparative experiments: from 12 ounces of donkey milk Hoffmann obtained barely 2 drachms of curd, from cow’s milk 10 drachms.

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.
1754 (London)England (London)Medical text
Author
Friedrich Hoffmann (1660–1742), English translation by an anonymous translator
Work
A Treatise of the Extraordinary Virtues and Effects of Asses Milk
Passage
Preface pp. iv–viii; experiments pp. 14–15; rules of use pp. 45–47 (London: J. Whiston & B. White, 1754)
Time & place
1754 (London) · England (London)
Type of source
Medical text

In the original words

What the original says

On the contrary, the same weight of cows milk, treated in the same manner, thickened into a grosser and heavier curd, which ... weighed ten drachms.

By contrast, the same amount of cow’s milk, treated in the same way, produced a coarser and heavier curd which … weighed ten drachms.

Englishpp. 14–15

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

Background

Who, when, what kind of text

Friedrich Hoffmann was a professor in Halle and personal physician to the King of Prussia; he died in 1742. The present text appeared in London in 1754 as an English translation of a Latin text by him, supplemented by a preface compiling the opinions of other physicians (Moffett, Lemery, Arbuthnot).

The pamphlet was intended for a lay audience and cost one shilling. It belongs to a time when donkey milk was delivered to homes in London by specialised dealers and when medicine still argued with humoral theory and case reports – without controlled studies.

Content

What the source reports about donkey milk

Even the title promises – very much in the style of the time – effects on a range of illnesses. The text relies on ancient and early modern authorities as well as on individual cases from Hoffmann’s practice. The text presents such statements as its author’s opinion; they are not evidence in today’s sense.

More interesting is an early comparative experiment (pp. 14–15): Hoffmann had twelve ounces of donkey milk curdled; the dried curd weighed barely two drachms, compared with ten drachms for the same amount of cow’s milk. He concluded that donkey milk contained considerably less “cheesy” substance – an observation later confirmed by chemists.

At the end (pp. 45–47) there are rules of use, as was customary in the 18th century: details on the time of day and amount to drink. We deliberately do not reproduce them in detail, because today they are neither suitable as a recommendation nor have they been verified.

The preface quotes the physician John Arbuthnot: human milk was the sweetest, and “the next” was that of the she-ass – a comparison that appears again and again in 18th-century literature.

At a glance

Figures & facts from the source

1754year of publication of the English edition, London
50pages in length, price one shilling
2 : 10drachms of curd from 12 ounces of donkey or cow’s milk
3physicians quoted in the preface: Moffett, Lemery, Arbuthnot

Critical assessment

How reliable is this source?

Transmission

The Wellcome Collection copy has been fully digitised. Hoffmann’s Latin original is named in the title; the translation is anonymous and contains its own additions.

Promotional character

The title and preface are clearly promotional. The pamphlet was published by a publisher who also sold other health guides, and it fits the flourishing London donkey milk trade of those years.

What holds up

The simple curdling experiments point to the low casein content of donkey milk, which modern analyses confirm. The pamphlet’s promises of cures, on the other hand, are an expression of their time, not scientifically substantiated today and not transferable.

Our assessment

A typical example of the “donkey milk fashion” in 18th-century England: much promise, little proof. We show the pamphlet mainly because of Hoffmann’s early comparative experiments with cow’s milk.

References

Sources to check

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