"Tacuinum Sanitatis", Leeks

This image could have imperfections as it’s either historical or reportage.

Entitled: "Nature: Warm in the third degree, dry in the second. Optimum: The kind called naptici, that is, from the mountains and with a sharp odor. Usefulness: They stimulate urination, influence coitus and, mixed with honey, clear up catarrh of the chest. Dangers: Bad for the brain and the senses. Neutralization of the Dangers: With sesame oil and with the oil of sweet almonds. Effects: They cause hot blood and an acute crisis of the bile. They are primarily indicated for cold temperaments, for old people, in Winter, and in the Northerly regions." The Tacuinum Sanitatis is a medieval handbook based on the Taqwim as-sihhah, an 11th century Arab medical treatise by Ibn Butlan of Baghdad. Listing its contents organically rather than alphabetically, it sets forth the six essential elements for well-being: sufficient food and drink in moderation, fresh air, alternations of activity and rest, alternations of sleep and wakefulness, secretions and excretions of humours, and finally the effects of states of mind. In addition to its importance for the study of medieval medicine, the Tacuinum is also of interest in the study of agriculture, cooking and society. Each scene is accompanied by a brief summary of the health aspects of the subject. From the Tacuinum of Vienna, 14th century.