the better-educated
medical men, the apprentice could also familiarize himself with other
fields of learning.

Dr. Pott had a reputation for knowing Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and
must have imparted much of his learning to Richard Townshend, his
apprentice. Such would seem to be the case in view of the facts of
Townshend's life. He became an apprentice to Pott in 1621 and by 1636
he was a member of the colony's highest political body, the council,
and at the time of his death he possessed a considerable amount of
land. In a day when schooling was hard to come by, apprenticeship to an
educated man held great advantages.

Unfortunately catalogues of the libraries of medical men have not
survived. There is proof, however, that physicians and surgeons did not
neglect opportunities to collect volumes on medicine published in
England and Europe. If utilized, these books could have helped offset
the lack of a formal education in a university or medical school. Dr.
Henry Willoughby of Rappahannock County, Virginia, left forty-four
books on "phisick" in his estate. Dr. John Holloway, a leading
physician of Accomack County, Virginia, from 1633 until his death in
1643, left thirteen books on surgery and medicine, all in English or
Latin. Dr. Henry Andrews of York County had twenty books in Latin on
medicine.

A great number of Virginians--some of them prominent--who did not
practice medicine had, nonetheless, large collections of books on the
subject. This would indicate that many persons resorted to medical
treatment without the help of a professional. With fees high, distances
great, and well-trained doctors scarce, self-reliance is not
surprising. Many planters and their wives must have made a superficial
study of medicine; certainly the mistress of the house visiting sick
servants and slaves is a familiar historical picture.

Among the medical books in such libraries were volumes on the general
subjects of medicine (physick) and surgery, anatomy, gout, scurvy,
distillation, and natural magic. Common in the libraries of the laymen
were books recommending specific drugs for various symptoms of
diseases. The long title of one volume in a Virginia library read,
"Method of physick, containing the causes, signes, and cures of inward
diseases in man's body from the head to the foote. Whereunto is added
the forme and rule of making remedies and medicines, which our
physitions commonly use at this day, with the proportion, quantit