The physicians and surgeons, however, who came later in the century were not as distinguished as their earlier counterparts. As the century passed, many men trained by apprenticing themselves in Virginia. Whether immigrant or indigenous, the medical men used orthodox European techniques: they bled and purged, sweated and dispensed drugs, to obtain these ends. Some of the drugs were native to Virginia and the colonists exported them for a profit, but the more expensive--and efficacious--had to be imported. There is evidence that the level of medical excellence in Virginia lowered during the century; many of the planters avoided the expensive visits and drugs, even passing laws to regulate fees and chastise lax and inadequate practitioners. Women, clergymen, and laymen all treated the sick and wounded of the period, with the women especially active as midwives; with the clergy producing such an outstanding medical man as the Reverend John Clayton; and with the laymen acquiring enough information, perhaps from a few medical books, in order to practice, themselves, in case a doctor were unavailable or undesired. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE Dr. Wyndham B. Blanton kindly gave permission for the use, in the preparation of this booklet, of his definitive and authoritative volume on the history of seventeenth-century Virginia medicine. Dr. Blanton's work--based on extensive research in the sources--has proved of great value, but he should not be held responible for any weaknesses in this essay, as the author assumes full responsibility. The author also wishes to take this opportunity to express his appreciation for the numerous suggestions and improvements made by his wife who spent many hours assisting in the preparation of the manuscript. The books and articles that proved most helpful were: Allen, Phyllis, "Medical Education in 17th Century England," _Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences_, I (January, 1946), 115-143. _American History Told by Contemporaries_. Edited by Albert B. Hart. New York and London, 1908-1909. 4 vols. Beverley, Robert, _The History of Virginia_.... (Reprinted from the author's 2d rev. ed., London, 1722.) Richmond, 1855. Blanton, Wyndham B., _Medicine in Virginia in the Seventeenth Century_. Richmond, 1930. Brown, Alexander, _Genesis of the United States_. Boston and New York, 1890. 2 vols. Castiglioni, Arturo, _A History of Medicine_. Translated from the Italian and edited by E. B. Krumbhaar. New York, 1941. Chitwood, Oliver P., _A History of Colonial America_. New York, 1948. Craven, Wesley F., _Dissolution of the Virginia Company: the Failure of a Colonial Experiment_. New York, 1932. _Southern Colonies in the Seventeenth Century_, 1607-1689. Baton Rouge, 1949. Duran-Reynals, Marie Louise, _The Fever Bark Tree_. New York, 1946. Garrison, Fielding H., _An Introduction to the History of Medicine_.... Philadelphia, 1929.