Leech collector
Encyclopedia
A leech collector, leech gatherer, or leech finder was a person occupied with procuring medicinal leeches, which were in growing demand in 19th-century Europe. Leeches were used in bloodletting
but were not easy for medical practitioners to obtain. The collector would sometimes gather the leeches by attracting them to the legs of animals, often old horses. More commonplace was for the collector to use their own legs, gathering the leech after it had finished sucking enough blood. Many in the profession suffered from the effects of the loss of blood
and infections spread by the leeches.
Leech collectors were active across the United Kingdom, with bog
s and marsh
es being the best hunting ground. The Lake District
and Somerset Levels
had particularly suitable sites. They were described by artist George Walker in his 1814 book The Costume of Yorkshire as being predominately Scottish women.
The career was seasonal; leech collectors could not work in the colder months because the leeches would not be particularly active.
There are obvious negative effects of being repeatedly bitten by leeches, most commonly the significant and dangerous levels of blood loss. The leeches would suck on the legs of the collector for 20 minutes or more, and even when they had finished the resultant wound continued to bleed for up to ten hours.
Leech collectors were not well paid. William Wordsworth
's poem Resolution and Independence
, written in 1802 and published in 1807, was inspired by an encounter Wordsworth had with a "leech-gatherer". In Stanza XV he describes the hardships that the old, poor leech collector had endured:
Parts of the poem have been interpreted as drawing similarities between leech collectors and poets, comparing the difficulties of finding leeches with the struggle to write poetry. The old man in the story is said to "have wisdom and fortitude that can elevate the wiser poet".
" by the IUCN. Their decline dates back to the time of the collectors and Wordsworth refers to the fall in their numbers in Resolution and Independence Stanza XVIII:
The collection of leeches became a sizeable industry by the mid-19th century: 30 million were exported from Germany to America annually and French imports of H. medicinalis in 1833 were in the region of 42 million. By the turn of the 20th century H. medicinalis was thought to be extinct in the British Isles
, but they were rediscovered in parts of Great Britain
from 1970 onwards. The dramatic drop in numbers was blamed partly on the over-collection of the species but also on the dramatic reduction of their habitat. The largest population currently in Britain is believed to reside in the Romney Marsh
.
The leech collecting industry also declined as the medicinal value of using leeches was questioned.
Bloodletting
Bloodletting is the withdrawal of often little quantities of blood from a patient to cure or prevent illness and disease. Bloodletting was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily fluid were considered to be "humors" the proper balance of which maintained health...
but were not easy for medical practitioners to obtain. The collector would sometimes gather the leeches by attracting them to the legs of animals, often old horses. More commonplace was for the collector to use their own legs, gathering the leech after it had finished sucking enough blood. Many in the profession suffered from the effects of the loss of blood
Bleeding
Bleeding, technically known as hemorrhaging or haemorrhaging is the loss of blood or blood escape from the circulatory system...
and infections spread by the leeches.
Leech collectors were active across the United Kingdom, with bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
s and marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es being the best hunting ground. The Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
and Somerset Levels
Somerset Levels
The Somerset Levels, or the Somerset Levels and Moors as they are less commonly but more correctly known, is a sparsely populated coastal plain and wetland area of central Somerset, South West England, between the Quantock and Mendip Hills...
had particularly suitable sites. They were described by artist George Walker in his 1814 book The Costume of Yorkshire as being predominately Scottish women.
The career was seasonal; leech collectors could not work in the colder months because the leeches would not be particularly active.
There are obvious negative effects of being repeatedly bitten by leeches, most commonly the significant and dangerous levels of blood loss. The leeches would suck on the legs of the collector for 20 minutes or more, and even when they had finished the resultant wound continued to bleed for up to ten hours.
Leech collectors were not well paid. William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
's poem Resolution and Independence
Resolution and Independence
"Resolution and Independence" is a lyric poem by the English romantic poet William Wordsworth, composed in 1802 and published in 1807 in Poems in Two Volumes...
, written in 1802 and published in 1807, was inspired by an encounter Wordsworth had with a "leech-gatherer". In Stanza XV he describes the hardships that the old, poor leech collector had endured:
Parts of the poem have been interpreted as drawing similarities between leech collectors and poets, comparing the difficulties of finding leeches with the struggle to write poetry. The old man in the story is said to "have wisdom and fortitude that can elevate the wiser poet".
Decline
Hirudo medicinalis, the only species of leech in Britain that can suck human blood, is identified as being "Near ThreatenedNear Threatened
Near Threatened is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa that may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status...
" by the IUCN. Their decline dates back to the time of the collectors and Wordsworth refers to the fall in their numbers in Resolution and Independence Stanza XVIII:
The collection of leeches became a sizeable industry by the mid-19th century: 30 million were exported from Germany to America annually and French imports of H. medicinalis in 1833 were in the region of 42 million. By the turn of the 20th century H. medicinalis was thought to be extinct in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, but they were rediscovered in parts of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
from 1970 onwards. The dramatic drop in numbers was blamed partly on the over-collection of the species but also on the dramatic reduction of their habitat. The largest population currently in Britain is believed to reside in the Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about 100 mi ² .-Quotations:*“As Egypt was the gift of the Nile, this level tract .....
.
The leech collecting industry also declined as the medicinal value of using leeches was questioned.
External links
- Maggots and leeches make a comeback, Science in Africa