kumiss cures
At this point you might find yourself asking, "What is kumiss, and what does this cure involve?"
Kumiss, Baedeker tells us, "also known as Milk Wine, is prepared by fermentation from mare's milk, and is said to be easily digestible and very nourishing. The process of fermentation produces lactic acid, carbonic acid, and alcohol, the first two of which aid digestion, while the latter imparts a slightly stimulating quality. The patient generally begins with one or two bottles daily and gradually raises the number to five." (pages 358-359)
That is all Baedeker would have us know about the cure.
But perhaps it is just enough to prompt a series of questions about how it came to pass that a Russian doctor began administering a regimen of fermented mare's milk - a product of the Central Asian steppe in general and, the area of Samara, of the local Bashkirs?
