Take a quarter of a pound of lard, and the same of sheep's tallow, three
table-spoonsful of tar, an even spoonful of sulphur, an ounce of white
turpentine, a lump of beeswax the size of a hickory-nut, the same
quantity of powdered resin and scraped chalk, a tea-cupful of the inside
bark of elder, a little celandine, southern wood, and English mallows;
bruise the herbs, and put them on to boil, with the lard and tallow, and
a little water to keep it from burning; when all the strength is out,
strain them, and put the grease back in the pot, with the tar, and add
the other ingredients a little at a time, and stir till all is melted;
then strain it in a jar, and keep it covered for use.
Tar ointment is good for ringworms in the head, which some children
have, and has cured children where the head and face was covered with
what is called the "milk crust."
Before it is applied, the place should be washed with milk and water,
and a gentle purgative should be administered occasionally. Rhubarb tea
is good for this purpose.
If it is wanted in the winter, when you cannot get all the herbs green,
dried ones will do; and when made, it will keep good several years.
If there is much hair on the head of a child, it should be cut off
before this is put on.
It is very dangerous to give infants that are affected with the milk
crust, calomel, or any strong medicine. They should he carried out in
the air occasionally, and not kept all the time in a warm nursery;
sometimes a change of food is attended with a good result.
There have been instances of infants dying very suddenly, where powerful
medicines had been administered.
Hop Ointment.
Take a table-spoonful of the yellow dust of hops, and put it in three
spoonsful of melted lard, and mix it well; put it away in a cup for use.
This has proved beneficial in cases of swelling of the breast; when cold
has been taken, it will sometimes backen gatherings; bathe the place
with a warm hand several times a day, and keep flannel over it. Young
mothers should keep this ready, as it is much better than preparations
of camphor, which are injurious.
Precipitate Ointment, &c.
Take one ounce of Venice turpentine, half an ounce of powdered
precipitate, half a pound of lard, and two table-spoonsful of cold
water; mix the turpentine and precipitate together with a knife; then
add the lard and water, a little at a time, till it is well mixed; then
put it in little boxes. This is useful to dry up a breaking out on the
face or hands; care should be taken while using it, not to take cold.
Camphor dissolved in alcohol, or any white spirits, is very good to use
on pimples on the face.
Blister Ointment.
Sometimes after a blister has been drawn with cabbage leaves, it becomes
very sore and inflamed; a salve may be made of the leaves of evergreen,
(a plant which grows in gardens with a thick leaf;) pound the leaves,
and stew them in cream or sweet lard; spread it on a fine linen rag, and
apply it to the blister after it has been washed with milk and water.
Another salve for blisters is to bruise the leaves of the English
mallows with a little southern wood; stew them in sweet lard until they
are crisp, and strain it; apply it three times a day. This is good to
heal a burn.
Lily Ointment.
Gather the flowers of the sweet white lily, while they are fresh, and
stew them in sweet lard. This is good for a swelling, or sore.
Elder Ointment for Burns, &c.
After peeling off the outside bark of the elder, scraps off the green
bark that is under, and stew it in lard till it is crisp; then strain it
in a jar, and put it away to heal a blister or burn, or an old sore.
St. Johnswort Ointment, and its Uses.
Gather the yellow flowers of St. Johnswort while in full bloom; put them
in a wide-mouthed bottle, and fill it with equal quantities of lard and
sweet oil; tie a skin over it, and hang it in the sun for a month; then
strain it, put it back in the bottle, and cork it up. This is one of the
most effectual remedies for bruises, or for a mashed foot or hand. It
should always be kept where there is a family of children.
Ointment for Mortification.
Take the berries, leaves and bark of the black alder, and bruise them
well in a mortar; stew them in lard for an hour, stirring all the time;
then strain it, and add a small piece of beeswax.
A poultice can be made for mortification, of the berries, leaves
and bark of black alder, boiled in sweet cream, and thickened with
wheat bread.
Another good poultice may be made of the inmost bark of sassafras root,
pounded and boiled in weak ley, and thickened with corn meal. The
patient should drink tea made of the roots of sassafras and burdock.
Bread and Milk, and Flaxseed Poultices.
Boil half a pint of sweet milk, and thicken it with crumbs of bread; let
it boil till soft. This is the mildest poultice that can be made.
A tea-cup of flaxseed boiled till soft, requires no addition to make a
good poultice.
Hop Poultice, and its Uses.
Boil a handful of hops in a pint of water till very soft; when thicken
it with corn meal. This is very good for a sore throat, tooth-ache, or
swelled face.
Onion Poultice.
Slice the onions and boil them in water till very soft; then mash and
boil them with milk and some crumbs of bread. This will draw a bile or
gathering to a head very soon.
Lily Root Poultice.
Pound the roots of the sweet white lily, and put them on to boil in rich
milk; when soft, thicken it with crumbs of bread. This is a most
valuable poultice for a gathering, and has given relief in many
instances where the suffering was great.
Cream Poultice.
Put to boil a tea-cup of cream; mix two spoonsful of flour in milk, and
stir in when it boils.
Ley Poultice.
Tie a spoonful of ashes in a rag, and boil it in a pint of water for
fifteen minutes, with some catnip or life-everlasting; when the herbs
are soft, take out the ashes, and thicken it with corn meal; spread some
grease over as you apply it.
Adhesive Plaster.
Take three pounds of resin, one-quarter of a pound of beeswax,
one-quarter of a pound of mutton tallow, melt together in an iron pan;
then pour out about one-third into a bucket of water, turn up the edges
until you can take hold with the hands and pull it as you would
shoemakers' wax: grease papers and put the plaster on them for use; you
may then pour out the rest and treat it in the same way.
A Valuable Salve for Burns and other Sores.
Take of high mallows, heal-all, night shade, and elder bark, a large
handful, and about half the quantity of Jamestown weed; boil them for
several hours; strain off the liquid, and add to it one pound of
beeswax, one pound of mutton tallow, one pound of resin, half a pound of
lard; boil them slowly for about two hours, and let it cool on the
liquid. This salve will do to apply immediately to a burn or scald, or
after other remedies have been used; it is also good to heal old sores
or gatherings.
Deshler's Salve for Gatherings or Sores.
Take half a pound of sheep's suet, the same of resin and beeswax, a
quarter of a pound of thick turpentine, and half a pint of linseed oil;
pound the resin, and cut the beeswax and suet; put them over the fire
with the other ingredients, and keep stirring till they are mixed, but
do not let them boil; put it in a jar, and tie it up. It is good for
burns, biles, gathered breasts, &c.
Salve for Corns, or Bunions.
Take a pint of sweet oil, half a pound of red lead, two ounces of
Venice turpentine, two of beeswax, and one of white turpentine; boil
the oil and red lead in brass or bell-metal till they turn brown,
stirring it constantly; have the wax and white turpentine sliced, and
put them in by degrees; take it off the fire, and stir till all is
melted; then add the Venice turpentine, and continue to stir till it is
cold; when dip your hands in cold water, and make it out in rolls about
two inches long; wrap each roll up in paper, and keep them in a box.
After soaking and scraping the corn, bind it on, spread on a soft rag.
To warm a small piece of common adhesive plaster and apply it, gives
almost immediate relief.
Sassafras Poultice.
Take the bark of the root and mash, or pound it; boil it in a
little water, and take out the bark, and thicken it with crumbs of
bread, and milk.
Balsam Apple in Spirits.
Cut a ripe balsam apple in small pieces, and fill a bottle with it; pour
Holland gin on it.
This retains its strength for years, and is useful to take a few drops
at a time for the colic; it is also valuable to apply with sugar to a
cut or wound.
Cure for Bites.
Use equal quantities of resin soap, brown sugar, and powdered resin,
worked well together, with a few drops of molasses. A poultice of
onions, sassafras, or bread and milk may be used with advantage. For
mosquito bites, apply spirits of hartshorn and camphor.
For Scurvy of the Gums.
Take a quarter of an ounce of bark, and a piece of new lime the size of
a hazle-nut; put them in a bottle with half a pint of water; wash the
mouth with this three times a day.
For an Infant's Sore Mouth.
Make a strong sage tea; put in a little bark and borax or alum, with
honey to sweeten it; cork it up in a vial, and wash the child's gums
with it three times a day, using a fresh rag every time.
For Affection of the Kidneys.
Boil some onions soft, mash, and apply them where the pain is seated.
This has given great relief.
For a Gathering on a Finger.
Mix together equal parts of castile soap and chalk; wet it with camphor,
and bind it on, or dip the finger in honey and camphorated spirits, as
hot as you can bear. A little burnt alum put on lint is good; also a
bread and milk poultice, with pounded sassafras root stewed in it, and
renewed frequently. Honey and camphor mixed is useful for gatherings
that have been of long standing.
Take of the following ingredients a tea-spoonful each: black pepper
powdered finely, ginger, spirits of camphor, laudanum, and honey; beat
them well with the yelk of an egg, and thicken with rye flour, or if you
cannot obtain rye, corn and wheat flour mixed will answer; this will
form a soft poultice, and should be applied in sufficient quantity to
keep moist, and changed once a day. I have known this to cure several
gatherings that threatened to be severe.
Huxham's Bark Tincture.
Take two ounces of bark, three drachms of Virginia snake root, one ounce
of orange peel, and one quart of good spirits; set it in a warm place,
and shake it daily for two weeks; then pour it off, and add a pint more
spirits to the ingredients.
This is very useful to take, when recovering from the ague or bilious
fever, or in the fall of the year; when these are apprehended, take two
tea-spoonsful a day, before breakfast and dinner.
Wine Bitters for Debility, &c.
Take two ounces of chamomile flowers, two of centaury flowers, one of
iron filings, and an ounce and a half of Jesuit's bark; put these in two
quarts of good wine, and set it in the sun three days, shaking; it
frequently. Half a wine-glass of this taken, twice a day, with water, is
useful in cases of debility, where there is no fever.
Chamomile, and wormwood teas, are both excellent tonics, as is also wild
cherry tree bark, made in strong tea, and taken cold.
Spice Wood Berries.
Boil in a pint of new milk, a table-spoonful of bruised spice wood
berries. This has a very healing effect in cases of dysentery, and
summer disease in children.
Spiced Rhubarb.
Take two ounces of rhubarb, half an ounce of cloves, the same of
cinnamon, and quarter of an ounce of mace; stew them in a pint and a
half of water till one half is evaporated; then strain it and add
half a pint of good spirits. Two tea-spoonsful is a dose for a child
a year old, with the summer disease, and two table-spoonsful for a
grown person.
For Chapped Lips.
Put a tea-cupful of rich cream over some coals to stew with three
table-spoonsful of powdered loaf-sugar. This has a healing effect.
Another remedy, equally good, is to a tea-cupful of honey, add half the
quantity of mutton tallow, and stew together till well mixed; pour it
out in a cup, and keep stirring till cold.
For chapped hands, mix together equal quantities of rich cream and
strong vinegar, and rub it over every time you wash your hands.
Bathing.
Almost every family, even if their circumstances be moderate, can have a
shower bath; they may save the expense, by improved health and strength;
one bucket full of cold water is sufficient. You should wear on the head
an oil-cloth cap. For a person in strong health, the bath may be taken
on first rising in the morning; but for one disposed to be delicate, two
or three hours after breakfast is the most proper time. To produce
warmth, rub the person with a crash towel, or horse hair glove. You
should be careful to take some exercise after the bath, or you will be
more liable to take cold. Never take a bath soon after a meal, as that
is injurious. Persons subject to colds, sore throat, rheumatism, sick
head-ache, nervous disease, or general debility, have been greatly
benefited by the daily use of the shower bath. Children that are
oppressed with heat are much refreshed, and will rest well after a bath;
the water should be moderated for them. Infants should be bathed every
morning in a tub of water about milk warm, and may be very early
accustomed to its use; they will become fond of it, and are less liable
to take cold from exposure to the air. They generally take a refreshing
nap after coming out of the bath. They should not be allowed to remain
in more than five or ten minutes; should be well wiped with a soft
towel, and then rubbed with flannel and dressed; their clothes being
warmed to prevent a chill.
Elderberry Jam for Colds, &c.
A quart of nicely picked elderberries, to a pound of loaf-sugar and a
tea-cup of water; let them boil slowly for an hour. If you prefer it
without the seeds, strain the berries after boiling them for a few
minutes, before you add the sugar. This is useful and agreeable for
colds, taken through the day, or at night, when the cough is
troublesome. It is said also to purify the blood, and is taken to
prevent erysipelas.
Black Currant Jelly, a Remedy for Sore Throat.
Take ripe black currants, mash and strain them, and to every pint of the
juice, add a pound of loaf-sugar; boil it until it becomes a jelly. It
is valuable for sore throats.
Quince seeds dried, and boiling water poured on them, make a useful
gargle for sore throat.
Lavender Compound.
Pick the lavender blossoms, and put them in a bottle, with a few blades
of mace, and some cloves; fill up the bottle with good spirits, and let
it stand corked up, till all the strength is extracted; when strain it
off, and color it with a little cochineal.