rose-water, one and a half ounces; glycerine, one-half ounce. Use as a
gargle, three or four times daily.--_Mr. E. C._
A CURE FOR EPILEPSY (_one I have known to succeed in many cases_).
Procure the fresh root of a white peony. Scrape and cut in pieces an
inch square. Eat one three times a day, never taking any food after
four P.M. Use a month, stop two weeks and begin again. The best way to
keep the root is to string it on a cord. The red peony will do, if you
cannot get the white.--_Mrs. R. C._
CURE FOR CRAMP.
Wet a cloth in spirits turpentine and lay it over the place where the
pain is felt. If the pain moves, move the cloth. Take five drops
spirits turpentine at a time on white sugar till relieved.--_Mrs. R._
FOR CRAMP-COLIC, OR PAIN RESULTING FROM DISORDERED BOWELS.
One teaspoonful paregoric, one teaspoonful Jamaica ginger, one
teaspoonful spirits camphor, one-half teaspoonful carbonate soda, two
tablespoonfuls water, two tablespoonfuls whiskey. This is for one
dose. If it does not relieve in an hour, repeat.--_Dr. J. T. W._
FOR CHILBLAINS.
Take common furniture glue from the pot, spread it on a linen rag or
piece of brown paper, and apply hot to the chilblain, letting it
remain till the glue wears off.
FOR FRESH CUTS.
Varnish them with common furniture varnish. This remedy has been known
to prove very efficacious.--_Mr. W._
THE OCEAN SALT.
Is now much used by those who cannot go to the seaside. Seventy-five
cents for half a bushel. Dissolve a large handful in a pitcher of
water. Use a sponge to rub the flesh.--_Mrs. A._
BREAST SALVE.
Linseed oil (raw), four ounces; mutton tallow, four ounces; yellow
wax, two ounces; Burgundy pitch, one ounce; Venice turpentine, one
ounce; oil lavender, one-half ounce; rosin, one-half ounce.
Melt together and strain through flannel. Spread lightly on a soft
linen rag, apply to the breast, and the relief is almost
instantaneous.--_Dr. E. A. C._
AN EXCELLENT WASH FOR INFLAMED EYES.
Sulph. zinc, two grains; wine of opium, ten drops; distilled water,
one ounce. Mix. Drop two or three drops in the outer corner of the eye
several times a day.--_Dr. E. A. C._
EYE-WATER FOR WEAK EYES.
One teaspoonful laudanum, two teaspoonfuls Madeira wine, twelve
teaspoonfuls rose-water.--_Mrs. E. I._
FOR EARACHE.
Equal parts of laudanum and tincture of arnica. Mix, saturate a piece
of wool in the mixture, and insert in the ear.--_Dr. E. A. C._
TOOTHACHE DROPS. (_Sure cure._)
Morphia, six grains; half on ounce each of tincture aconite root,
chloroform, laudanum, creosote, oil cloves, cajuput. Add as much gum
camphor as the chloroform will dissolve. Saturate with the above
mixture a piece of wool and put it in the hollow tooth, being certain
that the cavity is cleaned out.--_Dr. E. A. C._
PREVENTIVE OF SCARLET FEVER.
Extract belladonna (pure), three grains; cinnamon-water, one drachm;
distilled water, seven drachms. Mix, label poison, and give the child
for a dose as many drops as the years of his age.--_Dr. E. A. C._
FOR PREVENTING SCARLET FEVER.
Extract belladonna, six grains; cinnamon-water, one drachm; white
sugar, two drachms; alcohol, two drachms; pure water, thirteen
drachms. Mix thoroughly and label belladonna, _poison_. Dose, one drop
for each year of the child's age, repeated twice a day.--_Dr. E. A.
C._
TO RELIEVE "PRICKLY HEAT."
Sulphate of copper, grains ten; pure water, f. ounce i. Mix sol. Apply
with camel-hair brush daily or oftener.--_Dr. E. A. C._
FOR SNAKE BITES.
Apply ammonia or hartshorn immediately to the bite, and swallow ten
drops, dissolved in a wine-glass of water. Said to be a certain
remedy.--_Mrs. T._
REMEDY FOR CHICKEN CHOLERA.
Dip a small feather or brush into tincture of iodine, hold the
chicken's mouth open, and mop the inside of the throat thoroughly with
the iodine. This treatment has proved successful whenever
tried.--_Mrs. N. G._
MASHED FINGER.
Bind up with old linen and keep constantly wet with cold water. If
there is much pain, add laudanum or tincture of arnica. If
discoloration and swelling remain, after the pain subsides, use
stimulating liniment to encourage a flow of pure blood and the washing
away of the injured blood.
BURNS AND SCALDS.
If the burn or scald is serious, send immediately for a physician. In
the meantime, cover with wet linen cloths, pouring on more water
without removing them, till the pain is alleviated, when pure hog's
lard may be applied, which is one of the best and most easily procured
dressings. If the scald or burn is trifling, this is all that is
needed. Lather of soap from the shaving-cup applied by the brush
often produces relief. White of egg applied in the same way is a
simple and useful dressing. Never tamper with a bad burn. This
requires the skilful treatment of a physician. If the shock is great,
and there is no reaction, administer frequently aromatic spirits of
ammonia or a little brandy and water till the patient rallies.
LINIMENT FOR RECENT BURNS AND SCALDS.
Take equal parts of lime-water, linseed-oil, and laudanum. Mix and
apply on a soft linen rag. Some add about one-quarter quantity
commercial sol. carbolic acid.--_Dr. E. A. C._
COMPOUND CHALK MIXTURE FOR INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN.
Prepared chalk, powdered white sugar, gum arabic, two drachms each.
Tincture kino, paregoric, each six drachms. Lime-water, one ounce;
peppermint water, sufficient for four ounces.
Mix thoroughly and shake well before administering. Dose, from half to
a teaspoonful, according to age and urgency of the case.--_Dr. E. A.
C._
A SIMPLE REMEDY FOR DYSENTERY.
Black or green tea steeped in boiling water and sweetened with loaf
sugar.--_Mrs. R. C. M. W._
FOR DIARRHOEA.
Take equal parts of laudanum, tincture capsicum, tincture camphor, and
aromatic syrup rhubarb. Mix. Dose, from half to a teaspoonful, in
water, when needed.--_Dr. E. A. C._
CHILL PILLS.
Sulph. quinine, two drachms; arsenious acid, one grain; strychnia, one
grain; Prussian blue, twenty grains; powdered capsicum, one drachm.
Mix, and make sixty pills. Take one pill three times a day.--_Dr. E.
A. C._
CURE FOR COLD IN THE HEAD.
Muriate of morphia, two grains; powdered gum arabic, two drachms; sub.
nit. bismuth, six drachms.
Mix and snuff frequently.--_Dr. E. A. C._
PROMPT REMEDY FOR COLD IN THE HEAD.
Sulph. quinine, twenty-four grains; cayenne pepper, five grains. Make
twelve pills, and take one every three hours.--_Mr. E. C._
CURE FOR DYSPEPSIA.
Best Turkish rhubarb, one ounce; gentian root, bruised, one-half
ounce; columbo, one-half ounce; orange peel, one-half ounce; fennel
seed, one-half ounce; best French brandy, one quart. This will bear
filling up several times.
FOR WHOOPING-COUGH.
Drop a fresh, unbroken egg in lemon juice. When dissolved, sweeten and
give a spoonful occasionally when the cough comes on.--_Mrs. E. I._
AN EXCELLENT REMEDY FOR COUGHS.
Boil three fresh lemons till quite soft. Then slice them on a pound of
brown sugar. Stew them together fifteen or twenty minutes, or till
they form a rich syrup. When cool, add one tablespoonful oil of sweet
almonds.
Take one spoonful or more when the cough is troublesome.--_N. A. L._
REMEDY FOR COUGHS.
Boil one ounce licorice root in one-half pint of water, till it is
reduced one-half. Then add one ounce gum arabic and one ounce loaf
sugar. Take a teaspoonful every few hours.--_N. A. L._
_Remedy for Coughs._
Boil three lemons for fifteen minutes. Slice them thin while hot over
one pound of loaf sugar. Put on the fire in a porcelain-lined
saucepan and stew till the syrup is quite thick. After taking it from
the fire, add one tablespoonful of oil of sweet almonds. Stir till
thoroughly mixed and cool. If more than a small quantity is desired,
double the above proportions.--_Mrs. J. D. L._
REMEDY FOR ASTHMA, SORE-THROAT, OR A COUGH.
Cut up two or three bulbs of Indian turnip, put the pieces in a quart
bottle, which fill up with good whiskey. Dose, a tablespoonful, three
or four times a day. It is especially desirable to take it just after
rising and just before going to bed. Wonderful cures of asthma have
been effected by this remedy, and many persons living near the writer
have tested its efficacy. The bottle will bear refilling with whiskey
several times. Great care must be taken in procuring the genuine
Indian turnip for this preparation, as there is a poisonous plant much
resembling it.--_Mrs. M. L._
REMEDY FOR POISON OAK.
Make a strong decoction of the leaves or bark of the common willow.
Bathe the parts affected frequently with this decoction, and it will
be found a very efficacious remedy.--_Gen. M._
_Remedy for Poison Oak._
Forty grains caustic potash to five ounces of water. Apply to the
eruption with a small mop, made by tying a soft linen rag to a stick.
Often a speedy cure.--_Mrs. S. T._
CURE FOR JAUNDICE.
Fill a quart bottle a third full of chipped inner cherry bark. Add a
large teaspoonful soda, and fill the bottle with whiskey or brandy.
Take as large a dose three times a day as the system will tolerate. If
it affects the head unpleasantly, lessen the quantity of bark. It will
be fit for use in a few hours.--_Dr. B._
CURE FOR BONE FELON.
One ounce assafoetida in one pint vinegar, as hot as the hand can
bear. Keep it hot by placing the vessel over the top of a teakettle.
Use it frequently through the day, an hour at a time. A painful but
effective remedy.--_Mrs. J. D. P._
FOR TREATING CORNS.
Apply night and morning with a brush one or two drops of protoxide of
iron for two weeks.--_Mrs. W._
CURE FOR CORNS BETWEEN THE TOES.
Wet them several times a day with hartshorn, and in a short time they
will disappear.--_Mrs. W. B._
CARROT SALVE FOR BLISTERS.
Scrape two carrots and stew in two tablespoonfuls hog's lard. Add two
plantain leaves. When the carrots are well done, strain.--_Mrs. E. I._
LINIMENT FOR RHEUMATISM.
Half an ounce gum camphor, half an ounce saltpetre, half an ounce
spirits ammonia, half a pint alcohol. Old-fashioned liniment, good for
man or beast.--_Mrs. T._
A GOOD LINIMENT.
One egg beaten light, half a pint spirits turpentine, half a pint good
apple vinegar. Shake well before using. Good for sprains, cuts, or
bruises.--_Mrs. H._
A GOOD TREATMENT FOR CROUP.
When the child is taken with a hoarse, tight cough, give it
immediately from ten drops to half a teaspoon of hive or croup syrup,
or if you have not these, use ipecac syrup, though this is less rapid
in its effects. Put a mustard plaster on the wind-pipe, and let it
redden the skin, but not blister. Put the feet in mustard-water as hot
as they can bear it. Then wipe them dry and keep them covered warm. A
child from three to six years old will require from ten drops to half
a teaspoon of the syrup every half-hour till relieved. From six to
twelve, give from a half teaspoon to a full teaspoon, according to the
age of the patient. Croup requires very prompt treatment. If home
treatment does not relieve, send immediately for a physician.--_Mrs.
P. W._
TO TAKE QUININE WITHOUT TASTING IT.
Put a little of the mucilage from slippery elm in a teaspoon. Drop the
quinine on it, and put some mucilage on top. This will make the
quinine slip down the throat without leaving any taste.--_Mrs. J. A.
S._
DRESSING FOR BLISTERS.
The first dressing should be of collard leaves, prepared thus. With a
sharp knife carefully pare smooth all the stalk and veining. Then
scald and squeeze each one to a pleasant moisture, keeping them
blood-warm until applied. Second dressing--pure lard or mutton suet
spread evenly and thinly on a soft linen rag.--_Mrs. S. T._
AN EXCELLENT AND SIMPLE SALVE FOR BOILS.
Melt together, in equal parts, the white rosin that exudes from the
common pine tree and mutton suet. This makes a good plaster for the
boil, both before and after it breaks.--_Mrs. S. T._
FOR BOILS.
Slippery elm flour wet with cold water, and put in a soft muslin bag,
and applied to the boil till the inflammation subsides, is an
admirable remedy. Then apply carbolic salve spread on a linen rag,
which is a good dressing for the boil, both before and after it
breaks.--_Mrs. S. T._
TO EXTINGUISH THE FLAMES WHEN THE CLOTHING HAS TAKEN FIRE.
First, throw the person on the ground to prevent the upward flames
from being inhaled. Then quickly roll the person in a carpet
hearth-rug or blanket; if neither is at hand, use any woollen garment,
such as a coat, overcoat, or cloak. Keep the blaze as much as possible
from the face, wrapping the woollen garment first around the neck and
shoulders. Jumping into bed and covering up with the bedclothes is
also a good plan.
FOR WEAK BACK.
Two tablespoonfuls finely powdered rosin, four tablespoonfuls white
sugar, whites of two eggs, one quart best whiskey. Dose, a
tablespoonful three times a day, either before or after meals.
Excellent also for colds or weak lungs; will stop an irritating cough.
Taken half a teaspoonful at a time.--_Mrs. G._
POISONS AND ANTIDOTES.
_Acids_--_Sulphuric_, _Nitric_, _Muriatic_, _Phosphoric_, _Oxalic_,
_Citric_, _Tartaric_, _Acetic_.--Give freely of magnesia or soap-water
(half an ounce white soap to two quarts tepid water). Also very weak
solutions of carbonate of soda or potassa may be used. Give demulcent
drinks and milk-baths, cataplasms, antiphlogistics. Avoid lime-water.
_Alkalies_--_Caustic_, _Potassa_, _Soda_, _Lime_, _Strontia_,
_Baryta_, _and their Carbonates_.--Give diluted vinegar in abundance,
four ounces vinegar to one quart water. Citric or tartaric lemonade,
whites of eggs with tepid water, milk, sweet-oil. Baths, lotions,
fomentations.
_Arsenic._--Prompt emetic. Give freely of hydrated peroxide of iron;
dose, half an ounce, frequently repeated. If this is not at hand, give
magnesia in large quantities of tepid water. Demulcent drinks, baths,
and counter-irritants over the stomach to relieve spasms.
_Carbolic Acid._--Saccharated lime in water; also demulcent drinks.
_Chloral._--Keep the patient warm in bed, with hot blankets and hot
water bottles, the bottles also to be applied over the heart. A warm
bath may be of advantage. If respiration threatens to fail, maintain
it artificially, and apply galvanic battery (induced current), one
pole over pit of stomach and the other over lower cervical vertebræ.
_Chloroform._--Draw out the tongue, if retracted. Give plenty of air.
Raise the body and lower the head, till the body is almost inverted.
Maintain artificial respiration. Use the galvanic battery as above
directed.
_Copper_, Salts of.--Cause vomiting, and then give freely of whites of
eggs and water, demulcent drinks, soothing clysters, lotions,
fomentations. Avoid vinegar.
_Corrosive Sublimate._--First, cause vomiting, then give whites of
eggs in water, four whites to one quart water. Milk, demulcent drinks,
and gargles.
_Gases._--The antidote for chlorine is to inhale ammonia. Asphyxia by
other gases, treated by cold applications to the head, plenty of air,
artificial respiration.
_Glass_, in powder.--Farina or light food in abundance. Then an
emetic, then milk and demulcent drinks.
_Iodine._--Starch-water containing albumen in large quantities, or
starch-water alone.
_Lead_, Salts of.--White of eggs, epsom salts, or sulphuric acid
lemonade. (One drachm diluted acid to a quart sweetened water.)
_Nitrate of Silver_ (lunar caustic).--Give salt water freely.
_Opium and Salts of Morphine._--Cause free vomiting by sulphate of
zinc, sulphate of copper, and tartar emetic, and use the stomach-pump.
Then administer one-sixteenth grain atropine, hypodermically, and
repeat with caution till the pupils dilate. Also give strong coffee or
tea. Keep the patient awake. If depression and drowsiness are extreme,
bleeding may do the patient good.
_Phosphorus._--Emetic, then water with whites of eggs, magnesia in
suspension, milk. Avoid oils.
_Prussic Acid._--Affusions of water over the cervical vertebræ.
Cause the gas from chlorine water to be inhaled. Give from twenty to
forty drops of Labbaraque's solution largely diluted, also coffee.
_Strychnine._--Cause vomiting. Give ether or chloroform by inhalation,
and chloral internally. Insufflate the lungs.
_Tartar Emetic._--If there is vomiting, favor it by giving whites of
eggs with water in large quantities, then give infusion of gall or oak
bark. If vomiting is not free, use the stomach-pump.
_Venomous Bites_, Serpents.--Apply a moderately tight ligature above
the bite. Wash the wound freely with warm water to encourage bleeding,
then cauterize thoroughly. Afterwards apply lint dipped in equal parts
of olive-oil and spirits hartshorn. Internally give freely of
alcoholic stimulants, with liquid ammonia, largely diluted.
_Rabid Dogs._--Apply ligature as above described, wash the wound
thoroughly with warm water, and cauterize immediately with nitric acid
or lunar caustic, leaving no part of the wound untouched.
HOUSE-CLEANING.
Do not clean but one room at a time, as it is a bad plan to have the
whole house in confusion at once. It is best to commence with the
attic.
Before beginning on your spring cleaning, remove the curtains, all the
movable furniture, and the carpets. With a broom and dust-pan remove
all dust from the floor. Then with a wall-brush thoroughly sweep and
dust the ceiling and side-walls, window and door frames, pictures and
chandeliers. Then go over the floor again, removing the dust that has
fallen from the ceiling and walls. Then proceed to wash all the paint
in the room. If it be white paint, use whiting or such other
preparations as are recommended for the purpose in the subsequent
pages. If it be varnished, or in imitation of oak or walnut, wipe with
a cloth dipped in milk-warm water. If the wood work in the room be of
unvarnished walnut or oak, wipe it off first, and then oil it, rubbing
in the oil well.
Then with a soft flannel rag and a cake of sapolio clean every piece
of marble in the room. Next wipe the mirrors carefully with a flannel
rag, wrung out of warm water and dipped in a little whiting, or you
may rub a little silver soap on the rag. The gilding must be merely
dusted, as the least dampness or a drop of water will injure it.
The windows (sash and all) must then be washed in soap and water, with
a common brush such as is used for washing paint. A little soda
dissolved in the water will improve the appearance of the windows. It
is unnecessary to use such a quantity of soap and water as to splash
everything around. After being washed, the windows should be polished
with newspapers. Except in a general house-cleaning, windows may be
cleaned by the directions given above for mirrors.
The metal about the door-knobs, tongs, etc., may be cleaned by
electro-silicon, and the grates may be varnished with the black
varnish kept for the purpose by dealers in grates, stoves, etc. Every
chair and article of furniture should be carefully cleaned before
being brought back into the room, and linen covers should be put on
the chairs. If you are going to put down matting, do so before
bringing back the first article of furniture. Some housekeepers,
however, allow their matting to remain during the winter under their
carpets. Spots on matting may be removed by being scoured with a
cloth, dipped first in hot water and then in salt. This, however, will
cause wet spots to appear on it in damp weather. After the spots are
removed, scrub the matting with dry corn-meal and a coarse cloth.
Sweep it over several times, till all the meal is removed.
For persons who do not use matting in summer, a recipe is given later
for beautifully coloring the floor with boiled linseed oil and burnt
sienna. Where different woods are used alternately in the floor, this
oil answers better than revarnishing the floor every spring.
As soon as the carpets are taken up, have them nicely shaken, swept,
and brushed on both sides. Every spot should be carefully washed and
wiped dry. The carpets should then be rolled up smoothly, with tobacco
sprinkled between the folds, sewed up in coarse linen cloths, and put
away till autumn. A cedar closet is an excellent place to keep carpets
as well as other woollens. If you have no cedar closet, however, a
cedar chest will serve to protect your woollen clothes against moths,
and it is better to preserve them in this way than to sprinkle them
with tobacco, which imparts an unpleasant scent to them.
WHITEWASH FOR OUTDOOR USE.
Take good quick-lime in lumps. Slack it with hot water, and while
slacking add to what will make a pailful one pound tallow or other
grease, free from dirt. It may be rancid, smoked, or otherwise unfit
for kitchen use.
When the violent slacking is over, stir thoroughly. All the water
should be added before the slacking ceases, and the mixing together
should be thorough. Do not dilute with cold water. If well made, it
will be very smooth and but little affected by rain.--_Mrs. E._
INDOOR WHITEWASHING.
We have recently seen recommended in a journal a fine and brilliant
whitewash preparation of chalk, called "Paris White," and said to be
admirable for whitewashing walls. It sells in paint stores at three
cents per pound, retail. For every sixteen pounds Paris White, get
half a pound white transparent glue. Cover the glue with cold water at
night, and in the morning heat it, without scorching, till dissolved.
Stir in the Paris White with hot water to give it a milky consistency.
Then add and mix well the glue. Apply with a common lime whitewash
brush. A single coating will do, except on very dingy walls. Almost as
brilliant as "Zinc White."--_Mrs. S. T._
TO OIL FLOORS.
To one gallon boiled linseed oil add half a pound burnt sienna. The
druggist who sells these articles will mix them. If economy is
necessary, instead of employing a painter to put it on, dip a large
woollen rag into the mixture, and with this wipe over the
floor.--_Mrs. S. T._
TO DYE FLOORS A PRETTY COLOR.
Make a strong decoction of the inside bark of red oak. Set it a dark
color with copperas.
Have the floors well swept and cleaned of spots. Then with a cloth rub
the dye in well, taking care to wipe up and down the floor, so as to
prevent streaking.
Let it dry, then wipe over with weak lye, and as soon as this dries
off, rub with a waxed brush.--_Mrs. Dr. P. C._
TO CLEAN PAINT.
Wring out a clean flannel, take up as much powdered whiting as will
adhere to it, then rub the paint. Wash off with clean water and rub
dry with a soft cloth, and it will look new. Not for paint in
imitation of oak.--_Mrs. R._
TO WASH OIL-CLOTH.
Wash oil-cloths with salt water; say, one pint salt dissolved in a
pailful water. When dry wipe over with a little milk and water.--_Mrs.
H. D._
_To Wash Oil-Cloth._
Sweep it well. Wash with cold water, using a brush. Then wash with
milk and wipe dry. Never use hot water.--_Mrs. R._
TO WASH CARPETS.
Shake, beat, and sweep well. Tack firmly on the floor. Mix three
quarts soft, cold water with one quart beef's gall. Wash with a
flannel, rub off with a clean flannel, immediately after putting it on
each strip of carpet.--_Mrs. R._
Carpets should be washed in spots, with a brush or flannel, one
tablespoonful ox-gall in one or two quarts water.--_Mrs. A._
TO REMOVE INK FROM CARPETS.
Take up the ink with a spoon. Pour cold water on the stained spot,
take up the water with a spoon, and repeat this process frequently.
Then rub on a little oxalic acid and wash off immediately with cold
water. Then wet with hartshorn.--_Mrs. R._
TO CLEAN MARBLE SLABS, ETC.
Sal soda, four ounces; powdered pumice-stone, two ounces; prepared
chalk, two ounces. Mix well, add sufficient water, rub well on the
marble, and then wash with soap and water.--_Dr. E. A. C._
Sapolio, rubbed on a flannel rag which has just been dipped in hot
water and squeezed, is also good for cleaning marble.--_Mrs. S. T._
TO REMOVE GREASE FROM WALL PAPER.
Dip a flannel in spirits of wine and go carefully over the soiled
places once or twice.--_Mrs. R._
TO CLEAN FURNITURE.
One-half pint linseed oil, one half pint vinegar, one-half pint
turpentine. Apply with a flannel rag, and then rub with a dry
flannel.--_Mrs. H. S._
TO CLEAN VARNISHED FURNITURE, MAHOGANY ESPECIALLY.