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, sc.r.a.ps 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 quant.i.ties 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 sa.s.safras root, pounded and boiled in weak ley, and thickened with corn meal. The patient should drink tea made of the roots of sa.s.safras 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 quant.i.ty 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 b.r.e.a.s.t.s, &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 bra.s.s 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 sc.r.a.ping 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.
Sa.s.safras 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.