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 quant.i.ties of resin soap, brown sugar, and powdered resin, worked well together, with a few drops of mola.s.ses. A poultice of onions, sa.s.safras, 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 sa.s.safras 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 quant.i.ty 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-gla.s.s 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 quant.i.ty 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 quant.i.ties of rich cream and strong vinegar, and rub it over every time you wash your hands.
Bathing.
Almost every family, even if their circ.u.mstances 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.
FOOD FOR THE SICK.
Remarks on Preparing Food for the Sick.
Few young persons understand cooking for the sick. It is very important to know how to prepare their food in an inviting manner; every thing should be perfectly clean and nice. Avoid giving an invalid any thing out of a cup that has been used before; even if it is medicine, it will not be so hard to take out of a clean cup. It is well to have a stand or small table by the bed-side, that you can set any thing on. A small silver strainer that will just fit over a tumbler or tea-cup, is very useful to strain lemonade, panada or herb tea.
If you want any thing to use through the night, you should prepare it, if possible, beforehand; as a person that is sick, can sometimes fall asleep without knowing it, if the room is _kept perfectly still._
Boiled Custard.