Bran Tea: a Remedy for Colds, etc.
Boil a large handful of bran in a quart of water for ten minutes, then strain off the water into a jug, sweeten it with one ounce of gum arabic and a good spoonful of honey; stir all well together, and give this kind of drink in all cases of affections of the chest, such as colds, catarrhs, consumption, etc., and also for the measles.
Source: A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes, C.E. Francatelli
Linseed Tea
Put a table-spoonful of linseed into a clean earthen pot or pipkin with a quart of water, and a little orange or lemon rind; boil this gently for about ten minutes, and then strain it through muslin into a jug; sweeten with honey or sugar, add the juice of a lemon, stir all together, and give this beverage to allay irritation of the chest and lungs—in the latter case, the lemon juice had better be omitted. Linseed tea in its purest form is an excellent accessory in aiding to relieve such as are afflicted with gout, gravel, etc.
Source: A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes, C.E. Francatelli
Baked Lemon for a Cold
Dose a teaspoonful. Bake a lemon till soft, take out all the inside, and mix with as much sugar as it will hold, strain and stand till cold when it will jelly.
Source: My Pet Recipes, Tried And True
To Prevent Horses being Teased by Flies
Boil three or four handfuls of walnut leaves in a gallon of water, and before the horse goes out in the morning, bathe with it.
Source: Valuable Receipts, J.M. Prescott
To take out Mildew from Linen
Mix some soft soap with powdered starch, half as much salt, and the juice of a lemon ; apply on both sides with a brush, and lay it on the grass day and night, till the stain comes out.
Source: Valuable Receipts, J.M. Prescott
How to make Rice Water
To six ounces of rice add two quarts of water, and two ounces of Valentia raisins; boil these very gently for about half an hour, or rather more; strain off the water into a jug, add about two table-spoonfuls of brandy. Rice water, prepared as above, is recommended in cases of dysentery and diarrhoea.
Source: A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes, C.E. Francatelli
Whooping Cough
Bruise a tumbler of flaxseed, three ounces of liquorice, two ounces of loaf sugar, two of strained honey. Pour to these a quart of water; boil until reduced half. Give frequently. Hog’s lard and molasses in equal quantities with a little laudanum is also good.
Source: Mrs Hill’s New Cook-Book
Specific for a Cough
Take equal quantities of camomile flowers, elecampane, life-everlasting, mullen, a few races of ginger, and as much fat lightwood splinters as camomile. Boil to a strong tea; strain it, and add enough honey and sugar mixed in equal quantities; boil down to a syrup; add enough good apple vinegar to give a pleasant acid taste. Pills made of fresh tar, brown sugar, and the yolk of an egg,
are good for a cough. Pills of fresh rosin taken from the pine tree are also good.
Source: Mrs Hill’s New Cook-Book
To keep away Bed-Bugs
Scald and saturate the holes and bedstead thoroughly with hot strong soap-suds, or water diluted with corrosive sublimate ; dip the cord also in the same liquor. Then, before putting up the bedstead, dip the feathered end of a quill into soft soap, or hard soap melted, or any kind of paint, and work it round in the cord-holes of the beams and elsev/here. This renders every part obnoxious to them, and they will not inhabit it.
Source: Valuable Receipts, J.M. Prescott
Putrid Sore Throat
Mix one gill of strong apple vinegar, cue tablespoonful of common salt, tablespoonful of strained honey, half a pod of red pepper; boil them together; strain into half a pint of strong sage tea. In severe cases give half a teaspoonful for an adult every hour; decrease the dose as the disease is relieved. Use some as a gargle.
Source: Mrs Hill’s New Cook-Book