To make the Hair Grow
Wash it every night with a strong decoction of Rosemary. Dry it with flannel. Tried.
Source: Primitive Physic: or an easy and natural method of curing most diseases, John Wesley.
For Erysipelas
For erysipelas and all high inflammation of the skin, make a poultice of raw cranberries pounded to a fine pulp.
Source: Audel’s Household Helps, Hints and Receipts
To make a Paste to wash your hands withal
Take a Pound of bitter Almonds, blanch them and beat them very fine in a Mortar with four Ounces of Figgs, when it is come to a paste, put it into a Gallipot and keep it for your use; a little at a time will serve.
Source: The Queen-like Closet or Rich Cabinet, Hannah Wolley
For Toothache or Pain in the Face
Mix salt with the yolk of an egg until about the consistency of mustard, and use same as a mustard plaster. This remedy is also good for snake bites.
Source: Audel’s Household Helps, Hints and Receipts
For a Felon
If you have the appearance of a felon coming, put some hardwood ashes in an old tin cup, pour over them warm water, immerse the end of the sore finger in the ashes, set the dish on some live coals or on top of the stove, keeping the finger in as long as you can, and soak it several times a day. If taken in time, it generally prevents a felon from coming if the finger is wet with it often.
Source: Audel’s Household Helps, Hints and Receipts
A Syrup for a Cold
Take Long-wort of the Oak, Sage of Jerusalem, Hysop, Colts-foot, Maidenhair, Scabious, Horehound, one handful of each, four Ounces of Licoras scraped, two Ounces of Anniseeds bruised, half a pound of Raisins of the Sun stoned, put these together into a Pipkin with two quarts of Spring water, let them stand all night to infuse close stopped, when it is half boiled away, strain it out, and put to it to every pint of liquor a pound of Sugar and boil it to a Syrup.
Source: The Queen-like Closet or Rich Cabinet, Hannah Wolley
The Lemon Decoction in Malaria
This remedy has, besides its anti-malarial efficacy, distinct value as a tonic to the stomach. Take a fresh lemon; cut it into thin slices, rind and all; boil it in three tumblerfuls of water in an earthen pot which has not been previously used for culinary purposes; prolong the boiling till the liquid contents of the pot have been reduced to one-third — that is, to the volume of one tumbler. Pass the decoction through muslin, squeezing out the residue of the lemon, and let it cool for several hours. Let the whole be taken in the early morning, fasting.
Source: Audel’s Household Helps, Hints and Receipts
A Simple Remedy for Ringworm
Use thinly-made mustard. With the top of the finger rub this semi-liquid first outside the sore, then over it, always rubbing in a circle and gently, and for a few seconds only. Repeat twice a day while necessary. For a child it is a painful cure; but a grown-up person will not mind a few hours’ smarting, and will find the cure rapid and effectual.
Source: Audel’s Household Helps, Hints and Receipts
For Nearsightedness
For nearsightedness, close the eyes and pass the fingers, very gently, several times across them outward, from the canthus, or corner next the nose, towards the temple. This tends slightly to flatten the corner and lens of the eye, and thus to lengthen or extend the angle of vision. The operation should be repeated several times a day, or at least always after making one’s toilet, until shortsightedness is nearly or completely removed. For long sight, loss of sight by age, weak sight, and generally for all those defects which require the use of magnifying glasses, gently pass the finger, or napkin, from the outer angle or corner of the eyes inward, above and below the eyeball, towards the nose. This tends slightly to “round up” the eyes, and thus to preserve or to restore the sight. It should be done every time the eyes are washed, or oftener.
Source: The Ladies’ Book Of Useful Information
Ingredient: Barley
Barley is excellent food for the anæmic and nervous on account of its richness in iron and phosphoric acid. It is also useful in fevers and all inflammatory diseases, on account of its soothing properties. From the earliest times barley water has been the recognised drink of the sick.
Source: Food Remedies: Facts About Foods And Their Medicinal Uses, Florence Daniel