Liniment for Rheumatism, Sprains and Bruises

One ounce spirits of ammonia, one ounce spirits of turpentine, one ounce tincture of opium, one pint rain water, add a little soap. Shake well before using. Bathe affected part well with hot water before applying.

Source: The New Galt Cook Book, M. Taylor & F. McNaught

Hair Lotion for Use After Illness

Spirit of ammonia, 1 1/2 oz.; glycerine, 1 1/2 oz.; oil of rosemary, 1/2 oz.; spirits of wine, 4 oz. To be applied at night with a small sponge.

Source: Still Room Cookery, C.S. Peel

Hair Tonic for Weak and Falling Hair

Hydrochlorate of ammonia, 2 drams; spirit of juniper, 20 drops; tincture of cantharides, 1 oz.; rectified spirits of wine, 2 oz.; camphor water, 3/4 pint. To be applied once a day.

Source: Still Room Cookery, C.S. Peel

Bruises

To allay the pain of bruises do not use tincture of arnica; but apply the following lotion on a piece of uncovered lint: one part of spirit and one part of solution of acetate of ammonia (B.P.) to eight parts of water. When the pain of a bruise has been allayed, the absorption of the residual swelling and discoloration may be hastened by gentle massage. So much for the surgical requisites.

Source: The Girl’s Own Paper

Magnetic Toothache Drops

Take equal parts of Camphor, Sulphuric Ether, Ammonia, Laudanum, Tincture of Cayenne, and one-eighth part of Oil of Cloves. Mix well together. Saturate with the liquid a small piece of cotton, and apply to the cavity of the diseased tooth, and the pain will cease immediately. Put up in long drachm bottles. Retail at 25 cents. This is a very salable preparation, and affords a large profit to the manufacturer.

Source: One Thousand Secrets of Wise and Rich Men Revealed, C. A. Bogardus

For Insect Stings

Extract the sting, if left in, with a watch key or tweezers, and apply ammonia and water, or a paste of bicarbonate of soda with sal volatile.

Common soda or the blue bag will also relieve the pain.

Source: Household Management, E. Stoddard Eckford & M.S. Fitzgerald

Magic Oil

One gallon Sweet Oil, two ozs. Oil Hemlock, two ozs. Oil Organum, two ozs. Chloroform, four ozs. Spirits Ammonia. Mix. Let it stand 24 hours and it is ready for use. Dose, internally, one teaspoonful for adults. Bathe the affected parts well. This is a great remedy for aches and pains, Rheumatism, Neuralgia, and all nervous and inflammatory diseases.

Source: One Thousand Secrets of Wise and Rich Men Revealed, C. A. Bogardus

Stings

Extract sting if it remains imbedded in flesh. Apply household ammonia, diluted with a little water, or solution of bicarbonate of soda (1 tsp. soda to 1 cup water).

Mud, wet salt, slice of onion, arnica, witch hazel, camphor are soothing. If there is much swelling, apply cracked ice. Apply spirit of camphor or alcohol to mosquito bites.

Source: The Mary Frances First Aid Book, Jane Eayre Fryer

Uses of Ammonia

All housekeepers should keep a bottle of liquid ammonia, as it is the most powerful and useful agent for cleaning silks, stuffs and hats, in fact cleans everything it touches. A few drops of ammonia in water will take off grease from dishes, pans, etc., and does not injure the hands as much as the use of soda and strong chemical soaps. A spoonful in a quart of warm water for cleaning paint makes it look like new, and so with everything that needs cleaning.

Spots on towels and hosiery will disappear with little trouble if a little ammonia is put into enough water to soak the articles, and they are left in it an hour or two before washing; and if a cupful is put into the water in which clothes are soaked the night before washing, the ease with which the articles can be washed, and their great whiteness and clearness when dried, will be very gratifying. Remembering the small sum paid for three quarts of ammonia of common strength, one can easily see that no bleaching preparation can be more cheaply obtained.

No articles in kitchen use are so likely to be neglected and abused as the dish-cloth and dish-towels; and in washing these, ammonia, if properly used, is a greater comfort than anywhere else. Put a teaspoonful into the water in which these cloths are, or should be, washed everyday; rub soap on the towels. Put them in the water; let them stand half an hour or so; then rub them out thoroughly, rinse faithfully, and dry outdoors in clear air and sun, and dish-cloths and towels need never look gray and dingy–a perpetual discomfort to all housekeepers.

A dark carpet often looks dusty soon after it has been swept, and you know it does not need sweeping again; so wet a cloth or a sponge, wring it almost dry, and wipe off the dust. A few drops of ammonia in the water will brighten the colors.

For cleaning hair-brushes it is excellent; put a tablespoonful into the water, having it only tepid, and dip up and down until clean; then dry with the brushes down and they will be like new ones.

When employed in washing anything that is not especially soiled, use the waste water afterward for the house plants that are taken down from their usual position and immersed in the tub of water. Ammonia is a fertilizer, and helps to keep healthy the plants it nourishes. In every way, in fact, ammonia is the housekeeper’s friend.

Ammonia is not only useful for cleaning, but as a household medicine. Half a teaspoonful taken in half a tumbler of water is far better for faintness than alcoholic stimulants. In the Temperance Hospital in London, it is used with the best results. It was used freely by Lieutenant Greely’s Arctic party for keeping up circulation. It is a relief in nervousness, headache and heart disturbances.

Source: The White House Cookbook, F.L. Gillette

Phalon’s Instantaneous Hair Dye

To one ounce of crystallized nitrate of silver, dissolved in one ounce of concentrated aqua ammonia, add one ounce of gum arabic and six ounces of soft water. Keep in the dark. Remember to remove all grease from the hair before applying the dye.

There is danger in some of the patent hair dyes, and hence the Scientific American offers what is known as the walnut hair dye. The simplest form is the expressed juice of the bark or shell of green walnuts. To preserve the juice a little alcohol is commonly added to it with a few bruised cloves, and the whole digested together, with occasional agitation, for a week or fortnight, when the clear portion is decanted, and, if necessary, filtered. Sometimes a little common salt is added with the same intention. It should be kept in a cool place. The most convenient way of application is by means of a sponge.

Source: The White House Cookbook, F.L. Gillette