Rhubarb, Tincture Of

Rhubarb, two and a half ounces ; lesser cardamom seeds, half an ounce ; brandy, one quart. Digest for seven days, then strain. Dose : From one to three or four spoonfuls. Used for indigestion and weakness of the stomach.

Source: Recipes For The Million

A Mild Aperient (To Take In The Spring)

Put 1 oz. of senna into a jar, and pour 1 quart of boiling water over it; fill up the vessel, with prunes and figs; cover with paper, and set it in the oven, with household bread. Take every morning, one or two prunes, and a wine-glass of the liquor.– Or: dissolve 3 oz. of Spanish liquorice in one pint boiling water, add 1 oz. socotrine aloes in powder, and 1 pint brandy. Take 1 tea-spoonful in a wine-glassful of water, either in the morning, at night, or both.– Or: a large tea-spoonful of magnesia, a lump of sugar, a dessert-spoonful of lemon juice, in 1/2 pint of spring water.

Source: The English Housekeeper, Anne Cobbett

The Best Cough Syrup

One ounce of hoarhound leaves and blossoms, one ounce each of spikenard root, camfrey root, sunflower seed and elecampane. Put all in water, and boil one hour in water enough to have a quart remaining after it has boiled, and has been strained. To this add one pound of loaf sugar, boll it again for a little while and add a little brandy, and bottle it. Dose: a tablespoonful three times a day. Has been thoroughly tested.

Source: Tried and True Recipes, F.D.P. Jermain

Gout Cordial

Rhubarb 1 oz., senna, coriander seeds, sweet fennel seeds, cochineal, saffron, and liquorice root, of each, a 1/4 oz., and of jar raisins 4 oz. Let the raisins be stoned, and all the ingredients be bruised. Put them into a quart of French brandy. Shake well every day for a fortnight. Take 1 table-spoonful, with peppermint, or plain water.

Source: The English Housekeeper, Anne Cobbett

Cure for Coughs

Three newly-laid eggs, unbroken, over which pour the juice of six lemons, and allow to stand for forty-eight hours. Then pick out any bits of eggshell which are not dissolved; add one-half pound of rock candy, and one pint of Jamaica brandy ; mix well and bottle. Dose : 1 tablespoonful three or four times a day.

Source: The Canadian Family Cookbook, Grace E. Denison

Garlic Syrup, for Hooping, or any other Cough

Put 3 roots of garlic, sliced thinly and transversely, with 4 oz. honey, and 4 oz. vinegar, into a 1/2 pint bason, and set that into a large wash-hand bason; let it infuse half an hour, then strain it. Take the first in the morning, and the last at night, a tea-spoonful of the syrup, in an equal quantity of brandy and water; put the water in the glass first.

Source: The English Housekeeper, Anne Cobbett

For a Sore Throat

At the beginning of a sore throat, get fresh ivy leaves, tack them together, warm them, and put the shady side to the throat.– Or: wet bread-crumbs with brandy, and tie them round the throat. Make a gargle of 2 carrots, sliced and boiled, and use it often.– Or: dissolve 4 oz. camphor in a pint of rectified spirits of wine. Dip a piece of new Welsh flannel into this, and apply it to the throat. Be careful to wet frequently.

Source: The English Housekeeper, Anne Cobbett

An Excellent Recipe for Hoarseness

At night before going to bed, have ready a pint bowl, into which you have squeezed the juice of half a lemon, add to this one teaspoonful of glycerine, and one or two tablespoons of good whisky or best brandy, pour over boiling water, sweeten well with loaf sugar and drink very hot.

Source: Tried and True Recipes, F.D.P. Jermain

Blackberry Cordial for Diarrhoea

Boil together four pounds of white sugar and one gallon of blackberry juice ; remove the scum, then add one ounce of cloves, one ounce of cinnamon, and four or five grated nutmegs. When boiled sufficiently, let it settle ; strain, and add one pint of brandy. Dose for a child, one tablespoonful ; for an adult, one wineglassful.

Source: Recipes for the Million

Arrowroot Wine Jelly

1 cup boiling water.
2 heaping teaspoonfuls arrowroot.
2 heaping white sugar.
1 tablespoonful brandy or 3 tablespoonfuls of wine.

An excellent corrective to weak bowels.

Source: Common Sense in the Household, Marion Harland