Vegetable Ointment

A small handful of smallage, red pimple, feverfew, rue, and pittory of the wall; simmer them in 1 lb. of unsalted butter, over a slow fire, half an hour: stir and press well, then strain it.

Source: The English Housekeeper, Anne Cobbett

A salve to cure the Itch in twelve hours

It also destroys lice and nits in twelve hours, and bedbugs, if put in the cracks containing the nits, likewise the weavils.

A person having the itch, must rub himself all over where the pustules are, with this salve, before going to bed, and after rising in the morning, take off the shirt and cleanse himself with a wet rag, after which he has to put on a clean shirt and cleanse the bed, and the itch will have left him. Children are to be greased on the head with this salve, till the hair is all greasy, then the head is to be tied up with a handkerchief. This will kill the lice and nits in one night. The salve is not injurious to children. To be prepared as follows:

To 4 ounces Venice turpentine and 4 ounces red precipitate add one pound fresh butter that has not been in water. This mixture is sufficient for twelve men to rub themselves with for the itch, but the Venice turpentine ought to be washed nine times before it is used for making the salve, which is to be done in the following manner: put one ounce Venice turpentine (or more if a greater quantity of salve is required) into an earthen vessel that will hold a pint, then take a chip of wood and go to where there is running water and holding the vessel containing the turpentine towards the water, take in a full gill and with the chip stir the turpentine well together with the water about two minutes, then pour off the water carefully and take in another gill of water (holding the vessel towards the stream) and stir it well together as before. Thus the turpentine is to be washed nine times, after which it will be very pure. The last water must be poured off completely, then take a quarter of a pound of butter, good weight, just out of the buttermilk and melt it in a pan, but do not suffer it to get hot, then pour it into the vessel with the turpentine and stir it well with the chip of wood; lastly add one ounce red precipitate, stir it again thoroughly, and the salve is done.

N.B. The salve ought every time to be stirred up before it is rubbed on.

Source: Recipes: Information for Everybody, J.F. Landis

Cure for Chilblains

Bathe the feet in hot water, dry thoroughly before the fire, then rub with the following as long as possible. Take a piece of butter the size of a walnut with as much salt as can be worked into it. One or two applications will generally cure the worst cases.

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

Green Mountain Salve

Take one pound Beeswax, one pound of soft Butter, and one and one-half pounds soft Turpentine, twelve ounces Balsam Fir. Melt and strain. Use to heal fresh wounds, burns, scalds and all bad sores.

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

Toffee for Coughs

1/2 lb Demerara sugar
1 oz butter
2 oz treacle
1 teaspoonful ipecacuanha wine

Boil the butter, sugar and treacle together for 20 minutes and add the wine.

Pour out into a greased tin and when cold break into pieces and keep in a tin for use.

Give a small piece to be sucked slowly, from time to time when the cough is troublesome, but never allow a child to go to bed with a piece in its mouth for fear of choking.

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

Egg for an Invalid

Put two tablespoonfuls of boiling water in a sauce pan on the stove; break a fresh egg into it; stir briskly until the egg is slightly set, but not at all stiff; season with salt, and a little pepper. Serve at once on a thin slice of buttered toast.

Source: Recipes Tried and True

Tea and Coffee Stains

Only a few people know that butter will remove tea, coffee or fruit stains. It should be rubbed on the linen or cotton and then the material should be soaked in hot water and a mild soap. In fact, any stains, except ink or wine stains, sprinkle salt over the spots and pour boiling water through it until the spot has gone.

Source: 1001 Household Hints, Ottilie V. Ames

Molasses Possets

Put into a sauce-pan a pint of the best West India molasses; a tea-spoonful of powdered white ginger; and a quarter of a pound of fresh butter. Set it on hot coals, and simmer it slowly for half an hour; stirring it frequently. Do not let it come to a boil. Then stir in the juice of two lemons, or two table-spoonfuls of vinegar; cover the pan, and let it stand by the fire five minutes longer. This is good for a cold. Some of it may be taken warm at once, and the remainder kept at hand for occasional use.

It is the preparation absurdly called by the common people a stewed quaker.

Half a pint of strained honey mixed cold with the juice of a lemon, and a table-spoonful of sweet oil, is another remedy for a cold; a tea-spoonful or two to be taken whenever the cough is troublesome.

Source: Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches, Eliza Leslie

To Restore Sweetness to Tainted Butter

Cut or break the butter into very small pieces ; or, what is better, force it through a course wire sieve, so as to make it small as possible. Then put it into a churn with a sufficient quantity of new milk to swim it, and churn it well ; then take it out and work it well to free it from the milk, adding a little salt if necessary, and it will hardly be distinguished from entirely new butter.

Another way. To every pound of rancid butter, add a pint of water, into which has been put from twelve to fifteen drops of chloride of lime. Mix till all the particles are in contact with the water ; after letting it stand an hour or two, take it out and wash it in fresh water.

Source: Valuable Receipts, J.M. Prescott

For a Burn

Make half a tumbler of strong lime water, let it set a few minutes; then strain the water through a thin muslin to the same quantity of linseed or sweet oil (neat’s or hog’s foot will answer); mix it well, and spread over the burn; wrap over linen cloths. Do not remove the cloth for several days; saturate it frequently with the lime and oil until the inflammation is subdued. Should the odor become offensive, apply cold poultices of the flour of slippery elm; spread over with pulverized charcoal. A plaster of lard and soot is also good for a burn. Heal with any simple salve — a very good one is made by stewing together heart leaves, white lily root, agrimony, a few leaves of the Jamestown weed, and sweet gum. When the strength of the herbs is extracted, strain the water; throw away leaves, etc.; add fresh unsalted butter, and simmer gently until the water has evaporated. Keep this on hand for common sores, in a close-covered box.

Source: Mrs Hill’s New Cook-Book