Elderberry Poultice

“The leaves of the elder, boiled until they are soft, with a little linseed oil added thereto,” laid upon a scarlet cloth and applied, as hot as it can be borne, to piles, has been said to be an infallible remedy. Each time this poultice gets cold it must be renewed for “the space of an hour.” At the end of this time the final dressing is to be “bound on,” and the patient “put warm to bed.” If necessary the whole operation is to be repeated; but the writer assures us that “this hath not yet failed at the first dressing to cure the disease.” If any reader desires to try the experiment I would suggest that the leaves be steamed rather than boiled, and pure olive oil used in the place of linseed oil. It must also be remembered that no outward application can be expected to effect a permanent cure, since the presence of piles indicates an effort of Nature to clear out some poison from the system. But if this expulsion is assisted by appropriate means the pain may well be alleviated by external applications. (Pepper should be avoided by sufferers from piles.)

Source: Food Remedies: Facts About Foods And Their Medicinal Uses, Florence Daniel

For Epilepsy

Cut a twig of elder tree into nine parts, and string the pieces as a necklace to be tied round the patient’s neck; but should the necklace fall and touch the ground, it must be burned, and a new one made.

Source: Ancient Cures, Charms, and Usages of Ireland, Lady Wilde

Pile Ointment

Cut some green shoots of elder early in the spring, clear away the bark, and put two good handfuls into a quart of thick cream. Boil it till it comes to an ointment, and as it rises take it off with a spoon, and be careful to prevent its burning. Strain the ointment through a fine cloth, and keep it for use.

Source: The Cook And Housekeeper’s Complete and Universal Dictionary, Mary Eaton

Elder Ointment

Melt 3 lbs. of mutton suet in 1 pint of olive oil, and boil in it 4 lbs. weight of elder flowers, full blown, till nearly crisp; then strain, and press out the ointment.– Another: take 4 oz. each, of the inner bark of the elder tree, and the leaves, boil them in 2 pints of linseed oil, and 6 oz. of white wax. Press it through a strainer.

Source: The English Housekeeper, Anne Cobbett

Ointment for Sunburn

Make a stiff paste with white Fuller’s earth, or good French chalk, and elder flower water. Let it remain on the face for a few minutes, then wash it off with hot rain water and apply a little cold cream.

Source: The Dudley Book of Cookery and Household Recipes, Georgiana Dudley

Elder Tea

Make a strong tea of elder-flowers, either fresh or dried. Sweeten with honey. This tea is to be drunk as hot as possible ,after the person is warm in bed; it produces a strong perspiration, and a slight cold or cough yields to it immediately; but the more stubborn requires two or three repetitions. Used in Russia. This is an excellent remedy for colds attended with feverish symptoms and sore throat.

Source: The Universal Cookery Book, Gertrude Strohm

For Burns

When the skin is not off, apply scraped raw potatoes. When the skin is off, apply sweet oil and cotton, or linseed oil and lime water made into a paste. Elder ointment is very good: make the ointment of the green bark of the elder; stew in lard.

Source: The Philadelphia Housewife, Mary Hodgson

For Felons

Take a portion of the bark of sweet elder, or hops will do; then put it with some sweet cream into a cup, and boil a short time;then put in a lump of saltpetre twice as large as a pear; let it slowly dry away to the consistency of a salve, which apply to the felon. The salt petre is the cure, but the elder bark and sweet cream aid in easing the pain. By putting in enough saltpetre, any felon can be cured in 48 hours, and the pain will cease almost immediately.

Source: 76: A Cook Book

A deep Burn or Scald

Apply black Varnish with a feather, ’till it is well.

Or inner rind of Elder well mixt with fresh butter. When this is bound on with a rag, plunge the part into cold water. This will suspend the pain, till the medicine heals.

Or mix Lime-Water and Sweet Oil, to the thickness of cream, apply it with a feather several times a day. — This is the most effectual application I ever met with.

Or put twenty-five drops of Goullard’s Extract of Lead, to half a pint of Rain Water; dip linen rags in it, and apply them to the part affected. This is particularly serviceable, if the burn is near the eyes.

Source: Primitive Physic: or an easy and natural method of curing most diseases, John Wesley.

Scalds, Elder Berries Soothing for

“The flowers of the black elder berries and the bark all possess valuable medicinal
properties. An ointment made by stirring the fresh flowers into melted lard or vaselin and occasionally stirring it, will be found an excellent remedy for scalds or burns.” It is not only soothing, but forms a coating thereby keeping the air out.

Source: Mother’s Remedies: Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remidies from Mothers of the United States and Canada, T. J. Ritter