To Make a Meath Good for the Liver and Lungs

Take of the Roots of Coltsfoot, Fennel and Fearn each four Ounces. Of Succory-roots, Sorrel-roots, Strawberry-roots, Bitter-sweet-roots, each two Ounces, of Scabious-roots and Elecampane-roots, each an Ounce and a half. Ground-ivy, Hore-hound, Oak of Jerusalem, Lung-wort, Liver-wort, Maiden-hair, Harts-tongue of each two good-handfulls. Licorish four Ounces. Jujubes, Raisins of the Sun and Currents, of each two Ounces; let the roots be sliced, and the herbs be broken a little with your hands; and boil all these in twenty quarts of fair running water, or, if you have it, in Rain water, with five Pints of good white honey, until one third part be boiled away; then pour the liquor through a jelly bag often upon a little Coriander-seeds, and Cinnamon; and when it runneth very clear, put it into Bottles well stopped, and set it cool for your use, and drink every morning a good draught of it, and at five in the afternoone.

Source: The Closet Of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened, K. Digby

The Snail water excellent for Consumptions

Take a Peck of Snails with the Shells on their Backs, have in a readiness a good fire of Charcoal well kindled, make a hole in the midst of the fire, and cast your Snails into the fire, renew your fire till the Snails are well rosted, then rub them with a clean Cloth, till you have rubbed off all the green which will come off.

Then bruise them in a Mortar, shells and all, then take Clary, Celandine, Burrage, Scabious, Bugloss, five leav’d Grass, and if you find your self hot, put in some Wood-Sorrel, of every one of these one handful, with five tops of Angelica.

These Herbs being all bruised in a Mortar, put them in a sweet earthen Pot with five quarts of white Wine, and two quarts of Ale, steep them all night; then put them into an Alembeck, let the herbs be in the bottom of the Pot, and the Snails upon the Herbs, and upon the Snails put a Pint of Earth-worms slit and clean washed in white Wine, and put upon them four ounces of Anniseeds or Fennel-seeds well bruised, and five great handfuls of Rosemary Flowers well picked, two or three Races of Turmerick thin sliced, Harts-horn and Ivory, of each four ounces, well steeped in a quart of white Wine till it be like a Jelly, then draw it forth with care.

Source: The Queen-like Closet or Rich Cabinet, Hannah Wolley

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

Dr Butler’s Cordial water

Take Pimpernel, Carduus, Angelica, Scordium, Scabious, Dragon, and still these severally in a Rose-still; and when you have a pint of the water of every of these sorts of Herbs, then mingle all thse together very well, and dissolve in it half a pound of Venice Treacle, then still all these together, and mingle the stronger water with the small; six spoonfuls of this water, made blood warm, given to one sick of the Plague, driveth all venome from the heart. It is excellent so used, for the Small Pox, or for any pestilent Feaver.

Source: The Queens Cabinet Opened: Or, The Pearle of Practice. Accurate, Physical and Chirurgical Receipts, Nathaniel Brooke

Carbuncle, the Common Scabious for

“Take scabious, the green herb and bruise it. Apply this to the affected part. This has been found a very effectual remedy.” The common field scabious have many hairy, soft, whitish green leaves, some of which are very small and rough on the edges, others have hairy green leaves deeply and finely divided and branched a little. Flowers size of small walnut and composed of many little ones. Sometimes called “Morning Bride,” “Devil’s Bit,” etc.

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