For Bruises and Swellings

Use distilled witch-hazel, wetting a cloth and applying frequently. Both better and cheaper than arnica.

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

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

Burns and Scalds

Pour white of egg over the wound. This will prevent inflammation and exclude the air, and so remove the extreme discomfort experienced from accidents of this kind.

Source: Recipes for the Million

Remedial Qualities of Common Fruits

A table giving the remedial qualities of the common fruits and vegetables is herewith appended: —

Celery for any form of rheumatism and nervous dyspepsia.

Lettuce for insomnia.

Water-cress for scurvy.

Onions are almost the best nervine known. Use for insomnia, for coughs and colds, and as a complexion curer. Eaten every other day, they soon have a clearing and whitening effect on the complexion.

Spinach for gravel.

Asparagus to induce perspiration.

Carrots for suffering from asthma.

Turnips for nervous disorders and for scurvy.

Raw beef proves of great benefit to persons of frail constitution, and to those suffering from consumption. It is chopped fine, seasoned with salt, and heated by placing it in a dish in hot water. It assimilates rapidly and affords the best nourishment.

Eggs contain a large amount of nutriment in a compact quickly available form. Beaten up raw with sugar they are used to clear and strengthen the voice. With sugar and lemon juice the beaten white of egg is used to relieve hoarseness.

Cranberries for erysipelas are used externally as well as internally.

Cranberries eaten raw are one of the finest tonics and appetizers known.

In cases of yellow or typhoid fever, cranberries are almost indispensable as a tonic and to assist in clearing the system of the harmful bacteria.

For some forms of dyspepsia there is no more simple and effective remedy than raw cranberries. Carry a supply in the pocket and eat them frequently during the day. They will cure headache as well.

People who are subject to biliousness will find that with cranberries a part of each day’s food they will be free from such attacks.

Honey is wholesome, strengthening, cleansing, healing and nourishing.

Fresh ripe fruits are excellent for purifying the blood and toning up the system.

Sour oranges are highly recommended for rheumatism.

Watermelon for epilepsy and for yellow fever.

Lemons for feverish thirst in sickness, biliousness, low fevers, rheumatism, colds, coughs, liver complaints, etc.

Blackberries for diarrhoea.

Tomatoes are a powerful aperient for the liver, a sovereign remedy for dyspepsia and for indigestion.

Tomatoes are invaluable in all conditions in which the use of calomel is indicated.

Figs are aperient and wholesome. They are said to be valuable as a food for those suffering from cancer. They are used externally as well as internally.

Bananas are useful as a food for those suffering from chronic diarrhoea.

Pie-plant is wholesome and aperient; is excellent for rheumatic sufferers and useful for purifying the blood.

Peanuts for indigestion. They are especially recommended for corpulent diabetes. Peanuts are made into a wholesome and nutritious soup, are browned and used as a coffee, are eaten as a relish simply baked, or are prepared and served as salted almonds.

Apples are useful in nervous dyspepsia; they are nutritious, medicinal and vitalizing; they aid digestion, clear the voice, correct the acidity of the stomach, are valuable in rheumatism, insomnia, and liver trouble. An apple contains as much nutriment as a potato, in a pleasanter, more wholesome form.

Grapes dissolve and dislodge gravel and calculi, and bring the stomach and bowels to a healthy condition.

Ripe pineapples have been put upon the list of foods especially healthful for persons troubled with indigestion, the juice being especially valuable in such cases. Shred with a silver fork, and reject all the indigestible core. The juice of a ripe pineapple is an almost invaluable remedy for diphtheria, the acid seeming to dissolve the strangling growth in the throat.

Source: The Canadian Family Cookbook, Grace E. Denison

Blotched Face, Wash for a

Mix three ounces of rose-water with one dram of sulphate of zinc. Wet the face with it, dry gently, and rub on some cold cream, which also wipe gently off.

Source: Recipes for the Million

Burns, Brown-Paper Oil For

Dip some thick brown paper in salad oil, put it upon a plate, and set it alight. Apply the oil that is left upon the plate.

Source: Recipes for the Million

To Remove Sunburn

Squeeze the juice of a lemon into a small teacupful of new milk. Allow it to curdle. Apply it to the face and throat with a piece of cotton wool, after having been out in the sun, or the last thing at night. Allow it to remain on the skin for a short time then wash it off with tepid soft water. This will remove all heat and tan from the skin.

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

Cure for Ringworms

Yellow dock, root or leaves, steeped in vinegar, will cure the worst case of ringworm.

Source: The Canadian Family Cookbook, Grace E. Denison

Cure for Burns

One-third part linseed oil.
Two-thirds lime water.

Shake up well; apply and wrap in soft linen.

Until you can procure this keep the part covered with wood-soot mixed to a soft paste with lard, or, if you have not these, with common molasses.

Source: Common Sense in the Household, Marion Harland

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