Dysentery

December 2nd, 2015

Into half a glass of port wine stir a teaspoon of starch, sweetened with loaf sugar; grate half a nutmeg in it, and drink three or four times a day.

Source: The Kansas Home Cook-Book

Ingredients: Orchids

January 3rd, 2009

ORCHIDS.

Our common English Orchids are the “Early Purple,” which is abundant in our woods and pastures; the “Meadow Orchis”; and the “Spotted Orchis” of our heaths and commons. Less frequent are the “Bee Orchis,” the “Butterfly Orchis,” “Lady’s Tresses,” and the “Tway blade.”

Two roundish tubers form the root of an Orchid, and give its name to the plant from the Greek orchis, testicle. A nutritive starchy product named Salep, or Saloop, is prepared from the roots of the common Male Orchis, and its infusion or decoction was taken generally in this country as a beverage before the introduction of tea and coffee. Sassafras chips were sometimes added for giving the drink a flavour. Salep obtained from the tubers of foreign Orchids was specially esteemed; and even now that sold in Indian bazaars is so highly valued for its fine qualities that most extravagant prices are paid for it by wealthy Orientals. Also in Persia and Turkey it is in great repute for recruiting the exhausted vitality of aged, and enervated persons. In this country it may be purchased as a powder, but not readily miscible with water, so that many persons fail in making the decoction. The powder should be first stirred with a little spirit of wine: then the water should be added suddenly, and the mixture boiled. One dram by weight of the salep powder in a fluid dram and a half of the spirit, to half-a-pint of water, are the proper proportions. Sometimes amber, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger are added.

Dr. Lind, in the middle of the last century, strongly advised that ships, and soldiers on long marches, should be provided with Salep made into a paste or cake. This (with a little portable soup added) will allay hunger and thirst if made liquid. An ounce in two quarts of boiling water will sufficiently sustain a man for one day, being a combination of animal and vegetable foods. Among the early Romans the Orchis was often called “Satyrion,” because it was thought to be the food of the Satyrs, exciting them to their sexual orgies. Hence the Orchis root became famous as all aphrodisiac medicine, and has been so described by all herbalists from the time of Dioscorides.

A tradition is ascribed to the English Orchis Mascula (early Purple), of which the leaves are usually marked with purple spots. It is said that these are stains of the precious blood which flowed from our Lord’s body on the cross at Calvary, where this species of Orchis is reputed to have grown. Similarly in Cheshire, the plant bears the name of Gethsemane. This early Orchis is the “long Purples,” mentioned by Shakespeare in Hamlet: and it is sometimes named “Dead men’s fingers,” from the pale colour, and the hand-like shape of its tubers.

“That liberal shepherds give a grosser name,
But our cold maids do ‘dead men’s fingers’ call them.”

It is further styled “Cain and Abel” and “Rams’ horns,” the odour being offensive, especially in the evening. It thrives wherever the wild hyacinth flourishes, and is believed by some to grow best where the earth below is rich in metal. Country people in Yorkshire call it “Crake feet,” and in Kent “Keat legs,” or “Neat legs.” The roots of this Orchis abound with a glutinous sweetish juice, of which a Salep may be made which is quite equal to any brought from the Levant. The new root should be washed in hot water, and its thin brown skin rubbed off with a linen cloth. Having thus prepared a sufficient number of roots, the operator should spread them on a tin plate in a hot oven for eight or ten minutes, until they get to look horny, but without shrinking in size: and being then withdrawn, they may be dried with more gentle heat, or by exposure to the air. Their concocted juice can be employed with the same intentions and in the same complaints as gum arabic,–about which we read that not only has it served to sustain whole negro towns during a scarcity of other provisions, but the Arabs who collect it by the river Niger have nothing else to live upon for months together.

Salep is a most useful article of diet for those who suffer from chronic diarrhoea.

Source: Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure, William Thomas Fernie

Chafing, Borax and Zinc Stops

December 25th, 2008

“Wash parts frequently with cold water and use the following solution:

Pure Water 2 gills
Powdered Borax 1 teaspoonful
Sulphate of Zinc 1/2 teaspoonful

Apply by means of a soft rag several times daily. After drying the parts well, dust with wheat flour, corn starch or powdered magnesia.”

The above combination is excellent as the water cleanses the parts and the borax and zinc are very soothing and healing.

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

Finger Nail Powder, Old Tried Remedy for

June 4th, 2008

“Violet Talcum Powder 1/2 ounce
Pulverized Boric Acid 1/2 ounce
Powdered Starch 1/2 ounce
Tincture of Carmine 15 drops

If the nails become hard or brittle, immerse them in warm olive oil every
night or rub vaselin into them.”

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

Sore Nipples, a Good Wash for

March 4th, 2008

“Brandy and water mixed together and put on the nipples will harden them but should be
washed off before the child nurses. If they are cracked, apply glycerin with starch, or arnica ointment.”

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

A Soothing Powder

February 25th, 2008

A soothing powder which will remain on the skin is the following :–

Boracic acid … … 1 part.
Oxide of zinc … … 1 part.
Powdered starch … … 4 parts.

Apply with an ordinary puff.

Source: Home Notes, 1895.

Chafing and Redness

February 19th, 2008

Chafing and Redness, which so often occurs in the folds of children’s soft little bodies, should be treated by absolute cleanliness, with the use of a non-irritating soap, and a simple dusting powder to keep it dry. A little absorbent cotton wool may be laid between the folds with the following powder well applied over it: Thymol, one grain; powdered oxide of zinc, one ounce. Or the following application may be used to protect the parts from irritating discharges: Salicylic acid, ten grains; sub-nitrate of bismuth and powdered starch, of each, three drachms; cold cream, a sufficiency to one ounce. Mix, and smear over the surface.

For still more severe cases and mild cases of eczema the following is useful: Powdered tragacanth, fifteen grains; glycerine, twenty-four drops; water to one ounce. To which add: Oxide of zinc, one drachm; carbolic acid, one grain.

Source: Home Notes, January 1895.

Ingredients: Arum

February 4th, 2008

The “lords and ladies” (arum maculatum) so well known to every rustic as common throughout Spring in almost every hedge row, has acquired its name from the colour of its erect pointed spike enclosed within the curled hood of an upright arrow-shaped leaf. This is purple or cream hued, according to the accredited sex of the plant. It bears further the titles of Cuckoo Pint, Wake Robin, Parson in the Pulpit, Rampe, Starchwort, Arrowroot, Gethsemane, Bloody Fingers, Snake’s Meat, Adam and Eve, Calfsfoot, Aaron, and Priest’s Pintle. The red spots on its glossy emerald arrow-head leaves, are attributed to the dropping of our Saviour’s blood on the plant whilst growing at the foot of the cross. Several of the above appellations bear reference to the stimulating effects of the herb on the sexual organs. Its tuberous root has been found to contain a particular volatile acrid principle which exercises distinct medicinal effects, though these are altogether dissipated if the roots are subjected to heat by boiling or baking. When tasted, the fresh juice causes an acrid burning irritation of the mouth and throat; also, if swallowed it will produce a red raw state of the palate and tongue, with cracked lips. The leaves, when applied externally to a delicate skin will blister it. Accordingly a tincture made (H.) from the plant and its root proves curative in diluted doses for a chronic sore throat, with swollen mucous membrane, and vocal hoarseness, such as is often known as “Clergyman’s Sore Throat,” and likewise for a feverish sore mouth, as well as for an irresistible tendency to sleepiness, and heaviness after a full meal. From five to ten drops of the tincture, third decimal strength, should be given with a tablespoonful of cold water to an adult three times a day. An ointment made by stewing the fresh sliced root with lard serves efficiently for the cure of ringworm.

The fresh juice yields malate of lime, whilst the plant contains gum, sugar, starch and fat. The name Arum is derived from the Hebrew jaron, “a dart,” in allusion to the shape of the leaves like spear heads; or, as some think, from aur, “fire,” because of the acrid juice. The adjective maculatum refers to the dark spots or patches which are seen on the smooth shining leaves of the plant. These leaves have sometimes proved fatal to children who have mistaken them for sorrel. The brilliant scarlet coral-like berries which are found set closely about the erect spike of the arum in the autumn are known to country lads as adder’s meat–a name corrupted from the Anglo-Saxon attor, “poison,” as originally applied to these berries, though it is remarkable that pheasants can eat them with impunity.

In Queen Elizabeth’s time the Arum was known as starch-wort because the roots were then used for supplying pure white starch to stiffen the ruffs and frills worn at that time by gallants and ladies. This was obtained by boiling or baking the roots, and thus dispelling their acridity. When dried and powdered the root constitutes the French cosmetic, “Cypress Powder.” Recently a patented drug, “Tonga,” has obtained considerable notoriety for curing obstinate neuralgia of the head and face–this turning out to be the dried scraped stem of an aroid (or arum) called Raphidophora Vitiensis, belonging to the Fiji Islands. Acting on the knowledge of which fact some recent experimenters have tried the fresh juice expressed from our common Arum Maculatum in a severe case of neuralgia which could be relieved previously only by Tonga: and it was found that this juice in doses of a teaspoonful gave similar relief. The British Domestic Herbal, of Sydenham’s time, describes a case of alarming dropsy, with great constitutional exhaustion treated most successfully with a medicine composed of Arum and Angelica, which cured in about three weeks. The “English Passion Flower” and “Portland Sago” are other names given to the Arum Maculatum.

Source: Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure, William Thomas Fernie

Definition: Farinaceous

January 1st, 2008

Farinaceous is generally an adjective referring to food, especially for invalids. It means food that is starchy or floury; the word itself derives from farina, the Latin for flour.

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    NOTE: these remedies are listed only for information and/or amusement. They are not to be construed as medical advice of any type, nor are they recommended for use. Consult your doctor or other medical professional for any medical advice you require.