For Sore Throat

Make a gargle of cayenne pepper, honey and spirits, or sage tea, with alum and honey, or figs boiled, mashed and strained, and use it once in two hours. If it is very bad, steam the mouth with a funnel held over hot vinegar, and put on a hot poultice of hops, boiled in weak ley and thickened with corn-meal; there should be a little lard spread over; renew it every time it gets cold. Another very good poultice, is hot mush strewed with powdered camphor; put it on as hot as can be borne, and change it when cold. A purgative should be given, either of senna and salts, castor oil; or rhubarb and soap pills. An emetic is of great importance, and has caused the throat to break when persons have been very ill.

Sore throats have been cured when quinsy was apprehended, by using powdered camphor and lard on flannel. It is a good way, when persons are subject to it, to keep an ounce of camphor mixed with lard, in a wide-mouthed bottle, or jar; and corked tight. The cayenne pepper and honey gargle should also be kept ready mixed, and used when the first symptoms appear; or in a violent attack, a plaster of snuff and lard may be applied with benefit, keeping it on only a few minutes at a time. Sometimes a bag of hot ashes sprinkled with vinegar, and applied hot as can be borne, has cured a sore throat in one night. Persons that have been afflicted for years with repeated attacks of sore throat and quinsy, have been cured by bathing the throat, neck and ears with cold water every morning. The constant use of the shower bath is very important. Keep the feet warm.

Source: Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers, Elizabeth E. Lea

Elecampane and Hoarhound Syrup

Put a pint of hoarhound in a quart of water, and let it draw by the fire; put a tea-cupful of dried elecampane root in a pint of water, cover it close, and let it boil till all the strength is out; strain it and the hoarhound together, and put them to boil with a pound of sugar; when it is a rich syrup, pour it in a pitcher to cool, and bottle it. Take a table-spoonful at a time when the cough is troublesome. Sometimes flaxseed is a useful addition to this syrup.

Source: Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers, Elizabeth E. Lea

Tonsilitis

Apply kerosene freely on the outside of the neck. Also apply it inside with a small syringe, or a swab made by tying a soft bit of cloth on the end of a stick. A piece of smoked bacon tied on the neck when retiring for the night is a good remedy when applied in time.

Source: The Inglenook Cook Book

For Hoarseness

Whip the white of a fresh egg to a stiff froth, add the juice of one lemon and sugar to taste. Take frequently in small doses.

Source: The Inglenook Cook Book

Excellent Cough Mixture

Take a handful of hoarhound, boil in a quart of water; add one pint of Orleans molasses, and one pound of brown sugar. Boil to a thin sirup. Put all in a bottle, and add one tablespoonful of tar. Shake while warm, until the tar is cut into small beads. Dose: Take one tablespoonful whenever the cough is troublesome.

Source: The Universal Cookery Book, Gertrude Strohm

Delightful Cough Candy

Break up a cupful of slippery-elm bark, and let it soak for an hour in water poured over it in the measuring-cup. Half fill a cup with flaxseed, and fill up to the brim with water, leaving it to soak the same time as the slippery-elm. When you are ready to make the candy, put one pound and a half of brown sugar in a stew-pan over the fire; pour the water from the slippery-elm and flaxseed over it, straining the last, and stir constantly until it boils and begins to turn back to sugar; then turn it out, and it will break up into crumbly, small pieces. For preachers or teachers who use their voices too much, it will be found an admirable and agreeable medicine, the taste being peculiarly pleasant. It is highly recommended to any one subject to throat affections. The best flavor for it is a little lemon-juice.

Source: The Universal Cookery Book, Gertrude Strohm

Borage

This plant contains a certain amount of saltpetre, as may be proved by burning a dried leaf. For this reason, it is used with great benefit for the relief of sore throats. The root is rich in gum, and if boiled yields a mucilaginous emulsion, excellent for irritation of the throat and chest. Very violent attacks of toothache, where the nerve has taken cold, are often cured by holding a portion of the leaves, previously boiled in milk, and applied warm, in the mouth, against the affected tooth.

Source: The Universal Cookery Book, Gertrude Strohm

Biliousness

Take the juice of one, two or three lemons, according to appetite, in as much ice water as is pleasant to drink, without sugar, before going to bed at night. In the morning, on rising, or at least one-half hour before breakfast, take the juice of one lemon in a glass of water without sugar. The stomach should not be irritated by eating lemons clear, but they should be properly diluted so as not to burn or draw the throat.

Source: The Inglenook Cook Book

Gargle for Sore Throat

Make a gargle of one teaspoonful of molasses, one of salt, and one half-teaspoonful of cayenne-pepper. Mix these with one teacupful of hot water. When cool, add one quarter of a cup of cider-vinegar.

Source: The Universal Cookery Book, Gertrude Strohm

White Liniment

Good for sprains, bruises, sores, sore throat, etc. Take one quart of sharp apple vinegar, one-half pint of turpentine, and three eggs, and shake well together. This is equally good for man or beast.

Source: The Inglenook Cook Book