header

 
The Cayce Herbal 
 A Comprehensive Guide to the  
Botanical Medicine of Edgar Cayce
 
The Complete Herbalist
by Dr. O. Phelps Brown (1878)
 
RECIPES
 
 
    In the following pages will be found a variety of recipes, applicable to many diseases and afflictions for which symptomatic treatment is all that is required.  They will be found to be very valuable for domestic treatment.  They are not all strictly herbal, but essentially eclectic, so as to be easily prepared and the ingredients readily procured.  Nothing capable of harm is, however, admitted, -- the few mineral substances that are prescribed being only inserted for therapeutic effects, in consequence of their vegetable analogues being hard to procure or difficult to prepare.  Availability was studied more than scientific arrangement, though the merit of each is retained.  For handy recipes, therefore, the following are sufficiently diversified for a wide range of application.

    In complicated cases, or in diseases requiring systematic treatment, recipes are not to be depended upon.  Such cases, of course, require treatment in accordance with the demands of the pathological conditions observed in the disease, and which should in all cases be directed by a competent physician.  The remedies, for which the recipes are given in this connection, are designed merely for diseases or affections not ordinarily grave in character, or which do not require more than simple medication.  Those desiring to make use of them should have them prepared by a druggist, if they do not have the necessary pharmaceutical appliances to insure correct weight, quantity, mixture, division, etc.  The purity and worth of the article are also to be ascertained before being administered.
 

GOLDEN TINCTURE

    No. 1.  Balsam of tolu, two ounces; gum guaiacum, two ounces; gum hemlock, two ounces; gum myrrh, two ounces; each coarsely powdered: oil of hemlock, three ounces; oil of wintergreen, two ounces; alcohol, one gallon.  Let it stand fourteen days.  Shake frequently in the meantime.

    Dose. -- From one to two teaspoonfuls, according to severity and obstinacy of the case, in half a glass of sweetened water.  This mixture has proved highly useful as an internal remedy for rheumatism, colic, pains, chills, soreness, lameness, sour stomach, languor, depressed spirits, palpitations, water brash, flatulency and a variety of painful affections.
 

PULMONARY REMEDY

    No. 2.  Take of the roots of spikenard, elecampane, comfrey and blood-root: of the leaves and flowers of hoarhound, and of the bark of wild cherry, each one pound.  These may all be ground and tinctured, by adding alcohol, water, and sugar sufficient to make three gallons of syrup, or any portion of the above compound may be tinctured in sufficient alcohol to cover them, when the herbs may be boiled until their strength is obtained, and the tincture and watery infusion may be mixed, and a sufficient amount of refined sugar added to make a thick syrup.  For coughs and colds, to be taken in teaspoonful doses as required.
 

LIVER CORDIAL

    No. 3.  Thorough-wort, two ounces; ginger, half ounce; cloves, half ounce; extract dandelion, four ounces; water, one and a half pints.  Boil to one-third, and add sugar one and one-half pounds, and brandy, one pint.

    Dose. -- A wineglassful once or twice a day.  An excellent cordial cathartic to act upon the liver.  The herbs must be gathered at the proper season or they will be worthless.
 

ANTI-BILIOUS PILL

    No. 4.  Aloes, pulverized, five ounces; fine, dry castile soap, half a drachm; gamboge, pulverized, one ounce; colocynth, one ounce; extract of gentian, one ounce; mandrake, one ounce; cayenne pepper, two ounces; oil of peppermint, half a drachm.  Mix well.

    Dose. -- Three to five pills.
 

AN EXPECTORANT

    No. 5.  For asthma and cough, to promote expectoration, and remove tightness of the chest, the following is a valuable compound preparation.  Fluid extracts of skunk cabbage, one ounce; lobelia, one ounce; blood root, one ounce; pleurisy-root, one ounce; ginger, one ounce; water, one pint; alcohol, three pints.

    Dose. -- Two to four teaspoonfuls.  (See Fluid Extracts, pae 475.)
 

FOR PRODUCING SLEEP

    No. 6.  The following is a useful preparation for producing sleep, in wakeful or excited conditions, viz.: fluid extract of ladies' slipper, one ounce; fluid extract of pleurisy-root, one ounce; fluid extract of skunk cabbage, one ounce; fluid extract seull-cap, one ounce.  Mix.

    Dose. -- Half a drachm to a drachm three times a day.
 

FOR SICK AND NERVOUS HEADACHE

    No. 7.  For sick and nervous headache, dependent on an acid stomach, the following is useful: fluid extract of ladies' slipper, half an ounce; fluid extract of catnip, half an ounce; fluid extract of scull-cap, half an ounce; water, one pint.

    Dose. -- One to three teaspoonfuls.  Mix.
 

TONIC TINCTURE

    No. 8. Old elder, four gallons; white oak bark, ten ounces; horse-radish root, one pound; seneca snake-root, six ounces; golden seal root, four ounces; cayenne pepper, two ounces; bruise all fine, add the cider, let stand for ten days, frequently shaking up the mixture in the meantime.

    Dose.  For an adult, half to two-thirds of a wineglassful, three times a day.
 

SARSAPARILLA SYRUP

    No. 9.  Good sarsaparilla, two pounds; guaiacum, three ounces; rose leaves, two ounces; senna, two ounces; licorice root, two ounces; oil of sassafras, five drops; oil of aniseed, five drops; oil of wintergreen, three drops; diluted alcohol, ten pints; sugar, eight pounds.
 
    Dose. -- A tablespoonful two or three times a day.
 

RHEUMATIC TINCTURE

    No. 10.  Peppermint water, one and one-half ounces; wine of colchicum root, half an ounce; sulphate of morphia, one grain; magnesia, one scruple.

    Dose. -- One teaspoonful three or four times a day.
 

FOR BRONCHITIS

    No. 11.  Tannin, three grains: extract of belladonna, three-fourths of a grain; extract of conium, two and a half grains; infusion of senna, three ounces; fennel water, one and a half ounces; syrup of marsh-mallow, one and a half ounces.  Mix.

    Dose. -- A tablespoonful to be taken every two hours in chronic bronchitis.
 

COMPOUND SPIRITS OF LAVENDER

    No. 12.  Dried lavender flowers, two drachms; nutmeg, 2 drachms; mace, two drachms; cloves, two ounces; cinnamon, two ounces.  Pulverize all these, and add a quart of spirits.  Let it then stand for a week, and then strain off the liquid.

    Dose.--One or two teaspoonfuls may be taken often in a little water, with loaf sugar.  Useful in nervous affections.
 

NERVE TONIC

    No. 13.  Extract of scull-cap, two drachms; extract of chamomille, two drachms; extract of boneset, one drachm; pulverized cayenne, one scruple; quinine, one drachm; oil of valerian, half a drachm.  Beat well together, and make ninety pills.

    Dose. -- For an adult, one pill every two or three hours.
 

STOMACHIC BITTERS

    No. 14.  Gentian root, two ounces; dried orange peel, one ounce; cardamom seed; half an ounce (all bruised); diluted alcohol or common whiskey, one quart.  Let it stand for two weeks.

    Use. -- Dyspepsia, loss of appetite, general weakness, etc.

    Dose. -- One or two tablespoonfuls in water, three times a day.
 

FEVER AND AGUE

    No. 15.  Take of boneset, two ounces; blue vervain, two ounces; scull-cap, one ounce; Virginia snake-root, half an ounce.  Make an infusion, and drink freely while warm.  If it produces vomiting, reduce the dose.  This will be found highly beneficial.  If the bowels are constipated, use one of my "Renovating Pills" every night until all constipation has been removed or remedied.
 

STRENGTHENING PLASTER

    No. 16.  Resin, one pound; beeswax, one ounce; Burgundy pitch, one ounce; mutton tallow, one ounce.  Melt them together, and add olive oil, pulverized camphor and sassafras oil, of each one-sixteenth of an ounce, and West India rum, one fluid ounce.  Stir well together, pour into cold water, and form into rolls with the hands; spread with a knife on a piece of linen cloth, and apply in weakness of the joints, rheumatism, weak chest, weak back, ulcers.  This is an excellent plaster for all such purposes.
 

ACETIC BLOOD-ROOT SYRUP

    No. 17.  Blood-root in powder, one drachm; acetic acid, or vinegar, one pint; water, one pint.  Add the blood-root to the vinegar and water mixed, and steep for two hours; then strain and add two pounds of white sugar, simmer until a syrup is formed.

    This is a specific remedy for pseudo-membranous croup.  It is also used in infantile pneumonia and bronchitis, but the "Acacian Balsam" should be used with it.

    Dose. --For croup, from half a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful, but it should not be given in quantities sufficient to provoke vomiting, unless there is imminent danger of suffocation, and then only sufficient to eject the mucus adhering to the upper part of the bronchia and trachea.
 

A GOOD EMETIC

    No. 18.  Pulverised lobelia, one ounce; pulverized blood-root, one ounce; pulv. Ipecacuana, six drachms; pulv. Cayenne, four scruples; seneca, one scruple.  Mix.  An excellent emetic in all cases where one is required.  My "Renovating Pills" should be used to cleanse the system of all remaining particles of lobelia.
 

NERVE TONIC AND ANTISPASMODIC

    No. 19.  High cranberry bark, one ounce; skunk cabbage-root, half an ounce; scull-cap, half an ounce; cardamom seeds, two drachms; pulv. Cayenne, two drachms.  Put these into a pint of wine.  Shake it well every day for three or four days.

    Dose. -- A tablespoonful four times a day.
 

DYSENTERY SYRUP

    No. 20.  Best Turkey rhubarb, two drachms; leptandrin, two drachms; white sugar, one pound; hot water, one pint.  Triturate well together; add essence of peppermint, one drachm; essence of anise, one drachm; tincture of catechu, two drachms.

    Dose.  For dysentery, one teaspoonful every half hour.
 

COUGH PREPARATION

    No. 21.  Tincture of lobelia, half an ounce; tincture of blood-root, two ounces; oil of spearmint, half a drachm; molasses, five ounces.
 
    Dose. -- Take one-half of a teaspoonful as often as needed.  Useful merely as a palliative.
 

PULMONARY SYRUP

    No. 22.  Spikenard root, sixteen ounces; white root, sixteen ounces; blood-root, eight ounces; elecampane, eight ounces; colts-foot, eight ounces; boneset, eight ounces; poplar bark, four ounces; seneca snake root, two ounces; lobelia, two ounces, slippery elm bark, eight ounces; proof spirits, three gallons.  Bruise or pulverise all, and digest in the spirits for fourteen days; then strain, and add white sugar sufficient to form a syrup.

    Dose. -- A tablespoonful occasionally, in a mucilage of slippery elm.

    Use. --  This is a fair relief in all coughs and pulmonary affections.
 

CHRONIC DISEASES OF THE MUCOUS SURFACES.

    No. 23.  Hard balsam copaiba, three and a half drachms; fresh ground capaiba, three and a half drachms; carbonate of amazonia, one drachm.  Make one hundred pills.

    Dose. -- One pill three times a day, between meals.
 

LINIMENT FOR CHILBLAINS

    No. 24.  Sulphuric acid, one drachm; spirits of turpentine, one drachm; olive oil, three drachms.  Mix the oil and turpentine first, then gradually add the sulphuric acid.

    A valuable liniment for chilblains.  To be rubbed on two or three times a day.
 

LINIMENT FOR NEURALGIA, ETC.

    No. 25.  Sweet oil, one ounce; water of ammonia, strong, one ounce.  Mix.  To be rubbed on with a piece of flannel.  A temporary relief for crick in the neck, and rheumatic and neuralgic pains.
 

SLEEPLESSNESS
 
    No. 26.  Camphor, one grain, formed into a pill, followed by a draught of an ounce and a half of the infusion of hops, with five drops of sulphuric ether.
 

CHRONIC RHEUMATISM

    No. 27.  The remedies given below will be found generally useful:

    First. -- Warm salt bath.  When the pain is very severe at night, take tincture of guaiacum, one drachm; tincture of aloes, half a drachm; spirits of turpentine, thirty drops.  Mix, and take in a pint of gruel at bedtime.

    Second. -- Should the pains continue very severe, give the following: Aloes, half a scruple; opium, three grains; syrup of buckthorn sufficient to form a pill mass.  Mix, and make three pills; one at bedtime.

    Third. -- Compound powder of ipecacuanha, eight grains; camphor mixture, one and a half ounces.  Mix, and give a draught every night.

    Fourth. -- Take wine of colchicum seeds, one ounce; give from ten to twenty drops in gruel or water three times a day, with one of the following pills: sulphate of quinia, twenty-four grains; and syrup sufficient to form into twelve pilles, or:

    Fifth. -- Iodide of potassium, one drachm; distilled water, two ounces.

    Mix, and give a teaspoonful in a wine-glass of water -- morning, noon, and night.  This seldom ever fails to give relief.
 

REMEDY FOR BOWEL COMPLAINT

    No. 28.  Rhubarb, pulverized, one ounce; saleratus, one teaspoonful; pour on a pint of boiling water.  When cold, add a tablespoonful of essence of peppermint.

    Dose. -- From one to three tablespoonfuls two or three times a day.
 

WORM MIXTURE

    No. 29.  Populin, one drachm; santonine, twenty grains; tincture of pink root, four ounces; neutralizing mixture, one pint.  Rub the santonine in the neutralizing mixture, until thoroughly mixed, then add the other ingredients.  Excellent for removing worms in children.

    Dose. -- From thirty to forty drops every half hour, until it acts on the bowels as a purge.  If the worms are not removed, repeat every two or three days: but be cautious to get good pink root, as much of the plant sold for pink root by the druggists is poisonous.  This is inferior, however, to my "Male Fern Vermifuge," see page 471.
 

PAINFUL MENSTRUATION

    No. 30.  Extract of hyoscyamus, gum camphor, and Dover's powder, of each one scruple.  Mix, and make into twenty pills.

    Dose. -- One pill twice a day for painful menstruation.
 

STOMACH PILL

    No. 31. -- Pulverized rhubarb, and guaiacum, of each eight grains; galbanum, two grains; ipecacuanha, two grains.  Mix, and make eight pills.

    Dose. -- Take one or two pills, night and morning.  Excellent for a weak stomach, and a bilious condition.
 

BRONCHIAL TROCHES (For Temporary Relief)

    No. 32.  Extract of liquorice, one pound; sugar, one and a half pounds; cubebs, four ounces; gum arabic, four ounces; all pulverized; extract of conium, one ounce.  Mix, and take a piece as big as a pea and dissolve it in the mouth, several times a day; rubbing the neck three times a day with the "Herbal Ointment."
 

DIARRHOEA

    No. 33.  Syrup of orange peel, one ounce; acetate of morphia, two grains; tincture of cinnamon, six drachms; tincture of cardamom, two drachms.  Mix.

    Dose. -- A teaspoonful.  Valuable in diarrhoea.
 

NEURALGIA

    No. 34.  Tincture of American hellebore, one drachm; tincture of black cohosh, two ounces.  Mix.

    Dose. -- One teaspoonful, from three to six times a day.

 
PILE OINTMENT

    No. 35.   Extract of stramonium, one ounce; extract of tobacco, one ounce; tannin, ten grains.  Make an ointment, and bathe or lubricate the parts, if you cannot at once get the "Herbal Ointment."

    Dose. -- One teaspoonful, from three to six times a day.
 

STOMACHIC PILL

    No. 36.  Powdered cayenne pepper, one drachm; rhubarb, two drachms.  Make into a mass with syrup, and divide into sixty pills.

    Dose. -- Two to three every day, an hour before dinner.
 

AROMATIC BITTERS (Stimulant)

    No. 37.  First. -- ABSINTHIUM (Wormwood).  Infuse one ounce in twenty ounces of water.

    Dose. -- From a half to two tablespoonfuls.

    Use. -- In debilitated state of the digestive organs.

    Second. -- ACORUS--Calamus (Sweet flag root).  Infuse one ounce in twenty ounces of water.  Joined with other tonics.

    Use. -- In uneasiness from flatulence.
 

TONIC TEA (Debility)

    No. 38.   Chamomile, scull-cap, and queen of the meadow, each one pound.  Reduce them to powder, and mix well together.

    Dose. -- To one tablespoonful of this powder add one pint of water; make a tea, and drink during the day.  This is a good tonic in all cases of debility.
 

SPICED BITTERS (For weak patients.)

    No. 39.  Poplar bark, ten pounds; bayberry bark, two pounds; balmony bark, two pounds; golden seal, one pound; cloves, one pound; cayenne pepper, half a pound; loaf sugar, sixteen pounds.

    Let these articles all be made fine and well mixed.  Put a tablespoonful of this compound, with four ounces of sugar, into a quart of boiling water.  Take a wineglassful three times a day before eating, or a teaspoonful of these powders may be taken in a cup of hot water,  half an hour before each meal.
 

TONIC (For Chlorosis, or Green Sickness.)

    No. 40.  Sulphate of quinia, fifteen grains; diluted sulphuric acid, fifteen drops; compound tincture of cardamom, three drachms; tincture of hops, three drachms; compound infusion of roses, six ounces.  Mix.

    Dose. -- A teaspoonful two or three times a day.
 

WHOOPING COUGH MIXTURE

    No. 41.  Tincture of blood-root, one ounce; tincture of red root; two ounces; tincture of black cohosh, one ounce; tincture of lobelia, half an ounce; tincture of belladonna, twenty drops.  Mix, and shake well before using.

    Dose. -- For a child one year old, fifteen or twenty drops in sweetened water.  The fluid extracts (see page 475) can be used instead of the tinctures.   Dose, when fluid extracts are used, three to five drops.
 

TINCTURE FOR FEVER AND AGUE, ETC.

    No. 42.  Peruvian bark and wild cherry bark, each two ounces; cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, each one drachm; wine, two quarts.  Let it stand for a few days to extract the strength.

    Dose. -- A wineglassful every two or three hours.

    Use. -- A very good remedy for intermittent fever, or fever and ague, after suitable evacuants.  It frequently removes the disease when all other means fail.
 

ANTI-SPASMODICS
 
MISTURRA CAMPHORAE (Agua Camphora, U.S.)

    No. 43.  First. -- Camphor, two drachms; alcohol, forty drops; carbonate magnesia, four drachms; distilled water, two pints.
 
    Dose. -- One to two tablespoonfuls.

    Use. -- In typhoid conditions, with delirium, for after pains.  TINCT. CAMPHORAE COMP.  (Paragoric Elix., Tinct. Opii Comph.)

    Second.  Pulverized opium, one drachm; benzoic acid, one drachm; oil of aniseed, one drachm; sugar, two ounces; camphor, two scruples; diluted alcohol, two pints.  Macerate for fourteen days.  Half a drachm contains less than one grain of opium.

    Dose. -- For infants, from five to twenty drops; adults, one to two tablespoonfuls.

    Use. -- To allay cough or nausea, to check diarrhoea, to relieve pain.
 

MOSCHUS.  Preputial secretion of the musk animal.

    Dose and Form. -- Five to ten grains, in pill, bolus, or emulsion.
 
    Use. -- Hiccough, epilepsy, asthma, cough, palpitation.
 

TONIC AND CATHARTIC

    No. 44.  Aloes, gentian, orange peel, juniper berries, and bruised aniseed, each one ounce; gin, one pint.  Mix.  Macerate for two weeks , and then strain.

    Dose. -- A tablespoonful once or twice a day.  Good for bilious habits.
 

DISCUTIENT OINTMENT (For scrofulous and glandular tumors.)

    No. 45.  Bark of bitter-sweet root, stramonium leaves, cicuta leaves, deadly nightshade, and yellow dock root, each two ounces; lard, one pound.  Bruise and simmer the roots and leaves in spirits; then add the lard, and simmer till the ingredients are crisped or thickened into an ointment.
 

FOR SUPPRESSION OF URINE IN CHILDREN

    No. 46.  Oil of solidago, one drachm; alcohol, eight drachms.

    Dose. -- From five to twenty drops on sugar at a dose, to be repeated at suitable intervals.  Proportionably larger doses of this are also very beneficial for flatulence, faintness, etc., in adults.
 

GARGLES

    No. 47.  First . -- Raspberry leaves, geranium, blackberry root, and leptandria root, each ounce.  Mix, and make three pints of strong decoction.  Suitable for a gargle.

    Second. -- Geranium, golden-seal, marsh-mallow, wild indigo root, and rosemary, each half an ounce.  Mix, and make one pint of strong infusion.  After straining, add two drachms of powdered borax, and one gill of honey.  An excellent astringent gargle.
 

HONEY BALSAM

    No. 48.  Balsam of tolu, balsam of fir, each two ounces; opium, two drachms.  Dissolve all three in one quart of alcohol.

    Dose. -- A teaspoonful occasionally.  Valuable for the relief of pulmonary diseases.
 

ANTI-DYSENTARY CORDIAL
 
    No. 49.  Birch bark and peach pits, each two pounds; bayberry bark, half a pound; wild cherry bark, one pound; water, two gallons.  Boil down to one and a half gallons, after which add a gallon of good brandy, and loaf sugar sufficient to make it palatable.

    Dose. -- A wineglassful three or four times a day.
 

FOR GRAVEL, DROPSY, ETC.

    No. 50.  Queen of the meadow, milk weed, juniper berries, dwarf elder, spearmint, wild carrot seed, of each two ounces.  Put all in a mortar and bruise, and boil the whole in a gallon of water, till half a gallon of the liquid is left, and then strain.

    Dose. -- Half a pint of the decoction is to be taken several times during the day.
 

COUGH SYRUP

    No. 51.  Acetate of morphia, four grains; tincture of blood root, two drachms; antimonial wine, three drachms; ipecacuanha, three drachms; syrup of wild cherry, three ounces.  Mix.

    Dose. -- A teaspoonful two or three times a day.
 

FOR DYSMENORRHOEA
 
    No. 52.  Viburnin, caulophyllin, each one scruple; gelsemin, five grains.  Mix, and divide into ten powders.  Dose.--One every two hours until relieved.
 

FOR DIARRHOEA

    No. 53.  Tincture of catechu, half an ounce; spirits of camphor, tincture of myrrh, and tincture of cayenne, each two drachms.  Mix.

    Dose. -- From half a teaspoonful to a teaspoonful in diarrhoea.
 

INJECTION

    No. 54.  Castor oil, one gill; pulv. Cayenne, ten grains; table salt, one teaspoonful; molasses, one gill; warm water, one pint.  Inject.
 

FOR THE BLUES, OR LOW SPIRITS

    No. 55.  A pleasant cordial for low spirits is the following: aniseed, four drachms; oil of angelica, one drachm; oil of cassia, forty drops; oil of caraway, thirty drops; prood spirits, two gallons.  Mix well.

    Dose. -- Half a tablespoonful in water.
 

SKIN DISEASES WITH MUCH IRRITATION

    No. 56.  Decoctions of bitter-sweet and mallows, of each half a pint; mix, and make a liniment.  Use the "Renovating Pills" internally.
 

CHILBLAIN OINTMENT

    No. 57.  Lard, two quarts; turpentine, one pint, camphor, quarter of a pound.  Rub into the parts.  This will be found a capital remedy.
 

ACIDITY OF THE STOMACH

    No. 58.  Hard wood ashes, one quart; common soot, half a gill; wawter, six pints.  Digest, settle, and filter.

    Dose. -- Take one tablespoonful three times a day in acidity of the stomach.
 

HEMORRHOIDS -  PILES
 
    No. 59.  Opium, one scruple; pulverized nut-galls, one drachm; ointment althaea.  Mix, and anoint the parts.
 

SORE THROAT

    No. 60.  Those subject to sore throat should make a wash of warm water, in which wood ashes have been dissolved, and apply externally every morning.  The "Herbal Ointment" should be applied at night, and well rubbed in.  If the disease has become permanent or chronic, the "Acacian Balsam" must be used according to directions.  (See page 470.)
 

INJECTION FOR COSTIVENESS

    No. 61.  Castor oil, two ounces; tincture of prickly ash bark, half an ounce; compound tincture of Virginia snake root, two drachms; infusion of boneset and senna, equal parts, half a pint.  Mix, and inject.  It is by no means, however, as good as the "Renovating Pills."  See page 473.
 

TO PRODUCE PERSPIRATION

    No. 62.  Blood-root, golden-seal, sumach berries, bayberry bark, of each two drachms; all pulverized.  Mix.

    Dose. -- Make an infusion in a pint of hot water, and give a tablespoonful every half hour.
 

POULTICE FOR A FESTER

    No. 63.  Boil bread in the settlings of strong beer; apply the poultice in the common manner.  This has saved many an hour of suffering.
 

CATAPLASMS, OR POULTICES

    No. 64.  May be made by moistening bread crumbs with milk.  They may also be made of flaxseed, roasted onions, snake-root, hops, etc.

    Poultices are used in nearly all cases of local inflammation.
 

TOOTHACHE

    No. 65.  Gum opium, gum camphor, spirits of turpentine, each one scruple.  Rub in a mortar to a paste.  Put it in the hollow tooth.

    Use. -- This will cure and even prevent the toothache.
 

A FRAGRANT BREATH

    No. 66.  Take sherry wine, one gill; ground cloves and grated nutmeg, each one drachm; cinnamon and bruised caraway seeds, each a quarter of an ounce.  Place all these dry substances into the wine or spirits, in a half pint bottle, and let them stand for several days, shaking the bottle every night and morning.  Strain off the tincture through linen to get it bright, then add about ten drops of lavender, or five drops of the otto of roses.

    A few drops on a llump of sugar dissolved in the mouth, will sccure a breath of flowers.   It may be also used with advantage on the toothbrush, in lieu of tooth powder, or, mixed with water, it makes an excellent gargle.
 

FOOT BATH

    No. 67.  A bucket of warm water; pulv. Cayenne pepper, one tablespoonful; ground mustard, two tablespoonfuls.  Mix.

    Use. -- As a foot bath in suppression of menses.
 

TO IMPROVE THE VOICE

    No. 68.  Beeswax, two drachms; balsam of copaiba, three drachms; powdered liquorice root, four drachms.  Melt the copaiba with the wax in a new earthen pipkin.  When they are melted, remove them from the fire, and, while in a liquid state, mix in the powdered liquorice.

    Make pills of three grains each.  Two of these pills to be taken occasionally, or three or four times a day if necessary.
 

HEADACHE - NEURALGIC PAINS

    No. 69.  Take of opodeldoc, spirits of wine, sal ammoniac, equal parts, and apply like any other lotion.
 

STINGS

    No. 70.  Bind on the place a thick plaster of common salt or saleratus moistened; it will soon extract the venom.

 
A STOMACHIC

    No. 71.  Fresh ground cubebs.

    Dose. -- From five to twenty grains.

    Use. -- As a stomachic in disorders of the digestive organs.
 

FOR FEVERS AND OTHER ACUTE DISEASES

    No. 72.  Asclepin, one-half drachm; warm water, four ounces; compound tincture of American hellebore, thirty drops.  Dissolve the asclepin in the warm water, and afterwards add the hellebore.

    Dose. -- From one to three teaspoonfuls once in every two hours as long as the fever is raging.  If nausea occurs, omit the medicine until it subsides.  Shake the mixture well before using.
 

OFFENSIVE BREATH

    No. 73.  Solution chlorinated of soda, six drops; water, two ounces.  Mix.

    Use. -- A sure remedy for an offensive breath emanating from a deranged stomach.
 

ANTIDOTE FOR RATTLESNAKE POISON

    No. 74.  The Medical Journal says the following is an infallible cure for the poison of a rattlesnake bite.  Iodide of potass, four grains; corrosive sublimate, two grains; bromine, five drachms.  Mix together, and keep the mixture in a glass-stoppered vial, well secured.
 

FOR CANCER

    No. 75.  Take equal parts of fresh poke-weed, yellow dock, and blood-root; evaporate the juice by the means of a sand-bath to the consistency of tar.  The ointment should be applied after the cuticle has been removed by a blister three times a day.  The parts should be washed with good French brandy after each application of the ointment.  Before this is used, the advice of a physician should first be secured.
 

FOR HIP DISEASE

    No. 76.  Take of iodine, one ounce; phosphate of lime, two ounces; water, one pint.  Dissolve the iodine and lime in the water, and add twenty grains of tannin.  Inject with a small syringe three or four times a day.

    Use. -- A valuable injection in hip disease, where the head of the bone is decayed.
 

FOR BRUISES

    No. 77.  Take pulv. slippery elm and pulv. indigo weed, each one pound; gum myrrh, half a pound, pulv. prickly ash, a quarter of a pound.  Wet with good brewer's yeast and apply.  A very good poultice for bruises.
 

FOR DIPHTHERIA

    No. 78.  Saturated tincture of scrophularia, one drachm, added to half a tumbler of water.
 Triturated macrotin, twenty grains, added to a tumblerful of water.

    Dose. -- One teaspoonful of each every hour.
 

GARGLE FOR THE ELONGATION OF THE UVULA

    No. 79.  Fluid extract of rhus, one drachm; fluid extract of bayberry, two drachms; water, two ounces.  Mix, and gargle the throat three or four times a day.  Also bathe the throat upon the outside in strong salt and water.  (See fluid extracts, page 475.)
 

FOR BILIOUS COLIC

    No. 80.  Fluid extract of wild yam, two ounces; fluid extract of pleurisy root, one ounce.  Mix, and take a teaspoonful as often as is required.
 

TO REMOVE WARTS AND CORNS

    No. 81.  Apply the juice of the leaves of the great celandine or tetter-wort, and keep applying until the fungous growth is removed.
 

FOR THE TEETH

    No. 82.  Make charcoal of bread, pulverize it until it is reduced to an impalpable powder, then apply daily, morning and evening, with a soft brush and pure cold water.
 

A GOOD MEDICATED WINE

    No. 83.  Take of powdered colchicum seed, two ounces; of sherry wine, twelve fluid ounces.  Put them together in a closed glass bottle, and let them stand for fourteen days, giving a good shaking every day.  Filter through a fine muslin cloth, and drink as required.
 

INJECTION FOR ASIATIC CHOLERA

    No. 84.  Take of water, one fluid ounce; tincture of prickly ash berries, one fluid drachm; tincture of opium, twenty drops.  Mix together.  Inject in ordinary quantity until the desired effect has been produced.
 

BLEEDING AT THE NOSE

    No. 85.  Powder of rhatany (for internal use), ten grains.
 

FOR OLD ULCERS

    No. 86.  Take of red chickweed, which is common both in America and Europe, the leaves and flowers, and apply in the form of a poultice, frequently changing them.
 

Home | Purpose | People | Projects | Library | Resources

 Copyright © 2006 Meridian Institute