y 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
 PUBLIC 
 HEALTH 
 LIBRARY 
 
Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive 1 
 
 in 2008 witin funding from ^ J 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 littp://www.arcliive.org/details/familynurseorcomOOcliilricli 
 
THE 
 
 FAMILY NURSE; 
 
 OR 
 
 COMPANION OF THE FRUGAL HOUSEWIFE. 
 
 BY MRS. ^ILD, 
 
 AvXhor of the '■'•Frugal Housewife,^^ ''Mother's Book" 
 " GirVs Book," d^c. 
 
 REVISED BT A MEMBER OF THE MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 " How shall I cure Dyspepsia 1 " 
 
 " Live upon sixpence a day, and earn it." 
 
 Br. Abeniethy. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 CH ARLE S J. HENDEE 
 1837. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1837, 
 By Charles J. HexVdee, 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 
 
 Printed by Wm. A. Hall <^ Co., Boston. 
 

 PUBUO 
 HEALTH 
 
 HRRABy 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 This book merely contains the elements of nursing, 
 and is by no means intended to supersede the advice of 
 a physician. It is simply a household friend, which the 
 inexperienced may consult on common occasions, or 
 sudden emergencies, when medical advice is either un- 
 necessary, or cannot be obtained. 
 
 Among the variety of books consulted for this pur- 
 pose, those which have been most carefully examined 
 are Dewees on the Diseases of Women ; Dewees on 
 the Diseases of Children; Bigelow's Medical Botany ; 
 Thatcher's Modern Practice ; Thatcher's Dispensa- 
 tory ; and Wood's and Bache's Dispensatory. From 
 The Young Lady's Friend 1 have likewise taken many 
 useful hints. 
 
 My own inexperience has been assisted by aged 
 relatives and judicious nurses ; and every part of the 
 work has been submitted to the examination of a metn- 
 ber of the iMassachusetts Medical Society, for several 
 years a physician in active and successful practice in 
 Boston. To him I am indebted for a very patient su- 
 pervision and many valuable suggestions. 
 
 My strongest anxiety has been to make the book 
 safe ; and whatever its demerits may be, I believe it 
 contains no prescription that can endanger life or health, 
 if a common degree of judgment be excercised. 
 
 In the diseases of children, I have almost uniformly 
 followed Dr. Dewees, who is very celebrated in that 
 branch of his profession ; but with regard to Croup, I 
 took the advice of experienced physicians, who deemed 
 his prescriptions too mild for a New England climate. 
 Calomel is never prescribed; not on account of un- 
 
 — ~ ^Ti ^-s*-' »— . -^'f f\ <~3 
 
4 PREFACE. 
 
 due prejudice against a medicine highly useful on many 
 occasions, but because it is considered unsafe when 
 administered by inexperienced hands. 
 
 Tinctures are introduced sparingly and reluctantly. 
 Though a convenient form of preserving some medi- 
 cines, they may almost always be dispensed with, and 
 the use of them frequently induces habits of intemper- 
 ance. 
 
 Medical terms are sometimes used for the sake of 
 brevity and convenience ; but at the end of the volume 
 there is an explanation of them, in clear and simple 
 language. 
 
 For many reasons, the preparation of this work has 
 been an arduous and disagreeable task ; but the recol- 
 lection of a verse learned in childhood has sometimes 
 cheered me : — 
 
 " Did I this day, for small or great, 
 My own pursuits forego, 
 To lighten, by a feather's weight, 
 The mass of human woe ! " 
 
 Still I should take undue credit to myself if I pro- 
 fessed that the usefulness of such a book was my 
 strongest motive. If any other than very practical 
 works would sell extensively, I fear I should still be 
 lingering in more poetic regions. 
 
 This volume is very obviously not intended for the 
 drawing-room. If written in language plain enough to 
 be understood, it could not in the very nature of the 
 subject, be otherwise than indelicate, in the world's 
 estimation. Considerations of this nature induced me 
 to lay it aside for a long time unfinished. This was the 
 effect of false modesty. As the world becomes wiser 
 and better, I trust the various functions of the human 
 body will be spoken of with more philosophical purity, 
 and regarded merely as temporary mediums for the 
 growth of the soul. 
 
 [Look at Note, page 148.] 
 
HINTS 
 
 FOR THE PRESERVATION OF HEALTH, 
 
 " An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." 
 
 Never meddle with medicines, unless some disorder 
 of the system renders them really necessary. Remem- 
 ber the friendly warning in the epitaph on an old grave- 
 stone : " I was well ; would be better ; took physic ; 
 and here I am." 
 
 Observe the effects of particular articles on your sys- 
 tem, and indulge or refrain accordingly. To preserve 
 the digestive organs in good order, may almost be call- 
 ed the one thing needful, as it regards bodily health. 
 
 If not as well as usual, eat nothing ; fasting and cold 
 water are the best physicians, nineteen times out of 
 twenty. 
 
 Do not eat a variety of things at the same meal ; nor 
 indulge merely for the pleasure of it, when the wants of 
 nature are satisfied. Avoid rich and stimulating articles 
 of food and drink. 
 
 Take your meals at regular hours. 
 
 Many think distilled liquors are necessary for those 
 who work in cold, damp places ; but in fact they only 
 increase the danger of taking cold. Their effects are 
 evil continually. 
 
 Sleep in rooms with a free circulation of air. Have 
 2 
 
6 HINTS FOR THE 
 
 no fire burning, or fragrant flowers in the room. Do 
 not cover your face with the bed-clothes. Have clean 
 bed linen once a week. Do not have a current of air 
 blowing directly on your bed. 
 
 Feather beds are debilitating, except in the very 
 coldest weather. 
 
 Rise early, and retire to rest in good season. Reg- 
 ularity in food and sleep is a great preservative of 
 health. 
 
 Be not afraid of fatigue. That kind of exercise is 
 best which employs body and mind. A walk in con- 
 nection with active business, or to relieve the necessi- 
 ties of the destitute, is worth ten walks merely for 
 exercise. 
 
 Very many humors and diseases originate in a want 
 of personal cleanliness. Wash your whole person 
 thoroughly, at least once or twice a week ; and rub 
 yourself with a coarse crash towel, or brush, till the 
 surface glows. This is particularly salutary for those 
 who sew a good deal, or lead any kind of sedentary 
 life. If done at night, it is apt to induce refreshing 
 sleep. INIany a consumption might be prevented by 
 proper regard to this suggestion. 
 
 Those troubled with cold feet and a tendency of 
 blood to the head, will find it an excellent remedy to 
 dip their feet in cold water, as soon as they are out of 
 bed, all the year round. The feet should be merely 
 dipped, and taken out instantly; then rubbed with a 
 coarse cloth, or brush, till they glow. None but very 
 weakly people could possibly be injured by it. 
 
 Clean your teeth with a brush and cold water in the 
 morning, and rinse them once or twice a day ; above 
 all, have them clean when you go to bed, that they may 
 not collect impurities during the night. To chew char- 
 coal slowly once or twice a week, sweetens the breath, 
 and tends to preserve the teeth from decay ; it will 
 sometimes even arrest it when begun. To use it mere- 
 ly as a tooth powder is far less salutary. Tooth-picks, 
 by keeping the teeth well separated and cleansed, help 
 
PRESERVATION OF HEALTH. 7 
 
 to preserve them. Metal ones are injurious ; those 
 made of quill are uncleanly, being commonly kept for 
 some time ; the best ones are made of willow, or some 
 pliable wood, — they do not hurt the gums, and are 
 thrown away when used. All substances very hot, or 
 very cold, are hurtful to the teeth ; likewise smoking 
 and chewing tobacco ; and too free use of very sweet 
 articles, and excess of animal food. 
 
 The frequent use of a fine ivory comb is net good 
 for the hair. It is better to wash the head often in 
 cool water, and brush it very thoroughly. If the hair 
 comes out very much, sea-water, or water with salt dis- 
 solved in it, is much recommended as a frequent bath. 
 Cleanliness is good for the hair as well as for other 
 parts of the body. 
 
 Wash the eyes thoroughly in cold water. Do not 
 sew, or read, at twilight, or by too dazzling light. If 
 far-sighted, read with rather less light, and with the 
 book somewhat nearer to the eye, than you desire ; if 
 near-sighted, read with a book as far off as possible. 
 Both these imperfections may be thus diminished. 
 
 If flannel has been worn on the throat, choose the 
 morning of a mild day to remove it, and be careful 
 about exposure to the cold for some days after. 
 
 If stockings and shoes get wet, change them. It 
 is a mistaken idea that it is healthy to dry them on. 
 
 Be careful not to put on clothes before they are 
 aired. Avoid sitting upon the damp ground, or sleep- 
 ing in damp sheets. 
 
 A feather-bed is the safest place in a severe thunder 
 storm. The middle of the room is a better seat than 
 near windows, or fire-places. Metals attract lightning. 
 Trees are an unsafe shelter. 
 
 After exposure to severe cold, do not suddenly ap- 
 proach a fire, or drink hot drinks ; but acquire warmth 
 very gradually. 
 
 If you find yourself seriously ill, send for a good 
 physician — one who understands his trade. 
 
(8 
 
 HINTS TO NURSES AND THE SICK. 
 
 The first and most important duty of the nurse is to 
 follow scrupulously and exactly the directions of the 
 physician. Let no facts be concealed from him, or 
 half told. Let no entreaties of the patient, or faith in 
 your own experience, induce you to counteract his 
 orders. If a person be trusted at all in this capacity, he 
 must be trusted entirely ; for health, and even life, may 
 be sacrificed by different individuals trying experiments 
 unknown to each other. If you think of anything 
 which seems an improvement upon his practice, sug- 
 gest it to him, and mention your reasons. 
 
 Keep the chamber well aired. Fevers are often pro- 
 longed by an unreasonable timidity about fresh air. The 
 only precaution that is necessary is to keep your patient 
 out of the current of it, and away from damp walls. Gar- 
 ments and bed-clothes should be changed more frequently 
 in sickness than in health, and always carefully aired. If 
 the patient is too ill to have her clothes changed every 
 night and morning, they should be washed the oftener. 
 
 The personal cleanliness of the sick is of very great 
 importance. The face, hands, and neck, should be 
 washed with lukewarm soap and water every day ; do 
 not let this be neglected from an unreasonable super- 
 stition about taking cold ; there is not the slightest dan- 
 ger of this, provided the patient be kept from a draught 
 of air, and is not allowed to remain long wet. The feet 
 should often be bathed with warm soap and water, dried 
 with a soft cloth, and immediately covered up. Where 
 it is possible, the hair should be combed, and the teeth 
 brushed every day ; if weakness prevent this, let the 
 teeth and tongue be washed with a fine linen swab. 
 
 It is an unspeakable comfort to feverish and nervous pa- 
 tients to have their face, hands and feel frequently sponged 
 
HINTS TO NURSES AND THE SICK. 9 
 
 with warm water. It promotes moisture of the skin, and 
 often induces a sweet sleep; even gentle rubbing with the 
 hand is often quieting. In cases of high fever it is very re- 
 freshing to sponge the entire person with a solution made 
 of one tea-spoonful of pearl ash, orsal-aeratis, dissolved in 
 a pint of lukewarm water — afterward wiped off with a 
 fresh sponge dipped in warm vinegar and water. Weak- 
 ly and consumptive patients are benefited by being 
 washed in warm white rum. 
 
 Remove all impurities from the room immediately, 
 and make free use of Chloride of Lime. 
 
 Frequently wash up the glass, crockery, and spoons 
 that are used in a sick chamber, and do it with as little 
 noise as possible. Keep them covered with a clean 
 towel. 
 
 Sweep with a hand-brush and dusting-pan, to avoid 
 dust and noise. 
 
 Let food be prepared in perfectly clean vessels, and 
 served up to the patient in the neatest and most agree- 
 able manner ; a sticky spoon, or a greasy bowl, will 
 often quite destroy the feeble appetite. All nourish- 
 ment for the sick should often be made fresh ; when 
 warmed over, it tastes less pleasantly, and is not as apt 
 to be wholesome. Never first taste of food yourself, 
 or blow upon it, lest it disgust the invalid. When 
 necessary to taste of food, to ascertain its warmth or 
 seasoning, put away the spoon you use, without dipping 
 it a second lime. 
 
 Wash your hands frequently; and use your fingers 
 as little as possible in preparing food or medicine. 
 
 Always carry a towel under the food or medicines 
 you ofi^er. 
 
 Let no importunities persuade you to indulge a pa- 
 tient in forbidden food ; if this give great offence, in- 
 form the physician, and ascertain if any pleasant change 
 can be safely devised. In all diseases, the safest side 
 to err upon is keeping the diet too low and mild. 
 
 Do every thing as quietly as possible. Step lightly 
 and gently ; avoid creaking shoes, rustling garments, 
 2* 
 
10 HINTS TO NURSES AND THE SICK. 
 
 and banging doors ; have hinges and locks oiled ; lay 
 the coal or wood upon the fire with your hand, protect- 
 ed by an old glove. A slight jarring of the bed, or 
 the unfolding of dry paper, sometimes makes a nervous 
 patient restless for the whole night. The buzzing 
 sound of whispering in the room is often even more 
 distressing than loud talk. A sudden stream of light 
 from an opened shutter, or a candle placed where the 
 light can be seen, is often perfect torment. 
 
 Use no snufF, or any article of food, the smell of 
 which may be offensive to weak nerves. As for ardent 
 spirit, no person who tastes it is fit to minister to the 
 sick. 
 
 Ask no unnecessary questions. Avoid the repetition 
 of what you perceive to be irritating. If the mind be 
 wandering, appear to fall in with the train of thought, 
 and do not fatigue the patient by asking explanations. 
 Keep a cheerful countenance. Tell no gloomy stories 
 about fatal accidents, especially such as occurred under 
 the very circumstances in which the invalid is placed 
 Incalculable mischief is often done by exciting the im- 
 agination in this way, especially during pregnancy. 
 
 Under the head of gloomy remarks, I do not mean to 
 include Christian conversation concerning another world. 
 Where it is a settled case that a human being is de- 
 parting, I have always thought it kind to talk openly, 
 and with serious cheerfulness, of the prospect before 
 them. In these particulars, however, a nurse must be 
 guided by the wishes of relations and friends. 
 
 Preparations for the night should be made early in 
 the evening ; for if a drowsy patient is disturbed with 
 whispering, stirring the fire, passing in and out, &c., it 
 often breaks up sleep for the whole night. 
 
 Be very careful to get exact directions of the food 
 and medicine to be taken during the night : it is prudent 
 to make a memorandum of them. Be scrupulous in 
 measuring medicines : it is best the physician should 
 see the size of the spoon you intend to use. In ex- 
 treme illness important results often depend upon not 
 
HINTS TO NURSES AND THE SICK. 11 
 
 varying five minutes in the prescribed time of giving 
 medicines. Ii is well to keep a record of what occurs 
 between the physician's visits, that he may accurately 
 know the progress of the disease. 
 
 Always have a second lamp in the room, and facili- 
 ties for obtaining hot and cold water. 
 
 Unless especially instructed so to do, never wake an 
 invalid from sleep to administer nourishment. Guard 
 their slumbers well ; for " Sleep is tired nature's sweet 
 restorer." 
 
 In preparing medicines, remove the sticks and pods 
 from senna ; other seed from flax-seed; dirt from roots; 
 and all mouldy or musty parts from herbs. 
 
 When the feet are put in warm water, have the limbs 
 well protected by blankets or flannels around the tub. 
 Wipe one foot dry with a warm cloth, and put on a 
 warm stocking, before the other foot is taken from the 
 water. If the water becomes cool, add warmth to it — 
 being careful not to scald. 
 
 When a patient is to be rubbed, it is better to make 
 mittens of flannel or crash, because these present a 
 more even and agreeable surface than a cloth that slips 
 about in your hand. Do not rub backward and for- 
 ward, and be careful not to injure the skin 
 
 When you make the bed, arrange the feathers so 
 that the head and shoulders will be elevated ; and tuck 
 in the under sheet well. Feather beds and pillows are 
 heating when fever is present ; mattresses, or straw 
 beds, and hair pillows, should be obtained. 
 
 Have something to throw over the patient's shoulders 
 when sitting up. Support the back with a footstool or 
 chair behind the pillow, and let the feet have something 
 firm to press against. Change of posture is oftentimes 
 an inexpressible relief. 
 
 When an invalid w^alks with difficulty, he may be 
 drawn from the bed to the fire in a rocking-chair, com- 
 fortably arranged with blankets and pillows. See that 
 the shoes are warmed in readiness ; and if pillows are 
 brought from another room, have them well aired. A 
 
12 HINTS TO NURSES AND THE SICK. 
 
 rocking-chair gently tipped back, and securely support- 
 ed by blocks, is an easy position for the weak. 
 
 When a person is too feeble to sit up long, have two 
 sets of pillows, sheets, and blankets, that one set may 
 be aired in readiness to put on. 
 
 If an invalid is removed from his own bed to one be- 
 side it, have the head of the second bed placed toward 
 the foot of the first. The patient will thus be laid 
 in the same direction after moving, as before ; and 
 much unnecessary fatigue, and awkward lifting, will be 
 avoided. 
 
 If the patient cannot be moved from the bed at all, 
 half the sheet can be turned over in smooth folds ; a 
 warm clean one can be substituted, with one half of it 
 likewise in smooth folds ; the patient can then be mov- 
 ed to the clean side. 
 
 In common cases, a good nurse can judge when a 
 gentle emetic, or cathartic, or cooling beverage, is ne- 
 cessary; how much exercise is salutary ; and when a 
 cheerful guest may be admitted. Loud, rapid talkers, 
 and excitable nervous visiters should be excluded from 
 the sick chamber. That you may know what to avoid, 
 observe the countenance and pulse of your patient — the 
 temperature of the skin, and the effect of food. 
 
 Both doctors and nurses, as they grow older and 
 wiser, use as little medicine as possible, and simply 
 content themselves with recommending fasting, or such 
 light diet as will best assist the kindly efforts of nature. 
 
 A really good nurse must have a tender conscience, 
 as well as a feeling heart. She must realize that the 
 slightest deviation from truth, even to screen herself 
 from blame, is not only a violation of the trust reposed 
 in her, but is a sin against God. 
 
 When her patience is severely taxed by unreasona- 
 ble caprices, she must remember how sickness weakens 
 the mind, and try to apply the golden rule. 
 
 When infants are fretful, she must beware of the 
 temptation to administer opiates. To endanger the 
 health, or dim the intellect of a human being, for the 
 
FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 13 
 
 sake of temporary convenience, is a fearful responsi- 
 bility. 
 
 Invalids too, have Christian duties to perform. Be- 
 ing of necessity obliged to make a good deal of trouble, 
 they should make as little as possible. They are bound 
 to pay a kind regard to the comfort and convenience of 
 those who nurse'them. This may be shown by com- 
 plaining as little as possible ; by a pleasant acknowl- 
 edgment of affectionate attentions ; by trying to think of 
 all they want while the nurse is up, that they may not 
 be obliged to call her from her chair the moment she 
 is seated ; by swallowing disagreeable medicines with- 
 out an unnecessary fuss ; and by not coaxing her for 
 food, which the doctor has forbidden. 
 
 FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 
 
 In almost all cases where the human frame is disor- 
 dered, fasting, or very abstemious use of food, is the 
 safest course. In cases of decided illness, the remark 
 is strongly applicable. Dr. Dewees says, — " In almost 
 every disease, too much anxiety is expressed for the 
 strength of the patient. It does not seem to be recol- 
 lected that the patient and the disease are a unit ; and 
 when you attempt to strengthen the one, you run the 
 risk of increasing the other ; especially if this be done 
 with stimulating diet. Debility is not a disease — re- 
 move the disease, and you will rarely have trouble with 
 the debility." 
 
 Fleshy, full-blooded people will do well to eat little 
 or no animal food, especially in summer. Pickles and 
 stimulating drinks are injurious. Porter and strong 
 beer have a tendency to produce apoplexy in such con- 
 stitutions. 
 
 Those who have humors, should avoid acids, salt pro- 
 visions, nuts, butter, and all stimulating drinks. An 
 
14 FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 
 
 immoderate use of honey is bad for bilious people, 
 and those troubled with eruptions of the skin. 
 
 Those subject to restricted habits of body, should 
 choose such articles of food as are gently laxative, viz. 
 coarse bread, rye pudding, drinks mixed with West 
 India molasses, &c. Many diseases might be prevent- 
 ed by the habitual use of such diet as promotes a 
 healthy state of the digestive powers. People should 
 observe what agrees with them, and regulate themselves 
 accordingly. 
 
 People afflicted with piles should avoid stimulating 
 food and drink, and make free use of mucilaginous ar- 
 ticles — such as soft rye hasty-pudding, sago, slippery 
 elm, flax-seed, &c. 
 
 Mucilaginous articles are likewise very beneficial in 
 dysentery, diarrhea, &c. They serve to soothe inter- 
 nal inflammation, at the same time that they are safe 
 nourishment. Rennet-whey is extremely salutary. 
 Carefully abstain from meat, fermented or distilled 
 liquors, fruits, vegetables, cakes, pies, preserves, rai- 
 sins, &c. If milk is used, it should be boiled, to give 
 it a slightly astringent quality. Milk porridjie, gruel, 
 boiled rice, with a little sugar and nutmeg ; white bread 
 well toasted with a little perfectly sweet butter upon it, 
 are considered the safest food. When the inflamma- 
 tion has entirely subsided, an egg may be taken, beat 
 up in milk, and seasoned with loaf sugar and nutmeg ; 
 beef lea ; chicken bi-oth ; and finally, tender beef, or 
 mutton broiled, and seasoned with salt and pepper. There 
 must not be too much haste in eating these articles, as 
 all animal food tends to increase inflammation. Use 
 but little drink of any kind during the continuance of the 
 disease. 
 
 Dyspeptic people should abjure pastry, cakes, and 
 raisins, the skins of which are the most indigestible 
 food in creation. Their bread should be made of un- 
 bolted meal, and never eaten until it has been baked a 
 day or two. If common bread be used, it should be 
 cut thin, and toasted very brown. If fruit be eaten, it 
 should be perfectly ripe, and without the skin and 
 
FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 15 
 
 Stones.* Cranberries and currants, either in their nat- 
 ural state, or cooked in various forms, are deemed 
 salutary. The gizzard of fowls, broiled and seasoned, 
 are thought to promote digestion. Rennet whey is ex- 
 tremely beneficial, and should be used very freely. 
 Different articles should not be eaten at the same meal; 
 and it is highly advisable to taste no food between din- 
 ner and breakfast time. 
 
 Fresh pork and veal are the most indigestible of 
 meats ; and are peculiarly unsuited to young or weak 
 stomachs. 
 
 Where there are feverish symptoms, all preparations 
 of animal food should be avoided ; and no wine, stimu- 
 lating liquors, or spices, should be mingled with gruel, 
 whey, or drinks of any kind. Refrigerant, quieting, and 
 mild articles should alone be used. The signs of fever 
 are dry, hot skin, restlessness, quick pulse, flushed 
 face, &c. 
 
 Parsley, celery, and asparagus, have diuretic pro- 
 perties, and are, therefore, recommended to those 
 who have dropsy, &c. 
 
 Those afflicted with hectic, and consumptive cough, 
 will be comforted by a free use of honey and milk, 
 either mixed as a drink, or eaten with other articles of 
 food. As a laxative and expectorant, honey is much 
 better for being boiled. Milk and West India molasses 
 is a good substitute, as a drink. Lemonade is salutary. 
 All such things as wiues, brandy, &c. should be avoid- 
 ed. The general food should be simple and easy of 
 digestion — such as arrow-root, Irish moss, b anc-mange, 
 very ripe fruit, simple puddings, &c. Clam water and 
 raw oysters are much recommended. Bread should 
 be well toasted, and not used when recently baked. 
 Eggs are sometimes recommended. If beaten up, they 
 are more apt to disagree with the stomach than if swal- 
 lowed whole. They are sometimes taken in a very 
 
 *Dr. Dewees says, " The common idea that it is heaUhy to swal- 
 low the stones of cherries, is one of the most absurd and dangerous 
 errors that popular opinion continues to cherish." The skins of 
 apples, peaches, &c. are very indigestive. 
 
16 FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 
 
 little port wine ; if this does not agree with the patient, 
 they can be swallowed in milk or water. Rennet whey, 
 or the whey left of cheese, is extremely salutary ; it 
 promotes digestion, and is both soothing and nutritions. 
 Butter-milk is hkewise recommended. Feeble people, 
 in the vicinity of dairies, would do wisely to make free 
 use of these articles. 
 
 Asses' milk and goats' milk have bad extensive repu- 
 tation in cases of consumption ; and women's milk is 
 Faid to have an efficacy superior to either. Consump- 
 tive children are reported to have been cured by shar- 
 ing the breast with an infant brother or sister. 
 
 Chocolate, particularly if it be made thick, is too 
 rich for weakly and sedentary people. 
 
 Tea is astringent and exciting. Neither that or strong 
 coffee should be used in nervous families. Black tea 
 is less injurious than green ; but even that, if drank at 
 all, should be largely mixed with milk and sugar. Tea 
 is used as medicine in nervous head-ache, and recovery 
 from c.ianiiea. 
 
 Water Gruel, or Oatmeal Gruel. 
 
 Sift the meal thoroughly ; mix two table spoonfuls of 
 it in three or four of water ; when ivee from limips, 
 pour it into a pint of boiling water, nnd stir it frequent- 
 ly. Let it boil half an hour ; skim it, and season it 
 lightly with salt ; remember it is easier to add salt than 
 to take it out. If the patient likes it very thin, use 
 half the quantity of meal. A handful of raisins may 
 sometimes be boiled in it, but must not be eaten. A 
 little white sugar and lemon-juice are sometimes added, 
 for variety ; and where there is no fever, grated nutmeg 
 is allowed. When milk is not forbidden, a tea-cup full 
 boiled np once with a pint of the gruel, is an improve- 
 ment. 
 
 Rye meal, or Indian, may be used; but oatmeal is 
 preferred, because it is more cooling, and less apt to 
 sour upon the stomach. Rye is a good substitute, where 
 a decidedly laxative effect is desirable. 
 
FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 17 
 
 Oatmeal gruel is bland, nutritious, and slightly laxative. 
 Applicable to cases of fever and inflammation. Often 
 given after brisk cathartics, to assist their operation. 
 
 Decoction of Barley^ Malt Tea^ ^c. 
 
 IMalt tea is made by pouring a quart of boiling water 
 upon a gill and a half of ground malt. Stir it repeated- 
 ly, and let it stand till cool ; then strain it. Molasses, 
 or milk, may be added, if agreeable. Recommended 
 to nurses, to increase milk. 
 
 Barley is the mildest and least irritating of farinaceous 
 substances, and therefore has high reputation in cases of 
 fever or inflammation. Pearl Barley is generally pre- 
 ferred, on account of its whiteness and delicacy ; but 
 common malt is as good a demulcent, and more nutri- 
 tious. A simple decoction is made by boiling four 
 ounces of malt in a quart of water, till reduced to a pint 
 and a half, and strained. A few hops are sometimes 
 added as a tonic, in cases of debility. 
 
 The compound decoction is made thus : one quart 
 of the simple decoction, two ounces of sliced figs, the 
 same of stoned raisins, half an ounce of broken and 
 bruised liquorice root, and one pint of water. While 
 boiling, add first the raisins, then the figs, and the 
 liquorice just before it is finished. Boil it down to a 
 quart, and strain it. It has the same properties as the 
 simple decoction, and is likewise gently laxative. 
 
 Slippery Elm Gruel. 
 
 The bark is sold in fine powder. Two table-spoon- 
 fuls mixed with a very little cold water, then turned into 
 a pint of boiling water, and cooked ten or fifteen min- 
 utes ; sweetened to the taste ; sometimes a sprinkle of 
 salt. Bland and demulcent ; therefore good nourish- 
 ment in fevers, and particularly in dysentery and other 
 bowel complaints. 
 
 If the powder be not at hand, the mucilaginous liquid 
 3 
 
18 FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 
 
 can be obtained by boiling the bark ; the thickness can 
 easily be regulated by the addition of water. 
 
 Egg Gruel. 
 
 Boil a pint of new milk ; beat four new eggs to a 
 light froth, and pour in while the milk boils ; stir them 
 thoroughly together, but do not let them boil. Add a 
 little salt, sweeten with loaf sugar, and grate in a whole 
 nutmeg. Take half of it while warm, and the other 
 half in two hours. Somewhat astringent, nutritious 
 and medicinal in advanced stages of chronic dysentery, 
 when the disease continues from weakness, after the 
 cause has been removed by physic. 
 
 JVheat Mush. 
 
 Made of unbolted wheat meal boiled in water, con- 
 siderably thinner than hasty-pudding is usually made. 
 Strain it through a sieve while hot. It may be eaten 
 in milk, or with West India molasses, several t^mes a 
 day. A very excellent remedy for habitual costiveness. 
 
 Hasty Pudding. 
 
 Mix five or six spoonfuls of sifted meal in half a pint 
 of cold water ; stir it into a quart of water ^^hile boiling; 
 season it with salt to your taste ; and from time to lime 
 sprinkle in dry meal, stirring it thoroughly. It should 
 cook about half an hour, or three quarters. When it 
 is so thick as to be stirred with difficulty, it is about 
 right to suit most people. It may be eaten with milk, 
 or molasses, or sugar. Either Indian meal, or rye, 
 may be used ; the latter needs the least cooking, and is 
 best adapted for a restricted stale of the system, and for 
 dyspepsia. 
 
 Milk Porridge. 
 
 Mix two table-spoonfuls of sifted flour in three or 
 four of water ; pour it into a gill or more of boiling 
 
FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 19 
 
 water, and stir it often while it cooks, eight or ten min- 
 utes ; then add a pint of new niilk, and let it boil up 
 once. 
 
 In cases of dysentery, it should be made thicker, and 
 boiled more thoroughly ; and it is ^vell to toast the 
 flour quite brown before using it. Where there are no 
 symptoms of inflammation, salt and nutmeg may be used, 
 and a little loaf sugar, if the patient likes it sweet ; but 
 in case of fever, very little salt, and no spice, should be 
 put into nourishment. Unless the patient is decidedly 
 recovering, it is best to keep to water-gruel, gum 
 arable water, &c. 
 
 Chicken Broth. 
 
 Cut a chicken in quarters ; put it into three or four 
 quarts of water ; add a cup of rice while the water is 
 cold ; season it with pepper and salt. Let it stew gent- 
 ly until the joints fall apart. A little parsley, shred fine, 
 is an improvement. A few pieces of cracker may be 
 thrown in, if you like. This food is proper only for 
 quite advanced stages of convalescence. While the 
 stomach continues weak, it is best to separate the broth 
 from the rice, crackers, and other materials, and take 
 the liquid only. 
 
 Chicken Tea. 
 
 Separate a young, lender chicken into several pieces; 
 lake ofl* every particle of fat or skin ; sprinkle on a 
 little salt ; and let it boil half an hour. A tea spoonful 
 of the liquid may be given at once, and increased as 
 the patient can bear it. This is very salutary in cases 
 of cholera, and protracted diarrhea, when the weak 
 stomach rejects food and medicines. 
 
 Beef Tea. 
 
 Cut lean and juicy beef into inch pieces ; cork them 
 up closely in a wide-mouthed bottle ; keep it in boiling 
 
20 FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 
 
 water for an hour or more. In this way you get the 
 pure juice of the meat. Season it with a little salt, 
 and give a tea-spoonful or more, according to circum- 
 stances. 
 
 A more common way is to broil a tender steak, sea- 
 son it, cut it into morsels, and just cover it with water 
 not quite boiling. Let it steep till the goodness is 
 drawn out, then add a very little more hot water. This, 
 like other animal nourishment, is stimulating in its na- 
 ture, and is therefore unsuited to fevers, or bowel com- 
 plaints accompanied with any degree of inflammation. 
 It is proper for the weak condition that follows the re- 
 moval of various diseases. 
 
 Rice. 
 
 In its common form, is picked, washed, and soaked 
 an hour or two in water enough to cover it. Slowly 
 boiled in the same water, until it becomes quite soft. 
 A little salt added. Eaten with sugar ; and if the pa- 
 tient is well enough, nutmeg and butter may be added. 
 For children, it is often boiled in milk instead of water. 
 Being mucilaginous and bland, it is much used in con- 
 valescence from bowel complaints, and other diseases. 
 It swells in cooking. A tea-cup full will make nearly a 
 quart of pudding. 
 
 Irish Moss Blanc-Mange. 
 
 Wash the moss clean, and shake the water from each 
 sprig. Boil about an ounce of moss in a quart of new 
 milk, till it dissolves and attains the consistency of 
 warm jelly. Strain it through a cloth, sweeten with 
 powdered loaf-sugar, and season with a little rose-water, 
 or essence of lemon. Turn it into cups or bowls, that 
 have been wet with cold water. It will soon harden, 
 so that it can be turned out. If you prefer cinnamon to 
 other spices, you can easily obtain the flavor, by boil- 
 ing a few sticks of it in the milk. It is very light, 
 agreeable, and nourishing food for debilitated people. 
 
FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 21 
 
 Those who carefully observe the moss kept for sale, 
 will be able to find plenty like it on almost any sea- 
 beach. It requires frequent washings to clean it. 
 When dried, it may be kept a very long time. 
 
 Slippery Elm Blanc-Mange. 
 
 Made in a manner similar to the above ; the bark 
 being boiled in new milk, till it becomes very ropy. 
 
 Calfs Foot Jelly,. 
 
 Boil four feet, nicely cleaned and washed, in a gal- 
 lon of water, till reduced to a quart. Strain it, and 
 when cool scrape off the fat. In taking out the jelly, 
 avoid the settlings. Add half a pound of sugar, the 
 juice of four lemons, and, if you please, the peel of one. 
 Some add the white of six eggs, to make it very clear. 
 Boil all these together a few minutes, and strain through 
 cloth into glasses. 
 
 In making blanc-mange, the jelly is obtained in the 
 same way. To every quart add a quart of new milk, 
 with sugar to your taste, and boil it ten minutes. If 
 you wish to flavor it with sticks of cinnamon, or lemon- 
 peel, boil them in it ; if with rose-water, or peach- 
 water, add a cupfull afterward. Strain it through a fine 
 sieve ; stir it till lukewarm ; then turn it into moulds 
 that have been wet with cold water ; and let it harden. 
 This is very strengthening food. 
 
 Starch Jelly. ^ 
 
 Thoroughly dissolve a table-spoonful of potato starch 
 in a litde cold water ; pour it into about half a pint of 
 
 * Starch is thus obtained. Pare raw potatoes, grate them, place 
 the pulp in a strainer, pass repeated portions of cold water through 
 it into a vessel beneath. A white, farinaceous substance will be 
 
22 FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS, 
 
 boiling water, and let it simmer a few minutes. Stir it 
 well, strain it, sweeten and flavor it to your taste, and 
 let it cool. Properties similar to arrow-root. 
 
 Blanc-mange may be made of this, or almost any 
 mucilaginous substance. 
 
 Cranberry Jelly. 
 
 Stew cranberries a litile, put them in a cloth, and 
 squeeze out the juice. To a quart of this add a pint of 
 the jelly obtained by boiling calves' feet. Add half a 
 pound of white sugar, boil it up once, strain it through 
 cloth, and leave it to cool. 
 
 Rice Jelly. 
 
 Boil a quarter of a pound of rice-flour with half a 
 pound of loaf-sugar in a quart of water, till the whole 
 becomes a glutinous mass. Then strain it, and let it 
 cool. 
 
 If you merely wish to prepare rice-water, rub a large 
 tea-spoonful of the flour in a table-spoonful of water, 
 then pour it into half a pint of boiling water, stirring 
 it well. When cool, lemon-juice and sugar may be 
 added. 
 
 Jlrrow Root Jelly. 
 
 Stir a table-spoonful of arrow-root powder in half a 
 cup of water ; pour it into a pint of boiling water, and 
 let it cook six or eight minutes. Sweeten it to your 
 taste. By increasing the proportions, blanc-mange 
 may be made of arrow-root. If the patient is well 
 enough, it may be prepared with milk, or half milk 
 and half water, and eaten cold with a little sugar and 
 cream. 
 
 When used for drink a tea-spoonful of the powder 
 
 deposited at the bottom. Turn the -^vater off, and let it dry thor- 
 oughly. Frozen potatoes are said to yield more starch than others. 
 
FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 26 
 
 is moistened and rubbed with cold water ; half a pint of 
 boiling water is turned upon it, and stirred till ii becomes 
 transparent. Lemon-juice and sugar may be added. 
 
 Tapioca Jelly — Sago Jelly. 
 
 These articles need to be picked, washed, and soak- 
 ed four or five hours, before ihey are cooked. Boiled 
 slowly in the same water, till it becomes entirely glu- 
 tinous. A common tea-cup-full in a quart or more of 
 water will form a thick jelly. Pearl sago is generally 
 preferred as the most delicate preparation. Eaten cold, 
 with sugar and cream. 
 
 Rice, arrows-root, tapioca, and sago, are all light, 
 demulcent articles, well adapted to bowel complaints 
 and feverish symptoms. 
 
 When the patient is nearly recovered, tapioca, or 
 sago, after being duly soaked in just water enough to 
 cover them, may be baked with the addition of milk, 
 and two eggs well beaten. Two thirds of a cup full is 
 enough for a quart of milk. Seasoned to taste. Baked 
 about three quarters of an hour. 
 
 Gum Arabic Water. 
 
 Nourishing and demulcent, without any stimulating 
 properties. It has a great tendency to allay inward in- 
 flammation. Excellent in fevers, diarrheas, and other 
 bowel complaints. Dissolve an ounce of the gum in a 
 pint of boiling water, and let it cool. It may be sweet- 
 ened with loaf sugar. In some cases it may well form 
 the entire food and drink of the patient. A piece of 
 the gum held in the mouth and allowed slowly to dis- 
 solve, is very beneficial to sore throats, hard coughs, 
 catarrhal afiections, &c. 
 
 Currant Jelly. 
 
 If it be necessary to wash your currants, be sure 
 they are thoroughly drained, or the jelly will be too 
 
24 FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 
 
 thin. Break them up, and squeeze them through a 
 cloth. A pint of clean sugar to a pint of juice ; boil it 
 slowly, till it becomes ropy. Great care must be taken 
 not to do it too fast, lest it become scorched. It should 
 be frequently skimmed and stirred while simmering. 
 If currants are cooked in a jar placed in boiling water, 
 before they are broken and strained, they are more like- 
 ly to keep a long time without fermenting. This is a 
 very agreeable article of food, and considered harmless 
 in most cases of illness, where the stomach can bear 
 anything of the kind. 
 
 Black Currant Jelly, 
 
 Made of black currants, in the same way. This is 
 excellent for sore throats. 
 
 Preserved Barberries. 
 
 Preserved in their own weight of sugar, or molasses, 
 they are very useful and agreeable in sickness. They 
 should simmer slowly in the sugar half an hour, or more, 
 until they become quite soft. When the patient cannot 
 suck the fruit, the syrup is pleasant^ either as food; or 
 stirred into drinks. Barberries are refrigerant, anti- 
 scorbutic, and somewhat astringent. 
 
 Stewed Peaches. 
 
 Peaches pared and stewed with sugar, form an excel- 
 lent laxative article of diet in convalescence from bowel 
 complaints. 
 
 Stewed Prunes. 
 
 Stew them very gently in a small quantity of water, 
 till the stones slip out. They are slightly laxative and 
 cooling. Considered safe nourishment in fevers. 
 Taken too largely, when the stomach is debilitated, 
 they occasion flatulence. The water in which they 
 
FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 25 
 
 are cooked is pleasant to moisten the parched lips of 
 an invalid. 
 
 Figs. 
 
 Nutritious, laxative, and demulcent. If eaten too 
 freely, sometimes produce diarrhea. All dried fruits, 
 excepting figs and prunes, are difficult of digestion. 
 
 Quince Syrup. 
 
 The syrup of preserved quinces is a good addition to 
 drinks in cases of dysentery, after inflammation has sub- 
 sided. Astringent properties. 
 
 Conserve of Roses. 
 
 Bruise the red leaves of roses in a wooden or 
 marble mortar. To every pound, allow a pound 
 of sugar. Mix the sugar well with the roses, in 
 alternate layers, pack it tight in an earthen vessel, 
 and cover it very carefully from the air. It will 
 keep a great while. Pleasant, slightly astringent, and 
 considered very strengthening to weakly people. 
 
 Wild Honeysuckle Conserve. 
 
 The Wild Honeysuckle, or Swamp Pink, is com- 
 mon among brushwood in low land. Botanists have 
 named it Azalea Viscosa The blossoms closely 
 resen)ble the cultivated honey-suckle. They are 
 hairy, and very glutinous. A conserve made of 
 them, in the same way as roses, is considered 
 very strengthening, and is much used by consumptive 
 people. 
 
 Sorrel Conserve. 
 
 Common field Sorrel, or Rumex Acetosdla^ is 
 well known as a troublesome weed. Wood Sorrel, or 
 Oxalis Acetosella, has ligljt green heart-shaped leaves, 
 
26 FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 
 
 three together on a slender stem. Small flowers, gen- 
 erally yellow. Sorrel is acid, refrigerant, and diuretic. 
 Used as salad, or boiled as greens, recommended in 
 scorbutic complaints. A conserve of the fresh leaves, 
 with double their weight of sugar, is a good substitute 
 for lemons. Used in inflammatory disorders. 
 
 Violet Syrup, 
 
 The sweet English Violet, or the wild Purple Vio- 
 let, or the large Blue Violet, may be used. The two 
 first are preferred. Pour three pints of boiling water 
 upon a pound of the fresh flowers, and let them steep 
 twenty-four hours in an earthen vessel. Strain through 
 linen without squeezing. To every pint of the liquid 
 add twenty-nine ounces of sugar, and boil it up a few 
 minutes. This syrup has a very beautiful color, grad- 
 ually lost by age. It is much reconmiended as a mild 
 laxative for children. Infants may take a table-spoon- 
 ful, or half that quantity, according to age. 
 
 Syrup of White Poppies. 
 
 Tu^o po'inds of the seed-vessels, freed from seed, 
 may be sliced and boiled about an hour in fifteen quarts 
 of water ; strain them by squeezing strongly, and boil 
 it down one half. Lastly, add four pounds of sugar, 
 and let it simmer a few minutes. This syrup is an 
 opiate of uncertain strength, and should be used spar- 
 ingly till tested by experience. A tea-spoonful may 
 be given to an infant of six months, and a dessert- 
 spoonful to one of two years. This may be repeated 
 every three or four hours, if necessary. 
 
 Yellow Water-Lily Syrup. 
 
 In Bigelow's Botany, the plant is called JVuphar M- 
 vena. The mucilaginous roots, cut in slices and baked 
 with sugar, form a syrup resembling honey. It pro- 
 motes expectoration, and is mild and nourishing for 
 consumptive people. 
 
FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 27 
 
 Wine Whey, 
 
 Place half a pint of sweet milk at the fire in an earth- 
 en or silver vessel. When near the boiling point, pour 
 in one glass of wine, and let it rennain perfectly still in 
 a cool place till it curdles. When the curds settle, 
 strain the whey, and let it cool. A spoonful of rennet- 
 water hastens the process. Made palatable with loaf 
 sugar ; and sometimes nutmeg, if the patient can bear 
 it. Wine whey is not powerful as a stimulant ; but it 
 is sufficiently so not to be used when fevers run high, 
 or when there is any inflammation of the bowels. It is 
 applicable after fevers have turned, and to the weak 
 condition that follows diarrhea. Pure Madeira, or 
 Sherry, aie the best kinds of wine to use. 
 
 Orange Whey. 
 
 The juice of a large acid orange to a quart of warm 
 milk. If the curds do not separate easily, boil it a 
 little, and strain the liquor. Sweeten to the taste. 
 
 Lemon Whey. 
 
 Prepared in the same way. This whey is used in 
 high fevers, on account of its cooling qualities. 
 
 Vinegar Whey. 
 
 To warm milk add as much vinegar as will pro- 
 duce curds ; probably about a wine-glass to a pint ; 
 but it would vary with the strength of the vinegar, which 
 should be made of cider. 
 
 This is less heating than wine whey, and promotes 
 perspiration equally well. Sometimes advisable to di- 
 lute it with water. 
 
 Cider Whey. 
 
 Prepared in the same manner, and similar in its qual- 
 ities. Cider, being less strong than vinegar, would be 
 
ZO FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 
 
 required in larger quantities. Some people boil it a 
 little, if the curds do not separate well. 
 
 In making any kind of whey, or curds, the liquid 
 should remain quite undisturbed during the process. 
 
 Sorrel Whey. 
 
 Made by boiling Sorrel leaves in new milk. Cool- 
 ing in fevers. 
 
 Molasses Whey. 
 
 Heat a quart of new milk nearly to the boiling point; 
 stir in a wine-glass of molasses ; when cool, strain off 
 the whey to drink. Good for nurses, who h?.ve an in- 
 sufficiency of milk. 
 
 Rennet Whey. 
 
 Soak a piece of well-cured rennet, about an inch 
 square, in little more than half a tea-cup-full of water, 
 over night. Put both the rennet and the water into a 
 pint of new milk, about blood-warm, and let it stand 
 quietly in the chimney corner, till the curds separate ; 
 then strain it. A little sweetening may be added, if 
 you like it. This is recommended to dyspeptic peo- 
 ple, because it is light nourishment, and assists diges- 
 tion. Very salutary for weakly, consumptive people. 
 Dr. Dewees says it answers an admirable purpose, both 
 as nourishment and drink, in cases of bilious diarrhea, 
 often called " the summer complaint." 
 
 Said to be good for the heart-burn. 
 
 Mustard Whey. 
 
 Boil half an ounce of the powdered seed in a pint of 
 new milk; strain it, and sweeten with sugar. A wine- 
 glass-full may be drank several times a day. Given in 
 cases of low, nervous fever. It greatly w^arms and in- 
 vigorates the system, and promotes the different secre- 
 tions. Sometimes it is well to dilute the whey with a 
 little water. 
 
FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 29 
 
 Milk of Almonds. 
 
 The kind used are sold tinder the name of sweet 
 almonds. Shell them, and pour over them hot water, 
 not quite boiling. Let them remain a few minutes, and 
 the brown shell will be easily peeled off. This is call- 
 ed blanching. Put a tea-cup-full into a wooden or 
 marble mortar, with half a cup-full of warm water ; 
 grind them slowly with the pestle ; increase the water 
 from time to time till you have put in half a pint ; still 
 continuing to grind, till the goodness appears to be 
 thoroughly extracted. Then stir the liquid well, and 
 strain it through muslin. It should be made fresh often, 
 as it sours if kept more than one day in warm weather. 
 
 This milky substance is of a pleasant flavor. A lit- 
 tle loaf sugar may be added, if the patient likes it. De- 
 mulcent, and slightly astringent. Light, nutritious food 
 in cases of consumption, dysentery, and bowel-com- 
 plaints. Recommended in catarrh, and to obviate 
 stranguary during the application of a blister. Used 
 externally as a cosmetic. 
 
 Apple Water. 
 
 Apples may be roasted, boiling water poured over 
 them, and steeped two or three hours ; or the boiling 
 water may be poured on sour apples, pared and sliced, 
 strewed with sugar, and bits of lemon-peel ; or three 
 common-sized tart apples may be boiled in a quart of 
 water, till reduced to pulp. Strained and sweeten-ed. 
 Used as light nourishment, when the stomach is too 
 weak to bear more common preparations. Dried ap- 
 ples may be used, if more convenient. 
 
 Lemonade. 
 
 Pour a pint of boiling water upon a table-spoonful of 
 
 kmon juice, sweeten it to your taste, and place it where 
 
 it will become cool. Some like to have a few pieces 
 
 of the peel remain to season it, A very pleasant 
 
 4 
 
30 FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 
 
 drink can be made by simply adding cold water and 
 sugar to the juice. A very agreeable and cooling bev- 
 erage in fevers. 
 
 Currant Water. 
 
 The juice of currants, obtained by squeezing through 
 a cloth, mixed with water and sugar, is a very good 
 substitute for lemonade. 
 
 Barberry Water. 
 
 The same may be said of barberries, macerated in 
 water, strained, and sweetened. 
 
 Tamarind Water. 
 
 Half a pint of boiling water poured upon two or three 
 table-spoonfuls of preserved Tamarinds ; after standing 
 a litde while, strained and cooled ; forms a pleasant 
 beverage in fevers. Refrigerant and somewhat laxative. 
 
 Sorrel Water. 
 
 Made by steeping the bruised leaves in water, till 
 they yield their acid. 
 
 Cream of Tartar. 
 
 Place one or two tea-spoonfuls of cream of tartar 
 
 and the rind of one lemon in an earthen vessel ; pour 
 
 over them a quart of boiling water. When cold, 
 sweeten it to your taste. Often used in fevers. 
 
 Flax Seed Tea. 
 
 Pour a quart of boihng water upon a cup-full of the 
 seed ; let it steep ten or fifteen minutes, then turn off 
 the water, and pour on a fresh supply. Let it steep 
 till it becomes somewhat ropy. A tumbler full may 
 be taken at a lime ; sweetened with honey, molasses, 
 or sugar. It is a mucilaginous demulcent fluid, very 
 
FOOD AND DRINK FOR INVALIDS. 31 
 
 salutary for hard coughs, catarrh, dysentery, piles, 
 stranguary, calculous affections, and other inflammatory 
 states of the lungs and passages. 
 
 For severe colds attended with feverish symptoms, 
 the following is an excellent remedy. Hot flax-seed 
 tea, with lemon-juice and sugar, and fifteen drops of 
 wine of ipecac taken when getting into a warm bed. 
 The ipecac produces perspiration, and care should 
 be taken about being exposed to the air the next day. 
 If obliged to go abroad, the same preparation can be 
 taken cold ; a iew spoonfuls whenever there is incli- 
 nation to cough. Some add two or three spoonfuls of 
 w^hite-mixture, or one tea-spoonful of paregoric to a 
 tumbler full. 
 
 Bran Water. 
 
 Wheat bran boiled in water and strained, forms a 
 healing drink, when the bowels are disordered. Rye- 
 bran is more laxative than wheat. It may be sweeten- 
 ed with molasses, if the patient chooses. Recom- 
 mended as a morning drink to those troubled with re- 
 stricted habits. 
 
 Toast and Water. 
 
 West India molasses and water, with a little lemon 
 juice, and a piece of toasted bread soaked in it, is a 
 nutritious and grateful beverage in fevers. 
 
 Sugar and Water. 
 
 When the stomach is so very feeble as to reject all 
 kinds of nourishment, strength may be preserved for 
 some time, by now and then giving a tea-spoonful of 
 loaf sugar and water, well dissolved and mixed. 
 
 Dyspepsia Bread. 
 
 Three quarts of unbolted wheat meal ; one quart of 
 soft, warm water, not hot ; a gill of fresh yeast ; a gill 
 
S2 CHILDREN. 
 
 of molasses, or not, as may suit the taste ; one tea- 
 spoonful of sal-aeratis. This will make two loaves, 
 and should remain in the oven at least an hour. It will 
 need from eight to twelve hours to rise in readiness for 
 baking. The fermentation is, of course, more rapid 
 when the weather is warm. 
 
 Dyspepsia crackers are made with unbolted flour, 
 water, and sal-aeratis. 
 
 It is unhealthy for any person to eat warm bread, 
 and peculiarly so for those troubled with dyspepsia. 
 
 Bread made with the bran in it, is far more healthy 
 for the digestive powers than flour bread. 
 
 Custards. 
 
 These should not be eaten, except in an advanced 
 stage of convalescence. If boiled, they are lighter than 
 baked. Of the latter, an invalid may sometimes take a 
 few spoonfuls of the ivhey. 
 
 Four eggs are enough to allow to a quart of new 
 milk. Boil the milk with a stick of cinnamon, or few 
 bits of lemon-peel ; while boiling, turn it to the eggs, 
 previously well beaten. Stir it well all the time. 
 Sweeten it to your taste. Place the custard in a pan 
 of boiling water, and let it simmer till it thickens, but 
 do not let it boil. Stir it one way all the time. The 
 custard should be in a vessel deep enough to prevent 
 the water in the pan from boiling over the edges. 
 
 CHILDREN. 
 
 Ira mother indulge violent temper, or habitual gloom 
 and discontent, before the birth of her child, it is very 
 apt to have an unfavorable effect both on the character 
 and health of the infant. She should try to keep as 
 equable as possible, and, as far as circumstances will 
 permit, indulge in cheerful conversation and the sight 
 
CHILDREN. 3S 
 
 of pleasant things. It is a duty to nnake considerable 
 effort to resist melancholy and fretfulness. 
 
 Articles of food that disagree with the system should 
 be scrupulously avoided. It is of great importance 
 that the digestive powers be kept in good order. Lax- 
 ative diet is the best, unless the state of the system 
 render it improper. The common notion that more 
 food is required during pregnancy, is false and injurious. 
 An overcharged stomach is always unfavorable to safe 
 and healthy labor. For this reason nature institutes 
 nausea and vomiting, to prevent too great fulness. 
 There is more danger from eating too much, than not 
 enough. 
 
 Avoid using ardent spirit, tinctures, and essences, to 
 overcome nausea. Confirmed habits of intemperance 
 are often thus formed, and trnnsmitted to the child. It 
 is far belter to resort to charcoal for this purpose. 
 
 Exercise in the open air is very beneficial during the 
 first months ; but the latter part of the time it is best to 
 avoid great fatigue. 
 
 Those subject to miscarriage should not try blood-let- 
 ting without advice; it sometimes produces the evil it is 
 intended to remedy. 
 
 During recovery from confinement, the room should 
 not be too hot, and the fresh air should be freely ad- 
 mitted, provided the patient is not in the current of it. 
 Curtains are bad things ; if circumstances render any- 
 thing of the kind necessary, it is better to make use of 
 a temporary screen. Change linen and bed-clothes 
 often ; being careful that they are well aired. 
 
 Avoid seeing too much company, or too soon. It is 
 better not to see even intimate friends under a week or 
 ten days. 
 
 Take a little moderate exercise in the open air, as 
 soon as you have strength ; for this purpose choose the 
 forenoon of a dry, mild day. Be very careful about 
 exposure to cold, or sitting with the feet on cold, paint- 
 ed floors. 
 
 Much miscliief is done by too early use of stimulat- 
 4* 
 
34 CHILDREN. 
 
 ing food and drink. Broth, wine, spices, &c. have a 
 tendency to bring on " milk fever." The diet should 
 consist entirely of very bland and simple articles, at 
 least till the sixth day. 
 
 The infant should be allowed to nurse as soon as 
 strength permits ; probably in twelve or twenty-four 
 hours ; and it should be repeated every three or four 
 hours. Before the birth of the child, there is an ac- 
 cumulation of a dark green substance in its bowels, 
 called meconium ; the very first substance that comes 
 into the mother's breast is nature's remedy for this; 
 and usually there is no manner of need of any other 
 purgatives. But if the child be not applied to the 
 breast early enoughj or from any other cause the me- 
 conium remain, some very mild and gentle physic 
 should be given ; such as a little warm molasses and 
 water, or manna in water ; or a tea-spoonful of warm 
 sweet oil ; or, in very obstinate cases, a tea-spoonful of 
 warm castor oil. When the discharges become yellow, 
 the repetition of such medicines is unnecessary. 
 
 Infants generally need no medicines. The hurtful 
 practice of drugging them cannot be too much blamed. 
 
 A newly-born infant should be rubbed with fresh 
 lard, and then carefully washed with luke-warm water, 
 and fine old soap. A very soft flannel, or sponge, is 
 better than linen or cotton. Care should be taken to 
 cleanse every fold of the skin, under the arm-pits, &c. 
 The use of cold water often produces cholic, catarrhal 
 affections, he. Children should not remain wet longer 
 than is necessary, particularly in winter. Dry and 
 warm clothes should be put on as soon as possible. 
 The head should be first washed and wiped dry, before 
 other parts of the body are wet. The use of brandy 
 or rum for this purpose is unnecessary and improper. 
 The process should not be performed in a current of 
 air, neither should children be roused from sleep for 
 the purpose. Every part and portion of the body ought 
 to be thoroughly washed every morning. 
 
 If the breasts of new-born children are swollen and 
 
CHILDREN. 35 
 
 inflamed, tney should not be pressed in compliance 
 with the common but very erroneous idea that there is 
 milk which needs to be extracted ; serious injury to 
 the part is sometimes done in this way. A piece of 
 old linen moistened with pure sweet oil, or fresh lard, is 
 usually all that is necessary ; and if the inflammation be 
 uncommon, a bread and milk poultice, every three or 
 four hours, will be quite sufficient. 
 
 The use of fine delicate soap and water is at once a 
 preventative and remedy for the chafing of the skin so 
 common behind the ears, under the arm-pits, &c. It 
 should be wiped quite dry with a soft rag. Starci, 
 powdered and sifted through muslin, may be applied 
 when there is extensive chafing. Flour, toasted brown, 
 likewise answers a good purpose. When moisture ap- 
 pears, an additional quantity should be put on, without 
 removing the first until the child is washed. In a little 
 time it will fall off spontaneously. 
 
 The mother's milk is the only proper nourishment. 
 Nothing but the most imperious necessity should induce 
 a departure from this obvious rule of nature. The 
 healthiest children are those who for six months at least 
 were never fed uhh any other substance. 
 
 The mother should scrupulously refrain from all such 
 articles as disagree with her. Unripe fruit, cabbage, 
 pickles, vinegar, porter and beer, almost always hurt 
 the child, because they are injurious to the mother. 
 It is important the digestive powers be kept in good 
 order, by the judicious use of laxative diet, when cir- 
 cumstances require it. 
 
 Avoid all over-heating, from running, dancing, exces- 
 sive fatigue, &c. ; likewise the indulgence of violent 
 passions, or emotions. If anything of this kind takes 
 place, do not nurse the child for at least two hours after 
 the occurrence, lest convulsion-fits sliould be the con- 
 sequence. 
 
 A child constantly nursed from one breast is apt to 
 grow crooked, and acquire the habit of squinting, from 
 having the eyes constantly directed to one point. There 
 
36 CHILDREN. 
 
 are similar objections to its being carried always on one 
 arm, or laid on one side. 
 
 It is a good habit to nurse an infant the last thing be- 
 fore going to bed. Avoid letting it go to sleep at the 
 breast. This habit weakens the mother, and is apt to 
 injure ^he digestive powers of the child. 
 
 It is a bad plan to nurse a child whenever it cries ; 
 and still worse to feed it with pap. By this means it 
 forms the habit of requiring more nourishment than its 
 stomach can well bear. 
 
 For those afflinted with sore nipples, the following 
 pij^paration is healing and pleasant. Put twenty grains 
 of sugar-of-lead into one gill of rose-water ; shake it 
 thoroughly. Wet a piece of soft linen with it, and put 
 it on; renew it as often as the rag becomes dry. Be- 
 fore nursing, wash this off with something soothing. 
 Rose-water will answer ; but the best thing is a glutin- 
 ous solution made by steeping quince-seed in a little 
 cold tea. 
 
 The author of the Maternal Physician states a curi- 
 ous fact. He says when the process of nursing is very 
 painful to the mother, the milk is sometimes drawn out 
 with sucking-glasses; if the child is fed with it, a sup- 
 ply will remain in the breast some time ; whereas, if it 
 is thrown away, it will gradually diminish till it ceases. 
 
 Hard, tight corsets are very hurtful at any time ; and 
 peculiaily so to pregnant and nursing women. 
 
 A failure or deficiency of milk more often proceeds 
 from an over than an under quantity of food or drink. 
 There should be enough of simple and nutritious diet ; 
 but such stimulating articles as milk-punch and porter 
 should be avoided. The best things for improvement 
 of milk are exercise in the open air, and the free use of 
 milk, malt tea, and molasses whey. 
 
 If a mother have not milk enough to nourish her 
 child, the best substitute consists of two-thirds new 
 milk, one third water, and a little loaf sugar ; made 
 fresh often, and given luke-warm. Some prefer per- 
 fectly sweet cream to milk, because they consider it 
 
CHILDREN. 37 
 
 lighter. After several teeth have been cut, a little rice 
 water, or gum-arabic water may be added to the prep- 
 aration. When from bowel complaints, or other 
 causes, it is desirable to diminish the quantity of food, 
 it is well to increase its nutritious qualities in this 
 way — particularly by the addition of gum arabic. 
 
 Potatoes and other vegetables are very bad for in- 
 fants ; especially if they be mashed with gravy. Such 
 unnatural kind of food lays the foundation for many 
 humors and diseases. 
 
 Babes are generally weaned in about a year. Na- 
 ture seems to indicate the propriety of this ; for after 
 the twelfth or fourteenth month, the milk deteriorates 
 in quality and quantity. April, May, and June are con- 
 sidered suitable months for weaning, because the tem- 
 perature is then moderate. In hot weather there is 
 great danger of inducing bowel complaints. October 
 is the best time in autumn ; though early in November 
 will answ^er. After that, the nights are too long, and 
 the weather too cold. If children are any way disorder- 
 ed, it is best to nurse them until they recover, as the 
 change is apt to increase their illness. 
 
 The process of weaning might be rendered more 
 easy, if for some time previous the child were accus- 
 tomed to do without food in the night ; if the breast 
 W'ere gradually given at longer intervals; and bread and 
 milk, rice and milk, or arrow-root, substituted as nour- 
 ishment. 
 
 When you have laid down a rule, an occasional de- 
 parture from it only occasions additional trouble for 
 yourself and child ; a gende firmness is the truest kind- 
 ness. Sometimes it becomes necessary to render the 
 fountain of their infant pleasure disagreeable to them, 
 by putting on garlic, assafoetida, &.c. 
 
 Great care must be taken, after weaning, not to give 
 a child too much, or too gross food. New milk and 
 stale bread are wholesome. An ounce of gum ara- 
 bic dissolved in a pint of water, with sugar and a lit»- 
 
38 CHILDREN. 
 
 tie milk added, is more apt to agree with the stomach 
 than any other substance. Rennet-whey, a little sweet- 
 ened and disguised with milk, is excellent. 
 
 The weaning mother, who wishes to avoid swollen 
 and painful breasts, should drink nothing but pure water, 
 and that in small quantities. In order to avoid the dis- 
 position to drink, it is better not to use salt provisions. 
 Her food should consist of crackers, boiled rice with 
 sugar and nutmeg, potatoes, poultry, &.c. 
 
 If the pain be considerable, let her take a brisk dose 
 of salts, and avoid exercise as much as she convenient- 
 ly can. If the breasts be hard and swollen, dip old 
 linen in perfectly sweet mutton tallow melted, and spread 
 it over the breasts, and under the arm. If tallow can- 
 not be obtained, use fresh lard, or pure sweet oil. It 
 is best to have the milk drawn as seldom as can be 
 endured, and in as small quantities, the intervals of 
 drawing being each lime longer. 
 
 \Vhere there is an absolute necessity for feeding infants 
 much by hand, the tea-spoon, or bottles with silver 
 tubes, are not considered as good as the oblong flat 
 bottle, with sponge covered with a heifer's teat, pre- 
 pared by some person who understands it. This kind 
 of bottle can be put into the bed and kept warm during 
 the night by the heat of the body. What remains after 
 feeding the child should be turned out, the bottle and 
 sponge thoroughly cleansed with scalding water, and 
 rinsed before it is again used ; it should be tied with 
 clean thread each lime. Great care should be taken 
 that everything used in feeding infants should be per- 
 fectly fresh and sweet. 
 
 Babes ought not to have the bottle to play with. 
 They acquire the habit of sucking it every few minutes, 
 which is injurious to their digestive powers. As a 
 general rule, they do not need to be fed oftener than 
 every three or four hours. Never offer more than 
 they seem to desire. Experience alone can decide 
 the quantities that will agree with different individuals. 
 
CHILDRE^ 39 
 
 Milk should not be boiled for infants. It is best new 
 from the cow. Mere scalding will preserve it sweet, 
 in warm weather. 
 
 Jolting, and other violent motions, are very bad for 
 children soon after they have been fed. 
 
 They should not be fed lying down ; nor should they 
 be laid on the back to sleep, lest suffocation from their 
 rising food be the consequence. 
 
 When babes are very weakly, it is considered more 
 safe to hire a wet nurse than to bring them up by hand. 
 This step is involved with many difficulties. If the 
 nurse have her own child with her, she is naturally 
 tempted to give it a greater proportion of nourishment ; 
 if the child be removed, there is the painful considera- 
 tion of deriving benefit from the privations and sacrifices 
 of another ; however conscientious she may be, it is 
 more difficult to perform her duties patiently and well 
 for mere money, than it is from instinct, or feeling ; 
 hence the great danger of injuring a babe by putting it 
 to sleep with laudanum. 
 
 If, unfortunately, there is an absolute necessity of 
 delegating to a stranger the sacred office of a nurse, be 
 careful that she is a healthy woman ; under thirty-five 
 years of age ; free from humors ; from intemperate, or 
 gluttonous habits; and not. violent in her temper. Her 
 milk should be as near the age of her nursling as possi- 
 ble ; it had better be younger than older. She should 
 make very little change in her diet and mode of life. If 
 she has been accustomed to active exercise, let it be 
 continued ; if her food has been simple, it v.'ill injure 
 her milk to resort to rich living. 
 
 The belly-band of an infant should be worn at least 
 four months. It is commonly supposed that the tighter 
 this bandage is drawn the better. This is a mistake; 
 loo tight drawing may produce the very rupture it is in- 
 tended to remedy. It should always be made of soft 
 flannel, cut cross-wise, so as to be elastic. A little 
 piece sewed upon it to fasten it to the diaper is con- 
 venient. A scorched linen rag, with fresh mutton tal- 
 
40 CHILDREN. 
 
 low on it, or a raisin split open, are suitable to apply 
 when the cord drops off, five or six days after birth. 
 If there is any swelling, or unusual appearance about 
 the navel, make it known to the doctor immediately. 
 
 Children should not remain wet. Some people talk 
 of hardening them by neglect ; but it only exposes them 
 to rickets, colds, inflammations, &c. They ought to 
 be kept comfortably warm and dry at all times. 
 
 Their clothing, particularly diapers, should be wash- 
 ed often enough to be kept perfectly soft and sweet. 
 
 As far as possible, use strings instead of pins. The 
 use of needles is extremely dangerous. They easily 
 slip into the tender flesh, and produce very painful 
 swellings. If a needle is broken or lost on the floor, 
 there should be diligent care to find it, and put it out 
 of the way; particularly if there be a carpet in the 
 room. 
 
 Cradles should never be rocked violently, lest it pro- 
 duce dropsy on the brain. 
 
 Children of tender age should not be carried from a 
 warm room into a cold one. They are less liable to 
 take cold if not accustomed to very warm rooms. 
 
 Infants should always be carried in such a manner as 
 to support the back and the neck. Many diseases of 
 the spine originate in a want of this precaution. The 
 habit of tying them into chairs too young, or allowing 
 them to remain too long, is extremely injurious, and 
 sometim.es fatal ; deformed backs, ruptured bowels, 
 and perpetual feebleness, may be the result. They had 
 far better be laid upon a piece of carpet on the floor, 
 and suffered to roll about and use their limbs in freedom. 
 Their clothes should be of soft materials, every part 
 perfectly loose and easy, and not pinned up, so as to 
 obstruct the motion of their feet and limbs. Warm 
 socks and large soft shoes should be put on in cold 
 weather. 
 
 Exercise in the open air is extremely healthy. Don't 
 be afraid to let children be out in dry weather, and play 
 in the dirt as much as they will ; provided they are 
 
CHILDREN. 41 
 
 daily washed thoroughly, and have clean inner clothes 
 at least twice a week, to prevent diseases of the skin. 
 
 Baby-carriages should have a wide axle, and low 
 wheels, well secured against coming off, in order to 
 guard against accidents from turning over. Its length 
 should admit of lying down, and its depth prevent the 
 danger of falling out. The child should be placed with 
 its back well supported, its head elevated, and eyes 
 carefully screened from the sun. It should not bejerk- 
 ed, or put into violent motion, but drawn equally and 
 gently ; and never left standing in the sunshine, or the 
 cold air. Half an hour at a time is exercise enough. 
 They should be brought home when drowsy ; because 
 it is injurious to sleep in the open air, and they will 
 soon form the habit of going to sleep in no other way. 
 
 Children should not be urged to walk too soon, lest 
 crooked limbs be the consequence. Let them creep if 
 they choose, and try their own experiments of "finding 
 their feet," by the aid of a chair, &c. In this, and 
 many other things, it is best to let nature do her own 
 work, with no more interference than is absolutely 
 necessary. 
 
 The head should not be too warmly covered. Phy- 
 sicians almost universally recommend that infants should 
 go without caps, and little boys and girls wear light 
 hats and bonnets. It is better to keep the hair cut, 
 than to have it attain a thick growth at an early age. 
 
 Keeping the throat properly protected, when out doors 
 diminishes the liability to take cold, croup, &c. 
 
 When children get their stockings and 2;arments wet 
 from being exposed to rain, or heavy dews, they should 
 be iuimediately changed for dry ones. There is a com- 
 mon idea that it hardens children to remain wet and 
 cold ; but many die in the hardening. The feet par- 
 ticularly should be kept dry and warm. 
 
 Early to bed and early to rise, is a peculiarly valua- 
 ble maxim applied to children. When small they should 
 go to bed at dark, and at eigbt or nine o'clock when older. 
 Their natural disposition to be stirring early in the 
 5 
 
42 CHILDREN. 
 
 morning ought not to be checked, though it be incon- 
 venient. Let them sleep on mattrasses, or straw, un- 
 less the weather is very cold. Give them breakfast 
 before they have been long up. 
 
 Too much cannot be said in praise of frequently and 
 thoroughly washing every part of the body ; provided it 
 be not performed in a currentof air, and while the blood 
 is heated with exercise. A child of a year old may be 
 daily washed in water less than luke-warm. At all ages 
 it is best to have the chill off; for a very cold bath dis- 
 agrees with many constitutions, and sometimes does se- 
 rious injury. The teeth should be washed, and the 
 mouth rinsed ; and the hair washed in cool water, and 
 well brushed. 
 
 Those are the healthiest children who eat the least 
 animal food. A variety of vegetables at the same meal 
 is decidedly injurious. 
 
 Fruit is not good for children under two years old ; 
 as is often shown by its passing through them unchang- 
 ed. After thai time, reasonable quantities are not in- 
 jurious, provided it be perfectly ripe. Dried fruit is 
 more or less hurtful. Raisins sometimes produce con- 
 vulsions. Large quantities of orange-peel have the same 
 effect. 
 
 If young children are allowed to eat pies, the cooked 
 fruit should be given them without the pastry. 
 
 Pure water, or molasses and water, is the only suita- 
 ble drink for children. Much of moral, as well as 
 bodily health, depends on the strict observance of this 
 rule. 
 
 Half the disorders of children might be prevented by 
 observing the state of their digestive organs, and regu- 
 lating diet accordingly. The frequent use of medicines 
 is a bad habit. 
 
 Let their clothes be large enough for perfect ease. 
 Avoid all manner of stays, belts, or braces ; these 
 things impede the free action of the lungs and heart, 
 and prevent the chest from acquiring healthy dimen- 
 sions. 
 
43 
 
 Shoes ought to be quite large enough, and well fitted 
 to the foot. The step is more free when stockings are 
 habitually fastened above the knee, and never too tightly. 
 
 Children who always sleep on one side of the bed, 
 or sit in one position at a writing-desk, or table, are apt 
 to grow one-sided. 
 
 Those inclined to stoop forward should often march 
 with a moderate weight balanced on the head. 
 
 Tickling, and pressing fingers on the eyes in sport, 
 are practices attended with danger. Lifting children by 
 the head, so that the whole weight hangs on the neck, 
 has sometimes occasioned instant death. 
 
 Girls of twelve years old should be candidly told of 
 an approaching change in their constitution, which 
 makes it very hazardous for them to wet their feet, or 
 stand in damp, cold places; particularly after they have 
 been exercising. Thousands of victims are sacrificed 
 to the false delicacy of mothers. 
 
 CHILDREN'S MEDICINES. 
 Table to assist the judgment loith regard to doses. 
 
 If a child of 12 years, take - 8 grains. 
 
 From 8 to 10 years - - - 6 | do. 
 From 5 to 7 years - - 6 do. 
 
 From 3 to 4 years - - - 5 do. 
 Of 2 years - - - - 4 do. ' 
 
 From 1 year to 18 months - - 3 do. 
 From 9 months to 1 year - 2 | do. 
 
 From 5 months to 8 months - 2 do. 
 
 From 2 months to 4 months - 1 do. 
 
 Of 1 month - - - _ i (Jq. 
 
 Medicines must not only be varied according to age, 
 but according to the constitutions of a child, and expe- 
 
44 children's medicines. 
 
 rience of their effects. One constitution will be strong- 
 ly operated upon by a dose that scarcely influences 
 another. A change of diet will often prevent the need 
 of medicine; and where it will answer the purpose, it 
 is always decidedly preferable. 
 
 Do not administer remedies in ardent spirits ; par- 
 ticularly if they be at all agreeable. An early fondness 
 for liquor is sometimes thus acquired. 
 
 Castor Oil 
 
 Is one of the best cathartics for children. Castor 
 oil should be made thin by warming before it is given ; 
 and is easiest to take when not mixed widi anything 
 else. A large tea-spoonful is a dose for a child from 
 one month to three months old ; a dessert-spoonful for 
 one from three to nine months old ; a table-spoonful for 
 one from nine months to two years old. Tliese are, 
 of course, mere general directions. Increasing, dimin- 
 ishing, or repeating the dose must be regulated by cir- 
 cumstances, of which the nurse must judge. This 
 medicine may be increased more safely than any olher. 
 
 When children have an insuperable objection to tak- 
 ing Castor oil, it may be effectually disguised in the 
 following manner. Boil it with an equal quantity of 
 new milk, sweeten it with sugar, and when cold give it 
 to them for drink. They will often love the taste of it. 
 
 Magnesia. 
 
 Considered one of the most proper medicines for 
 young children. Adapted to an acid state of the stom- 
 ach. One tea-spoonful may be given to a child of two 
 months ; a large tea-spoonful to a child of two years. 
 Best given thoroughly mixed with a little sweetened 
 milk. 
 
 Senna and Jalap. 
 
 Four grains of each, mixed with eight grains of 
 sugar, is a cathartic powder for a child of two years. 
 
children's medicines. 45 
 
 Rhubarb and Senna, 
 
 Rhubarb, six grains ; senna powder, five grains ; 
 mixed, and taken in syrup, or molasses. A mild 
 cathartic for a child of two years. 
 
 FlaJce Manna. 
 
 This is generally given as sweetening in the food 
 or drink of children. About quarter of an ounce for 
 an infant of two months ; half an ounce for a child of 
 two years. 
 
 Rhubarb Tea. 
 
 Pour a wine-glass of boiling water on half a drachm 
 of bruised rhubarb. When it is cool, strain it and 
 sweeten it. To a child of two years a tea-spoonful 
 may be given every two hours, until the color of the 
 discharges are changed by it. 
 
 Ipecacuanha Wine. 
 
 One tea-spoonful is usually an emetic for a child of 
 two years; and the same effect will be produced by five 
 grains of the powder. There is no risk in repeating 
 doses of Ipecac. 
 
 Laudanum. 
 
 Half a drop for a child under ten days old ; this may 
 be measured by putting a whole drop in some liquid, 
 and then giving half the quantity. An infant of a month 
 old, may take one drop; from that time to three months, 
 a drop and a half; from that age to nine months, three 
 drops; from nine months to eighteen, four drops ; from 
 that time to three years, five or six dro*|3s ; for each 
 succeeding year, a drop or two may be added. These 
 rules are founded upon the supposition that the child is 
 unaccustomed to its use. As an injection the quantity 
 5* 
 
46 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 for each age may be safely increased three or four 
 fold. Its qualities quieting, and veiy astringent. When 
 laudanum is old, it becomes thick, and is then much 
 more powerful ; in such a state, children have been 
 killed by doses that would not otherwise have injured 
 them. 
 
 Paregoric, which is a weaker form of opium, is given 
 to children, from five to twenty drops, according to the 
 age. 
 
 The free use of opiates cannot be too severely blam- 
 ed. Selfish nurses and careless mothers are too apt to 
 resort to them for the sake of putting a fretful child to 
 sleep ; and if they do not kill the poor creature, their 
 consciences are undisturbed. Fatal accidents are prob- 
 ably rare ; but the rickets, and other diseases, are 
 often the consequences of this bad habit ; and thousands 
 of children have their intellects stupified by it. It 
 should not be given except when distress renders it 
 absolutely necessary. Children, or young people, 
 should never be allowed to administer it to infants ; 
 neither should they be trusted to measure it for them- 
 selves — not even a few drops to apply to an aching 
 tooth. 
 
 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 Red Gum. 
 
 This consists of a small number of red pimples cov- 
 ering; the body, generally in the course of a month after 
 its birth. When it does not appear, there is often an 
 injudicious desire to invite its appearance, by keeping 
 the babe unusually warm, and feeding with stimulating 
 teas, such as sweet marjoram, saffron, catnip, &c. It 
 is far better to leave nature to its course. Children 
 who are kept in a moderate temperature, who depend 
 
DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 47 
 
 entirely upon the breast, and have been purged of the 
 7iiecoiuum, seldom have this disease. 
 
 If it does appear, it is merely necessary to wash it 
 daily in warm water ; avoid the cold bath, and currents 
 of air; and if tlie child be costive, administer some very 
 gentle laxative, if struck in by external cold, it some- 
 times occasions alarming symptoms, such as difficulty 
 of breathing, spasmodic twitchings, cold skin, &c. In 
 this case the child should remain in a warm bath until 
 its skin acquire warmth ; it should then be well dried, 
 and wrapped in warm flannel. At the same time some 
 mild stimulant, such as sweet marjoram tea, should be 
 given. The same observations apply to the White 
 Gum, which consists of numerous hard, whitish specks. 
 
 Scurf. 
 
 A crust that early forms on the top of the head. It 
 is generally owing to neglect, arising from the idea that 
 it is wrong to remove it ; but, without timely care, it 
 may produce ulceiation, and the disease called Scald 
 Head. To prevent it, all that is necessary is to wash 
 the head every morning with luke-warm water and fine 
 soap, wipe it with soft flannel, and brush it gently. 
 The use of a fine ivory comb generally produces irrita- 
 tion and increases the scurf. After the incrustation is 
 formed, it should be rubbed at night with sweet oil or 
 fresh lard, and washed off in the morning with a strong 
 solution of borax and water, applied a little warm, and 
 repeated daily until the scurf is removed. The solution 
 is made by dissolving an ounce of borax in three half 
 pints of boiling w ater. 
 
 Scald Head. 
 
 Ulcers form among the roots of the hair, discharge 
 ofl^ensive matter, and gradually spread. The disease 
 is infectious, and difficult to be cured. It originates \n 
 
48 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 want of cleanliness. The head should be kept closely 
 shaven, and daily washed with soap-suds, or lime-water. 
 Thorn-apple ointment, rubbed on gently every night, is 
 said to be the best remedy. Ointment made of tar and 
 sulphur is likewise recommended. The diet should be 
 very simple, and the bowels kept open by mild laxa- 
 atives, such as senna, jalap and senna in powder, &c. 
 The danger of taking cold ought to be avoided. The 
 infectious ring-worm, so called on account of very small 
 bladder-like pimples, extending in circles, geneially ap- 
 pears on the head and eye-brows. It should be treated 
 in the same manner as Scald Head. The Spirits of 
 Hartshorn, applied several times a day, has proved a 
 cure. Physic should be taken at the same time. 
 
 Crusta Lactea. 
 
 This usually begins on the cheeks or forehead of 
 nursing children, and gradually spreads. It consists of 
 small whitish bunches upon a very red surface ; they 
 change to yellow or brown, and break. It is trouble- 
 some, on account of itching day and night ; but rarely 
 does any mischief, and leaves no scar. 
 
 In order to have it pass lightly, all stimulating arti- 
 cles should be avoided. If the child be at the breast, 
 it should be nursed less frequently, and the mother strict- 
 ly confined to a milk and vegetable diet ; if weaned, 
 less milk should be given, and its food consist princi- 
 pally of thin arrow-root, or rennet-whey. At the same 
 time small doses of sulphur, or sulphur and magnesia 
 may be given, to keep the bowels gently open, but not 
 purged. 
 
 This disease sometimes assumes a violent form, and 
 it becomes necessary to use tar ointment, and a decoc- 
 tion of Lady's Delights. When the discharge is acrid, it 
 is well to wash the surrounding parts with fine soap and 
 water several times a day, and then rub on a litde fresh 
 lard and bees-wax melted together, to prevent its 
 spreading. 
 
DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 49 
 
 Humors. 
 
 Little children are often troubled with eruptions from 
 heat, which render them uncomfortable and fretful. It 
 is a great comfort to them to be sponged several times 
 a day witli lukewarm milk and water. 
 
 Rye-flour allays the tingling of humors, and absorbs 
 the irritating secretions ; wheat-flcur is often used, but 
 is less serviceable. Powdered starch is sprinkled on 
 the skin for the same purpose. 
 
 The lite Dr. Danforth very highly recommended 
 the use of soap in all common cutaneous eruptions. It 
 promotes frequent cleansing of the surface, which is of 
 the utmost importance ; and it destroys the irritating 
 secretions. Moisten hard soap,"-and rub it plentifully on 
 the humor, with the finiiers, or a soft rag. It should 
 be renewed once or twice a day. Wlien a burning, 
 itching sensation makes children restless in the night, 
 this application often gives relief; and there is no 
 danger of striking the humors inward. The older soap 
 is, the better for all medicinal purposes. The finer 
 kinds, such as Castile and old Windsor, are most appr- 
 priate for infants, because their skin is so tender. 
 
 The most inveterate humors have been cured by the 
 persevering use of dock-root ointment, and drinking a 
 decoction of the root at the same time. Wlienever 
 this and similar external applications are made, it is well 
 to take occasionally a tea-spqpnful of flour of sulphur, 
 stirred in molasses, and as often as once a week a 
 moderate dose of salts. The diet should be light, and 
 no acid or stimulating articles used. 
 
 In case of sudden and violent eruptions, it is always 
 prudent to consult a physician concerning their nature. 
 The attempt to scatter humors with sugar of lead, 
 and similar applications, is hazardous, and sometimes 
 fatal ; especially if saline purgatives be not taken at the 
 same time, and strong snake-root, to defend the stom- 
 ach. Of the soothing ointment, houseleek and plantain 
 freshly made, is one of the best. 
 
50 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 Water from a blacksmith's forge, or any water in 
 which hot iron has been repeatedly cooled, is excellent 
 to bathe scrofulous and other humors. 
 
 Sore Ears. 
 
 Chafing behind the ears may be healed by frequent 
 washing with warm milk and water, or fine soap and 
 water ; but from a false idea that they form a necessa- 
 ry drain for the body, they are often permitted to be- 
 come ulcerated sores, at once painful and offensive. 
 In this case, the child, if weaned, ought to live entirely 
 upon such articles as rice, arrow-root, and sago. The 
 sores should be frequently bathed with milk and water, 
 or fine soap and luke-warm water. Gentle purgatives 
 are to be administered. Avoid laying the child to sleep 
 upon the side affected, because warmth is injurious : for 
 the same reason, no cap should be worn. If the child is 
 disposed to scratch, let the hands be muffled. Bees-wax 
 and fresh lard form a soothing salve. In case of great 
 irritation a soft bread and milk poultice, confined in a bag 
 of fine old linen, and applied every four or five hours, 
 is useful ; it should be taken off as soon as the in- 
 flammation is subdued, lest it draw humors around the 
 margin. 
 
 Babys'' Sore Mouths. 
 
 This generally begins at the corners of the mouth, in 
 little eruptions resembling a coagulum of milk, and soon 
 spreads over the tongue and gums. In its milder forms 
 it is very white, but when more severe is dark brown, 
 or very red. The child slavers very much, and is 
 evidently painerl in sucking. There is generally a 
 great inclination to sleep, though the nap is often dis- 
 turbed by irritation of the bowels. The discharges are 
 very acrid, and generally their green color indicates 
 acidity. In this case, small doses of magnesia may be 
 repeatedly given. If there are frequent and watery dis- 
 charges, attended with pain, Dr. Dewees recom- 
 
DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 5l 
 
 mends the following preparation ; a tea-spoonful every 
 two hours, until the bowels are more tranquil : Cal- 
 cined Magnesia, 12 grains ; Laudanum, 3 drops ; 
 Loaf sugar, enough to make it sweet ; Water, quarter 
 of a gill. 
 
 If green stools be frequent, a drachm of prepared 
 chalk may be substituled for the magnesia ; or, if there 
 be no fear of diarrhea weakening too much, a scruple 
 of prepared chalk may be added to the magnesia ; this 
 is to destroy the acid, and at the same time prevent the 
 lax from being too soon checked. Where the green- 
 ness continues without diarrhea, lime-water and milk in 
 equal portions, a tea-spoonful four or five times a day, 
 is often a great advantage. 
 
 When the irritating discharges continue, especially if 
 there be streaks of blood, a tea-spoonful of the oil of 
 butter, three or four times a day, is very highly recom- 
 mended. This is prepared by pouring boiling water 
 on a lump of perfectly sweet butter, stirring it well, to 
 get out the salt, and then skimming off the oil. Gum- 
 arabic water is an extremely valuable remedy. 
 
 The best outward application consists of equal parts 
 of borax (borat of soda) and loaf sugar rubbed together, 
 till very fine, and sifted; a small quantity in a dry state to 
 be thrown into the mouth every hour in the day. The 
 child's mouth should not be rubbed with any thing to 
 cleanse it. The practice of scouring it with a piece of 
 flannel is at once useless and cruel. Borax and the 
 mother's milk are sufficient. The infant should take 
 nothing but the breast ; and if the milk be deficient or 
 unhealthy, a fresh nurse should be obtained. The 
 mother sliould avoid all fermented liquors, vegetables, 
 and other substances likely to sour on the stomach. 
 She may drink freely of rice-water, milk and water, 
 or toast and water. 
 
 The utmost attention should be paid to cleanliness 
 Diapers should not be used twice without washing. 
 After every discharge, the irritated parts should be 
 
52 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 waslipH in flax-seed tea, and frequently anointed with 
 fresh lard, or some very cooling ointment. 
 
 Ulceration of the Mouth. 
 
 It usually begins In a small inflamed point, and ex- 
 tends over the gums, and inside of the cheek. Usually 
 accompanied with fever and a restricted state of the 
 bowels. After freely purging with magnesia, until the 
 feverish sympton.s disappear, apply the following prep- 
 aration externally ; touching the ulcerations with it, 
 twice a day, on the point of a camel's hair pencil : 
 Blue vitriol, 10 grains ; Best Peruvian bark, powdered, 
 1 drachm; Gum arable, 1 drachm; Honey, 2 drachms; 
 Water, f of a gill; Dissolved and mixed. 
 
 Dr. Dewees says this is a speedy cure. 
 
 M)scess within the Ear. 
 
 Children afflicted with this, generally cry violently, 
 toss their heads about, and complain when the finger is 
 pressed externally against the ear. Their screams are 
 often attributed to colic ; but the remedies for that do 
 no good ; and it is not, like colic, accompanied with 
 wind in the bowels, drawing up of the legs, and cold- 
 ness of liands and feet. Dr. Dewees recommends the 
 application of a few leeches under the diseased ear, and 
 the introduction of a ^e\v drops of laudanum on lint. 
 
 When it discharges, it is very important that the parts 
 should be kept clean by frequent washing with fine soap 
 and warm water. After this operation, the canal of the 
 ear may be well bathed with a preparation made of 
 two tea-spoonfuls of lime-water, the same of milk, and 
 twenty drops of the Tincture of Myrrh. This mixture 
 should be prepared fresh every time it is wanted, and 
 thrown into the ear four or five times a day. The child 
 should be made to lie on the diseased side, that the 
 matter may be discharged freely. 
 
 If neglected, permanent deafness is sometimes the 
 
DISEASES OP CHILDREN. ^ 5^ 
 
 result. Where there is a continued succession of them 
 for a long time, an issue is recommended on the arm 
 of the side affected. 
 
 Teething, 
 
 This usually begins about the age of four months, 
 but is sometimes much later. With some it passes over 
 very lightly ; others suffer so extremely, as to bring on 
 convulsions, and even death. The first symptoms are 
 swelling and hardness of the gums, and the dribbling of 
 saliva from the mouth. The child is disposed to bite 
 every substance he can lay hold of. Sometimes his 
 sleep is feverish and restless, and he has a short, dry 
 cough. The second summer of a child's life is full of 
 perils. 
 
 Much trouble and danger might be avoided, if moth- 
 ers would carefully observe the state of the digestive or- 
 gans, and regulate diet carefully. If the child nurses, her 
 own food and drink should be very mild and easy of diges- 
 tion. If weaned, his nourishment should consist of sim- 
 ilar articles; for, during teething, there is a constant ten- 
 dency to disorders of the bowels. After the grinding teeth 
 are formed, food may become more varied and substan- 
 tial than before ; but still it should principally consist of 
 bread and milk, rice, arrow-root, &c. Small pieces 
 of bread, not recently baked, spread with butter, are safe 
 diet for teething children. If the butter be perfectly 
 sweet, it is medicinal ; otherwise it had better not be 
 used. 
 
 If the child's system is habitually relaxed, use mild 
 astringent food, such as cr^^kers and boiled milk, rice, 
 &c., and demulcent drinks; if it be in a restricted state, 
 let him drink new milk, sweetened with flake manna, 
 or W. I. molasses, and his food consist of articles 
 gently laxative. 
 
 Check the indiscreet kindness of friends, who would 
 tempt him with sweetmeats, cakes, fruit, &c. Let his 
 clothing be comfortably warm ; and if the weather be 
 6 
 
54 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 coo], make his shirts of soft flannel. Protect him from 
 morning and evening dews ; avoid cold baths, and do 
 not let him long remain wet. 
 
 Purgative doses of senna-tea, manna, magnesia, &c. 
 are sometimes necessary. If there is a good deal of in- 
 flammation in the bowels, and the discharges are 
 bloody, let them drink gum-arabic water, and take a 
 tea-spoonful of the syrup of white poppies once or 
 twice in the course of twenty-four hours. When the 
 skin is hot and dry, it is a great comfort to have the 
 body sponged with warm water, and wiped with a 
 squeezed sponge. In fine weather, moderate exercise 
 in the open air is salutary. The best thing for the child 
 to bite is aflat ivory ring, or a piece of India rubber. 
 The gums should be carefully inspected and rubbed. 
 If they are very much swollen and inflamed, a physi- 
 cian ought to be called to apply the lancet. The oper- 
 ation does little good unless the tooth is distinctly felt 
 by the instrument ; then it affords instant relief, and the 
 pain is exceedingly slight. Sometimes great inflam- 
 mation and swelling produce convulsive starting and 
 twitching of the fingers : these are certain signs of ap- 
 proaching danger. 
 
 Convulsions. 
 
 A physician should be called as quick as possible. 
 The child should be immersed in a warm bath, as high 
 as the hips, for ten or fifteen minutes ; and a brisk 
 emetic administered immediately. While the convul- 
 sions continue, sprinkle the face with the coldest water 
 that can be obtained. Have every part of the clothing 
 loose. If there is a hard, quick pulse, redness of face, 
 and aversion to the light, a leech ought to be applied to 
 each temple. After the emetic has operated freely, a 
 dose of jalap may be given. If the fits still continue, 
 after the fulness of the system has been reduced by the 
 foregoing measures, they will probably be removed by 
 administering to a child of two years one drop of 
 
DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 55 
 
 laudanum and two of essence of peppermint in a tea- 
 spoonful of water every four hours. 
 
 Worms. 
 
 The symptoms are generally paleness, offensive 
 breath, appetite voracious or diminished, habit of pick- 
 ing ihe nose, grinding the teeth, a tumid belly, and 
 severe, gnawing pains in the intestines. Children while 
 confined to their mother's milk are not subject to them. 
 The diet ought to be light and easy of digestion. Green 
 vegetables and unripe fruits are very injurious. Those 
 who eat freely of brown bread, and VV. I. molasses, 
 are said to be less liable to this complaint. Attention 
 should be paid to air and exercise. 
 
 Of all the remedies for worms, none are so highly ex- 
 tolled as the Carolina Pink Root. Take a quantity 
 suitable to the age, and pour upon it half a pint of pretty 
 strong boiling coffee, and let it steep. Pour half of it 
 into a cup with cream and sugar, and let the child drink 
 it in the morning, as if it were real coffee ; the other 
 half may be given at tea time ; bread and butter may be 
 eaten with it, as usual. This should be repeated three 
 days in succession ; on the fourth, should the bowels 
 not be opened, give a dose of castor oil, or senna-tea. 
 Dr. Dewees says, " We have safely prescribed this rem- 
 edy many hundred times. For children from one year to 
 two, we give but two drachms of Pink Root ; for those 
 from two to five, one third of an ounce ; from five to 
 twelve, half an ounce. We do not believe it safe to go 
 beyond these doses ; and we are certain these quantities 
 are sufficient, whenever this plant is the proper remedy. 
 It may be used with perfect safety when fever is pres- 
 ent." If the root has been freshly dug, the doses 
 ought to be diminished considerably ; at least until the 
 effects have been tried. It is disguised in coffee mere- 
 ly because children dislike the taste of it very much. 
 Sometimes an infusion is made of a quarter of an ounce 
 of Pink Root with one drachm of powdered senna, 
 
56 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 Steeped in half a pint of boiling water. A child of two 
 years may take a table-spoonful sweetened, twice a day, 
 as long as the symptoms continue ; if it operates too 
 powerfully, the rhubarb may be omitted for a while. 
 
 Worm-seed oil, made from the seed of Jerusalem 
 Oak, has high reputation, and is more conveniently ad- 
 ministered to very young children than the Pink Root. 
 Printed directions accompany each bottle. Sometimes 
 the powdered seed are given mixed with twice their 
 quantity of honey, or syrup ; a child of two or three 
 years may take a table-spoonful morning and evening. 
 Sometimes the seed are merely spread on bread and 
 butter. When the expressed juice of the plant is used, a 
 table-spoonful is a common dose for a child of two 
 or three years. It is often necessary to continue it for 
 several days. Where there are feverish symptoms this 
 medicine should not be administered in any form. After 
 taking it, no nourishment should be given for some 
 hours. 
 
 The juice of wormwood, with an equal quantity of 
 castor oil, is recommended for worms. A child of 
 twelve years may take a table-spoonful of each. 
 
 DitFerent species of worms are affected by different 
 remedies. For the Ascarides, or thread-worm, which 
 cause a very uncomfortable itching about the seat, 
 aloes are considered a remedy. Therefore, twenty 
 drops of elixir proprietatis are often given in a little 
 sweetened milk, morning, noon, and evening, to chil- 
 dren from two to four years ; and thirty drops to those 
 from five to seven. A tea-spoonful of the elixir in a 
 wine-glass of warm milk, used at bed time, as an in- 
 jection, two or three times a week, is beneficial. 
 
 Whooping Cough. 
 
 This begins like a common cold, with hoarseness, 
 short fits of coughing, and some fever. The peculiar 
 whooping sound, which gives its name, sometimes 
 
DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 57 
 
 comes on very early, sometimes late, and more rarely 
 not at all. It is aboi.it six weeks reaching its height, 
 and the same in declining. Proper attention as soon 
 as the hoarseness begins, would generally prevent the 
 disease from assuming a severe form. Through the 
 whole disorder, the diet should be very low, and free 
 use made of demulcent drinks, like flax-seed tea, slip- 
 pery elm, &c. W. I. molasses mixed with linseed oil 
 and eaten plentifully on brown bread, is good diet. In 
 the absence of linseed oil, pure sweet oil may be used. 
 All animal food or broths must be avoided. Rennet 
 whey is preferable to milk. Doses of castor oil should 
 be given. After purging, small doses of Ipecacuanha, 
 or syrup of squills, or Coxe's hive syrup, may be given 
 to promote expectoration ; or, if there is great oppres- 
 sion and evident accumulation of phlegm, it should be 
 given in quantities sufficient to vomit. For a child of 
 three or four months, eight drops of the hive syrup 
 every hour or two is enough to promote expectoration: 
 if it is desirable to have it act as an emetic, give the 
 same dose every fifteen minutes. Alter the proportions 
 according to the age of the patient, and the effect pro- 
 duced on different constitutions. Coxe's hive syrup is 
 made thus : Seneca snake-root, bruised; squills, dried 
 and bruised; each half a pound; water, half a pint. 
 Boil over a slow fire till the water is half consumed ; 
 strain it, and add four pints of strained honey ; boil this 
 to the consistence of syrup, and add sixteen grains of 
 tartar emetic to every pound of it. 
 
 This disease is peculiarly troublesome to infants, be- 
 cause they cannot bring up the phlegm, except by vom- 
 iting. They should feed only upon their mother's milk, 
 and the bowels be kept open with castor oil. 
 
 Some consider whooping cough contagious ; others 
 an epidemic in the air. It is often avoided by change of 
 neighborhood. 
 
 Sometimes a chronic cough remains, which may end 
 in permanent debility. Garlic is very highly recom- 
 mended for this. A child of six or seven years may 
 6* 
 
58 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 begin by taking a third of a common-sized clove, morn- 
 ing, noon, and evening ; gradually increasing the dose 
 as the system becomes accustomed to it. One of ten 
 years may begin with half a clove, three times a day ; 
 and so on for greater ages. 
 
 Change of air is extremely important. To walk or 
 ride out, to go from the city to the country, or from 
 the country to the city, is very desirable. During the 
 first stages, however, when the lungs are easily inflam- 
 ed, the patient should be kept in a moderate tempera- 
 ture, and not suddenly exposed to cold. 
 
 If vaccination has never been performed, it greatly 
 relieves the cough to try it about the sixth week of its 
 progress. 
 
 Mumps. 
 
 This is a swelling of the glands, sometimes on one 
 cheek, sometimes on both. It increases for three or 
 four days, then lessens, and generally disappears in 
 three or four more. The swelling is hard and slight- 
 ly painful ; generally of little consequence, especial- 
 ly if it be in the warmer season of the year, and 
 unaccompanied with fever. ^Vash the swelling with a 
 decoction of poppy-heads and chamomile flowers, or 
 warm sweet oil, and keep them warm with flannel. 
 Live low, and use mild purgatives. In case of feverish 
 symptoms, drink a solution of cream of tartar, or other 
 cooling liquids. Great care is necessary about taking 
 cold; for this sometimes occasions the disease to change 
 its place, and produces painful disorders. Should this 
 accident take place, send for a physician. 
 
 Croup^ or Hives. 
 
 This disease is exceedingly dangerous, and often 
 suddenly fatal. A physician should be immediately 
 called ; and in the mean time not a moment lost in ap- 
 plying remedies. These ought always to be at hand. 
 
 >.^*- 
 
DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 59 
 
 where there are children ; for the attack is generally in 
 the night. Fat, florid children are peculiarly suhject to 
 it, especially if they live near water, or where the air is 
 cold and moist. It is an inflammation about the wind- 
 pipe, causing a thick mucous membrance very hard to 
 break. It comes on in two ways. 1st. By hoarseness, 
 perceived in the cough, but not in the speech ; the 
 difficulty of breathing, attended with a hissing noise, 
 gradually increases for several days, the face becomes 
 red, the veins of the neck full, the skin hot, &c. 2d. It 
 comes on suddenly and violently, with a shrill, sonorous 
 cough, flushed face, painful labor in breathing, &c. 
 
 Dr. Dewces says, " If your inexperienced ear can- 
 not distinguish the shrill, metallic ringing called the 
 'croupy sound,' instantly proceed upon the supposition 
 that any hoarseness may be of the dangerous kind ; 
 especially as the remedies employed for one kind will 
 certainly relieve the other. If appropriate remedies 
 were applied in the forming stage of croup, we have 
 every reason to believe that this formidable complaint 
 could be stopped in nineteen cases out of twenty." 
 
 When hoarseness is perceived, inflame the throat by 
 the external application of spirits of turpentine, or 
 hartshorn, or mustard and vinegar — not continued to 
 blistering. When it is removed, cover the throat with 
 flannel, or something warm. At the same time admin- 
 ister, in doses suitable to the age, the compound syrup 
 of squills, or Coxe's hive syrup, as an expectorant ; or, 
 if the breathing be much disturbed, give enough for an 
 emetic. 
 
 A tea-spoonful would probable act as an expecto- 
 rant for a child of two years old ; and if repeated a few 
 times at intervals of fifteen minutes, would act as an 
 emetic. 
 
 The diet should be very low, confined to barley- 
 water, flax-seed tea, and similar articles. The patient 
 should be kept in an atmosphere of moderate tempera- 
 ture, and care be taken about exposure to the cold, or 
 a draught of air. This ^^ret'en^a^ii;^ system is very 
 
60 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 highly commended by Dr. Dewees, on the strength of 
 his own exj3erience. 
 
 In cases of sudden and violent attacks, bold remedies 
 must be used, and whatsoever is done must be done 
 quickly. The first object is to induce vomiting, and 
 the second, perspiration. The following is the course 
 pursued by an old and experienced physician of Bos- 
 ton, who has been remarkably successful in cases of 
 croup. Apply moistened tobacco to the throat and 
 chest ; warm it a little first, if convenient ; this will 
 probably induce vomiting. Tben steep a long-nine 
 cigar in a cup of hot water ; to a child of two years, 
 give a table-spoonful of the liquor, warm, every ten or 
 fifteen minutes, unless it vomit freely without a con- 
 tinued repetition. A child of eight years might take 
 twice the quantity. The nauseating should be continu- 
 ed for twenty-four hours, provided any of the croupy 
 sound remains ; because for two or three days this dis- 
 ease is very liable to renew its attacks. Instead of 
 tobacco leaves to the throat and chest, some apply a 
 cloth well covered with goose oil, hen's oil, or fresh 
 lard, and plentifully sprinkled with yellow Scotch snuff; 
 a soft poultice of crumbs, or meal, with a quantity of 
 snuff stirred in, is thought to have still more of the 
 strength of tobacco. 
 
 Many are afraid of,tobacco, on account of its power- 
 ful properties. The experienced physician, already 
 alluded to, declares that he never knew, or heard, of 
 any person's being killed by swallowing tobacco ; and 
 his assertion is supported by the celebrated Sir Asdey 
 Cooper, who says that in the whole course of his im- 
 mensely extensive practice, he never knew of an indi- 
 vidual destroyed in that way. Taken by injection^ it 
 is very often fatal. An excess of tobacco-tea produces 
 nausea, giddiness, &c. ; but these disagreeable effects 
 soon pass away ; and they are nothing, compared with 
 the danger of not arresting the croup in season. 
 
 To induce perspiration, the feet and legs should be 
 put in warm water, wiped, and well covered with -wool- 
 
DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 61 
 
 len. The child should be put in a warm bed, with his 
 head a little elevated. Warm flax-seed tea, with one 
 or two grains of Ipecac stirred in it, helps both perspi- 
 ration and expectoration. 
 
 Those who do not choose to use tobacco, should in- 
 duce speedy vomiting by giving a child of two years 
 three tea-spoonfuls of the wine of Ipecac. The opera- 
 tion may be assisted with warm water, and a little more 
 Ipecac at short intervals, if necessary. 
 
 When the skin becomes moist, and the cough sounds 
 loose, there is no more need of powerful emetics ; but 
 keep up the nausea with warm flax-seed tea, or warm 
 water, with a few grains of Ipecac, as long as there are 
 any remains of the croupy cough. 
 
 Some resort to purging as well as vomiting ; but this 
 is wrong. The cliild's strength becomes so much ex- 
 hausted by this double process, that there is no power 
 to contend with the disease, and he sometimes dies of 
 weakness. For this reason, if diarrhea comes on in the 
 midst of croup, it should be checked with a few drops 
 of laudanum. 
 
 No physic should be given for at least tw^o days ; and 
 strength should be recruited with arrow-root, sago jelly, 
 &c. When the croup is fairly over, if the bowels are 
 at all restricted, give doses of castor oil. Repeat this 
 without fear, once or twice a day, to almost any extent, 
 until it operates. At the same time let the child be 
 nourished with a little chicken broth, or other light 
 food, not astringent. Guard him from exposure to cold, 
 damp air. 
 
 The following is recommended by a skilful nurse, 
 who has often tried it very successfully, particular- 
 ly in the last stages of croup, when a membrane is 
 formed in the throat. Immediately give the patient 
 snufF until it sneezes several times. Into a gill of mo- 
 lasses, a table-spoonful of sw^eet oil, and the juice of one 
 lemon, stir as much cayenne pepper as is suitable to 
 the age. A child of five years would probably bear a 
 small tea-spoonful. Give a tea-spoonful of this mixture 
 quite often, till it affords relief. If a lemon is not at 
 
62 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 hand, use sharp vinegar. At the same time, cover the 
 throat, and upper part of the chest, with a flannel well 
 soaked in goose oil, pig's foot oil, or sweet oil, and 
 hghtly sprinkled over with cayenne. Apply the warm 
 bath to the feet, and induce perspiration as above di- 
 rected, with warm water, or flax-seed tea, mixed with 
 Ipecac. Repeat the sneezing quite often. 
 
 As it takes some minutes to mix the preparation 
 mentioned above, it would be well in the mean time to 
 moisten the thioat by pouring down a table-spoonful of 
 goose oil, sweet oil, or something of the kind. 
 
 Succeeding attacks of croup are less violent and dan- 
 gerous than the first. 
 
 Scarlet Fever, 
 
 This is frequent, extensive,' and very often fatal. 
 Many think it contagious. As soon as its presence is 
 suspected, a physician should be called. Like other 
 fevers, it begins with chillness, fulness of the head, las- 
 situde, nausea, &c. The surface soon becomes red 
 and hot, the throat and tongue inflamed, and covered 
 with little points of an intensely deep scarlet blue. On 
 the second or third day the skin becomes very hot, sen- 
 sitive, and covered with a bright red eruption, which 
 appears first on the neck and face. It usually continues 
 about four days. 
 
 The worst species of scarlet fever often comes on 
 very suddenly. The patient becomes pale, sick, faint, 
 and giddy. 
 
 In its simple form it sometimes passes lightly, with 
 little medical aid. The first thing is to administer a 
 smart emetic of Ipecacuanha. After free vomiting, use 
 a brisk dose of castor oil, or magnesia. From time to 
 time give mild diaphoretics ; as a few grains of Ipecac 
 stirred in warm flax-seed tea. The diet should be very 
 low ; all mixtures of animal food, spices, and liquors 
 fermented or distilled, should be carefully avoided. 
 
 Some time after purging with castor oil, a dose of 
 
DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 63 
 
 salts may be given. When there is pain in the head, 
 and the pulse is full and hard, physicians always resort 
 to bleeding. If the fever continues to run high, emetics 
 may be repeated. AVhen the skin is hot and dry, 
 sponging with cool vinegar and water is comforting; but 
 if this produces chillness, use warm water only. If the 
 eruption takes place imperfectly, or suddenly recedes, 
 the warm bath is highly recommended. 
 
 An infusion made of a tea-spoonful of cayenne pep- 
 per, steeped an hour in a pint of boiling water, stirred 
 and strained, is much praised as a gargle, appropriate to 
 the first stages of the disease, when the throat is not 
 ulcerated. 
 
 To cleanse foul ulcers in the throat, emetics are re- 
 commended, follou-ed by a gargle made of a tee-spoon- 
 ful, or less, of Muriatic acid in a gill of water, either 
 with or without honey. If ^he child is too young to 
 gargle, the throat is syringed. 
 
 The favorable symptoms of scarlet fever are, slower 
 pulse, decreasing heat and redness, and the return of re- 
 freshing sleep. The danger is generally considered over 
 after the ninth day. During convalescence, the diet 
 should continue very low. The I'oom should be kept 
 cool from the beginning ; warmth increases the head- 
 ache and fever. 
 
 This disease is often followed by dropsical afFecdons. 
 This ought to be relieved by purging, and saline diuret- 
 ics, as nitre and squills. Children between three and 
 seven years may take one fourth of a grain of squills, 
 mixed with eight grains of nitre, three or four times a 
 day. Those between seven and fifteen years may take 
 twelve grains of nitre with half a grain of squills. Blood- 
 letting is sometimes necessary. 
 
 Measles. 
 
 These begin like a cold, with hoarseness, difficult 
 breathing, drowsiness, inflamed eyes, and considerable 
 fever. Sneezing almost always attends this complaint. 
 In a few days, small red spots, perceptible to the touch. 
 
64 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 appear on the face and neck, and spread over the body; 
 about the fifth day they usually turn pale brown, and oa 
 the eighth or ninth disappear. Unlike other eruptive 
 connplaints, the fever increases with the eruption. Scar- 
 let fever is the only disease for which it can be mistaken; 
 but it is distinguished from that by sneezing, watery 
 eyes, severe cough, and an eruption less vivid in color. 
 Measles are attended with inflammatory symptoms ; 
 sometimes highly so. For this reason, the common 
 practice of giving Ijeating teas, wine-whey, milk-punch, 
 &c., to throw out the eruption, is often injurious. It 
 ought to disappear on the eighth or ninth day, in the 
 course of nature. If it abruptly disappears, two or three 
 days after it comes, it is a bad sign ; especially if it be 
 attended by severe vomiting, or diarrhea. It is a very 
 general custom to use snake-root and safFron-tea, to 
 send out the eruptions on such occasions ; but Dr. 
 Bigelow says it is better to bring them back with dia- 
 phoretic, or even emetic doses of ipecac, in warm flax- 
 seed-tea ; this is probably recommended because it is 
 certain not to increase the fever. Warm baths are good 
 to bring out the eruption. The best thing to prevent the 
 measles from striking in, is to guard the patient from any 
 current of air, and keep the darkened room of a moderate 
 and equal degree of warmth. Dr. Dewees says, "It 
 should not exceed sixty-four or five degrees; sixty, per- 
 haps, would be the best standard. It is never proper to 
 keep the patient hot, by either a heated atmosphere or 
 bed-clothes." It is not advisable to cool the skin by 
 sponging, because it is apt to increase the cough. 
 
 Castor oil, or senna-tea, given in doses to operate 
 freely. The diet should be very low, and without the 
 slightest mixture of animal juices, spices, wine, &c. 
 The drink should consist entirely of such things as gum 
 arabic water, flax-seed-tea, barley-water, &c. 
 
 To appease the cough that always attends measles, 
 the pectoral syrup may be used, or a little paragoric in 
 flax-seed-tea. For small children, the syrup of poppies 
 is much recommended. It may be given in the night 
 
DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 65 
 
 or day, as necessity arises ; a tea-spoonful is sufficient 
 for an infant six months old ; a dessert-spoonful for one 
 of two years. The cough sometimes continues after 
 all other symptoms have disappeared. This must not 
 be neglected, even if it be not severe ; for the result is 
 often fatal. The diet should be strictly confined to 
 milk and vegetables for some time after recovering from 
 measles : great care should be taken about exposure to 
 cold or damp ; and in cold, or cool -tveather, flannel 
 should be worn next to the skin. Pectoral syrup, flax- 
 seed-tea, and similar things loosening to the cough, may 
 be given ; and if the state of the system requires it, 
 gentle laxatives should be used. 
 
 The measles is an epidemic disease, much milder 
 some seasons than others. Experienced mothers some- 
 times carry their children through it, without medical 
 aid ; yet this is a daring practice ; for it is a complaint 
 of which very many die. Dr. Dewees attributes this 
 fatality, in a great measure, to the use of heating teas, 
 and stimulating articles. to bring out the eruption, and to 
 a want of care in keeping the diet very mild and low 
 during recovery. 
 
 When the eruption comes out imperfectly in the be- 
 ginning, when the spots are pale, and there is a good 
 deal of fever, it is very unfavorable. 
 
 When the eruption strikes in, with shivering, or de- 
 lirium, the danger is very great. 
 
 Mettle Rash. 
 
 This is very apt to attack teething children. It is a 
 florid eruption accompanied with a very stinging sensa- 
 tion. The fever and itching both increase toward night. 
 It is very apt to arise from takin^; acids ; such as green 
 fruit, cabbage and vinegar, lemonade when the body is 
 heated, &c. 
 
 It is common- to give salts for this disease ; but they 
 are decidedly injurious. jMagnesia should be freely 
 prescribed, because the intention is to counteract acid : 
 7 
 
66 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 taken by itself, or mixed with rhubarb, it is the most 
 proper and certain purgative. Lime-water and milk 
 may also be given, particularly when the eruption has 
 continued several days. Milk diet should be adhered 
 to, and no solid food taken. If there be no fever, chick- 
 en tea and beef tea may be given. Plain water, or 
 toast and water, not too cold, are the best drinks. 
 Lemonade is sometimes given, but the effect is very 
 bad. 
 
 To relieve the itching, rye or wheat flour may be 
 rubbed on. Soap, rubbed on with the moistened finger, 
 or sponge, is a great relief. 
 
 If the eruption all disappears suddenly, it often pro- 
 duces serious consequences, though it is rarely fatal. 
 Warm snake-root and saffron tea should be given im- 
 mediately ; the patient should be covered in bed ; and 
 if the feet and legs be cold, put them into warm water 
 wiih mustard in it. 
 
 Inflammation of the Throat. 
 
 This comes on with huskiness, and next with pain and 
 inflammation. Wiien recent and mild, flannel, or a 
 stocking bound on-warm from the foot, will often cure it. 
 A tea-spoonful of salt, and a sprinkle of cayenne stirred 
 in a tumbler of cold water, and used half at a time, eve- 
 ry hour in the day, is an excellent gargle. After the 
 throat becomes very sore, it is better to use warm gargles 
 of sage tea, honey and water, vinegar and water, &c. It 
 is well to inflame the throat by the outward application 
 of spirits of turpentine, or mustard and vinegar. When 
 there is a good deal of fever, emetics and cathartics 
 should be administered ; and sometimes blood-letting is 
 necessary. 
 
 This disease is almost always occasioned by taking 
 cold. Some are peculiarly liable to it, particularly after 
 they have once had it. Washing the throat every morn- 
 ing with cold water is said to be a preventive ; and 
 gargling with water that has alum dissolved in it is much 
 recommended for the same purpose. 
 
DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 67 
 
 Diarrhea, 
 
 Many have been killed by using powerful astringents 
 to check this disease in its first stages. The cause 
 should always be removed by the use of cathartics. An 
 acid state of the stomach is indicated by frequent and 
 light green discharges, with curdled milk, sour eructa- 
 tions, &c. ; in this case, magnesia is the best physic. 
 In bilious diarrhea, or " summer complaint," the dis- 
 charges are apt to be bright yellow ; if so, purge with 
 castor oil ; if they are frequent and green, use magnesia 
 and rhubarb. Rennet-whey, both as food and drink, 
 answers an admirable purpose in bilious diarrhea. 
 
 For mucous discharges, often produced by sudden 
 check of perspiration, improper use of the cold bath, 
 &c., give castor oil and rhubarb tea, in laxative rather 
 than purgative doses. 
 
 Where a good deal of pain and fever attend, castor 
 oil is the best physic, given in appropriate doses every 
 two hours till it operates freely. The occasional use of 
 the warm bath is likewise recommended, to allay the 
 fever. 
 
 In some cases, diarrhea is produced by worms. 
 Where this is suspected, anthelmintics should be ad- 
 ministered. 
 
 During the whole course of diarrhea, of every kind, 
 great attention should be paid to diet. But little food 
 should be taken, and none of a solid kind. Water-gru- 
 el, thick gum arabic water, &c. are the proper arti- 
 cles ; the latter is particularly good to allay inflamma- 
 tion. Drink should be avoided, and the face and 
 hands often sponged with cool water. The lips may 
 be occasionally moistened with flax-seed tea, barley- 
 water, &c. 
 
 The oil of butter is very salutary and soothing in most 
 stages of chronic diarrhea. [For the manner of pre- 
 paring this, see Baby's Sore Mouth, p. 51.] 
 
 Tea made of fresh lamb-suet, and sweetened with 
 loaf sugar, has often been found very healing and nuti'i- 
 tious in the last stages of diarrhea, when the stomach re- 
 
68 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 jected almost every kind of food. A tea-spoonful may 
 be given at once, and increased as the patient can 
 bear it. 
 
 Nursing children should be kept entirely upon breast 
 milk ; if lately weaned, restoration to it will greatly 
 contribute to recovery. If the milk is suspected to 
 be unhealthy, procure a fresh nurse. Tlie child ought 
 not to nurse frequently ; especially if tlie diarrhea be 
 accompanied with much fever, or there be a coagu- 
 lum of milk discharged. 
 
 When the stomach is acid, very little milk should be 
 given at any age, unless it be diluted with lime-water. 
 Of these, mixed in equal portions, a tea-spoonful every 
 hour or two may be given to an infant of six months, 
 and two or three times as much to older children. 
 
 After the bowels have been thoroughly purged, if 
 there be no fever, and the patient still continues restless 
 and in pain, paregoric or laudanum may be used at night, 
 to induce sleep. Sometimes it is necessary to mix it 
 with injections. If the feet and legs are cold, woollen 
 stockings should be put on ; and jt may be well to rub 
 them, after bathing in warm mustard and water. If the 
 bowels are cold, they should be often rubbed with the 
 bare warm hand, and covered with flannel. The child 
 should not sit on cold painted floors, or marble steps, 
 or stand in a current of air. 
 
 When decidedly recovering, boiled rice may be eaten 
 with sugar and nutmeg : a little chicken tea may be 
 taken, or a small piece of ham sucked. 
 
 Children habitually troubled with weak, cold bowels, 
 accompanied witli frequent diarrhea, should eat white 
 bread and crackers, rice, &c. Their food and medi- 
 cines should be sweetened with loaf sugar. If molasses 
 be used, it should be sugar baker's. The milk they 
 eat should be boiled. They should drink but little, 
 and that of bland, demulcent articles, like flax-seed tea, 
 low-mallows tea, gum arabic water, warm milk and mo- 
 lasses, &c. iNlilk thoroughly warmed with a hot iron, 
 after the manner of making flip, is excellent for a re- 
 
DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 69 
 
 laxed state of the bowels. An admirable medicine for 
 such cases is an equal portion of castor oil and paregor- 
 ic ; children of two years may take a tea-spoonful at a 
 time, till it operates sufficiently. Diarrhea ought never 
 to be neglected, especially in hot weather, and the cool 
 of autumn. 
 
 Cholera Infantum. 
 
 A dangerous disease, requiring the early advice of 
 physicians. It sometimes comes on as simple diarrhea, 
 and sometimes with vomiting, purging, and spasms, like 
 cholera morbus. The eyes are fierce, or languid, and 
 in sleep half closed. Thirst is intense, but water is 
 vomited as soon as drank. To appease the child, it is 
 best to give a tea-spoonful at a time, as warm as con- 
 venient. Gentle purgatives are generally employed in 
 preference to emetics ; especially castor oil. If medi- 
 cine cannot be retained by reason of violent vomiting, 
 nothing is so certain, or so prompt,, as an injection of a 
 gill of warm water, in which a large tea-spoonful of 
 common salt is dissolved : this is for a child a year old, 
 and upward, proportionably less for younger. 
 
 However frequent the discharges may be, the injec- 
 tion must be given. Should it not bring anything off, 
 it must be repeated, and an attempt made to force it 
 high into the bowels; or, should the vomiting continue, 
 it must again be tried in half an hour. Dr. Dewees 
 says, " We have a hundred times seen this simple plan 
 give entire relief." The virtue of the injection de- 
 pends on the salt. A tea-spoonful of strong coffee, 
 without sugar or milk, every fifteen minutes, has great 
 power to tranquilize the stomach. It should especially 
 be given to very young children ; but all ages would 
 profit by it in larger doses. When the legs and feet 
 are cold, they are rubbed with warm vinegar and mus- 
 tard, or cayenne, until the skin be inflamed. When 
 some parts of the body are parching hot, and others 
 7* 
 
70 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 very cold, blisters are recommended, and frequent warm 
 baths. 
 
 These things are mentioned in case a doctor cannot 
 be obtained ; but medical aid should be sought, by all 
 means. 
 
 This disease may be brought on by too early wean- 
 ing ; and restoration to the breast will sometiuies eftect 
 a cure. The child must not be allowed to satisfy bis 
 thirst by sucking too much, or too often. 
 
 Those who do not nurse should be fed exclusively on 
 rice-water and milk, barley-water, and gum arabic-water, 
 during the first stages ; and afterwards with very thin 
 arrow-root, sago, or rice. When no fever is present, 
 a very little piece of ham, or salt fish, may be allowed. 
 The drinks should consist of balm-tea, marsh-mallows 
 tea, or water with toasted bread in it. Worsted stock- 
 ings, and flannel next to the skin, are recommended ; 
 and if the child is teething, the gums should be lanced 
 when they appear swollen and inflamed. 
 
 The sovereign remedy is change of air. If not too 
 early in the season, remove from the city to the coun- 
 try. At all events let the child ride out often, and, if 
 possible, cross a river, when the weather is suitable. 
 
 Vomithig. 
 
 The most healthy babies will often throw up curdled 
 milk, because the process of digestion naturally produces 
 this change. But if they throw it up a few minutes 
 after receiving it, especially if they continue to do so 
 repeatedly, it is a sign of an acid stomach, and it some- 
 times becomes necessary to attend to it. For children 
 under a year, a tea-spoonful of lime-water, and as much 
 milk, once an hour, will generally be sufficient. If the 
 bowels be loose, the following mixture may be given, a 
 tea-spoonful every hour or two ; a tea-spoonful of cal- 
 cined magnesia in eight or ten tea-spoonfuls of water or 
 milk, with three or four drops of laudanum, and a little 
 sugar. If the child be costive, the laudanum must be 
 
DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 71 
 
 omitted. An injection of salt and water will almost 
 always stop iticessant vomiting. (*See Cholera hi' 
 fantiim, p. 69.) 
 
 When children vomit merely from an overloaded 
 stomach, or the use of improper food, it should be en- 
 coura2;ed with warm water, or warm chamomile tea, till 
 the offending substance is removed. After this, an in- 
 jection is sometimes necessary. 
 
 Colic. 
 
 Usually occasioned by wind, or by the mother's eat- 
 ing improper food. The child moans, or lauglis, in its 
 sleep; wakes suddenly; cries out violently; and, u hen 
 in great pain, draws its limbs up toward iis body. Warm 
 catnip tea sweetened, or an infusion of carroway or 
 fennel seed are in common use on such occasions. But 
 a much better remedy is the following: — Boil a tea- 
 spoonful of mustard-seed with a crust of toasted bread 
 in half a pint of water, about half an hour. Sweeten it, 
 and give as many tea-spoonfuls of the liquid as the child 
 seems to desire. If the pain arises from wind, tliis 
 will soon quiet it. 
 
 When the child throws up curdled milk soon after it 
 is swallowed, and its bowels are restricted, half a tea- 
 spoonful of magnesia, stirred in warm catnip-tea, is ben- 
 eficial. 
 
 Restricted State -of the System. 
 
 When the colic is accompanied with costiveness 
 and heat, small doses of warm sweet oil, or castor oil, 
 may be safely repeated every hour or two, till they pro- 
 duce effect. In obstinate cases, laxative injections are 
 necessary. For babes, a suppository of soap is often 
 useful. This consists of a round piece of hard soap, 
 about as big as a quill, tapering to a point ; to be dipped 
 in uarm water, sweet oil, or fresh lard, and applied like 
 an injection pipe. Sometimes it is a relief to rub the 
 
72 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 bowels gently with warm flannel, or rub on a little cam- 
 phorated spirits with the warm hand. 
 
 Children troubled with restricted habits should often 
 eat soft rye hasty-pudding, or wheat mush, with W. I. 
 molasses. Very warm W. I. molasses and water is 
 gently laxative, and if taken when goins; to bed, produces 
 perspiration. It is an excellent remedy for small chil- 
 dren that have taken cold and are feverish. New milk, 
 sweetened with W. I. molasses, is mildly laxative and 
 nutritious, and is a very good regulator when the bowels 
 are in any way out of order. Taken freely, it often 
 does perceptible good, when the stomach rejects more 
 active medicines. 
 
 Rickets. 
 
 The most common symptoms are the head unusually 
 large, bones growing crooked, countenance grave, flesh 
 soft and loose, and appetite feeble. Some weakly chil- 
 dren have a predisposition to it. But it is generally 
 brought on by want of nourishment ; indigestible or fer- 
 mented food ; want of exercise, and pure air; lying in 
 wet cradles with foul clothing ; or the frequent use of 
 opiate medicines and spirituous liquors. 
 
 Its cure depends more upon nursing than medicine ; 
 though doses of rhubarb are sometimes necessary. The 
 child should be gently exercised in the arms, and cheer- 
 fulness encouraged by play. Its limbs should be fre- 
 quently rubbed with the warm hand, and with the essence 
 of ivormwood. Cold bathing is good, if it can be borne; 
 but discontinue it the moment it seems injurious. The 
 open air, in fine weather, is very beneficial ; but ex- 
 tremes of heat and cold should be carefully avoided. 
 The clothing should be merely comfortable; for perspi- 
 ration and chills both tend to increase the disorder. 
 The food should be dry and nourishing ; such as rice, 
 toasted bread, chickens, conserve of roses, &c. Ton- 
 ics, such as wormwood-tea, or Peruvian bark, night 
 and morning, have an excellent effect, if children can be 
 persuaded to take them. 
 
DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 73 
 
 Dropsy in the Head. 
 
 This complaint is often produced by unnaturally 
 forcing the intellect of children, from the unpardonable 
 vanity of having them appear as prodigies. It likewise 
 originates in various other causes. The first symptoms 
 are fretfulness and debility. The child leaves his toys, 
 and goes somewliere to recline his head; he sliuns light, 
 and is averse to motion ; one or both his cheeks are 
 flushed, his tongue is furred, and there is a freqiient in- 
 clination to vomit. As the disorder proceeds, he rubs 
 his head on the pillow, squints, moans, and starts in his 
 sleep ; and his eyes assume a brilliant, glassy appear- 
 ance. As soon as you suspect the presence of this 
 disease, send for a skilful doctor with all speed. I 
 have heard of one child, given over by the physicians, 
 whose life was thou2;ht to be saved, by having his head 
 shaved, covered with a poultice of onions slightly 
 stewed in vinegar, and his feet bathed in warm water 
 with mustard in it. 
 
 Liflammation of the Eyes. 
 
 Sometimes from about the fourth to the eighth day 
 after birth, the eyes become inflamed and swelled, and 
 are found glued up in the morning. If neglected in this 
 state, blindness may be the consequence. At the first 
 washing, plenty of water should be used about the eyes. 
 If they become inflamed, bathe them gently with the 
 mucilage of sassafras, or a lukewarm decoction of poppy 
 heads. The tnother's milk, frequently milked upon 
 them, is thought to be very useful in preventing their 
 sticking together. The pulp of rotten apples laid on 
 the eyelids wnen the child is asleep, takes down the 
 inflammation, applied as cold as it can be without oc- 
 casioning a start. Of course, the babe should be kept 
 turned away froin the sunshine, and all bright lights. 
 In bad cases, it is necessary to apply small leeches. 
 
74 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 Involuntary Diuretic Discharges. 
 
 Where this is the disease of habit, patient care should 
 be taken to correct it, by teaching the child to attend 
 to his natural wants at stated seasons ; particularly the 
 last tljingat night. Punishment ought not to be inflict- 
 ed, because it often arises from disease. Fresh air, 
 moderate exercise, and frequent bathing in cold water, 
 are good. Sleep on a straw bed, or mattrass, wear 
 flannel next the skin, and frequently rub the whole per- 
 son w'ith a stift" brush. Eat nourishing, but not stimu- 
 lating food, and avoid drink as much as possible. A 
 plaster of Burgundy pitch, applied very low on the 
 back, is recommended. From three to ten drops of 
 the oil of rosemary in a spoonful of water, taken when 
 going to bed, is thought serviceable. Instead of this, 
 some use a decoction of white oak bark ; being very 
 astringent, it should be given in moderate doses, and 
 discontitTLied when the effects are too severe. 
 
 In obstinate cases, a child of two years, if not weak- 
 ly, may take four drops of the tincture of canlharides, 
 three times a day, in a table-spoonful of sweetened 
 water. Older children may take ten or twelve drops. 
 This may be cautiously increased, unless it produce a 
 sensation of heat in the diuretic discharges ; in that case, 
 it must be stopped. If stranguary ensue, give flax- 
 seed-tea or gum arable water; if severe, add a few grains 
 of camphor, and a few drops of laudanum. 
 
 It is recommended to bathe the loins, and seat of the 
 kidneys, twice a day, with spirits of turpentine, and 
 spirits of hartshorn, a ten-spoonful of each mixed with 
 an ounce of soap liniment. 
 
 Burns. 
 
 Accidents of this kind are so common, that remedies 
 ought always to be in the house. Take any portion of 
 linseed oil, or sweet oil, and stir lime-water into it, till 
 it is as stiff as you wish to spread on a cloth. Apply it 
 
DISEASES OF CHILDREN.^ 75 
 
 as soon as possible. In common cases, nothing will 
 be necessary but to renew it occasionally. This is one 
 of the safest and best remedies for burns. 
 
 Bathing freely in sweet oil, and covering the burn 
 with cotton wool, is considered an excellent thing to 
 take the fire out. Sometimes it is difficult to make 
 young children endure this. The constant application 
 of cold vinegar and water will often take out the in- 
 flammation, especially if it be not very extensive ; and 
 it is very comforting to the little sufTerer. \\ hen burns 
 are exceedingly painful, immediately after they are in- 
 flicted, nothing siives so muchrelief as cold applications. 
 Sometimes ice and water is laid on in a bladder. 
 
 When the burn is blistered, spirits of turpentine a 
 little warmed is recommended. Care should be taken 
 not to apply the turpentine to the sound skin ; and if 
 the burn be considerable, the air should be excluded as 
 quick as possible. The first dressing may remain on 
 ten or twelve hours ; and when taken off, care must be 
 taken not to expose it to the cold. Basilicon ointment 
 is good for the second dressing the blisters being first 
 opened with the point of a needle. Should the sur- 
 rounding parts be much inflamed, bread and milk poul- 
 tice had belter be used till it subsides ; then return to 
 the Basilicon ointment, or simple cerate. Should the 
 discharge be too abundant, add a little prepared chalk 
 to the simple cerate. 
 
 Burns, in healing, shoot up a kind of jelly-like fungus. 
 It is good to sprinkle burnt alum powdered around the 
 edges of this ; dry lint is useful, where it can be borne. 
 Care should be taken to separate toes and fingers with 
 bandages, lest they grow together. 
 
 When the patient complains of being chilly, free 
 doses of laudanum should be given, and the atmosphere 
 be kept of a moderate temperature. Great care is ne- 
 cessary about taking cold in the burn. All stimulating 
 liquor and animal food should be carefully withheld. 
 Sometimes even bleeding and purging are necessary. 
 
76 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 When children cannot obtain sleep, gentle opiates may 
 be given. 
 
 Drowning, 4^c. 
 
 To recover persons apparently drowned, the princi- 
 pal object is to restore natural icarmth, by hot and 
 stimulating applications. 
 
 Carry the body in as natural a posture as possible, 
 and be careful not to have the head hang dov;n. Strip 
 off the wet clothes instanily, and rub the skin with coarse 
 cloths made hot. Prepare a warm bed as quick as you 
 can, and place the person in it, with his head elevated. 
 Hot cloths and warm bricks should be frequently ap- 
 plied to the bowels and feet ; or, what is still better, a 
 brand suddenly quenched and done up in flannel. The 
 spine of the back, pit ofthe stomach, arms, and palms 
 of the hands, should be rubbed with warm brandy, or 
 vinegar, with a little cayenne sprinkled in it. Snuff or 
 ginger blown up the nose. The temples chafed with 
 camphorated spirits ; and hartshorn held to the nose. 
 A strong person may hold his nostrils and blow his breath 
 into the patient's mouth with all his force ; if the chest 
 rises, desist from blowing, and press the breast and bel- 
 ly, so as to expel the air again: this operation may be 
 repeated, in imitation of natural breathing. If this does 
 not succeed, blow through one of the nostrils, keeping 
 the other close. 
 
 "While these things are being done, a very warm bath 
 should be prepared : if there are no conveniences for 
 this, the body should be covered with warm ashes, or 
 salt, or sand, heated. 
 
 While the patient is senseless, it is dangerous to pour 
 liquor into the mouth; but the lips and tongue may be 
 frequently moistened, with warm brandy, or other strong 
 spirits. As soon as they can swallow, a little warm 
 wine and water may be occasionally given. 
 
 It is considered safer to induce vomiting by tickling 
 the throat with an oiled feather, than by emetics. Strong 
 
DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 77 
 
 tea of sage, or chamomile flowers, is recommended; 
 likewise warm water, with a little salt in it. 
 
 Warm and stimulating applications should be con- 
 tinued for some time after life returns. If there be 
 oppression, with cough and feverishness, bleeding is 
 necessary ; and pectoral syrup, or flax-seed tea, with a 
 few grains of ipecac in it, may be given to loosen the 
 cough. 
 
 Similar means should be taken to recover persons 
 who suddenly lose life by a fall, fits, or other accidents. 
 Bleeding, friction, warm baih, outward heat, blowing 
 into the lungs, Sic, should be tried, and long perse- 
 vered in. 
 
 Vaccination. 
 
 No parents ought to neglect' to have their children 
 vaccinated. It is a safe way of escaping a very great 
 danger. It is always desirable to have physicians per- 
 form vaccination, because they have opportunities to 
 obtain fresh matter from healthy patients, and can best 
 judge whether it takes thoroughly. But if parents are 
 so situated that a doctor cannot be called, they may 
 perform the operation without the least risk. If any 
 person in the vicinity has the kine-pox, obtain the mat- 
 ter by opening one of the pustules with the point of 
 a needle, on the eighth or ninth day. Slightly scratch 
 the upper part of the arm or leg, in two places so as 
 to bring blood ; apply the matter on a litde lint, and 
 bind it on. It will rarely fail to produce the eruption in 
 three or four days. 
 
 When children are vaccinated they should be entire- 
 ly free from eruptions of the skin ; on this account as 
 well as the absence of all fear, infancy is a good period 
 for the operation. It may be safely performed any 
 time after a babe i- four weeks old. It usually passes 
 lightly, and no particular care is necessary concerning 
 diet. 
 
 If, by unpardonable neglect, children have the small- 
 8 
 
78 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 pox in its natural and dangerous form, the symptoms 
 will be drowsiness, loss of appetite, alternate fits of 
 heat and cold, pain in the head and loins, sudden starl- 
 ings in sleep, and, about the third day, pimples on the 
 forehead and wrists. Send directly for a physician. 
 In the mean time keep the patient cool, and give a 
 simple dose of senna, or Glauber's salts. During the 
 progress of the disease the food and drink should be 
 simple and cooling. Wash the mouth, teeth and 
 throat often with water or vinegar and water. Have plen- 
 ty of fresh air ; keep the bowels open with mild laxa- 
 tives; and when the disease has run its course, give pur- 
 gative doses of rhubarb and senna. 
 
 Bleeding at the JYose. 
 
 This discharge generally does a great deal of good, 
 and no means should be taken to stop it, unless it con- 
 tinues so excessive that the lips become pale, the pulse 
 low, and the extremities cold. In this case, the patient 
 should be seated nearly upright, with his head a little 
 reclining ; his feet, legs, and hands, should be kept in 
 luke-warm water ; cold iron, or some cold substance, 
 applied between the shoulders, and bandages tied pretty 
 tight about the upper part of the arm, and above the 
 calf of the leg. As the bleeding diminishes, these 
 should be gradually slackened and taken away. Some- 
 times lint, or small pieces of sponge, dipped in strong 
 spirits of wine, or brandy, are put in the nostrils, and 
 suffered to remain, till they fall of their own accord. 
 Cold vinegar and water, or salt and water, maybe drank 
 occasionally. When lying down, the head should be 
 elevated, and there should be nothing tight about the 
 neck. A bladder of iced water, or the application of 
 very cold water, for some time, very far below the 
 bowels, will usually stop the worst bleeding at the nose. 
 Ten drops of elixir vitriol, in a wine-glass of water, 
 taken every hour, is good. If the disease is habitual, 
 it may be taken twice a day for a month ; and in case 
 
DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 79 
 
 of costiveness, three or four grains of pill cochiae may- 
 be given daily. 
 
 Obstructions in the J\*ose and Throat. 
 
 If a child swallows a bean, or any thing of that kind, 
 clap him smartly on the back, and make him sneeze 
 with snufF, ginger, or pepper. The same means may be 
 taken if a bean is in the nose ; and grease may be ap- 
 plied outwardly. If more dangerous substances are 
 swallowed, such as brass buttons, needles, pins, &c., 
 it is best to call a doctor. Large pieces of bread, fruit, 
 &c. had better be pushed down, because they will be 
 digested ; but cork, wood, bone, metal, &c. should be 
 extracted if possible. Strong rennet-water helps to 
 dissolve some indigestible substances that have been 
 swallowed. If the substance be not hooked, or sharp- 
 pointed, it is well to give a brisk emetic of ipecac, or 
 tobacco tea, and tickle the throat with a feather. Chil- 
 dren should be taught to chew their food well, and 
 never witness the dangerous example of putting pins in 
 the mouth. 
 
 If infants breathe and nurse with difficulty, on account 
 of obstructions occasioned by a cold, rub the nose at 
 bed-time with fresh lard, or sweet oil. 
 
 Note. Measles and whooping-cough are epidemics that generally 
 go through families and neighborhoods. Their visitations are apt 
 to be lightest between the ages of 4 and 10 years ; and as people 
 never have them but once, parents consider it wise not to screen 
 their children from them, at this period. Scarlet fever usually goes 
 through families wherever it enters ; but the same individual very 
 rarely has it twice in a severe form. It is too dangerous not to be 
 avoided, if possible. 
 
80 
 
 COMMON MEDICINES. 
 
 [Appropriate doses for children are mentioned in a 
 separatt article^ beginning p. 43.) 
 
 Every family ought to keep a chest of common 
 medicines, such as ipecac, castor oil, magnesia, pare- 
 goric, &,c.; and especially svch remedies as are iisefvl 
 in croup. This precaution may be the means of saving 
 life, when a doctor or apothecary cannot be sum- 
 moned immediately. 
 
 All medicines should be kept well covered from the 
 air and light, and have names written on them. All dry 
 substances should be marked with the number of grains 
 they weigh; so that proper doses can be easily given 
 on short notice. 
 
 All such things as opium, laudanum, nitric acid, &c. 
 should be kept out of the reach of children ; and by all 
 means marked, in large letters, Poison, or Dangerous. 
 
 The operation of medicine is always favored by very 
 simple food, very sparingly used. Gruel is the best 
 article. As a general rule it is better to avoid the use 
 of emetics, when cathartics will answer the purpose 
 equally well. 
 
 There are various circumstances that should modify 
 the doses of medicine. Children and old people can- 
 not bear so much as those of middle age. Infants re- 
 quire much less than children. The constitutions of 
 some individuals are peculiar, and certain medicines 
 affect them more powerfully than others. Feeble per- 
 sons should take smaller doses than those who are 
 strong. Women in general are affected by less quantities 
 of medicine than men. The inexperienced had better 
 give moderate doses, till effects are tested — except in 
 such emergencies as severe croup, poison, &:c. The 
 following tables are merely given to assist the judg- 
 ment. 
 
COMMON MEDICINES. 81 
 
 Apothecaries' Weight. 
 
 20 grains make one scruple. 3 
 
 3 scruples one drachm. 5 
 
 8 drachms one ounce. i 
 
 12 ounces one pound. tb 
 
 If a person from 21 to 40 may take 1 drachm. 
 
 A person from 7 to 14 may take J a dr. 
 
 From 4 to 7 I dr. or 1 scruple. 
 
 Of four years i dr. or 15 grains. 
 
 Some powders weigh more than others, of course no 
 accurate rule can be given to take them by measure ; 
 but in general terms it may be said that 20 grains of 
 powder are equivalent to about a tea-spoonful. In pow- 
 erful medicines, it is of course imprudent to trust to 
 conjecture. 
 
 Castor Oil. 
 
 A mild cathartic producing little pain ; therefore best 
 adapted to cases of irritation and inflammation. Re- 
 commended to pregnant women, and those lately de- 
 livered. Considered the best and safest cathartic for 
 children. One fluid ounce, which is about a quarter 
 of a gill, is the common dose for a grown person. It 
 is sometimes given floating on the surface of mint, or 
 cinnamon water, to disguise the taste. Some think it 
 less disagreeable if mixed with a cup of hot sweetened 
 coffee. 
 
 This oil is made from the Palmi Christi, or castor 
 bean. It is commonly expressed ; but it is said to be 
 a better method to shell and skin the beans, boil them 
 in water, and skim the oil ofl^ as it rises. Thus pre- 
 pared, it is clear and sweet, without bad taste or smell, 
 and less liable to become rancid. 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia. 
 
 A very good remedy when an acid state of the 
 8* 
 
82 COMMON MEDICINES. 
 
 Stomach is indicated by sour breath and head-ache. A 
 heaped up table-spoonful, well mixed in water or milk, 
 may be taken. 
 
 Calcined magnesia is preferred as less apt to produce 
 flatulence. Good for the heart-burn. From half a 
 drachm to two drachms may be taken. The habit of 
 chewing it very frequently is injurious. If the stomach 
 is not acid, a little currant juice, or lemonade, will be 
 necessary to render it cathartic. 
 
 It counteracts the salivating properties of calomel, 
 without diminishing other eflects. If ten grains of 
 calomel are likely to produce this result, a tea-spoonful 
 of magnesia may be giv^en an hour after, and repeated 
 at intervals of two hours. If there are not free dis- 
 charges in the course of four hours, larger doses of 
 magnesia may be given, or castor oil taken. 
 
 J\Ianna. 
 
 A mild agreeable laxative, that may be safely ad- 
 ministered to children and the aged. In some consti- 
 tutions it is apt to induce flatulence ; this may be 
 remedied by the addition of a little cinnamon water, or 
 other aromatic. The dose for a grown person is an 
 ounce, or an ounce and a half; but, on account of its 
 great mildness, it is generally given mixed with senna, 
 rhubarb, or some other cathartic. 
 
 Senna. 
 
 If good, the leaves will be of a lively yellowish green, 
 a faint disagreeable smell, and bitterish, nauseous taste. 
 It is somewhat diuretic, and is a prompt, efficient, and 
 safe purgative : well calculated for cases where a de- 
 cided, but not very violent impression is desired. 
 Some aromatic is usually combined with it, to render it 
 less painful. 1 ounce of senna leaves, 1 drachm of 
 bruised coriander seed, and a pint of boiling water ; 
 steeped an hour in an earthen vessel, and strained ; 
 
COMMON MEDICINES. 83 
 
 dose about a gill. This infusion should often be made 
 fresh, as exposure to the air increases its griping effects. 
 Boiling it has the same tendency. 
 
 The following recipe is said to increase its operation, 
 and render it less painful. J ounce of senna ; 1 ounce 
 of manna ; 1 ounce of sulphate of magnesia ; 1 drachm 
 of fennel, or coriander seed ; half a pint of boiling 
 water ; steeped till it cools. One third given for a dose, 
 and repeated every four or five hours till it operates. 
 
 A compound infusion, at once refrigerant and laxative, 
 therefore calculated for feverish complaints, is some- 
 times made hus : — Senna leaves 1 drachm ; preserved 
 tamarinds 1 ounce ; bruised coriander seed 1 drachm ; 
 iSrown sugar | an ounce ; boiling water half a pint; 
 steeped, and occasionally stirred, four hours in an 
 earthen vessel, not glazed with lead ; strained. Dose 
 from half a gill to a gill. 
 
 Rhuba7'h, 
 
 At once a tonic and cathartic. From five to ten grains 
 operate as a laxative and stomachic ; from twenty to 
 thirty as a purgative. Its medicinal properties are pecu- 
 liar, being both cathartic and astringent. The latter 
 effect follows the former; hence the stomach is left 
 more braced and invigorated than with other physic. 
 An infusion is much used for women, children, and 
 people of delicate constitutions. In costive states of 
 the body, its astringent qualities should be counteracted 
 by mixing it with an equal proportion of soap. Roast- 
 ing, or long boiling, diminishes its laxative qualities, 
 while the astringent remain ; this is sometimes done in 
 cases of obstinate diarrhea. As a general rule, it is not 
 a good medicine where inflammation exists. It is used 
 in dyspepsia accompanied with costiveness, in chronic 
 dysentery, and the secondary stages of cholera infantum. 
 Equal portions of rhubarb and magnesia are very bene- 
 ficial in bilious diarrhea, where there is any evidence 
 of acidity. Rhubarb is second only to calomel in its 
 
84- COMMON MEDICINES. 
 
 power of changing to a natural color the very discolor- 
 ed evacuations common in such disorders ; a result 
 which is considered most desirable. Ten or twelve 
 grains of rhubarb, mixed with eight or ten grains of 
 super sulphate of potash is a mild and efficient purga- 
 tive, that will generally remove ordinary disorders of 
 the bowels. 
 
 Two grains of powdered rhubarb, one grain of ipecac- 
 uanha, and two grains of soap, form an excellent tonic 
 pill for dyspepsia : it is laxative, and leaves the stomach 
 braced. One may be taken two or three times a day. 
 
 The common infusion is made by steeping a drachm 
 of sliced rhubarb an hour in half a pint of boiling w^ater. 
 Dose from a quarter of a gill to half a gill ; taken every 
 three or four hours till it operates. Carroway seed, or 
 cinnamon, sometimes steeped with it, to diminish its 
 griping effects. It is often taken in powder, or chewed. 
 It is an expensive medicine. The Turkey rhubarb, 
 specked with white, is less apt to excite vomiting, than 
 that which is entirely deep yellow. 
 
 Jalap, 
 
 An active cathartic, operating briskly and often pain- 
 fully. Given in most cases where physic is required ; 
 particularly applicable in cases of dropsy, being an ac- 
 tive diuretic. The aqueous extract, operates mode- 
 rately, without much griping. The alcoholic extract, 
 called resin of jalap, operates powerfully, and some- 
 times severely. From fifteen to thirty grains of the 
 powder is a dose for a strong grown person, usually 
 rubbed up with sugar. If taken in flax-seed tea, its 
 effects are less irritating. 
 
 Ten grains of powdered rhubarb, and ten grains of 
 jalap powder, are a common cathartic, given in molas- 
 ses, after an emetic has ceased operating, and the 
 stomach needs to be more thoroughly cleansed. 
 
COMMON MEDICINES. 85 
 
 Aloes. 
 
 ^ A warm, stimulating purgative. It quickens the 
 circulation, and is particularly serviceable to persons of 
 phlegmatic habits, weak stomachs, and sedentary life. 
 Two or three grains operate as a laxative ; ten grains is 
 the medium dose ; but it may be augmented to twenty, 
 according to circumstances. It is injurious to bilious 
 habits, and the piles, on account of its tendency to in- 
 flame the bowels. Considered improper during preg- 
 nancy, and for those troubled with bleeding at the lungs. 
 It is recommended for thread-worms ; and has been 
 used as an emmenagogue. Soccatrine aloes are con- 
 sidered the best. 
 
 Sulphate of Iron. 
 
 An approved emmenagogue. One drachm in a 2;ill of 
 rose-water. A tep-c:poonful laken at eleven and our 
 o'clock every day. At the same time, take every night 
 one or two pills, made of pulverized aloes and myrrh, 
 each one drachm ; divided into thirty pil^s. Conti lue 
 this till the healthful operations of nature are restored. 
 Wear warm drawers, woollen stockings, and flmnel 
 next the skin. Cast aside stays and tight clothing. 
 Often bathe the feet in warm water, and cover them 
 with woollen during the night. 
 
 Anderson^ s Pills. 
 
 These are composed of aloes, jalap, and oil of 
 aniseed. An old-lH-hioned and safe family medicine. 
 Good for a restricted state of the system ; for common 
 colds where physic is needed ; and for debilitated state 
 of the stpmach in the spring. A very weak person 
 might take one ; two is a common dose ; and three if 
 a decided effect is desirable. 
 
86 COMMON MEDICINES. 
 
 Dinner Pills. 
 
 Made of aloes, mastich, red roses, and syrup of 
 wormwood. Convenient for travellers troubled with" 
 restricted habits. Two or three may be taken half an 
 hour before dinner. Safe and not inconvenient in their 
 effects. 
 
 Salts. 
 
 An ounce of Epsom salts is a dose for a strong per- 
 son. A sailor just returned from sea, or one exposed 
 to bad diet or air, may take it with advantage. Half 
 an ounce is usually a sufficient cathartic for delicate 
 constitutions. It is peculiarly adapted to cutaneous 
 eruptions, whether from humors, or contact with poi- 
 son ; in such cases it is recommended to be taken 
 occasionally, while external applications are made. 
 Full-blooded people sometimes take it two or three 
 times a week in the epring, to cool the blood, in doses 
 of two or three tea-spoonfuls dissolved in >vait;i, early 
 in the morning. 
 
 It is entirely unsuited to all cases of dysentery, 
 diarrhea, &c. 
 
 Some prefer Rochelle salts, as being less bitter and 
 disagreeable. They operate better, if considerable 
 water be drank at the same time. 
 
 Pill Rufi. 
 
 A safe and cheap cathartic. Quite a large lump can 
 be bought for twenty-five cents. Softened by warmth, 
 it can be made into pills about the size of a pea, of 
 which from one to four may be taken at night, accord- 
 ing to its effects. 
 
 Picra, 
 
 Soccatrlne aloes one pound; white canella three 
 ounces ; separately powdered and mixed. Apotheca- 
 
COMMON MEDICINES. 87 
 
 ries sell it already prepared, under the name of hiera 
 picra powder. One or two tea-spoonfuls may be taken 
 in molasses. It is considered a good cathartic for the 
 aged, because it does not reduce their strength. Peo- 
 ple may eat as usual. A tincture is often made by 
 bottling an ounce of the powder in a pint of rum ; half 
 a wine-glass is a dose. A prudent fear of evil habits 
 will prevent the wise from mixing their medicines with 
 ardent spirit. 
 
 Elixir Proprietatis. 
 
 One ounce of saffron, one ounce of myrrh, and one 
 ounce of aloes. Pulverize them ; steep the myrrh in 
 half a pint of brandy, or N. E. rum, for four days ; then 
 add the saffron and aloes. Let it stand in the sunshine, 
 or a warm place, for a fortnight, and shake it once or 
 twice a day. At the end of a fortnight, fill up the 
 bottle with brandy or rum, and let it stand a month. 
 It is a useful family medicine when the digestive powers 
 are out of order, and, like most articles of the kind, 
 costs five times as much bought in small quantities. 
 From three tea-spoonfuls to half a wine-glass, proves 
 a cathartic according to the constitution. It had better 
 not be used for a year ; for it improves by age. A 
 tea-spoonful morning, noon, and evening, is good for 
 those troubled with thread-worms. After this has been 
 continued for some time, it is well likewise to take at 
 bed-time, injections o fthree tea-spoonfuls of elixir, and 
 the same quantity of lime water, in a gill of warm milk. 
 
 A tea-spoonful of elixir with an equal portion of red 
 lavender is strengthening to weak stomachs. Red 
 lavender simply dropped on sugar is comforting to the 
 feeble and aged. 
 
 Sulphur. 
 
 Flour of sulphur is gently laxative, and promotes in- 
 sensible perspiration. Principally used for cutaneous 
 
$@ COM ION MEDKINES. 
 
 diso ders, and diseases of the blood. Dose from one 
 to three tea-spoonfuls, stirred in molasses or milk; 
 taken twice or three times a week. Often mixed with 
 an equal portion of supertartrite of potash, or with 
 magnesia. , Sulphur transpires through the pores of the 
 skin ; the odor is usually perceived ; and it blackens 
 silver in the pocket. Sometimes used in rheumatism 
 and gout, asthmas, and chronic catarrhs. For the rheu- 
 matism it must be given in table-spoonful doses, and 
 the person remain in doors for a week, and keep warm. 
 
 Olive Oilj or Sweet Oil. 
 
 Nutritious and mildly laxative. Applicable to cases 
 of inward irritation, where the patient objects to more 
 disagreeable medicines. In large quantities, it mitigates 
 the effect of acrid narcotic poisons. Considered good 
 for worms. Recommended to pregnant women, in- 
 ternally and externally. In very common use to ex- 
 tract the heat from burns and scalds ; cotton being laid 
 over it. When pure it is devoid of smell. 
 
 CajupiU Oil. 
 
 Highly stimulating and penetrating, producing heat, 
 and sometimes profuse perspiration. Given for palsy, 
 chronic rheumatism, and spasmodic affections of the 
 stomach and bowels, not accompanied with inflamma- 
 tion. It has been much extolled in spasmodic cholera. 
 Dose from one to five drops on sugar, or with some 
 liquid. Mixed with an equal portion of olive oil, it is 
 a good liniment for gout and rheumatism. Its most re- 
 markable effect is in curing the tooth-ache : from what- 
 ever cause the pain may arise, a few drops on cotton, 
 placed in the cavity of the tooth, or even around the 
 gums, are generally sure to give relief. It occasions 
 smart pain for an instant. 
 
COMMON MEDICINES. 89 
 
 Turpentine, 
 
 Oil of turpentine irritates and inflames the skin. 
 Used as a liniment in rheumatic and paralytic affections. 
 In mild cases it should be diluted with olive oil ; and 
 some constitutions cannot bear it even in this softened 
 state. Mixed with some mild oil, and put into the ear 
 on cotton, said to be good for deafness arising from a 
 deficient or unhealthy secretion of wax. Much recom- 
 mended for burns and scalds ; put on as soon as possi- 
 ble, on lint, or linen rags, being careful not to touch 
 the sound flesh ; removed as soon as the inflammation 
 subsides. 
 
 Dr. Dewees says, he prescribed, for tape-worms, an 
 ounce of spirits of turpentine mixed with an ounce of 
 castor oil, to be taken once a week, for three weeks. 
 The medicine operated powerfully, and had the desired 
 effect. The patient had been an athletic man, and of 
 course could bear larger doses than a feeble person. 
 Tape-worms produce emaciation, paleness, and a 
 gnawing sensation at the pit of the stomach, which 
 nothing appeases but almost constant eating. 
 
 Spirits of turpentine is excellent to bathe chilblains. 
 Mixed with equal portions of spirits of wine, and applied 
 with a feather, it is said to be good for St. Anthony's 
 fire. Care should be taken not to touch the eyes. 
 
 Gum Guaiacum. 
 
 A hot, acrid medicine, given in rheumatic and other 
 pains, when unaccompanied by fever. An ounce may 
 be dissolved in a pint of new rum ; or powdered and 
 rubbed with an ounce of gum arabic, and put into a 
 pint of water, sweetened. A tea-spoonful in a wine- 
 glass of milk may betaken three times a day, to prevent 
 rheumatism from striking to the stomach. Dropped 
 on cotton, it relieves the tooth-ache. 
 
 It is diuretic ; and, when taken warm, produces per- 
 spiration ; for this purpose it is sometimes used to keep 
 9 
 
90 COMMON MEDICINES. 
 
 out cutaneous eruptions, when not attended with inflam- 
 mation. In large doses, it purges. 
 
 It is an ingredient in the following efficacious emmena- 
 gogue : — Red oxyde of iron, and pulverized rhubarb, 
 each one ounce ; aloes, white canella, and gum Guaia- 
 cum, each half an ounce ; dissolved in three half pints 
 of Holland gin, and well shaken. One tea-spoonful 
 may be taken twice a day as a tonic, and occasionally 
 a table-spoonful as a cathartic. At the return of every 
 four weeks, soak the feet in warm water, take a rather 
 larger dose than common, and be careful about ex- 
 posure to cold. 
 
 Camphor. 
 
 A fragrant gum, that cannot be dissolved without 
 alcohol, or expressed oil. A small botdo of it is 
 usually kept in families. As much gum is put in as the 
 rum will dissolve ; if particles remain floating in it, it 
 may be occasionally filled up. The smell is good for 
 nervous head-ache and faintness ; likewise comforting 
 to bathe the hands, feet, and forehead, incases of dry 
 skin and nervous restlessness. It is a good anodyne 
 wash for rheumatic and muscular pains. A small tea- 
 spoonful of the tincture in a gill or more of water, is 
 good for wind. Used in several spasmodic diseases. 
 
 It cannot safely be given in larger doses than half a 
 drachm. The medium dose is from five to ten grains ; 
 in extreme weakness, but one grain. Mixed with some 
 fluid it is less apt to excite nausea than when taken in 
 substance. A weak preparation, called water of cam- 
 phor, is usually given in low fevers, nervous debility, 
 &,c. It is thus made : — Wet one scruple of camphor 
 with ten drops of alcohol ; put to it half a scruple of 
 magnesia ; add a pint of warm water gradually. Filter 
 through paper. Some add half an ounce of sugar in- 
 stead of magnesia. Two table-spoonfuls may be taken 
 every hour or two. 
 
 The smell of the gum is said to relieve that un- 
 
COMMON MEDICINES. 91 
 
 pleasant fulness of the nostrils, which attends com- 
 mencins; catarrh. 
 
 "S 
 
 Cayenne. 
 
 A powerful rubefacient, that promptly stimulates 
 the skin without blistering. Sprinkled on flannel wet 
 with heated spirit, it is applied for violent pain in the 
 bowels, and as a wash for rheumatism. 
 
 When people apply such hot external remedies for 
 the rheumatism, it is well to take something two or 
 three times a day, to prevent its striking to the heart, or 
 stomach ; guaiacum, an infusion of Cayenne, or of 
 prickly-ash, are suitable. Internally, Cayenne is a 
 very strong stimulant, producing a general glow. It is 
 applicable to palsy and lethargic affections, and useful 
 to correct flatulence in languid stomachs. In powder, 
 the dose is from five to ten grains ; most convenient 
 made into a pill. To make the infusion, pour half a 
 pint of boiling water upon two drachms of the powder, 
 steep it an hour, and strain it ; three or four tea-spoon- 
 fuls taken at once. 
 
 Cayenne may be made of the common red pepper, 
 dryed and powdered ; but the process is troublesome 
 to the eyes. 
 
 Opodeldoc J or Soap Liniment. 
 
 Shavings of hard soap, two ounces ; camphor one 
 ounce ; very strong spirit one pint. Mix the soap 
 with the spirit and keep it moderately warm till it is 
 dissolved ; then add the camphor, and shake it often. 
 Some add half an ounce of the oil of rosemary, or a 
 great spoonful of sweet oil. Excellent bath for swell- 
 ings and rheumatic pains. Applied by a warm fire, 
 and the limb covered with flannel. 
 
92 COMMON MEDICINES. 
 
 Volatile Liniment. 
 
 Two thirds sweet oil, and one third hartshorn ; 
 shaken well, and corked very tight. Rubbed on stiff 
 necks, rheumatic limbs, and to prevent sore throat. 
 
 Dr. Dean^s Vegetable Rheumatic Pills. 
 
 Their reputation as a relief in cases of rheumatism 
 is well founded. Directions accompany them. 
 
 Ginger. 
 
 Stimulant and carminative. Good for dyspepsia and 
 flatulence. If taken in powder, from ten grains to a 
 scruple is a dose. An infusion made by steeping half 
 an ounce of the powder, or bruised root, in a pint of 
 boiling water ; quarter or half a gill may be taken. 
 Applied outwardly it is rubefacient. The powder, 
 when snuffed, excites violent sneezing. Often added to 
 bitter and tonic medicines to give them a warming and 
 cordial effect. 
 
 Cinnamon.) Cloves, Carroway.^ 4'C. 
 
 Cinnamon is one of the pleasantest and most efficient 
 of the aromatics. Carminative and astringent. Good 
 for nausea and languid digestion. Of the powder, from 
 ten grains to a scruple is a dose. Of the oil, one or 
 two drops in some liquid. 
 
 Cloves are chewed as a stimulant for similar pur- 
 poses ; likewise for tooth-ache. Carroway, and fennel 
 seed are often steeped for infants troubled with wind. 
 All these articles, as well as orange-peal, are used to 
 cover the taste of disagreeable medicines, and diminish 
 their griping effect. 
 
 Liquorice. 
 A useful demulcent, much employed in various mix- 
 
COMMON MEDICINES. 93 
 
 tures for coughs. A piece held in the mouth and 
 slowly dissolved, is good for colds. The Italian is 
 better than the Spanish. 
 
 Squills. 
 
 In small doses expectorant, and diuretic ; and if the 
 patient is kept warm, produces profuse perspiration. 
 One grain is given two or three times a day, and gradual- 
 ly increased till it occasions slight nausea, or evinces its 
 action upon the kidney cr lungs, by promoting the 
 desired discharge. It is generally given to children in 
 syrup, or honey. In substance it is usually swallowed 
 as a pill. Where there is inflammation, squills should 
 not be administered till it begins to subside. Large 
 doses are emetic, and sometimes purgative ; from six 
 to ten grains will commonly produce vomiting. In 
 over-doses, it has produced fatal inflammation. 
 
 Balsam of Tolu. 
 
 A stimulant tonic, used as an expectorant in hard 
 coughs, catarrh, and other pectoral complaints, not 
 accompanied with active inflammation. Well mixed 
 with gum arabic and loaf sugar, and afterward with 
 water, it makes an emulsion, of which a table-spoonful 
 may be taken several times a day, with great benefit. 
 The following Pectoral Syrup is very salutary for 
 hard coughs, in the same doses :— Gum Arabic 2 ounces ; 
 syrup of Tolu 1 ounce ; paregoric 2 drachms ; wine 
 of ipecac half an ounce. The White Mixture, for 
 the same purpose, is made of lace ammoniac five 
 ounces and a half; syrup of Tolu one ounce ; wine of 
 ipecac half an ounce ; paregoric half an ounce. 
 
 Ipecacuanha. 
 
 A South American root, used as a mild, efficient 
 emetic. It is suitable to all ages, and may be repeated 
 with perfect safety. In asthma, whooping-cough, &c., 
 9* 
 
94 COMMON MEDICINES. 
 
 it is given to excite nausea ; in doses of two grains, re- 
 peated according to circumstances. The same quanti- 
 ties are used to clieck hemorrhage. One grain in flax- 
 seed tea is given as an expectorant, in catarrh and 
 other pulmonary complaints. It promotes perspiration, 
 and is considered an appropriate emetic for fevers. 
 Twenty grains of the powder are usually given, stirred 
 in water, to a grown person ; if this does not induce 
 vomiting, it may be safely repeated at intervals of 
 twenty minutes. Of the wine of ipecac, two table- 
 spoonfuls is a common emetic dose. ]\Iixed together, 
 in the proportion of twenty grains of the powder to an 
 ounce of the wine of ipecac, is the best form of taking 
 it, because it is at once thorough and safe. This mix- 
 ture is not recommended for children ; but a table- 
 spoonful, repeated every fifteen minutes till it operates 
 freely, is a salutary and sufficient emetic fc^r grown 
 persons, on all common occasions. ' 
 
 Antimo7iy. 
 
 A mineral preparation much used by physicians. 
 Emetic doses have very different effects on different 
 constitutions, and are not always safe. This is a suffi- 
 cient reason for not prescribing them in a book for 
 popular use. 
 
 As an expectorant^ it is considered a specific in lung 
 fevers, and the first stages of severe colds accompanied 
 with inflammation. For this purpose, half a tea-spoon- 
 ful of wine of antimony is stirred in a tumbler of flax- 
 seed tea, and a draught taken frequently. Care is 
 necessary about exposure to cold while the pores are 
 open. 
 
 Opium. 
 
 A powerful narcotic, to be used with very great cau- 
 tion. In small quantities it quiets the nerves and in- 
 duces drowsiness. The medium dose for a grown person 
 
COMMON MEDICINES, 95 
 
 is from one to two grains, but in some cases not more 
 than one third or one fourth of a grain is administered. 
 People who are so unwise as to use it frequenil\-, be- 
 come accustomed to considerable quantities ; but the 
 effects are ruinous. This drug is obtained from the 
 common poppy. The Asiatic mode is to make length- 
 wise incisions in the green seed-vessels, the moment the 
 flowers fall ; a juice exudes, which is scraped off the 
 next day when dry. This is opium. But a belter mode is 
 to cut off the stalk, about an inch below the seed vessel, 
 as soon as the flowers begin to fall. Take off the 
 milky juice that slowly exudes in drops, and put it upon 
 an earthen plate to dry. Then cut the stalk about an 
 inch lower, and proceed the same. 
 
 Laudanum, 
 
 This is tincture of opium ; made by steeping two 
 ounces and a half of the powder in a quart of rectified 
 spirits ; remain fourteen days, and be filtered through 
 paper. Twenty -five drops are equal to one grain of 
 opium ; considerably less will affect those unused to it ; 
 fifteen drops would probably be the safest medium. 
 When it acts as a vomit, check it with strong hot coffee, 
 without sugar or milk ; a great-spoonful at first, and re- 
 peated till relief is obtained. Fifteen drops of laudanum 
 with fifteen drops of essence of peppermint is recomend- 
 ed to prevent the repetition of convulsion fits, and is 
 likewise good for cramp in the stomach. 
 
 For bleeding at the lungs, give ten drops of laudanum 
 every fifteen minutes while bleeding; and afterward 
 every six hours till the vessel is healed, which is usual- 
 ly in about five days. Bathe the hands and feet with 
 warm \vater, and rub them frequently. Give laxative 
 injections. Keep the patient very calm and still, lean- 
 ing backward. 
 
 Laudanum diluted with w^ater is good to apply to 
 fresh wounds. When long kept, it becomes thick and 
 is much more powerful ; of course, doses must be di- 
 
96 COMMON MEDICINES. 
 
 minished. Opium, in all its forms, has a constipating 
 effect. 
 
 Paregoric. 
 
 This is a weaker form, called camphorated tincture 
 of opium. A pleasant elixir, used to allay coughs, 
 quiet nervous, wakeful people, &c. A grown person 
 may take two tea-spoonfuls, or a table-spoonful. Con- 
 sumptive patients generally require its frequent use ; 
 and in such cases it is more economical to prepare it at 
 home, than to buy it in small quantities. It is made 
 thus : — Opium, benzoic acid, and volatile oil of anni- 
 seed, each one drachm ; camphor, two scruples ; recti- 
 fied spirits, one quart. Steeped ten days, and filtered 
 through paper. 
 
 Citric Acidf and Tartaric Acid. 
 
 Half a tea-spoonful stirred in a gill of water is good 
 for the head-ache, unless the pain proceeds from excess 
 of acid in the stomach. Tartaric acid is the cheapest, 
 and as good for common purposes. 
 
 The best substitute for lemon juice is crystallzed 
 citric acid, dissolved in water ; about an ounce to a 
 pint ; with sugar, and one or two drops of oil of lemon. 
 Lemon juice is much valued as a preventive and cure 
 of scurvy. Ships destined to long voyages, should be 
 supplied with the concentrated juice of lemons, or with 
 the substitute just mentioned. 
 
 Soda Powders. 
 
 Cooling healthy drink in summer. Twenty-five 
 grains of tartaric acid, and half a drachm of bi-carbonate 
 of soda, in separate papers. The acid should be well 
 dissolved in a wine-glass of water in one tumbler, and 
 the soda in another. They effervesce when mingled. 
 Most people think them more agreeable with syrup or 
 susar. 
 
COMMON MEDICINES. 
 
 Rochelle Powders j or SeidUtz Powders. 
 
 97 
 
 Two drachms of the tartrate of potash and soda (sold 
 under the name of Rocheile salts) and two scruples of 
 bi-carbonate of soda, mixed together, and done up in 
 white paper ; thirty-five grains of tartaric acid in blue 
 paper. Dissolved separately. They effervesce when 
 mixed. This is a gentle aperient, sometimes purga- 
 tive. The excess of acid renders it more pleasant, 
 without injuring its laxative quality. 
 
 Both these and soda powders might be bought cheap 
 in considerable quantities, for family use ; experience 
 would soon enable a person to measure the proportions 
 with a tea-spoon, without the trouble of weighing. 
 
 Effervescing Draughts, or JS^eutral Mixture. 
 
 Quarter of a gill of water with fifteen grains of the 
 carbonate of potash dissolved in it ; the same quantity 
 of liquid composed of half lemon-juice and half water. 
 If these do not effervesce when mixed, more lemon 
 should be added. These draughts are repeated every 
 two or three hours, to allay irritability, and produce 
 perspiration in intermittent fevers. 
 
 Vinegar. 
 
 Refrigerant, diuretic, and antiseptic. Often added 
 to drinks in putrid fevers and pestilential disorders. 
 It has a good effect when there are white deposits in 
 the urine, consisting of phosphate of lime, &c. A good 
 wash for bruises and sprains. Diluted with water, 
 best means of clearing the eyes from particles of lime. 
 The smell is good for fainting, nausea, hysteria, &c. 
 The hot steam, inhaled through the small end of a 
 tunnel, is good for sore throat ; children should try it 
 carefully at first, lest the throat be scalded. Poured 
 into a hot shove), or pan, it covers disagreeable smells 
 in a room. Frequent washing in hot vinegar is recom- 
 mended for ring-worms, and fellons. 
 
98 COMMON MEDICINES. 
 
 Jllum. 
 
 Powerfully astringent. A weak solution held in the 
 mouth is excellent for canker. Fried and powdered, 
 it is very good to sprinkle upon^ cankered mouths and 
 proud-flesh. Alum is used to stop bleeding of various 
 kinds, in the form of solution, wash, gargle, and a fe- 
 male injection ; the latter consists of alum and water, 
 administered with the uterine syringe ; it is taken for 
 the same purposes that alum-whey is drank, and is by 
 many considered safer and better. 
 
 From five to twenty grains of alum are repeated every 
 hour or two in cases of alarming hemorrhage. The 
 dose should be small, exceptin very urgent cases. 
 
 Alum-whey is made by boiling two drachms of alum 
 in a pint of new milk, and straining it. It is given in 
 cases of excessive flowing owing to miscarriage, and 
 other causes. A wine-glass full is repeated every hour 
 or two in the course of the day ; stop giving it when it 
 excites nausea. It should be remembered that astrin- 
 gents ppplied in this way are often extremely hazardous ; 
 women have sometimes become permanently insane in 
 consequence. Alum-whey is given only in urgent 
 cases, where the continued difficulty produces faint- 
 ness, pale lips &c., and threatens life. Two or three 
 spoonfuls of clear rum poured down the throat occa- 
 sions a revulsion, and stops the flowing of blood imme- 
 diately ; its use requires the same caution as alum- 
 whey. 
 
 Old port wine, and water with loaf suzar and nut- 
 meg, is a useful astringent in such cases, but not power- 
 ful. The diet should consist of gruel, arrow-root, &c. 
 
 Peruvian Bark, or Cinchona. 
 
 A celebrated astringent tonic. Physicians recom- 
 mend its early use, in divided doses, during the inter- 
 mission of the paroxysms in fever and ague ; one 
 drachm, more or less frequently, according to circum- 
 
COMMON MEDICINES. 99 
 
 Stances ; in water, or some aromatic infusion. In low 
 forms of disease, when inflammation has subsided, it is 
 used as a tonic ; thus in the last stages of scarlet fever, 
 measles, small pox, gangrenous erysipelas, and in all 
 cases of convalescence where the system is exhausted 
 by purulent discharges ; likewise for scrofula, hysteria, 
 &c. ; in small doses, from ten to thirty grains, to 
 begin with. When there are local irritations or inflam- 
 mation, it should never be used in any form. 
 
 Two tea-spoonfuls, several times a day, are taken for 
 the same purposes as alum-whey ; it is less powerful ; 
 but it is well to remember the caution about checking 
 too suddenly, except in emergencies. 
 
 This bark, and other astringent medicines, are used 
 for fluor albus. To indulge much in bed, to keep late 
 hours, to use stimulating drinks, or high-seasoned food, 
 or drink immediately of tea and coffee, all tend to in- 
 crease this weakness : the frequent use of the warm 
 bath, or of foot-stoves, is likewise injurious. Thorough 
 cleanliness cannot be too highly recommended both as 
 a preventive and a remedy. Lukewarm water should 
 be frequently applied, and warm suds often employed 
 with a syringe, after the manner of female injections. 
 A strengthening plaster on the lower part of the back 
 is useful. Avoid long walks, or being much on the 
 feet. 
 
 JlssafcRtida. 
 
 A drug of exceedingly disagreeable taste and smell. 
 A powerful antispasmodic, much given in hysteria, and 
 nervous debility, when not accompanied by inflamma- 
 tion. Taken as a pill, ten grains is the medium dose. 
 One drachm of assafoetida in half a pint of pennyroyal 
 water makes a white mixture, called milk of assafo3tida, 
 generally considered the best form for an antispasmodic ; 
 one or two table-spoonfuls may be frequently repeated. 
 
 As an efficient expectorant assafoetida is given in 
 whooping-cough, asthma, catarrh, and other pulmonary 
 
100 COMMON MEDICINES. 
 
 complaints, either in the form of pill, or an emulsion 
 made by gradually adding and mixing two drachms of 
 assafoetida with half a pint of water. 
 
 Lime Water. 
 
 Half a pound of lime in six quarts of water, well 
 dissolved by frequent shaking ; strinaed through paper, 
 or thick cloth, and corked tiglit. It will keep a long 
 lime. The lime is better for being recently burnt. It 
 is used as a caustic wash for scald head, ulcerous erup- 
 tions, &c. Good for those troubled with an acid stom- 
 ach, but when long continued weakens the powers of 
 digestion. Half a gill or more may be drunk daily. Its 
 acrid taste is best concealed by mixing with new milk. 
 
 Chloride of Lime. 
 
 This cheap article has wonderful power to resist 
 putrefaction, and purify the air from bad odors. It is 
 very useful to those who live in small rooms and dirty 
 lanes. A table-spoonful stirred in a gill of water, 
 should be put in a saucer or deep plate, and renewed 
 daily. In warm weather, it is prudent to place it near 
 coffins. A tea-spoonful stirred in water and placed in 
 a night-vessel before it is used, will prevent disagreea- 
 ble odors. 
 
 Svgar of Leadj or Acetate of Lead. 
 
 For small children one scruple of lead is dissolved 
 in half a pint of soft water. For grown people, a 
 drachm in a gill and a half of water is a strong solution ; 
 a gill of water added renders it a weak one. Used as a 
 wash, or cloths wet with it, for inflamed eyes, piles, and 
 virulent eruptions. Care must be taken that the ban- 
 dages are not so wet as to have it enter the eyes. When 
 applied to eruptions, a dose of salts should be taken 
 occasionally,- and snake-root be used to keep it from 
 striking to the stomach. In cases of sudden eruptions, 
 
HERBS AND ROOTS. 101 
 
 it is well to take advice concerning their nature ; for 
 this application is sometimes dangerous. 
 
 Charcoal. 
 
 Remarkable for antiputrescent qualities. In dyspep- 
 sia attended with fetid breath, it has a purifying influence. 
 It checks nausea and heart-burn, and has a salutary 
 effect when the bowels are in a very restricted state. 
 
 Chewed slowly, it tends to preserve the teeth from 
 decay. The charcoal of wood is commonly used ; but 
 in diseases some prefer that of cocoa-nut, or bread. A 
 tea-spoonful, or a table-spoonful, may be taken in 
 syrup, milk, or water. Cork burned to charcoal, and 
 a tea-spoonful of the powder mixed with loaf sugar and 
 a ^e\v drops of essence of peppermint, is very effica- 
 cious in dysentery and cholera morbus. 
 
 Mrs. Kidder'' s Cordial.^ 
 I mention this merely because I know it to be a very 
 valuable family medicine, for various forms of diarrhea 
 &c. It may be safely used for old people, or children. 
 Directions accompany each bottle. 
 
 HERBS AND ROOTS. 
 
 Of annual plants, the leaves, stems, and blossoms are 
 generally employed for medicinal purposes. They 
 should be gathered in blossom, dried^ thoroughly, and 
 kept in paper bags well preserved from the air. Herb 
 tea should be made quite strong. An ounce of the 
 plant steeped an hour or two in a pint of boiling water, 
 is usually sufficient. 
 
 Of perennial plants, the roots are commonly used. 
 
 * Sold No, 9, Poplar Street, Boston. 
 10 
 
102 HERBS AND ROOTS. 
 
 They should be dug quite late in the autumn, or very 
 early in the spring ; and, when dry, be kept carefully 
 covered in bottles or jars. 
 
 The efficacy of all vegetable medicines is more or 
 less diminished by time ; therefore it is well to have a 
 fresh stock every year. When purchased, care should 
 be taken to observe whether they are free from mould, 
 and retain their taste and fragrance. 
 
 Herbs are prepared for use in the following ways : — 
 Decoction, by boiling in water ; infusion, by steeping 
 in boiling water ; powder, by bruising ; extract or 
 essence, by distillation ; expressed juice, by squeezing ; 
 tincture, by steeping in alcohol. 
 
 The habitual use of tinctures and essences is full of 
 danger. Many an invalid has unconsciously formed in- 
 temperate habits by means of these seductive medicines. 
 
 Bitter herbs are generally tonic, and large doses are 
 apt to induce vomiting ; it is therefore better to take 
 them cold ; about a wine-glass full at once. 
 
 Aromatic stimulants are good for wind, nausea, 
 nervous spasms, &c. Neither tonics or stimulants 
 should he given where there are signs of fever. 
 
 Herbs to promote perspiration should be drunk hot, 
 and the patient well covered in a warm bed. Half a 
 pint or more may be taken. Vegetable diaphoretics 
 commonly have more or less of a heating tendency ; 
 therefore unsuited to fevers. 
 
 Diuretics should be taken in the day-time ; because 
 external warmth stops their effect, and changes them to 
 diaphoretics. 
 
 Astringents are employed as an antiseptic wash for 
 ulcerated throats, sores, &c. They are given to allay 
 the spitting of blood, and to check dysentery, after the 
 inflammation has subsided. 
 
 Wormwood. {Artemisia Absinthium.) 
 
 An infusion of the leaves has great reputation as a 
 tonic bitter for debilitated stomachs. A wine-glass full 
 
t) 
 
 HERBS AND ROOTS. 103 
 
 is a common dose, taken early in the morning. It is 
 less likely to induce head-ache in nervous persons if 
 boiled, instead of steeped. A strong decoction is 
 good to cleanse ulcerated sores, &c. It is likewise a 
 very strengthening application for bruises and sprains ; 
 and the essence of wormwood in such cases operates 
 like a charm. The bruised green leaves are excellent 
 for fresh bruised wounds ; when the herb is dry, it 
 must be moistened with warm vinegar, or water, before 
 it is applied. 
 
 Frequent washing in a cold injusion of wormwood 
 and mustard seed is said to be good for numb and 
 trembling hands. 
 
 Chamomile, (Anthemis JsTobiUs.} 
 
 An infusion of the blossoms is a mild tonic, good 
 for enfeebled digestion and languid appetite. Recom- 
 mended as an emmenagogue ; likewise given for flatu- 
 lence, and spasmodic diseases. It is administered be- 
 tween the paroxysms of intermittent fever, when Peru- 
 vian bark is considered too powerful. A luke-warm 
 infusion is often taken to assist the operation of vegeta- 
 ble emetics. May weed, [Anthemis Cotula^) is called 
 wild chamomile, because it resembles this plant in ap- 
 pearance and medicinal qualities. 
 
 ^age. [Salvice Officinalis.) 
 
 Slightly tonic and astringent. A strong infusion of 
 the plant relieves the head-ache, and is much used for 
 that which accompanies measles and canker-rash. The 
 exhausting night-sweats attending hectic fevers have 
 sometimes been cured by fasting morning and night, 
 and drinking cold sage-tea constantly and freely. It 
 checks nausea, invigorates a feeble appetite, and in small 
 quantities is good for weak and windy stomachs. Mix- 
 ed with honey and vinegar it is a good gargle for sore 
 throats. A weak infusion, with a httle lemon juice and 
 
104 HERBS AND ROOTS. 
 
 sugar, is safe and pleasant drink in fevers. The pow- 
 dered leaves taken freely in molasses are much recom- 
 mended for worms. 
 
 Black Oak. {Quercus Tinctoria.) 
 
 The bark is astringent and somewhat tonic. Given 
 with advantage in intermittent fevers, and permanent 
 diarrhea. "A decoction is much recommended as a 
 bath for children, when a combined tonic and astringent 
 is desired, and the stomach does not receive medicines 
 kindly. It has been used in this way for scrofula, 
 chronic diarrhea, and the latter stages of cholera in- 
 fantum. 
 
 TJ^ild Cherry Tree. {Primus Virginiana.) 
 
 The bitter aromatic bark is one of the most valuable 
 of native remedies. It is atonic, at the same time that 
 it calms irritation and nervous excitability ; of course, 
 it is very useful where debility is accompanied with in- 
 flammation. Often used in the hectic fever of scrofula 
 and consumption, and applied to many cases of dyspep- 
 sia. Half an ounce of the bruised bark steeped 
 twenty-four hours in a pint of cold water. Half a gill 
 drunk three or four times a day, or oftener. Sometimes 
 the powder is used, in doses of two or three tea- 
 spoonfuls. The bark of the root is more powerful than 
 that of the trunk. A decoction is good to wash ill- 
 conditioned ulcers. 
 
 Thorough-wort; Thorough-wax; Cross-iDort; Bone-set; 
 (Eupatoriuni Perfoliatum.) 
 
 A cold inusion of the flowers is by many preferred 
 to chamomile, as a tonic stimulant. Some prefer to 
 take one or two tea-spoonfuls of the leaves and flowers 
 in powder, or rolled into pills. A warm infusion assists 
 the operation of emetics. A considerable quantity 
 
HERBS AND ROOTS. 105 
 
 taken strong, without sweetening, of itself induces 
 vomiting and perspiration. Even a cold infusion is 
 diaphoretic, and therefore given to promote moisture in 
 fevers. An ounce of the plant boiled in a quart of 
 water till reduced to a pint, sweetened with half a gill 
 of W. I. molasses, forms a mild cathartic that corrects 
 bile, without weakening the system. A wine-glass 
 may be taken. 
 
 Buck Bean; Marsh Trefoil. (Menyanthes Trifoliata.) 
 
 Root used either in powder or decoction. Resem- 
 bles thorough-wort in its effects. A tonic in small 
 doses ; but two or three gills of the strong warm 
 decoction produce vomiting, purging, and perspiration. 
 
 Butterrait Tree. (Juglans Clnerea.) 
 The inner bark of the tree, and especially of the root, 
 is a very mild and efficacious laxative. It is much em- 
 ployed in dysentery ; and when the system is habitually 
 restricted, it is better than more stimulating physic. 
 Some drink a decoction, others make it into pills. 
 Boil it with water enough to cover it. Renew the 
 water as it boils away, for an hour or two. Strain it, 
 and simmer it down, till it becomes thick as molasses. 
 Be careful not to burn it. When cool, make it into 
 common-sized pills ; of which two, three, or more, 
 may be taken, according to circumstances. People 
 troubled with weak or windy stomachs, sometimes 
 shake in a little cinnamon, or pepper, before it is made 
 into pills. An extract of butternut is sold, of which a 
 tea-spoonful operates gently, and twice as much ac- 
 tively. 
 
 May Apple ; Wild Lemon. (Podophyllum Peltatum.) 
 
 A decoction of the root is a sure and active cathar- 
 tic. Dr. Bigelow says, " We have hardly any native 
 plant which answers better the common purposes of 
 
 *: 10* 
 
106 HERBS AND ROOTS. 
 
 jalap, aloes, and rhubarb, and which is more safe and 
 mild in its operation." Some consider it a good 
 medicine for dropsy ; and it has been used in the 
 southern states for curing intermittent fever. The 
 Shakers prepare an extract of podophyllum much es- 
 teemed as a mild cathartic. A tea-spoonful of the 
 powder usually operates with efficacy, without pain or 
 inconvenience. 
 
 American Senna; Wild Senna. {Cassia Mary- 
 landica.) 
 
 The leaves and stems, in strong infusion or decoction, 
 are a very good substitute for the imported senna. It 
 is such a mild physic, that one third more of it is re- 
 quired. 
 
 Double Tanzy. (Tanacetun Crispnm) Single Tanzy. 
 {Tanacetiim Vulgare.) 
 
 Very much recommended as an emmenagogue. The 
 oil is so powerful that a {e\\ drops destroy life im- 
 mediately ; and the essence should not be taken with- 
 out medical advice. A strong decoction, or infusion, 
 of the herb is in common use. Some prefer a syrup, 
 made thus : — Put into the oven a jar of tanzy just 
 covered widi water ; bake it an hour or two ; add half 
 a pint of gin to the strained liquor ; sweeten it, and 
 cork it in bottles. Half a wine glass may be taken 
 two or three times a day. 
 
 Wild Carrot. {Daucus Carota.) 
 
 An ounce and a half of the seed steeped in a pint of 
 boihng water is a very efficacious emmenagogue, and a 
 diuretic used in cases of dropsy, stranguary, &c. The 
 seed of the common cultivated carrot answers a similar 
 purpose ; and a marmalade of the roots is recommend- 
 ed for sea-scurvy, on account of their antiseptic quali- 
 
HERBS AND ROOTS. 107 
 
 ties. A strong tea made of them is said to have re- 
 lieved people afflicted with tape-worms. 
 
 Penny Roi/al. [Iledeoma Pulegiodes.) 
 
 An aromatic ; good for flatulence, and checks sick- 
 ness at the stomach. Haifa pint of the strong infusion 
 of the herb, taken hot when going to bed, is much used 
 as an emmenagogue in common cases ; and is likewise 
 excellent to produce perspiration, when people have 
 taken cold, with feverish symptoms. 
 
 Calamint. (Melissa J^epeta.) Horsemint. {Mentha 
 Borealis.) 
 These resemble penny royal, in fragrance, taste, and 
 qualities. 
 
 Peppermint. {Mentha Piperita.) 
 In more general use than the other mints, for wind, 
 spasmodic pains, nausea, &c.; likewise to cover the 
 taste of disagreeable medicines, and diminish their 
 griping effects. The fresh herb bruised and applied to 
 the pit of the stomach often allays sickness, and is 
 especially useful in the cholera of children. Of the 
 strong infusion, a gill or two may be drunk occasionally. 
 Of the essence, fifteen or twenty drops in a little hot 
 water sweetened. Of the oil, two or three drops. 
 The essence, applied two or three times, is sure to 
 scatter blisters forming on the lips, if it be done as 
 soon as their approach is suspected. 
 
 Spearmint. {Mentha Viridis.) 
 Qualities similar to peppermint, but less bracing. 
 
 Catmint ; Catnep. {JV^epeta Cataria.) 
 A mild aromatic, that tends to promote perspiration, 
 and is often mixed with penny royal for that purpose. 
 
108 HERBS AND ROOTS. 
 
 The infusion, sweetened with molasses is a common 
 remedy for ciiildren troubled with wind-colic. It is 
 good for the mother to drink, while nursing. 
 
 Sweet-scented Golden Rod. (Solidago Odora.) 
 
 The oil obtained from the leaves is a gentle stimu- 
 lant, tending to produce perspiration ; possessing the 
 qualities of peppermint, and other aromatics. From 
 its spicy flavor, much used to cover the taste of lauda- 
 num and other disagreeable medicines, when rejected 
 by the stomach. 
 
 Chequer Berry ; Box Berry ; Mountain Tea. 
 {Gaultheria Procumbens.) 
 In much estimation as a warm aromatic stimulant. 
 The oil, like that of peppermint, diminishes the sensi- 
 bility of the nerve, when repeatedly applied to a de- 
 cayed tooth. A strong infusion of the leaves is recom- 
 mended as an emmenagogue, in cases attended with 
 debility. A tea-spoonful of the essence, in a tumbler 
 of sweetened water, is a pleasant and refreshing drink. 
 
 Petty Morel; Spikenard ; Life of Man. {Aralia 
 Raccmosa.) 
 A much-esteemed aromatic. An infusion of the 
 berries is recommended for rheumatism. A decoction 
 of the root is good for flatulence, and considered very 
 salutary for humors. Mixed with dandelions, it forms 
 a drink very beneficial for weakly people troubled with 
 wind. 
 
 Wild Sarsaparilla. {Aralia Kudicaxdis.) 
 
 A strong decoction of the roots is recommended for 
 scrofula and other humors. A gill may be taken fre- 
 quently. The Spanish Sarsaparilla, if new and well 
 
HERBS AND ROOTS. 
 
 109 
 
 preserved, is considered more efficacious than our 
 native plant. 
 
 Winter Evergreen ; Pipsissiwa ; Rheumatism Weed. 
 {Pyrola Umbellata.) 
 
 This trailing plant has high reputation. It acts as a 
 tonic in promoting strength and appetite. As a diuretic, 
 it is much praised in cases of stranguary, dropsy, and 
 various disorders of the kidneys. For humors, ulcers, 
 and tumors, it is excellent ; applied both externally and 
 internally. Drank freely and perseveringly, it is said 
 to have cured cancers. The wash is a stimulant, like 
 bitter sweet. A strong decoction, or infusion, is made 
 of the leaves and stems ; sweetened with molasses, or 
 syrup. Drank very often, and in any quantities. It is 
 well to discontinue it occasionally, and renew it, lest 
 the system become too much accustomed to it. It has 
 been celebrated in cases of chronic rheumatism. 
 
 Bitter Sweet; Woochf J^ightshade ; J^atiire's Wax 
 Work. (Solanum Dulcamara.) 
 
 A decoction of the leaves and twigs is highly recom- 
 mended for cancers, ring-worms, itch, and other 
 cutaneous eruptions. Haifa gill may be taken morn- 
 ing, noon, and night, and increased to a pint a day ac- 
 cording to its effects. In delicate constitutions it 
 sometimes occasions giddiness and vomiting. Such 
 persons should try a quarter of a gill at first. The ad- 
 dition of cinnamon, or some aromatic, renders it less 
 liable to offend the stomach. The good effects are 
 seldom perceived under eight or ten days. Humors 
 are often bathed with it, while it is taken internally ; 
 but when the surface is inflamed, this, and other ex- 
 ternal stimulants, are injurious. 
 
110 HERBS AND ROOTS. 
 
 Curled Dock; Wild Rhubarb. {Rumex Crispus.) 
 
 The root is tonic and astringent, and at the same 
 time laxative, like rhubarb. An ounce boiled in a pint 
 of water ; half a gill taken at once, as the stomach can 
 bear it. Much used in decoction, for humors ; and em- 
 ployed as a bath for the same purpose. The leaves 
 boiled for greens are slightly laxative, and good for 
 scorbutic disorders. 
 
 Broad-leaved Dock ; Butter Dock. {Rumex 
 
 Obtusifolius .) 
 The root has the same peculiar medicinal qualities 
 as the curled species. Much recommended prepared 
 as ointment for cutaneous eruptions. 
 
 Dandelion. (Leoiitodon Ta^axacum.) 
 
 Slightly tonic, diuretic, and aperient. The leaves 
 eaten as greens are excellent for the blood. The 
 milky juice is good for stranguary, dropsy, and inflam- 
 mation of the liver ; two or three table-spoonfuls 
 several times a day. A strong decoction of the roots 
 and leaves is good for the same purpose ; a gill may 
 be drunk requendy. 
 
 Bear Berry ; Wild Cranberry ; Mountain Cranberry. 
 {Jirbutus Uva Ursi.) 
 Astringent and diuretic. Very highly recommended 
 for dropsy, paroxysms brought on by gravelly concre- 
 tions, and other diseases of the kidneys. Of the pow- 
 dered leaves from five to ten or more grains is a dose. 
 A decoction is made by boiling an ounce of the plant 
 ten minutes in a pint of water. A gill may be taken 
 every hour. 
 
HERBS AND ROOTS 111 
 
 Common Juniper. (Juniperus Communis.) 
 
 On account of their diuretic effects, a decoction of 
 the bruised berries is much used in stranguary, dropsy, 
 &c. It is said to be good ibr old people with weak 
 stomachs. European Juniper is stronger than Ameri- 
 can, if it retains the aromatic taste ; but the virtue is 
 often extracted before it is sold. 
 
 Red Cedar ; American Savin. {Juniperus 
 Virginia na.) 
 
 A salve resembling the savin cerate is made of it. 
 A decoction of the bruised leaves is taken for rheuma- 
 tism, as a warm stimulant, producing perspiration. 
 
 PricMy Ash. {Xanthoxylum Fraxineum.) 
 
 Very highly recommended for chronic rheumatism. 
 Effects similar to gum guaiacum. A decoction is made 
 with an ounce of the bark boiled in a quart of water : 
 a pint may be taken in the course of the day. Some- 
 times given powdered ; about a tea-spoonful. 
 
 Sassafras Tree. (Laurus S"ssafras.) 
 
 Valued as a warm stimulant and antispasmodic, pro- 
 ducing perspiration. The oil obtained from the bark 
 is preferred to a decoction, because the virtues of the 
 plant partially evaporate by boiling. A few drops 
 should be taken, mixed with sweetened water or syrup. 
 The bark and young twigs abound with mild, delicate 
 mucilage, much used in decoction as a wash for in- 
 flamed eyes ; likewise very soothing drink for catarrh, 
 gravelly affections, and inflamed slate of the bowels. 
 Mixed with pumpkin-seed it makes an excellent tea 
 for stranguary. 
 
112 HERBS AND ROOTS. 
 
 White Pine Tree, [Pijius Strohus.) 
 
 Frequent morning walks in pine woods are very in- 
 vigorating, particularly for consumptive people. It is 
 even deemed healthy to have these trees in the vicinity 
 of dwellings. The bark of the twigs, and young 
 trees, is very mucilaginous. A decoction of it, when 
 dried, is a gentle and soothing laxative. In its green 
 state it cannot be too highly praised as a strengthening 
 wash for weak joints, and healing and cleansing to in- 
 flamed wounds and sores. The gum taken as pills is 
 very physical. 
 
 Hemlock Spruce Tree. {Pinus Canadensis.) 
 
 The astringent bark, (used by tanners,) powdered 
 and sifted through muslin, dries the surface of the skin, 
 when chafed behind the ears, &c. A decoction of the 
 twigs and leaves much recommended as a sedative 
 bath, in spotted or other malignant fevers. For rheu- 
 matic pain in the bones, it is good to soak the feet in 
 very warm water, with hemlock branches steeped in it. 
 Keep covered with blankets, and get into a hot bed. 
 The pitch is used as a strengthening plaster. 
 
 Pitch Pine Tree. {Pinus Rigida. ) 
 
 Boil the knots till the pitch rises to the surface. 
 Spread on leather, it is a very strengthening plaster 
 for weak backs. Many prefer it to all other similar 
 applications. A little nutmeg grated on the surface is 
 an improvement. 
 
 Spruce Fir Tree. (Pinus Mies.) 
 
 The exuding gum, boiled and strained, forms a plaster, 
 called Burgundy pitch, in very common use for weak 
 backs, pain in the side, &c. 
 
HERBS AND ROOTS. 113 
 
 Fir Balsam Tree. {Plmis Balsaniea.) 
 
 The exuding balsam is called resin of Canada. 
 Rubbed up with gum arabic, or sugar, and then dis- 
 solved in water, a few tea-spoonfuls may be taken as 
 the system can bear it. It is laxative and diuretic ; 
 strengthening to the nervous system, and good for 
 chronic coughs not accompanied with inflammation. 
 
 Balm of Gilead Tree, (Populus Candicans.) 
 
 The leaf-buds are very resinous and fragrant. They 
 should be gathered when they are well swelled and just 
 ready to expand. They remain thus but two or three 
 days. Bottled in rum, they form a most excellent heal- 
 ing liniment for fresh cuts and wounds. 
 
 Hardhack. (Spircea Tomentosa.) 
 
 Very astringent ; but less apt to disagree with the 
 stomach than most herbs of its kind. Used in advanced 
 stages of diarrhea and cholera infantum, when there are 
 no remaining signs of inflammation. Used as a tonic, 
 in cases of debility. A decoction of leaves and flowers ; 
 dose about half a gill. Mixed with thorough-wort, in 
 equal portions, it is recommended for chronic weakness 
 of the bowels. 
 
 Common Craneshill ; Spoiled Geranium. ( Geranium 
 Maculatum.) 
 
 A strong astringent ; used in the same cases, and 
 with the same precautions as hardhack. It is often 
 boiled in milk for children. It has no unpleasant taste 
 or smell. The root is generally used ; either in decoc- 
 tion, or in powdered doses of a tea-spoonful or more, 
 for grown persons. 
 
 11 
 
114 HERBS AND ROOTS. 
 
 Tall Blackberry. {Rubus Villosus.) 
 
 Decidedly astringent. A tea made of the roots and 
 ieaves, and"^a syrup made of the berries, are both in 
 common use to check a relaxed state of the bowels. 
 It should never be used in the first stages, or while 
 there are any feverish symptoms. 
 
 Loio, Running Blackberry ; Dewberry. {Rubus 
 Procumbens. ) 
 
 Properties similar to the high blackberry. Tea 
 made of the leaves much used as an astringent wash, 
 when the mouth is hot and sore, in fevers. 
 
 Marsh Rosemary. {Statice Caroliniana.) 
 
 The root is astringent as galls. In dysentery, con- 
 tinuing from weakness, after inflammation has subsided, 
 It has proved efficacious when other tonics and astrin- 
 gents have been tried in vain. For ulcers and sore 
 mouths it is considered a much better wash than gold- 
 thread, with which it is often combined. Internally 
 and externally it has been very successful in cases of 
 malignant sore throat. A cold infusion is preferred, 
 because some of the virtue evaporates by heat. Steep 
 from twelve to twenty-four hours. 
 
 Gold Thread. {Coptis Trifolia.) 
 
 A strong decoction of the roots recommended as a 
 tonic for indigestion. In very comnjon use as a wash 
 for ulcerated and sore mouths. Infants have it applied 
 with a soft linen swab, often during the day. Dr. 
 BIgelow thinks its reputation unmerited in such cases, 
 because it is simply a bitter, without astringency. 
 
HERBS AND ROOTS. 115 
 
 Sumach; often called Shoemake. {Rhus Glabrum.) 
 
 The berries are astringent and refrigerant. An infu- 
 sion of them is a pleasant drink in feverish complaints, 
 and a good gargle for inflamed aud ulcerated throats ; 
 likewise given to check the spitting of blood. 
 
 Virginia Snake- Root, {Aristolochia Serpentaria.) 
 
 The roots are tonic and antispasmodic. Half an 
 ounce may be well steeped in a pint of boiling water, 
 and half a wine-glass full taken repeatedly, according to 
 circumstances. It checks vomiting, and tranquillizes 
 the stomach, particularly in bilious cases. It is very 
 good to allay the delirium, watchfulness, &c. that often 
 attend febrile debility ; but ought not to be used when 
 the pulse is rapid. It is a popular diaphoretic to keep 
 out measles, rash, and other eruptions ; but physicians 
 consider it too stimulating, when there are signs of in- 
 flammation. 
 
 Saffron. {Crocus Sativus.) 
 
 An infusion of the flowers is stimulant, antispasmodic,, 
 and tends to produce sleep. Mixed with snake-root it 
 is given to keep out measles, and prevent eruptions 
 from striking to the stomach, wiien outward applications 
 are made ; but some physicians doubt its efficacy in 
 such cases. Large doses produce head-ache, stupor, 
 and other disagreeable effects. It has been recom- 
 mended as an emmenagogue; 
 
 Balm. {Melissa Officinalis.) 
 
 An infusion of the herb is a cooling drink in fevers. 
 When taken warm, it aids medicines given for perspira- 
 tion. 
 
 Motherwort. {Leonurus Cardiaca.) 
 
 Very quieting in nervous, hysterical complaints, and 
 strengthening to weak stomachs. Half a pint of the 
 
116 HERBS AND ROOTS. 
 
 Strong, warm infusion will often induce refreshing sleep, 
 when it cannot be obtained by other means. Drank 
 plentifully and constantly, it is one of the very best 
 regulators during that critical change in the constitutions 
 of women approaching fifty years of age. Tonics and 
 stimulants, though supported by popular opinion, are 
 injurious at this time. Food and drink should be very 
 simple and unexciting, and taken cool or cold. Full- 
 blooded people should keep the system low by the 
 occasional use of rhubarb or salts. Sleep on a mattrass, 
 and admit the cool air freely. Avoid cold, damp 
 places and violent exercise. If the feet are cold 
 bathe them in warm water with three or four table-spoon- 
 fuls of mustard powder in it ; rub them till they glow, 
 and get into a warm bed. If troubled with excessive 
 flowing, keep quiet as possible. Severe pain may be 
 relieved by taking one grain of opium every six hours. 
 Wear flannel next the skin, and be sure to keep the 
 feet warm. 
 
 Skunk Cabbage ; Linn. (let odes Fcetidus.) 
 
 The root and the seed are both used for anodyne 
 qualities. For asthma, or nervous spasms, a tea-spoon- 
 ful of the powdered root may be given in molasses, 
 or syrup, and repeated at intervals till the patient is 
 quieted. Twice that quantity each morning is said to 
 be good for dropsy, rheumatism, and even epilepsy. 
 A syrup made of the root has aflbrded great relief in 
 asthma, chronic cough, and catarrh. The fresh root 
 is sometimes steeped in cold water. Its qualities 
 escape so easily, by heat or air, that it should be dried 
 in thick slices, and not powdered till used. In delicate 
 constitutions, over-doses sometimes occasion vomiting 
 and vertigo. 
 
 The dangerous plant called poke root^ or American 
 Hellebore, grows in the same places, and closely re- 
 sembles it in early spring. But skunk cabbage has a 
 larger root, and every part, when broken, emits the 
 
HERBS AND ROOTS. 
 
 11^ 
 
 disagreeable smell, from which it takes its name. It 
 always remains a mere tuft of large leaves, like a 
 cabbage ; while, as the season advances, the poke root 
 sends up a very tall stalk. 
 
 Lettuce. 
 
 Water distilled from it is a mild sedative, without the 
 constipating effects of opium. Grown people may take 
 from half a gill to a gill. A tea made of the leaves, or 
 milk squeezed from the plant, is a gentle opiate, to 
 check chronic dysentery, allay coughs, and soothe ner- 
 vous irritation. 
 
 Hop Vine. (Humulus Lupulus.) 
 
 A decoction of half an ounce of the blossoms in a 
 pint of boiling water is a useful tonic. On account of 
 its anodyne qualities, it is sometimes taken to procure 
 sleep. Hop beer invigorates the stomach, when op- 
 pressed with dyspepsia, or feehngs of lassitude in the 
 spring. A bag filled with hops and wet with hot rum, 
 or vinegar, is a quieting application for pain in the 
 bowels, cramp in the stomach, ague in the face, &c. 
 They are often moistened with spirit, so as to prevent 
 a rustling noise, and then made into pillows for nervous 
 and wakeful people. In poultices and fomentations 
 they are used to soothe painful swellings, &c. The very 
 young shoots eaten as asparagus, are reckoned healthy. 
 
 Apple of Peru ; Thorn Apple ; DeviVs Apple ; 
 Jamestown Weed. {Datura Stramonium.) 
 
 This plant when swallowed is a narcotic poison. 
 The leaves, prepared like tobacco, and smoked, have 
 given great relief in cases of pure spasmodic asthma. 
 Applied to the part affected, or to the feet, they have 
 been efficacious in removing spasms. 
 11* 
 
118 HERBS AND ROOTS. 
 
 Lolo Mallows, {Malva Rotundifolia.) 
 
 An infusion of the plant sweetened with W. I. 
 molasses is gently laxative. Very smooth and soothing 
 medicine for piles, dysentery, and inflammation of the 
 bowels. 
 
 Succory. (Cichorhim Intybus.) 
 
 The same properties as low mallows. Consumptive 
 people will do well to use it freely. 
 
 Elder Bush. {Sambucus Canadensis.) 
 
 Tea made of the blossoms, sweetened with W. I. 
 molasses, or a syrup made of the berries, is safe and 
 gentle physic for small children. A few tea-spoonfuls 
 may be repeated according to circumstances. The 
 young leaf-buds are too strongly purgative for little 
 children. 
 
 Slippery Elm I Red Elm. (Ulmus Fulva.) 
 
 A decoction of the bark drank plentifully, is an ex- 
 cellent demulcent in lung fevers, and much recommend- 
 ed for piles, dysentery, and consumption. A healing 
 wash for chilblains, eruptions, &c. 
 
 Elecampane. (Inula Helenium.) 
 
 Gently stimulant, tonic, diaphoretic, diuretic expecto- 
 rant, and emmenagogue. I\Iuch used in chronic diseases 
 of the lungs and chest, attended with general debility. 
 Some take a tea-spoonful of the powdered root every 
 few hours ; others drink half a gill of the strong decoc- 
 tion frequently. A syrup is made by slicing the fresh 
 roots, covering them with sugar, and baking them an 
 hour or two. 
 
HERBS AND ROOTS. 119 
 
 JFIiite Ilorehound. {Marrubium Vulgare.) 
 
 A strong infusion of the herb sweetened with honey 
 or W. I. molasses, is gently aperient, and promotes 
 expectoration. Highly recommended for coughs and 
 diseases of the lungs. Plentiful draughts of the warm 
 infusion induce vomiting. A few tea-spoonfuls should 
 be taken frequently, when cool. 
 
 Hyssop. {Hyssopus Officinalis.) 
 
 The bruised leaves are said to mitigate the pain of 
 bruises and heal them without a scar. An infusion 
 stimulates gently, and helps expectoration. Good for 
 asthma, chronic catarrh, coughs, &:c. especially in old, 
 debilitated people. Elecampane, hyssop and hore- 
 hound steeped together, and taken with warm flax-seed 
 tea, when going to bed, is much praised as a cure for 
 colds. 
 
 CoWs Foot ; Wild Ginger ; Canada Snake-root, 
 {t^isarum Canadense.) 
 
 The herb steeped in milk promotes perspiration, and 
 is recommended for diseases of the lungs. It is thought 
 the spicy root might be a substitute for ginger. 
 
 Silk Weed; Milk Weed. [Asclepias Syriaca.) 
 
 A strong infusion of the root has anodyne qualities. 
 Good for the same diseases as hyssop. 
 
 Butterfly Weed ; Pleurisy Root ; Archangel. 
 [Aselepias Tuherosa.) 
 
 A strong decoction of the root, taken several times 
 a day is highly recommended by physicians for pulmo- 
 nary consumption, pleurisy, catarrh, and various dis- 
 eases of the lungs. It produces expectoration, relieves 
 the difficulty of breathing, and throws the patient into 
 
120 HERBS AND ROOTS. 
 
 a gentle perspiration, without the heating tendency of 
 some vegetable medicines. Large doses are some- 
 what cathartic. 
 
 Marsh Mallows. (Alfhea Officinalis.) 
 
 The leaves and root both used to form a soothing 
 drink for irritating coughs, catarrhal affections, an emol- 
 lient gargle for sore throat, &c. 
 
 Ginseng. (Panax Quinquefolium.) 
 
 The root taken in decoction, or chewed, for the 
 same purposes as liquorice. 
 
 Icelan d Moss, ( Cetraria Islandica. ) 
 
 An ounce steeped in a pint of boiling water makes a 
 drink demulcent, nutritious and tonic. Much recom- 
 mended in chronic catarrhs, pulmonary complaints, 
 and weakness occasioned by dysentery, or the copious 
 discharge of external ulcers. Sometimes boiled into a 
 jelly, strained and seasoned with lemon-juice and sugar. 
 
 Garlick. (Mlium Sativum.) 
 
 A general stimulant that quickens circulation and ex- 
 cites the nervous system. When the patient is kept 
 warm, its effects are diaphoretic. Taken cool, it is 
 used as a diuretic, for dropsies and calculous disorders. 
 As an expectorant, it is given in chronic catarrh, 
 humoral asthma, whooping-cough, and other pectoral 
 affections, after inflammation has subsided. In mode- 
 rate quantities, it is good for flatulence and enfeebled 
 digestion. Recommended for worms. The bulbs 
 may be swallowed in slices, in pills, or made into a 
 syrup taken in milk. A grown person may take half a 
 clove, or a whole one, several times a day. Of the 
 juice, about a tea-spoonful may be taken at once. It 
 
HERBS AND ROOTS. 121 
 
 renders the breath extremely offensive. Large doses, 
 especially in excited states of the system, are apt to 
 occasion irritation, flatulence, and fever. Bruised and 
 applied to the feet, it is good for disorders of the head, 
 quiets restlessness, and produces sleep. The bruised 
 root steeped in spirit, or the juice mixed with oil, is 
 used as a wash in infantile convulsions, and other 
 spasmodic disorders of children. A single clove, or a 
 few drops of the juice on cotton, introduced into the 
 ear, has proved highly efficacious in some cases of deaf- 
 ness. 
 
 Horse Radish. {Cochlearia Jlrnioracia.) 
 
 The root promotes appetite and digestion. As an 
 active stimulant, it is used both externally and internally 
 for palsy and chronic rheumatism. As a diuretic, it is 
 employed in dropsical disorders, particularly when the 
 digestive powers are weak. Highly esteemed in 
 scorbutic affections. Half a drachm or more may be 
 taken, grated or sliced. A syrup made of it is good 
 for a hoarse cold. Boiled in milk, it is said to be a 
 good wash to remove tan and freckles. The leaves 
 are a good application for rheumatic pains. They often 
 relieve the tooth-ache, but if kept on the face too long 
 will produce a blister. Bound on the feet, they are 
 excellent for the head-ache and for colds attended with 
 feverish symptoms. The stems should be cut out, 
 they should be slowly wilted before the fire, or dipped 
 in hot vinegar, clapped in the hands till they become 
 soft, and then applied warm. 
 
 Burdock. (Arctium Lappa.) 
 
 These leaves have a quieting effect, and promote 
 perspiration. They are soothing to inflamed surfaces, 
 and are good to bind on the feet for nervous head-ache, 
 burning in the feet, &c. A thick bat of them, applied 
 very warm, relieves the pain in the bowels, that attends 
 
122 HERBS AND ROOTS. 
 
 dysentery and diarrhea. They should be prepared the 
 same as horse-radish, only no vinegar must be used. 
 A decoction of the root is aperient, diuretic, and 
 sudorific ; good for humors, gout, rheumatism, &c. 
 Tea made of the seed is good for stranguary. 
 
 Mullein. [Verbascum Thapsus.) 
 
 The leaves wilted in warm milk are applied for sore 
 throat ; and mixed with catmint are soothing to inflam- 
 ed surfaces. In the latter case they should be renew- 
 ed before they become dry. They should be gathered 
 from young plants, before the stalk runs up. An infu- 
 sion of tile flowers is given in mild catarrhs, and a 
 decoction of the leaves as an anodyne for diarrhea. 
 
 Plantain. (Plantago JMajor.) 
 
 The bruised leaves are a cooling application for in- 
 flamed sores, stings of insects, &c., and an ingredient 
 in soothing ointments. They are sometimes moistened 
 with warm milk. The expressed juice swallowed is 
 said to be good for the bite of venomous insects and 
 reptiles. Toads resort to it when bitten by spiders. 
 A slave in Carolina is said to have received his freedom 
 for curing the bite of a ratde-snake with the juice of 
 plantain and horehound, obtained from the bruised 
 roots and leaves. A table-spoonful poured down the 
 throat every hour, and tobacco moistened with rum ap- 
 plied to the w^ound. 
 
 Common Mustard. ( Sinapis Nigra . ) 
 
 The seed swallowed w^hole are a stimulating laxative 
 much recommended for dyspepsia. A table-spoonful 
 once or twice a day, soon after meals ; ihey may be 
 taken in molasses, or previously softened in hot water. 
 For rheumatism and palsy, they are taken every few 
 hours. White mustard is the kind generally preferred. 
 
POULTICES. 123 
 
 Two or three tea-spoonfuls of common powdered 
 mustard is a rapid emetic, and is often used to hasten 
 the operation of other emetics. It is thought well 
 suited to cases of great torpor of stomach ; especially 
 that produced by narcotic poisons. Native mustard is 
 itronger than imported, and there is less liability to de- 
 ception. 
 
 Jl Diet Drink, for Humors. 
 
 Burdock root ; curled dock root ; sarsaparilla root ; 
 petty morel root. Leaves of the winter evergreen, or 
 pipsissiwa ; bitter-sweet ; chequer berry ; sprigs of 
 sweet fern, unless the state of the system renders its 
 astringent qualities undesirable. Boil the ingredients 
 about an hour and a half Strain it, and add a pint of 
 W. I. molasses to a pailful, while hot. When blood- 
 warm put a gill of lively yeast to a pailful. Let it re- 
 main in a jar or cask, till the froth on the top subsides 
 to the thickness of a wafer. Then cork it tight in 
 bottles. 
 
 POULTICES, 
 
 Whenever hark, leaves, blossoms, or seed, are men- 
 tioned in the following pages, as forming a poultice, 
 it is meant that they are stewed in water, or milk, and 
 thickened icith crumbs of bread, or rye, or Indian meal. 
 When wanted for soothing purposes, milk is better 
 than water. 
 
 Poultices should generally be applied lukewarm, as 
 soft as they will cohere together. They are usually 
 changed every two or three hours ; but in common 
 cases, there is no need of rising in the night to attend 
 to it. When there is great pain, they should be re- 
 newed more frequently. 
 
124 POULTICES. 
 
 Where mortification is apprehended, they should be 
 changed often ; sometimes every fifteen or twenty 
 minutes, night and day. The approach of mortification 
 is indicated by the formation of blisters filling with 
 blood ; and its progress by the increasing blackness of 
 surrounding parts. 
 
 The surface of poultices should always be soft and 
 smooth ; therefore the presence of stems, hard veins, 
 &c. ought to be avoided. A fresh supply should be 
 made often, in small quantities: 
 
 When applied to inflamed surfaces, sweet oil, linseed 
 oil, or lard, spread upon the surface renders them more 
 soothing, and prevents their adhering to the skin. The 
 grease used for this purpose should always be very 
 fresh and sweet. 
 
 Biscuit Poultice is made by thickening boihng milk 
 with powdered cracker, or crumbs of bread. Much 
 used as an emollient and suppurative, for felons, whit- 
 lows, inflamed sores, &c. Oatmeal prepared in the 
 same way is very emollient. 
 
 Flax-Seed, either whole or powdered, stirred plenti- 
 fully into biscuit poultice, render it more soothing to 
 inflamed surfaces, and promote suppurdion. 
 
 Sumach. The inner bark powdered, or scraped, 
 and stewed soft, forms an excellent emollient poultice. 
 If there is matter, it will bring it to a head ; if not, it 
 will allay the swelling. 
 
 Loiv Mallows. The fresh leaves form a soothing, 
 suppurative poultice. 
 
 Slippery Elm. The bark powdered, or finely shred, 
 forms a very emollient applicaticn. 
 
 Marsh Mallows. The roots make a very soothing 
 poultice. 
 
 Hops, prepared as a poultice, are very quieting. 
 
 Poppy blossoms are very quieting to rheumatic pains 
 
POULTICES. 125 
 
 in the head, burning wounds, &c. In case of great 
 irritation, a soft linen rag dipped in very sweet oil, or 
 soothing ointment, may be placed between the poultice 
 and the wound. 
 
 Lettuce. The freshly gathered leaves have similar 
 effects, but less in degree. 
 
 White Garden Lily. The scaly bulk forms a 
 comforting suppurative poultice. 
 
 Skunk Cabbage. The sliced roots are made into a 
 quieting poultice to relieve ague in the breast. 
 
 Figs, merely toasted, or boiled, and split open, are a 
 good suppurative for parts where connnon poultices 
 would be retained with difficulty ; such as gum-biles, 
 &c. 
 
 White Beans merely stewed soft, and put on in thin 
 muslin bags, are excellent to take down swellings. 
 
 Wheat Bran stirred in cold vinegar, and boiled till 
 it becomes salvy, is a very quick cure for sprains. 
 Rye bran will answer. 
 
 Yellow Water Lily, or Skunk Lihj. {JVuphar 
 Mvena.) A poultice of the roots is very powerful in 
 drawing tumors to a head. Much used for broken 
 breasts. 
 
 White Pond Lily. {J^ymphea Odorata.) A poul- 
 tice of the sliced roots has astringent properties, 
 similar to alum-curds. It has sometimes been very in- 
 judiciously employed when it was desirable to bring 
 swellings to a head. 
 
 jHum-Curds are formed by stirring a tea-spoonful of 
 pulverized alum into half a pint of warm milk. They 
 are applied as an astringent to arrest mortification ; and 
 are good to soothe proud flesh, and disperse the humors 
 gathering round inflamed wounds. Renewed as soon 
 as dry. 
 
 Vinegar Curds. Made in the same way, with 
 vinegar instead of alum. They cool inflammation. 
 12 
 
126 POULTICES. 
 
 Jllum Poultice. Stir the whites of two eggs briskly 
 with a lump of alum till they coagulate. A good ap- 
 plication for inflamed eyes, placed on the closed lids 
 at night. 
 
 Rotten Apple, merely split open and placed on the 
 lids, is very cooling to inflamed eyes. It retains its 
 moisture much belter than alum or vinegar-curds. 
 
 Roasted Apple is likewise a good application. 
 
 Indian Meal stirred into hot vinegar, and applied 
 very warm, gives relief when there is violent pain in 
 the bowels. 
 
 Carrots, merely boiled and mashed, are a emollient 
 application for ulcers, &c. Scraped fresh, they are 
 considered good for cancerous ulcers, the fetor of which 
 they are supposed to correct. Boiled turnips and 
 potatoes are used for emollient poultices. 
 
 Elder Blossoms are made into a poultice to prevent 
 the approach of mortification. 
 
 Black OaJc bark, powdered, or scraped very fine, 
 forms a good astringent poultice for gangrene and mor- 
 tification. 
 
 Charcoal, pulverized and plentifully stirred into 
 biscuit-poultice arrests mortification, and is good for 
 gangrene, ill-conditioned ulcers, Slc. 
 
 Yeast Poultice is made by stirring a pound of wheat- 
 flour into half a pint of lively yeast. Expose it to a 
 gentle heat till it begins to ferment. A cleansing ap- 
 plication for foul ulcers, &c. ; and often used when 
 alum-curds do not arrest the progress of mortification. 
 
 Horse Manure simmered in urine, and applied warm 
 every fifteen or twenty minuies, is very powerful and 
 efficacious, even in advanced stages of mortification. 
 The natural color of the flesh will gradually return, and 
 the mortified portions separate. 
 
POULTICES. 127 
 
 Cranberries stewed, apjDlied as a poultice frequently 
 and perseveringly, are recommended by Indian doctors 
 as a cure for cancer. 
 
 Lacly^s Delight, sometimes called pansy, forget-me- 
 not, viola tri-color, &c. A poultice of the blossoms 
 said to cure the crusta lactea ; though for the first 
 week it makes the disorder appear worse instead of 
 better. A decoction of the plant is drunk occasionally. 
 
 Winter Evergreen, or Pipsissiica. Tumors of long 
 standing, have disappeared from the use of this stimu- 
 lating poultice, renewed several times a day. 
 
 Ginger plentifully stirred in biscuit-poultice is ap- 
 plied to the face to relieve the tooth-ache. 
 
 Mustard Seed stirred into rye or Indian meal poul- 
 tice, made with boiling water. They are applied to 
 the soles of the feet, or the ancles, when people have 
 a heavy cold, pain in the bones, &c. They frequently 
 relieve violent tooth-ache ; but a thin rag had better be 
 placed between them and the cheek, to avoid a blister. 
 When the face is thoroughly hot, they can be removed, 
 and renewed, if necessary. 
 
 If powdered mustard be spread on the surface of a 
 rye poultice, it will be more likely to draw a blister* 
 Such an application to the pit of the stomach soon 
 checks vomiting and nausea, and may be removed be- 
 fore it blisters. 
 
 A tea-spoonful of powdered mustard, well mixed with 
 a tea-spoonful of cold water, and spread about the thick- 
 ness of a wafer on strong brown paper, is an excellent 
 application for acute rheumatism, severe pain in the 
 side, cramp in the stomach, he. Applied to the 
 chest, it is a valuable remedy when there is a heavy 
 cold on the lungs, and the person is obliged to go out. 
 It should remain on two hours, or until it dries and 
 drops off. The same plaster, as big as a cent, ap- 
 plied to the hollow place under the ear, relieves the ear- 
 
128 OINTMENTS. 
 
 ache. It may remain about an hour, and be succeeded 
 by a htile bat of cotton for a day after. 
 
 If a patient is too unconscious to complain, care 
 should be taken to remove mustard applications in 
 season. Bad blisters are sometimes produced by pro- 
 longing this powerful stimulus. If desirable to render 
 it milder, it may be mixed with Indian meal. 
 
 OINTMENTS. 
 
 All rancid oils are inflaming ; therefore ointments 
 should be made of very pure olive oil, fresh lard, or 
 butter new and unsalted from the churn : the last is 
 probably best. Sweet cream may be used, if unmixed 
 with a particle of milk. The purity of olive oil, called 
 sweet oil, is known by the absence of taste or smell. 
 
 The ingredients are usually simmered an hour or 
 more, till they become crisped^ or the color and 
 qualities are obviously imparted. All leaves, stems, 
 seeds, &c. should be separated by straining while 
 warm. 
 
 Ointments should be kept covered from light and 
 air. If they become rancid, they lose their healing 
 properties. 
 
 House-LeeJi. (Stmpervivum Teclorum.) The 
 broken leaves, mixed with an equal portion of plantain, 
 and slowly simmered in new butter, form an extremely 
 cooling ointment for inflamed surfaces, blisters, &.C. 
 
 Elder Bush, the leaf-buds, taken in early spring, and 
 prepared in the same way, make a very soothing lini- 
 ment. The inner bark of the bush is a useful ingredient 
 to add to any cooling ointment. 
 
 Large White Garden Lily. [Lilium Candidum.) 
 The bruised flowers form a healing ointment for exter- 
 nal inflammations. 
 
OINTMENTS. 129 
 
 Hops made into ointment quiet the pain of cancerous 
 sores, virulent eruptions, &c. 
 
 Mullein leaves, moistened in hot water, then sim- 
 mered in fresh lard, form a soothing and quieting lini- 
 ment. 
 
 Onions, sliced and simmered in lard, that has been 
 previously melted and cooled five or six times, by- 
 being poured each time into a pailful of fresh water, 
 make a salve highly praised for inflammation produced 
 by taking cold in wounds. 
 
 Chalky powdered and stirred into lard prepared by 
 the same process, is very cooling to burns and inflam- 
 mations. 
 
 Snow Ointment. Heat a little fresh lard till some- 
 what scorched. When cool, work in with a knife as 
 much snow as it will take up. It is extremely cooling, 
 and keeps pure a good while. 
 
 Cold Cream. Oil of almonds, two ounces ; sperma- 
 ceti, half an ounce ; white wax half an ounce. Put 
 them in a covered vessel, and place it in a skillet of 
 boiling water. When melted, beat them up with a 
 little rose-water till the whole becomes cold. Extreme- 
 ly soothing when the face and lips are inflamed by ex- 
 posure to the wind ; likewise comforting when soreness 
 renders the act of nursing painful. It does not keep 
 sweet longer than two or three weeks. 
 
 Simple Cerate. Fresh lard, six parts ; white wax, 
 three parts ; spermaceti, one part. Slowly melted 
 together, and stirred briskly till cold. 
 
 Spermaceti Ointment is prepared in the same way, 
 with less oil and wax, and more spermaceti. 
 
 Basilicon Ointment. Fresh lard, eight parts ; resin 
 of pine, five parts ; yellow wax, two parts. Melted 
 and stirred. 
 
 Gall Ointment. Two drachms of finely powdered 
 
 12* 
 
130 OINTMENTS. 
 
 gall ; half a drachm of fine opium, mixed with half an 
 ounce of fresh lard. Good for piles. Applied after 
 thorough washing with soft water. Equal portions of 
 sulphur, cream of tartar, and powdered senna, one or 
 two tea-spoonfuls daily, should be taken as a laxative. 
 
 Flour of Sulphur^ one ounce thoroughly stirred in 
 twice as much melted lard, and not strained, forms the 
 common itch ointment. A little oil of lavender, or 
 lemon, renders the odor less disagreeable. Rubbed in 
 before a fire, several successive nights, and washed off 
 with warm soap and water before a fresh application is 
 made. A pound is enough for four unctions. If the 
 whole body is infected, different portions should be 
 anointed alternately, because it is unsafe to stop too 
 many pores at once. Physic should be taken before it 
 is applied. Flour of sulphur and cream of tartar, a 
 tea-spoonful each, may be taken, night and morning, in 
 a little molasses, or milk. The clothes worn during 
 the infection ought to be smoked with brim.stone and 
 washed, lest they communicate the infection. People 
 should be cautious not to mistake other eruptions for 
 the itch, as great hazard might be incurred by suddenly 
 striking them in. 
 
 It usually appears first on the wrists, or between the 
 fingers, in the form of small watery bunches ; but 
 sometimes in large blotches, or white scurf. The 
 neatest persons may take it by contagion, but perfect 
 cleanliness will prevent its bemg severe. 
 
 Pol'e Weed* The purple berries should be crush- 
 ed, squeezed through a cloth, and left in the air till the 
 juice diminishes two thirds ; then simmered with fresh 
 lard. Used in some stages of salt-rheum, itch, and 
 malignant ulcers. It has a somewhat caustic effect, 
 tending to produce an eschar, or scabby covering. 
 
 * Likewise called garget, wild jalap, cocum, skoke, &c. Phyto- 
 lacca decandra. It is quite a different plant from poke root, or 
 American hellebore. 
 
OINTMENTS. 
 
 131 
 
 Bitter Siceet. An ointment of the leaves Is very 
 salutary for scrofulous and other humors. 
 
 Tobacco, half an ounce simmered In half a pound of 
 lard makes a soothing ointment for irritable ulcers, 
 scald-head, &c. 
 
 Apple of Peru. The seed vessels, or fresh leaves, 
 well simmered in sweet lard, make a healing liniment, 
 very highly recommended for scald-head, cutaneous 
 eruptions, the piles, &c. 
 
 Charcoal pulverized, sifted, and thoroughly mixed 
 with cold lard, arrests the progress of mortification, and 
 is cleansing to putrid ulcers, scald-head, &c. 
 
 Tar^ one ounce ; flour of sulphur, half an ounce ; 
 fresh lard, two ounces ; well mixed. Good for scald- 
 head, and other ulcerous humors. It has peculiar 
 facility In removing scabs and allaying itching. One 
 third tar, simmered with two thirds pure mutton tallow, 
 Is recommended for salt-rheum. It should be removed 
 daily with a sharp knife, and cleansed with a rag dipped 
 In warm mutton tallow. The diet should be very low, 
 and salts taken occasionally. 
 
 Broad-leaved DocJc. The root made into an oint- 
 ment and used perseveringly, has great reputation as a 
 cure for cutaneous eruptions. A decoction of the root 
 should be drank freely at the same time, and salts taken 
 two or three times a week. 
 
 Smart Weed ; Biting Knotweed ; Water Pepper, 
 (Polygonum Hijdropiper.) Well known for the 
 stinging acrimony of its taste. The bruised leaves 
 made into an ointment, frequently and perseverlngly 
 applied, are highly recommended as a cure for cancers. 
 This formidable disease might be often cured if It were 
 attended to in season. A hard tumor, about the size 
 of a hazle-nut, Is usually the first symptom ; and it 
 sometimes remains unaltered for a very long time. As 
 soon as it Is discovered, ointments and poultices should 
 be applied, purges taken twice or thrice a week, and 
 
132 NARCOTIC POISONS. 
 
 all high-seasoned food, salt provisions, and stimulating 
 liquors carefully avoided. Among various other causes, 
 cancers are sometimes produced by the tight pressure 
 of stays. 
 
 NARCOTIC POISONS. 
 
 Young persons should be cautioned against tasting 
 of any roots, berries, seed, or leaves with which they 
 are unacq<^iainted. INlany plants have narcotic qualities, 
 like opium, producing distress, nausea, and giddiness, 
 sometimes ending in convulsions and death. When 
 people have been poisoned by swallowing laudanum^ 
 or similar substances, a thorough evacuation of the 
 stomach is the first object. Powerful doses of emetic 
 must be given instantly. Ipecac is recommended for 
 narcotic poisons, because it peculiarly counteracts their 
 effects. Thirty grains, mixed with the same quantity 
 of sulphate of zinc, may be given to a grown person ; 
 and fifteen grains of ipecac repeated every ten minutes, 
 till it operates freely. If the wine of ipecac is used, 
 half a gill may be given for the first dose, and a table- 
 spoonful repeated. The inclination to vomit should 
 be encouraged by tickling the throat with a feather, or 
 with the finger, and by draughts of luke-warm water. 
 If other emetics are not at liand, one table-spoonful 
 of powdered mustard, stirred in a tumbler of w^arni 
 water, and repeated if necessary, will generally induce 
 vomiting. When the emetic has operated, a brisk dose 
 of castor oil and jalap should be given. Olive oil in 
 large quantities, broth, and gruel, are good, taken from 
 time to time. Vinegar and lemon juice have been 
 recommended ; but some physicians say they do much 
 more harm than good. To counteract drowsiness, 
 keep the patient walking, and give strong coffee, or 
 strong green tea freely. A tea-spoonful of Water of 
 Ammonia, (called Hartshorn,) in a wine-glass of water, 
 every fifteen minutes, repeated for an hour or more, if 
 
MINERAL POISONS. 
 
 133 
 
 the emergency renders it necessary^ is said to have a 
 very stimulating and rousing eflect. 
 
 It should be persevered in, when the system 
 seems sinking from reaction. If this cannot be obtain- 
 ed, a little clear brandy or rum may be given. At the 
 same time, the body should be rubbed with salt, and 
 hartshorn applied to the nostrils. The patient should 
 not sleep for twelve hours. The diet should be very 
 bland and simple during recovery. 
 
 MINERAL POISONS. 
 
 The most common are nitric acid., arsenic^ and 
 oxalic acid. They produce burning heat in the mouth 
 and stomach, acute pain, nausea, and hiccough. Re- 
 peated doses of calcined magnesia are the best antidote. 
 If ma2;ne5ia is not at hand, let a solution of soap and 
 water be drank freely. It is made by dissolving half a 
 pound of brown soap in a quart of water ; a cup-full 
 should be given warm every three or four minutes. 
 Chalk and water and lime-water likewise tend to neu- 
 tralize the acid. 
 
 An emetic should be instantly given. Sulphate of 
 zinc operates the quickest, and is always most safely 
 administered mingled with ipecac. A grown person 
 may take thirty grains of each in a glass of warm water ; 
 and fifteen grains of ipecac niay be repeated every ten 
 minutes, if necessary. Assist the vomiting by copious 
 draughts of warm barley-water, gruel, or flax-seed 
 tea. Oils, and greasy substances increase the danger. 
 Emollient fomentations and injections are useful. Phy- 
 sicians usually try bleeding, or leeches, when the in- 
 flammatory symptoms appear. During convalescence, 
 the diet should be strictly confined to gruel, arrow- 
 root, milk, &c. 
 
 When corrosive sublimate has been swallowed, the 
 white of eggs, taken freely, w^ill resolve it into a harm- 
 less mass. 
 
134 EXTERNAL POISON. 
 
 Sugar, or syrup, in large quantities, is an antidote to 
 the poison of copper, or verdigris. 
 
 Common salt is an antidote to nitrate of silver. 
 
 Sulphate of magnesia, or sulphate of soda, are good 
 to counteract sugar of lead and other preparations of 
 that metal. 
 
 When over doses of tartar emetic^ or other Antimo- 
 niaU have been taken, yellow Peruvian bark will pre- 
 vent the fatal effects. Quarter of a gill of the strong 
 infusion is said to neutralize the eflect of twenty grains 
 of tartar-emetic. Almost any vegetable bitter will have 
 the same effect ; therefore it is very improper to give 
 chamomile tea, when you wish to vomit with antimony. 
 
 EXTERNAL POISON. 
 
 In many constitutions, a virulent and painful eruption 
 is the consequence of merely handling such plants as 
 the poison ivy, [rhus radicans,) and the dogwood, or 
 poison sumach, {rhus vernix.) The first is a vine, 
 with smooth, oval leaves, three clustering together at 
 the end of a stalk ; flowers and berries small, and 
 greenish white. The last is a shrub, with foliage re- 
 sembling the locust tree, or common sumach. The 
 young stalks tinged with fine red. Loose bunches of 
 minute green flowers, and dry greenish berries. 
 
 Spots of the juice should be inmiediately wiped 
 from the hands or clothes, and rubbed with chalk or 
 magnesia, to prevent the infection's spreading. Cold 
 water, or iced water, mitigates the burning sensation. 
 Salt and water is perhaps still more cooling and effica- 
 cious. A solution of sugar of lead is often used as a 
 wash. While these outward remedies are applied, the 
 system must be kept thoroughly purged with salts, the 
 diet must be very low, and all heating exercise avoided. 
 Bleeding is generally recommended to plethoric persons. 
 
BATHS, AND FOMENTATIONS. 135 
 
 People in ihe country highly praise a decoction of 
 sweet fern, (comptonia asplenifolia,) both as adrink and 
 a wash for external poison. 
 
 BATHS, AND FOMENTATIONS. 
 
 Dr. Dewees says, "Both the hoinnd coW baths are 
 remedies of great power, and should never be used 
 without the advice of a physician. The indiscriminate 
 use of both has done more injury, we fear, than can ever 
 be compensated by the good derived irom their proper 
 application." He defines the cold bath as one that 
 produces a shock when applied to the human body. 
 This effect is generally produced by water at sixty-two 
 degrees, Fahrenheit's thermometer, especially in the 
 form of a shower-bath. From eighty-two degrees to 
 ninety-eight is the temperature of a icarm, or tepid^ 
 bath. Above ninety-eight it is a hot bath. 
 
 It is a popular opinion that cold baths must be 
 bracing; but, in fact, warm baths under some circum- 
 stances, produce this effect much better than cold ones. 
 All tepid baths should be taken in a moderately warm 
 room ; the towels for wiping should be warm and dry, 
 and great care taken to cover the patient as soon as he 
 is lifted from the water. 
 
 Very cold water is strengthening to weak backs, 
 applied freely with a sponge early in the morning. 
 Circumstances periodically occur which renders a 
 cessation of the practice prudent for a few days. 
 
 A bath of hike-warm sea-water, for ten or fifteen 
 minutes, every day, is much recommended for scrofulous 
 complaints. A pretty good substitute can be made by 
 dissolving salt in water. 
 
 A good vapor-bath can be prepared by placing strong 
 sticks across a tub filled with scalding hot water. Let 
 the patient sit upon them with every part of the person 
 
136 BATHS, AND FOMENTATIONS. 
 
 entirely enveloped in blankets. When there is full 
 perspiration, place him in a very warm bed. This is 
 very beneficial in case of severe colds, violent colic, 
 &c. Bitter herbs are often steeped in the water, such 
 as tansy, wormwood, chamomile, &c. These are par- 
 ticularly useful when the steam-bath is used as an em- 
 menagogue. If the herbs cannot be obtained, their 
 essence can be used instead. Sometimes bitter herbs 
 are applied to the bowels in bags moistened with hot 
 rum, or water, and frequently changed. Every pre- 
 caution should be taken against admitting air into the 
 bed, and to prevent the danger of taking cold the fol- 
 lowing day. 
 
 When the patient is too weak to be raised up, a bath 
 may be given by placing a board on each side under 
 the bed-clothes ; at the foot of the bed, two other 
 narrow boards may descend into a tub filled with boiling 
 water, and completely enveloped in blankets, so that all 
 the steam may go up into the bed. It is well to place 
 very hot stones in the water, to preserve the heat. In 
 burning fevers, boughs of the hemlock tree (known for 
 its use in tanning) are thought to have a very quieting 
 effect, steeped in the water. 
 
 When the feet are soaked it should be in water as 
 warm as can be conveniently borne by the feet. If an 
 invalid cannot rise, fomentations may be applied as 
 follows : — When he is ' gone tobed, double a thick 
 blanket four square, put it between the sheets at the 
 bottom of the bed, and place his feet in the middle of it. 
 Have ready a gallon of water as hot as the hand can 
 endure ; put into it four towels ; wring two of these 
 dry, and apply them very hot, one to each ancle and 
 foot ; cover the feet well with the blanket and bed- 
 clothes. Every five minutes change the towels for hot 
 ones wrung dry from the water ; insinuate them very 
 carefully between the bed-clothes, so as not to admit 
 the air. Continue this process for half an hour, then 
 substitute hot dry towels ; place a hot brick at the feet, 
 
ENEMAS, OR INJECTIONS. 137 
 
 let the doubled blanket remain as it is, and tuck up the 
 foot of the bed, warm for the night. 
 
 If the patient is very chilly, hot cloths may be applied 
 to the knees at the same time with the feet ; taking 
 very great care not to admit air into the bed. The 
 arms should be kept in bed. Perspiration may be en- 
 couraged by warm diaphoretic drinks. 
 
 A table-spoonful of powdered mustard, or half a pint 
 of vinegar, or a (ew spoonfuls of salt in a gallon of 
 water prepared for the feet, tends to draw the blood 
 from the head and body into the extremities. When 
 there is violent pain in tlie head, it is sometimes a re- 
 lief to apply cloths wet with cold water to the forehead, 
 at the same time that hot ones are applied to the feet. 
 
 All fomentations should be much hotter than baths. 
 Those applied for palsy, epilepsy, &c. are sometimes 
 so hot as to be wrung with difficulty. In such cases, 
 it is a good plan to make wide hems on the edges, 
 and run strong sticks through them to assist the opera- 
 tion. 
 
 ENEMAS, OR INJECTIONS. 
 
 The best instrument for this purpose is an accurate 
 metallic syringe. If this cannot be obtained, its place 
 may be imperfectly supplied by a bladder fastened very 
 securely around an ivory pipe, or a piece of quill, or, 
 in case of great soreness, a pliable India-rubber pipe ; 
 the liquid is forced upward by gradually compressing 
 the bladder. 
 
 Fresh lard, or sweet oil should be put upon the pipe 
 before it is applied, and the finger of the operator, well 
 oiled, introduced into the passage, in order to ascertain 
 its direction, and assist in the introduction of the pipe. 
 For want of this last simple precaution, the instrument 
 has sometimes been thrust through a child's intestines, 
 and thus occasioned inflammation and death. The 
 13 
 
138 ENEMAS, OR INJECTIONS. 
 
 operation is most conveniently performed when the 
 patient is lying on his side, with the knees drawn up to 
 the stomach, and a folded cloth placed under the hips 
 to protect the bed-clothes. The luke-warm liquid 
 should be injected slowly and gradually, and the hand 
 not drawn backward after the process is begun. 
 
 These remedies are generally employed when the 
 stomach rejects medicines, or is insensible to their im- 
 pression ; but sometimes they are merely employed to 
 assist the operation of medicines. 
 
 It takes twice as much of any medicine to produce 
 an effect in this way, as when taken into the stomach ; 
 but this should be applied with caution, because it 
 varies in individuals. Very active remedies had always 
 better be administered in less than stated proportions. 
 When the object is to evacuate the bowels, from half a 
 pint to a pint may be used for adults ; half that quantity 
 for a child of eight or ten years old ; and from a quarter 
 of a gill to two thirds of a gill, for an infant, according 
 to age. Tobacco should never be given as an injection 
 by the nurse. 
 
 When it is desirable to have the enema retained some 
 tmie, or from weakness it refuses to do so, the materials 
 should be very mild, and used in as small quantities as 
 consist with convenience. The best materials are a 
 warm solution of starch, or arrow-root ; slippery elm 
 tea ; flax-seed tea, boiled instead of steeped; even 
 simple warm water does some good. In such cases, 
 the quantity should seldom exceed half or two thirds of 
 a gill. The patient should be induced to make an 
 effort to retain it, and should be assisted, if necessary, 
 by the pressure of a warm folded cloth. 
 
 In stranguary, occasioned by blister, — obstinate 
 vomiting, — painful affections of the kidney and bladder, 
 — cramp in the stomach, — or when drowsiness is de- 
 sirable, and the stomach rejects opium, — about sixty- 
 drops of laudanum are added to half a pint of flax-seed 
 tea, used as an injection, and retained two or three 
 hours. Sometimes a few poppy blossoms are boiled 
 
ENEMAS, OR INJECTIONS. 139 
 
 with the flax-seed, to produce a quieting effect, instead 
 of laudanum. 
 
 The following is a cathartic enenaa: — Tvvogills and a 
 half of chamomile tea, steeped with carroway or fennel 
 seed ; one ounce of olive oil ; one ounce of manna ; 
 half an ounce of sulphate of magnesia ; well dissolved. 
 
 A more convenient kind, as good as the above, is 
 made of one pint of warm water ; a table-spoonful of 
 common salt ; two ditto of molasses ; and two of 
 sweet oil, or fresh lard. 
 
 A very common one is made with half a pint of 
 starch, of the common consistence, mixed with two 
 great spoonfuls of linseed oil. 
 
 In cases of hysteric paroxysms, and other convul- 
 sions, assafcetida is sometimes administered ; two 
 drachms in half a pint of warm water, gradually added 
 and mixed ; from half a gill to a gill injected at once. 
 Its laxative tendency is generally good ; but in some 
 cases needs to be counteracted by the addition of a lit- 
 tle laudanum. 
 
 Peruvian bark is sometimes used as an astringent 
 ingredient in enemas, to check excessive purging. 
 
 Vinegar and water is used as an antiseptic injection 
 in putrid disorders. 
 
 The following is one of the very best remedies for 
 the piles : — An ounce of low mallows boiled in a pint of 
 new milk, till reduced to three gills ; strain it, and add 
 one gill of W. I. molasses. To be used about blood- 
 warm ; injected daily. 
 
 There are India-rubber pipes so constructed that an 
 invalid can administer injections to himself without any 
 assistance. 
 
 The uterine syringe is applicable only to diseases of 
 women. Its use can be easily ascertained by inquiring 
 of nurses. 
 
140 
 
 BLISTERS. 
 
 The common blistering plaster is made of fresh 
 mutton tallow, yellow wax, resin of pine, and canthar- 
 ides. or Spanish flies ; equal portions of each. The 
 flies are finely powdered and added to the other ingre- 
 dients previously mehed together and removed from 
 the fire. Usually spread on soft leather or kid, some- 
 what larger than the hand. If the surface be spread 
 whh powdered flies, it is more irritating. If this fails 
 to draw a blister, Venice turpentine, powdered mustard, 
 and black pepper are sometimes mixed with it. 
 
 In common cases, a blister may remain from twelve 
 to twenty-four hours, unless it produces stranguary ; 
 then it should be immediately removed. If it sticks 
 firmly, do not use force ; sponge it with warm water, 
 and it will soon come away. If the little bladders are 
 not already broken, snip them with sharp scissors, and 
 apply a soft linen cloth, three or four times double, to 
 nbsorb the discharge. Break the raised skin as little 
 as possible. Dress it with a linen rag, well covered 
 with spermaceti ointment, simple cerate, or basilicon 
 ointment. Repeat this twice a day at first, and after- 
 ward daily till it is healed. 
 
 Cabbage leaves, or plantain, are often used as a 
 soothing dressing. The stems should be cut out, and 
 the rough inequalities bruised with a rolling-pin ; the 
 leaves applied slightly warm, and the smooth side to- 
 ward the blister. Sometimes they are moistened in 
 warm milk, or spread with houseleek ointment, or 
 some other cooling application. 
 
 If the blister becomes inflamed, make a poultice by 
 stirring rye flour into boiling milk ; apply it luke-warm, 
 its surface spread mih fresh cooling ointment, or pure 
 oil. It should be renewed three times a day ; and 
 leaves as often. 
 
 A blistering plaster for young children had better be 
 
BLISTERS. 141 
 
 sprinkled with a little powdered camphor on the surface 
 before they are applied. When it has been on two 
 hours, raise the edge, and see if the skin is deep 
 cherry red ; if so, take it off, and dress it with a rag 
 covered with yellow basilicon. It will generally fill 
 soon ; but if an hour after you see the color of the 
 skin has faded, and it is not going to rise, apply the 
 blister again for an hour or two ; when small blisters 
 form here and there, it may be taken off, and the basil- 
 icon again put on for twenty-four hours ; after that, it 
 may be dressed with bees-wax and sweet oil, or cold 
 cream. By this process, stranguary is prevented, and 
 you form an efficacious blister, that heals easily. 
 
 Cantharides are very apt to produce stranguary. 
 This is said to be prevented by rubbing the part to be 
 blistered with camphorated spirit before they are appli- 
 ed. When this difficulty has taken place, the dressings 
 are sometimes strewed with very finely powdered cam- 
 phor. The patient should drink freely of warm flax- 
 seed tea ; and if the pain continue, a litde gin may be 
 added. A poultice of garlick, applied below the 
 bowels, is good for stranguary ; so are sliced onions 
 softened in boiling water, and put on in a thin muslin 
 bag ; the same is said of small bags of salt, thoroughly 
 warmed and frequently renewed.* 
 
 Sometimes, as a remedy for chronic diseases of the 
 joints, &c., blisters are dressed with savin cerate, with 
 the view of keeping them open, to promote continual 
 discharge. A kind is made from the common red 
 cedar that answers all the purpose. Of the fresh leaves, 
 bruised, two pounds ; yellow wax one pound ; fresh 
 lard four pounds. Melt the lard and wax together ; 
 put the leaves in before it is hot ; let them boil till they 
 become crisp ; strain through a coarse cloth. Applied 
 twice a day. Under its operation the discharge is apt 
 to concrete on the surface of the blister, and needs to 
 
 * See injection of laudanum page 138. 
 13* 
 
14^ LEECHES. 
 
 be cleared away by the gentle pressure of an old linen 
 cloth ; sometimes a soft moist sponge may be used, if 
 applied with great tenderness. 
 
 LEECHES. 
 
 These useful little worms are employed as the least 
 painful means of drawing blood, and the most conve- 
 nient to be applied to inflamed parts too tender for the 
 lancet. Before they are put on, the part should be well 
 cleansed with soap and water, and afterward with 
 water ; the hair, if there is any, should be cut off. In 
 order to make them take hold where you . wish, cut 
 small holes in a piece of blotting-paper, lay it upon the 
 place, and hold the vial of leeches up to it. If they do 
 not bite readily, moisten the skin with a little blood, or 
 milk and water. They continue to draw till they are 
 full, and then drop off. If you wish to remove them 
 sooner, sprinkle a little salt on them and they will fall. 
 The bleeding may be encouraged as long as necessary 
 with a sponge and warm water ; when it is sufficient, 
 squeeze the sponge dry, and repeatedly wipe the bitten 
 places with it. 
 
 As a general rule, two leeches are applied when they 
 wish to draw a fluid ounce of blood ; but the number 
 varies according to the part to which they are applied, 
 and the degree of inflammation existing. A bite that 
 would discharge one ounce of blood in a grown person, 
 would discharge twice that quantity in a child. As 
 young children do not bear leeching so well as other 
 remedies in proportion to adults, it is often much better 
 for them, in critical cases, to have the lancet applied by 
 a physician ; because in this way it is easy to know 
 precisely how much blood is drawn. 
 
 American leeches do not make so deep an incision 
 as the European, and draw less blood. Applied by 
 inexperienced hands, they sometimes bite the arteries, 
 
LEECHES. 143 
 
 or veins, and the risk may be great. In common cases, 
 lint, or the nap of a hat, will usually be sufficient to 
 stop the bleeding ; if not, apply a bunch of thin shav- 
 ings of sole-leather, held on tight for half an hour. 
 
 If it continues to flow to an alarming degree, roll up 
 a little cotton, or lint, or hat fur, into a hard ball about 
 as big as small shot, and push it with a knitting-needle, 
 or, bodkin into the hole made by the leech, so as to fill 
 up the cavity. Then cover it with dry powdered plaster 
 of Paris; the blood will soon moisten it, and it will form 
 a hard surface to check the flowing. If it cannot be 
 obtained, pow^dered alum, or burnt alum, will answer. 
 
 All these things may sometimes fail ; but bleeding 
 may always be stopped by the following method : — 
 Pinch up the skin at the puncture, so as to get good 
 hold ; push a fine needle through the skin, so that the 
 hole occasioned by the bite will come in the middle of 
 the needle, and about one quarter of an inchof the skin 
 will be taken up on each side ; then pat it down till 
 the skin lies flat ; wind a strong thread round the nee- 
 dle, in and out like the figure 8 ; draw the thread tight 
 as you wind, and the blood will soon slop flowing. 
 The needle may usually be removed in the course of 
 twelve or twenty-four hours ; but if the jugular vein is 
 wounded it had better remain some days. Any person 
 of moderate firmness may perform this simple opera- 
 tion ; and no child ever need bleed to death from a 
 leech-bite after this has been read. 
 
 When arteries on the temples are cut by a leech, 
 blood may easily be stopped by pressing the point of 
 the finger firmly upon the bite for half an hour ; the 
 skull-bone makes good resistance, and all is soon well. 
 
144 ISSUES. 
 
 ISSUES. 
 
 The best way to make an issue is to burn a 
 small quantity of fresh white ash bark till reduced to 
 ashes ; put it in a muslin bag about the size of a thimble ; 
 wet it with water, and bind it on the place ; keep it 
 moist for several days, till the spot becomes black and 
 inflamed at the edges ; then apply warm Indian meal 
 poultices two or three times a day, till the blackened 
 part separates and comes out ; into the hole thus made 
 insert a smooth, round piece of wax, about as big as a 
 pea ; place a piece of oiled silk, or very thin birch 
 bark, over it, and fasten it with a bandage. It is very 
 necessary that the issue should be well cleansed with 
 luke-warm soap and water, the oiled silk sponged, and 
 a clean bandage renewed every day ; otherwise it will 
 become offensive. 
 
 Issues were formerly common as a drain for in- 
 veterate humors. If the eruption appeared on the face 
 or neck, they were usually made on the fleshy part of 
 the arm ; if lower on the body, they were placed on 
 the inside of the leg, just below the knee. 
 
 They are usually kept open six months or a year. 
 They are dried up by simply taking the wax out, and 
 letting them heal ; when this is done, it is advisable to 
 take physic occasionally for a few weeks after. Feeble 
 constitutions are sometimes weakened by them. When 
 this effect is perceived, they should be dried up. 
 
 COMMON REMEDIES. 
 
 Soak the feet in warm water ; bind upon them sliced 
 onions well heated ; take half a pint of strong penny- 
 royal, or calamint tea, at night; have your bed thoroughly 
 warmed ; and you will be almost sure to cure a cold, 
 
COMMON REMEDIES. 145 
 
 if taken in season. Keep in the house the next day, 
 and avoid currents of air. 
 
 A decoction of Irish moss, sweetened with honey, or 
 W. I. molasses, is excellent for a cough. Molasses 
 candy with this moss, or very thick flax-seed tea boiled 
 in it, is likewise, beneficial. 
 
 A table-spoonful of the brine in which rennet is pre- 
 served is extremely salutary in cases of indigestion 
 and an acid stomach. A litde water renders it less 
 disagreeable, but it is belter to take it clear. 
 
 A good quantity of very old cheese is an approved 
 remedy when the stomach is oppressed with too much 
 fruit, or other food. Half a tea-spoonful, or more, of 
 pearl-ash dissolved in a litde cold water affords rehef 
 under similar circumstances ; particularly if fat sub- 
 stances have been eaten. 
 
 A tea-spoonful of common ashes stirred in tw^o large 
 spoonfuls of boiling water, a tea-spoonful of it repeated 
 at intervals, checks excessive vomidng and nausea. 
 Some prefer to stir it in cider. It is often given in 
 cases of cholera morbus. 
 
 A burning brand suddenly quenched, wrapped in 
 flannel, and applied to the bowels is a most excellent 
 application in case of violent colic. It retains its heat 
 for a remarkable length of time, and sends forth a pow- 
 erful steam, that produces perspiration. 
 
 O'Meara, surgeon to Napoleon, declares that a tea- 
 spoonful of salt, moistened and put upon the tongue of a 
 patient, during an epileptic fit, affords immediate relief. 
 
 When a limb is bruised by the fall of a window, or 
 any other sudden weight, relief will be obtained by im- 
 mediately placing it in quite warm water, and letting it 
 remain fifteen minutes. 
 
 The odor of burning feathers, horn, or leather, is 
 good for hysteric fainting fits. 
 
 A small lump of salt-petre dissolved in the mouth is 
 good for common sore throats. When flannel is re- 
 moved from the throat, bathe it in cold water, wear a 
 
146 COMMON REMEDIES. 
 
 thinner flannel for one day, then bathe it again, and 
 there will be no danger of taking cold. 
 
 It is a very speedy cure for the itch, to stand half an 
 hour, or more, in a tight barrel, covered to the throat 
 with old blankets, or carpets ; two or three lighted 
 brinastone matches should be placed inside the barrel, 
 by means of a small hole near the bottom, and every 
 crevice stopped, that no smoke may escape. It is well 
 to take moderate doses of sulphur, night and morning, 
 for some days after. 
 
 A little pearl-ash and water, lime-water, or calcined 
 magnesia, usually cures the hiccough. 
 
 A tea-spoonful of pearl-ash, in a pint of luke-warm 
 water, forms a cooling wash for inflamed erysipelas. 
 
 Lamp oil is very healing to chapped hands. When 
 applied, old gloves should be worn during the night. 
 
 The skin between the shell and the white of an egg 
 is a cure for felons. It draws powerfully and increases 
 the sharp pain, but affords relief in half an hour. The 
 egg should be fresh, and the inner part of the skin 
 placed next the flesh. The white of egg mixed with 
 honey is said to be good for whitlows and felons. 
 
 Common clay moistened with water forms one of 
 the best healing plasters to apply to stings. A slice of 
 raw onion is likewise good ; or salt moistened with 
 water ; or chalk wet with hartshorn. 
 
 The thin skin that comes from suet is good to bind 
 upon the feet for chilblains. Rubbing them with 
 spirits of turpentine, or Castile soap and honey, fre- 
 quently and perseveringly, is much recommended. A 
 wash made of chamomile flowers and poppy seed- 
 vessels is useful ; to be followed by the application of 
 cooling ointments. Sonietimes it becomes necessary 
 to apply leeches to chilblains, and take active physic. 
 
 When the heels have been frost-bitten, take out the 
 frost by immersion in snow, or cold water, and when- 
 ever they itch or burn, apply a rag well covered with 
 hard soap and moistened with water. 
 
 A plaster made of equal parts of gum galbanum, 
 
COMMON REMEDIES. 147 
 
 saffron, and camphor, is highly recommended for corns. 
 Very easy shoes should be worn, and the feet frequent- 
 ly bathed in luke-warm water, with a little salt and pot- 
 ash dissolved in it. 
 
 A shaving of hard soap will generally draw out a 
 corn in the course of six or eight days. It should be 
 bound on with a rag, changed every day, and the loose 
 skin lightly scraped off. 
 
 Pills made of old soap are a safe and good remedy 
 for the jaundice. Castile is generally preferred. 
 Three or four may be taken in the course of the day. 
 
 In asthma, it is a great relief to place the feet, knees, 
 and elbows, pretty deep in warm water. The patient 
 should be carefully guarded from taking cold. 
 
 To prevent the bones from pricking through the skin, 
 in the last stages of consumption, beat up the white of 
 an egg in two tea-spoonfuls of gin, and apply it spread 
 on old linen. 
 
 Cotton wool, wet with sweet oil and paregoric, re- 
 lieves the ear-ache. A small tapering wedge of salt 
 pork, toasted a little, and put into the ear as far as con- 
 venient, has a similar effect ; this has been known to 
 cure some kinds of deafness. 
 
 The ear-ache that follows measles is soon relieved by 
 filling the ear with quite hot milk. In a few minutes it 
 may be allowed to run out, and be filled again. The 
 ear should be covered with batted cotton four or five 
 days. Sometimes laudanum is added to the milk, in 
 the proportion of a tea-spoonful to a gill. 
 
 It is always well to bind a rind of pork, or spirits of 
 turpentine upon any wound occasioned by a needle, pin, 
 or nail, to prevent lock-jaw. If spasms indicate its 
 approach, bathe the scratch or wound freely with warm 
 weak lye, or pearl-ash and water, and send for a physi- 
 cian. Strong soft soap, mixed with powdered chalk, 
 applied in thin bags, is good for this dangerous disorder ; 
 it should be kept moist till the wound begins to dis- 
 charge, when the patient will find relief. The lock- 
 jaw has sometimes been cured by throwing tobacco 
 
148 COMMON REMEDIES. 
 
 smoke into the mouth, so as to occasion distressing 
 nausea. 
 
 Tobacco kept moist is an excellent application for a 
 fresh cut or bruise. When the soreness is gone, cover 
 the wound with court-plaster till it heals. Molasses, 
 or salt, are good to bind on a fresh cut ; spirits of tur- 
 pentine still better. Copal varnish relieves the sore- 
 ness, and stops the flowing of blood. 
 
 It is a good sign for wounds to bleed freely ; but 
 when this becomes very excessive, it may usually be 
 stopped by the application of sole-leather scraped like 
 coarse lint. Hartshorn or camphor should be in readi- 
 ness to apply to the nose, as the stoppage of blood 
 often induces faintness. 
 
 Inflammation may be drawn from a common burn by 
 holding it resolutely near the fire, or in warm water. 
 Raw potatoes scraped, afford relief Four ounces of 
 chloride of soda dissolved and stirred in a pint of water 
 is a good wash for burns and scalds ; to be followed by 
 cooling ointments. When a burn-blister breaks, it is 
 said to be a good plan to sprinkle wheat flour on the 
 naked flesh. 
 
 A small tea-spoonful of Water of Ammonia (called 
 Hartshorn) swallowed in a wine;glas3 of water, every 
 fifteen minutes, for an hour or more, is considered a 
 specific for the bite of a rattle-snake ; at the same time 
 the wound should be very frequently washed in the 
 same preparation, somewhat stronger, and the blood 
 repeatedly squeezed out, as long as a drop can be ob- 
 tained. Ammonia in large quantities is poison ; but its 
 efl^ects may be counteracted by lemon juice, vinegar, &:c. 
 
 Note. Page 45, it is stated that when laudanum is used for in- 
 jections, doses may be safely increased three or four fold. This is 
 Dr. Dewees's opinion ; but some physicians consider it unsafe in 
 such quantities, until its effect on the constitution has been fairly 
 tested. Page 30, cream of tartar is said to be good for fevers ; it 
 should have been added, " when not attended with diarrhea." Page 
 31, there should have been a caution to omit molasses and lemon in 
 toast and water when diarrhea is present. 
 
EXPLANATION OF TERMS. 
 
 Jlcrid — sharp and biting lo the taste. 
 
 Jlnodyne — assuaging pain ; quieting. 
 
 Jlnthehnintic — that which kills worms. 
 
 Antiseptic — antiputrescent, or counteracting putrefac- 
 tion ; preventing mortification. 
 
 Antispasmodic — relieving cramp and nervous spasms. 
 
 Aperient — slightly laxative. 
 
 Aqueous — watery. 
 
 Aromatic — fragrant ; spicy ; warming and stimulating. 
 
 Asthma — wheezing cough ; difficulty of breathing. 
 
 Astringent — binding ; contracting ; opposite to laxative. 
 
 Calculous — relating to stones and gravel. 
 
 Carminative — that which expels wind. 
 
 Cathartic — purging ; operating as physic. 
 
 Catarrh — a disease producing frequent discharges from 
 the nose. 
 
 Caustic — burning ; drying up humors ; producing a 
 scabby covering. 
 
 Chronic — of long duration ; habitual. 
 
 Coagulum — a clot of milk, or blood, &c. 
 
 Constipating — astringent ; binding. 
 
 Contagious — communicated by touch, or by close 
 vicinity. 
 
 Cutaneous — relating to the skin. 
 
 Demulcent — softening ; soothing irritation. 
 
 Diaphoretic — producing perspiration. 
 
 Diarrhea — severe form of dysentery. 
 
 Diuretic — promoting discharge of urine. 
 
 Dyspepsia — distress occasioned by indigestion of food. 
 14 
 
150 EXPLANATION OF TERMS. 
 
 Emetic — occasioning vomiting, or puking. 
 
 Emmenagogue — that which promotes a periodical dis- 
 charge, when it is obstructed in women by colds, or 
 sedentary employments. 
 
 Emollient — softening ; soothing. 
 
 Epidemic — applied to a disease when general, and sup- 
 posed to be in the air. 
 
 Erysipelas — a fiery eruption called St. Anthony's fire. 
 
 Expectorant — promoting a discharge of phlegm from 
 the lungs. 
 
 Farinaceous — mealy ; containing flour. 
 
 Fetid — having an offensive smell. 
 
 Flatulence — windiness. 
 
 Fluor Albus — a white discharge producing female 
 weakness. 
 
 Fomentations — warm liquors applied with cloths. 
 
 Hemorrhage — bleeding from the lungs, broken blood- 
 vessels, &c. 
 
 Laxative — gently purgative. 
 
 Mucilaginous — slimy ; ropy ; mucous. 
 
 J'^''arcotic — causing sleep, or stupor. 
 
 JS'^ausea — slight sickness at the stomach. 
 
 Pectoral — relating to diseases of the chest. 
 
 Perennial — lasting year after year. 
 
 Phlegmatic — sluggish ; not easily excited. 
 
 Plethoric — full of blood. 
 
 Pleurisy — disease of the chest, attendant on consump- 
 tion. 
 
 Pulmonary — relating to the lungs. 
 
 Pulverized — reduced to powder. 
 
 Purgative — cathartic ; purging the bowels. 
 
 Refrigerant — cooling. 
 
 Rubefacient — making the skin red and burning. 
 
 Saline — consisting of salts. 
 
 Scorbutic — relating to the scurvy. 
 
 Spasmodic — consisting of spasms, or convulsed mo- 
 tions. 
 
 Specific — a certain cure. 
 
EXPLANATION OF TERMS. 151 
 
 Stomachic — strengthening to the stomach. 
 
 Sudorific — producing perspiration in a great degree. 
 
 Suporific — producing drowsiness. 
 
 Suppository — a long round substance, Hke a pipe-stem. 
 
 Suppurative — ripening ; bringing to a head. 
 
 Tonic — gradually strengthening the whole system. 
 
 Tumor — a swelling. 
 
 Uterine — relating to the womb, and organs connected 
 
 therewith. 
 Vaccination — inoculation with kine-pox, or cow-pox. 
 
ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 Abcess in the Ear 
 
 _ 
 
 - 52 
 
 Burns . - - 
 
 74, 148 
 
 Acid Stomach - 
 
 _ 
 
 - 81 
 
 Butternut 
 
 - 105 
 
 Agde in the Breast 
 
 - 125 
 
 
 
 Aloes - - 
 
 - 
 
 - 85 
 
 Cajuput Oil 
 
 - 88 
 
 Alum 
 
 - 
 
 - 98 
 
 Calamint 
 
 - 107 
 
 Alum Curds - 
 
 - 
 
 - 125 
 
 Calf's foot jelly 
 
 - 21 
 
 Ammonia, over-doses 
 
 - 14S 
 
 Calomel, over-doses 
 
 - 82 
 
 Anderson's Pills 
 
 _ 
 
 - 85 
 
 Camphor 
 
 - 90 
 
 Antimonials, over- 
 
 doses 
 
 - 134 
 
 Cancer - 109, 
 
 127, 131 
 
 Antimony 
 
 _ 
 
 - 94 
 
 Canker - - - 
 
 98, 114 
 
 Apple Water - 
 
 - 
 
 - 29 
 
 Carolina Pink Root {Sp 
 
 ige- 
 
 Arrow Root 
 
 - 
 
 - 22 
 
 Ha Marylandica) 
 
 - 55 
 
 Arsenic - 
 
 _ 
 
 - 132 
 
 Carrot 
 
 - 106 
 
 Assafoetida 
 
 _ 
 
 - 99 
 
 Carroway 
 
 - 92 
 
 Asthma - 116, 
 
 117, 
 
 119, 147 
 
 Castor Oil 
 
 44,81 
 
 Astringents 98, 102,104, 113, 114 
 
 Catarrh 88, 91, 93, 111 
 
 119,120 
 
 
 
 
 Cathartics 81 to 87, 105, 106, 110 
 
 Babes, new-born 
 
 - 
 
 - 34 
 
 Catmint 
 
 - 107 
 
 Baby carriages 
 
 - 
 
 - 41 
 
 Cayenne 
 
 - 91 
 
 Balsam of Tolu 
 
 _ 
 
 - 93 
 
 Chamomile 
 
 - 103 
 
 Barberries 
 
 - 
 
 24,30 
 
 Chapped IIands 
 
 - 146 
 
 Barley 
 
 - 
 
 - 17 
 
 Charcoal 
 
 - 101 
 
 Baths - 6, 42, 
 
 104, 112, 135 
 
 Chequer Berry 
 
 - 108 
 
 Bear Berry 
 
 - 
 
 - 110 
 
 Chicken Broth and Tea 
 
 - 19 
 
 Beef Tea 
 
 _ 
 
 - 119 
 
 Chilblains 
 
 89, 146 
 
 Belly Bands - 
 
 - 
 
 - 39 
 
 Children 
 
 32 to 43 
 
 Bitter Sweet - 
 
 _ 
 
 - 109 
 
 Children's Medicines 
 
 43 to 46 
 
 Black Oak 
 
 - 
 
 - 104 
 
 Chloride of Lime 
 
 - 100 
 
 Blanc mange - 
 
 - 
 
 20,21 
 
 Cholera Infantum 
 
 - m 
 
 Bleeding Wounds how 
 
 to 
 
 Cholic 71, 121, 126, 
 
 136, 145 
 
 stop - 
 
 - 
 
 143, 148 
 
 Cinnamon 
 
 - 92 
 
 Bleeding at the Nose 
 
 - 78 
 
 Citric Acid 
 
 - 06 
 
 Bleeding at the Lungs 
 
 95,98 
 
 Colds 31, 93, 94,107, 119 
 
 , 127,144 
 
 Blisters - 
 
 - 140 to 142 
 
 Cold Cream 
 
 - 129 
 
 Bones pricking through 
 
 - ]47 
 
 Cold Feet 
 
 6 
 
 Bran Water - 
 
 . 
 
 - 31 
 
 Common Medicines 80 to 101 
 
 Breasts of Infants 
 
 _ 
 
 . 35 
 
 Conserves of various kinds 25 
 
 Breasts swollen 
 
 - 
 
 - 38 
 
 Consumption 15,93,99, 
 
 112,118 
 
 Bruises - 
 
 . 
 
 - 103 
 
 .. _ . 
 
 to 120 
 
 Buck Bean 
 
 . 
 
 - 105 
 
 Convulsions 
 
 54,121 
 
 Burgundy Pitch 
 
 - 
 
 - 112 
 
 Copper Poisons 
 
 - 134 
 
154 
 
 ALPHABETICAL INDEX, 
 
 Corns - - - - 147 
 Corrosive sublimate - - 133 
 COSTIVENESS - 14, 18, 31, 71 
 Cramp in the StotvUch 95, 127 
 Cranberry Jelly - - 22 
 Cream of Tartar - 30, 148 
 Croup, or Hives - - 58 
 Crusta Lactea, or Milliy 
 
 Seall - - 48,127 
 
 Currant Jelly - - 23, ^ 
 Custards - - - 32 
 
 Cuts - - -113, 148 
 
 Dandelions - . _ no 
 Deafness - - 121, 147 
 
 Deficiency of Milk 17, 28, 36 
 Diaphoretics 89, 94, 104, 
 
 - 105, 107, 111 
 Diarrhea - 14, 67, 101 
 
 Diet Drink - - - 123 
 Dinner Pills - - - 86 
 Diuretics 15, 26, 93, 102, 110, 111 
 Dock-roots - - - 110 
 Dogwood - - - 134 
 
 Dropsy 63, 84, 106, 109, to 112 
 Drofsv in the Head - 73 
 Drowning - - - 76 
 
 Dysentery - 14, 18, 101, 117 
 Dyspepsia 14, 28, 101, 122, 145 
 Dyspepsia Bread - - 32 
 
 Ear-ache - 52, 127, 147 
 
 Effervescing Draughts - 97 
 Egg Gruel - . - 18 
 Elixir Proprietatis - 87 
 
 Emetics - - 45, 93, 134 
 Emmenagogues 85, 90, 106, 136 
 Enemas - - - 137 to 140 
 Epileptic Fits - - 145 
 
 Erysipelas - - 89, 146 
 Expectorants 15,26, 57,93, 
 
 94, 99, 118 to 121 
 External Poisons - - 134 
 Eyes - - - 7, 73, 126 
 
 Fall of a Window, or 
 
 Weights - - - 145 
 
 Fasting - - - . 13 
 
 Feeding Babes - - 39 
 
 Felons - - - 124, 146 
 
 Fetid Breath - - - 101 
 
 Fevers 9, 15, 97, 112, 115, 136 
 
 Figs - - - - 25 
 
 Flatulence - 92, 107, 108 
 Flax-seed Tea - - 30 
 Fleshy People - - 13 
 Flowing, owing to miscar- 
 riage, &c. - 98, 99 
 Fluor Albus - - - 99 
 Fomentations - - - 136 
 Frost-bitten Feet - - 146 
 
 Gargles - 
 
 63, 66, 103 
 
 Ginger 
 
 - - 92 
 
 Golden Rod - 
 
 - 108 
 
 Gum Arabic - 
 
 - 23 
 
 Gum-boils 
 
 - 125 
 
 Gum Guaiacum 
 
 - - 89 
 
 Hair . - - . 7 
 Hartshorn, over-doses - 148 
 Hasty Pudding - - 18 
 Head-ache 82, d6, 103, 121, 124 
 Heart-burn - - 82, 101 
 Hemlock Spruce - - 112 
 Hemorrhage - 95, 98 
 
 Herbs and Roots - 101 to 123 
 Hiccough _ . - 143 
 
 Hives, or Croup - - 58 
 Hive Syrup - - - 57 
 Horsemint - . - 107 
 Humors 13, 49, 109, 110, 
 
 12}, 131 
 Hysteric Fainting - - 145 
 
 Indigestion - 14, 28, 101, 122 
 
 Infants - - - - 33 
 
 Inflamed Eyes - 73, 126 
 
 Inflamed Wounds and 
 
 sores - - 112,129 
 Injections 69, 71, 87, 137 to 140 
 Involuntary Diuretic Dis- 
 charges - - - 74 
 Ipecachuana - - 45, 93 
 Irish Moss - . - 20 
 Iron, Sulphate of - - 85 
 Issues - - - - 144 
 Itch - - - 130, 146 
 Ivy Poison - - - 134 
 
 Jalap - - - 44,84 
 Jaundice - - - - 147 
 Jellies - - - 21 to 24 
 Jerusalem Oak {Chenapo- 
 
 dium Anthelminticum) 56 
 
ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 155 
 
 Juniper 
 
 - Ill 
 
 Kidder's Cordial - - 101 
 Laudanum - 45, 46, 95, 148 
 
 Laudanum, over-doses - 132 
 
 Leeches - - - - 142 
 
 Lemonade - . . 29 
 
 Lime Water - - - 100 
 
 Lips blistered - - - 107 
 
 Liquorice - - - 92 
 
 Lock-jaw ... 147 
 
 Lung Fevkr - - - 94 
 
 Magnesia 
 
 44, 81 
 
 Malt Tea 
 
 - 17 
 
 Manna - 
 
 44, 82 
 
 May Apple 
 
 - 105 
 
 Measi.es 
 
 - 63, 79, 147 
 
 Meconium 
 
 - - 34 
 
 Milk of Almonds 
 
 - 29 
 
 Milk Porridge - 
 
 - 18 
 
 IVIlNERAL PoiSOXS 
 
 - 133 
 
 Mortification 
 
 124, 125, 1-6 
 
 Mumps - 
 
 - - 58 
 
 Narcotic Poisons 
 
 - 132 
 
 Nausea - 
 
 - 101, 107 
 
 Navel 
 
 - - 40 
 
 Nervous Disorders 16, 28, 
 
 90, 99, 104 
 
 107, 115, 116 
 
 Nettle Rash 
 
 - 65 
 
 Night Sweats 
 
 - 103 
 
 Nitrate of Silver 
 
 - - 134 
 
 Nitric Acid 
 
 - 133 
 
 Nurses, Hints to 
 
 - 8 to 13 
 
 Picra 
 
 Piles 
 
 Pill Rufi 
 
 Pitch Pine 
 
 Poisons 
 
 Potato Starch 
 
 Poultices 
 
 Pregnancy 
 
 Prickly Ash 
 
 Prune stewed 
 
 Obstructions in Nose and 
 
 Throat - _ . 79 
 
 Oil of Butter - - 51 
 
 Ointments - - 128 to 132 
 
 Olive Oil ' - - - 88 
 
 Opiate-, dangerous - - 46 
 
 Opodeld ic - - - 91 
 
 Oxalic Acid - - - 133 
 
 Palsy - - - 88, 91 
 
 Paregoric - - ^ 45, 96 
 
 Peaches, stewed - /- 24 
 
 Penny Royal - - 107 
 
 Pepperiiiint - . - 107 
 
 Peruvian Bark - - 98 
 
 Petty Morel - - - 108 
 
 - - - 86 
 14, 100, 118 130, 139 
 
 - 86 
 
 - 112 
 132 to 135 
 
 - 21 
 123 to 128 
 81, 88, 93 
 
 - Ill 
 
 - 24 
 
 122, 148 
 - Ill, 141 
 
 - 46 
 
 27, 29,30 , 96, 97 
 
 - 145 
 
 - 28 
 
 - 92 
 
 Rattlesnake Bites 
 Red Cedar 
 Red Gum 
 Refrigerants 
 Rennet Brine - 
 Rennet Whey 
 Rheumatic Pills 
 Rheumatism 88.89, 91, 111, 
 
 - '- - 121.127 
 Rhubarb - 44, 45, 83 
 
 Rice - - - 20,21 
 
 Rickets - - - - 71 
 Rochelle Powders - - 97 
 Sage ..... 103 
 Sago - - - - 28 
 Saint Anthony's Fire - 89 
 Salt Rheum - - 130, 131 
 Salts . , . . 86 
 
 Sarsaparilla 
 Sassafras 
 Scald Head - 
 Scalds and Burns 
 Scarlet Fever 
 Scurf 
 Senna 
 
 Slippery Elm - 
 Small Pox 
 ^oda Powders 
 Sore Ears 
 Sore Mouth 
 Sore Nipplks - 
 Sore Throat - 
 Sorrel 
 Spearmint 
 Sprains - 
 Squills 
 Stings 
 Stranguary 
 
 Sugar of Lead 
 
 - 108 
 
 - Ill 
 47, 100, 131 
 
 74, 148 
 
 - 62 
 
 - 47 
 44, 82, 106 
 
 17, 21 
 
 - 78 
 
 - 96 
 
 - 50 
 50. 52, 98. 114 
 
 '- -'36 
 
 - 6(^. 92, 145 
 
 - 25,28,30 
 
 - 107 
 
 - 103, 125 
 
 - 93 
 
 - 146 
 110, 
 
 122, 138 
 100, 134 
 
 29, 106 
 - HI 
 
156 
 
 ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 Sulphur 
 
 Sweet Oil 
 
 Syrups of various kinds 2b, 26 
 
 Tamarind Water - - 30 
 Tanzv - - - - 106 
 Tape Worms - - 89,107 
 Tapioca - - - 23 
 
 Tartar Emetic, over doses 134 
 Teeth . - . - 6 
 Teething - - - 53 
 
 Thorougli-wort - - 104 
 Thread Worms - 56, 85, 87 
 Toast and Water - 31, 148 
 Tobacco Tea - - - 60 
 Tonics 83, 99, 102 to 105, 
 
 113, 117, 121 
 TooTH-ACHE 88, 89, 108, 127 
 Trembling Hands - - 103 
 Tumors - - - 125, 127 
 " Turn of Life " in women 
 
 98, 99, 116 
 Turpentine - - - 89 
 Ulcers - - 52,126,130 
 
 87 I Uterine Syringe 
 
 - 139 
 
 Vaccination - - 58, 77 
 Verdigris . - - 134 
 
 Vinegar - - - 97 
 
 Volatile Liniment - - 92 
 VoMTiNG - - 70, 115, 127, 145 
 
 Water Gruel - 
 
 - - 16 
 
 Weak Backs - 
 
 - 112, 135 
 
 Weak Joints - 
 
 - 103, 112 
 
 Weaning 
 
 - - 37 
 
 Wet Nurses - 
 
 - 39 
 
 Wheat Mush - 
 
 - - 18 
 
 Whey, of various 
 
 kinds 
 
 - 
 
 - 26 to 28 
 
 White Pine - 
 
 ' 112 
 
 Whitlows 
 
 - 124, 146 
 
 Whooping Cough 
 
 56, 79 
 
 Wild Cherry - 
 
 - 104 
 
 Winter Evergreen 
 
 - 109 
 
 Worms - 
 
 - 55,85,87 
 
 Wormwood 
 
 - 102 
 
 Wounds 103,112,113,125, 129,148 
 
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