LAMENESS. Much lameness, as well as deformity, might certainly be prevented, if stricter attention were paid to the early treatment of children. Weakness of the hips, accompanied with a lameness of both sides of the body, is frequently occasioned by inducing them to walk without any assistance, before they have strength sufficient to support themselves. Such debility may in some measure be counteracted, by tying a girdle round the waist, and bracing up the hips; but it requires to be attended to at an early period, or the infirmity will continue for life. It will also be advisable to bathe such weak limbs in cold water, or astringent decoctions, for several months. If the lameness arise from contraction, rather than from weakness, the best means will be frequent rubbing of the part affected. If this be not sufficient, beat up the yolk of a new laid egg, mix it well with three ounces of water, and rub it gently on the part. Perseverance in the use of this simple remedy, has been successful in a great number of instances.
LAMPREY. To stew lamprey as at Worcester, clean the fish carefully, and remove the cartilage which runs down the back. Season with a small quantity of cloves, mace, nutmeg, pepper, and allspice. Put it into a small stewpot, with beef gravy, port, and sherry. Cover it close, stew it till tender, take out the lamprey, and keep it hot. Boil up the liquor with two or three anchovies chopped, and some butter rolled in flour. Strain the gravy through a sieve, add some lemon juice, and ready-made mustard. Serve with sippets of bread and horseradish. When there is spawn, it must be fried and laid round. Eels done the same way, are a good deal like the lamprey.
LARKS. To dress larks and other small birds, draw and spit them on a bird spit. Tie this on another spit, and roast them. Baste gently with butter, and strew bread crumbs upon them till half done. Brown them in dressing, and serve with bread crumbs round.
LAVENDER WATER. To a pint of highly rectified spirits of wine, add an ounce of the essential oil of lavender, and two drams of the essence of ambergris. Put the whole into a quart bottle, shake it frequently, and decant it into small bottles for use.
LAVER. This is a plant that grows on the rocks near the sea in the west of England, and is sent in pots prepared for eating. Place some of it on a dish over the lamp, with a bit of butter, and the squeeze of a Seville orange. Stir it till it is hot. It is eaten with roast meat, and tends to sweeten the blood. It is seldom liked at first, but habit renders it highly agreeable.
LEAF IMPRESSIONS. To take impressions of leaves and plants, oil a sheet of fine paper, dry it in the sun, and rub off the superfluous moisture with another piece of paper. After the oil is pretty well dried in, black the sheet by passing it over a lighted lamp or candle. Lay the leaf or plant on the black surface, with a small piece of paper over it, and rub it carefully till the leaf is thoroughly coloured. Then take it up undisturbed, lay it on the book or paper which is to receive the impression, cover it with a piece of blotting paper, and rub it on the back a short time with the finger as before. Impressions of the minutest veins and fibres of a plant may be taken in this way, superior to any engraving, and which may afterwards be coloured according to nature. A printer's ball laid upon a leaf, which is afterwards pressed on wet paper, will also produce a fine impression; or if the leaf be touched with printing ink, and pressed with a rolling pin, nearly the same effect will be produced.
LEATHER. To discharge grease from articles made of leather, apply the white of an egg; let it dry in the sun, and then rub it off. A paste made of dry mustard, potatoe meal, and two spoonfuls of the spirits of turpentine, applied to the spot and rubbed off dry, will also be found to answer the purpose. If not, cleanse it with a little vinegar. Tanned leather is best cleaned with nitrous acid and salts of lemon diluted with water, and afterwards mixed with skimmed milk. The surface of the leather should first be cleaned with a brush and soft water, adding a little free sand, and then repeatedly scoured with a brush dipped in the nitrous mixture. It is afterwards to be cleaned with a sponge and water, and left to dry.
LEAVENED BREAD. Take two pounds of dough from the last baking, and keep it in flour. Put the dough or leaven into a peck of flour the night before it is baked, and work them well together in warm water. Cover it up warm in a wooden vessel, and the next morning it will be sufficiently fermented to mix with two or three bushels of flour: then work it up with warm water, and a pound of salt to each bushel. Cover it with flannel till it rises, knead it well, work it into broad flat loaves or bricks, and bake them as other bread.
LEEK MILK. Wash a large handful of leeks, cut them small, and boil them in a gallon of milk till it become as thick as cream. Then strain it, and drink a small bason full twice a day. This is good for the jaundice.
LEEK SOUP. Chop a quantity of leeks into some mutton broth or liquor, with a seasoning of salt and pepper. Simmer them an hour in a saucepan; mix some oatmeal with a little cold water quite smooth, and pour it into the soup. Simmer it gently over a slow fire, and take care that it does not burn to the bottom. This is a Scotch dish.