Elixir Pro.—Take one quart of good spirits, to which add two ounces myrrh; let it stand in the sun four days, then add half an ounce of aloes, one ounce of saffron, and let it stand two days.
Alterative Syrup.—Take two pounds sarsaparilla, one pound guaiacum, eleven ounces sassafras, eleven ounces alder flowers; boil together in three quarts of water, pour off, add one pint and a half of spirits and five pounds of sugar. Drink a wine glass full three times a day.
For a Cough.—Take two heads of garlic, a lemon sliced, four ounces licorice, half a pint of liquor, four ounces flax seed, three pints of water, boil down to one quart, and strain; take a tea cup full on going to bed.
Recipe for a Cold.—Take a large teaspoonful of linseed with two penny worth of stick licorice, and a quarter of a pound of sun raisins. Put them in two quarts of soft water; add to it a quarter of a pound of brown sugar candy, powdered and a tablespoonful of white wine vinegar, or lemon juice.
Note.—The vinegar is to be added only to the quantity you are going immediately to take; for if it be put into the whole, it is liable, in a little time, to grow flat. Drink half a pint on going to bed, and take a little when the cough is troublesome.
This recipe generally cures the worst of colds, in one or two days; and, if taken in time, may be said to be almost an infallible remedy. It is a sovereign balsamic cordial for the lungs, without the opening qualities which endanger fresh colds in going out. It has been known to cure colds which have almost been settled into consumptions, in less than three weeks.
Bite of a Rattlesnake, or any other Poisonous Snake.—It is good, when you expect to be in danger of being bitten by poisonous snakes, to keep a small bag of fine salt in your pocket, so that you may bind it on. As soon as you are bit, cut and scarify in and near the place where the bite is, with a lancet, or sharp pointed knife; this will keep the orifice open, so that the poison may the better be drawn out; then take, if it can be had, one or two of the nubs or balls of the thimble-weed, steep in water, pound it well, put it on the bite and keep it on a quarter or half hour; then see if it has made a blister, and if not, repeat the application until you get one; then take it off, but, in the mean time, take care to have the person chewing the leaves or bark of white ash, and swallow plenty of the juice, but not one drop of water, until the poison is working out; take the leaves of white ash, mountain flax, robin’s plantain roots, tops, and bloodwort, (called by some St. Andrew’s crosswort, and by some quinsy) roots and tops, and snake violet (sometimes called buck-horn plantain) roots and tops, and conicle roots, altogether, or such parts as can be collected in great haste, about a handful of each, and pound all together; then put them into a pot of water, and boil them until very strong, (save some out to drink often and plentifully,) and wash and bathe the part affected with this preparation often, rubbing, stroking and working above, below, and all around, pressing toward the wound; the liquor should be about blood warm; apply on the bite a cabbage leaf, or a smooth plantain leaf, wilted by the fire; apply your herbs and liquor like a poultice, all over the limb or the part affected, and repeat as often as the poultice gets too dry—not forgetting to drink often of the liquor. If the poison doth rage much, give the juice of horehound and brown sugar, to drink. But I tell you again, give no water to drink, and take care to keep the wound open and moving, with the leaves wilted by the fire.
When you want to heal the wound, make an ointment of hog’s lard and ox-weed, green bark of sweet elder, the smooth leaf plantain roots and tops, and anoint the part two or three times a day, or as you find need. After the cure is effected, you ought to physic well, in order to cleanse the blood; and to prevent a return of the sickness and preserve the eye-sight; the patient may have new milk to drink, with other drinks. And when the poison is out of the system, be careful not to drink great draughts of water, but make tea of good things, to warm and sweeten the blood. In this way, I have kept patients from one drop of water, for full nine days. One John Lee, being hit on his feet, had three doctors to attend him, who soon fixed him for his winding-sheet. He had been laid out near two hours, when a man came in and gave him the snake violet and bloodwort juice, in white or sweet wine, half of each, mixed together, and the man recovered and lived.
Stomach Faintness, Sickness and Swelling.—Take the ripe berries of spice bush, dry them, and pound them in a mortar as fine as you can; then put them in a good, strong linen bag, press it well, and it will produce a very good oil; then bottle it up for use. You may take it with safety.
A Salve for Bruises, Scalds and Wounds.—Take two pounds of fresh hog’s lard, one-half pound each of beeswax and rosin, one pound of good well-cured tobacco, one-quarter pound nightshade and one drachm of deaplemer; stew over a moderate fire about two hours, then strain it clear for use. It is also good for burns.