Barley water is an astringent and used to check the bowels when they are too laxative.
Rice Water. Wash two tablespoonsful of rice, add 3 cups of cold water and soak thirty minutes. Then heat gradually and cook one hour until the rice is tender. Strain through muslin, re-heat and dilute with boiling water or hot milk to the consistency desired. Season with salt; sugar may be added if desired and cinnamon, if allowed, may be cooked with it to assist in reducing a laxative condition. 1 teaspoonful of stoned raisins may be added to the rice, before boiling, if there is no bowel trouble.
Oatmeal Water. Mix 1 tablespoonful of oatmeal with 1 tablespoonful of cold water. Add a speck of salt and stir into it a quart of boiling water. Boil for three hours, replenishing the water as it boils away. Strain through a fine sieve or cheese cloth, season and serve cold. Sufficient water should be added to keep the drink almost as thin as water.
Toast Water. Toast thin slices of stale bread in the oven; break up into crumbs; add 1 cup of boiling water and let it stand for an hour. Rub through a fine strainer, season with a little salt. Milk, or cream and sugar may be added if desirable. This is valuable in cases of fever or extreme nausea.
Crust Coffee. Dry crusts of brown bread in the oven until they are hard and crisp. Pound or roll them and pour boiling water over. Let soak for fifteen minutes, then strain carefully through a fine sieve.