The morning times., 1895-07-05
COUNTRY REMEDIES.
SuperstitiOus Rural Confidence in I
Power OF Herbs to Cure.

SuperstitiOus Rural Confidence in the
Power OF Herbs to Cure.
Mr.. Barring Gould has contributed to the
Sunday Magazine curious paper entitled
Country Remedies from which we learn
that III spite OF the revolution which has
taken place in the materia medica of the
British Pharmacopoeia in modern times in
favor of mineral medicines and other more
powerful drugs, village wise men" and
women still 'cull simpleS" here and there,
and even continue to inspire neighbors with
faith in their power of healing by divers SUI
perStltiOus practices. Nor is the country peO-
pies confidence III the village herbalist, in
Mr. Gouiu's opinion, altogether misplaced.
The old, irregular practitioners were, ne be
NevcS, endowed with very considerable and
wholesome experience, and they were the
repositories of traditions regarding the
properties Of certain herbs in the treatment
of certain maladies which were sometimes
far from being merely fanciful. II is note
worthy that 10 this Gay many of our field
and wood plants derive their names from
the popular belief in their virtues as spe-
CllicS Tor certain complaints.
Mr. Gould gives remarkable account of
one Of the last remaining wise women
who has long been known to him. Judging
from certain indications, she belongs to
the west country. Her recipe for a sprain
will Ia rdiy, we fear, receive respectful con-
sideration. 1t is as follows: IT wo ounces
oil Of turpentine, two ditto suillowcs, two
ditto earthwormS, two ditto nerve, two
ditto oppidillIdoCk, two ditto Spanish fleas."
Mr. Gould opineS that the turpcntine, the
OpOdeldOC and the Spanish flies mot fleaSl
are the valuable part OF this remarkable
| prescription. ''Suillowes' is supposed to
stand for squills, which is not of much use
as an external application.
OF the potency OF "earthworms- il is
more difficult to Judge but Mr Gould as
sures US that 1t is preCiselythis decoction of
wrigglIng worms which impresses the west
country rustic into the conviction that the
/ remedy must be something very wonderful
and the oil of nerves strikes him as reasGn-
able. His nerves are suffering; therefore
he must decoct the nerves OF bullocl;s TO sup
ply what he lacks. The rationale of the
thing seems not unlike that Of the ''on of
! crowbars'' which Mr. Punch's haiTdTesser
| recommended to the customer whose hair
was getting rather weak" When Mr..
G0Gld's children had the whooping-cough
has coachman's wife entWated Mrs. Gould
10 let her doctor them. She brought little
SILK bags 10 be tied round the sufferers
necks. each containing some hair cut from
/ the cross on doBkey's back This she had
learned 10. believe was sovereign against
whoopng cough.
For remedies Of this class Mr.. Gould has
no apology 10 offer, nor has he anything to
say for the charms and Cabalstic for
mula which are stiIl in some favor in the
country: some samples which he cites GER
tainly do not say much for enlightenment in
The west OF England. Fits, when they are
terrible bad, are in the belief OF some,
only To be cured by wearing a silver ring
manufactured from coins which have come
out Of seven parishes Cold it appears, is
not efliCaciOuS. Mr. Gould knows a parish
in which the parish clerk draws-or did till
lately-a revenue for the cure of children
with fits This is what ne does-or did:
He takes the little sufferer up to the church
tower holds il out at "a ch of the angle pin
| nacles and pronounces certain words. What
the words are Mr. Gould has not learned
| Profitable trade secrets are apt TO be jeal-
| Ousiy guarded. but he knows that for these
mysterious practices the parish clerk re-
ceiVeS an hOnorarium