Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1901-07-04
NATURES ANTISEPICS
AN OLD DOCTOR GIVES SOME
TIMELY HINTS.
Claims That There Is Hean 80
Virtue in These Time-Hon-
ored Aids to Health.

1.-THE trend of practice is largalr
away from poultices--more's the ni,v
to my mind" the old doctor said to tho
Seattle Daily Times. Il tell Won
there's often heap OF virtue in =
poultice, for green wounds. inSec,
stings, spider bites-whatever hurt In
deed, was angry and infiamed. II was
made preferably from the young mods
beaten in clean cloth to sort of Wis.
cid jelly. But dried pods would answar
il they had not got tough before drying
They were not hard to come by; neariy
every housekeeper in the Middle South
slices and dries her surplus okra to save
for winter use. Failing them, as in
spring or early summer, tender leaves
and young tips could be beaten nm
spread thin on old linen and bound unnn
the wound. After an hour it was re.
moved and fresh poultice applied
Somehow the okra pulp has a knack Of
drawing hard-drawing to itself all the
poisonous substances in feyersh or faS
tering flesh. Twenty-four hours of
such poulticng sufficed to subdue the
most obstinate Inflammation. After
ward it was only matter of care and
cleanliness.
This for fresh hurts, or new, vim
lent sores Chronic or sluggish ulcers
and lingering swellings demanded the
willow poultice. To make it the inner
bark Of the willow--salix alba-was
boiled till it formed strong ooze, and
the ooZe thickened to mush with equal
parts of cornmeal and pounded flax
seed. Talxseed meal did not answer so
well; it had lost most of it's oil. These
poultices were changed twice a day
and at each change the sore was washed
with the willow ooZe, as hot as it could
be borne. Within my knowledge such
treatment has cured tumid and schr-
rous conditions that appeared almost
Enthusiastically to threaten cancer Still.
here, as elsewhere, allowance had to be
made for pathological idiosynerasy
Occasionally there was patient whose
flesh infiamed so under the first applca-
ton the poultice could not be taken of
too soon.
THAT was apt to mediate case for
either slippery elm alone or slippery
elm combined with fiaxseed. Slippery
elm bark in fine strings was macerated
in cold water for IL hours. and the
thick, clean muciIage scraped from it at
the end Of that time, applied on linen
cloth. 1t was sovereign for any sort
of injury to the head OF eyes. When
fiaxseed came in they were likewise
STEPPED, and mixed with a very little
very fine corn meal. A f1axseed poul-
tice, pure and simple, was made from
pounded seed, cooked very quickly by
srrinkIfng in boiling water. Properly
Llade the result was soft, leathery
mush, infinitely soothing and healing
Sometimes the fiaXseed poultice was
coated lightly before applying with IN
sailed lamb fat specially rendered and
kept for such uses.
Young beets pounded to a poultice
and Laid upon Jagged wounds, as from a
rusty nail, or q ragged splinter, were
accounted specific against lockjaw.
They were also mighty good for fresh
cuts and deep burns. So were carrot
poultfces, both raw and cooked The
raw were best for fresh cuts and acute
Inflammation. For use ON old sores.
the carrots were boiled tender. pounded
and applied very hot. After a day or
two the poultices were left off, and the
sore healed with scraped carrot ONT
ment, that is, carrots scraped fine and
mixed with sweet cream, fresh butter
and beeswax. The mass was cooked in
water bath for three hours, and put
away in little pots, tightly covered.
But the main reliance with big, an
CRY sores was the elder poultice and
the elder flower lotion. Why, | do not
know. but the elder-sambucus cana
densis-is natures most potent anti
septic. In addition, it heals, soothes
and cleanses. To make the poultices,
white potatoes were boiled soft. peeled
and mashed then mixed, while hot,
with their own bulk Of sifted cornmeal.
Next the mixture was stewed slowly to
thick mash in strong ooze made by
boiling elder bark. branches and leaves,
for half a day. A very little salt was
stirred through the mush. IT was
spread half an inch thick and changed
as soon as it hardened the least bit. At
tine changing the sore surface was
bathed plentifully with elder flower To-
ton. This was made by sleeping fresh
elder flowers in rain water for six
hours, then strafning them out. and
adding fresh flowers. After half doz-
en- patches of bloom had been thus in
fused the liquid WIS strained. set over
a fire, brought to a boil, skinmeI and,
when cold. mixed with one-fifth of its
own bulk of whfsky-bareIy enough
indeed, to keep it from souring good
to take off sunburn and prevent freckles,
as we'll as to preserve the fine texture
OF the skin. No germ OF any sort could
live under it. Betwixt the poultices and
the lotion it did not take long to bring
diseased tisstes back to health"