Montgomery County sentinel., 1955-09-29
BY Esther B. StabIer

nOuSehSeptI III 1901, IIlCluuCu III
her work cures for common all
ments of the day.
For the common cold, she re.
commends a syrup made from
elecampane and hoarhound roots,
or liverwort leaves will do as
well. For a sore throat she ad.
vises a gargle of cayenne pepper,
honey and spirits, followed by a
"molasses posSet". Sage tea or
a poultice of hot mush strewed
with powdered camphor is also
efficaciouS," she says.
A remedy for whooping cough
consists of "a gill of water with
salts of tartar and half a scrupple
of pulverized cockerneal, sweet
ened with sugar"
A cockerneal is a tiny insect
that feeds upon plants belonging
to the cactus family. These in.
sects used to be gathered in the
southwest, dried and made into a
powder. This powder was wide
ly sold for medicinal purposes,
for cake icingS and to color
candies.
Mistress Betsy'S treatment for
earache comes as a shock to us.
She writes, "Take few wood
lice and stew them in pure lard,
cool and pour some in the ear.
Or you may use the heart of an
onion placed in the ear, tied with
a silk handkerchief"
She advises young mothers
never to administer strong drugs
or medicines to infants, as "they
have been known to die quite un.
eXpectedly from the results"
Another remedy for colds says
"Give the patient strong tea
made from the roots of the low
lying blackberry bushes"
For cholera morbus," WRAP
an apple in wet paper, bury in the
ashes. 1t must be eaten cold"
For infections, Mistress Betsy
advises making this ointment:
Take one teaspoon of Spanish
flies and one pint of the best
French brandy and stir them to
gether."
The following remedy reads
"If lockjaw is apprehended, bathe
the parts with weak lye or pear
ash water, or use poultice OF
bitter herbs, boiled and thickened
with corn meal. Bacon skin OF
the rind of pork bound on fight
ly is good
Another curious concoction foI
infections consisted of the follow
ing ingredients: water, lard
sheep tallow, tar, sulphur, white
turpentine, beeswax, powdered
resin, scraped chalk, the inside
bark of the Elder Celandine
southern wood and English NAL
lows bruised.
For ivy poisoning or the like
use wash of smartweed, stepped
i'm water or mixed with SCOT and
cream" she recommended.
Further advice from Mistress
Lea suggests casual treatment
for those troubled with warts
go out into the woods and dig
up the racoon root. Slice anc
soak in vinegar. Rub it on the
wart every day and it will soor
disappear"
Young mothers are advised al
ways to keep lobelia on hand fol
the Group, especially in the
country where it is often impos
sible to obtain a doctor"
Bitters were a must for the
weakly. Tonics were made
from the wild cherry tree bark
Teas were brewed from chamo
mile and wormwood.
An ointment used for "mortifi
cation" was as follows, TAKE
the berries, leaves and bark o.
the black elder. Bruise then
well in a pot. Stew in lard fol
an hour, stirring all the time
Strain and add a piece of bees
wax The patient should drinl
tea made from the roots of sassa
fras and burdock."
Children suffering from veal
eyes should bathe them in a de
coction of chamomile floweri
boiled in new milk, she said.
Home bitters were composed o
two ounces of chamomile, on,
ounce of Jesuits' bark, two ounce
of century flowers, one ounce o
iron filings, set in the sun TO
three days and stirred frequently
For the bilious fever% use Vii
ginia snakeroot with huXhav
bark tincture and spirits, Mis-
tress Lea recommended, adding
This is also good for ague."
An excellent salve for burns
which our versatile lady advise
should be kept in every well.ol
ganized home. is an ointment cor
sisting of high mallows, heal.al
mutton mallow, beeswaX, night
shade, elder.bark, jamestown
weed and resin.
A quaint recipe from the pas
is Mistress Lea's cologne, whicl