SOME OLD-FASHIONED REMEDIES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1753, 30 August 1917, Page 4

SOME OLD-FASHIONED REMEDIES.

With all our superior knowledge we sometimes find ourselves looking up an old-fashioned remedy for some minor ailment, in an old, yel-low-paged book which first saw the light in the days of our greatgrandmother. .-At that lime no woman’s education was considered complete unless she knew something about medicines, and was able to make use of herbs and so on for household remedies for simple ailments. In spite of more knowledge in this direction, some of the oldfashioned remedies are most beneficial. Take, for instance, a remedy which was used a great deal at one time for chills and chest colds. Treacle Posset; Into half-a-pint of boiling milk stiFa large tablespoonful of treacle; let it boil up quickly, then stand it aside for the curd to settle, and when it has done so strain it off. For an asthmatic cough honey and.vinegar simmered together aro pronounced very beneficial. To make Laxative Syrup: Take an ounce of senna leaves, and, having carefully picked out every bit of stalk, pour over them oile pint of boiling water; let this boil till one-half remains, then stir the whole into a china basin, and, covering it up, set it aside for 24 hours; strain it off through a linen rag, and, adding 4 oz. of treacle, put it over the fire till it becomes so much heated that it is thoroughly mixed together. When cold, cork it up for use, and keep it in a cool place. This syrup is chiefly intended for children; the dose may be from a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful, according to (be age and strength of the child. Fomentations may be made by boiling the herbs directed, straining them off, and wringing out tlaunels or cloths in the liquor in which they were boiled, and applying them hot to the part in pain. For example, take Iwo ounces of while poppy heads and two ounces of camomile Howers —orfeverfew —-(<r wovinwimd tops, or one ounce of elder (lowers; boil them in three-pints of water lilt reduced to a quart. This is a good application for any violent pain; great care must be laken to avoid cold. Speaking of simple remedies, Miss Beatrice (’base, in her book, “Through a Dartmoor Window” (a book well worth reading), says that she cured a woman's eczema in the following way. She says: “Re-es-.taliiishing the circulation by dry heat causes unbearable irritation; on the contrary, with wet heat (hero is no irritation. Soak affected part in water as hot as can be borne for not less than ten minutes at a lime, adding hot water to keep up (lie heal. This is best done last thing at night, and the patient should get into bed at once, before the circulation lias time to grow sluggish again. This induces sleep. ■ The treatment can be used several Limes during the day if desired.