Medical Notes.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 286, 1 August 1888, Page 3

Medical Notes.

HowtoMakka Mustakd Plaster.— How many people are there who really know how to make a mustard plaster ? Nob one in a hundred, at the most, perhaps, and yet mustard plasters are used in every family, and physicians prescribe their application, never telling anybody how to make them, for the simple reason that the doctors do nob know, as a rule. The ordi nary way is to mix the must aid with water, tempering it with a little flour, but such a plaster as that is simply abominables Betoie it has half done its work it begins to blister the patient, and leaves him finally m ith a painful, flayed spot, after having ptoducej far less effect in a beneficial way than was intended. Now a mustard plaster hould never blister afc all. If a blister is wanted there are other plasters far better than mustard for the purpose. When you make a mustard plaster, then, use no water, but mix the mustai'd with the white of an egg, and the result will be a plaster that will "draw" perfectly, but will not produce a blister even upon the skin of an infant, no matter how long it may remain upon the part. Chilblains. — Many people, especially women and children, suffer severely iroin chilblains at this season of the yeai . An excellent remedy is compound tincture of benzoin. It should be frequently applied to the inflamed parts. BottijU-j-m.d Babies. — A curious fact has been elicited by science about bottl^-f. d b.ibie*. If the milk comes from a cow led on malt refuse — brewers' grains — it is not digested by the litt c people," and the infantile deabh-ia'e of the distiict using the milk u<*ts c . At Argentcuil the death registei has been examined for two peiiods — p ovious {in » .subsequent to the erection there of a huge distillery. The increase of fatal internal complaints was most marked after the grain-fed cows became common Bad Teeth. — The most beautiful face is spoilt by bad teeth, and it is strange how many are neglectful in that respect. St ong scented powders do not always foim the t est dentifrice. The most simple 1-. very frequently the best. The following is good and .simple : Powdered charcoal ami salt mktd well ; brush the teeth with tli.s and, ho\ve\ or discoloured they may be ie will soon cause them to beiome like pearls and keep them from decay. Acids and the Teeth. — All acid food, dunk, and medicines, with washes, povvdcis, etc., are very injurious to the teeth. If a tooth is pub in vinegar, cider, lemonjuice, etc., m a few hours the enamel will be completely destroyed, so that it can be iemo\ed by the finger nail, as if it were chalk. Most people have expeiienced what is teimed, " teeth set on edgs." The explanation is - the acid of the fruit thab has been eaten has so f r softened i he enamel, that the least pressuie is felt by the exceedingly small nerves which penade the thin membrane which connects the enamel and the bony part of the teeth. Remedy for Sea-sickness. — Experiments with cocaine as a remedy for sea-sickness have been made by Dr Wioherkiewicz, and he confirms Professor Manassein's statements, having tried the drug in a one per cent, solution, giving half bo three-quarters of a grain as a dose for children. If vomiting has commenced, the power of the drug over the atlection is much diminished ; so the best plan is to administer it at the commencement of the voyage, repeating every two or three hours. A solution two bo five per cent, strong yields tli3 best results, and should be administered in cap suies. To Make a Linseed Poultice. — How to make a linseed poultice is a thing that people require to be taught. The cold, clammy poulbices that are often applied do more harm than good. To make u really satisfactory one, have a basin and dish quite hob, and tho water boiling. If the poultice is for the chest, take a piece of clean rag large enough to cover the whole chest, and lay it on the hot dish. Pour into a basin as much boiling water as will mix the poultice. Scatter the linseedmeal in lightly, and stir it with a Kn'fe i) til it is sufficiently consistent. If it is 100 dry, the poultice will not hold together ; and if it is too sloppy, ib feels very damp and uncomfortable. Spread the poultice on evonly with the knife, and double over ihe rag a, tiny bib afc the edges. Then o irry the poultice to the patienb on the hoi dish, If it is too hob to pub on ib is easy to let ib 000 l for a minute. Bind the poulbice firmly on with a handkerchief or a few folds of bandaging, and lay a piece of flannel over it, both in order bo rebain the dear and to prevent the clothes from being maeta d»mp<

GROWiKO PkAKS FROM CIJTTINC.'.S. — A fruitgrower well acquainted with the' Lo Conte pear states that it can be piopagatcd satisfactorily from cuttings, and there are, he says, instances where they have borne three years from the cutting. They are thrifty growers and bear a delicious fruit SO far showing 1 no signs of blight whatever while other varieties do. But the experiment of budding other varieties on to the Le Coate root, he thinks is going to prove successful. Mildew on Plants. —An approved American remedy for the eradication of mildew from plants is as follows : One pound of sulphur, one pound of slaked lime, threefourths of an ounce of carbo'ic acid, in two gallons of water, Boil down to one gallon, ork well and set away for use. Use a 2^in pot full of the mixture to five gallons of water, and spray foliage well. Such plants as can be covoicd for a time after using to confine the fumes of the sulphur receive mox'e benefit from the application than those leit in the open air. This application has been found to act admirably for eradicating black spoba from roses,