Part 26

Marshmallow roots contain nothing soluble in water except mucilage, which is very abundant in them. This decoction is therefore to be considered merely as an _emollient_, rendered more pleasant by the acidulous sweetness of the raisins.

COMPOUND ALOETIC PILLS.

Take of hepatic aloes, 1 oz. ginger powder, 1 dram, soap, ½ oz. essential oil of peppermint, ½ a dram. Let the aloes and ginger be rubbed well together, then add the soap and the oil so as to form a mass.

These pills may be advantageously used for obviating the _habitual costiveness_ of sedentary persons. The dose is from 10 to 15 grains.

LADY WEBSTER’S ANTIBILIOUS PILLS.

Take of socotrine aloes, 6 drams, gum mastic, 2 drams. Reduce to powder separately; make into a mass with syrup of wormwood, and divide into one hundred pills, of which take one every night.

COMPOUND SOAP LINIMENT.

Take of camphor, 1 oz. soap, 3 oz. spirit of rosemary, 1 pint. Digest the soap in the spirit of rosemary until it be dissolved, and add to it the camphor.

STEER’S OPODELDOC.

Dissolve 2 lbs. of white soap, and 1 lb. of yellow ditto, in 3 pints of water. Now dissolve 4 oz. of camphor, 1 oz. of oil of rosemary, and 6 drams of oil of origanum, in 3 pints of spirit of wine. Mix both solutions, and then add 3 oz. of water of ammonia.

This liniment is extensively used to allay the inflammation of _bruises_, _sprains_, &c.

CAJEPUT OPODELDOC.

Take of almond soap, 2 ounces, alcohol, 1 pint, camphor, 1 ounce, cajeput oil, 2 ounces. First dissolve the soap and camphor in the alcohol, and when the solution is about to congeal, or becomes nearly cold, add the oil of cajeput: shake them well together, and put it into bottles to congeal.

This composition is a great improvement on the opodeldocs in general use, and in cases of _rheumatism, paralytic numbness, chilblains, enlargement of joints, and indolent tumours_; where the object is to rouse the action of absorbent vessels, and to stimulate the nerves, it is a very valuable external remedy.

LINIMENT OF AMMONIA.

Take of water of ammonia, ½ an ounce, olive oil, 1½ ounces. Shake them together in a phial till they are mixed.

In the _inflammatory quinsey_, a piece of flannel, moistened with this mixture, applied to the throat, and renewed every four or five hours, is one of the most efficacious remedies.

LINIMENT OF LIME WATER.

Take of lime water, and olive oil, each three ounces. Mix them by shaking in a phial.

This solution is thick, of a white colour, and devoid of acrimony. It is very advantageously applied to burns and scalds. The soapy matter separates from the water when it has been made some time, and therefore it is always better to prepare it only when it is wanted.

EAU-DE-LUCE.

Dissolve ten or twelve grains of white soap in four ounces of rectified spirit of wine; after which, strain the solution. A dram of rectified oil of amber is then added, and the whole filtered: with this solution should be mixed such a proportion of the strongest volatile spirit of ammonia, in a clear glass bottle, as will, when sufficiently shaken, produce a beautiful milk-white liquor. If a kind of cream should settle on the surface, it will be requisite to add a small quantity of the spirituous solution of soap. Those who may wish to have this liquor perfumed, may employ lavender or Hungary water, instead of the spirit of wine.

It is employed for curing the _bites of adders_, _wasps_, _bees_, _gnats_, _ants_, and other insects, and for _burns_.

RIGA BALSAM.

Mix together, 4 ounces of spirit of wine, 1 dram of Friar’s balsam, 2 do. of tincture of saffron.

This balsam is used for _sprains_ and _bruises_.

OF FOMENTATIONS.

Fomentations are applied externally, and as warm as the patient can conveniently bear, in the following manner: Two flannel cloths are dipped into the heated liquor, of one which is wrung as dry as the necessary speed will admit then immediately applied to the part affected. The flannel lies on, until the heat begins to go off, and the other is in readiness to apply at the instant in which the first is removed:—thus these flannels are alternately applied, so as to keep the affected part constantly warm. This is continued fifteen or twenty minutes, and repeated two or three times a day, or as often as occasion may require. The degree of heat should never exceed that of producing a pleasing sensation; great heat sometimes produces effects very opposite to that intended by the use of the fomentation.

DECOCTION FOR FOMENTATIONS.

Take of the leaves of southernwood, dried, tops of sea-wormwood, do. camomile flowers, ditto, each 1 oz. bay leaves, do. ½ oz. distilled water, 6 pints. Boil them a little, and strain.

In making these decoctions the aromatic substances should not be added until the decoction is nearly completed, for otherwise their flavour would be entirely dissipated.

ANODYNE FOMENTATION.

Take two poppy heads, boil them in a quart of milk, and use this as a fomentation. It is excellent in _inflamed eyes_, also to relieve the pain of inflammation from a blister or other cause.

MUSTARD CATAPLASM.

Take of mustard-seed, powdered, ½ lb. crumb of bread, ½ do. vinegar, as much as is sufficient. Mix, and make a cataplasm.

Cataplasms of this kind are employed as _stimulants_: they often inflame the part, and raise _blisters_, but not so perfectly as cautharides. They are frequently applied to the soles of the feet, in the low state of acute diseases, for _raising the pulse_ and relieving the head.

SIMPLE OINTMENT.

Take of olive oil, 5 ounces, white wax, 2 ounces.

This is an useful emollient ointment for _softening the skin_.

OINTMENT OF HOG’S LARD.

Take of prepared hog’s lard, 2 lbs. rose water, 3 oz. Beat the lard with the rose-water until they be mixed; then melt the mixture with a slow fire, and set it apart that the water may subside; after which, pour off the lard from the water, constantly stirring until it be cold.

This ointment may be used for _softening the skin_, and _healing chaps_.

WAX OINTMENT.

Take of white wax, 4 oz. spermaceti, 3 oz. olive oil, 1 pint. Mix them together over a gentle fire, and then stir them very briskly, without ceasing, till they are cold.

SPERMACETI OINTMENT.

Take of spermaceti, 6 drams, white wax, 2 do. olive oil, 3 oz. Melt all together over a gentle fire, stirring briskly, without intermission, till the ointment becomes cold.

These two ointments are supposed only to supple the parts, and hinder the rag or lint from sticking to the granulating flesh, and they also keep the air from wounds, which is known to irritate them, from the oxygen in the atmosphere; but they have, otherwise, no peculiar healing virtue.

LIP SALVE.

Melt together 2½ oz. of white wax, 3 oz. of spermaceti, 7 oz. of oil of almonds, 1 dram of balsam of Peru, and 1½ oz. of alkanet root, wrapped up in a linen bag. Pour the salve into small gallipots or boxes, and cover with bladder and white leather.

COURT PLASTER.

Bruise a sufficient quantity of isinglass, and let it soak for twenty-four hours in a little warm water; expose it to heat over the fire, to dissipate the greater part of the water, and supply its place by colourless brandy, which will mix the gelatine of the glue. Strain the whole through a piece of open linen: on cooling, it will form a trembling jelly.

Now extend a piece of black silk on a wooden frame, and fix it in that position by means of tacks, or pack-thread. Then, with a brush made of badger’s hair, apply the glue, after it has been exposed to a gentle heat, to render it liquid. When this stratum is dry, which will soon be the case, apply a second, and then a third, if necessary, to give the plaster a certain thickness; as soon as the whole is dry, cover it with two or three strata of a strong tincture of balsam of Tolu.

This is the real English court plaster: it is pliable, and never breaks, characters which distinguish it from so many other preparations sold under the same name.

_Application._

This plaster is generally used to cover slight abrasions and excoriations of the skin. When used for small cuts, from sharp instruments, bring the lips of the wound together, and lay over it a piece of goldbeater’s skin; then fix this by means of a piece of court plaster. The wound will generally heal without further trouble.

TINCTURE OF RHUBARB.

Take of rhubarb, sliced, 3 oz. lesser cardamom seeds, bruised, ½ oz. liquorice root, bruised, ½ oz. saffron, 2 drams, proof spirit of wine, 2 pints. Digest for seven days, and strain. Dose, ½ an oz. as a _purge_, or 2 dr. as a _stomachic_.

COMPOUND TINCTURE OF RHUBARB.

Take of rhubarb, sliced, 2 oz. liquorice root, bruised, ½ oz. ginger, powdered, saffron, each 2 drams; distilled water, 1 pint, proof spirit of wine, 12 oz. by measure. Digest for 14 days, and strain. Dose, ½ an oz. as an _aperient_, or 1 oz. in violent diarrhœa.

AROMATIC TINCTURE, OR COMPOUND TINCTURE OF CINNAMON.

Take of cinnamon, bruised, lesser cardamom seeds, each 1 oz. long pepper, in powder, 2 drams, diluted alcohol, 2½ lbs. Digest for seven days, and filter through paper.

A tea-spoonful or two may be taken in wine, or any other convenient vehicle, in _languors_, _weakness of the stomach_, _flatulencies_, and other similar complaints; and in these cases it is often employed with advantage.

COMPOUND TINCTURE OF SENNA.

Take of senna leaves, 2 oz. jalap root, 1 oz. coriander seeds, ½ oz. proof spirit, 2½ pints. Digest for seven days, and to the strained liquor add 4 oz. of sugar-candy.

This tincture is an useful _carminative_ and _cathartic_, especially to those who have accustomed themselves to the use of spirituous liquors; it often relieves _flatulent complaints_ and _colics_, where the common cordials have little effect: the dose is from 1 to 2 ounces.

DAFFY’S ELIXIR.

Take of senna, 2 lbs. rhubarb shavings, 2 lbs. jalap root, 1 lb. caraway seeds, 1 lb. aniseeds, 2 lbs. sugar, 4 lbs. shavings of red sanders wood, ½ lb. Digest these in 10 gallons of spirit of wine, for 14 days, and strain for use. This elixir possesses almost the same qualities as the _Compound Tincture of Senna_. The above quantities may be reduced to as small a scale as may be required.

GODFREY’S CORDIAL.

Dissolve ½ an oz. of opium, 1 dram of oil of sassafras, in 2 ounces of spirit of wine. Now mix 4 lbs. of treacle, with 1 gallon of boiling water, and when cold, mix both solutions.

This is generally used to soothe the _pains of children_, &c.

BALSAM OF HONEY.

Take of balsam of tolu, 2 oz. gum storax, 2 drams, opium, 2 do. honey, 8 oz. Dissolve these in a quart of spirit of wine.

This balsam is useful in allaying the irritation of _cough_.

Dose, 1 or 2 tea-spoonsful in a little tea, or warm water.

TINCTURE OF THE BALSAM OF TOLU.

Take of balsam of Tolu, 1 oz. alcohol, 1 pint. Digest until the balsam be dissolved, and then strain the tincture through paper.

This solution of the balsam of Tolu possesses all the virtues of the balsam itself. It may be taken internally, with the several intentions for which that balsam is proper, to the quantity of a tea-spoonful or two, in any convenient vehicle.

Mixed with simple syrup, it forms an agreeable balsamic syrup.

TINCTURE OF PERUVIAN BARK.

Take of Peruvian bark, 4 oz. proof spirit, 2 pints. Digest for 10 days, and strain.

It may be given from a tea-spoonful to ½ an ounce, or an ounce, according to the different purposes it is intended to answer.

HUXHAM’S TINCTURE OF BARK.

Take of Peruvian bark, powdered, 2 oz. the peel of Seville oranges, dried, 1½ do. Virginian snake root, bruised, 3 drams, saffron, 1 do. cochineal, powdered, 2 scruples, proof spirit, 20 oz. Digest for 14 days, and strain.

As a _corroborant_ and _stomachic_, it is given in doses of two or three drams; but when employed for the cure of _intermittent fevers_, it must be taken to a greater extent.

TINCTURE OF GUAIACUM.

Take of guaiacum, 4 oz. rectified spirit of wine, 2 pints. Digest for seven days, and filter.

This solution is a powerful stimulating sudorific, and may be given in doses, of about ½ an ounce, in _rheumatic and asthmatic cases_.

AMMONIATED TINCTURE OF GUAIACUM.

Take of resin of guaiacum, in powder, 4 oz. ammoniated alcohol, in powder, 1½ lb. Digest for seven days, and filter through paper.

In _rheumatic cases_, a tea, or even table-spoonful, taken every morning and evening, in any convenient vehicle, particularly in milk, has proved of singular service.

FRIAR’S BALSAM.

Take of benzoin, 3 oz. purified storax, 2 oz. balsam of Tolu, 1 oz. socotrine aloes, ½ oz. rectified spirit of wine, 2 pints. Digest for seven days and filter.

The dose is a tea-spoonful in some warm water four times a day, in _consumptions and spitting of blood_. It is useful, also, when applied on lint, to _recent wounds_, and serves the purposes of a scab, but must not be soon removed.

TINCTURE OF CATECHU.

Take extract of catechu, 3 oz. cinnamon, bruised, 2 oz. diluted alcohol, 2 pints. Digest for seven days, and strain through paper.

The cinnamon is a very useful addition to the catechu, not only as it warms the stomach, but likewise as it covers its roughness and astringency.

This tincture is of service in all kinds of _defluxions_, _catarrhs_, _looseness_, and other disorders where astringent medicines are indicated. Two or three tea-spoonsful may be taken occasionally.

IPECACUAN WINE.

Take of the root of ipecacuan, bruised, 2 oz. Spanish white wine, 2 pints. Digest for ten days and strain.

This wine is a very mild and safe _emetic_, and nearly equally serviceable in _dysenteries_, with the ipecacuan in substance; this root yielding nearly all its virtues to the Spanish white wine. The common dose is an ounce, more or less, according to the age and strength of the patient.

LAVENDER WATER.

The common mode of preparing this, is to put three drams of the essential oil of lavender, and a dram of the essence of ambergris, into 1 pint of spirit of wine.

SPIRIT OF ROSEMARY.

Take of the fresh tops of rosemary, 1½ lb. proof spirit, 1 gallon. Distil off in a water-bath, 5 pints.

COMPOUND SPIRIT OF ANISEED.

Take of aniseed, angelica-seed, each bruised, ½ lb. proof-spirit, 1 gallon, water, sufficient to prevent a bad taste or flavour. Draw off 1 gallon by distillation.

This compound is often employed with advantage, in cases of _flatulent colic_.

BLACK PECTORAL LOZENGES.

Take of extract of liquorice, gum arabic, each 4 oz. white sugar, 8 oz. Dissolve them in warm water, and strain; then evaporate the mixture over a gentle fire, till it be of a proper consistence for being formed into lozenges, which are to be cut out of any shape.

WHITE PECTORAL LOZENGES.

Take of fine sugar, 1 lb. gum arabic, 4 oz. starch, 1 oz. flowers of benzoin, ¾ dram. Having beat them all in a powder, make them into a proper mass with rose-water, so as to form lozenges.

These compositions are calculated for softening _acrimonious humours_, and allaying the _tickling in the throat_ which provokes coughing.

NITRE LOZENGES.

Take of nitre, purified, 3 oz. double-refined sugar, 9 oz. Make them into lozenges with mucilage of gum tragacanth.

This is a very agreeable form for the exhibition of nitre, as a _diuretic or febrifuge_, though, when the salt is thus taken, without any liquid (if the quantity be considerable), it is apt to occasion uneasiness about the stomach, which can only be prevented by a large dilution with aqueous liquors.

HONEY OF ROSES.

Take of dried red rose-buds, 4 oz. boiling distilled water, 3 pints, clarified honey, 5 lbs. Macerate the rose-leaves in the water for six hours; then mix the honey with the strained liquor, and boil the mixture to the thickness of a syrup.

This preparation is not unfrequently used as a mild, cooling detergent, particularly in gargles for _ulcerations and inflammation of the mouth and tonsils_.

SYRUP OF POPPIES.

Take of the heads of white poppies, dried, 3½ lbs. double-refined sugar, 6 lbs. distilled water, 8 gallons. Slice and bruise the heads, then boil them in the water to three gallons, and press out the decoction. Reduce this, by boiling, to about 4 pints, and strain it while hot through a sieve, then through a thin woollen cloth, and set it aside for twelve hours, that the grounds may subside. Boil the liquor poured off from the grounds to three pints, and dissolve the sugar in it, that it may be made a syrup.

This syrup, impregnated with the narcotic matter of the poppy-head, is given to _children_ in doses of two or three drams, and to adults of from half an ounce to one ounce and upwards, for _easing pain_, _procuring rest_, and answering the other intentions of _mild operations_.

SYRUP OF VIOLETS.

Take of fresh flowers of the violet, 1 lb. boiling distilled water, 3 pints. Macerate for 25 hours, and strain the liquor through a cloth, without pressing, and add double-refined sugar, to make the syrup.

This is an agreeable _laxative medicine_ for young children.

OXYMEL OF SQUILLS.

Take of clarified honey, 3 lbs. vinegar of squills, 2 pints. Boil them in a glass vessel, with a slow fire, to the thickness of a syrup.

Oxymel of squills is an useful _aperient, detergent, and expectorant_, and of great service in _humoral asthmas_, _coughs_, and other disorders where _thick phlegm_ abounds. It is given in doses of two or three drachms, along with some aromatic water, as that of cinnamon, to prevent the great nausea which it would otherwise be apt to excite. In large doses it proves _emetic_.

VINEGAR OF SQUILLS.

Take of squills, recently dried, 1 pound, vinegar, 6 pints, proof spirit, ½ pint. Macerate the squills with the vinegar, in a glass vessel, with a gentle heat, for 24 hours; then express the liquor, and set it aside until the fæces subside. To the decanted liquor add the spirit.

Vinegar of squills is a very powerful stimulant; and hence it is frequently used with great success as a _diuretic and expectorant_. The dose of this medicine is from a dram to half an ounce.

TAR-WATER.

Take of tar, 2 pints; water, 1 gallon. Mix, by stirring them with a wooden rod for a quarter of an hour, and, after the tar has subsided, strain the liquor, and keep it in well corked phials.

Tar-water should have the colour of white wine, and an empyreumatic taste. It is, in fact, a solution of empyreumatic oil, effected by means of acetous acid. It acts as a _stimulant raising the pulse_, and increasing the discharge by the skin and kidneys. It may be drank to the extent of a pint or two in the course of a day.

DECOCTION OF SARSAPARILLA.

Take of sarsaparilla root, cut, 6 oz. distilled water, 8 pints. After macerating for two hours, with a heat about 195 degrees, then take out the root, and bruise it; add it again to the liquor, and macerate it for two hours longer; then boil down the liquor to 4 pints, and strain it. The dose is from 4 oz. to half a pint, or more, daily.

COMPOUND DECOCTION OF SARSAPARILLA.

Take of sarsaparilla root, cut and bruised, 6 oz. the bark of sassafras root, the shavings of guaiacum wood, liquorice root, each 1 oz. the bark of mezereon root, 3 drams, distilled water, 10 pints. Digest with a gentle heat for six hours, then boil down the liquor to one half (or 5 pints) adding the bark of the mezereon root towards the end of boiling. Strain off the liquor. The dose is the same as the last, and for the same purposes.

DECOCTION OF THE WOODS.

Take of guaiacum raspings, 3 oz. raisins, stoned, 2 oz. sassafras root, sliced, liquorice root, bruised, each 1 oz. water, 10 lbs. Boil the guaiacum and raisins with the water, over a gentle fire, to the consumption of one half, adding, towards the end, the sassafras and liquorice, and strain the decoction without expression.

INFUSION OF ROSES.

Take of dried red roses, ½ oz. diluted vitriolic acid, 3 drams, boiling distilled water, 2½ pints, double refined sugar, 1½ oz. First pour the water on the petals, in a close vessel, then add the diluted vitriolic acid, and macerate for half an hour. Strain the liquor when cold, and add the sugar.

EMETIC DRAUGHT.

Take of ipecacuan wine, 7 drams, antimonial wine, 1 do. syrup of violets, 1 do. rose-water, 3 do. Make into a draught to be taken at eight in the evening; or, for an infant, give a tea-spoonful every five minutes until it operates, and half of it for a child of ten or twelve years. It has no taste.

MILD APERIENT DRAUGHT.

Take senna leaves, an ounce and a half, ginger, sliced, 1 dram, boiling water, 1 pint. Macerate for an hour, and strain the liquor.

Two or three tea-spoonsful of Epsom salts dissolved in a wine-glassful of warm water, with 3 table-spoonsful of the above infusion of senna, and a tea-spoonful of tincture of senna, or cardamoms, will act as a mild aperient. It should be taken early in the morning, and a plentiful supply of tea, afterwards, at breakfast.

MILD PURGATIVE FOR INFANTS.

Take of manna, 1 oz. mucilage of gum arabic, oil of almonds, syrup of lemons, each 2 drams.

Of this mixture give a tea-spoonful to a child at bed-time.

CAMPHOR MIXTURE.

Take of camphor, 1 dram, rectified spirit of wine, ten drops, double-refined sugar, half an ounce, boiling distilled water, one pint. Rub the camphor first with the spirit of wine, then with the sugar; lastly, add the water by degrees, and strain the mixture.

In the common form of camphor emulsion the union is effected, by triturating the camphor with a few almonds, the unctuous quality of which serves in a considerable degree to cover the pungency of the camphor without diminishing its activity. Camphor under the present form, as well as that of emulsion, is very useful in _fevers_, taken to the extent of a table-spoonful every three or four hours.

CHALK MIXTURE.

Take of prepared chalk, 1 oz. refined sugar, ½ an oz. mucilage of gum arabic, 2 oz. Rub them together and then add by degrees, water, 2 pints, spirituous cinnamon-water, 2 ounces.

This is a very elegant form of exhibiting chalk, and is a useful remedy in diseases arising from or accompanied with _acidity in the stomach_, &c. It is frequently employed in _diarrhœa_ proceeding from that cause.

TO RELIEVE FAINTING AND OTHER FITS.