The Ladies Book of Useful Information Part 24

CALVES'-FOOT JELLY.

Boil two calf's feet in one gallon of water until reduced to one quart. Strain, and when cool skim carefully. Add the white of six or eight eggs, well beaten; a pint of wine, half a pound of loaf sugar, and the juice of four lemons. Mix them well, boil for a few minutes, stirring constantly, and pa.s.s through a flannel strainer. In some cases the wine should be omitted.

SLIPPERY ELM JELLY.

Take of the flour of slippery elm, one or two tablespoonfuls; cold water, one pint. Stir until a jelly is formed. Sweeten with loaf sugar or honey. This is excellent for all diseases of the throat, chest, and lungs; coughs, colds, bronchitis, inflammation of the lungs, etc. It is very nutritious and soothing.

NUTRITIVE FLUIDS.

Following will be found directions for preparing three nutritious fluids, which are of great value in all diseases, either acute or chronic, that are attended or followed by prostration; debility, whether general or of certain organs only; derangement of the digestive organs, weak stomach, indigestion, heartburn or sour stomach, constipated bowels, torpidity or want of activity of the liver, thin or poor blood. These fluids are highly nutritious, supplying to the blood, in such a form that they are most easily a.s.similated, the various elements which are needed to enrich it and thus enable it to reproduce the various tissues of the body that have been wasted by disease. In cases where the stomach has become so weakened and sensitive that the lightest food or drinks cannot be taken without causing much uneasiness and distress these fluids are invaluable. They strengthen the stomach and neutralize all undue acidity, while at the same time they soothe the irritation by their bland and demulcent qualities. When carefully and properly prepared, according to the directions following, they very nearly resemble rich new milk in color and consistency, while their taste is remarkably pleasant. Care should be taken that all the ingredients are of the best quality. Soft water must be used in all cases. Fresh rain water is to be preferred, but spring water may be used if perfectly soft.

Hard water will cause the fluids to be of a yellow color, and if the milk is old they are apt to separate:

FLUID NO. 1.

Put a pint of new milk (the fresher the better) and two pints of soft water, in a vessel perfectly free from all greasy matter, over a slow fire. Rub two even teaspoonfuls of superfine wheat flour and two teaspoonfuls of carbonate of magnesia, together with a little milk, into a soft batter, free from lumps; add this to the milk and water as soon as they begin to boil. Boil gently for five minutes-_no longer_-stirring constantly. Pour into an earthen or gla.s.s dish to cool, adding at the same time two teaspoonfuls of loaf sugar and one teaspoonful each of saleratus and table salt, rubbed fine. Stir until cold. The fluid must not be allowed to remain in a metallic vessel of any kind, and it must be kept in a cool place.

FLUID NO. 2.

Put one pint of fresh milk and two pints of soft water in a vessel over a slow fire. Rub together with a little fresh cream into a soft batter, free from lumps, one tablespoonful each of good sweet rye flour, ground rice, and pure starch; which add to the milk and water as soon as they begin to boil. Boil for five minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the fire and add three teaspoonfuls of loaf sugar and one teaspoonful each of saleratus and table salt. Observe the same precautions as in No. 1.

FLUID NO. 3.

Put in a vessel, over a slow fire, one pint of fresh milk and two pints of soft water. When they begin to boil, add one tablespoonful of wheat flour, two tablespoonfuls of pure starch, and two teaspoonfuls of carbonate of magnesia, rubbed, together with a little milk into a soft batter, free from lumps. Boil gently for five minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into an earthen vessel to cool, and add one teaspoonful of the best gum arabic dissolved in a little warm water, one teaspoonful each of saleratus and table salt, and one tablespoonful of pure strained honey. Stir until cold. The same precaution must be observed as in preparing No. 1.

DIRECTIONS.

One half pint or less of these fluids may be taken at a dose, and at least three pints should be taken during the day and the amount gradually increased to two or three quarts. Commence with No. 1 and use two weeks, then use No. 2 for the same length of time, after which No. 3 is to be used for two weeks. Continue their use as long as necessary, taking each for two weeks before changing. In all the diseases mentioned above, the use of these fluids, in connection with proper remedies, will insure a speedy restoration to health.

GUM ACACIA RESTORATIVE.

Take two ounces of pure white gum arabic (procure the lump, the powdered is very apt to be adulterated), pulverize it well, and dissolve by the aid of a gentle heat in a gill of water, stirring constantly. When it is entirely dissolved, add three tablespoonfuls of pure strained honey. Let it remain over the fire until it becomes of the consistency of a jelly. The heat must be very gentle, it must not boil. If desirable, flavor with lemon or vanilla. This will be found a very pleasant article of diet for a weak stomach. When the articles used are pure it will be transparent and of a light golden color. This will be borne by the weakest stomach when everything else is rejected.

_It is highly nutritious._

MALT INFUSION.

Infuse one pint of ground malt for two hours in three pints of scalding water. The water should not be brought quite to the boiling point. Strain; add sugar, if desired; flavor with lemon juice. This is an excellent drink in inflammatory fevers, acute rheumatism, etc.

PEAS.

Take young and fresh sh.e.l.led green peas, wash them clean, put them into fresh water, just enough to cover them, and boil them till they take up nearly all the water. This dish, if prepared according to directions, and eaten warm, will not harm any invalid, not even one suffering from diarrha.

MILK.

In some cases where a milk diet is advisable, owing to the peculiar condition of the patient's stomach it will cause distress. This is frequently the case where there is undue acidity. In such cases, let it be prepared in the following manner and it will be found to set well: Take a teacupful of fresh milk, heat nearly to boiling; dissolve in it a teaspoonful of loaf sugar; pour into a large sized tumbler, and add sufficient plain soda water to fill it. Prepared in the above directed manner it will be free from all unpleasant effects.

SOUPS FOR THE CONVALESCENT.

To extract the strength from meat, long and slow boiling is necessary; but care must be taken that the pot is never off the boil. All soups should be made the day before they are used, and they should then be strained into earthen pans. When soup has jellied in the pan, it should not be removed into another. When in danger of not keeping, it should be boiled up.

EGGS.

In cases of extreme debility, eggs are most excellent. They should never be boiled hard. The best way to prepare them is to beat them well with milk and sugar. When it will be appropriate to the case, add some fine pale sherry wine.

MILK FOR INFANTS.

Fresh cow's milk, one part; water, two parts; sweeten with a very little loaf sugar. When children are raised by hand it is always necessary to dilute the milk. As the child advances in age the proportion of water stated above may be gradually lessened.

WATER GRUEL.

Corn or oat meal, two tablespoonfuls; water, one quart. Boil ten or fifteen minutes, and strain. Add salt and sugar to suit the taste of the patient. This should be used freely during and after the operation of cathartic medicines.

CHAPTER XII.

THINGS CURIOUS AND USEFUL.

TO GET CLEAR OF MOSQUITOES.

Take of gum camphor a piece about one-third the size of an egg and evaporate it over a lamp or candle, taking care that it does not ignite. The smoke will soon fill the room and expel the mosquitoes.

HOW TO GET RID OF BEDBUGS.

Bedbugs cannot stand hot alum water; indeed, alum seems to be death to them in any form. Take two pounds of alum, reduce it to a powder-the finer the better-and dissolve it in about four quarts of boiling water. Keep the water hot till the alum is all dissolved; then apply it hot to every joint, crevice and place about the bedstead, floor, skirting or washboard around the room, and every place where the bugs are likely to congregate, by means of a brush. A common syringe is an excellent thing to use in applying it to the bedstead. Apply the water as hot as you can. Apply it freely, and you will hardly be troubled any more that season with bugs. Whitewash the ceiling with plenty of dissolved alum in the wash, and there will be an end to their dropping down from thence on to your bed.

TO OBTAIN FRESH-BLOWN FLOWERS IN WINTER.

Choose some of the most perfect buds of the flowers you would preserve, such as are latest in blowing and ready to open. Cut them off with a pair off scissors, leaving to each, if possible, apiece of stem about three inches long. Cover the end of the stem immediately with sealing wax, and when the buds are a little shrunk and wrinkled wrap up each of them separately in a piece of paper perfectly clean and dry and lock them up in a dry box or drawer, and they will keep without corrupting.

In winter or at any time when you would have the flowers blow, take the buds at night and cut off the end of the stem sealed with wax and put the buds in water wherein a little nitre or salt has been diffused, and the next day you will have the pleasure of seeing the buds opening and expanding themselves and the flowers display their most lively colors and breathe their agreeable odors.