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Herbs (Canary wine every morning will)

in Canary wine every morning will renew youth, strengthen the brain, relieve languishing nature, and prevent baldness." Or, a Balm wine containing all the virtues of the fragrant, restorative herb may be made thus: Into four gallons of water put ten pounds of moist sugar; boil for more than an hour, skimming thoroughly; then pour into a crock to cool; place a pound and a quarter of Balm tops (bruised) into a small cask with a little new yeast, and when the liquor is cool pour it on the Balm. Stir them well together, and let the mixture stand for twenty-four hours, stirring it frequently; then close it up, lightly at first, and more securely after fermentation has quite ceased. When it has stood for six or eight weeks, bottle it off, putting a lump of sugar into each bottle. Cork the bottle well, and keep it for at least a year before putting it into use. Double the above quantity may be made at a time if more suitable for the requirements. Balm," adds John Evelyn, “is sovereign for the brain, strengthening the memory, and powerfully chasing away melancholy." A tea made from the Garden Balm with boiling water, and drunk hot, is admirably cordial, and promotes free perspiration on an excess of catarrhal cold, or influenza; but against hysterical, or nervous troubles the tea should be made with cold water, so as not to dispel the volatile aromatic virtues of the herb. Formerly a spirit of Balm, combined with lemon-peel, nutmeg, and angelica root, enjoyed a great restorative reputation under the name of Carmelite water, being highly useful against nervous headache, and neuralgic affections. It is fabled that the Jew Ahasuerus (who refused a cup of water to our Saviour on his way to Golgotha, and was therefore doomed to wander athirst until Christ should come again) on a Whitsuntide evening begged for a draught of small beer at the door of a Staffordshire cottager, who was then far advanced in consumptive disease of the lungs. He got the drink, and out of gratitude advised the sick man to gather from his garden three leaves of Balm, and to put them into a mug of beer. This was to be repeated as a draught every fourth day throughout twelve days, the refilling of the cup to be continued as often as desired, and "then thy disease shall be cured, and thy body shall be altered." So saying, the Jew departed, and was never seen there again. But the cottager fulfilled his injunctions, and at the end of twelve days had become a sound man. The word Balm is an abbreviation of "Balsam," the chief of sweet-smelling oils. Gerarde has told that "the juice of Balm glueth together greene wounds;" and "the leaves," say Pliny, and Dioscorides, "being applied do close up wounds without any perill of inflammation." It is now understood as a scientific fact that the balsamic oils of aromatic plants make excellent surgical dressings; they give off ozone, and thus exercise anti-putrescent effects; moreover, being chemical hydrocarbons, they contain so little oxygen that in wounds dressed with the fixed balsamic herbal oils the atomic germs of disease are starved out. Furthermore, the resinous parts of these balsamic oils as they dry upon the sore, or wound, seal it up, and effectually exclude all noxious air. Thus the essential oils of Balm, Peppermint, Lavender, and similar herbs, as well as Pine Oil, the resin of Turpentine, and Benzoin (Friar's Balsam), should serve admirably for ready application, on lint, or soft fine rag, to cuts, and superficial sores. A couple of hundred years ago pancakes were made whilst using the herb Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), and fried with Sage butter. "Hark! I hear the Pancake bell," said poor Richard, making allusion thereto in his Almanack (1684). It is said that the Pancakes particular to Shrove Tuesday were originally appointed to be made then so as to dispose of the dripping and fat remaining over from the prolonged Christmas festivities, before the advent of the Penitential Fast. The bell rang for Confessional in every Church throughout England in Catholic times on the morning of Shrove Tuesday. "It is a day whereon both rich and poore Are chiefly feasted on the selfsame dish; When every paunch till it can hold no more Is fritter-filled as well as beast can wish; And every youth and maid do take their turn, And tosse their pancakes up for fear they burn, And all the kitchen doth with laughter sound To see the pancake fall upon the ground."

In our day the modern confectioner provides Coltsfoot Rock, concocted in fluted sticks, of a brown colour, as a sweetmeat, flavoured with some essential oil, as of Anise, or Dill. The herb Coltsfoot, which grows abundantly throughout England, especially along the sides of our railway banks, has been justly termed "nature's best herb for the lungs, and her most eminent thoracic." Its very name suggests this virtue, -tussis, a cold, ago, I dispel. All parts of the plant contain tannin, with a special bitter principle, and free mucilage. Coltsfoot tea can be usefully made from the leaves, so strong as to be sweet, and glutinous; liquorice root, and honey may be added, and a decoction prepared therefrom if preferred. The older authors named this plant "Filius ante patrem," (the son before the father), because the starlike golden flowers appear, and wither, before the broad sea-green leaves are produced, and become conspicuous.

It is useful, and pleasant, to know that for sound physical reasons a moderate supper of bread and butter, with crisp, fresh lettuces (perhaps also a spring onion or two), and light, homebrewed ale made with Hops, is admirably calculated to promote healthy sleep (except for a full-blooded, plethoric person, who should fare otherwise).

The Hop (Humulus lupulus) grows wild in our hedges, and / copses, with only male flowers; but when cultivated in the Hop garden it produces also the female catkins, or strobiles, which are commonly known as Hops, and are largely used for brewing purposes. The Hop was employed by the Saxons, and was imported into England from Flanders (1524). Soon afterwards a petition was presented to Parliament against the use of Hops, describing the plant as "a wicked weed which will spoil the taste of drink, and endanger the people." Persons have fallen into a deep sleep after remaining for some while in a storehouse of Hops. "Hops," says Evelyn, in his Pomona (1670), "transmuted our wholesome ale into beer, which doubtless much altered our constitutions. This one ingredient, by some suspected not unworthily, preserves the drink indeed, but repays the pleasure with tormenting diseases, and a shorter life." The "hops," or chaffy capsules of the flower seeds, turn brown early in the autumn; they possess a heavy, fragrant, aromatic odour, and a very bitter, pungent taste. The yellow glands at the base of their scales afford a volatile, strong-smelling oil, and an abundant yellow powder (lupulin) which possesses most of the virtues owned by the plant. Various Simples may be made from the Hop (such as Hop tea, Hop wine, and the Lupulin given in powder), each of which will ease pain, and lull to sleep. Hop tea is an excellent drink in delirium tremens; also it will give ease to an irritable bladder. Sherry in which Hops have been steeped is a capital stomachic cordial. And a pillow stuffed with newly-dried Hops was successfully prescribed by Dr. Willis for our King George the Third when sedative medicines had failed to give him sleep; as likewise for our present King, when Prince of Wales, at the time of his severe attack of typhoid fever (1871), it being then used in conjunction with a most grateful draught of ale which had been previously withheld. The young tops of the Hop plant, if gathered in the spring, and boiled, may be eaten as asparagus; they were formerly brought to market tied up in small bundles for table use. The Hop is tonic, and acts on the kidneys, besides having antiseptic properties. "Les jets de houblon" (says l'Art Culinaire) are the spring vegetable par excellence in Belgium; the young sprouts are boiled in salted water, with a squeeze of lemon-juice, and served au beurre," or " à la crême." A poached egg is the unfailing accompaniment: you cannot realize the one without the other. Hops, and poached eggs, are the Orestes and Pylades of the Belgian cuisine. If boiled in water, with a little salt, pepper, and vinegar, Hop sprigs, tips, or points, make a nice, wholesome salad when cold. For the severe morning sickness of pregnant women, to drink freely of Hop tea (an ounce of the Hops to a pint of boiling water) will afford great relief ; or a glass of bitter ale will ward off the attacks. 66 66 In Norfolk scarcely a cottage garden can be found without its Horehound corner, and Horehound beer is commonly drunk there by the natives. Again, Candied Horehound is a sweetmeat made by our confectioners from the fresh plant, by boiling it down until the juice is extracted, and then adding sugar before boiling this again till it has become thick enough of consistence to be poured into a paper case, and to be cut into squares when sufficiently cool. The plant White Horehound (Marrubium) is found growing in waste places, or is cultivated in the herb garden, being of popular use for coughs, and colds. It has a musky odour, and a bitter taste, affording chemically a fragrant volatile oil, a bitter extractive, “marrubin," and gallic acid. Its preparations are specially useful for coughs accompanied with copious thick phlegm; also for chronic bronchial asthma. Gerarde has said: Syrup made from the greene, fresh leaves, with sugar, is a most singular remedy against the cough, and wheezing of the lungs. It doth wonderfully, and above credit, ease such as have been long sicke of any consumption of the lungs, as hath been often proved by the learned physicians of our London College." 66 "Just within recent times," according to Albert Broadbent, our garden plant, familiar particularly to all lovers of the National Roast Beef, - Horse Radish (Cochlearia armoracia)has come to deserve specially well from the British public." Grated Horse Radish, if eaten at frequent intervals during the day, and likewise at meals, is found remarkably efficacious for getting rid of the persistent distressing cough which lingers after influenza. The root of Horse Radish contains sulphur, a volatile oil, a bitter resin, sugar, starch, gum, albumin, and acetates. Chemically its volatile oil is identical with that of mustard, being highly diffusible, and pungent, because of the 66 myrosin." One drop of this most volatile oil will suffice to odorize the atmosphere of a whole room. The root is expectorant, anti-scorbutic, and, if taken too freely, emetic. That it contains a somewhat large proportion of sulphur is shown by the black colour given to silver, and other metals with which it comes in contact. Because of this constituent the plant proves serviceable in chronic rheumatism, and for remedying scurvy. Bergius alleges that by cutting the root into very small pieces, without bruising it, and then swallowing a tablespoonful of these segments every morning without chewing them, throughout three or four weeks, a cure has been effected of chronic rheumatism which had proved intractable by all else which was tried. The sulphuretted oil is crystallizable. As to an outward use of Horse Radish, Gerarde has said about the root: "If bruised, and laid to a part grieved with the sciatica, gout, joynt-ache, or the hard swellings of the spleen, and liver, it doth wonderfully help them all." The botanical name Cochlearia implies a resemblance between the leaves of the plant and an old-fashioned spoon, cochleare. Formerly it was named Mountain Radish, and Great Raifort, (as now styled in France,) or Cran. When scraped it exhales a nose-provoking odour, and possesses a hot, biting taste, combined with a certain sweetness on exposure to the air it quickly changes colour, and loses its volatile strength. Taken by itself, or in a plain sauce (but not being boiled) with oily fish, or rich, fatty viands, scraped Horse Radish acts as a spur to complete digestion thereof; at the same time it can benefit a relaxed sore throat by contact during the swallowing. When sliced across with a knife the root will exude some drops of a sweet juice which may be rubbed beneficially into rheumatic, or palsied limbs. An infusion of Horse Radish, sliced, or bruised, in cold water makes an excellent gargle, which a on should be sweetened with honey, or glycerine. Also an infusion of sliced Horse Radish in milk, forms, by virtue of its contained sulphur, and by its stimulating pungency, an excellent cosmetic for the skin when lacking clearness, and freshness of colour. A mixture of recent Horse Radish juice, with white vinegar, will, if applied externally, do much towards removing freckles. When indolent pimples with a white head (acne) affect the skin, particularly at puberty, if each of these is touched now and again with some compound spirit of Horse Radish from the chemist, then the several pimples will be aborted, and will be dispersed without giving further trouble. For a relaxed throat, with loss of voice, a strong syrup of Horse Radish may be concocted, some of which should be mixed with water (a teaspoonful thereof to a wineglassful of cold water), and used freely as a gargle. Again, if the scraped root is macerated in vinegar it will form a mixture which, when sufficiently diluted with water, and sweetened, with glycerine, will give marked relief in whoopingcough of children, the dose being from one to two dessertspoonfuls according to age. Care should be had not to mistake poisonous aconite root for Horse Radish root when digging it up; the two roots really differ in shape, and colour; furthermore, aconite leaves, if present, cannot be easily mistaken for those of any other plant, being completely divided to their base into five wedge-shaped lobes, which are again subdivided into three. Scraped Horse Radish, if applied to recent chilblains, and secured with a light bandage, will help to cure them. For facial neuralgia some of the fresh scrapings, if held in the hand of the affected side, will give relief, the hand becoming in some cases within a short time bloodlessly white, and benumbed. When infused in wine, Horse Radish root will stimulate the whole nervous system, and promote perspiration, whilst acting further to excite a free flow of urine. If applied topically for pleuritic pain in the side, the bruised root will mitigate such pain. For making Gill tea, which is popular in rural districts against a cough of long standing, the common and very familiar little herb, Ground Ivy (Nepeta glechoma) deserves notice from a culinary point of view. It is endowed also with singular curative virtues against nervous headaches, and for the relief of chronic bronchitis. "Medicamentum hoc non satis potest laudari : si res ex usu æstimarentur, auro æquiparandum est." The small Ivy-like aromatic leaves, and the striking whorls of dark blue blossoms which characterize this fragrant plant are conspicuous in early springtime about the bottom of almost every hedgerow throughout our country. It is gifted with a balsamic odour due to its particular volatile oil, and its special resin. For making a tea of this Ground Ivy: one ounce of the bruised fresh herb should be infused in a pint of boiling water, and a wineglassful thereof, when cool, should be taken three, or four times in the day. The whole plant was employed by our Saxon progenitors for clarifying their so-called beer, before hops had been introduced for this purpose. The Ground Ivy thus acquired its allied titles "Alehoof," and "Tun-hoof." Other names which it commonly bears are "Gill go by the ground," "Haymaids," " Catsfoot," and "Lizzy run up the hedge." Gill tea, as brewed by country persons, is sweetened with honey, sugar, or liquorice. The expressed juice of the herb is usefully astringent against bleedings. "Boiled in mutton broth," says Gerarde, "it helpeth weak, and aching backs." Dr. Pitcairn extolled this plant before all other vegetable medicines for curing consumptive diseases of the lungs. In the Organic Materia Medica, of Detroit, U.S.A., 1890, it is stated "Painters use the Ground Ivy as a preventive of, and remedy for lead colic. A wineglassful of the freshly made infusion, or tea, is to be given repeatedly." Said Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, in his farewell address to the medical students at Boston College, "there is no form of lead poisoning which more rapidly, and more thoroughly pervades the blood, bones, and marrow than that which reaches the young author through mental contact with type-metal. 'Qui a bu boirra,' 'He who has once drunk will drink again,' tells a French proverb. So, the man, or the woman who has tasted type is sure to resume the seductive indulgence, sooner or later. In my early college days, a students' periodical, conducted by some undergraduate friends of mine, tempted me into print. Such was my first attack of author's lead-poisoning, and I have never quite got rid of it from that day to this." A snuff made from the dried leaves of the Ground Ivy will render marked relief against a dull congestive headache of the passive kind. Succus hujus plantæ naribus attractus cephalalgiam etiam vehementissimam et inveteratam non lenit tantum, sed et penitus aufert. The herb remaineth green, not only in summer, but also in winter, at all times of the year. In earlier English days the herb Lavender was used, and deservedly, as a rare condiment of cordial virtues, and welcome 1. e