This section is from the book "The New Cyclopaedia of Domestic Economy, and Practical Housekeeper", by Elizabeth Fries Ellet. Also available from Amazon: The New Cyclopaedia of Domestic Economy, and Practical Housekeeper.
Cera Fortifant (for the Nails.) - Oil of lentise, half an ounce; salt, half a drachm; resin, one scruple; alum, one scruple; wax, one scruple.
Stretch upon a frame a piece of thin black silk, and with a camel's-hair brush pass over it three or more coats of isinglass, dissolved in boiling water. To give the silk an agreeable odor, when applying the last coat mix in a little compound tincture of benzoin with the isinglass.'
The color can be varied by taking silk of any desired shade. The intervals between the application of the coats should be sufficiently long to permit a thorough drying of each.
This is a liquid adhesive plaster, to be applied with the brush upon sores and cuts. It is made by dissolving gun-cotton in rectified ether, mixed with one-eighth its bulk of strong alcohol. A slight addition of Venice turpentine increases its adhesiveness.
This is the plain collodion, holding in solution one grain of sulphate of morphia to every ounce of liquid. It is almost a specific for the toothache, which results from an exposed nerve.
The etherial extract of cantharides, dissolved in collodion, forms a most convenient, active, and clearly blistering liquid. If the blister is opened at the side, the film of collodion remains unbroken; and, by thus protecting the sore, obviates the necessity of dressing it with ointment.
Apply cotton wool dipped in oil as soon as possible, and keep it on till the fire is entirely out, which will usually take from two days to a week.
Wash off the blood in cold water, and bind it up with a clean cotton bandage; if it inclines to bleed, put on scraped lint, after bringing the edges of the wound together as closely as possible, and bind it rather tight. Or use sticking-plaster.
When a Nail or Fin has been run into the foot, instantly bind on a rind of salt pork; if the foot swell, bathe it in a strong decoction of wormwood, then bind on another rind of pork, and keep quiet till the wound is well. The lockjaw is often caused by such wounds, if neglected.
Bathe the part in cold water, till you can get ready a decoction of wormwood. This is one of the best remedies for sprains and bruises. When the wormwood is fresh gathered, pound the leaves and wet them either with water or vinegar, and bind them on the bruise; when the herb is dry, put it into cold water, and let it boil a short time, then bathe the bruise and bind on the herb.
Always keep cotton wool, scraped lint and wormwood on hand.
The Ear-ache is usually caused by a sudden cold. Steam the head over hot herbs, bathe the feet, and put into the ear cotton wool wet with sweet oil and paregoric.
Scrape into an earthen vessel one ounce and a quarter of spermaceti and one ounce and a half of white wax; add six drachms of powdered camphor, and four table-spoonfuls of best olive oil. Let it stand near the fire until dissolved, stirring it well.
One ounce burgundy pitch, one ounce beeswax, one ounce and a half of resin, one ounce of gum camphor dissolved in two teaspoonfuls of brandy over a slow fire. To be kept in tin boxes, and when used spread on kid.
A notion prevails that a person addicted to alcohol stimulants cannot at once leave them off without danger of illness, or great and,long-continued suffering. This is an error. A cup of tea or coffee will supply the needed tonic when a sense of exhaustion is felt, and we have the authority of an emiment physician for stating that no constitutional injury will be suffered from immediate and total abstinence. The uncomfortable feelings will subside in forty eight-hours, and will be entirely over in a fortnight. Any man who has firm resolution can break himself at once of the fatal habit of drinking.
There are many persons whose hair is naturally dry and crisp, and in most families there is a want of some innocent and agreeable wash or dressing which may be used moderately and judiciously. The mixture which may be regarded as the most agreeable, cleanly, and safe is composed of cologne spirit and pure castor-oil. The following is a good formula: -
Pure, fresh castor-oil, two ounces. Cologne spirit (ninety-five per cent), sixteen ounces.
The oil is freely dissolved in the spirit, and the solution is clear and beautiful. It may be perfumed in any way to suit the fancy of the purchaser. The oil of the castor-bean has for many years been employed to dress the hair, both among the savage and civilized nations; and it possesses properties which admirably adapt it to this use. It does not rapidly dry; and no gummy, offensive residuum remains after taking on the chemical changes which occur in all oils upon exposure to light and air. It is best diffused by the agency of strong spirit, in which it dissolves. The alcohol or spirit rapidly evaporates, and does not in the slightest degree injure the texture of the hair. This preparation, for dressing the hair of children or ladies, will meet nearly or quite all requirements. A cheap and very good dressing is made by dissolving four ounces of perfectly pure, dense glycerine in twelve ounces of rose-water. Glycerine evaporates only at high temperatures; and therefore, under its influence, the hair is retained in a moist condition for a long time. As a class, the vegetable oils are better for the hair than animal oils. They do not become rancid and offensive so readily, and they are subject to different and less objectionable chemical changes. Olive-oil and that derived from the cocoanut have been largely employed, but they are inferior in every respect to that from the castor-bean.
It is doubtful if any mixture or substance has ever been devised which will restore hair to a bald head. A great many washes and embrocations are manufactured, all of which usually fail to meet the end desired. The falling of the hair is the result of diseased action in the hair follicles, or to a morbid condition of the entire scalp. Still, mixtures containing ammonia, vinegar, soap, and vesicating tinctures, are sometimes thought to prove beneficial. The fall of the hair will usually cease from natural causes in a short time, the germinal vessels taking on healthy action spontaneously. The frequent washing of the head in tepid or cold water, and friction with a brush or coarse towel, is to be commended.
 
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