Newspapers / Zebulon Record (Zebulon, N.C.) / June 19, 1951, edition 1 / Page 4
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Four MOTHER NATURES HOME REMEDIES (Continued from Page 1) berries being used if the first lost their strength before the patient was cured. It had a mildly acid taste like weak limeade. But some times there were boils when no sumac was in fruit. Prickly ash, a small, thorny tree, furnished bark that, when mixed with whisky, -was thought to be fine for rheumatism. Wild cherry bark was boiled and, with horehound, made into a tonic for those who had colds or coughs. It, too, often had whis ky mixed in “to make it keep.” Slippery Elm Slippery elm bark, soaked in cold water until a slimy mass re sulted, was wanted for poulticing in erysipelas, affording quick re lief in reducing the pain of the fevered portions of the body. Digitalis grew in many gardens for making tea for heart trouble. Tansy tea was highly recom mended for dismenorrhea, but one was told to be careful, as the kind having single blooms was said to have a directly opposite effect from that with double flowers. Tea made of pennyroyal, which grew wild in abundance, was also much used for this trouble. A vermifuge, horrible in smell and taste, was made from what we called Jerusalem oak, or worm seed weed. Pitch from the new growth of sassafras bushes, sliced in cold water and kept until the liquid was slippery, made a delightfully soothing application for sore eyes. Remedy for Colds Horehound leaves were steeped in hot water which was drunk for colds; or, much more palatable, was used to flavor molasses can dy which the patient was allowed to eat freely. Unless too bitter from generous quantities of hore hound, this candy was the one pleasant thing about a bad cold. Spicewood tea reduced fever and did not taste so bad as many other kinds. To avoid taking calomel, which was a standard remedy, some used the May apple root, locally called “poderphyllin” instead of podo phyllum. Its use had little less of risk, except that there was no danger of salivation. But cases were known in which the infusion was made so strong that the pa tients were some time recovering from the effects. Dr. L. M. Massey DENTIST Office over Zebulon Drug Co. Office Phone 4281 Dr. J. F. Coltrane DENTIST Office Hours: 9-12:30 a.m. 1:30-5 p.m. Office 4961 Dr. Chas. E. Flowers Physician and Surgeon Office Phone 3311 Residence Phone 3901 WE WILL CLOSE Each Wednesday Afternoon At 1:00 p.m. Beginning June 20th J. A. KEMP & SON * and HALES FARM SUPPLY COMPANY For external application there were various salves, often com pounded with an eye on the moon as well as the mixing kettle. Our family supply came in large part from co-operation with the wife of a distant cousin. She was both elderly and stout and found the gathering of wild herbs too diffi cult. The children in our family did the collecting and Cousin Judy, aided by her daughter, made the salves. From small sprigs of St. John’s wort, gathered at blooming time and combined with calves’ feet oil (also homemade), came an oint ment, red in color, that relieved the pain in aching joints. A salve for sores and boils required Balm of Gilead buds at the gummy stage, wild ginger leaves and beeswax, with other ingredients. Highland fern roots boiled thoroughly and resultant liquid boiled with hog lard until all water evaporated made a remedy for burns that was often a godsend. Puffballs When wq made playhouses in the woods we used as part of the fur nishings “Stoves” made from the fungus called “puffball.” They grow to about the size of a small apple, are round in shape, and some kinds are said to be edible. When dry a small hole comes in the top of the puffball, and by pressure, the spores may be forc ed out. They look like smoke, and we collected them eagerly, taking turns at being cook and calling for more fuel whenever the insides were all pumped out of the puffballs on hand. Mother’s use of these fungi was different. She mixed the “smoke” with lard and made a salve to put on small legs and feet where scratches or cuts had become in fected and would fester. It was soothing as well as healing. SAND YOUR FLOORS yourself with a RENTED MACHINE Our powerful HILCO SAWDERS make anybody an expert in refin ishing floors. Hundreds of home owners have used these machines wtih enthusiastic success and at very low cost. Do your own work easily, quick ly, inexpensively. We supply ev erything you need for the complete lob. JOHNSON COTTON COMPANY WENDELL, N. C.. The Zebulon Record But the queen of all salves was made in June when Madonna lilies were at their best. Cousin Judy and Mother agreed on the day for its making, which had to be post poned in case of rain, for the sun was a potent factor in this work. On the day appointed Mother would have ready a big yellow bowl of freshly churned, unsalt ed butter. This was set in full sunshine, usually on the horse block, to melt. Cousin Judy’s daughter would come down the hill from their house, bringing a bas ket covered with a clean towel and filled with lilies. Only the blos soms were used, stems having been removed. For hours a few lilies at a time were placed in the butter, which had become liquid from the sun’s heat. It was fasci nating to watch them melt away until what was left resembled wisps of tissue paper. More lilies were put in and the process con tinued, the butter’s yellow becom ing deepened as pollen added col or. When all the blossoms had dis solved it was late afternoon. The mixture was carefully strained and put away for finer sores than mine. To this day I regret never having had any of it used for my ills. To Draw Fever Bread and milk made a poultice to “draw fever” from inflamed surfaces. Turnips roasted in ashes comforted frostbitten heels. Soot FOODS FRESH in hottest weather! ntoi keeps tood Iresh and J o o ® o o lood for davs. even in the - /• L attest weather. No more yle 0 vi U J '•s oneratino costs ore verv Money. When it comes to y j J f ★ (CAROLINA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY 1 was packed into a bleeding cut to stop the flow of blood. Dirt-dau ber nests mixed with hot vinegar made an application that was said to relieve the pain from sprains. Or, if the mud nets could not be found, red clay from gully banks was second choice. Jimson weed and sheep mint cooked with wax made a treatment for hemorrhoids. Other Remedies Two remedies, learned in child hood and still used by some of us oldsters, are tobacco smoke, blown in the ear from a pipestem for earache, and heavy smoke made by placing woolen rags on live coals for stone bruises. The one for earache seems to have reason on its side; and no one who has seen the relaxation brought to a sufferer by placing the pipestem close to the external ear and gently blowing warm smoke into the opening would object to its use. USE PURINA FLY SPRAYS FOR A COMPLETE JOB OF CONTROL FOR FUKM, MOSQUITOES, ANTS AND BUGS WE HAVE SPRAYS FOR HOUSEHOLD, CATTLE, AND STOCK BARNS We will continue hatching baby chicks thfough the summer months MASSEY S HATCHERY Tuesday, June 19, 1951 A cloth is placed over the partial ly filled bowl of the pipe. I confess to total ignorance as to the wool rag smoke. But I have seen numerous small boys, who had waked up crying from the throbbing pain of stone bruises, go quietly to sleep after having the foot held over a shovel of hot coals covered with scraps of eith er new or old wool and the foot held far enough above the shovel for the smoke to be just comforta bly warm as it billowed up. There is no pretense that some of these old remedies could stand the test of modern science. But we used them and a good many of us lived to tell the tale. 25c lb. Cash for Clean Cotton Rags Theo. Davis Sons
Zebulon Record (Zebulon, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 19, 1951, edition 1
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