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 MANAGEMENT OF  THE SICK ROOM,

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COOKERY  FOR  THE SICK
                                  i i
         AND CONVALESCENT;     ,„ | *
                 AND        . *S jF-

          THE TREATMENT OF THE


SUDDEN ILLNESSES AND VARIOUS ACCIDENTS

    THAT REQUIRE PROMPT AND JUDICIOUS CARE.


 COMPILED FROM THE LATEST MEDICAL AUTHORITIES,

         BY A LADY OF NEW YORK,

     UNDER THE APPROVAL AND RECOMMENDATION OF

         CHARLES A. LEE, M.D.

     EDITOR OP PARIS'S PHARMACOLOGIA, ETC.
SECOND EDITION
    NEW YORI

PUBLISHED BY J. K. WEI
     16 Spruce Street

         1845,
 
MZii
 I  94-5"
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1844, by James
  Mowatt & Co. in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the
  Southern District of the State of New-York. 
    I have examined the work entitled " Cookery for  the
 Sick and the Convalescent," &c, and find it well adapted
 for the objects for which it has been prepared.   There is
 certainly great need that the mass of the people should be
 enlightened on this subject, and aided in their humane ef-
 forts to contribute to the comfort and relief  of the sick, by
 the preparation of suitable food and diet.   The fact, that
 the  work has been prepared by  a lady of distinguished
 talent, judgment and taste, ensures its value,  and guaran-
 tees the  public confidence.   The remarks  on " the Man-
 agement of the Sick Room," and  " Diet during Disease,"
 seem to me highly judicious ; while the chapter on "Cook-
 ery for the  Sick,"  so far as I have been initiated  into the
 mysteries of the culinary art, is all that could be desired
 on this part of the subject.  In short, I consider this trea-
 tise an  excellent one,  both in its design and execution;
 and as such, I trust it may be introduced into general cir-
 culation.
                         CHARLES A. LEE,  M.D.
- 401 Hudson St. New York, Jan. 22, 1844. 
 
PREFACE.
   One of the chief difficulties which the physician encoun-
 ters in the treatment of the sick, is the ignorance of nurses
 and attendants, in relation  to  the  general  management
 of the sick room and the preparation of suitable articles of
 drink  and nourishment: although  information on these
 subjects may be found in  several medical works of emi-
 nence, yet as they are too expensive for popular use, and
 often couched in technical language, it becomes necessary
 in order to the general circulation of this kind of know-
 ledge,  that smaller and cheaper treatises should be  pub-
 lished.   To  meet this object the present publication is
 issued.
   In the chapters on " Cookery for the Sick and the Con-
 valescent," and  on " Diet during Diseases," the  kind of
 food which is most beneficial for the  patient during indis-
 position of various kinds, has been pointed out; as well
 as the  best modes of preparing  agreeable beverages  and
 nourishing diet.
   Under the head of " Management of the  Sick Room,"
 will be found numerous directions concerning the proper
 moral and physical treatment of the sick, which are of great
 importance.  A due attention to them will often hasten the
 recovery of the patient and always promote his comfort.
   The " Family Medical recipes" given,  are  all of them
safe and  efficacious, and will be found of service in allevi- 
vi                     PREFACE.
atincr those ailments which are too slight to require medi-
cal aid.   They also contain directions for the management
of severer disorders when the advice of a physician cannot
be procured,  or before  his presence  can  be obtained.
They have all  been subjected to the  scrutiny and revision
of an intelligent practising  physician, and may therefore
be confidently adopted.
   The proper treatment  of persons who have met with
any of those casualties, to which  we  are  daily subjected,
has been explained in the chapter on " Accidents and An-
tidotes."  And when we reflect that the life of an individ-
ual, who has met with a serious accident, is  often deter-
mined by the  knowledge  and presence  of mind of those
around  him, this  chapter and that on the restoration of
drowned persons, will be considered two of the most im-
portant which could be offered to the  public  generally.
   The concluding chapters, containing  general rules of
practical utility for the preservation of health and life, the
management of the digestive organs, &c. are  well worthy
of the attention of every one, who would preserve a sound
mind in a sound body.   The subjects address themselves
not only to those who would recover, but to those who
would retain the blessings of health.
   The whole work has been prepared with care and under
the advice and approval of one of the most distinguished
and enlightened of our physicians.   It is presented in the
confident belief, that it is calculated to do good, and to sup-
ply a want, which has long been  felt by those, who have
had the care of invalids, or the management of large fam-
ilies. 
CONTENTS.
  CHAPTER  I.—Management

  CHAPTER  II.—Diet Duking
General Diet,
Febrile and  Inflammatory Dis
  eases,   ....
Apoplexy and  Affections of the

Diseases of the Heart and Rheu
  matism,
Pulmonary Consumption,
Diarrhoea, Dysentery, Cholera,
Constipation,
Urinary Diseases,     ,
Diabetes,               ,
Oxalic Acid  in the Urine,
of the Sick Rook, .
11
 Diseases,.....14
14  Insipid Diabetes, or Hydruria,   19
    Disease of Kidneys with Dropsy, 20
    Lithic Acid Sediments, Gravel
     in the Urine, .    .     .    .20
    Phosphatic  Deposites  in the
     Urine,     ....    21
    Corpulency,    .    .    .    .22
    Worms,.....24
    Cutaneous Diseases, .     .    .24
    Suppurating Wounds and Ulcers, 25
    Accidents, Fractures, &c.  .    25
    Diet after Child-birth,    .    .  26
    Indigestion,  ...»    26
CHAPTER  III.—Cookery for the Sick and Convalescent,   27
General Remarks,
A Clear  Broth that Will keep
  Good for a long Time,
A Quick-make Broth,
A very supporting Broth against
  any kind of weakness,
A very nourishing and palata-
  ble Veal Broth,   .
Dr. Radcliffe's Restorative Pork
  Jelly,     ....
Shank Jelly,
27
minutes,
Broth of Beef, Mutton, and Veal, 28
Calf's Feet Broth,
Another,
Chicken Broth, .
Eel Broth,   .
Arrow-Root Broth,
Tapioca Jelly,
Gloucester Jelly,
Panada, made in five
Another,  .
Another,
Bread Jelly,
A Restorative Jelly,
Farinaceous Jelly,
Chicken Panada,  .
Sippets, when the Stomach will
  not receive Meat,
Eggs,        ....
A Great Restorative,
Another,     ....
Another,.....32
Caudle,.....32
Another,.....33
Another,    ....    33
Cold Caudle,    .    .    .    .33
A Flour Caudle,  ...    33
Rice Caudle,    .    .    .    .33
Another,     ....    33
Milk Porridge,  .    .    .    .  34
French Milk Porridge)  .    .    34
Ground Rice Milk,  ...  34
Sago,.....34
Water Gruel,   ....  34
Another Way,    ...    34
Barley Gruel,   ....  34
Buttermilk with Bread or With-
  out,   .....34
Baked Fruits,   .    .    .    .35
Biscuit Jelly,     ...    35
Hartshorn Jelly,    .    .    .35
Creme de Ris,    ...    35
Port Wine Jelly,    ...  36
Vegetable Soup,  ...    36
Boiled Flour,    .    .    .    .36
Molasses Posset, ...    36
Jelly of Iceland Liverwort,    .  37
Fresh Calf's Feet Jelly,     .    37
Milk Porridge,  .    .    .     .37
Water Gruel,      ...    37
Cranberry Gruel,    .    .     .  37
Currant Gruel,    ...    38
Stewed Prunes,          «     .38 
Contents.
CHAPTER IV.—Drinks for the Sick and Convalescent,
39
 A Most Pleasant and Strength-
   ening Draught,
 Barley Water,
 A Delightful Beverage,  .
 An Agreeable Drink,  .     .
 Soft and Fine Draught for those
   who are Weak  and have a
   Cough,  .....
 Toast and Water,
 Whey,    .
 Lemon  Water,  a  Delightful
   Drink,    ....
 Apple Water,  .     .
 White Wine Whey,
 Vinegar and Lemon Wheys,  .
 To Mull Wine,   .
 Another Way,  .
 To Make Coffee,  .
 Coffee Milk,   .
 Chocolate,   ....
 Salop,.....
Sago Milk,   .    .     .  '  .
Asses' Milk,   ....
 Artificial Asses' Milk, .    .    44
 Another,  .....  44
 Another,     ....    45
 A very Wholesome Drink,    .  45
 A Refreshing Drink in a Fever,  45
 Dr. Abernethy's Sweet Butter-
  milk,   .....  45
 Orgeat,.....45
 Orangeade or Lemonade,
 Egg Wine,
 Iniusion of Malt,
 Bran Tea,
 Mulled Ale,
 Baked Milk,
 Seed Water,
 Ale Posset,  ....
 Flax Seed Lemonade,
 Cocoa and Cocoa Shells,
 A Good Drink from Dried Cher-
  ries,.....
Lemon Whey,
Beef Tea to Drink Cold,  .
 Beef Tea to Drink Warm,  .

46
46
46
46
46
47
47
47
47
47

48
48
48
48
CHAPTER  V.—Directions for  the  Recovery of Drowned
                Persons,........49

CHAPTER VI.—Family Medical Recipes,
     Rheumatism,     ...    51
     For Hoarseness, Coughs, and
      Colds,.....51
     Sore Throats,     ...    53
     Gargles for Sore Throat, .    .  54
     Liniment for Sore Throats,  .    54
     Asthma,  .....  55
     Palpitation of the Heart,    .    55
     Dysentery, Cholera Morbus,
      Cholic and Cramp,    .    .  56
     Indigestion and Dyspepsia,  .    57
     Inflammation of the bowels,  .  58
     Piles,.....58
     Clysters,.....58
     Cancer,.....59
     Jaundice,  .....  59
     Heart Burn, ....    60
>sJ&i;rouP>......60
^jTHystencs,   ....    61
 **  Canker,.....62
     Gravel,.....62
    Fevers,.....62
    Worms,     ....    63
    Head-ache, ;  .    ,    .    .63
    Gout,   .    .....    64
    Iliac Passion,  ....   64
    Itcn>            ,    .         64
 Lethargy,
 Measles,
 Deafness, .
 Wens,  .
 Sore Mouths and Lips,
 Hiccough,
 Night Sweats,  .
 Tooth-ache, .
 Weak Eyes,
 Corns,   .    .    .
 Chilblains,
 Chaps,  .
 To Remove Freckles
  Face,
 Sore Nipples,
 Ringworms,
 Warts,  .
 Felons,
 Turning in of the Toe.  _
 To Relieve Sickness of
  Stomach,
 Inflammations,
 Poultices,  .
 To Prepare Castor Oil for
  dren,  .
Molasses, . *--,
from
nails
he
the
Chil-
51

64
65
65
65
65
66
66
66
67
67
68
68

68
69
69
69
69
70

70
70
70

71
71 
CONTENTS.
ix
CHAPTER VII.—Accidents and Antidotes,
Burns,
Sprains,
Bruises,
Choking,
Suffocation,
Blow of the Head,
Cramp in Swimming,
Bleeding at the Lungs,
Bleeding at the Nose,
Frozen. .
Frost Bitten,   .
Lightning,   .
Stroke of the Sun,
Hanging,
Fainting Fit,
Stoppage of the Urine,
Injuries of the Ear,  .
Bite of a Mad Dog,
Bite of the Adder or Viper,
Bite of a Rattlesnake, .
                              72

Sting of a Bee, .    .    .    .79
Sting of a Wasp,  ...    79
Sting of a Hornet,  .    .    .79
Bite of a Spider,   ...    79
Poison from Corrosive Sublimate,
  Arsenic, and Verdigris,    .   79
Poison from Lunar Caustic, .    80
Poison from Sugar of Lead,   .   80
Poison from Spanish Flies,  .    80
Poison from Oil of Vitriol, Aqua-
  Fortis, Spirits of Sea Salt, Acid
  of Sugar, or Sea Sorel, .    .   80
Poison from Tartar of Antimony,
  Tartar Emetic,  ...    81
Poison from Laudanum, Henbane,
  Hemlock, Laurel Water, Fox
  Glove, Tobacco, Nightshade,  81
Poison from Mushrooms,   .    82
To Prevent Infection—Chloride
  of Lime,    .    .    .    .82
CHAPTER VIII.—General Rules for Preserving  Life and
                   Health,.......
Sir R. Phillips's Rules,
Dr. Boerhaave's Rules,
Clothing,    ....
Air,......
Ventilation,  ....
Ventilation of Churches,  .
Ventilation of Houses, .
Caution to Glaziers, Painters,
  and Plumbers,
To Protect Guilders, Jewellers,
  and others from the pernicious
  effects of Charcoal,  .     .    !
To Prevent Lamps from proving
  Pernicious to Asthmatic  per-
  sons,    .....<

  CHAPTER  IX—Digestion,

  CHAPTER  X.—Indigestion,
Riding and Walking,
Exercise after Meals,
Reading Aloud,
Wind Instruments, .
Friction,
Getting Wet,  .
Precautions in removing from
  hot to a cold situation,
To keep the Feet Dry,   .
To preserve  the Eye-sight,
Use of Spectacles,  .
Cosmetics,
The  Teeth,
Tooth Powders,   .
83
88
88
89
89
89
90

90
91
91
92
92
93
93
94

96
CHAPTER XI.—Alimentary Principles of the Various
                Kinds of Food,......104 
 
THE
MANAGEMENT OF THE SICK ROOM;
       COOKERY FOR THE SICK AND THE
              CONVALESCENT, ETC.
                  CHAPTER I.

       MANAGEMENT OF THE SICK ROOM.

  The sick should always be addressed in a gentle voice,
and conversed with in the most cheerful manner.  Their
attendants should express sympathy for their sufferings,but
endeavour to inspire them with courage and resignation
in bearing them.  To ridicule or make light of the pain
of another is always unfeeling, and may  often entail seri-
ous consequences, as the patient's recovery frequently de-
pends upon the equanimity of his mind.
  All unpleasant news should be entirely withheld from,
or very carefully communicated to a person who is ill;
he should be diverted, and kept as cheerful as  possible,
for recovery is hastened or protracted, more than the gen-
erality of nurses suppose, by the moral treatment which the
patient receives.
  As soon as the patient is  convalescent, he  may be
read to; but such works must be chosen as afford inter-
est without excitement, especially those which  have a
tendency to elevate the state of the mind,  which, during
a recovery from severe illness, is particularly impressible.
  The chamber should be kept in perfect order,  and  free
from noise and confusion.   If the eyes of the patient are
not weak the room should not be darkened, as the rays
of the sun, especially of the morning sun, have a vivifying
and renovating influence. 
12
MANAGEMENT OF
    If the person has no appetite, he should not, in most ca-
 ses, be tempted and coaxed to eat;  and only very small
 quantities of food should be administered at a time.
    The food for the  sick should be prepared in  the most
 delicate and careful manner; for as the senses  are  for the
 most part, during illness,  particularly susceptible, the ap-
 petite may be entirely taken away, and nausea produced,
 by the  least uncleanliness, a smoky taste, or an offensive
 smell.   The food should not only be delicate and well
 prepared,  but  it should be served in a neat and  inviting
 manner.
   Always spread  a clean napkin over the bed-clothes
 and lay  another upon the pillow, when you  are adminis-
 tering food.  Sponge the hands and lips of the patient as
 soon as he has done  eatino-.
   Wash every article the  instant it is  used, and do not
 keep the tables and mantle-piece filled  with vials, pill-
 boxes, &c, for if they are within sight of the patient this
 practice  will annoy him, besides, many of the vials may
 contain mixtures that render  the air impure.
   Every article of furniture should be kept  in order, that
 the room may have an air of cheerfulness and comfort.
   The room should be well supplied  with water, towels,
 napkins, a slop-pail, two nice  saucepans, a  tea-kettle, a
 couple of bowls and tumblers,  several cups,  saucers, and
 wine glasses, several large and small spoons, and a  foot-
 bath which should be kept in an adjoining closet.
   All vials and papers of powders should be  carefully la-
 belled, as one medicine  may be mistaken for  another, and
 sometimes poison be administered by neglect  of this cau-
 tion.  The instant a bottle is empty cleanse it thoroughly
 with warm water; throw away pill boxes after their con-
 tents have been used.  Do not give them to children  as
play-things, as they  are generally impregnated with the
medicine they have  contained, and may do injury.
  Pure air contributes not  only to  the preservation, but
to the perforation of health.   A sick chamber  should be

Z j£   naV  3St lTCQ a da^  The Process of ventila-
tion should be as short as  possible, the patient must be 
THE SICK ROOM.                 13
well covered, and even his  head kept beneath the  bed-
clothes if he experiences the slightest sensation of chillness.
  The bed-clothing should be changed twice a  week at
least ;Jhe  bed must be  made every day, and if the pa-
tient can bear it, twice a day.  The bed-clothes should be
carried into another room and aired before they are re-
placed upon the bed, as  all exhalations from  the body
during sickness are particularly deleterious, if reabsorbed.
  The person of the  patient should  be kept  perfectly
cleanly, and his garments  frequently changed.  Daily ab-
lutions of the whole person with warm water are very ser-
viceable.   The mouth should be  often rinsed and swab-
bed with a fine linen  rag,  kept for that purpose,  and
the teeth kept perfectly clean.
  "When a sick person is  raised up to take food he should
always  be covered with  a blanket or shawl, and never
leave the bed for an instant without additional covering.
  When a physician is in attendance  he should be  con-
sulted concerning the best place of purchasing medicines,
(if in a city,) and the  medicine should be shown to  him
before they are used for fear that they may be adulterated,
or of an improper kind.
  Describe to the physician  the patient's minutest symp-
toms—use no deception in communicating either  his men-
tal or his bodily state.
  Pay strict attention to the physician's directions, if they
are  numerous note them  down, and  obey them strictly.
Even a  trivial deviation frem his orders may be attended
with unpleasant consequences.
  The person who has charge of the sick should  possess a
quiet and even temper, be naturally cheerful, very patient,
and disposed to  bear with the most unreasonable fretful-
ness and irascibility.
  Do not reprove or attempt to argue, with a person who
is very ill; he can hardly  be considered a  responsible be-
ing, for the mind is not generally in a healthy state when
the body is disordered.  If you are forced to oppose  his
wishes, do so gently, but  without reproaching or  rebuk-
ing him, as you should carefully avoid all causes of ex-
citement,              b 
14
DIET DURING DISEASES.
   The dressing of a blister  is a very simple process, but
not generally understood.  Lay the blister  bare, wash it
very gently with a fine linen rag, dipped in warm water;
place another piece of linen several times  doubled below
the blister, and then with a needle, or very sharp scissors,
puncture the lower part of the little bags of water, break-
ing the skin  as little as  possible.   Melt together a little
fine beeswax and tallow—spread them on a piece of linen
and apply them to the blister.  Blisters should be  dress-
ed twice or three times a day, and each time a fresh salve
of beeswax and tallow should be used.
  The practice of burning pastiles, brown paper, &c. in a
sick room is an injurious  one, and does not, as is supposed,
purify the air.  Frequent ventilation  is the best mode of
preserving  the air pure, and should be resorted to freely.
                     CHAPTER II.

          DIET DURING  DISEASES.

   General Diet.—Most persons not acquainted with  phy-
siology, imagine that the flesh of young animals, or  of
birds, is more delicate than that of grown sheep and oxen;
and will hence recommend an  invalid  or  convalescent,
with  his digestive  powers  enfeebled, to " try  a bit  of
boiled veal, or a chicken, or a rabbit, or, perhaps, advise
a little soup or jelly,  &c."   Now, it is  certain  that, in
ninety-nine cases  out of a hundred, a slice of boiled leg
of mutton, or a broiled  mutton chop, would be  infinitely
preferable to any  or all  of these, as being more digestible.
The term delicate is totally inappropriate to food  of any
kind : if it be used  instead  of tender, then  all meat ad-
vanced a stage towards  putrefaction is more tender  than
when quite fresh, and is really  more wholesome.   If by
" delicate," digestible is meant,—that is, the food which 
DIET DURING DISEASES.
15
is soonest converted into chyle, and  assimilates  to  the
corporeal substance of the eater, then a mutton chop  and
bread will prove a more delicate breakfast  than buttered
toast, muffins, hot rolls, and chocolate.
   A pudding for  an invalid should  be boiled tender in
milk, and of a good thickness, so that the eggs may just
set it,  and  give it  firmness enough  to stand without
breaking, when turned out of the mould.  The pudding
cannot  be made too delicate:  it should be  well  baked
for about an hour, or more, according to the size;  and
it should never be taken from the oven until within two or
three minutes before wanted.

   Febrile and  Inflammatory Diseases.—In  these  pre-
vailing affections, the functions  of the digestive  organs
are greatly enfeebled, and the ordinary solid alimentary
matters, such as meat, potatoes, butter, &c, are very  im-
perfectly digested,  and  frequently  remain  for a long
period  in the  stomach,  little changed.   It  is therefore
essential that such substances be avoided; for their  pre-
sence in the system will  increase the heat of the body,
and quicken the breathing.  Farinaceous and amylaceous
or starchy aliments, which are readily digested and  pro-
duce little increase of heat during their assimilation, have
been  found  the best adapted  for  these affections;  to
which, in certain cases  complicated  with debility, or  in
weak individuals, beef-tea, deprived of fatty matter,  may
be added.
   Acid alimentary drinks, made  from  various fruits,  are
frequently exhibited, as they are very agreeable and re-
freshing; but it is a safe practice to allow them in  a very
diluted state, as they are  apt to run  into fermentation,
causing irritation in the bowels, and  sometimes diarrhoea.
Tea or coffee is adapted for the whole of this class; only,
however, at the regular hours of diet.  Pure water, soda
water, water very  slightly acidulated with  any  of the
mineral acids, or with pure tartaric or citric acid, consti-
tute  the best drinks for  patients labouring under these
affections.  During the cold and sweating stages of fevers,
&c, the drinks should be warm. 
16
DIET DURING DISEASES.
    Apoplexy and Affections  of the  Head.—There is an
  intimate sympathetic  connection between  the digestive
  organs and  the brain; hence whatever  excites or deran-
  ges the functions of  the first, will re-act upon  the second.
  In every affection of the brain, therefore,  the  food  ought
  to be light and easy of digestion, and not liable to stimu-
  ate  either the circulation of the blood or the  nervous
  system.   When  the disease is of an  acute character,  the
 food should  consist  of small  quantities  of the  various
 amylaceous  or farinaceous substances, with tea or coffee;
 if it be of a chronic  nature, or if there  be simply a  de-
 termination of blood to the head, the  limitation in  point
 of quantity need not  be so great; but animal food, wines,
 spirits, &c, ought to  be  avoided.

   Diseases of the Heart and  Rheumatism.—Acute rheu-
 matism is often complicated  with disease  of the  heart;
 giving origin to an intractable and sometimes fatal  affec-
 tion of this organ.  The treatment of rheumatism ought
 therefore to be conducted on the most antiphlogistic prin-
 ciples.  Animal food  of all kinds  should be  avoided,  as
 tending to increase the quantity of blood in the body and
 to promote the growth of muscular organs, such  as the
 heart.   Arrow-root, sago, or other amylaceous substances,
 with tea or  coffee, constitute  the most  appropriate diet
 during the acute stage of the disease.   Chronic affections
 of the heart are frequently complicated  with indigestion
 to a greater or less extent, which often aggravates the dis-
 tressing symptoms, and may increase  the organic  altera-
 tions going on in  its structure.   In general, the  rules laid
 down for the treatment of deranged digestion will apply ;
 but if an enlargement of the heart be the disease, animal
 food, and wines or spirits, ought  to be used in small pro-
 portions ;  and in some cases altogether avoided.

  Pulmonary Consumption.—The dietetic treatment  of
this disease must be varied according to its stage or  pro-
 gress of advancement.  In the primary stages, if there be
 no derangement of the digestive organs,  light farinaceous 
DIET DURING DISEASES.
17
 substances, with a proper proportion of animal meat, may
 be allowed.   Fish, milk, eggs, &c,  may be occasionally
 substituted for  the meat.  Asses' milk, as containing a
 small proportion of butter and curd  and much sugar, is,
 with justice, esteemed a favourite aliment for consumptive
 persons;  being light  and easily digested.  When any
 tendency to pleurisy is evinced by a sharp pain  in  the
 chest, and other signs,  solid animal food ought to  be
 omitted, until this is  removed.  In the  latter stages the
 diet  may  be nourishing, and may  contain an average
 allowance  of animal  food;  but  great care should  be
 taken  not to  overload  the  stomach,  so  as  to  excite
 indigestion or quicken the breathing.   Diarrhoea  is very
 apt to  occur at the  later periods  of  the disease;   on
 this account fruits and green vegetables should be spar-
 ingly used; for if once excited,  it is always difficult  to
 cure, and frequently can only be alleviated.

   Diarrhoea, Dysentery, Cholera.—In these affections the
 stomach and bowels are in  a state of high  irritation, and
 their functions of assimilation are more or  less  impaired.
 Articles of diet, which, during health, are  digested with
 ease, produce in such diseases great distress and aggrava-
 tion of the symptoms.  It is fortunate  that nature has
 provided a check to  any  improper  indulgence; for,  in
 extreme cases, nausea or vomiting is a common accompa-
 niment, and, in  almost all, there  is a disrelish  for food.
 Tea or coffee, with bread thoroughly toasted, arrow-root,
 isinglass-jelly, containing only aromatics and a small por-
 tion of sugar  or milk diluted with water, may be used  as
 diet in these affections.  The drinks  may be included  in
 the following  list, namely, toast water, soda water, pure
 water,  and occasionally infusion  of mace (mace tea),
 where there is nausea or vomiting.

   Constipation.—It is a common and correct opinion that,
when the bowels are slow in their  action, it is  better to
effect the desirable change by means of diet than  medi-
cine.   Attention to diet alone sometimes fails in effecting
                 B* 
18
DIET DURING DISEASES.
 this; but among healthy individuals,  when accompanied
 with sufficient exercise, pure  air, and regularity  of life,
 there  are  few instances of its  inefficiency.  When the
 digestive organs  are  healthy,  the  use  of fruits, green
 vegetables, potatoes, barley, or oatmeal  porridge, soups,
 along with the other ordinary  alimentary substances, will
 generally,  when accompanied with the other circumstan-
 ces mentioned, produce  a regular action of the  bowels.
 But if the functions of the stomach  be deranged, and
 green vegetables,  soups, &c, be excluded  from the ali-
 mentary list, then it is productive of less  discomfort,  and
 is less injurious to the  system, to employ  gentle laxatives.

   Urinary Diseases.—These constitute a  class of diseases
 in which diet plays a conspicuous part in  their cure or
 aggravation,  and  which  sometimes require considerable
 nicety in their discrimination.

   Diabetes.—In this disease the functions of the stomach
 are so changed, that the larger proportion  of vegetable
 substances, in place of being digested, are  more  or less
 converted into sugar.   This is only the case, to  a limited
 extent, with many animal substances; hence  the latter
 have been  found most advantageous in  the  treatment of
 this affection.  The larger portion of the diet may consist
 of beef, mutton, bacon, or indeed of the  flesh  of any
 other alimentary quadruped or  bird, eggs, and milk ; but
 as vegetable substances  are also necessary, bread, rice,
sago, arrow-root, &c, ought to be preferred.   Pure water,
in small quantities, is the best of all diluents, and when
tepid the temperature is a check  upon  its indulgence to
 excess.   The urine is  very characteristic  of the disease,
being  sweet, of a greenish-yellow colour  and  peculiar
odour, of great density, and readily fermenting with yeast.

   Oxalic Acid in the Urine.—It is often  difficult  to  dis-
 cover this  affection, which is  generally  considered not
 common; although Dr. Bird, in  a  recent paper  on the
 subject, has formed a different opinion.  According to Dr 
DIET DURING DISEASES.
19
Prout, the urine is generally transparent, very  free from
sediment, of a pale citron-yellow or greenish colour, and
generally of moderate specific gravity, except  when  in-
creased in quantity, when its  density is less.   According
to Dr. Bird's recent researches, the urine is  always acid,
has often an amber hue, and  octohedral crystals are de-
tected in it by the aid of the microscope.   There are also
generally present some of the prominent symptoms  of
dyspepsia;  such  as  flatulence,  irregular action  of the
heart, intermission of the pulse, craving for food, which
is not disposed  of so  rapidly as  in  diabetes,  although
more  quickly than  in some other forms of  dyspepsia.
When there is stone in the kidneys or bladder, discharge
of blood sometimes take place;  and in such  cases the
nature of the affection is more easily ascertained.  Sugar,
and substances containing saccharine  matter, are gener-
ally considered improper articles  of diet in  this disease,
as liable to generate oxalic  acid ; and  for a similar reason
those vegetable substances which contain it, such as sor-
rel, stems of the alimentary rhubarb, &c.   Tender animal
food,  fish, along with bread, rice,  sago,  arrow-root, &c,
should  be   chiefly employed.  Pure  water  is  the best
drink, and it ought to contain no lime  in its composition;
for this might tend to produce the oxalate of lime  calcu-
lus.   Dr. Prout recommends, in some  of these affections,
as well as in some cases of diabetes, good porter, or sound
and dry wine.  When the urine contains urea in excess, a
diet similar  to the above may  be employed.

   Insipid Diabetes, or Hydruria.—This disease  is  gener-
ally characterised by a  copious secreticn of watery urine,
and instances of its irregular  occurrence may  sometimes
be observed in  hysteria.  It is  often a very  obstinate
affection, and like saccharine diabetes, resists many varie-
ties of treatment.  The specific  gravity  of the urine  is
frequently very low, and Dr. Prout ranges it from 1001 to
1010   There is generally a deficiency  of urea  in the
urine of such patients, and it often differs little in appear-
ance  from  common water.  The  diet best adapted  for 
20
DIET DURING DISEASES.
 such cases should consist of a considerable proportion  of
 tender animal substances, with a moderate allowance  of
 bread or other farinaceous aliments.  As a  general  rule,
 the dietetic treatment ought to be similar to  that recom-
 mended  in saccharine diabetes;  but the  proportion  of
 animal food need not be so great.

   Disease  of Kidneys  with  Dropsy.—Although  much
 has been done of late years, to elucidate the nature and
 treatment of these affections, they are still not thoroughly
 investigated as to their chemical pathology;  but as  a
 general rule, the urine is albuminous, and this, along with
 some of its other  qualities, constitute  the  most  valuable
 signs we possess of granular disease of the  kidneys.   In
 the advanced stages of these  affections, there are gener-
 ally some  obstinate dyspeptic symptoms  present; the
 rules, therefore, which have been given under the article
 Indigestion will apply to such cases.
   In the incipient stages,  if no  acute  inflammation be
 present,  a moderate proportion of animal food, along with
 the various farinaceous substances, may be allowed,  to
 which may be added some of the more tender green vege-
 tables, if they do not  produce indigestion.   But in the
 latter stages, when dropsical swellings are obstinate, and
 complicated with diarrhoea, or other serious derangement
 of the digestive organs, the greatest attention to diet should
 be given.  Tender animal substances, fish, Dread, rice, and
 the various amylaceous products, may be employed, along
 with a moderate allowance  of  sound sherry, diluted with
 water.   In some cases, a tea-spoonful of brandy, or gin,
 largely diluted with water,  will be found, to agree better
 with  the digestive  organs than wine;  but  in  general,
 neither is proper.

  Lithic Acid Sediments, Gravel in the Urine.—The li-
thic acid  deposits in  the urine are found in  the  form of
amorphous sediments or concretions, and assume three dif-
ferent modifications of colour, namely, yellow, red, and
pink j and in such cases the urine is generally acid.  The 
DIET DURING DISEASES.              21
 ?'ellow amorphous sediment is often deposited after irregul-
 arities in diet, and the urine does not  in  general  differ
much from that in health.   The red or lateritious general-
ly indicates a febrile state  of the system; while the pink
is very frequently associated with some organic disease.
  The amorphous sediments  are in general symptomatic
of some other disease, which consequently requires its own
appropriate dietetic treatment; while the chrystalised or
massive concretions, indicate great derangement of the
urinary organs themselves.  When the amorphous sedi-
ments are only occasional  and small in quantity, no deep-
seated or  permanent disease is indicated by them ; but if
deposited in large quantities  and pretty constantly,  more
especially if white or pinkish in colour, some organic or
serious disease may be  apprehended.   Dr. Prout remarks
that the pink sediment is rather rare, and generally indi-
cates the presence of chronic visceral affections.  I  have
remarked it in affections of  the liver, and  in several in-
stances of dropsy from enlargement or other disease of the
heart.   The rules which have been given respecting the
treatment of deranged digestion, should here be strictly
observed, not only in regard to quality but also quantity;
for an excess of food, even of the most digestible kind,
may cause the deposition  of lithic acid from the urine.
In general,  a moderate proportion of animal and farina-
ceous substances  may be employed, along with the usual
alimentary liquids, tea or coffee.  Wine or ardent spirits
are in general injurious except in very moderate quantities;
and when taken to excess often cause great aggravation
of the complaint.  Fatty substances, malt  liquors, milk,
fruits, green vegetables, acescent and  sweet wines, and
hard water, ought to be avoided.

  Phosphatic Deposites in the  Urine.—In  this affection,
the deposition consists very frequently of the mixed phos-
phates, or of the phosphate of magnesia and ammonia and
the phosphate of lime.  The disease is sometimes of a ge-
neral character, but more frequently it is associated with
disease of  the bladder or prostate gland. The urine and 
22
DIET DURING DISEASES.
 deposites vary in appearance, according to the predomin-
 ance of the one  or the other salt.  When the triple phos-
 phate is most abundant  the deposit is more or less crys-
 tallised ; but when the phosphate of lime  predominates, it
 is found in the  form of  a whitish  or  yellowish-white
 powder; or sometimes  containing  crystalline granules,
 when the  coats of the  bladder have become diseased.
 The urine is generally of a pale colour, frequently alkaline
 when newly  passed, and  more abundant than  natural.
 When the secretion is very great, little or  no deposit takes
 place without the application of heat; but when moderate,
 its  formation  often takes place  in  the bladder, and the
 urine is muddy  when passed.  Dr. Prout remarks  that
 some authors, from chemical hypothesis, have recommend-
 ed a vegetable diet in this disease, or one as free from
 nitrogen as  possible, in order to  correct the alkalinity of
 the urine.   Experience, however, has shown that  vegeta-
 ble aliments alone are not calculated to support the system
 sufficiently  under this formidable affection.  A mixture of
 animal and farinaceous diet is best calculated to  support
 the vital powers, and  in  general it agrees  better with the
 digestive organs than one composed of the ordinary dietetic
 vegetables.  A portion  of wine  is often  beneficial, and
Dr. Prout recommends Moselle or Bucellas, as  well  as
sound cider  and perry; and he considers that liquids con-
taining malic acid are sometimes very beneficial in arrest-
ing the deposition of the phosphates.

  Corpulency.—When all the functions of the body are
properly balanced, very  little fatty matter is deposited in
 the system ; although a certain amount of this is by no
 means incompatible with what is  denominated ordinary
 health.   In  persons of common size and vigour, the pro-
 portion  of  fat has been computed to  average from one-
 tenth of  one-fifteenth  of  the weight of the body  ; but in
 extreme cases of obesity, this has amounted to about four-
 fifths, as in the case of Mr. Lambert, of England.   When
 the accumulation of this  principle becomes excessive, de-
 rangement   of the  secondary  assimilation is   going  on, 
DIET DURING DISEASES.              23
which is often the premoni'tor  of some  serious disease.
The same  holds true with extreme leanness, which gene-
rally indicates some defect in the primary or secondary
processes of digestion.   A large majority of these instances
of extreme obesity are owing to  over-feeding, combined
with  indolence,  or indulgence in the  use  of fermented
liquors ; but  it is also true that a certain proportion of
persons become fat, where excess of no kind is practised.
In general, however, it will be found, that in such cases a
due proportion of exercise has not been taken.   The rules,
therefore, to  be observed for the removal of obesity, may
be deduced from  these principles.  The aliment should
consist of the various vegetable substances usually em-
ployed, and fish, with only a small amount of animal food
or animal preparation,  and  little fatty  or oily matter
should  be used.   Fermented liquors  and ardent spirits
ought to be avoided ; for experience proves that the large
proportion of carbon they contain is readily converted into
fatty matter;  and this view is supported by the latest and
most enlightened  theory of secondary assimilation.  By
great  abstinence  and  severe exercise,  conjoined with
copious sweats, the flesh may be rapidly reduced to the
desired standard.
   Quantity is also an important  element in the diet of
such  persons, and this, in an individual of  ordinary weight,
should  not exceed twenty-eight or  thirty ounces daily.
Exercise of an active kind is also necessary, and it ought
to be continued for at least two  or three hours every  day,
and of all the varieties in  common use, walking is the
best.  Indeed, so important is smart or laborious exercise,
if continued a sufficient length  of time,  that it is rare to
meet with a  corpulent person of such habits or occupation.
Much sleep also favours obesity, on the same principle as
indolence; for less carbon is consumed by the lungs, skin,
&c. during that period, from the comparative inactivity of
the functions  connected with these organs.   The amount
of sleep should therefore be restricted considerably within
the ordinary limits.
   Dr. Prout is  of opinion that the production of gall- 
24
DIET DURING DISEASES.
stones is owing to a derangement of the oleaginous or
fatty assimilation, and recommends a similar diet and re-
gimen for the prevention of future attacks of this painful
and sometimes formidable affection ; but as this disease is
often accompanied with weakness of the digestive organs,
the vegetable part of  the diet ought to consist chiefly of
the farinaceous kinds.

   Worms.—Indigestion, in  some form, almost uniformly
accompanies the existence of worms in the intestines; and
from this fact may be deduced the inference, that their
generation and growth  are promoted by the presence ol
acid  and imperfectly  digested matters.  The diet ought
therefore to be conducted on the same principles as in the
treatment of  indigestion.  Green vegetables, fruits, oat-
meal, and all acescent substances, should be avoided.  The
diet may consist of bread, rice, the finest quality of pease-
meal, sago,  with a proper allowance of animal food, in-
cluding milk and eggs.

   Cutaneous  Diseases.—There  are many  chronic  dis-
eases of  the skin that seem to be little under the influence
of diet;  but those of an  acute or inflammatory kind are
often increased, if not sometimes produced, by an indul-
gence in animal  food, fermented liquors, ardent spirits,
green vegetables, salt  fish, and  meat of any description
that has  been long preserved.   As a general rule, all sub-
stances difficult of digestion should be avoided; and if in-
digestion co-exist with the disease, this  must be carefully
attended to as an important step in the cure.  There is one
affection closely  allied to  skin diseases, which  may be
specially noticed, as  often accompanied with derangement
of the assimilating functions, namely, furunculi, or boils.
In young persons,  the habit is sometimes rather full during
the presence of this affection; but although this shows
that the  blood is  sufficiently  supplied with nutriment, it
will, in many cases,  be found that some irritating princi-
ple is generated in the digestive organs.  This, however,
is more apparent when the disease occurs in old individuals, 
DIET DURING DISEASES.
25
or in persons of a cachectic or broken-down constitution;
the functions of their digestive organs ought therefore to
1 e carefully regulated.   A moderate allowance of animal
 bod, with bread and other easily-digested farinaceous sub-
stances, will be found beneficial; to which may sometimes
be  added, with  great advantage, one or two glasses of
sound wine daily.

   Suppurating  Wounds and Ulcers.—In some wounds
and ulcers, the discharge of matter is  very copious, and
the system  consequently becomes much exhausted.  It
has therefore been found that a generous diet, containing
a considerable proportion of animal matter, is most bene-
ficial.   This plan is however sometimes pushed far beyond
the powers  of the digestive organs, particularly in point
of quantity ;  in consequence of which, indigestion and an
unhealthy state  of the diseased parts are produced.  The
limits of healthy assimilation should therefore never be ex-
ceeded ; and when a large amount of stimulating nutriment
is required, wine or malt liquors should form a portion of the
aliment.  In cases of ordinary wounds and ulcers, provided
the general health be good, no  particular deviation from
the common diet is in general required ; but if accompa-
nied with derangement of  the digestive organs, modifica-
tions of it, adapted to this state, ought to be employed.

   Accidents, Fractures, 8fc.—In healthy  individuals of
regular habits, the dietetic treatment should be conducted
on the  same principles  as in inflammatory diseases ; at
least for some time after receiving a serious injury.  Fari-
naceous substances,  arrow-root, sago, &c, tea or coffee,
may be allowed ; and in many cases beef-tea is productive
of  no injurious excitement.  The treatment, however, re-
quires to be much more stimulating in persons of intem-
perate habits ;  and inattention to the important difference
of constitution between regular  and irregular  individuals,
sometimes induces delirium tremens.   In such  cases  a
certain  proportion of wine or spirits must be allowed, ac-
cording to the previous habits of the patient, accompanied 
26
DIET DURING DISEASES.
with a moderate quantity of tender, easily-digested animal
food, and farinaceous substances.

  Diet after  Child-birth.—Nurses and  old  women very
frequently entertain false  notions  upon this subject, and
those who  are under their management sometimes suffer
severely by reason of a misplaced confidence in the doc-
trines  of these sage  individuals.  After child-birth, in a
considerable number of  cases, there is a feverish or excit-
able state of  the  system for some days; which, by indis-
cretion in diet, or exposure to cold, might readily assume
an  inflammatory  character;  a  state well known to be
highly dangerous to the patient.  It  is therefore obvious
that a generous diet and stimulating drinks ought not to be
hazarded; for though the mother may be considered weak,
and though  nourishment  may  be thought  necessary for
other  reasons, these trifling  advantages are completely
overbalanced by the risks which attend their employment.
For the  first  four or five days, the  diet should consist of
tea or coffee, milk, bread, panado,  arrow-root, sago, rice,
or tapioca.   After  that period beef-tea or  chicken-soup
may be added; but no solid  animal  food should be taken,
until a week  of  the confinement has elapsed.   Chicken,
beef-steak, or mutton-chop, and eggs, may then be allow-
ed to a moderate amount.  Alcoholic drinks should never
be  taken, except when recommended  by  the   attending
physician.
Indigestion.—See page 96. 
CHAPTER III.
     COOKERY FOR  THE SICK AND THE CONVALESCENT.

  It is of more consequence to support those whose bad
appetite will not allow them to take the necessary nourish-
ment, than to stimulate the appetites of persons in health.
  It may be unnecessary to advise that a choice  be made
of the things most likely to agree with the patient;  that
a change be provided; that some one article of food be
always ready ; and that not too much be made at once of
any preparation which is not likely to keep, as invalids
require variety.
  A Clear Broth that will keep Good for a long  Time.__
Put a pound of beef, a knuckle-bone of veal, and a few
shanks of mutton, into a  deep  pan, and cover it close with
a dish; bake or boil  until the meat is done enough for eat-
ing, with only as much water  as will cover it.  When the
broth is cold, cover it  close in a cool place.  When it is
used, give it what flavour the patient likes best.   General-
ly salt alone should be used.
  A Quick-made Broth.—Take part of a  neck or loin of
mutton, take off the fat  and skin, beat the meat, cut it in
thin slips, set it on the fire in a small covered tin saucepan,
with  three-quarters  of a pint of water, put in  a bit of
thyme and parsley, and,  if approved, a slice  of onion. Let
it boil very quick; skim it nicely;  take off the  cover, if
likely to  be too weak; else  cover it.  Half an hour is
sufficient for the whole process.

   A very supporting Broth against any kind of Weak-
ness.—Boil two  pounds  of loin of mutton, with a very
large handful of celery or an onion, in two quarts of water
to one.  Take off part  of the fat.  Any other herbs or
roots may be  added.  Take half  a  pint  three or four
times a day. 
28
COOKERY  FOR THE SICK
  A very nourishing and palatable Veal Broth.—Put the
knuckle of a leg or shoulder of veal, with very little meat
to it, a full-grown fowl, and three or four shank-bones of
mutton extremely well soaked and bruised, with an onion,
a large bit of bread, and three quarts of water, into a
stewpot that covers close, and simmer them in the slow-
est  manner after the broth has  boiled up and been skim-
med ; strain, and take off the fat.   Salt it as wanted.   It
will require four hours.  Veal makes an excellent broth
for  the convalescent.

  Dr. Radcliffe's Restorative  Perk Jelly.—Take a  leg
of well-fed pork, just as cut up; beat it and break  the
bone.   Set it  over a  gentle fire with  three  gallons of
water, and simmer to one.  Add half  an ounce of mace
and the same  of nutmegs.   Strain the jelly through a fine
sieve.   When cold take off the fat.  Give a breakfast-cup
full the first thing in the morning, last thing at night,  and
at noon, adding salt to your taste.  This jelly is only used
by  the convalescent.

   Shank Jelly.—Soak twelve shanks  of mutton  four
hours, then scour them  very clean.  Lay them in a sauce-
pan with an onion, twenty Jamaica or forty black peppers,
a bunch of sweet herbs,  and a crust of  bread made very
brown by toasting.   Pour three quarts of water over them,
 aud set them  upon a hot hearth closely covered ; let them
simmer as gently as possible for five hours, then strain the
jelly, and put it in a cold place.
   This may have the addition  of a pound of beef, if ap-
 proved, for flavour.   It  is a  remarkably  good nourish-
 ment for people who are weak.

    Broth of Beef, Mutton, and Veal.—Put two pounds of
 lean beef, one pound of scrag of veal, one pound of scrag
 of mutton, and a few sweet herbs,into  a nice tin saucepan,
 with five quarts of water; simmer to three quails, and
 clear from the fat  when the broth is cold.   Add one
 onion, if approved. 
AND THE CONVALESCENT.
29
  Soup and broth made of different meats are more sup-
porting, as well as better flavoured.
  To remove the fat, take it  off when  cold  as  clean  as
possible;  and if there be still any remaining, lay a bit of
clean blotting or cap paper on the broth when in the
basin, and it will take up every particle.

  Calfs  Feet Broth.—Boil two calf's feet in three, quarts
of water to half;  strain and set it by ; when it  is  to be
used, take off  the fat, put a large tea-cupful  of  the  jelly
into a saucepan  over the fire, with half a glass of sweet
wine, a little  sugar  and nutmeg, and beat it up till it  be
ready to boil;  then  take  a little of it and beat it by de-
grees with the yolk of an egg, and adding a bit of butter
the size of a nutmeg, stir all together, but do not let the
mixture boil.   Grate a piece of fresh lemon-peel into it.

   Another.—Boil two calf's-feet, two ounces of veal, and
two of beef, the crust of a penny-loaf, two or three blades
of mace,  half of a nutmeg sliced, and a little salt, in three
quarts of water, until only three pints are left; strain and
take off the fat.

   Chicken Broth,—Put the body and legs of the fowl that
 chicken panada was made of, after taking off the skin and
 rump, into the water it was boiled in, with one slice of
 onion.   Simmer till the broth be of a pleasant flavour.  If
 there is not water enough, add a little.  Beat a  quarter of
 an ounce of sweet almonds with a tea-spoonful  of water,
 boil them in  the broth, strain, and, when  cold, remove
 the fat.

    Eel Broth.—Clean half a pound of small eels, and set
 them on the fire with three pints of water,  some parsley,
 one slice of onion, a few peppercorns; let them simmer till
 the eels  are broken, and the broth good.   Add salt, and
 strain off the broth.
    The above should make three half pints of broth.
             c* 
30
COOKERY  FOR THE SICK
    Arrow-Root Broth.—Of  this beware  of  having  the
 wrong sort, for it has been counterfeited with bad effect.
 [f genuine, it is very nourishing, especially for weak bow-
 els.  Put into a saucepan half a pint of water ;  a glass of
 sherry, or a spoonful of brandy, if spirits  are allowed, if
 not use lemon-juice, a little grated nutmeg, and fine sugar;
 boil up once, then mix  it by degrees into a dessert-spoon-
 ful of  arrow-root, previously rubbed smooth with  two
 spoonfuls of cold water; then  return the whole into the
 saucepan;  stir and boil it three minutes.

    Tapioca Jelly.—Choose the largest sort of tapioca, pour
 cold water on to wash it two or three times, then soak it in
 fresh water  five or six hours, and simmer it in the same
 until  it becomes quite clear ; then add lemon-juice, wine,
 and sugar.   The peel should have been boiled in it.  The
 tapioca thickens very much.

   Gloucester Jelly.—Take rice, sago, pearl-barley, harts-
 horn shavings, and eringo-root, each an  ounce; simmer
 with  three pints of water to one, and strain  it.   When
 cold it will be a jelly ; of which give, dissolved in wine,
 milk, or broth, in change with other nourishment.'

   Panada, made in five minutes.—Set a little water on
 the fire with a glass of white wine,  some sugar, and a
 scrap of nutmeg and lemon-peel:  meanwhile  grate some
 crumbs  of bread.   The moment the mixture boils up,
 keeping it still on the fire, put  the  crumbs in, and let it
 boil as fast as it can.  When of a proper thickness just to
 drink, take it off.

   Another.—Make as  above, but, instead of a glass of
 wine, put in a tea-spoonful of rum,  and  a bit of butter;
 sugar as above.   This is a most pleasant  mess.

   Another—Put to the  water a bit of lemon-peel, mix
the crumbs in, and,  when nearly boiled enough, put some
lemon  or  orange syrup.  Observe to boil all the ingre- 
AND THE CONVALESCENT.
31
dients, for, if any be  added after, the panada will break
and not jelly.

   Bread JeWy.—Take a  penny-roll, pare off the  crust,
and  cut the crumb  into thin slices; toast them on both
sides  of  a light pale  brown.   Put them into a quart of
spring water, let it simmer gently over  the  fire until the
liquid becomes a jelly, strain it through a thin cloth,  and
flavour it with a little lemon-juice and sugar, added when
hot.   If wine be permitted, it is an improvement.  This
jelly is of so strengthening a nature, that one tea-spoonful
affords more nourishment than a tea-cupful of any other.
It may be  prepared without the lemon-juice and  sugar,
and a tea-spoonful put into every liquid the patient takes,
such as tea, coffee, broth,  &c.

   A Restorative Jelly.—Take one ounce of rice, the same
quantity of sago, pearl-barley, hartshorn-shavings,  and
eringo-root, put them into three pints of  water, and let it
simmer till reduced to one  pint; then  strain it off, and,
when cold, put in a little wine or milk.

   Farinaceous Jelly.—Take of tapioca, whole rice, pearl-
barley, and sago, of each two ounces ;  boil  them in  two
quarts of water over a slow fire, stir while boiling, strain
it through a sieve, and flavour  it with  sugar, lemon, or
orange juice.
   Chicken Panada.—Boil   a   chicken  till quite, dons
in a  quart of water; take  off the skin, cut the white
meat off when cold, and put into a marble mortar: pound
it to a paste with a little of the water it was boiled in,  sea-
son with a little salt, a grate of  nutmeg, and the least bit
of a lemon-peel.   Boil gently  for  a few minutes  to  the
consistency you like : it should  be such as you can drink,
though tolerably thick.
   This conveys great nourishment in small compass.

   Sippets, when the Stomach will  not receive Meat.—On
an extremely hot  plate put two or  three slices of stale 
32
COOKERY FOR  THE SICK
 bread, and pour over them some gravy from beef, mutton,
 or veal, with which no butter has been mixed.   Sprinkle
 a little  salt over them.

   Eggs.—An egg broken into a cup of tea, or beaten and
 mixed with a basin of milk, makes a breakfast more sup-
 porting than tea solely.
   An egg divided, and the yolk and white beaten separate-
 ly, then mixed with a glass of wine, will afford two very
 wholesome draughts, and prove lighter than when taken
 together.
   Eggs very little boiled, or poached, taken in small quan-
 tity, convey much nourishment; the yolk only, when dress-
 ed, should be eaten by invalids.

   A Great Restorative.—Bake two calf's-feet in two pints
 of water and the same quantity of new milk, in a jar, close-
 covered, three  hours and  a  half.   When  cold,  remove
 the fat.
   Give a  large tea-cupful the first and last thing.   What-
 ever flavour is  approved, give it by baking in it  lemon-
 peel, cinnamon, or mace.   Add sugar after.

   Another.—Simmer six sheep's-trotters, two  blades of
 mace, a little cinnamon, lemon-peel, a few hartshorn sha-
 vings, and a little isinglass, in two quarts of water, to one;
 when cold, take off the fat, and give near half a pint twice
 a-day, warming with it a little new milk.

 ^ Another.—Boil one ounce of isinglass  shavings and a
bit of brown crust of bread, in a quart of water, to a pint,
 and strain it.
   This makes a  pleasant jelly to  keep in the house ; of
which a large spoonful may be taken in wine and water,
milk, tea, soup, or any other way.

   Caudle.—Make a very fine smooth gruel of half grits;
using water enough to  make  the gruel quite thin, strain
it when boiled well; stir  it all the time till  cold.   When
it is used,  add sugar, wine, and lemon-peel, with nutmeg. 
AND THE CONVALESCENT.
33
Some  like  a  spoonful  of  brandy besides  the  wine;
others like lemon-juice.

  Another.—Boil up half a pint of fine gruel, with suffi-
cient water to make the gruel thin, and a bit of butter the
size of a  large nutmeg, a  large spoonful of brandy, the
same of white wine, one of capillaire, a bit of lemon-peel,
and nutmeg.
  Another.—*-Into a pint of fine gruel, made as above, put,
while it is boiling-hot, the yolk of an egg beaten with sugar,
and mixed with a large spoonful of cold water, a glass of
wine, and half a nutmeg.   Mix by degrees.   This is very
agreeable and nourishing food.   Some like  gruel, with
a glass of table-beer, sugar, &c, with or without a tea-
spoonful of brandy.
  Cold Caudle.—-Boil a quart of spring-water; when cold
add the yolk of an egg, the juice of a  small  lemon, six
spoonfuls of sweet wine, sugar to your taste, and syrup of
lemon one ounce.
  A Flour Caudle.—-Into five large spoonfuls of the pur-
est water  rub smooth one  dessert-spoonful of fine flour.
Set over the  fire five spoonfuls of new milk, and put two
bits of sugar  into it: the moment it boils, pour into it the
flour and water, and stir it over a slow fire twenty minutes.
It is a nourishing and gently  astringent food.   This is an
excellent food for babies who have weak bowels.

  Rice Caudle.—Boil a quart of water  and pour into it
a tea-cupful of ground rice mixed with a little cold water;
when of a proper consistence, add sugar, lemon-peel, and
cinnamon, and a glass of brandy to a quart. Boil all smooth.

  Another.—Soak  some rice in  water an  hour,  strain
it, and put two spoonfuls of  the rice into a pint and  a
quarter of milk; simmer till  it will pulp through a sieve,
then put  the  pulp  and milk into the saucepan, with  a
bruised clove and a bit of white sugar.   Simmer them ten
minutes :  if too thick, add a spoonful or two of milk; and
serve with thin toast. 
34
COOKERY FOR THE SICK
    Milk  Porridge.—Boil a  tea-cupful  of  half-grits, in
 three pints of water, for an hour  and a half;  strain the
 water off, and add cold milk, or warm as may be approved.

    French Milk Porridge.—Stir a handful of oatmeal into
 a quart of water,  let it stand to be  clear, and pour off the
 latter; pour a pint of fresh water upon it, stir it well, let
 it stand till next day; strain through a fine sieve, and boil
 the water until half has been boiled away, then add a pint
 of milk and boil again.  This is much ordered, with toast,
 for the breakfast of weak persons abroad.

    Ground Rice Milk.—Boil one spoonful of ground rice,
 rubbed down smooth, with three half pints of milk,  a bit of
 cinnamon, lemon-peel, and nutmeg.  Sweeten when near-
 ly  done.

   Sago.—To prevent the earthy taste, soak three table-
 spoonfuls in cold water an hour, pour that off, and wash if
 well;  then add a  pint of water and simmer it gently till
 the globules are clear, with lemon-peel if approved.   Add
 wine and sugar, and boil all up together.

   Water Gruel.—Vat a large spoonful of oatmeal by de-
 grees into a pint of water, stir it until it is smooth, and
 then boil it.

  Another Way.—Rub smooth  a large spoonful of oatmeal
 with two of water, and pour it into a pint of water boiling
 on the fire; stir it  well and boil it quick, but  take  care it
 does not boil over.  In a quarter of an hour strain  it off,
 and add salt and a bit of butter when eaten.   Stir until
 the butter be incorporated.

  Barley Gruel.—Wash four ounces of pearl-barley; boil
 it in two quarts of  water with a stick of cinnamon, till re-
 duced  to a quart;  strain  and return it into the saucepan
 with sugar and three-quarters of a pint of port wine.  Heat
 it and  use it as wanted.

  Buttermilk  with Bread or Without.—It is most whole-
some when sour, for then it is less likely to be heavy;  but 
AND THE  CONVALESCENT.
35
patients generally think it more palatable when it is made
of sweet cream.  Pour the buttermilk over a eouple  of
slices of bread and let them soak ten minutes.

  Baked Fruits.—Apples  baked  in an oven, or roasted
before the fire, with a small quantity of good brown sugar
surrounding them, make an excellent  meal for  invalids.
Pears are equally good, but they should be baked with
sugar-house molasses.  Raisins also may be  boiled until
they swell, and then baked  with soda or other biscuits, that
have been crumbled and steeped in water.   Sweeten them
with a few tea-spoonfuls of sugar.   The raisins are some-
times baked  with light stale sponge cake which has been
immersed in water.   The  pans in which  the raisins are
baked should be well buttered.

   Biscuit Jelly,—Biscuit jelly is particularly serviceable
in cases of debility of the digestive organs.  Boil  a quarter
of a pound of soda or sea biscuits in as much water as will
cover them.  When they have boiled to a jelly strain them
through a fine sieve  or jelly-bag, sweeten them with pow-
dered sugar according to your taste, and  add a wine glass
of port wine and ten drops of cinnamon water.

   Hartshorn Jelly.—Boil  a quarter of a pound  of harts-
horn shavings in a quart of water.  Stir it that it may not
burn.  When so much of the water has evaporated that
the jelly begins to thicken, strain it, add the juice of half
a large orange, half a small  wine glass of sherry, and a
table-spoonful  and a  half of white sugar.   Set the jelly
over the fire again and let it  boil five minutes,  it is  then
fit for use.
   Creme de Ris.—Boil three  table-spoonfuls of  ground
rice in a quart of water.  When one-half of the water has
evaporated, strain the rice; blanch twelve  sweet almonds
and six bitter ones, pound  them in a mortar and  add them
to the rice with a couple of table-spoonfuls of white sugar
and a tea-spoonful  of orange water, or ten  drops of the
essence of cinnamon.   This preparation should be taken 
36
COOKERY  FOR THE  SICK
by invalids in  the morning.  It is generally used when
warm.   If any quantity be left let it be re-heated before
used, especially if the person is very delicate;

   Port Wine Jelly.—Soak half a pound of isinglass for
an hour in as much cold water as will cover it well.  Melt
half a pound of gum arabic in the same quantity of warm
water;  when the gum arabie is perfectly dissolved, mix
it with the isinglass, and add a pint of port wine  and quar-
ter of a pound of pounded rock sugar or sugar-candy.  Mix
these ingredients well together, boil them twenty minutes,
and strain them through a fine piece of muslin.   This jelly
is very strengthening, and persons suffering with diseases
of the throat and chest have been much benefited by it.

   Vegetable  Soup.—Peel a potato, (an old one,) a turnip,
and an  onion, and chop them fine with a little  celery, or
if celery cannot be procured, use the celery seed.   Season
them with salt, and  boil them an hour.  When the soup
is done, pour it over a piece of dry toast.   This soup is to
be used when animal food would be improper.

   Boiled Flour.—Take half a pound of fine flour, tie it'up
as tight as possible in a linen cloth, dip it frequently  into
cold water, dredging the outside with flour until  a crust is
formed upon it; then boil it in a pot of water until it be-
comes a hard dry  mass.
   This may be grated and prepared in the same manner
as arrow-root, for which it is an excellent substitute.

   Molasses Posset.—Put into a saucepan a pint  of sugar-
house molasses, a tea-spoonful of powdered ginger, and a
quarter of a pound of fresh butter.   Simmer it over hot
coals for half an  hour,  stirring it  frequently.  Then  stir
into it the juice of two lemons, two  tea-spoonfuls of vine-
gar, and two table-spoonfuls of brown  sugar; boil  the
whole for five minutes longer.  This is an excellent prepa-
ration to relieve colds, and is also particularly serviceable
to persons subject to constipation. 
AND THE CONVALESCENT.
37
  Jelly of Iceland Liverwort.—Mash an ounce  of liver-
wort and pick off the stalks or any small particles of moss
which may adhere to it.  Re-wash it in warm water, pour
that away and soak the liverwort  all night in  as much
cold spring water as will cover it.   Then place it in a pan
with an additional quantity  of water,  (from one to two
quarts,) and let it  boil gently for  four hours.  Strain it
through a muslin sieve, add the juice cf half a lemon, and
sweeten it according to the taste of the patient.   It may
be taken either warm or cold,  and is excellent for con-
sumptive persons, for persons suffering with the dysentery
or diarrhoea, and  for the whooping  cough.

  Fresh Calf's Feet Jelly.—Scald, take off the  hair, and
wash very clean  four calf's feet.   Put  them in a sauce-
pan with  two quarts  of cold water, let them simmer for
six hours, skimming them well; take  out the  feet and
strain the liquor.   When cold,  remove the fat  carefully
from the top, and boil the liquor until it is reduced to about
one quart of jelly.  Then add to it a wine glass of white
wine, the juice of a large lemon or two small ones, the
beaten  whites  of two eggs, and  sugar  according  to your
taste.   Boil these together ten minutes  and pour the jelly
out to  cool.   It must not be taken until  perfectly cold.
For some patients it is necessary to omit the wine.

   Milk Porridge.—Wash half a pint  of split  grits and
boil them in two  pints of water, until they are thoroughly
cooked, which will be easily discovered by tasting them.
Strain them, add a pint of milk  to the liquor and boil it
again for ten minutes, sweeten it, and serve it with toast.

   Water Gruel—Stir  a table-spoonful of oatmeal into a
pint of water, after it has well  mixed  boil it for twenty
minutes.  Strain it through a sieve, add a small piece of
fresh butter, and salt according to your taste.  It should
be eaten warm.

   Cranberry Gruel—Boil a table-spoonful of oatmeal in
                  D 
38
COOKERY  FOR THE SICK
a'couple of quarts of water for twenty minutes.   Mash hall
a pint of fresh cranberries or cranberry jelly, sweeten them
with a quarter of a pound of sugar (or more if the patient
prefers the gruel sweeter,) mix the cranberries with the
oatmeal, add the peel of half a lemon, and boil the whole
from  three quarters of an hour to  an hour.  When you
take this gruel  from the fire  add a small wine glass ol
sweet wine.

   Currant Gruel.—Make the gruel as above, and  instead
of cranberries use ripe currants or currant jelly.

   Stewed Prunes.—Soak the prunes for a couple of hours
in as much water as will cover them, then boil them until
the stones begin to slip out, add sugar to your taste, and a
small quantity of lemon-juice, but the latter may be omitted.
Physicians consider stewed prunes a safe nourishment in
fevers.  They are  excellent in all cases of constipation of
the bowels, and are particularly efficacious in loosening the
bowels if taken warm. 
DRINKS FOR THE SICK.
39
                   CHAPTER  IV.

   DRINKS FOR THE SICK AND CONVALESCENT.

  Water is a necessary constituent  of  animated beings;
for without it the circulation of  the blood could not be
carried on.  The watery portion of the blood is constantly
escaping from the body  by various channels; such as by
lungs in the form of vapour, from the skin by the sensible
and insensible perspiration, and  from the kidneys.   It is
therefore necessary that this waste be supplied.  Dr. Dal-
ton, from experiments made upon himself, calculated that
five pounds of water are required as a vehicle to introduce
one pound of carbon and  azote  together into the circula-
tion.  This statement, of  course, implies absolute carbon
and azote ; for  even the most dry alimentary  substances
contain water as a constituent.   The requirement of water,
as a necessary supply for the system, depends as a general
rule upon the appetite of thirst.  In febrile diseases, the
thirst is greatly increased,  and this is readily explained by
the fact, that a larger proportion of water is carried off by
the lungs, from  the quickened respiration, and also  from
the skin by insensible perspiration.  Violent and continued
exercise causes  thirst  on a similar principle ; for it pro-
duces  accelerated breathing and increased perspiration,
either in the sensible  or  insensible form.  Thirst is there-
fore as necessary a  signal for  the  supply of water, as
hunger is for a supply of  food ;  both of these principles
being required for the continuance of life.   The import-
ance of water in preserving life is well known; and re-
peated experiments and observations have shown that the
higher classes of animals can survive much longer without
food, if liquids be supplied, than when deprived  of  both.
Although water  cannot  strictly  be  called  an alimentary
body, it is indirectly as requisite to support the fulness and 
40
DRINKS FOR THE  SICK
 efficiency of the animal fabric, as food which contains Car-
 bon or azote.   Besides the use of water in supporting the
 physical weight and muscularity of animals, by its mere
 position in the vessels,  a certain portion of it  is necessary
 in the process of digestion;  for solid  food requires a cer-
 tain amount of fluid to  reduce it to a proper consistency.
   Much drink taken during or after a meal, is injurious to
 the process of digestion;  for though the excess of* water is
 removed  very rapidly by the veins and absorbents of the
 stomach, yet in all cases chymification is retarded, and  in
 dyspepsia is  much protracted beyond  the usual period.
 From twelve to sixteen ounces of liquids may be considered
 an average amount for a healthy individual, but  if the
 digestive  organs be weak, three-fourths of this  quantity
 will be sufficient.   The temperature of the drink is another
 circumstance  requiring attention.   Cold liquids are, in
 general, most grateful  to  persons who are thirsty, and a
 smaller quantity of cold than of warm  water will assuage
 thirst, although the first, from its agreeable quality, is more
 frequently taken to excess.  In cases of indigestion, much
 cold water ought not to be taken  at a draught; for this
 lowers the temperature  of the stomach too suddenly, and
 is liable to occasion  defective chymification.   The same
 holds true with water at a high temperature;  for though
 it is  sometimes productive of comfort, the powers of the
stomach may afterwards  be  enfeebled.  The periods of
drinking, as a general rule, ought to be  regulated by the
 appetite of thirst; but in dyspeptics, drinking much or at
irregular times, is apt to occasion uneasiness in the stomach
or bowels.   Such persons ought therefore to swallow only
a small portion of liquid at a time, or the mouth and throat
may be frequently gargled with cold water; this practice
being often successful in assuaging thirst.
   Cold water when drank to excess during profuse  per-
spiration, more particularly if this  be  accompanied with
exhaustion after protracted and laborious exercise, is apt
to produce dangerous effects.  This danger is in  many
cases lessened, if not altogether prevented, by  keeping up
the exercise  for some  time  after the  draught has been 
AND THE CONVALESCENT.
41
 taken; a fact well known to postillions.  Another method
 is adopted by many  persons  under these  circumstances,
 namely, the addition  of a portion of ardent spirits to the
 Water; which,  in  general, prevents any injurious effects,
 unless the quantity of the latter  be very  great.   It is a
 practice, however, not to be recommended except in par-
 ticular cases ; and it is much safer to take a single mouth-
 ful at a time, and  repeat this at intervals, until thirst is
 allayed.
   Water is the basis  of  all  the different kinds of drinks,
 and the less of foreign ingredients they contain, with the
 exception of pure acids, they extinguish the sensation of
 thirst the  more  effectually.   Indeed, there can be very
 little  doubt that water containing much saccharine matter
 in solution, though  it may for a few  minutes abate the
 sensation, afterwards frequently increases it

   A Most Pleasant and Strengthening Draught.—Boil a
 quarter of an ounce of isinglass shavings with a pint of new
 milk until only half is left; add a bit of sugar, and, for
 change, a bitter almond.
   Give this at bed-time, not too warm.

   Barley Water.—Wash  extremely well an ounce of
 pearl -barley;  sift it twice, then  put to it  three pints of
 water, an ounce of sweet almonds beaten fine, and a bit of
 lemon-peel; boil till  you have a smooth liquor, then put
 in a little syrup of lemon.

   A Delightful Beverage.—Boil three pints of water, with
 an ounce and a half of tamarinds, three ounces of currants,
 and two ounces of stoned raisins, till near a third be con-
 sumed.   Strain it on a bit of lemon-peel, which remove in
 an hour, as it gives a  bitter taste if left long.

   An Agreeable Drink.—Put a tea-cupful  of  cranberries
 into a cup of water, and mash them.  In the  mean time
boil two quarts of water  with one large spoonful of oat-
meal and a bit of lemon-peel;  then  add the cranberries,
and as much fine refined sugar as shall leave a smart fla-
                 D* 
42
DRINKS FOR THE  SICK
 vour of the fruit, and a quarter of a pint of sherry, or less,
 as may be proper :  boil all for half an hour, and strain off.

   Soft and Fine Draught for those who are Weak and
 have a Cough.—Beat a  fresh-laid egg, and mix it with a
 quarter of a pint of new  milk warmed, a large spoonful of
 rose-water, and a little nutmeg grated.  Do not warm it
 after the egg is put in. Take it the first thing in the morn-
 ing and the last at night.

   Toast and Wafer.—Toast slowly a thin piece of bread
 until it is extremely brown and hard, but not  the  least
 black ; then plunge it into a jug of cold water, and cover
 it over an hour.  This is of particular use in weak bowels.
 It should be of a  fine brown colour before drinking it.
 Let the toast remain at the bottom of the jug.

   Whey.—Put a pint of  milk into a stewpan or other ves-
 sel before the fire, add to  it half a table-spoonful of rennet.
 When the  curd forms,  cut it  into squares  to allow the
 whey to escape.  Then put it on a sieve  carefully, for it
 must not be burned.

   Lemon Water, a Delightful Drink.—Put two slices of
 lemon thinly pared into  a  tea-pot, a little bit of the peel,
 and a bit of sugar, or  a large spoon of capillaire; pour in
 a pint of boiling water, and stop it close two hours.

   Apple Water.—Cut two large apples in  slices, and pour
 a quart of boiling water  on them ;  or on roasted apples;
strain them  after they  have stood  two or three hours, and
sweeten lightly.

   White Wine Whey.—Put a pint of new  milk on  the
fire ;  the moment it boils up, pour in as much sound raisin
wine  as will completely turn it, and it looks clear;  let it
boil up, then set the saucepan aside till the curd  subsides,
and do not stir it.  Pour  the Avhey off, and  add to it half a
pint of boiling water and a bit of white sugar.   Thus you
will have a whey perfectly clear of milky particles and as
weak as you choose to makeit. 
AND THE  CONVALESCENT.
43
    Vinegar and Lemon Wheys.—-Pour into  boiling milk
 as much vinegar or lemon-juice as will make a small quan-
 tity quite  clear, dilute it with hot water to  an agreeable
 smart acid, and put to it a bit or two of sugar.  This  is
 less heating than  if made of wine; and, if only to  excite
 perspiration, answers as well.

   To Mull Wine.—Boil some spice  in a little water till
 the flavour is gained, which will be  ascertained  by the
 taste, then add an equal quantity of port, some sugar and
 nutmeg;  boil them together, and serve with toast.

   Another Way.—Boil a bit of cinnamon and some grated
 nutmeg a few minutes in a large tea-cupful of water : then
 put to it a pint of port wine, and add sugar to your taste;
 beat it up and it will be ready.
   Or it may be made of good British wine.

   To Make Coffee.—Put  four table-spoonfuls of fresh-
 ground coffee, of the best quality, in a coffee-pot, and pour
 eight coffee-cups of boiling water on it; let it boil six mi-
 nutes, pour out a cupful two or three times, and return it
 again; then put two or three isinglass-chips into it and pour
 one large spoonful of boiling water on it, and boil  it five
 minutes more, and set the pot by the fire to keep hot for ten
 minutes, and you will have coffee of a beautiful  clearness.
  Fine cream should always be  served with coffee, and
 either pounded sugar-candy or refined loaf sugar.

  Coffee Milk.—Boil a dessert-spoonful of ground coffee
in nearly a pint of milk, a  quarter of  an hour; then put
into it a shaving or two of isinglass, and clear  it; let it
boil a few minutes, and set it on the  side of the  fire to
 grow warm.   This is a very fine  breakfast: it  should be
 sweetened with sugar of a good quality.

  Chocolate.—Those who use much of this article will find
the following mode of preparing it both useful  and eco-
nomical :—cut a cake of chocolate in very small  bits; put 
44
DRINKS FOR THE  SICK
 a pint of water into the pot, and, when it boils, put in the
 above; stir it off the fire until quite melted,  then on a
 gentle fire till it boil; pour it into  a basin, and it will
 keep in a cool place  eight or ten days, or  more.  When
 wanted, put a spoonful or two into the milk, boil it with
 sugar, and stir it  well.  This, if not made thick, is  a
 very good breakfast or supper.

   Salop.—Boil  a  little  water, wine, lemon-peel, and
 sugar  together: then mix with them a small quantity of
 salop  powder,  previously rubbed  smooth  with a little
 cold water;  stir it all together,  and boil  it a  few mi-
 nutes.

   Sago Milk.—Cleanse the sago well, and boil it slowly,
 with new milk.   It swells so much, that a small quantity
 will be sufficient for a quart of milk, and when done the
 milk will be  diminished to about a pint.  It requires no
 sugar or  flavouring.

  Asses' Milk—Far surpasses any imitation of it that can
be made.   It should  be milked into a glass that is kept
warm by being immersed in a  basin of hot water.
  The fixed air that it contains gives some people a pain
in the stomach.   At  first  a tea-spoonful of rum may be
taken with it, but should only  be put in the moment it is
to be swallowed.

  Artificial Asses' Milk.—Boil together a quart of water,
 a quart of new milk, an ounce of white sugar-candy, half
an ounce of eringo-root, and half an  ounce of conserve of
roses, till half be wasted.
  This is astringent, therefore  proportion the doses to the
effect.

  Another.—Mix two spoonfuls of boiling water and two
of milk, with  an  egg well  beaten ;  sweeten with pounded
white  sugar-candy.  This may be taken twice or thrice
a-day. 
AND THE  CONVALESCENT.
45
  Another.—Boil two ounces of hartshorn shavings, two
ounces of pearl-barley, two ounces of candied eringo-root,
and one dozen of snails that have been bruised, in two
quarts of water to one.  Mix with an equal quantity 01
new milk, and take it twice a-day.

  A very Wholesome Drink.—Into a tumbler of fresh
cold water pour a table-spoonful of capillaire and the same
of good vinegar.
  Tamarinds, currants  fresh or in jelly, or  scalded cur-
rants, or cranberries,  make excellent  drinks, with a little
sugar or not as may be agreeable.

  A Refreshing Drink in a Fever.—Put a little tea-sag",
two  sprigs of balm, a little wood-sorrel,  into a  stone jug,
having first  washed and dried them ;  peel  thin a small
lemon and clear from the white ; slice it, and put a bit of
the peel in; then pour  in  three pints of boiling  water,
sweeten and cover it close.

  Dr.  Abernethy's Sweet  Buttermilk.—Take the milk
from the cow into a  small churn ; let the churn be one-
quarter  full.   In about ten minutes begin churning, and
continue until the flakes of butter swim about pretty thick,
and  the milk is discharged  of all the greasy particles and
appears thin and blue.   Strain it through a sieve and drink
it as frequently as possible.
  It should form the whole of the patient's drink, and the
food should be biscuits and rusks, with ripe  and dried
fruits.
  Orgeat.—Beat two ounces of almonds, with a tea-spoon-
ful of orange-flower water, and a bitter almond or two;
then pour a quart of milk and water to the paste.  Sweeten
it with sugar.  This  is an excellent drink for those who
have delicate chests.  In  the gout also it is highly ser-
viceable, and when used with the addition of half an ounce
of gum arabic, it has been- found to allay the painfulness
of the attendant heat.   If it is thought too  cooling in the
latter complaint, half a glass of brandy may be added. 
46               DRINKS  FOR THE SICK

   Orangeade or Lemonade.—Squeeze  the  juice of  two
lemons or oranges, pour boiling water over half the peel
of one, and cover it close.  Boil  a pint of water with as
much  sugar as will make a thin syrup, and skim it well.
When all are cold mix the juice, the infusion, and the sy-
rup with as much more water as will make a sherbet, and
strain it through a jelly-bag.

   Egg Wine.—Beat an egg  perfectly light, and mix with
it a spoonful of cold water; set on the fire a glass of white
wine, half a glass of water,  three tea-spoonfuls of sugar,
and a little grated nutmeg.  When it boils, pour the water
over the egg by degrees until the whole is in, stirring it well
all the time ; then return  the whole into a saucepan, put it
on a gentle fire, stir it one way for not more than a minute.
If it boils, or if the egg is stale, it will curdle and is unfit
for use.  Serve it with toast.
   Egg wine may also  be made without  warming the egg,
and it is then lighter on the stomach though not so pleasant
to the taste.

   Infusion of Malt.—Pour over any  quantity of ground
malt which you may desire to use, as much boiling water
as will make it a very thin batter.  Cover it for two hours
and then strain it, and add sugar and lemon-juice.  It should
be taken when perfectly cold.

   Bran Tea.—Stir a pound of fresh wheat bran into two
quarts  of water.   Boil away  one quart; strain  the bran,
and sweeten the tea with sugar, honey, or molasses, ac-
cording to the taste of the patient.

   Mulled Ale.—Boil a quart  of good ale with a little grat-
ed nutmeg.   Beat up six eggs and mix them with a small
portion of cold ale, pour the hot ale over the cold, and re-
turn the whole to the vessel in which the eggs were first
mixed  and back again into  another vessel several times,
to keep the  eggs from curdling.  Stir the ale well, add a
small bit of butter and  a glass of brandy, and serve it with
dry toast. 
AND THE CONVALESCENT.
47
   Baked Milk.—This is an excellent article for weak or
consumptive  persons.  Put  half a gallon of milk into a
jar, tie it down with writing paper, and let  it stand all
night in a warm oven; by morning it will have acquired
the consistence of cream, and may be  drank  as occasion
requires.

   Seed Water.—Take two  spoonfuls of coriander seeds,
and one of caraway seeds, pound them in a  mortar, and
let them soak for several hours in a quart of water.   Strain
them, beat up the whites of two eggs, (some persons pre-
fer the yolks,) and mix them with  the water, then add a
wine glass of sweet wine, and as much lump sugar as you
find  agreeable to your taste.  If the weather is warm a
small lump of ice will make this beverage more agreea-
ble.

   Ale Posset.—Warm a quart of milk with a piece of
wheat bread in it, and  then warm a  quart of ale with two
table-spoonfuls of sugar, and a little grated nutmeg.  When
the milk boils pour it upon the ale, let it stand  ten minutes
to clear, and it will then be fit for use.

   Flax Seed  Lemonade.—Boil some flax seed in water
until it becomes  thick syrup.   To a  table-spoonful of flax
seed allow two  large tumblers full of water.   Strain the
flax seed when perfectly boiled through a  cloth, and mix
with the liquor a quarter of a pound  of white sugar, then
stir in the juice  of half a lemon.  This mixture has fre-
quently been very serviceable in relieving a cold.  A little
of it maybe taken whenever the cough is troublesome.
A small quantity of gum-arabic added to  the syrup will
be an  improvement.   Rock candy  is  sometimes  used in
place of sugar, and it is preferable.

   Cocoa and Cocoa Shells.—To two ounces of cocoa al-
low a quart of water.   Put it in a saucepan, and let it boil
slowly for about one hour, strain it and rc-boil it with the
milk.  Cocoa shells boiled in this manner will make a very
pleasant beverage, and  are not so rich as the ground cocoa. 
48
DRINKS FOR THE  SICK
 After  boiling they should be strained, and the milk being
 added to the liquor, it should be  boiled for a few minutes
 again.  It will keep when cold, and can be heated at plea-
 sure.

   A Good Drink from Dried Cherries.—Pour two pints
 of boiling water over half a pound of dried cherries, (the
 bitter ones are preferable,) let the water stand for half or
 three quarters of an hour, then strain it, and after sweeten-
 ing it to your taste, let it boil again.  It makes an excel-
 lent drink to moisten the mouth in cases of fever.   It may
 be used cold, but is generally preferred  when warm.

   Lemon Whey.—Squeeze the juice  of two lemons,  and
 after boiling two  pints of milk with two of water, add the
 lemon-juice and  boil the milk for five minutes longer.
 Sweeten it; and if drank when warm, it will be found ex-
 cellent in promoting perspiration.

   Beef Tea to Drink Cold.—Take a  pouna of lean beef,
 clear it from every particle of skin, fat, or sinew, rasp or
 divide it into very small pieces; then put it into a jar, and
 pour a quart  of boiling  water upon  it;  plunge the jar
 into  a  kettle of boiling water,  let it stand by the side oi
 the fire, but not near enough to simmer, and allow  it to
 grow cold.  Then strain  the beef-tea through a muslin-
 sieve, and if the patient be very delicate, filter it through
 blotting paper.
   This tea is to  be  taken when cold,  and will remain
upon the stomach  when other nourishment  fails : it may
be given to infants.

   Beef Tea to Drink Warm.—Cut a pound  of fleshy beet
in thin slices;  simmer  with a  quart  of water twenty
minutes after it has once boiled and been skimmed.  Sea-
son, if approved; but generally only with salt.  Drink it
warm, crumbling  into it a slice of toast. 
DIRECTIONS FOR THE RECOVERY OF DROWNED PERSONS. 49
                   CHAPTER V.

  DIRECTIONS FOR THE RECOVERY OF  DROWNED
                     PERSONS.

  1. As soon as the body is taken from the water, the
mouth and nostrils should be  cleansed, and all the frothy
mucus which may be collected in the throat, should be re-
moved by the finger enveloped in a handkerchief.
  2. The wet clothes should be removed ; the body wiped
dry, and wrapped in a dry flannel blanket, and carried on
a board, with the head  and shoulders somewhat elevated,
to the nearest habitation.
  3. The patient is now to be placed upon his back on a
cot, in the centre of the  room, with the chest and  head
slightly  elevated, and if the weather  be cold, frictions with
hot flannels  should be employed  over the body and ex-
tremities,  and bottles of hot water applied  to different
parts, while preparations are  making for producing artifi-
cial respiration.
  4. Pressure should be made upon the breast and abdo-
men, alternating with relaxation, in  such a  manner as to
imitate the auctions of the chest in respiration; or, this may
be accomplished more  perfectly  by  the following means:
  5. Take a piece of strong flannel, an old blanket, sheet,
or other cloth; cut from it a  piece six feet in length, and
eighteen inches  in breadth.   Six strips, each three inches
broad and two feet long, are then to be cut or torn length-
wise at each end ; while the untorn portion (two feet in
length and eighteen inches broad) is to be placed under
the back of the patient, from the  arm-pits to  the upper
part of the thigh-bones.   The strips  are then to be brought
together over the chest and  abdomen, interlacing each
other from  the opposite sides,  and then, being gathered 
 50 DIRECTIONS FOR THE RECOVERY OF DROWNED PERSONS.

 into a bundle, each end is to be drawn in opposite direc-
 tions by a couple  of  assistants, so as to  make  firm and
 equable pressure; it should then be relaxed, so as to allow
 the chest to expand, and this process should be continued
 at the rate of about twenty times in the minute.
   6.  While these means are being resorted to, a pair of
 bellows should be procured, and the pipe inserted into one
 nostril, while  the mouth and the opposite nostril are closed
 by an assistant, and the prominent part of the wind-pipe
 (commonly called Adam's apple) is gently pressed back.
 Then by forcing air into the lungs, and alternately expel-
 ling it by pressing the chest, respiration may be imitated.
   7.  If a bellows is not at hand, the operator should close
 the nostrils, and apply his mouth to that of the patient,
 and blow forcibly into it, pressing the chest afterwards so
 as to expel the air, and again blowing  forcibly  into the
 chest.
   8.  If the lungs cannot be inflated in this way, the ope-
 rator  should blow into one nostril, having closed the other
 and the mouth; and if a  small  wooden  tube can be pro-
 cured, this can be  used for the  purpose, by inserting one
 end  into  the  nostril  and blowing into the other; or the
 pipe of a bellows  may be inserted into it, pressing back
 the larynx (Adam's apple,)  as above described.
   9.  These means are to be diligently employed for at
least two or three hours, or, until medical aid be obtained.
There are many instances on  record,  where resuscitation
took place, several hours after the  commencement of the
measures herein recommended. 
CHAPTER  VI.
             FAMILY MEDICAL RECIPES.

   Rheumatism.—Costiveness should always be carefully
avoided, but most especially by persons subject to rheuma-
tic pains, and this should generally be done by regulating
the diet as formerly directed.
   Rheumatism is a general disease, of which pain in the
joints, &c,  are merely symptoms.   The treatment, there-
fore,  must be controlled by general principles, and the
patient placed under a skilful medical  practitioner.  In
the absence  of such assistance,  keep the  affected  parts
well covered with flannel, or raw  cotton.   A thin piece of
cotton batting sewed inside of the shirt-sleeves or the back
of the shirt, has afforded great  relief when the back or
arms were affected  with rheumatic pains.  This remedy
should be resorted to on the first  symptoms of an attack.
  Rub the  part  affected with flannel and then with the
hand until a glow is produced, after that anoint the  parts
with a quarter of an ounce of ether and an ounce of amber
oil well mixed together.  Repeat the application twice a
day, always covering the part when you have done with
warm flannel, and a cure will be easily effected.
  A soft poultice of mustard may sometimes be applied
with advantage.
  An ounce of camphor dissolved in half-a-pint of  spirit
of turpentine, is  very useful m  chronic rheumatism.  It
should be used morning and evening.
  For very acute rheumatism thirty drops of the tincture of
colchicum, with ten  grains of calcined magnesia with each
dose, may be used four or five times a day.

  For Hoarseness, Coughs, and  Colds.—A glass of cold 
52             FAMILY MEDICAL  RECIPES.
 water drunk the last thing at night, just before stepping
 into bed, will  often relieve a recent cold.
   Boil a handful of horseradish root for half an hour in as
 much water as will cover it, then remove the horseradish
 and add half or three quarters of a pound of brown sugar,
 and boil the mixture a quarter of an hour longer ; this is
 excellent for  a cold, in very aged people, and  should be
 taken several times a day.
   For a cold accompanied with great hoarseness, make a
 water-gruel, into which four onions have been well boiled,
 while the gruel is warm add to it a lump of butter, a little
 pepper, and as much salt as you like.   Take it hot after
 you are in bed.
   For a bad cough mix eight tea-spoonfuls  of molasses
 with eight of vinegar, two of antimonial wine, and four
 drops of laudanum.   Two tea-spoonfuls of this mixture
 are to be taken at night and one in the morning.
   Hyssop tea  is excellent  for  sudden colds;  but after
 using it persons should be very careful to guard themselves
 from draughts  of air, and  against  all  exposures, as  it
 renders them very liable to take further  cold.
   Very inveterate coughs have been cured by a tea made
 of equal proportions  of  flax-seed  and  colt's-foot.  Boil
 them well  together, strain  the  liquor,  and  use  it with
 honey.  Use it throughout the day.
   Hoarhound tea is excellent for colds and especially for
hoarseness.  Hoarhound is even  more efficacious when it
 is mixed with equal quantities of lungwort, maiden-hair,
 hyssop, and  elecampane.   Steep them together  in boiling
 water for about  an hour.  Strain  them, boil the liquor
 again, sweeten, and use it.
   For a chronic cough or cold, pound up four  ounces of
rock candy, mince  three ounces of  Malaga raisins, and
 pound the raisins and candy together; add half an ounce
 of the conserve of roses, eight drops  of vitriol, and ten of
 oil of sulphur.   A  tea-spoonful  of  the  mixture the first
 thing in the morning and the last at night.
   In cases  of whooping cough, no medicine  should be
 taken unless recommended by  a  physician.   The child 
FAMILY MEDICAL  RECIPES.
53
should be kept quiet,  and fed with light and nourishing
diet.   Every thing  drank should be warm  or tepid.  If
there is fever give an emetic of chamomile flowers, with
syrup of ipecac.   The patient should be clothed with flan
nel next to the skin.   The pulp of onions applied to the
soles of the feet, will often relieve the cough.
   Liquorice and gum arabic, chewed at pleasure, are very
serviceable in the early stages of a cough.
   For a sudden hoarseness, take twice or thrice a day, a
tea-spoonful  of spirits of nitre in a wine-glass  of water.
   To restore the voice, eat a piece of anchovy and it will
almost instantly restore it to  any one who  has become
hoarse by loud speaking.
   Black currants, picked fresh from the bush, is one of
the best and  speediest cures for hoarseness.  A jelly simi-
lar to red currant jelly is made of black currants, which is
also very powerful in restoring the voice and giving it
strength and clearness.
   Be careful to avoid all medicated  cough lozenges, such
as  are advertised in  the  newspapers.   They all contain
more or less morphine, which is a deadly poison, especial-
ly to young children.
   In general, the less fluids drank in  cases of colds, the
better.

   Sore Throats.—Abstinence from food, and a small dose
of Epsom salts, followed by a drink of  cream of tartar,
with a mustard application externally, will generally re-
lieve the  worst cases  of  sore throat.  The  feet should be
bathed, at bed-time, in a hot mustard bath.
   The stocking which has been worn all  day, if bound
around the throat at night, will often relieve a recent sore
throat.
   The steam of hot  vinegar inhaled through the tube of
a tunnel is excellent for a sore throat, and will sometimes
relieve it when the throat is exceedingly sore.  This ope-
ration should be performed carefully, or the throat may be
KPuldCQ
   Roast  a sour apple and mix the pulp with a tea-spoon-
                 E* 
54            FAMILY MEDICAL  RECIPES.

fol of Scotch snuff, wetting it with spirits of wine; apply
this as a poultice to a throat which is very sore, and bind
up with a linen rag.   This poultice  is  very efficacious in
the throat distemper; or, the snuff may be made into a
paste with flour.
  The use of  black currant jelly will often cure a sore
throat.  This  jelly should be eaten several times during

  Wear a strip of  flannel around the throat  moistened
with liniment,  while it is sore: when the throat gets well
leave off the flannel, taking  care to remove it for the first
time, when you dress in the morning, and to  bathe the
neck with cold water.

   Gargles for Sore Throat.—Fresh  yeast makes a good
and powerful gargle.
f   Figs boiled  with  milk and water and a small quantity
of sal ammoniac, are serviceable as a gargle.
   A table-spoonful of honey, one and  a half of vinegar,
and a tea-spoonful of salt, mixed  with a tumbler of water,
make an excellent gargle.
   Another gargle may be made  by pouring boiling water
over red  rose-leaves, (either  fresh or  dry,)  and letting
them stand an hour.  Strain them, and  add a few drops of
oil of vitriol to the liquor—about five drops to every tum-
bler full of water.
   An  excellent gargle is made of sage.  Immerse the
sage  in boiling water, let  it stand ten minutes, strain
it and mix with the liquor a lump of alum, using a lump
as large as two peas for every tumbler  full of the liquor.
This makes an excellent gargle  for a  sore throat.  The
throat should be gargled four or  five times a day.

   Liniment for Sore Throats.—One of the best remedies
for quinsey, sore throat, and for  common inflammation  of
the  throat,  is  the use of the following liniment:  pour an
ounce of sweet oil with six drachms of the spirit of .harts-
horn, in a bottle, and shake them well together.  Wet a
large piece  of flannel with the liniment, and bind it around 
FAMILY MEDICAL RECIPES.
55
the throat.  This flannel should be remoistened with the
liniment as often as it dries.
  In the ulcerated sore throat of scarlet fever, an excellent
gargle is made, by mixing twelve fluid drachms of the so-
lution of chlorinated soda, four drachms of honey, and six
ounces, or a half-pint tumbler of water.
  Another gargle, much employed in the same disease, is
prepared,  by infusing  half a drachm of the  powder  of
cayenne pepper  in a pint of boiling water, or adding half
a fluid ounce of the tincture, to eight fluid ounces of rose-
water.
  Asthma.—In  bad cases  of asthma, a physician should
always be consulted—as temporary remedies, or where a
physician is not at hand, a mustard plaster should be ap-
plied to the chest, and the feet immersed in a  strong, hot
decoction of mustard, and the vapour of hot water inhal-
ed through a funnel.  The apartment is to be  freely ven-
tilated, and warmed by a wood  fire in the chimney ; the
bowels should be relieved  by a mild cathartic, as castor
oil.  Where there is much mucus on the lungs, as shown
by a wheezing respiration, vomiting will be highly useful.
Smoking the dried leaves of stramonium has long been a
very popular remedy for this affection.  Opiates of  every
description are decidedly dangerous.
   A  cup  of strong  coffee will  often give temporary
relief to a person  suffering from asthma.  No sugar  or
milk should be mingled with the coffee.
   A little vinegar or a few  grains of nitre  mixed with
toast and water, will afford considerable relief, if the toast
and water is drank throughout the day, at every indica-
tion of thirst.   External warmth is indispensable.

   Palpitation of the Heart.—All species of excitement
should be avoided by persons afflicted with this distressing
malady.  Gentle and regular exercise, a mild, but  nutri-
tious diet, and frequent bathing of the feet in warm water,
will be found very beneficial to those who have not neg-
lected the disease  until  it has become confirmed. All
spirituous liquors must be carefully avoided. 
56
FAMILY MEDICAL RECIPES.
   As this affection is often caused by derangement of the
 digestive organs, it is necessary to pay great attention to
 the diet and to avoid every thing of an indigestible nature,
 and such articles of food as experience has shown to be
 deleterious.   In general, a mild  vegetable diet will be
 preferable to a stimulating one of animal food.

   Dysentery, Cholera-Morbus, Cholic and Cramp.—In
 mild cases of the former, mix together a table-spoonful of
 West-Indian rum, a table spoonful of sugar-house molasses
 and another of good sweet oil, place the mixture over
 the fire until it begins to boil, and drink it warm.
   A porridge made of flour boiled in milk forms  good
 food in cases of dysentery, which  are not attended with
 much pain or fever.
   Flannel moistened in hot brandy and cayenne pepper,
 and laid upon the bowels, affords great relief in cases of
 extreme distress.
   English mallows steeped-in milk and drank freely, is
 very efficacious in cases where the bowels are inflamed.
   Boil four ounces of chamomile flowers and the tops of
 as much wormwood in a gallon of water; pour off the
 liquor, put it again upon the fire, dip in a piece of flannel,
 and apply it to the bowels as warm as the patient  can
 bear it.  When  this grows cold dip in another piece of
 flannel, and continue to repeat this until the part is eased,
 observing that as  you  change the flannel you  do not
 admit the air to the affected part.
   For cases  of  cholera-morbus and  dysentery, burn a
piece of cork as large as a small nut until it is quite black,
powder it fine, mix a tea-spoonful of brandy, one quarter
 of a grated nutmeg, and a little loaf sugar, and it will
 be found very efficacious.
   Blackberry tea, or a tea made of the roots and leaves
of the blackberry bush, is very beneficial to persons suffer-
ing with the dysentery.   A syrup made of blackberries is
also serviceable.
   A tea  made of summer-savory is good  for the cholic.
Pennyroyal and tansy are good for the same purpose. 
FAMILY MEDICAL RECIPES.
57
   For cholic and cramp, caused by a fit of indigestion-
beat the white of an egg to a  froth, add to it a table-
spoonful of brandy, and a wine-glass of hot water, grate
into it a little nutmeg, and drink it warm.
   In  slight cases  of cramp in  the limbs, relief may be
procured by suddenly darting out the limb—if the foot, by
standing upon it—and if the hand by firmly clenching it—
benefit may also be derived by  fomenting the part in
warm water.
   A tea-spoonful of ether or hartshorn followed by twenty
drops of laudanum mixed in water, will relieve  a severe
attack of cramp in the  stomach.
   Strong chamomile tea taken at bed time as hot as  oan
be swallowTed,  is'  considered one of the best  remedies
in indigestion, cholic, pains and  obstructions of the  bow-
els, especially when arising from cold.   A cup of strong
coffee taken hot upon an empty stomach, will often be as
efficacious as chamomile in either of the above cases.

   Indigestion  and  Dyspepsia.—Sedentary  persons  are
often  afflicted with indigestion, which, when neglected
in  the beginning,  becomes  a  confirmed disease.   The
free use of cold water in drinking, washing, and bathing,
will frequently effect  a  cure,  aided  by other means.
Early rising, light and nutritious food, moderate  exercise,
and abstinence from all  spirituous drinks, will in the early
stages of the complaint be  highly useful, and generally
sufficient to remove the  disease.
   A tea made of dried whortleberries and sweetened with
molasses, is very beneficial to children when their digestive
functions are out of order.
   A tea made of thoroughwort  and drank  cold, is very
serviceable in relieving dyspepsia  and  indigestion in  all
its forms.
   Succory tea has the same effect, and is  one of the  best
remedies known, for chronic affections of the liver and vis-
ceral  obstructions.
   Tea made from elder-blow will assist digestion and very
often  restore the digestive organs, when seriously impair-
ed, to a healthy state. 
58
FAMILY MEDICAL RECIPES.
   Inflammation of the Bowels.—This is a very dangerous
complaint, and one in  which the advice of a physician is
especially  needed.   When  the belly  is  painful to  the
touch, or swelled, it  should  be  covered  with a mustard
plaster, and afterwards kept  constantly moistened with
flannels dipped in hot  water  and wrung out.   The  pa-
tient should be laid  between  flannels instead  of sheets,
and  on no account  upon linen sheets,  which are  too
chilling.
   Piles.—The piles  arise from many different causes, and
require different modes of treatment.
   When they arise from weakness, the  parts should be
washed four or five times a day with warm water, and the
bowels kept open by the mildest laxatives.  The patient
should also sit  over  the steam of water every  morning
immediately after breakfast.
   When the piles arise from costiveness they may be  re-
moved  by gentle purgatives, such as the  conserve of
senna.
   Half an ounce of cream of  tartar  and an  ounce of
sulphur mixed with molasses, will be found very servicea-
ble in removing the  piles.  Take a tea-spoonful of this
mixture four or five times a day.
   A tea made of slippery elm, if drank very plentifully,
will be found good for the piles.  It may be  made pala-
table by sweetening  it  and adding a little lemon juice.
   Boil  together  equal quantities of sulphur, lard,  and
cream of tartar, and  bathe the parts affected.  This  will
be found excellent in severe cases of the piles.
   Another excellent  ointment for the piles may be made
of the beaten  yolk of an egg mixed  with an ounce of
emollient ointment, and a quarter of an  ounce of lauda-
num.  Use this twice a day.
   Lard mixed with powdered nutgalls is also  good.
When the piles are  external, very painful  and swollen,
leeches should be applied, followed by warm fomentations
and soft poultices.

   Clysters.—A clyster is in many cases a safer remedy 
FAMILY MEDICAL RECIPES.
59
and  gives  greater  relief  with less  pain, than  cathartic
medicines.
  A clyster of warm spring water  with  a little Castile
soap is used  daily by numbers of  French  ladies,  who
believe that it greatly promotes their health.
  A good clyster may be  made of strained water gruel to *'
which  is added a table-spoonful of salt and another of oil.
  A grown person should have about a quart injected.
  A table-spoonful of molasses, one of brown sugar, two
of sweet oil, and a tea-spoonful of salt, mixed with two
pints of warm water, makes an active clyster.
  The suds of Castile soap are generally used as a clyster
for young children.

  Cancer.—True cancer, generally appears in  the  form
of a hard lump or swelling in the breast, or some other
glandular organ.  There  are  many tumours, resembling
cancer in the commencement, which are often  mistaken
for it;  and the cure of which has sometimes given great
credit  to cancer quacks and their specifics—as none but a
scientific physician  can tell the difference between  such
swellings and those of  a  cancerous nature,  none others
should be consulted in such cases.   The  cancer plasters,
so much in vogue, for drawing out cancer  by the roots,
are composed chiefly of arsenic, and more often draws out
the life of the patient than the disease.  Avoid such, as
you would the plague or the small pox, as well as quack
remedies of every description,—attention to food, exercise,
ventilation, and cleanliness, with a quiet  conscience, will
accomplish more in the cure of any disease than  all the
quack medicines in the world.  In case, therefore, of a
hard, stony tumour,—especially if it be in  the  breast,—
and attended occasionally with  sharp, lancinating, and
shooting pains, consult  a  reputable surgeon immediately,
and have it removed by  the  knife.  If delayed until  it
breaks out into an  open ulcer, there will reman  but  little
hope of effecting a cure.

  Jaundice.—But little can be expected in this  disease 
60             FAMILY MEDICAL RECIPES.
   \
from domestic management, except in seeing that the di-
rections of the physician are strictly adhered to; and in
endeavouring to cheer the spirits and support the hope of
recovery in the invalid.
   The warm bath is highly useful, and it should be  con-
tinued long enough to produce great languor, or a dispo-
sition to faint.  Friction all over the body, with  hair
gloves, will hasten the disappearance of the yellow hue
of the skin, and facilitate recovery.
   In  mild cases, ripe fruits  may be eaten  with benefit.
The patient should live  entirely on  vegetable food, and
drink buttermilk or whey rendered palatable by honey.
   Many persons profess to  have been cured  by eating
nothing but raw eggs for several days.
   Steep equal quantities of barberry bark,  black cherry-
tree bark and horseradish, in as much cider as will cover
them well.  Let them stand twelve hours, strain  them
and drink half a  tumbler of the liquor twice  a day  in
mild cases, and where a physician cannot be had.
   A strong tea made out of the roots of dandelions is also
a cure for the jaundice.

   Heart Burn.—A tea made out of calamus, or calamus
grated in water, will sometimes relieve the heart-burn.
   A tea-spoonful of powdered gum arabic and another of
bark, dissolved in a large wine-glassful of water, will have
the same effect.   A  little soda or pearlash, dissolved in
water, is very useful.

   Croup.—Croup is a disease which chiefly attacks chil-
dren.   It may be known by the harsh,  ringing character
of the cough, as if it  came through  a brazen trumpet.
The  voice is also changed, and  the drawing in  of the
breath is attended with a wheezing noise, like air forced
through a narrow tube.  The child complains of a chok-
ing sensation; the nostrils dilate;  there is often much fe-
ver ; the countenance is flushed;  the eye is blood-shot and
tearful;  and the sleep disturbed.
   The syrup or powder of ipecac should always be kept 
FAMILY MEDICAL RECIPES.
61
in the house, where there are children, and on the first
symptoms of this disease, a tea-spoonful of the syrup, or
half this quantity of the powder, should be given in sweet-
ened water every fifteen minutes, till full  vomiting  be
brought on.  The feet in the meantime to be immersed in
hot mustard water, and the family physician to be sent for.
Everything here depends on  early and prompt treatment.
   If ipecac is not at  hand dissolve two grains of emetic
tartar in half a pint of warm water, and give a tea-spoon-
ful every four or five minutes,  until it operates  as  an
emetic; and repeat the  vomiting every hour or two, ac-
cording to circumstances.
   When a purgative is given, castor oil should be prefer-
red, although calomel is  considered even more efficacious.
But this latter medicine  should not be used without the
advice of a physician.   When it is used, give an infant of
six months old, a grain and a half every hour until it purge
freely.  To a child a year old, give two grains ; to one
of two years, three or four grains may be given every hour,
until the bowels are freely acted upon.
   The child should drink nothing but gruel, lemonade, &c.
No animal food or  broths should on  any account be  al-
lowed.

   Hysterics.—Hysteria is to be cured by general treatment,
and attention to diet, exercise,  pure air, &c.   During the
paroxysm, dash cold water on  the face and breast, apply
towels dipped in cold water to the forehead ;  roll the feet
in  hot  flannels; apply hartshorn to  the nostrils;  loosen
all tight  articles of dress;  and  prevent the tongue from
being bitten by putting a napkin folded between the teeth.
If the spasms are very severe and protracted, administer a
glyster, composed of half a pint of gruel, and an ounce of
oil of turpentine, or one drachm of tincture of assafoetida.
   Motherwort tea, which is very quieting to  the nerves, is
an excellent preventive to hysterics, and may be taken  the
instant the patient feels  a fit coming on.
   In Germany, caraway seeds finely ground, with a little
ginger and salt, spead upon bread and butter, are eaten 
62
FAMILY MEDICAL  RECIPES.
every day, especially at night  and morning, as a remedy
for hysterics.   As  preventive  means, the  shower-bath;
sponging with salt-water;  early rising;  regular exercise;
sleeping on a  hair-mattrass, and the avoidance of all luxu-
rious indulgence, are indispensable.

   Canker.—A small piece of alum held in the mouth will
often remove  the canker.   The alum is better if slightly
burnt in the flame of a candle.

   Gravel.—In cases of gravel, domestic treatment will
generally  do  more  harm  than  good.  Medical advice
should, therefore, always be sought in this  affection, and
the directions  carefully followed.  As there are different
kinds of gravel, the proper remedy can only be known to
the scientific practitioner, and after diligent  investigation.
Avoid all gravel doctors, and  gravel infirmaries, as you
would a cancer-quack.

   Fevers.—In the treatment of fevers, judicious domestic
management is very important.   Medical advice is always
to be sought for, and strictly followed.  Unless prompt at-
tention be  paid to  the premonitory  symptoms,  such  as
languor, lassitude, head-ache, and nausea, before chills and
heats display themselves, there is  great  danger that the
disease will run its course, even in spite of medical aid.
But if attended to early, fevers, like most other complaints,
may be broken up.
   When the symptoms above-mentioned therefore appear,
a cathartic of salts, or rhubarb and magnesia, or castor oil
may be  taken,  followed (upon their  operation) by a hot
foot-bath, and warm drinks, to bring on perspiration, which
should be kept  up  for several hours.   The diet should
consist of gruel only.
   In intermittent fever, or fever and ague, (which is the
same thing,) specifics should be avoided, where physicians
can be consulted—where they can not, two grains of qui-
nine may be  taken  every  two hours, between the par-
oxysms, being careful to keep the bowels open, and avoid
spirituous liquors. 
FAMILY MEDICAL  RECIPES.
63
   Worms.—The best remedy for worms is strong pink-
root tea, followed by senna.   Steep an ounce  of the root
and plant, in a pint  of boiling water to half a pint, and
give  a wine-glassful to  a  child  three  years  old, in the
morning, fasting.  Increase the dose according to the age.
Or ten grains of the powdered root may be given to a
child of eight or ten years  old, morning and evening, for
three days, and then  followed by  a cathartic.  If this re-
medy does not succeed, give ten  grains  of the down of
cowhage, mixed in honey or treacle, twice a day for two or
three days, and then  a dose of oil.
   JV*. B.  Avoid all worm-lozenges, as they are composed
of calomel.

   Head-ache.—As this depends  on  a variety of causes,
the treatment, of course, must vary.  Persons who are sub-
ject to this  affection, should pay strict  attention to their
diet, and preserve their bowels in a  regular  state.   The
cold shower bath every morning is almost a specific.   The
sick head-ache, is  owing  entirely  to  a disordered state of
the stomach; its  removal,  therefore, requires us to avoid
the exciting causes :  as late suppers  ; excess in eating  or
 drinking ; long fasting ; protracted sedentary occupations,
 and hurry of business and anxiety.
    Sometimes, half a tea-spoonful of  citric or tartaric acid
 in a tumbler full  of  cold spring water, and drank slowly,
 will relieve  a violent headache.
    Washing the  head  in cold water, rubbing it dry, and
 exposing it  to the air, will  sometimes cure the headache.
    The head should  be kept as cool and as quiet as possi-
 ble, and the mind unoccupied by  any subject that requires
 deep thought or close attention.
    A headache may not unfrequently be cured by keeping
 the head for half or a quarter of an hour perfectly immove-
 able in an easy posture.
    Sage tea will often  relieve  a headache when it first
 commences.                                  .   f
    Quiet is especially necessary for persons suffering trom
 headache. 
64
FAMILY MEDICAL  RECIPES.
  Govt.—All high-seasoned and rich food, and all spirit-
uous liquors should be avoided during attacks of the gout,
and indeed by persons of gouty habit.  The patient's diet
must be as plain  and nutritious as  possible,  and consist
principally of farinaceous substances, and vegetables easy
of digestion.
  Mix two tea-spoonfuls of tincture of senna and two of
tincture of colchicum, with one drachm of calcined magne-
sia and four ounces of water, and  take one ounce of the
mixture three times a day.
  Take an equal quantity of crumbs of bread and powder-
ed mustard, and mix it into a poultice with warm vinegar
and a little bruised garlic.   Apply the poultice to the af-
fected parts.
  During attacks of gout in the stomach, bladders of warm
water should be applied to  the part, and  the feet placed
for twenty minutes in a hot mustard water bath, and after-
ward wrapped in  mustard poultices.

  Iliac Passion.—This is a very dangerous disorder, and
arises from  various causes; when children are attacked
with it, worms  are generally the cause.   A dose of castor
oil should be administered on the first appearance of the dis-
order, and medical aid instantly summoned.

  Itch.—When itch first appears  in a family, the indivi-
dual should be separated from the rest of the  family, and
treated with sulphur, both internally and externally.   For
the former purpose, an ounce of sulphur may be mixed in
an ounce of molasses, and  a tea-spoonful given night and
morning;  for the latter, an ounce of sulphur, a drachm of
sulphuric acid, and two  ounces  of hog's lard should be
made into an ointment, and one-fourth of it rubbed upon
the  body, night  and morning, until every trace of  the
eruption has disappeared.

   Lethargy.—Relief from the heavy drowsiness incident
upon this disease, will  often be obtained  by  frequently
washing the head in cold water, and free purging.
   If a physician can be procured, no medicine should be
 administered without his advice. 
FAMILY MEDICAL RECIPES.
65
   Measles.—As this disease, like scarlet fever and small
pox, is contagious, the patient should be separated from
the rest of the family, and kept in bed, even when the disease
is mild, and a cooling regimen adopted.  No hot drinks,
wine or spirituous liquors, nor  saffron tea should be given
to drive out the eruption, nor the patient loaded with bed-
clothes, nor the temperature of the room raised above 60°
Fah.; where high inflammatory symptoms appear, or the
complaint is not very mild, medical aid should be sought.
Great caution is  required during convalescence, to avoid
taking cold.  No food, but mucilaginous drinks, is to be
allowed during the presence of the eruptive fever.
   Keep the room well ventilated, but not  too light, as
the patient's eyes are  apt to  be  affected.   Especially
guard the eyes  of the patient  from the light of a candle
or blazing fire.
   Linseed tea,  sweetened with honey, tamarind  water,
and barley water, are the best drinks that can be used.

   Deafness.—In slight cases of deafness, syringe the ears
with warm water and  Castile soap, and rub the outside of
the ears night and morning with a warm linen cloth, or
apply  a little  eau de  Cologne behind the  ears.  The
head should always be  kept warm if a person is in the
least inclined to deafness.
   The ears may be syringed with luke-warm spring water
slightly impregnated with table salt.
   Mix together equal quantities of the oil of sweet al-
monds and camphorated spirits of wine, and pour six drops
into the ear every night.   In general, it is safer to consult
a physician in such cases.

   Wens.—Bathe a wen  four  or five times every day in
strong salt and water.  If this remedy is faithfully persist-
ed in, the wen will in many cases disappear, or rub it dai-
ly with iodine ointment, which is still better.

   Sore  Mouths and  Lips.—Pour two pints  of boiling
water over a couple of handfuls of the leaves  of the low 
66
FAMILY MEDICAL RECIPES.
 blackberry-bush, (or vine blackberry, as it is sometimes
 called,) sweeten the tea,  and drink a cup full morning and
 evening.  It will often cure a sore and ulcerated mouth—
 especially when the gums have been injured by the use of
 calomel.
   A very good lip-salve may be made by boiling together
 four ounces of white wax, one  ounce  of spermaceti, and
 half a pint of the oil of sweet almonds with as much water
 as will cover them well.   To procure  a red colour, after
 the  wax is  perfectly melted, add a small quantity of
 powdered cochineal tied  in  a bag, or alkanet root, pre-
 pared in the same way.   Boil  the wax until  it reddens,
 then remove the cochineal, or alkanet root, and if you wish
 to give the wax an agreeable scent, add ten drops of the
 essence of bergamot.

   Hiccough.—A few drops of vitriol in a glass of pepper-
 mint water will sometimes stop the hiccough.
   A tea-spoonful of vinegar diluted in one of cold water
 will have the same effect.  Sometimes a  little soda dis-
 solved in water will relieve it.
   The  hiccough may often be  checked by drinking  a
 couple of tumblers full of  cold  water in rapid succession—
 also by dashing a little cold water on the back of the neck,
 or by laying  a cold steel or iron key upon  the  spine  be-
 tween the shoulders; the key must touch the  skin—if
 very cold, the shock it produces will stop the hiccough.

   Night Sweats.—The lightest  possible  food  should be
 used by persons subject to night sweats.   Milk, and espe-
 cially asses' milk, taken warm, will greatly benefit them.
   A cup  of  cold  sage tea drunk  the first thing  in the
 morning, one in  the middle of the day, and another the
 last thing at night, will  often  prevent  night sweats, and
 often cure them.

   Tooth-ache.—When the tooth-ache  is  not very severe,
 a pounded clove placed in the  decayed tooth will often
stop the pain. 
FAMILY MEDICAL  RECIPES.
67
   A piece of raw cotton moistened with a few drops of
laudanum, and laid on the tooth, will give great relief.
   If the  gold is accidentally extracted  from a plugged
tooth, the hole should  be instantly filled with  white wax,
and application made to a good dentist as soon as possible.
   A piece of raw cotton moistened with the oil of cajeput,
will often instantly relieve the todth-ache.
   If the tooth-ache is so severe as to swell the face, boil
together four ounces of white poppy heads, and one ounce
of elder flowers;  let three quarts of water boil away until
only one is left, and bathe the cheek  with the liquor, lay
the elder flowers  upon it, and bind up the  face.   When
the flowers  dry,  bathe the  cheek  again, and renew the
flowers.
   Make a poultice of common chick-weed and powdered
ginger,  and apply it to the cheek, it will often relieve a
very severe tooth-ache.  None but professed dentists should
be consulted in relation to teeth.

   Weak Eyes.—Wash the  eyes frequently in cold water
if they are in the least inclined to weakness.
   Make a wash  by pouring boiling  water over a jar full
of  rose  leaves;  let it stand all  night, and  then strain
the water.   It will be found excellent for the  eyes, and
should be used frequently.
   A poultice made of rose leaves is good for a stye upon
the eye-fids.
   If the eyes  are  very weak, boil a handful of freshly
gathered salad in a pint of water, strain it, and apply the
liquor  to the eyes at intervals.  It  will be  found very
soothing.  A poultice of boiled salad leaves will also re-
lieve severe pain  in the eyes.

   Corns.—Bathe the feet in lukewarm salt and water, and
cut the  corns with great care regularly every fortnight.
If this advice is followed  as soon as the corns  appear, and
the shoes worn are not too tight  for the feet, the  corns
will never give any trouble.
   Nothing  will  bring on corns sooner than the habit of 
68
FAMILY MEDICAL RECIPES.
wearing very loose shoes One day and tight ones the next;
unless, indeed, the practice of always wearing shoes much
too small.
   Corns may be removed by rubbing them every day with
pummice-stone, and then with a little caustic solution of
potash,  or lunar caustic.                                •

   Chilblains.—Chilblains, when they are once confirmed,
require  constant care before they can be effectually re-
moved.
   Bathing the feet or hands,(whichever maybe affected,)
every morning, in a weak solution of vitriol and water, will
often remove the chilblains.
   Bind  up the  feet in the thin white skin which comes
from suet.
   A poultice made of Castile soap and honey, tied on the
feet, or hands, at night, will be found very serviceable.
   Hold  the feet  every night over the smoke arising from
burning salt hay, and the chilblains will shortly disappear.

   Chaps.—Bathe the  face  and hands  every night with
honey and water, and it will prevent them from chapping.
   Boil two or three potatoes until they can be made soft by
crushing them in the hands, rub them on the hands and
face at night, and they will prevent chaps.
   A little unscented pomatum  rubbed on the hands and
face at night will cure chaps.  Avoid the use of soap and
warm water.
   The hands can  be kept white and soft and totally free
from chaps, by rubbing them with a tallow candle, and
wearing a glove every night.
   Cold cream, as prepared by apothecaries, is also good to
prevent  chaps.   The cream is better when unscented.

   To remove Freckles from the Face.—Mix one drachm
of sugar with half a drachm of  powdered borax, and two
ounces of lemon juice.  Stir them together, pour them in a
clean stone jar, and cover them close for a week.   After
that, wash the hands and face with the liquor every night 
FAMILY MEDICAL RECIPES.
69
and morning.  The face should not be exposed to the sun
or air after making use of this liquor in the morning, nor
indeed at any time unprotected by a thick green veil.

   Sore Nipples.—Rub the nipples frequently with sweet
oil.
   An  excellent  ointment  may be prepared for sore nip-
ples, by boiling  together  two  ounces of diachylon, one
ounce of olive oil, and half an ounce of vinegar.   Use the
ointment when cold and frequently during the day.
   An excellent poultice for sore nipples may be made of
plantain  and house-leek  boiled  in  cream and strained.
Use it  cold.
   The tincture of catechu is a good  remedy.

   Ringworms.—Ringworms may be prevented  or cured
by washing the head  and  hands daily with vinegar and
water.  One part of vinegar to three of water being ap-
plied with a sponge.
   The whiskey in which Spanish flies have been soaked,
will cure ringworms.
   Wash a copper cent quite clean, and place it in a cup
of vinegar; bathe the ringworms in the vinegar three
times a day.

   Waits.—To remove warts, wet them and rub them twice
or thrice a day with a piece of unslacked lime, or sal am-
moniac, or sulphate of copper, or nitrate of  silver, when
they will imperceptibly be removed without scar or in-
convenience.
   The juice of the milk-weed, which grows wild all over
the country,  it is said will effectually remove  warts  if
applied to them  every morning  and evening for ten days
or a fortnight.   Break the stem  of the weed in  two and
let the milky juice drop upon the wart.

   Felons.—The instant a felon  (it is sometimes called a
run round) makes its appearance upon the finger, soak the
hand several  times a day in hot  lye—generally made of 
70
FAMILY MEDICAL RECIPES.
hickory ashes.  This will effect a cure, although the lye
often makes  the finger exceedingly painful for  the  time
being.  In case this does not relieve, the swollen  part will
have to be laid open by the knife.

   Turning in of the Toe-nails.—The nail of the large toe,
if not carefully attended to, will frequently grow into the
flesh, and occasion much pain and temporary lameness.
The nail should be carefully cut with a pair of scissors and
then scraped thin, leaving the side edges rough;  for they
will not grow into the flesh except when they are pared
smoothly.
   A small tuft of lint may also be inserted under the nail
as soon as it is raised up from the  flesh.

   To relieve Sickness of the Stomach.—Abroad  bandage
bound tightly below the  waist, will often prevent sick-
ness at the stomach.
   Half a glass of good cider in which a spoonful of ashes
has been dissolved, will relieve sickness at the stomach.
   Mint tea, made with the fresh leaves, is very powerful
in allaying nausea and vomiting.

   Inflammations.'—Boil half a pound of lard, and cool it
by pouring it suddenly into a pail  of cold water.   Repeat
this four times;  then  chop three  young onions very fine,
simmer them for half an hour with the lard, strain  the lard,
and it will make a very cooling ointment, which can be
applied to any inflamed part.
   Warm vinegar and water used  as a bath, are very effi-
cacious in removing inflammation.
   Gather the buds of the elderberry just before they blow,
and boil them gently  with as much fresh  unsalted butter
as will make a thick salve. This makes an excellent oint-
ment for inflammatory sores.
                 e
   Poultices.—A good poultice may be made  of crumbs of
bread boiled with milk, or sweet oil, or spring water.
   Brown sugar  and soap make a good poultice, or salve,
for a boil. 
FAMILY MEDICAL  RECIPES.
71
   Four ounces of white lily roots, a pound of figs, and four
ounces of meal or bean flour, boiled together with as much
water as will cover them, make  an excellent poultice for
swellings and suppurating sores.
   A good poultice for ordinary occasions, may be made of
bread boiled in milk.
   For cancers  and running sores, a grated carrot boiled
quite soft makes a good poultice.
   Salad leaves well boiled, make a  poultice that relieves
acute pain.
   A poultice of flax-seed, or chamomile flowers boiled
with the tops of wormwood, make an  excellent poultice
for inflammations.

   A Sinapism, or stimulating poultice, is made by using
vinegar instead of water, and the addition of garlic, mus-
tard, horseradish, &c, to crumbs of bread, or to flour.

   To prepare Castor Oil for Children.—Pour a little more
than the necessary quantity of the oil in a long bottle, and
add to it a couple of teaspoonfuls of thin currant jelly;
shake the bottle hard until the jelly and oil are well min-
gled together and form a froth.  Children will then find it
palatable, and not suspect that it is medicine.
   Another way of preparing castor oil is to boil it with
milk, stiring it well, sweeten it,  and give it to the child to
drink when it becomes cold.  It will not be found disa-
greeable to the taste.

   Molasses.—Molasses and water is an excellent cathartic
for children.  The West India molasses should be used for
this purpose, as the  sugar-house molasses acts  as an  as-
tringent. 
CHAPTER  VII.
            ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES.

   Burns.—If the burn is bad the injured part must be kept
from the air.  Pour some sweet oil upon cotton wool and
bind up the part.
   Linseed oil and lime water may be applied with benefit
to a burn, either spread on cotton or a piece of fine linen.
   The inside of a potatoe finely scraped and applied to the
affected part, will instantly relieve a burn.
   House-leek juice mixed with cream, will often  relieve
the pain of a burn.
   Spirits of turpentine mixed with sweet oil,  applied  to
a  burn,  will  soon remove  the  pain  where the skin  is
unbroken.
   Should the blisters raised by a burn  break, sprinkle a
little wheat flour upon the part.
   In uncovering a scalded part, we must cautiously avoid
breaking the skin : with this view it will always be expe-
dient to cut off the clothes in contact with the injured sur-
face.  In some cases it is best to allow the clothes to remain
untouched, until the inflammation has to a certain  extent
been subdued.
   Should the skin be  destroyed, the part should be cover-
ed "»yith pure soft linen, or blotting paper,  smeared with
a  nniment of sweet oil and lime water, to which may be
added a few drops of laudanum.
   When an artery is cut it will be known by the spirting
out of the blood at regular intervals, at each beat of the
heart.  The artery in  many cases has  to  be tied; but
as an unprofessional person cannot do this,  a firm com-
press made of several folds of hnen cloth should be laid 
ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES.
73
over the wound  and a bandage tightly bound  upon it;
medical aid should then immediately be resorted to.  In
addition to this, a ribbon,  cord, or pocket  handkerchief,
should be  tied firmly around the limb, between the wound
and the heart; and to keep the bandage tight, a stick may
be inserted inside of it and twisted.

  Sprains.—Dissolve a lump of camphor half the size of
a hen's egg in a couple of wineglasses of spirits of wine,
add to this ten drops of laudanum, and bathe the sprained
part.
  If the sprain  is slight  foment it in warm vinegar and
water.
  An ounce of camphor dissolved in half a pint of spirits
of turpentine will sometimes relieve a sprain.
  Entire rest is necessary for the sprained limb.

  Bruises.—Bathe the  bruise in porter which has  been
boiled until it is quite thick;  bind up the part with linen,
and when the linen dries bathe the bruise again.  The
porter must not be used until  it is cold
  Bathe a bruise  in warm brandy or whiskey, and if
neither can  be procured,  in  warm water.   A  wash of
sugar of lead, one drachm to the pint, is useful in these
cases.

  Choking.—The life of  a  person  who  is  choking is
often saved by the presence of mind and dexterity of the
persons who  happen to be about him.
  When a substance is lodged at the  top of the gullet,  it
can be extracted with the finger, or a pair of pincers, draw-
ing the tongue forward at the  same moment with the other
hand,  which should be covered with a rough glove or
towel, to prevent the tongue slipping through the fingers.
If the substance however is lower down, it must either be
brought upwards, or pushed into  the stomach by other
means, such as a piece  of whalebone,  covered with a bit
of sponge.                                   ,   ,   n
  Should the substance swallowed be copper or lead, all
           G 
74
ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES.
acids must be cautiously avoided ; and  in order to coun-
teract the  effects of any that might be generated in the
stomach, it will be proper to administer a small tea-spoon
ful of magnesia, or chalk, every five or six hours, until tht
substance has passed out of the body.  If it is likely t<
irritate or lacerate the coat of the stomach, bread and milk
pudding, and  other such substances should be  given, in
order  to envelop it, and thus  to  conduct  it through the
bowels in safety.

  Suffocation.—Cold water should be dashed  over the
body and particularly the chest of a person who is suffo-
cating, and  he should be instantly carried  into the  fresh
air.  Dry off the water and sponge the body with vine-
gar.
  As soon as the person can swallow,  lemonade is the
best beverage that can be given.
  When the patient recovers he should not be placed in a
warm bed, nor should tobacco be used in any manner, nor
should emetics be given.   The application of these reme-
dies is  a common error.
  When the suffocation proceeds from the person's having
inhaled the fumes of charcoal, &c, the directions given
above  should be strictly followed.   The person should be
kept lying upon  the back, and the head  very slightly
elevated above the feet.

  Blow on the Head.—When  the head has  received so
    •~  i blow as to cause insensibility, apply a mustard
             ' ~~V of the neck and pit of the stomach, and

                               1 ~ prevented from sleep-
                                         e +he hand ap- 
ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES.
75
same instant, his only chance is to throw himself upon his
back, and to make a similar effort with both at once.

  Bleeding at the Lungs.—A  tea-spoonful of dry salt
given at short intervals will  stop profuse  bleeding at the
lungs.
  The herb called golden-rod dried  and made into  a tea,
will have the same effect.  A tumblerful should be  taken
every half hour.  This remedy has been found very effica-
cious.

  Bleeding at the Nose.—If the bleeding is slight, place
the patient in a sitting or erect posture, with the head gen-
tly reclined backwards in the cool air.  The bleeding may
be stopped by pouring cold water on the back of the neck,
or applying to it  cloths dipped  in vinegar and water, or
saltpetre and water.  If the bleeding is violent, the nos-
trils should be plugged with lint dipped in strong vinegar.
The patient should not be permitted to sleep with the plugs
in the  nostrils, or the blood might  in  consequence pass
into the  throat, and  suffocate  him.   Bleeding from  the
nose may generally be stopped by smearing the forehead
with blood and letting it dry on.

  Frozen.—After the body has been frozen it should be
warmed  very gradually, or life will  be inevitably lost; if
it be incautiously placed before a fire, or be plunged in
warm water, or even laid  in warm blankets, the conse-
quences  may be fatal.
  The body  should be placed in a large room without a
fire, and moderate friction  diligently applied.
  If the body is  stiff immerse  it in  cool water up  to the
neck, and rub it  until it becomes supple.   Then place it
between blankets and rub it with warm hands.

  Frost  Bitten.—A frost-bitten part appears dead,  and it
should not, on any account, be brought near the fire, nor
should the patient remain in  a warm room.   The affected
part should be immediately rubbed with snow or plunged 
76
ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES.
in ice-water.   Should the pain commonly called the hot-
ache be urgent, as the limb recovers, cold must again be
resorted to.
   The healthy  action being restored,  the parts are to be
well guarded against the cold.   And the person should not
take strong drink, or eat animal  food for  a few  days.
The principle of the cure is  in the moderate application
of heat, not in  the application of cold.

   Lightning.—Place the person who has  been struck,
in an erect posture, and dash two or three pailfuls of cold
water  over the head.  The body  should be thoroughly
dried and well rubbed.   Mustard poultice should then be
applied to the stomach.
   If the body is cold, the  cold water, as above directed, is
not to be dashed over it.  Attempt to restore the natural
temperature by friction and bladders of hot water placed
at the soles of  the feet, on the  stomach, and beneath the
armpits.

   Stroke of the Sun.—A person who has been long ex-
posed to the meridian rays of a summer sun, and falls down
suddenly, deprived of sense and motion, is said to have re-
ceived a stroke,  of the sun.  In carrying him to the house
his head should  not be permitted to hang down, or lie upon
his breast.  He should be placed in an airy chamber, the
doors and windows open.  Cloths soaked with cold vine-
gar and water are to be applied to the head, and  changed
as often  as  they become warm, and  a mustard  poultice
placed upon the upper part  of the foot and instep.  An
emetic should not be given, neither should snuff or smell-
ing bottles be applied to the nostrils.   Give the patient no
animal food nor spirits, and the return to their use  should
be cautious and gradual.

   Hanging.—If  the body is suspended  much above the
surface of the ground, it should be lifted up while the cord
is cut.
   Friction is to be gently applied to the chest, b^lv. any 
ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES.
77
sides of the neck, either by the hand alone, or with flannel
dipped in a mixture  of turpentine, or hartshorn with oil,
or in camphorated liniment, or any spirits and oil.   The
lungs should then be inflated by applying a bellows to one
nostril while the  other is kept closed with  the  finger.
The same means of restoring respiration may be used as
in cases of drowning.   See page 27.

   Fainting Fit.—Loosen  the clothes  of the person who
has fainted, place  him in the fresh air, and sprinkle cold
water upon the face.  A person in a fainting fit should
always be  laid upon his back, with the  head on a  level
with the feet.
   Chafe the  palms of the hands and temples  with the
hand, and apply hartshorn  to the nostrils.

   Stoppage of the Urine.—This  is in many  instances a
dangerous complaint, and a medical person should be sent
for without delay.
   If it occurs from the injurious habit  of  retaining the
urine too long, or indeed,  from any other cause, a warm
hip bath should be instantly used.

   Injuries of the Ear.—It sometimes happens that child-
ren push fruit-stones, peas, and other hard bodies into their
ears, or that insects creep into them; such extraneous sub-
stances must be extracted as soon as possible, or they may
induce very serious consequences.
   Peas or fruit-stones should  be extracted with  a pin-
cers or forceps, great care being taken that  the ear is not
injured by the instrument.
   If insects have entered the ear, pour in oil  mixed with
a few  drops of laudanum, and they will immediately be
destroyed.

   Bite of a Mad Dog.—The bitten part must  be instantly
uncovered, in order that the saliva, caught by  the clothes,
may not come  in  contact  with the abraded  part.  The
wound should be sucked freely with the mouth.
                   G* 
7g             ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES.
  If it  is superficial, and upon  one of the  limbs,  ap-
ply  a ligature, moderately tight,  above and below it,
which should be continued until the bitten part is well
pIgeliisccu
U Wash the wound in salt and water, or with soap, or
hartshorn.                                       ,    .f
  The wounded part should be instantly cut out, but  it
the patient will not submit to such an operation, the lace-
rated and lagged wound must  be freely cut  open  to the
bottom with a knife, and  bleeding encouraged by the use
of warm water.   Caustic should be applied to the wound
when the  bleeding ceases; the wound should then be
filled with cotton, and a large poultice kept over the whole
for three or four days, in order to lessen the inflammation;
the following dressing will then be advantageous.  Take
of the oil and the spirits  of turpentine, each one  table-
spoonful, and rub them together with the yolk of an egg ;
by these means the wound must be kept open for at least
a fortnight.

   Bite of the Adder or Viper.—If the bites are superficial,
the swelling trifling, and the patient free from any violent
pains at the pit of the stomach, it will be sufficient to ap-
ply spirits of hartshorn or eau de luce to the bite, by dipping
a piece of pointed stick into the liquid and then introduc-
ing it into the punctures made by the fangs.  If the wounds
 are deep and narrow they must be  enlarged.   After this
 a common bread poultice may be applied.
   If the wound is severe use aquafortis, spirits of sea salt,
 or oil of vitriol, instead of hartshorn.
   It is a good plan to suck out the venom as soon as the
 bite is  given, but the mouth should afterwards be well
 rinsed.

    Bite of a Rattlesnake.—-The  bite should  be instantly
 sucked, and this is the best method of extracting the ve-
 nom.  The flesh  should then  be cut round  and made to
 bleed  freely.  When the bleeding ceases, caustic should
 be applied, but if an interval must elapse before the caus- 
ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES.            79
tic can be procured, fill  the wound with fine table salt.
Bathe the limb in salt and vinegar; and that the stomach
may not be  affected, swallow a tea-spoonful of sweet oil
mixed with  ten drops of turpentine.  No dependence can
be placed on any of the plants which have been recom-
mended in these cases.

  Sting of a Bee.—Apply a salve of hartshorn and chalk
to the sting, removing it frequently, and it will give al-
most instant relief.
  Table salt moistened with water will  relieve  the pain
incident upon the sting of a bee.

  Sting of a  Wasp.—Wet mud or hartshorn applied fre-
quently to the part  which has  been  stung, will remove
the pain which proceeds from the sting of a wasp.

  Sting of a  Hornet.—This sting is generally very bad.
The sting should be immediately extracted with a needle,
but before the attempt is made, let the projecting portion,
which contains the poison bag,  be cut off with  a pair of
scissors, or in the attempt to extract it more poison may be
forced into the puncture.  After this, if the pain is severe,
apply a couple of leeches to the part and make a poultice
of a handful of poppy-heads, boiled in half a pint of water
and beaten into a mass.  This poultice may be kept on all
night.

  Bite of a Spider.—Apply a  bread and milk poultice
with the addition of twenty drops of laudanum.
  If the bite is very severe, leeches should be applied.

  Poison from Corrosive Sublimate, Arsenic, and Verdi-
gris.—When a person has swallowed any of these sub-
stances, lose  not a moment  in  your  attempt to excite
vomiting.  Mix up the whites  of twelve eggs in two
quarts of  water, and give a tumblerful every five minutes
until the  person vomits.  Continue this treatment after
the vomiting has commenced. 
80
ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES.
   As an antidote for arsenic, send immediately and procure
four ounces of the hydrated peroxide of iron, at the drug-
gists, mix it in a pint of soft water, and give a wine-glass-
ful,  (shaking it up,\  every ten minutes.   This is now
considered as a certain antidote for this poison, and none
other can be relied on.  An ounce of castor oil should be
given after three or four hours, followed by a large injec-
tion of tepid water.

   Poison from Lunar Caustic.—The patient should drink
every two minutes a glass of common salt and water, made
in the proportion of  a  table-spoonful of salt to two pints
of water : by this  expedient  vomiting  will  be produced,
and  the poison  at the same time disarmed of its virulence
by decomposition.

   Poison from Sugar of Lead.  The patient should take
a solution of epsom or glauber salts,  prepared by dissolv-
ing  two table-spoonfuls of the salt in a pint of water.
When the poisonous contents of the stomach are discharg-
ed, linseed tea may be  given, or any mild drink.

   Poison from Spanish Flies.—The patient should imme-
diately take two or three table-spoonfuls of sweet oil, and
repeat the same every two or three minutes, to produce
vomiting, and at the same time to sheath the coats of the
stomach; when the  oil is not  at hand,  fresh  butter, or
melted suet, cream, milk, or linseed  tea, must be largely
and repeatedly  drank.

   Poison from Oil of Vitriol, Aqua-Fortis, Spirits of Sea
Salt, Acid  of  Sugar, or Sea  Sorel.—Unless  the most
prompt and active  measures be taken when any of these
substances have been swallowed, there  is but little chance
of recovery.
   The patient  should  instantly swallow a large quantity
of milk:  in the meantime,  in order to neutralise the acid
and  produce vomiting,  prepare  a drink of water mixed
with calcined magnesia, in the proportion of two table- 
ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES.
81
spoonfuls to a pint.  A glass of this should be taken every
two minutes.  This is the most efficacious remedy that can
be applied.  But if magnesia cannot be instantly procured,
use chalk, soap and water, or any alkaline substance that
can be procured,  avoiding what are called carbonates if
possible.

   Poison from Tartar of Antimony—Tartar Emetic.—
Should vomiting  not take place spontaneously, it must
be excited by drinking largely of sugared water, linseed
tea, gruel, or even pure water.  If this should fail, boil four
or  five pounded gall nuts for  ten minutes in a quart of
water, and take a wine-glass full of the water every five
minutes.
   Should the vomiting be too  severe it must be quieted
by laudanum, administered in doses of from five to thirty
drops, according to the age of the patient.
   No ordinary  emetic, such  as ipecacuanha, should be
given.

   Poison from Laudanum,  Henbane,  Hemlock, Laurel
Water, Fox Glove, Tobacco, Nightshade.—Produce vomit-
ing as soon as possible.  To this end administer three or
four grains of tartar emetic dissolved in warm water; or
three  grains of white vitriol, or from four to eight grains
of blue vitriol, or thirty grains of ipecacuanha.
   If  the patient has  lost the power of swallowing,  a
strong mustard plaster should be applied to the  stomach
and throat.
   Never give the patient brandy or vinegar ; such a prac-
tice is attended with the greatest danger.
   Prevent the person from falling  asleep by every means
which ingenuity can invent.  When the poison has been
thrown off from the stomach, then, and not till then, give,
every few minutes, a glassful of hot coffee.
   If tobacco, fox-glove, or laurel-water  have  been taken,
a glass of strong punch or wine should be given as soon
as vomiting has ceased, or ten drops of spirits of hartshorn
in water. 
82
ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES.
   Poison from Mushrooms.—Neither vinegar, brandy, nor
 salt are to be given, as they dissolve the poisonous qualities
 of the mushrooms, and consequently increase their destruc-
 tive effects.
   An emetic is instantly to be administered, and vomiting
 encouraged.   The stomach should be fomented with warm
 water and brandy.
   When the vomiting ceases administer two table-spoon-
 fuls of castor  oil, beat up  with  the  yolk of an egg and
 given in two doses.   In all cases of  narcotic poisoning,
 mustard applications externally are never to be omitted.

   To Prevent Infection.—Chloride of Lime.—This pre-
 ventive of contagion may be prepared for use as follows:—
 stir one pound of the  chloride of lime into four gallons of
 water;  allow it to settle for a short time, pour off the clear
 solution, and keep it in well corked bottles.
   In houses infected, sprinkle the rooms morning and eve-
 ning with the  above  mixture;  and place  some of it in
 shallow dishes or basins.  Sprinkle the bed linen occasion-
 ally, and admit fresh air.   Infected linen should be dipped
in the mixture  about  five minutes, and then in common
water, before  it is sent to the wash.  A wine-glassful
 added to the water of a night-chair or bed-pan, will pre-
vent any smell.  To destroy the effluvia from drains, sew-
 ers, cesspools,  &c., pour into them a quart of the mixture,
with a pail  of water. 
83
                 CHAPTER VIII.

  GENERAL  RULES  FOR PRESERVING LIFE AND
                      HEALTH.

  Sir R. Philips's Rules.—" 1. Rise  early, and never sit
up late.
  2. Wash the whole body  every morning  with cold
water by means of a large sponge, and rub it dry with a
rough towel, or scrub the whole body for ten or fifteen
minutes with flesh brushes.
  3. Drink water generally, and avoid excess of spirits,
wine, and fermented liquors.
  4. Keep the body open by the free  use of the  syringe,
and remove superior obstructions by aperient pills.
  5. Sleep in a room which has free  access to the  open
air.
  6. Keep the head cool by washing  it when necessary
with  cold  water,  and abate feverish and inflammatory
symptoms when they arise by persevering stillness. ^
  7. Correct  symptoms  of plethora  and  indigestion by
eating and drinking less per diem for  a few days.
  8. Never  eat  a  hearty supper,  especially of animal
food ;  and drink wine, spirits, and beer, if these are neces-
sary, only after dinner.
  Dr. Bocrhaavc's Rides.—This  great man left, as a
legacy to the world, the  following  simple and unerring
directions for preserving  health ; they contained the  sum
and substance of his  vast professional knowledge, during
a long and useful life:—" Keep the feet warm; the head
cool;  and the body open."—If  these  were generally
attended to, the physician's aid would seldom be required.

   Clothing.—To adapt the dress to a scrupulous  nicety
to the fluctuations of  temperature  every day, would  in-
deed require such minute attention as hardly any oerson 
84
GENERAL  RULES FOR
can bestow :  but every person may comply with the gen-
eral  rules of clothing, as far as not to lay aside too early
the dress of the winter, nor to retain that of the  summer
too late ; from a neglect of which precaution  thousands
of lives are every year sacrificed to mortality.  The per-
fection of dress, considered merely as such, is to fit with-
out fettering the body.

  Air.—Nothing is more pernicious than  the air of a
place where a numerous body of people  are collected
together within doors ; especially if to the breath of the
crowd there be added the vapours of a multitude of can-
dles, and the consumption of the vital air by fires in pro-
portion.  Hence  it  happens, that persons  of a  delicate
constitution are liable to  become sick or faint in a place
of this kind.   These ought to avoid, as much as possible,
the air of great towns ; which is also peculiarly hurtful to
the asthmatic and consumptive, as  it is  likewise  to  hys-
teric  women,  and  men  of weak  nerves.   Where  such
people  cannot always live  without  the verge  of great
towns, they ought, at least, to go out as often as they can
into the open air, and, if  possible, pass the  night  in  the
wholesome situation of the suburbs.

  Ventilation.—Air that has long stagnated becomes ex-
tremely unwholesome to  breathe,  and often immediately
fatal.  Such is that of mines, wells, cellars, &c.   People
ought therefore to be very cautious in entering places of
this description which have been long shut up.  The air
of some hospitals, jails, ships, &c. partakes of the same
unwholesome  and  pernicious  nature;   and they ought
never to be  destitute of  ventilators—those useful  contri-
vances for expelling foul, and introducing fresh air into
its place.  The  same  may be said  of all places where
numbers of people are crowded together.
  It is found that most plants have  the  property  of cor-
recting  bad air within a few hours, when they are expos-
ed to the light of the sun;  but  that,  on  the contrary,
during the night, or in the shade, they corrupt the common 
PRESERVING LIFE AND HEALTH.
85
air of the atmosphere.   Hence it is a dangerous practice
to have shrubs in an apartment that is slept in.

  Ventilation of Churches.—Both in public and private
buildings there are errors committed, which affect  in an
extraordinary degree the salubrity of the air.   Churches
are seldom opened  above once  a week;  they are  never
ventilated by fires, and rarely by opening the windows :
while, to render the air of them  yet more unwholesome,
little or no attention is paid to keeping them clean.  The
consequence of which is, that they are damp, musty, and
apt to prove hurtful to people of weak constitutions; and
it is a common remark, that a person cannot pass through
a large church or cathedral, even in summer,  without a
strong sense of coolness.

   Ventilation of Houses.—The  great  attention paid  to
making houses close and warm, though  apparently well
adapted to the comfort of the  inhabitants, is by no means
favourable to the health, unless care be taken  every day
to admit fresh air by the windows.   Sometimes it may be
proper to make use of what is called pumping the  room,
or moving the  door  backward and  forward for some
minutes together.   The  practice of making the beds early
in the day, however in many suit convenience  or delicacy,
is doubtless improper.   It would be  much better to turn
them down, and expose  them  to the influence of the air
admitted by the windows.
  For many persons to sleep in one room, as  in the ward
of a hospital, is very hurtful to health;  and it is scarcely
a less injurious custom,  though  often practised by those
who have splendid houses, for two or more to  sleep in a
small apartment, especially if it be very close.
  Houses situated  in low marshy countries, or near lakes
of stagnating water, are likewise unwholesome ; as they
partake of the putrid vapours exhaled in such places. To
remedy this evil, those  who  inhabit them, if they study
their health, ought to use  a  more  generous  diet than is
requisite in more dry and elevated  situations.
             H 
86
GENERAL RULES FOR
   Caution to Glaziers, Painters,  and Plumbers.—The
following medical  cautions were recommended by the
physicians and surgeons of the Bath Hospital,  to  those
who have received benefit by the use of the Bath waters,
in cases where the poison of lead is concerned, as plumb-
ers, glaziers, painters, and other artificers,  who  work in
trades which  expose them to similar  hazards, from the
same cause ;  to be observed by them at their return to the
exercise  of their former occupation.
   1. To maintain the strictest temperance, particularly
respecting distilled spirits, which had better be altogethei
forborne.
   2. To pay the  strictest attention to  cleanliness, ans
never suffer paint to stick about or to daub their hands :
and particularly never  to eat their meals, or go to  rest,
without washing their hands and face with soap, perfectly
clean.
   3. Not to eat or drink in the room  or  place  wherein
they work; and much  less to suffer any food or drink  to
remain unused, even for the shortest  space of time,  in
any part of the  room  while painting, or  where colour
stands ;  and not to work on an empty stomach.
   4. As the clothes of persons in this line (painters, par-
ticularly) are generally much soiled with  colour, it is re-
commended for them to perform their works in frocks of
ticking, which may be  frequently washed, and conve-
niently laid aside when the workmen go  to their meals,
and again put on  when they resume their work.
   5. Every business which can, in these branches, should
be performed  with gloves on their hands; painters,  in
performing clean light  work, would find gloves an incon-
venience ; but to  avoid  the  evil  here  mentioned,  the
handle of the  brush should be often scrape'd.  Woollen or
worsted gloves are recommended, as they may, and should
be often washed, after  being soiled with the paint, or  even
with much rubbing against the metal.
   6. Caution is necessary in mixing, or even in  unpack-
ing, the dry colours, that the fine powder do not get into  •
their mouths,  or be drawn in by the  breath.   A crape 
PRESERVING LIFE AND HEALTH.
87
covering over the face might be  of service; but  care
should be taken to turn always the same side of the crape
towards the face, and to clean or wash it frequently.
  7. All artificers should  avoid touching lead  when hot;
and  this caution is  especially necessary  for  printers or
compositors, who have often lost the  use  of  their limbs
by handling the types, when drying by the fire after being
washed.
  8. Glazier's putty should never be made or moulded by
the hand.  An iron  pestle and mortar would work the in-
gredients together, at least  equally as well, and  without
hazard.   It is necessary  in working putty to handle it,
nor is  it usually pernicious;  cleanliness is therefore  the
best recommendation.
  9. If persons in any of the above employments, should
feel pain in the bowels, with costiveness, they should im-
mediately take twenty drops of laudanum, and when the
pain is abated, two  table-spoonfuls of castor  oil, or an
ounce  of the bitter  purging salt,  dissolved in warm
chamomile tea.   If  this does not succeed, a pint, or  two
pints  of  warm  soap-suds, should be thrown  up  as a
clyster.
   10.  As a  preventive, two or  three spoonfuls of salad
oil, taken in a small cup of gruel, is likely to be of service,
if taken daily, and steadily pursued.

   To protect  Gilders, Jewellers, and others from  the per-
nicious effects of Charcoal.—It is advisable for all those
who are exposed to the vapours of charcoal,  particularly
gilders, jewellers, refiners of  metals, &c.  to place a  flat
vessel, filled  with lime water, near  the stove  in which
the charcoal is burnt.
   The lime strongly attracts the mephitic  gas evolved by
the ignited charcoal, and preserves the purity of the air.
When the surface of the water becomes covered with  a
film, or pellicle, it must be changed for a fresh quantity.

    To prevent Lamps  from proving  pernicious to Asth-
 matic persons.—The smoking of lamps is frequently dis- 
88
GENERAL RULES FOR
regarded in domestic life;  but the fumes arising from oil,
especially if it be tainted or rancid, are highly pernicious,
when inhaled into the lungs  of asthmatic persons.  To
prevent this, let a sponge, three or four inches in diameter,
be moistened with pure water, and in  that state be sus-
pended by a string or wire, exactly over the flame of the
lamp, at the distance of a few inches; this substance will
absorb all the smoke emitted during the evening or night,
after which it should be rinsed  in warm water, by which
means it will be again rendered fit for use.

  Riding and Walking.—For preserving health, there is
no kind of exercise more proper than walking, as it gives
the most general action to the muscles of the body; but,
for valetudinarians, riding on horseback is preferable.   It
is almost incredible  how much the  constitution  may be
strengthened by this  exercise, when continued for a con-
siderable time; not  so much in the fashionable way of a
morning ride, but of making long journeys, in which there
is the farther advantage  of a perpetual change of air.
Numbers of people, reduced to a state of great weakness,
have, by  this means,  acquired a degree  of vigour and
health, which all the medical  prescriptions  in  the world
could not otherwise have procured.   But, it is of impor-
tance, in travelling for health, that one should not employ
his mind in  deep reflections, but enjoy the  company of
an agreeable companion, and  gratify his  sight with the
prospect of the various objects around  him.  In this  ex-
ercise, as well as every other,  we ought always  to begin
gently, and finish gradually, never abruptly

  Exercise after Meals.—Exercise is hurtful immediately
after meals, particularly to those of nervous and irritable
constitutions, who are thence liable to heart-burn, eructa-
tions, and vomiting.   Indeed, the instinct  of the inferior
animals confirms the propriety of this rule ; for they are
all inclined to indulge themselves in  rest  after food.   At
all events, fatiguing  exercise should  be delayed till diges-
tion is performed, which generally requires three or four
hours after eating a full meal. 
PRESERVING LIFE AND HEALTH.           89
   Reading Aloud.—This is a  species of exercise much
recommended by the ancient physicians; and to this may
be joined that of speaking.  They are both  of great  ad-
vantage to those who have not sufficient leisure or oppor-
tunities for other kinds of exercise.   To speak very loud,
however, or exercise the voice immediately after meals,
is hurtful to the lungs, as well as to the organs of diges-
tion.   Singing, as by the vibratory motion of the air it
shakes the lungs and bowels  of the abdomen or belly,
promotes, in a remarkable degree, the circulation of  the
blood.  Hence,  those sedentary  artificers or mechanics,
who, from habit, almost constantly  sing at their work,
unintentionally contribute much  to  the preservation  of
their health.

   Wind Instruments.—All these  are more or less hurtful
to the lungs, which they weaken by introducing too much
air, and keeping that organ too long in a state  of disten-
sion.   On this account persons  of weak lungs, who play
much on the flute, hautboy, or French horn, are frequently
afflicted with spitting of blood, cough, shortness of breath,
and pulmonary consumption.  Blowing these instruments
likewise checks the circulation of the blood through  the
lungs, accumulates it towards the head, and disposes such
persons to apoplexy.

  Friction.—One of the most  gentle and useful kinds of
exercise, is friction of the body, either by the naked hand,
a piece of flannel, or what is still better, a flesh brush.
This was in  great esteem among the  ancients, and is so at
present in the East Indies.   The whole body maybe sub-
jected to this  mild operation, but chiefly the  belly,  the
spine, or  back-bone, and the  arms  and legs.  Friction
clears the skin,  resolves stagnating humours, promotes
perspiration,  strengthens the  fibres,  and  increases  the
Warmth and energy of the whole body.  In rheumatism,
gout, palsy,  and green sickness, it is  an excellent remedy.
To the sedentary, the hypochondriac, and persons troubled
with indigestion, who have not leisure to  take sufficient
            H* 
90
GENERAL  RULES FOR
 exercise, the daily friction of the belly, in particular, can-
 not be too much recommended as  a substitute  for other
 means, in order to dissolve the thick humours which may
 be forming in the bowels, by stagnation, and to strengthen
 the vessels.   But,  in rubbing the  belly,  the  operation
 ought to be performed  in  a  circular direction,  as being
 most  favourable to the course of the intestines,  and  their
 natural action.  It should be performed in the  morning,
 on an empty stomach, or, rather, in bed, before  getting
 up, and continued, at least, for some minutes at  a time.

   Getting Wet.—This accident is at all times  less frequent
 in  towns than  in the  country, especially since the use
 of  the umbrella has been introduced.
   When a person is wet he ought never to stand, but to
 continue in motion till he arrives at a place where he may
 be  suitably accommodated.   Here he should strip off his
 wet clothes, to be changed for such as are dry, and have
 those parts of his body which have been wetted,  well rub-
 bed with a dry cloth.  The legs, shoulders, and  arms, are
 generally the  parts  most exposed  to wet: they should,
 therefore, be particularly attended to.  It is almost incre-
 dible  how many diseases may be  prevented by  adopting
 this course.   Catarrhs, inflammations, rheumatisms, diar-
 rhoeas, fevers, and consumptions, are the foremost  among
 the train which frequently follow an accident  of this kind.

  Precautions  in removing from a hot to a cold situa-
tion.—It should be a determined rule to avoid  all rapid
transitions from one extreme to the other,  and  never  to
remove from a room highly heated, to a fresh or cold air,
while the body remains warm, or till the necessary change
to a warmer dress has been previously made.  If,  at • any
time,  the body should  be violently heated during  the
warm weather, it is  sure to suffer by going  into  vaults,
cellars, ice-houses, by cold bathing, or by sitting on  cold
stones, or damp earth :  many lingering and  incurable
maladies have been brought on by such imprudence;  nay,
present  death  has,  in some  instances,  been  the  conse- 
PRESERVING LIFE AND HEALTH.
91
quence of such  transgression.  Pulmonary consumption,
which annually makes such dreadful ravages among the
young and middle aged, has been frequently  induced  by
such apparently trifling causes.

   To keep the Feet Dry.—The only method that has been
found to succeed in keeping the feet dry, is to wear, over
the foot of  the stocking, a sock made of oiled  silk.  To
keep it in its proper place, it will  be necessary to  wear
over it a cotton or  worsted sock.   The general health
being  often disturbed  by wet feet, the above  directions
ought to be carefully attended to.

   To preserve the Eye-sight.—Never  sit for any length
of time in absolute gloom, or exposed to a blaze of light.
The reason on which this rule is founded, proves the im-
propriety of going hastily from one extreme to the other,
whether  of darkness or  of light, and  shows us that a
southern  aspect is improper for those whose sight is weak
and tender.
   2. Avoid reading small print, and straining the eyes
by looking at minute objects.
   3. Do not read in the dusk, nor, if the eyes  be dis-
ordered, by candle-light.
   4. Do not permit the eyes to dwell on  glaring objects,
more  particularly on first waking in  the morning; the
sun should not of course be suffered to shine in the  room
at that time,  and a moderate quantity of  light,  only,
should be admitted.  For the same reasons, the furniture,
walls,  and  other objects  of a bed-room, should  not be
altogether  of  a white or glaring colour; indeed, those
whose eyes are weak, would find considerable advantage
m having green for the furniture, and  prevailing  colour,
of their bed-chambers.  Nature confirms the propriety of
this fact, for the light of  the day comes  on by slow de-
grees, and green is the universal colour she  presents to
our eyes.
   5.  Those individuals  who are  rather long-sighted,
should accustom themselves to read with  less light, and 
92
GENERAL RULES FOR
 with  the  book  somewhat nearer to the eye than  what
 they naturally like ; while others, that are rather short
 sighted, should use themselves to read with the book as
 far off as possible.  By these  means, both will improve
 and strengthen  their sight, while  a contrary course in-
 creases its natural inperfections.

    Use of Spectacles.—From whatever cause the decay of
 sight  arises,  an attentive consideration of the following
 rules will  enable any one to judge for himself, when his
 eye-sight may be assisted or preserved by the use of pro-
 per glasses:
    1.  When we are obliged to remove small objects  to  a
 considerable distance from the eye in  order to see them
 distinctly.
   2.  If  we find it necessary to get  more  light than for-
 merly, as, for instance, to place the  candle  between the
 eye and  the object.
   3.  If, on looking at, and attentively considering a near
 object, it fatigues the eye and becomes confused, or  if it
 appears to have a kind of dimness or mist before it.
   4.  When small printed letters are seen to run into each
 other, and hence, by looking steadfastly on them, appear
 double or treble.
   5.  If the eyes are so fatigued by  a little exercise, that
 we are obliged  to shut them from time to  time, so  as  to
 relieve them by looking at different objects.
   When all these  circumstances concur, or  any of them
 separately takes place, it will be necessary to seek  assis-
 tance from glasses, which will  ease the eyes, and in some
 degree check  their  tendency to become worse : whereas,
 if they be not assisted in  time,  the weakness will be
 considerably increased, and the eyes be impaired by the
 efforts they are compelled to exert.

   Cosmetics.—To set off the complexion with all the ad-
vantage it can attain, nothing more  is requisite than to
wash the face with pure water; or, if any thing  farther
be  occasionally necessary,  it is only the addition of a
little soap. 
              PRESERVING LIFE AND HEALTH.           93

   The Teeth.—An object very subservient to health, and
 which merits due attention, is the preservation of the teeth;
 the care of which, considering their importance in prepar-
 ing the food for digestion, is, in general,  far from being
 sufficiently cultivated.  Very few persons, comparatively,
 wash their mouths in the morning, which ought always to
 be done.   Indeed, this  ought to be practised at the con-
 clusion of every meal,where either  animal food or vegeta-
 bles be eaten;  for the  former is apt to leave behind it a
 rancid  acrimony, and the latter  an acidity, both of them
 hurtful to the teeth.  Washing the mouth frequently with
 cold water is not only serviceable in keeping the teeth
 clean, but in strengthening the gums, the firm adhesion of
 which  to  the teeth is of great importance in preserving
 them sound and secure.

   Tooth Powders.—Many persons, while laudably  atten-
 tive  to preserve  their teeth, do them hurt by too much  of-
 ficiousness.  They  daily  apply  to them some dentifrice
 powder, which they rub so hard as not only to injure  the
 enamel by excessive  friction, but to  hurt the gums even
 more than by the abuse of  the tooth-pick.   The quality
 of some of the dentifrice powders,  advertised in newspa-
 pers, is extremely suspicious;  and there is reason to think
 that  they are not altogether free from  a corrosive ingredi-
 ent.   One of the safest and best compositions for the pur-
 pose is  a mixture of two parts of scuttlefish bone,  and one
 of the Peruvian bark, both finely powdered, which is cal-
 culated not only to clean the teeth,  without hurting them,
 but to preserve the firmness of the gums.
  Besides the advantage  of sound teeth, for  their use in
 mastication, a proper  attention to their treatment conduces
 not a little to the sweetness of the breath.  This is, indeed,
 often affected by other  causes, existing in  the lungs,  the
 stomach, and sometimes even in  the bowels;  but a rotten
state of the teeth, both from the putrid smell emitted by
carious bones, and the impurities lodged  in their cavities,
never fails of aggravating an unpleasant breath wherever
there is a tendency of that kind. 
94
                   CHAPTER IX.

                     DIGESTION.

   According to the most recent experiments, digestion is
 accomplished  by the  agency  of  a fluid secreted by the
 stomach, and named gastric juice.  Besides saline substan-
 ces, mucus, &c., it  always contains  muriatic  acid, and a
 greyish viscid  extractive principle, named pepsin, which
 is believed to be the digestive agent; as out of"the stomach,
 with the aid of a little muriatic acid and heat, it dissolves
 coagulated albumen, boiled meat, &c.   Lactic acid is also
 a very general constituent;  but  both Dr. Prout and Pro-
 fessor Liebig consider it a product of unhealthy action in
 the stomach.  The change which  the  food undergoes in
 the  stomach is  called  chymification ;  and this process  is
 accomplished  very slowly, being dependent  upon the
 powers of this organ, the degree of mastication or previous
 reduction of the aliments, and  their quantity.
  According to the experiments  of Dr. Beaumont, there
 are three  indispensable requisites  for the proper comple-
 tion of chymification.  First, an adequate supply of gastric
juice, and  its  thorough admixture with  every particle of
food ; second, a temperature of 98° or 100° Fahr.; third,
 a gentle and continued agitation of the  alimentary mass
in the stomach.   Liebig has shown, that digestion is in
proportion to the  quantity of oxygen consumed during res-
piration.  Exercise quickens the breathing, and  hence its
utility in promoting chymification; and as more oxygen is
consumed during winter than summer, from the greater
density of  the atmosphere in the  former period, there is
generally a better appetite and a  greater quantity of food
thoroughly digested.  In ordinary cases, the gastric juice
is diffused through the  whole semi-fluid contents of the 
DIGESTION.
95
stomach, and applied to the surface of each individual
fragment  of  food.   Liquid  aliment is digested somewhat
differently.  The watery portion of it is very soon absorb-
ed, thus leaving the semi-fluid parts to  be converted into
chyme.   Milk and soups are exemplifications in which this
process takes place ; but the former is always more or less
coagulated by the gastric juice.  The chyme  passes slow-
ly from the stomach into the small intestine named the
duodenum, and is there mixed with the bile and pancreatic
fluid.   By means of this mixture, probably assisted by the
secretions from this part of the intestinal canal, the chyme
is converted into chyle, a milky coloured fluid,  considerably
altered in its properties.  The chyle is  absorbed by the
lacteals, where it is supposed to be vitalised, and conveyed
by the thoracic duct into the veins ; forming then a  con-
stituent part of the blood circulating through the system.
   The comparative  digestibility of different aliments, al-
though  a subject  of great  importance, has  not  hitherto
been very accurately determined.  The experiments of Dr.
Beaumont, however, are more important than  any pre-
viously performed.   The case of St. Martin, who had an
artificial opening in  his stomach, furnished him with a very
favourable opportunity  of introducing  aliments into this
organ and afterwards withdrawing  them;  and  making
several other experiments connected  with the process of
chymification.   At  the  same time, it may be remarked,
that the stomach of  St.  Martin could not be considered at
the time in an absolutely healthy state, from the injury it
had sustained; and  although  he exhibited  no particular
symptom  of dyspepsia, the conclusions drawn by Dr.
Beaumont must be viewed  only in the light of approxima-
tive truths.  Fifty-one conclusions are drawn from his ex-
periments, the most  important of which  are the following:
   1.  Arrow-root and other purely farinaceous substances
are readily converted into  chyme ; while soup and green
vegetables, such as cabbage, turnip, carrot, &c, are very
    "  in their assimilation.
            —«5S of division and tenderness of  fibres, are
                    *  ^io-estion of flesh, fowl, and fish. 
96
fNDIGESTION.
   3.  The  quantity of food generally taken  is more than
the wants of the system require.
   4.  Bulk as well as nutriment is necessary to the articles
of diet.
   5.  Oily food is difficult of digestion, though it contains
a large proportion of the nutrient principle.
   6.  The time required for the digestion of food is various,
depending  upon  its quantity and  quality, &c.; but the
period ordinarily required for the  disposal  of a  moderate
meal  of the fibrous parts of meat with bread, &c, is from
three  to three and a half hours.
  7.  The gastric juice  is  capable  of combining with a
certain and fixed quantity  of  food;  and when more ali-
ment  is presented for its action than  it will dissolve, dis-
turbance of the stomach or indigestion will ensue.
  8.  The motions  of the stomach produce a  constant
churning of its contents, and admixture of food and gastric
juice; from which  is deduced the advantage of gentle
exercise in promoting digestion.
                  CHAPTER  X.

                    INDIGESTION.

  As has been already noticed under Digestion, there  is
always  muriatic acid  present in the stomach during the
process  of chymification.   In cases  of  indigestion, lactic
acid, or the acid peculiar to milk, is also  often formed in
large quantities and  sometimes with great  rapidity.   In
confirmed cases of dyspepsia, the whole contents of the
stomach sometimes become intensely acid in a short time,
even in  an hour, after taking an ordinary quantity of food.
Dr. Prout is  of opinion  that the  acid is most frequently
secreted from  the blood;  but may also  be  derived from
the food.  That the  aliment  in  the stomach  contributes
materially towards the production of lactic acid, is render- 
INDIGESTION.
9?
ed very probable, by the fact of its more abundant forma-
tion from some kinds of food than from others ; even ap-
parently under the same circumstances.   Thus, green
vegetables are more liable to generate acid than farinaceous
or animal substances.   The digestive process seems to be
accompanied with one very similar to the lactic fermenta-
tion ;  for much gaseous  fluid  is often  evolved,  and in
general it will be found, that those alimentary substances-
which are most easily converted into lactic acid out of the
body, by spontaneous decomposition or otherwise, are also
the most ascescent  in the  stomach.   In corroboration of
this view, it may be stated as a result agreeable to the ex-
perience of those  who  have attended to this point, that
when there is acid in  a stomach, nearly empty, the next
meal very speedily  runs into  the ascescent state.   Liebig
considers healthy digestion very much allied to fermentation
or putrefaction.  If this be a  correct theory, the analogy
between indigestion and those two processes must be still
more  intimate.   The advantages of emetics and bitters in
the cure of some forms of dyspepsia, may be thus partly
accounted for.   The first evacuate the acid ferment from
the stomach; the second  check, to a certain  extent, the
process of fermentation.   Although  lactic acid  be thus
generated abundantly from the food in cases of indigestion,
there  can be little doubt that it is also  formed by the
stomach; for when indigestible animal substances, such
as bones, gristle, tendons,  tough membrane, &c., are intro-
duced into this  organ, much acid is formed, even although
little of the alimentary matters is dissolved.   Besides these
two sources of  indigestion, it is highly  probable that  a
third,  although  more rare  variety, is  accompanied with a
modification of  the putrefactive process.   Oily and several
animal substances are apt, in some individuals, to produce
unhealthy digestion, accompanied with eructations resem-
bling  the odour of putrid or  spoiled meat; and both an-
cient and modern medical writers have attributed this to
a putrefactive change in the alimentary substances.  Dr
James Johnson remarks, that " in these states of  weak or
impeded digestion, vegetable  matter,  wine,   and even
                 i 
98
INDIGESTION.
spirits, soon degenerate into a strong acid ; while all oily
substances become rancid, and animal matters putrid, pro-
ducing sour  and fetid eructations."   The  same  author
states that  some instances have  come under his  notice,
where the  matters discharged from the stomach were ex-
tremely acrid and alkaline.

  Dietetic  Treatment of Indigestion.—In regulating the
diet  during the treatment of indigestion, the following
principles may be deduced from the facts and experiments
already noticed.
  1. Every alimentary substance, before it is swallowed,
ought to be minutely divided, or carefully masticated.
  2. It ought to be tender in texture, or rendered so by
the processes of cookery.
  3. It should  be little  liable to run into ascescency, or
the lactic fermentation.
  4. It ought to contain  little oil or fat.  Dr. Beaumont
is of opinion that the saliva has no solvent effect upon the
food, and that it is  merely intended to  facilitate  mastica-
tion.   He has rendered this opinion very probable; but
whether it be true  or not, the minute division and soften-
ino- of the food by mastication is  the most efficient method
of effecting that end.  Tenderness of texture is  also a ne-
cessary quality of alimentary substances; for when tough
or hard, they cannot be softened or thoroughly divided by
mastication.  And even  when their minute division has
previously been accomplished, the evil is only lessened, not
removed, for the central portions of the divided fragments
are still hard, and remain long unchymified.
  Among animals, the muscular fibre or flesh of the young
is the most tender, such as veal and lamb, and  according
to this law ought to be more  quickly  digested  than beef
or mutton.   The contrary, however, is asserted by many
respectable  writers; but such has not  been the result of
my observation, when the  cookery was simple  and the
quantity  eaten  moderate.  It will often be found, upon
careful inquiry, that when these articles of diet have been
mentioned as the causes of indigestion, either too large a 
INDIGESTION.
9*
quantity has  been taken, or too much gravy, fat, mem-
brane, or gelatinous accompaniment, has been swallowed
along with it.   And though animal substances  are much
less liable to generate lactic acid, in the stomach of a dys-
peptic individual, than those of a vegetable kind, the gel-
atin of young animals frequently under such circumstan-
ses causes asCescency ; and hence the muscular or fleshy
parts should alone be used.
   Fish is also  condemned by some authors as liable to
disagree with  the dyspeptic.  That this is the  case with
some of the oily fishes, such as the salmon, the family of
herrings, the mackerel, and some others, there  can be no
doubt; but it is nearly as certain that many of the white
fishes,  namely, the  whiting,  haddock, cod, the common
trout, &c. being tender but not gelatinous in the fibre,  and
containing little or no oily matter, are very readily digest-
ed.  It is  true that when taken with butter or  other rich
sauces, they often produce unpleasant feelings of indiges-
tion ;  but it is  by no means a legitimate  conclusion to at-
tribute this to the fish, when a Well known indigestible ar-
ticle of diet is associated  with it.  When fish is  taken by
the dyspeptic,  spices and salt, or a little ketchup, with or
without mustard, are more suitable than oily condiments.
In the vegetable kingdom the same  rule with  respect to
texture will  be found  to hold, and it  is Well illustrated in
the case of the  potato.   The raw or even the boiled waxy
potatoe is digested with more difficulty than the mealy or
farinaceous variety; chiefly because the  latter is more ea-
sily broken down or disintegrated.
   Cabbage, cauliflower,  and  other green vegetables, are
hard in texture when raw or half-boiled, but by  protracted
exposure to heat, they become pulpy and easily diffused
among watery fluids; independent of all changes  which
may be produced in the fermentable principles they con-
tain.   This  is a  great objection to the employment of
green vegetables by dyspeptics,  particularly as cooked in
this country; but their tendency to run  into ascescency is
a greater one;  and the two united are so  formidable, as
to render  these articles totally inadmissible  as diet for
such persons. 
ioo
INDIGESTION.
   Milk, although  an animal fluid, often  disagrees with
those who have weak digestive organs, from its liability
to run into  the lactic  fermentation, particularly during
hot weather, when it is often slightly acid before it is used
as food.   For a simple reasonj soups made with fermenta-
ble vegetables, fermented liquors, in which the process of
fermentation is not finished, or where there exists some of
the saccharine fermentable principle, are injurious; but a
small quantity of sound and dry wine, that is, wine  free
from acid and thoroughly fermented, may be taken with
impunity, particularly if diluted with water.
   Potatoes, although an agreeable and  almost indispensa-
ble vegetable, are also liable to excite acidity and flatu-
lency.   Those of a farinaceous quality should alone be em-
ployed by the dyspeptic; and if the indigestion be extreme,
are to  be avoided  altogether.   Fruits of all kinds, acid,
sub-acid, saccharine, and oily, are calculated to generate
lactic acid, and thereby derange the digestion;  either  di-
rectly by fermentation, or indirectly by  becoming insolu-
ble by the  stomach.  Of  all the vegetable  aliments  the
purely farinaceous and amylaceous, or starchy kinds,  are
the best adapted for the digestive organs of the dyspeptic;
being rapidly chymified, having little tendency to produce
acidity, and from their loose state of cohesion, being read-
ily mixed with the gastric juice.
   Bread,  rice, the pea,  sago, arrow-root, tapioca,  and
Irish moss, are familiar examples of this kind of alimenta-
ry matter.
   In extreme cases of dyspepsia, even these, light and di-
gestible as they are in general, sometimes  occasion disa-
greeable feelings, which are often  owing  to the  methods
of cookery employed, particularly to the large addition of
milk, sugar, or eggs.   In such cases the article  should be
boiled with water, containing a little salt or  sugar.   It is
much lighter when thus prepared, and may be used with
sound milk or diluted sherry.  In a few instances I have
recommended, with advantage, weak brandy toddy.   The
finest  quality of pease meal is well adapted for dyspeptics,
and as it is agreeable  and more nutritive than the purely 
INDIGESTION.
101
 starchy aliments,  may in many cases constitute a part of
 their diet.   It ought to be prepared with a large quantity
 of boiling water, so that it may be thoroughly cooked, and
 have a thick consistency.   Some of the farinaceous grains,
 from the large quantity of saccharine matter they contain,
 are liable to produce acidity.  This is particularly the case
 with the oat, which is frequently employed in the prepa-
 ration of a very agreeable gruel.   Were it not for this ob-
 jection, this grain is well adapted for the dyspeptic, as it
 is less constipating in its effects than several of the other
 species.  Oatmeal may, to a considerable extent, be depriv-
 ed of this injurious quality by maceration for a few  hours
 in cold water, accompanied with occasional stirring.  The
 preparation named sowens in Scotland, and flummery in
 some other parts of this country, is very similar to the  ar-
 ticle which would result from a prolonged  maceration  of
 oatmeal in water; and  when well freed  from the  lactic
 acid which is generated, greatly resembles, in its proper-
 ties,  arrow-root, sago,  and  other amylaceous  products.
 Sound and  well fermented wheaten bread, if  stale and
 slightly toasted, in general  agrees well with those who
 have weak digestive organs;  and is commonly their sta-
 ple article of diet.   But new bread is apt to excite  acidi-
 ty, and sometimes a feeling of weight in the region of the
 stomach, particularly when this process has not been com-
 pletely extinguished by the heat of the oven.   Stale bread
 possesses a certain degree of elasticity, and is easily bro-
 ken down into fragments  and disintegrated amongst wa-
 ter ;  whereas new bread does not acquire  these properties
 thoroughly  for  twenty-four hours, and when masticated
 assumes to a certain extent the consistency of dough.
   Under the primary deductions, fat or oily substances
 were  enumerated  as very indigestible.  It has  been the
 opinion of some authors, and  is  still believed  by a small
 portion of the public, that the fat of quadrupeds is light
 and easily digested.   This is contrary to the experiments
 of Dr. Beaumont, who found that pork, fat and lean, and
suet  with beef,  required between five and  six hours for
 chymification;  and few decided dyspeptics who have once 
102
INDIGESTION.
dined heartily on fat pork or beef, will have any particu-
lar desire to repeat the experiment.
   Dr. A. Combe, however, states that he has known very
fat fried bacon digest with ease at breakfast;  where even
a small potato would have disordered the stomach.   Be-
sides this, there are other facts connected with the history
of bacon, which illustrate its easy digestibility, in particu-
lar cases.  A certain species of highly spiced bacon ham
is  said to have cured many persons of dyspepsia, when cut
into very thin slices,  fried,  and taken for breakfast.   Al-
though  it may readily be admitted that there are some in-
dividuals, with weak digestive organs, who can assimilate
fat pork or  bacon without  much inconvenience: yet a
more satisfactory explanation of the  majority of the cases
alluded to, may be given, upon  the facts, that a small por-
tion  only of the article is swallowed; that it is  highly
spiced;  that  a stimulating  empyreumatic oil is generated
during  the cookery, and  that the latter, in conjunction
with the spiceries, occasions the flow of a greater quantity
of gastric juice.
  I have thus entered pretty fully into details respecting
the dietetic treatment of dyspepsia; but perhaps it may
be useful to sum these up, by an  example of  the diurnal
quantity of food that should be  usej, and the mode of its
distribution into meals ; for the test of satiety after slow
eating, inculcated by many authors, is not to be relied on.
It is by no means my intention to  assert that the following
is the best of all scales of diet for the decided dyspeptic;
for many extreme cases occur, where  nothing stronger
than farinaceous or amylaceous substances can be digest-
ed, and there are others  where*-the quantities here  enu-
merated would be too small; but it is merely intended as
a general or medium rule for those who have no precise
guide for their appetites.
   Breakfast may consist of eight  or ten ounces of moder-
ately strong tea or coffee, sweetened with a little  refined
sugar, and four or five  ounces  of bread  slightly toasted.
Dinner, in four or five hours afterwards,  according to the
exercise taken, may be  composed of six or eight ounces of 
INDIGESTION.
103
boiled fish, with  three or four ounces of bread; or four
ounces of broiled mutton or beef, tender, and  thoroughly
cooked, may be substituted for the  fish;  or what will of-
ten be found more digestible, a  slice of cold roast-beef.
A glass of sheny diluted with six or eight  %unces of wa-
ter, or a dessert-spoonlul of brandy, similarly cafacea, tea/
be used as drink;  but mare frequently pure water will be
found  the  best of all  diluents.   Tea or  coffee may be
taken  between three  and four  hours  after dinner, for
which there will be some appetite, if exercise has been
employed in  the interval; and it may consist  of six or
eight ounces of liquid, and three or four of bread.   In this
case no supper should be taken ; but if it be preferred to
tea,  arrow-root, sago, or  potato flour may be used, or
toasted bread with a little weak negus or brandy toddy.
  A summary of the whole treatment of indigestion may
be included  in the  following points, namely : attention to
the quantity and quality of the diet  and drink; regularity
cf bowels, the regular employment of cold or tepid  spon-
ging, or bathing, accompanied with a residence in a heal-
thy situation, where the air is uncontaminated, and where
exercise proportioned to the vigour of the body may be
employed.   The medicinal portion  of the  treatment, al-
though often highly useful in promoting the cure, and in
relieving many immediate  or  remote painful sensations,
may be characterised as only adjuvant or accessory; be-
ing quite inefficient without strict  attention to regimen
vad dietetic rules. 
104
                  CHAPTER XI.

ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF THE VARIOUS KINDS
                      OF FOOD.

   Aliments are derived either from the animal  or vege-
table kingdom.  According to Professor Liebig, they con-
sist, first, of nitrogenated substances, which contain nitro-
gen ; and secondly, of non-nitrogenated substances, which
do  not  contain this elementary body.  The  former, or
those which contain nitrogen, are convertible into blood,
and go to the formation of muscle and other organised
tissues;  the latter, or those which contain no nitrogen, to
support the process of respiration.  The nitrogenated ali-
ments are vegetable fibrin, v. albumen, and v. casein, ani-
mal flesh, and animal blood.   The non-nitrogenated ali-
ments are fat or oil, starch, gum, sugar, pectin (vegetable
jelly), gum, bassorine, wine, beer, and  spirits.   This au-
thor has found, that the nitrogenated constituents of vege-
table food have a composition identical with that of the
constituents of the blood.  Hence he concludes that  no
nitrogenated compound, the  composition of which differs
from that of fibrin, albumen, and  casein,  in capable of
supporting the  vital  processes in animals.   Gelatin, a  ni-
trogenated animal body, differs in composition from fibrin,
albumen, and casein, the three primary nutritive principles
of animal and vegetable substances; and on this account
it  is considered very unimportant  as a nutritive agent.
This theory  is very ingenious and  probably correct; and
enables  us to explain satisfactorily the well known fact,
that animal flesh, fish, bread, &c, support the  strength
and vital processes much better, in  similar proportions,
than rice, arrow-root,  sugar, &c.  It must be  allowed,
however, that though there appears to be an intimate con-
nection  between the  composition of the food and that of
the organised tissues, which are nourished by it,  yet, that 
     ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF VARIOUS KINDS OF FOOD. 105

this alone will not, in every case, account for the superior-
ity of one kind of aliment  to another.  Thus the flesh of
animals has a similar composition  to that of fishes; yet
the first is generally admitted to be  greatly superior in nu-
tritive power to the second.  No precise experiments, so
far as I  am  aware, have been  made to determine this
point; but from  the  general experience of mankind, it
may  be deduced, that a diet of fish  and vegetables is not
capable  of raising the system to the same  strength and
energy as a similar proportion of animal flesh and vege-
table substances; whilst a purely vegetable diet, even of
nitrogenated  aliments, is inferior to both.   Although this
view appears to be correct, there is some difficulty in  ex-
plaining it, but it may perhaps depend upon the arrange-
ment of the  particles in the  flesh of quadrupeds  being
more like that in human structures, than in fishes and ni-
trogenated vegetables.  According  to Liebig, the non-ni-
trogenated substances,  although not  directly nutritive to
the muscles and other similar organs, yet serve a very im-
portant purpose in supporting the functions of the animal
economy.  The process of respiration, in some respects,
resembles combustion in a  furnace; for thirteen or four-
teen  ounces  of carbon are frequently  consumed in the
lungs, by an  adult, every twenty-four hours; and  animal
heat  is  thus supposed to be  generated.   The carbon is
supplied from our food, and it does  not  appear necessary
that  the latter should  be nitrogenated, in as far as the pro-
cess  of respiration is concerned.   This fact, amply  corro-
borated by dietetic experience, shows that the larger pro-
portion of our food  may consist, with perfect safety, and
most likely with advantage, of substances that contain no
nitrogen.  When  the carbonaceous  food is  taken to  a
greater amount than is required to support respiration, &c,
its constituents are deposited in the cellular texture in the
form of fat;  being in many cases a storehouse of combus-
tible materials for any extraordinary demands of the ani-
mal  system.  Thus, during fevers and other acute diseases,
accompanied with increased respiration, and where very
little food is taken, the fat of the body disappears very 
106            ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF

rapidly, and, as it contains a large proportion of carbon,
it  is  well fitted to support the  process  of respiration.
Again, it is known from experience, that oily and  farina-
ceous substances, beer, wines, &c., which are rich  in car-
bonaceous principles, tend to produce obesity in man, and
to fatten the lower animals; while the milk of the mam-
miferous class, when fed  with this  aliment, furnishes a
large proportion of butter.  If active exercise be com-
bined with  this diet, the superfluous  portion is consumed
by the lungs, skin, &c.; for the carbonic acid given out
by these two  organs  is then greatly increased.   Hence,
the fattening  of the lower animals is  most successfully
conducted in  confinement; as is  usually practised with
oxen.  When the goose  is fattened as a delicacy  for the
epicure, it is placed in a coop with its legs tied; and then
its liver  becomes double or treble the natural  size, from
the deposition of fat  in its cells.  M. Boussingault, and
several other French philosophers, seem to consider sub-
stances destitute of nitrogen as of  little value in support-
ing the animal economy.   This opinion is not agreeable
to theory, and is opposed by experience; for  though it
may be granted that the food of man must contain a cer-
tain proportion of nitrogen, yet the amount of caAon and
nitrogen together ought to be considered the meaftre of
the alimentary properties of different substances;  as both
of these  elements are absolutely necessary for the support
of important  vital  functions.   It  has been already men-
tioned, that  Liebig considers gelatin as a very unimportant
agent in the process of nutrition, and he does not stand
alone in  holding  this opinion.  Its  nutritive  properties
have of late  years  occasioned much discussion  among
French chemists,  particularly regarding the gelatin ex-
tracted from bones.  Ten years ago a commission was ap-
pointed by the Institute of France, to inquire  into this sub-
ject ; but hitherto  their conclusions have  only tended  to
prove that gelatin exhibited alone is incapable of nourish-
ing  animals for any  length of time.   They  have not,
however, determined  its  alimentary power,  when mixed
with other kinds  of food.    The  observations  of  M. 
THE VARIOUS KINDS OF  FOOD.          107
D'Arcet, have  answered  this to a  certain extent.   He
shows, that in various  hospitals in France, Holland,  and
Russia, the health of the inmates has been  improved by
using soup made from  the gelatin and fat of bones, along
with other alimentary substances.  Indeed, the old exper-
iments of Dr. Stark, the modern researches of M. Majen-
die, and  the results above mentioned, all tend to prove,
that alimentary principles exhibited alone, such as gelatin,
albumen, sugar, and oil, with the exception of the gluten
of wheat-flour, are not capable of nourishing animals for
any length of time.  Dr. Prout very  justly considers milk,
which is a natural product, as the prototype or model of
m alimentary compound;  as every kind of milk contains
sugar, oil, and  albumen.   The  food generally employed
in Great Britain, and in several other countries, has more
or less resemblance to  this in its composition, as it consists
of farinaceous substances,  sugar, butter, vegetables, ani-
mal flesh, fish,  &c.   It may therefore  be inferred  with
probability, that this kind of aliment is most conducive to
health and vigour of body; but it is  also well known that
considerable deviations from it may be practised with im-
punity. 
*/t 
LIFE AND MINISTRY
                               OF
         BEV. JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.
  The price  of  the  work  is as follows :—In plain binding, $1,25 ;
Bplendid fancy bindings  from  $1,50 to $2,00.   Sent by mail, in pa-
per covers, to any part of the country, for $1,00.
  Agents wanted to circulate the above work, to whom a liberal dis-
count will be  made.
                      J. K. WELLMAN, Publisher,
                                   16 Spruce Street, New  York,
  N. B. We give below the opinions of the press:

  We are glad to see  this work again.  It has often been inquired
for, and as often read with  avidity and delight.  No youthful evange-
list ever enjoyed a more enviable popularity than John Summerfield;
and it may still be said  of him  as was said in his native land: " If he
be not a star of the first  magnitude, he is at least one of the first
brilliancy.'"   Nor are  we in  the least displeased that this is not a
" new life of Summerfield."   Mr.  Holland has done all that a bio-
grapher  under his circumstances could do;  and the fact that  the
" Memoirs"  ran through Jive  editions within  two years of  their first
publication, is no mean proof  of the merits of the work.—Christian
Advocate and Journal, New York.

   The subject of  this biography is  fervently remembered by the se-
niors of  this  generation as a burning and a shining light in their earlier
years.   His  eloquence in the pulpit was paralleled and enforced by hia
daily walk and conversation ; it was eagerly listened to and heeded,
and is still treasured in thousands of hearts  and its fruits  evinced in
thousands of lives;  it was energetic, unostentatious, impressive; it
 was the distillation of heavenly purity#fpd  Christian love.  Deeply
 attached to  his own  communion (the  Methodist), Mr.  Summerfield
 won the esteem and admiration  of men of all churches and  the enmity
 of none ; no one  regarded him as a  minister of a rival church, but all
 as a Christian  and a  brother.   We are  not  surprised, but gratified,
 to see the biography of such a man reach its sixth edition.   It cannot
 be read  without profit by any.—New York Tribune.

   This volume is accompanied with a portrait oi the gentle andekx 
4
^tient Summerfield, which is of itself a recommendation.  A sweetei
and more attractive countenance is seldom looked Upon.  The Memoir
was composed by the poet Holland, of  Sheffield, who was the friend
of  Montgomery, and possessed  much  of  his  excellent spirit.   It
exhibits great taste, and affectionate reverence for the talents  and piety
of the subject, who was in many respects one of the most remarkable
men of modern times.   The present edition has been enlarged  one
hundred p%ges^ by the publication of a  number of Summerfield's  let-
ters, and the reminiscences of  his oratory, manners, and  piety, by
several eminent men  of  this country and England.  The letters  dis-
play the peculiarly amiable traits  of  Summerfield's character in  a
delightful manner; and as specimens of letter-writing possess uncom-
mon excellence.
  The work  is very neatly printed in large type, on fine paper,  and
makes an attractive  and highly useful volume.—iVgtt>  York Evan'
getist.

  There is an odor of sanctity, a hallowed, sweet remembrance, con-
nected with the name of Summerfikld, which makes it ever delightful
to recall his  name.  " Whom the gods  love die young,"  though  a
heathen maxim, was beautifully illustrated in the death  of  this pure
spirit.   It is almost twenty years since his earthly career was termi-
nated—a career how  brief—how  brilliant!  Yet  it seems but  as yes-
terday since  his persuasive voice was falling upon our  ears  like
music—sounding even now like the rich melody of a bright vision.
It was our pleasure to read the  interesting Memoir of Mr.  Holland
in manuscript, before  the original  publication ; but we were not aware,
until the receipt of the  present volume, that it had gone to a sixth
edition.   This has been rendered  more valuable by the addition of
copious selections  from the literary remains of  the  gifted subject.-
Commercial Advertiser.

   The Life of Summerfield by Holland, with an introductory letter by
James Montgomery,  has reached its sixth edition.   The  name of  thia
young man is familiarly dear to thousands and tens of  thousands, and
the sweetness of his seraphic spirit lingers in the memory of many as
the recollection of  a  visit from a dweller in a better land.  Not like a
comet, but like the morning star, he shone for a brief  season above
the horizon,  then melted away " into the brighter light of heaven,"
and left behind him a memory fragrant and precious    This  volume is
embellished with a striking portrait.—New York ObvrrveK 
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Uh'tii
11