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HERBAL CURES

Methods and preparations

Bruises-

Witch Hazel Extract:

Soak 1 oz. witch hazel leaves and twigs combined in 2 cups of
alcohol. Shake
daily. Strain. Use full strength on bruises. (You can dilute with
water and use
as a mouthwash also.)

Yerba Santa Poultice:

Good for severe bruises and swelling too. Mash the leaves of a Yerba
Santa,
then soak them in water, and apply while still hot to the bruise.
Cover the
leaves with a CLEAN cloth.

Burns-

Mari-Gilly Water for Burns and Sunburns:

An Actual Case History from the Author:

"One day while lighting the oven the book of matches took fire in my
hand and
stuck there. After shaking it off, I dug into my herbal closet. I was
looking
for a remedy I had made a month before. Amateurishly I had preserved
it beneath
a layer of oil, and it was colorful with mold. I filtered it out and
plunged the
badly burned hand in the liquid. Within two minutes the pain was
gone. In 20
minutes the hand was wrapped in cloth and no longer painful. There
were no
blisters of any kind, but within three days a black, horny layer
appeared where
the blisters might have been. Very ugly. In another week, this peeled
off, and
once again the hand was smooth,
pink, soft, and completely unscarred."

The recipe for the miracle is:

Simmer one handful of balm of Gilead buds and one handful of marigold
flowers in
an enamel or glass pot with water to cover. Do not boil. After 15
minutes remove
from heat, strain and pour liquid into a clean and sterile jar. Add a
layer of
olive oil to cover. Do not let the oil and liquid mix. It will keep
for a few
months. To use: Hold breath (as liquid does NOT smell good) and pour
through
filter paper or paper towel. Use directly on burns, sunburns, and
other similar
problems.

Marshmallow-Comfrey Oil:

Simmer 1 handful of crushed marshmallow root and 1 handful of Comfrey
root in 1
cup of white wine in an enamel pot. Cover. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Strain. When
cool apply to burns and sunburns.

Warts-

Note: All these cures will work for pimples, zits, and corns too.

Stolen Apple Cure:

Get an apple. Cut this apple into as many pieces as you have warts.
Rub one
peace onto 1 wart, and repeat with all warts. Wrap up the apple bits
in a piece
of cloth, then bury the whole thing. When the apple bits have rotted,
the warts
will be gone.

Dandelion Juice:

Gather together, many dandelions, this includes stems, heads and
leaves. Squeeze
them. Apply their milky fluid to the wart or corn.

Oil of Thuja:

Apply this oil to a wart. An infusion used as a wash on the warts
will work too.
(Note: Thuja is also called White Cedar)

Marigold Juice for Warts:

Take a fresh marigold, squeeze out the juice and apply it directly to
a wart.
Let the juice dry. Make applications until the warts fall off.

Milkweed Juice:

Take some fresh milkweed, squeeze it, and apply this milk to the
warts. The
indians say that it will entirely cure warts with just a very few
applications.

Bronchitis-

If you use tobacco products, try this instead. Try chewing a
combination of
gentian root and chamomile flowers every time you feel the need to
smoke, then
try these tea recipes.

Manzanita Cider:

Crush a handful of manzanita berries and bruise a handful of the
leaves, and
pour over 2 cups of boiling water. When settled, strain off the
liquid and use
throughout the day as a drink.

Horehound Tea:

Take 1 oz. of the green herb, 1 oz. of honey, and 1 pint of boiling
water.
Cover, and set aside until cold. Drink 4 oz. at a time for a cough.

Other Herbal Teas:

Try a combination of coltsfoot, mugwort, and culeb, with lemon and
honey.

Try a snuff of golden seal; small pinch of the golden yellow powder
snuffed into
each nostril is sometimes very efficacious in the treatment of
bronchitis. If
your respiratory passages are particularly painful, slippery elm tea
is an
excellent demucelent.

Sinus Infections-

Golden Seal Snuff:

Take powdered golden seal and snuff a bit into each nostril whenever
needed.

Herbal Inhaler:

In a small bottle add 10 drops of each of the following oils. Carry
it around
with you and sniff the scent of these fine aromatics whenever you
wish to clear
your nasal passages.

Eucalyptus, Lavender, Rosemary, Bay Leaf, and Cloves -or- Peppermint

Sore Throats-

Dirty Sock Cure:

During the winter, when you get a sore throat, wrap your dirty wool
sock around
your throat every night and the soreness will soon disappear.

Sage Tea:

Take equal parts of sage, rosemary, honeysuckle, and plantain. Boil
these herbs
in sufficient water to cover. Add a small tablespoonful of honey to
each pint of
liquid and use as required.

Yerba Mansa Root:

This root, chewed slowly, will ease the pain of sore throats.

Colds & Coughs-

Teas for Colds and Coughs:

Teas for Colds and Coughs:

To help eliminate mucus in the respiratory passage, mix together
equal parts of
the following ingredients:

comfrey root

hyssop

balm of gilead

chamomile or coltsfoot

elecampane or wintergreen leaf*

For either tea steep 1 heaping teaspoon of the herbs in 1 cup of
boiling water.
Cover the pot and steep for 10-20 minutes. Strain. Drink this tea as
often as
you like. You can add lemon and honey.

(*: Potentially dangerous. Can cause irritation, allergic reaction,
gastric
distress or other discomfort.)

Tea for Coughs:

Mix together equal parts of pennyroyal, licorice, and horehound and
make a tea
by steeping 1 heaping teaspoon per cup of boiling water for 10-20
minutes.
Strain. Drink with lemon and honey as often as you like.

Tea for Colds in the Chest:

Mix together equal quantities of birch leaf, horehound, and licorice.
Steep 1
heaping teaspoon of herbs per cup of boiling water for 10-20 minutes.
Strain.
Drink with lemon and honey as often as you like.

Sleep Tea for Colds:

Mix together equal quantities of dandelion root, chamomile, and
valerian. Steep
1 heaping teaspoon of herbs per cup of boiling water for 10-20
minutes. Strain.
Drink with lemon and honey to relax you and help you sleep when you
have a bad
cold.

Tooth Aches-

Garlic:

Put a piece of a garlic clove inside the cavity. It kills the pain
and seems to
slow up the infection process. At night place a peeled garlic between
your teeth
and your cheek. This is also good to keep a cold from becoming
severe. (Make
sure you wash out your mouth in the morning though!)
Marshmallow Root Poultice:

If you have an abscessed tooth and a swollen jaw, place pieces of
dried
marshmallow root between the tooth and cheek. Renew the poultices in
the morning
and night. This greatly reduces the inflammation and keeps the pain
in check.

Bad Backs-

Chamomile Oil:

This is an old Egyptian formula. Take flowers of chamomile and beat
them up with
pure olive oil. Leave to stand until the virtues of the flowers have
been
extracted. Then with the oil rub over the whole body, especially the
back. Go to
bed, cover up. Good for over-strained muscles, cramps, strains and
stitches.

Super Massage Cream:

1 oz. of coconut oil

1 oz. of turtle oil

1 dropper sweet clover oil

Mix all the ingredients together. This is an excellent cream, useful
for all
sore and aching muscles. According to the therapist the author
consulted, this
cream is superior to anything supplied by the hospital.

Lavender Oil:

Mix 1 part oil of lavender with 3 parts olive oil, or 1 part oil of
lavender
with 1 part coconut oil, and use to massage the muscles of the lower
back. Use
sparingly.

Aching Joints-

Parsley Tea to Stimulate the Kidneys:

Take a handful of fresh parsley and pour over it 2 cups of boiling
water. Steep
until cold then strain. Drink 1 cup of this tea before every meal and
before
going to bed.

Indian Tea:

The indians drink a tea of rose petals, peppermint, lemon peel, and
liden leaves
for arthritis.

Rheumatism Tea:

An excellent tea to take daily for the treatment of rheumatism and
arthritis is
a mixture of cascara sagrada, poke root, cimicfuga, uva ursi leaves,
chamomile
and sassafras. Take 1 T. of this mixture and pour it over 2 cups of
boiling
water. Let it steep for about 10 minutes and strain. Make it fresh in
the
evening and drink 1 cup, with lemon and honey if you like. Drink the
other cup,
cold, in the morning.

Bites-

Insect Bite Ointment:

Beat some frankincense to a powder and mix it with oil of bay. Use it
to anoint
the body to ease the itch of insect bites. For the sting, a little
oil of
cajeput offers relief.

Dog Bites:

Four oz. rue, 4 oz. treacle, 4 oz. garlic, 4 large spoonfuls of
scraped pewter.
Boil all of the ingredients with a bottle of strong ale. (Beer will
do.) Strain.
Apply the sediment to the wound and drink the clear liquid 9
spoonfuls every day
for 9 days. - a seventeenth-century recipe.

Athlete's Foot-

Soap & Powder:

Mix together 1 oz. powdered gum, benzoin with 4 oz. starch. When
washing your
feet, use soap bark, a useful detergent, especially good for
athlete's foot.

Apple Cider Vinegar Bath:

Steep 1 oz. sage and agronomy in 2 cups of hot apple cider vinegar
for 15
minutes. Keep it covered. When cool enough put your feet in and soak
for as long
as you can. Repeat two or three times a day.

Hair-

Olive Hair Oil:

To 4 oz. olive oil, add 1 t. oil of rosemary, and 5 drops oil of
lemon grass.
Rub a tiny bit into the hair each night. This is version of an old
time recipe
that helps hair grow.

Yucca Root Shampoo:

Boil 4 oz. yucca root or soap bark in 2 cups of fresh water until it
is reduced
to 1 cup. Strain and cool. If not sudsy enough for you, add castille
shampoo.
Brunettes can substitute rosemary water, and blondes chamomile water,
for the 2
cups of liquid-both cleanses and deodorized the scalp.

To thicken the hair, and to keep it from falling out:

Put 4 lbs. pure organic honey into a still with 4-6 oz grapevine
tendrils and 2-
4 oz. tender rosemary tops. Distill as cool and as slowly as
possible. Allow the
liquid to drop until it begins to taste sour. Rub this into the hair
roots
daily.

Sage Tea:

Drink sage tea daily and rub the infusion onto the roots of your hair
to retain
its rich, dark color.

TABLE OF HERBS THAT REPEL ANIMALS AND INSECTS

REPELLENTS

FLIES: Clover flower, oil of sassafras, mixture of clove, bay, and
eucalyptus

INSECTS: Oil of mint, feverfew, oil of citronella, pennyroyal, and
oil of
pennyroyal

MICE: peppermint pennyroyal

BODY LICE: oil of bergamot, oil of pennyroyal

FLEAS: rue, chamomile, savory, and pennyroyal

CATS: rue, lavender, and ginger

DOGS: Ginger



See the herb dictionary