Botanic Cough Sirup.
This book is not a medical treatise, yet I can not resist the temptation to add the following receipt, given me by Mrs. H——, of Buffalo. Many cases of long and aggravated cough have been entirely cured by its use. If the patient has a tendency to vertigo, the bloodroot may be omitted from the receipt; but for pale persons of weak vitality it will be found a valuable addition.
Ingredients: Elecampane, one ounce; spikenard, one ounce; cumfrey root, one ounce; bloodroot, one ounce; hoarhound tops, one ounce.
Add two quarts of water to these herbs, and steep them five hours in a porcelain or new tin vessel; add more boiling water, as it boils away, to keep the vessel as full as at first. At the end of this time, strain the liquid, add one pound of loaf-sugar, and boil it until it is reduced to one quart.
Dose.—A dessert-spoonful before each meal and before retiring. It should be kept in a cool place; or a little spirits may be added to prevent its spoiling.
ARRANGEMENT OF DISHES FOR INVALIDS.