[Some of the recent notes ranged outside the strict definition of Germanna Colonies topics; however, they seem to have elicited their share of interest. Coupled with my extreme time pressures just now, I will continue with another of this same ilk.]
As education became more universal, general books became more popular. As the 1800's turned into the 1900's, cook books were extremely popular, and some of these covered more than cooking. One of the sections which one book included was a farmer's department, which in turn had a note on how to build roads. The justification was that farmers needed better roads, and this cook book told them how to do.
The particular book I am quoting from is " Mrs. Owen's Cook Book and Useful Household Hints ". Let's look at some of the useful hints:
To remove warts, apply oil of cinnamon to the wart for three successive days, and it will disappear very shortly, and
To cure warts, get from a homoeopathic pharmacy a small vial of causticum. Give half a dozen pellets three times a day for three weeks and the warts will disappear. (The editor of the book added a note that he would not have included this recommendation except that he tried it on one of his kids and it affected a cure in less than a month.)
To remove moles, apply nitric acid with a pointed quill toothpick. When it dries, pick it off, and apply again until the mole is entirely removed. It leaves a slight white spot which grows dimmer with age.
Olive oil applied to bee stings, or to ivy poison, will bring instant relief.
To cure baldness, take one pound of hemlock bark. Break in pieces and put into a 3-quart tin pail. Pour it 2 quarts boiling soft water, and simmer slowly. When reduced to 3 pints set it aside to cool and pour off the clear liquid for use. Wet the whole scalp thoroughly four or five times a day, rubbing gently with the fingertips. When the scalp gets healthier and stronger, use more friction. One package will generally be all that is required to tone up the scalp. It will not only prevent the hair from falling out, but will bring a new growth of hair if there are any hair bulbs at all.
To cure sleeplessness, take a half pound of fresh hops and put into a small pillow case and use for a pillow. In one case, it caused a man to sleep for six or eight months [that is what the book said]. If necessary to use hops on a sick person, make two bags and fill them with hops and heat over a steamer. Keep one bag heating while applying the other one.
To stop a tooth cavity from bleeding, fill the cavity with Plaster of Paris made into a soft putty.
Good soft soap may be made by mixing 10 pounds of potash (ashes from the stove may be used) in ten gallons warm soft water over night. In the morning boil it, adding 6 pounds of grease. Put all into a barrel and add 15 gallons of soft water. [This is approximately how we made soap down on the farm, but we used lye also.]
I disclaim any responsibility for any harm which may befall a person who tries these remedies.
(05 Dec 01)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.