RULES FOR GATHERING AND PRESERVING HERBS, &c. 



43 



a gallon of spirit, and a gallon of water, distilling off five 

 pints : and to make the spirit of Lavender, or palsy drops, mix 

 three pints of Lavender-water, and one pint of Hungary-wa- 

 ter, and add to this half an ounce of Cinnamon, the same quan- 

 tity of Nutmegs, and three drachms of red Saunders-wood ; 

 these are to stand together till the spirit is well coloured. 



This is all the family practitioner will need with distill- 

 ing : a short account, but sufficient. 



As for Tinctures, which are a great article with the apo- 

 thecary and chemist, making a great show, and really very 

 useful j I would have several of them kept, and they are as 

 easily made as the waters, nay, more easily. Molasses 

 spirit is all that is necessary for this purpose. 



It would be well to keep tinctures of all roots and barks 

 which are recommended to be dried in the course of this work, 

 for a tincture will contain more or less of the virtue of every 

 one of these, and be often convenient, where the powder or 

 decoction could not be given. It is needless to enumerate 

 these, and one rule of making serves for them all : two ounces 

 of the ingredient is to be cut into thin slices, or bruised in a 

 mortar, and put into a quart of spirit ; it is to stand a fort- 

 night in a place a. little warm, and be often shook : at 

 the end of this time, it is to be taken out, strained off, and 

 made to pass through a funnel, lined with whitish brown 

 paper, and put up with the name of the ingredient. 



To these tinctures of roots, barks, and seeds, it would be 

 well to add a few made of foreign ingredients. As, 



1. The bitter tincture for 'the stomach, is made of two 

 ounces of Gentian, an ounce of dried Orange peel, and half 

 an ounce of Cardamom seeds, and a quart of spirit : or it 

 may be made in white wine, allowing two quarts. 



2. Tincture of Castor, good in hysteric complaints ; and 

 made with two ounces of Castor, and a quart of spirit. 



3. Tincture of Bark, which will cure those who will not 

 take the powder ; made of four ounces of bark, and a quart 

 of spirit. 



4. Tincture of Soot, for fits ; made with two ounces of 

 wood-soot, one ounce of assafoetida, and a quart of spirit. 



5. Tincture of Steel, for the stoppage of the menses j made 

 of flowers of iron four ounces, and spirit a quart. 



6. Tincture of Myrrh, good for curing the scurvy in the 

 gums ; made of three ounces of Myrrh, and a quart of spirit. 



7. Tincture of Rhubarb ; made of two ounces of Rhu- 

 barb, half an ounce of Cardamom seeds, and a quarter of an 

 ounce of Saffron, with a quart of spirit. 



8. Elixir Salutis ; made of a pound of stoned Raisins, a 

 pound of Senna, an ounce and a half of Carraway seeds, and 

 half an ounce of cardamoms, in a gallon of spirit. 



9. Elixir of Vitriol ; made of six drachms of Cinnamon, 

 three drachms of Cardamoms, two drachms of long pepper, 

 and the same of ginger ; and a quart of spirit : to a pint of 

 this tincture strained clear off, is to be added four ounces of 

 oil of vitriol : this is an excellent stomachic. 



Lastly, to these it may be well to add the famous Friar's 

 Balsam, which is made of three ounces of Benjamin, two 

 ounces of strained Storax, one ounce of Balsam of Tolu, half 

 an ounce of aloes, and a quart of spirit of wine, such as is 

 burnt under lamps. This spirit may be made by putting a 

 gallon of molasses spirit into the still, and drawing off two 

 quarts, and this will be useful for spirit of wine and cam- 

 phire, which is made by dissolving an ounce of camphire in a 

 quart of the spirit. And what is called the Asthmatic Elixir, 

 made with the flower of Benjamin and Opium, of each a 

 drachm, Camphire two scruples, oil of Aniseed forty drops, 

 Liquorice root half an ounce, honey one ounce, and a quart 



of spirit. This is a gentle opiate, and is much better in 

 families than the strong laudanum. 



As to the tinctures made with white wine instead of spirit, 

 a few are sufficient. Steel wine is made of a quarter of a 

 pound of filings of Iron, and half an ounce of Mace, and the 

 same quantity of Cinnamon, put into two quarts of Rhenish. 

 Hiera Picra is made of half a pound of Aloes, two ounces of 

 Winter's bark, and five quarts of white wine. The first is 

 a restorative cordial and strengthener : the latter is suffici- 

 ently knownas a purge. Laudanum is made of two ouncesof 

 Opium, a drachm of Cloves, and a drachm of Cinnamon, and 

 a pint of wine. Viper wine is made of two ounces of dried 

 vipers, and two quarts of white wine : and the tincture of 

 Ipecacuanha for a vomit, of two ounces of that root, half an 

 ounce of dry Orange peel, and a quart of sack. Lastly, what 

 is called Elixir Proprietatis, is made of Aloes, Myrrh, and 

 Saffron, of each an ounce, Sal Ammoniac six drachms, and 

 Salt of Tartar eight ounces, in a quart of mountain wine. 



These are all the tinctures and wines that need be kept 

 in a family, whose charity is designed to be very extensive ; 

 the expense of the whole is a trifle not worth naming, and 

 the trouble scarce any thing. Books are full of directions in 

 particular for every tincture, as if every one were to be made 

 a different way ; but the best method is to give a good deal 

 of time, and frequently shaking, and that will stand in the 

 place of heat in most things of this kind : nevertheless, they 

 should stand in a room where a fire is kept while they are 

 making ; and those which require heat, that is, those that 

 take a colour most slowly, are to be placed nearest to it. 



Easy as these are, they are by far the most difficult part of 

 the task, the rest is at it were nothing. Conserves, syrups, 

 and ointments will be wanting ; but in the same manner one 

 direction will serve for the making the whole assortment ot 

 each, and the ingredients will be at hand. As to plasters in 

 general, they do more harm than good. Surgeons at this 

 time make very little use of them ; and in the course of 

 this work, many herbs will be named, the bruised leaves of 

 which are better than all the plasters in the world. 



Conserves should be made of Rue, Mint, Scurvy Grass, 

 Wood Sorrel, and Roman Wormwood. As to the four first, 

 the leaves are to be picked off from the stalks, and beaten 

 up with three times the weight of sugar. The tops of the 

 young shoots of the latter are to be cut off, and they are to 

 be beat up in the same manner. In the course of this work, 

 many plants will be named, the green tops of which contain 

 their virtue, these may all be made into conserves in the 

 same manner, or as many of them added to those here 

 named as shall be thought proper. 



Conserves of the flowers of Rosemary, Mallows, Archangel, 

 and Lavender, are to be made also in the same manner, and of 

 Red-rose buds. These last are to be picked from the husk, 

 and the white heels are to be cut of. They are all to be beat 

 up with three times their weight of sugar ; and in the same 

 manner may be made conserves of Cowslip flowers, and of 

 those of many other plants mentioned in the following pages. 



The outer rind of Seville Oranges and Lemons, are also to 

 be made into conserves in the same manner, beating them first 

 to a pulp, and then adding the sugar ; and to these must be 

 added the conserve of Hips and Sloes, which are to be made in 

 a particular manner. The Hips are to be gathered when fully 

 ripe, afterwards set by in a cellar till they grow very soft ; 

 then they are to be laid upon the back of a large hair sieve, 

 a dish being put underneath ; they are to be broke with the 

 hand or a wooden pestle, and rubbed about till all the soft 

 matter is forced through the hair-cloth., the seeds and skins 



