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446 
Croup, and its Cure. 
This disease is with good reason dreaded by most 
mothers, for comparatively few families of children 
grow up without its manifestation among them in 
at least a light form, and no one knows that it will 
not speedily assume a dangerous stage. “ Nellie 
Burns ” writes to the American Agriculturist: In pro¬ 
viding for winter, the family medicine chest should 
have due attention. Much serious illness, and some¬ 
times that which would be fatal, may be prevented 
by having some simple remedy immediately at hand. 
Especially Is this the case with croup, a dangerous 
disease, with which a child may be suddenly at¬ 
tacked at night—perhaps when 
a physician cannot be easily 
procured. This quickly work¬ 
ing disease can usually be 
speedily subdued by immediate 
application of proper remedies, 
while by a little delay it may 
get beyond the reach of human 
help,or at least be more difficult 
to cure than if checked at once. 
After years of experience 
with crouping children, I find 
the following treatment most 
effective. Always keep a bot¬ 
tle of sweet oil, and either 
plenty of “ hive syrup ” or tar¬ 
tar emetic, in powders suited 
to the age of the child. At the 
first croupy cough, which is an 
unmistakable sound, wrap the 
child in a warm woolen blanket, 
and hold it with Its feet to the 
fire, to induce perspiration as 
quickly as possible. Also give 
at once “hive syrup” or the 
tartar emetic powder. If the 
latter, mix It with a little warm 
water and sugar. Also rub the 
throat, chest,'and soles of the 
feet with sweet oil, and satu¬ 
rate a piece of flannel with the 
oil, heat it as hot as can be 
borne, and wrap it around the 
neck. The child will have little 
relief until it vomits, when it 
will fall into a restless sleep. 
Keep it in a warm room during 
the night, occasionally reheat¬ 
ing the flannel on the neck. 
Croup rarely spends itself in 
one night, but is apt to return 
a second and third night, often 
growing more severe with each 
return. So it is highly Impor¬ 
tant to have the child well 
protected and kept in a warm 
atmosphere during the day. 
Mix together a cupful of 
molasses, a quarter of a cupful of butter, and suf¬ 
ficient cayenne pepper to give it a sharp taste. Let 
the mixture boll several minutes. Give the child 
a teaspoonful every hour until it is relieved. 
The dry method of inducing perspiration in 
croup is safer than to immerse the child in water, 
as there is danger of taking fresh cold while un¬ 
dressed, and in being removed from the bath ; and 
further, a suffering child will not submit to being 
placed in water without crying, which will produce 
choking and coughing, much to its discomfort. 
[A mother who has had much successful experi¬ 
ence in treating croup among her own children and 
others, tells us she keeps syrup of ipecac, sweet oil, 
paregoric,and camphorated oil (or volatile liniment) 
m the house. At the first croupy sound the child is 
wrapped very warmly, and its feet heated in mustard 
water as warm as it can be borne. At the same time 
she begins giving syrup of ipecac in small doses, 
from fifteen to thirty drops, according to the age, 
repeating it every half hour until free vomiting is 
secured. The nock and chest are bathed in cam¬ 
phorated oil, and kept warm with cotton batting or 
several layers of soft flannel. After vomiting, and 
sleep if it occurs, a teaspoonful of a cough mixture 
(less to an infant) is given every three or four-hours, 
until all croupy symptoms disappear. This cough 
mixture, which is excellent for any cough, is simply 
a mixture of equal parts of sweet oil, paregoric, and 
syrup of ipecac, and should be kept on hand.—E d.] 
Salads are Good. 
We advocate the use of salads because they are 
good. They introduce a pleasant variety in the 
food. In warm weather they are more acceptable 
than heavy meats, and may be made sufliciently 
piquante to aid the sluggish digestion, while at all 
other seasons they are welcome by their freshness 
and flavor. But the oil! there is a very common 
aversion to oil, especially among those who have 
not been accustomed to its use. It is often assert¬ 
ed, that a good salad cannot be made unless olive 
oil is freely used in dressing it. If people do not 
like oil, or think they do not, let them make their 
salad without it. Only the very best oil should be 
used, and that is expensive. Just as good a salad 
dressing can be made by snbstiluting cream or 
butter for oil, according to the kind of salad. The 
butter should be of the best kind, and not heavily 
salted ; in any recipe for salad-dressing, substitute 
melted butter in the same quantity as directed for 
oil. The butter should be melted very gently, and 
only sufficiently heated to liquify it. If, in mixing 
the other ingredients with the butter, that solidi¬ 
fies too soon, set the dish in a pan of warm water, 
until the mixture is complete and the dressing as¬ 
sumes a rich creamy consistence, and is perfectly 
smooth. In making a salad-dressing, considerable 
variety may be introduced in the flavoring. The 
main ingredients are oil (or some substitute), vine¬ 
gar and flavoring ; besides these, the yolks of hard- 
boiled eggs, rubbed up tine, are added to give sub¬ 
stance and smoothness to the mixture. The fol¬ 
lowing will give a good dressing : The yolk of a 
hard-boiled egg is broken up in a dish with a 
wooden spoon, adding salt and pepper, and a little 
cream to moisten the egg; when this is reduced to 
a smooth paste, add gradually two tablespoonfuls 
of cream, or melted butter, one teaspoonful of 
vinegar, and about half a teaspoonful of made 
mustard. The ingredients 
should be added slowly, and 
stirred thoroughly. This dress¬ 
ing will answer for many vege¬ 
table salads, as well as those 
consisting in part of meat or 
fish. It can, of course, be va¬ 
ried in its seasoning accord¬ 
ing to the taste of the maker. 
Vegetables Suitable fob 
Salads. —Among the vegeta¬ 
bles that can only be used in 
warm weather, unless they are 
forced under glass, are: let¬ 
tuce, water-cresses, radishes, 
endive, dandelion, (both of 
these blanched), chives, cu¬ 
cumbers, and tomatoes. Win¬ 
ter vegetables to be used raw 
are celery, cabbages, and 
onions. The vegetables which 
must first be cooked tender are 
beets, cauliflower, asparagus, 
potatoes, string or snap beans, 
and celeriac or turnip-rooted 
celery. Two or more vegeta¬ 
bles may be mixed if desired. 
For vegetables to use as the 
basis of meat and fish salads, 
celery and cabbage are best 
when lettuce is out of season. 
Eor flavoring vegetables, chives, 
onions or shallots, tarragon 
and parsley are the principal. 
Parsley may be had fresh all 
winter, by setting some roots 
before the ground freezes in a 
box of soil, which is to be kept 
in the sunny kitchen window. 
Potato Salad. — A potato 
salad, a favorite with many, is 
made by slicing cold boiled 
potatoes very thin, sprinkling 
finely cut chives (or onion), 
and parsley among the slices, 
using salt and pepper, and ad¬ 
ding oil and vinegar enough to 
thoroughly moisten the pota¬ 
toes. Where the oil is objected to, it may be 
omitted, as it is very good without. We have 
not tried any substitute for oil in potato salad. 
By a proper admixture of vegetables, various 
kinds of meat and fish salads may be compound¬ 
ed. Chicken salad is to the majority known only 
by name, and looked upon as a dish for those who 
do not count the cost in furnishing their tables. 
Not only will chicken, turkey, or other fowl or 
bird afford the basis for a delicious salad, but the 
scraps of meat of most kinds, beef, mutton, etc., 
may be economically used to make a meat salad, 
which, if once tried, will be quite sure to be re¬ 
peated, and from materials that too often goto 
the pigs. The families of farmers are often obliged 
to live largely upon salted meats, sometimes to the 
injury of their health. It is well known that vege¬ 
tables, especially when eaten raw, tend to correct 
the unfavorable effects of salt meats, and prevent 
the tendency to a form of scurvy w'hich such a diet 
often causes. Salads add a welcome variety to the 
usual winter fare and Improve the general health. 
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