304  Utilisation  of  Our  Own  Resources.  {Am'JJ^yT'i^5Tm' 
supplied  the  surgeon  in  camp  with  easily  procurable  medicinal  plants, 
which  proved  sufficient  in  many  times  of  need. 
The  bark  of  the  swamp  willow  was  mixed  with  tobacco  for  smok- 
ing. Watermelon  juice  was  made  into  a  syrup  and  the  rind  into 
preserves.  The  seed  of  the  watermelon  and  those  of  the  gourd 
were  used  as  a  diuretic.  Gourd  rind  was  used  as  mould  for  buttons. 
The  ladies  of  St.  John's  Parish,  South  Carolina,  used  prickly  pear 
for  hardening  tallow  in  candle-making,  one  pound  to  four  pounds 
of  tallow,  taking  the  place  of  wax.  The  hand-leaved  violet  formed  an 
emollient  application.    Red  maple  made  an  astringent  wash. 
In  Process  of  Dyeing. 
In  the  process  of  dyeing  it  was  found  that  maple  and  sweetgum 
barks,  with  copperas,  made  purple ;  maple,  red  oak,  and  copperas, 
dove  color;  maple  and  walnut,  brown ;  sweetgum  and  copperas,  nearly 
black ;  peach-tree  leaves  and  alum  gave  yellow ;  the  artichoke  and 
black  oak  bark  also  gave  yellow ;  sassafras  root  with  copperas,  a  drab  ; 
smooth  sumac  root  and  bark  and  berries  gave  black ;  black  oak  bark 
with  a  basis  of  alum  gave  a  bright  yellow ;  with  oxide  of  tin,  tints 
from  pale  yellow  to  bright  orange;  with  oxide  of  iron,  a  drab;  black 
oak  galls  in  a  solution  of  vitriol  made  purple,  which,  as  it  grows 
stronger,  passed  into  a  black ;  alum  and  alder,  yellow ;  hickory  bark 
and  copperas,  olive;  hickory  bark  and  alum,  green;  white  oak  and 
alum,  brown;  walnut-root  and  leaves,  alone,  black;  blacksmith's 
dust  was  frequently  used  in  place  of  copperas. 
Buckeye  lotion  was  used  for  gangrenous  ulcers,  and  by  some 
for  the  toothache. 
Among  the  substitutes  for  coffee,  at  home  and  in  camp,  the 
following  were  a  part :  Rye,  parched  okra  seeds,  cotton  seed,  parched 
sweet  potatoes,  parched  corn  hominy,  peanuts. 
Cotton-seed  decoction  was  used  for  inflammation  in  mucous 
passages.  The  roots  of  the  cotton  plant  were  employed  in  asthma, 
and  by  the  negroes  as  an  abortant.  Soap  was  made  from  cotton  seed 
by  treating  them  direct  with  lye. 
Among  the  substitutes  for  tea  were  Ceanothns  americanus,  known 
as  red  root,  or  New  Jersey  tea,  and  holly  leaves  and  blackberry 
and  raspberry  leaves  and  rose  leaves. 
The  Amelia  Azedamch  (Chinaberry)  furnished  some  valuable 
uses.  The  ripe  berries  were  employed  in  making  whiskey ;  the  bark  of 
