Stránka:book 1912.djvu/344

312 The Book cl Woodcraft Another woodland remedy is the syrup made by boiling down the sap of the sweet birch tree. Cough and irritated throat: Mix a spoonful of sugar with two of butter, and eat it slowly. This usually stops a hacking cough that would keep the patient from sleep. Cough and lung remedy: A pound of inner bark of black cherry, soaked twenty-four hours in a gallon of water and boiled down to one pint, makes a famous cough remedy and lung balm. A tablespoonful three or four times a day. Diuretic: A decoction of the inner bark of elder is a powerful diuretic. Face-ache: Heat some sand in the frying-pan, pour it into a Hght bag and hold it against the place. The sand should be as hot as can be borne. This treatment is good for most aches and pains. Inflammation of the eyes or skin: Relieved by washing with strong tea of the bark of witch hazel. Ink: The berries and leaves of red or staghorn sumac boiled together in water make a permanent black ink. Lung halm: Infusion of black cherry bark, root pre- ferred, is a powerful tonic for lungs and bowels. Good also as a skin wash for sores. When half wilted, the leaves are poisonous to cattle. Nose-bleed: A snuff made of the dried leaves of witch hazel stops nose-bleed at once, or any bleeding. Nose stopped up at night: Wet the nose outside, as well as in, with cold water, and prop the head up higher with pillows. Pimples and skin rash: A valuable tonic or skin wash for such troubles is strong tea made of the twigs of alder. Poison ivy sting, to cure: Wash every hour or two with soapy water as hot as can be borne, then with hot salt water. This relieves the sting, and is the best simple remedy. The sure cure is washing the parts two or three