Elder
Salves To Heal Up Wounds
From Pow-Wows, or Long Lost Friend, by John George Hoffman we have these three recipes for a salve to heal up wounds:
- Tobacco and Elder
Take tobacco, green or dry; if green a good handful, if dry, two ounces; together with this take a good handful of elder leaves, fry them well in butter, press it through a cloth, and you may. use it in a salve. This will heal up a wound in a short time.
- Oak Bark and Tallow
Or go to a white oak tree that stands pretty well isolated, and scrape off the rough bark from the eastern side of the tree; then cut off the inner bark, break it into small pieces, and boil it until all the strength is drawn out; strain it through a piece of linen, and boil it again, until it becomes as thick as tar; then take out as much as you need, and put to it an equal proportion of sheep-tallow, rosin and wax, and work them together until they form a salve. This salve you put on a piece of linen, very thinly spread, and lay it on the wound, renewing it occasionally till the wound is healed up.
- Parsley and Butter
Or take a handful of parsley, pound it fine, and work it to a salve with an equal proportion of fresh butter. This salve prevents mortification and heals very fast.
Romany Elderflower Cure for Colds
If you have access to an elderberry tree, its berries and flowers will quickly help to dispel your discomfort. Store elderflowers after drying them out in the sun, and you can make a healing beverage at any time by pouring boiling water over them and adding a little sugar. The Romanies claim that it puts paid to a head cold if taken immediately the first signs are noticed. This infusion is also soothing and will help to give a good night`s sleep. It will also calm the nerves.
Elderberry Cold Preventative
Put stalked elderberries into an earthenware jar, cover with a well-fitting lid and place in a slow oven. Leave till the juice flows, then pour it off into a pan and return the covered jar to the oven. Continue doing this until you have obtained all the juice from the fruit. Extract amount remaining by squeezing the fruit through muslin.
Measure the juice, and to every pint add half a pound of loaf sugar, about half a dozen cloves and a piece of bruised root ginger.
Place the pan over heat and bring to the boil. Simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, then strain into bottles or jars with a secure lid. Drink diluted with hot water to taste.
Elderflower Cold Cure
Take a tablespoon each of Elderflowers, Peppermint and Yarrow and infuse with a pint of boiling water. Strain off a large cupful and drink it hot in bed. Take this same medicine three times during the following day and again when you go to bed and you will find it quickly chases the sniffles away. And if the cold has turned to flu, Elderflowers again will relieve the symptoms.
Elderberry Influenza Cure.
Take half an ounce of Elderflowers and one ounce of peppermint herbs. Pour over them one pint of boiling water. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, then strain into a jug and sweeten with sugar or treacle. Drink this mixture hot on going to bed.
Elder Flower and Peppermint For The Flu
An almost infallible cure for an attack of influenza in its first stage is a strong infusion of dried Elder Blossoms and Peppermint. Put a handful of each in a jug, pour over them a pint and a half of boiling water, allow to steep, on the stove, for half an hour then strain and sweeten and drink in bed as hot as possible. Heavy perspiration and refreshing sleep will follow, and the patient will wake up well on the way to recovery and the cold or influenza will probably be banished within thirty-six hours. Yarrow may also be added.
Here’s another variation of this same cure:
Mix 1 oz dried Elder Flowers and 1 oz dried Peppermint leaves. Boil 1 pint of distilled water in a saucepan large enough to hold a quart and while boiling, add the herbs. Cover them and let step (not boil) in a hot place for 10 or 15 minutes. Do not raise the lid or you will lose some of the strength.
When ready, strain through muslin or a thin cloth into a glass or enamel pitcher. Before taking, the patient should be in bed and well covered with blankets to retain the heat.
The dose for severe colds and fevers is drink one pint as hot as possible. Then, remain in bed well covered. It may be sweetened if desired. It will be found beneficial to have a hot water bottle, covered with a towel dipped in vinegar, applied to the feet and allowed to remain there.
The dose for children is from one half to one teacupful. In all cases, the patient should be kept in bed for at least 12 hours after taking, and kept well covered to promote free perspiration.
There will be free perspiration starting in from 20 to 40 minutes after taking and sometimes sooner. This will soothe the patient to sleep and the perspiration will continue for several hours.
The next morning if the fever or cold is completely normal, the patient should be sponged with warm water, put into a clean bed, and be given some light nourishment such as fruit juices (pineapple, orange), or prunes. Care must be taken to keep the body quite warm for a day or two.
If one does does not completely break up the fever, another should be given 24 hours latr. It will be found that, not only the 7,000,000 sweat glands discharge the poisons from the body, but the bowels and kidneys are also activated and will materially help in the recovery of the patient.
Sources: An Elementary Course in Herbology and A Modern Herbal
Elderflower Bath
Elder Flowers, if placed in the water used for washing the hands and face, will both whiten and soften the skin-a convenient way being to place them in a small muslin bag. Such a bag steeped in the bathwater makes a most refreshing bath and a well known French doctor has stated that he considers it a fine aid in the bath in cases of irritability of the skin and nerves.
From: A Modern Herbal
Elder Flower Water
Elder Flower Water (Aqua Sambuci) is an official preparation of the British Pharmacopoeia, which directs that it be made from 100 parts of Elder Flowers distilled with 500 parts of water (about 10 lb. to the gallon), and that if fresh Elder flowers are not obtainable, an equivalent quantity of the flowers preserved with common salt be used. The product has at first a distinctly unpleasant odor, but gradually acquires an agreeably aromatic odor, and it is preferable not to use it until this change has taken place.
Elder Flower Water is employed in mixing medicines and chiefly as a vehicle for eye and skin lotions. It is mildly astringent and a gentle stimulant. It is the Eau de Sureau of the Continent, Sureau being the French name of the Elder.
Elderflower Water in our great-grandmothers’ days was a household word for clearing the complexion of freckles and sunburn, and keeping it in a good condition. Every lady’s toilet table possessed a bottle of the liquid, and she relied on this to keep her skin fair and white and free from blemishes, and it has not lost its reputation. Its use after sea-bathing has been recommended, and if any eruption should appear on the face as the effect of salt water, it is a good plan to use a mixture composed of Elder Flower Water with glycerine and borax, and apply it night and morning.
Here is a recipe that can be carried out at home:
Fill a large jar with Elder blossoms, pressing them down, the stalks of course having been removed previously. Pour on them 2 quarts of boiling water and when slightly cooled, add 1 1/2 OZ. of rectified spirits. Cover with a folded cloth, and stand the jar in a warm place for some hours. Then allow it to get quite cold and strain through muslin. Put into bottles and cork securely.
From: A Modern Herbal
Green Elder Ointment
Elder leaves are used in the preparation of an ointment, Unguentum Sambuci Viride, Green Elder Ointment, which is a domestic remedy for bruises, sprains, chilblains, for use as an emollient, and for applying to wounds. It can be compounded as follows:
- 3 parts of fresh Elder leaves
- 4 parts of lard
- 2 parts of prepared suet
Heat the Elder leaves with the melted lard and suet until the color is extracted, then strain through a linen cloth with pressure and allow to cool.
Source: A Modern Herbal
Elderberry Insect Repellant
Elderberry leaves, bruised, if worn in the hat or rubbed on the face, prevent flies settling on the person. In order to safeguard the skin from the attacks of mosquitoes, midges and other troublesome flies, an infusion of the leaves may be dabbed on with advantage. Gather a few fresh leaves from the elder, tear them from their stalks and place them in a jug, pouring boiling water on them and covering them at once, leaving for a few hours. When the infusion is cold, it is fit for use and should be at once poured off into a bottle and kept tightly corked. It is desirable to make a fresh infusion often.
From A Modern Herbal
Saida: Salves To Heal Up Wounds
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Pat Scott: Marsh Mallow Ointment
Sharon from Cleveland, Ohio: Egg White Cough Cure
Vagabond Witch: Soapwort Shampoo
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