A Book of Fruits and Flowers Part 5

Take a certain quant.i.ty of _Barrowes_ grease; Oyle of sweet _Almonds_, and _Rose-water_, either red or damask, of each a like quant.i.ty, but of neither so much as of the _Hoggs_ grease, beat them together to an Oyntment, put it in some gally pot, and when you would use it, heat it, and therewith annoynt the Back and Reins.

_Of Beanes._

_To defend Humours._

Take _Beanes_, the rinde or the upper skin being pul'd off, bruise them, and mingle them with the white of an Egg, and make it stick to the temples, it keepeth back humours flowing to the Eyes.

_To dissolve the Stone; which is one of the Physitians greatest secrets._

Take a peck of green _Beane_ cods, well cleaved, and without dew or rain, and two good handfulls of _Saxifrage_, lay the same into a Still, one row of _Bean_ cods, another of _Saxifrage_, and so Distill another quart of water after this manner, and then Distill another proportion of _Bean_ codds alone, and use to drink oft these two Waters; if the Patient be most troubled with heat of the Reins, then it is good to use the _Bean_ codd water stilled alone more often, and the other upon comming downe of the sharp gravell or stone.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Beanes]

_Unguentum Sanativum_.

Take of _Terpentine_ one pound, _Wax_ six ounces, Oyle of _Cammomile_ halfe a pint, put all these together in a pan, and put to them a handfull of _Cammomile_, bruised, or cut very small, boyle them upon a soft fire till they be well melted, and no more; then take it from the fire, and strayne it into a clean pan, and so let it coole all night, and in the morning put it up for your use. This Oyntment is good for any cut, wound, or breaking of the flesh, it eateth away dead flesh, and ranklings, and doth heale againe quickly.

_A Serecloath for all Aches_.

Take _Rossen_ one pound, _Perrossen_ a quarter of a pound, as _Mastick_ and _Deer sewet_ the like, _Turpentine_ two ounces, _Cloves_ bruised, one ounce, _Mace_ bruised, two ounces, _Saffron_ two drams, boyle all these together in Oyle of _Cammomile_, and keep it for your use.

_An Oyntment to be made at any time of the yeare, and is approved good, and hath helped old Paines, Griefes, and Aches._

Take _Steers Gall, Sallet Oyle_ and _Aqua vita_ of each five spoon-fulls, boyle them together a little, and therewith annoint the place pained, by the fire, and lay a warm cloath on it.

_An Oyntment for the Sciatica_.

Roaste a handfull or two of _Onions_, and take _Neats-foot_ Oyle, and _Aqua vita_, of each a pint, stamp, or rather boyle all these together to an Oyle, or Oyntment, and straine it into a gally pot, and therewith annoynt the place grieved as hot as you can endure it, morning and evening.

_A Water to drive away any Infection._

Take _Draggons, Angelica, Rue, Wormwood_, of each a handfull, chop them pretty small, and steep them in a quart of _White-wine_, twenty four hours, then distill them in a Still, and reserve the water in a gla.s.se close stopped; give to the sick Patient six or seaven spoonfuls thereof at a time fasting, and let him fast an houre and an halfe after, and keep himselfe very warme in his bed, or otherwise.

_An excellent Conservative for the stomach, helping digestion, warming the braine, and drying the Rheumes_.

Take two ounces of good old Conserve of red _Roses_, of chosen _Methridate_ two drams, mingle them well together, and eat thereof to bed-ward, the quant.i.ty of a hazell nut; this doth expell all windinesse of the stomach, expelleth raw humours and venomous vapours, causeth good digestion, dryeth the Rheume, strengthneth the memory and sight.

_An Oyntmnt for any wound or sore_.

Take two pound of _Sheeps_ suet, or rather _Deers_ suet, a pint of _Candy Oyle_, a quarter of a pound of the newest and best _Bees-wax_, melt them together, stirring them well, and put to them one ounce of the Oyle of _Spike_, and halfe an ounce of the _Goldsmiths Boras_, then heating them againe, and stirring them all together, put it up in a gally pot, and keep it close stopped till you have cause to use it; this is an approved Oyntment to cure any wounds or sores new or old.

_An excellent Oyntment for any Bruise or Ache_.

Take two pound of _May b.u.t.ter_ purified, powre it out from the dregs, and put to it of _Broome_ flowers and _Elder_ flowers, of each a good handfull, so clean picked that you use nothing but the leaves, mix them all together in a stone pot, and boyle them seaven or eight howres in a kettell of water, being covered with a board, and kept downe with weights, keeping the kettell alwayes full of water, with the help of another kettell of boyling water ready to fill up the first as it wasteth, and when it waxeth somewhat coole, but not cold, straine the Oyntment from the Hearbs, into a gally pot, and keep it for your use.

_A Plaister for a Bile or Push_.

Take a yolk of an Egg, and halfe a spoonfull of English _Honey_, mix them together with fine wheat flower, and making it to a Plaister, apply it warme to the place grieved.

_An approved good drink for the Pestilence_.

Take six spoonfuls of _Draggon_-water, two good spoonfulls of _Wine-Vineger_, two penny weights of English _Saffron_, and as much Treacle of _Gene_, as a little _Walnut_, dissolve all these together upon the fire, and let the Patient drink it blood-warm, within twenty hours or sooner that he is sick, and let him neither eat nor drink six howres after, but lye so warme in his bed, that he may sweat, this expelleth the Disease from the heart, and if he be disposed to a sore, it will streightwayes appeare, which you shall draw out with a Plaister of _Flos Unguentorum_.

_For the Rheume in the gums or teeth_.

Boyle _Rosemary_ in faire water, with some ten or twelve _Cloves_, shut, and when it is boyled take as much _Claret_ wine as there is water left, and mingle with it, and make it boyle but a little againe, then strayne it into some gla.s.se, and wash the mouth there with morning and evening; this will take away the Rheume in short time; and if you boyle a little _Mastick_. therewith, it is the better.

_For the Emroids_.

Take _Egremony_ and bruise it small, and then fry it with _Sheep suet_, and _Honey_, of each a like quant.i.ty, and lay it as hot as you can suffer it to the Fundament, and it will heale very faire and well.

_An approved medicine for the Dropsey_.

Take the Hearb called _Bitter sweet_, it grows in waters, and bears a purple flower, slice the stalks, and boyle a pretty deale of them in _White-wine_, drink thereof first and last, morning and evening, and it will cure the _Dropsey_.

_A Powder for Wounds_.

Take _Orpiment_, and _Verdigreese_, of each an ounce, of _Vitriall_ burned till it be red, two ounces, beat each of them by it selfe in a brasen Morter, as small as flower, then mingle them all together, that they appear all as one, and keep it in bagges of leather, well bound, for it will last seaven years with the same vertue, and it is called _Powder peerlesse_, it hath no peer for working in _Chyrurgery_, for put of this powder in a wound where is dead flesh, and lay sc.r.a.p't lint about it, and a Plainer of Disklosions next upon it, and it will heale it.

_An approved Medicine for the Green sicknesse_.

Take a quart of _Clarret_ wine, one pound of _Currants_, and a handfull of young _Rosemary_ crops, and halfe an ounce of _Mace_, seeth these to a pint, and let the Patient drink thereof three spoonfulls at a time, morning and evening, and eat some of the _Currants_ also after.

_A Medicine for a Pleurisie, St.i.tch, or Winde, offending in any part of the Body._

Gather the young shutes of _Oake_, after the fall of a _Wood_, and picking out the tenderest and softest of them, especially those which look redest, bind them up together in a wet paper, and roste them in hot embers, as you doe a _Warden_, whereby they will dry to powder, of which powder let the Patient take a spoonfull in a little Posset _Ale_, or _Beer_, warmed, in the morning, fasting after it two hours, or more, if he be able, doing the like about three after noon, and two hours after supper, four or five dayes together, which thus done in the beginning of the Disease, is by often experiments found to cure such windy paines in the side, stomach, or other parts of the body; you may dry them also in a dish, in an Oven after the bread is drawn; you shall doe well to gather enough of them in the Spring, and make good store of the powder then, to keep for all the year following.