New guide to health ; or botanic family physician : containing a complete system of practice, upon a plan entirely new; with a description of the vegetables made use of, and directions for preparing and administering them to cure disease : to which is added a description of several cases of disease attended by the author, with the mode of treatment and cure : to which is annexed, A narrative of the life, &c. of the author / by Samuel Thomson.
- Thomson, Samuel, 1769-1843.
- Date:
- 1834
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: New guide to health ; or botanic family physician : containing a complete system of practice, upon a plan entirely new; with a description of the vegetables made use of, and directions for preparing and administering them to cure disease : to which is added a description of several cases of disease attended by the author, with the mode of treatment and cure : to which is annexed, A narrative of the life, &c. of the author / by Samuel Thomson. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Woodruff Health Sciences Center Library at Emory University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Woodruff Health Sciences Center Library, Emory University.
![time for gathering it, as before mentioned, is when the leaves and pods begin to turn yellow, for then theseeds are ripe and you have all there can be of it. It should then be cut and kept clean, and spread in a chamber or loft, to dry, where it can be open to the air in the day time, and shut from the damp air during the night. When perfectly dry, shake out the seeds and sift them through a common meal sieve, and preserve them by themselves, then beat off the leaves and pods from the stalks and preserve them clean. This herb maybe prepared for use in three different ways, vizr—1st, the powdered leaves and pods. 2d, a tincture made from the green herb with spirit. 3d, the seeds reduced to afine pow- der and compounded with Nos. 2 and 6. 1. After the leaves and pods are separated from the stalks, pound or grind them in a mortar to fine powder, sift it through a fine sieve, and preserve it from the air. This is the most common preparation, and may be given in many different ways, either by itseif or compounded with other articles.— For a common dose, take a tea spoonful of this powder with the same quantity of sugar, in a tea cup half full of warm water, or a tea spoonful of No. 3, may be used instead of the water; this dose may be taken all at one time or at three times, at intervals of ten minutes. For a young child strain off the liquor and give a part as circumstances shall require. There is bat one way in which this herb can be prepared that it will refuse its services, and that is when boiled or scalded; it is therefore important to bear in mind that there must never be any thing put to it warmer than a blood heat. 2. To prepare the tincture, take the green herb in any stage of its growth, [if the small plants are used, take roots and all,] put them into a mortar and pound them fine, then add the same quantity of good spirit; when well pounded and worked together, strain it through a fine cloth, squeeze and press it hard to get out all the juice and save the liquor in bottles, close stopped for use. Good vinegar, or pepper- sauce may be used instead of the spirit. Prepared in this manner, it is an effectual counter poison, either taken or ex- ternally applied. It is also an excellent medicine for complaints, that has been found, though they know but little about it. I< or a dose, take from a half to a tea spoonful. It*](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21037541_0047.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
