Chapter II (9)

We have endeavored to always give the dose throughout this book as we recognized the lack of accurate and detailed information regarding the administering of medicines as one of the weak features in practically all home medical books. If we have overlooked a few instances we wish to provide for such omissions by giving the table of doses generally used by nurses as a basis for determining the dose of any medicine she may be using for a particular age.

Rule usually followed.--For children under twelve years of age. Make a fraction. Use the age of the child for the upper number, numerator. The number below the line, denominator, is twelve, added to the age of the child. For example: If your child is two years old you would begin by placing two as numerator, thus 2/, then you add 2 + 12 = 14 and place 14 below the line and you have 2/14 or 1/7. You then take 1/7 of the adult dose for your two-year-old child. If the dose for an adult is 21 drops, a child of two years is given 3 drops, etc.

DOSE IN DROPS FOR DIFFERENT AGES.

If the dose is a spoonful or 60 drops for an adult, the other doses would be correct for the ages given below:

21 and over 60 drops
15 years about 33 drops A few more or less if robust or weakly
12 " " 30 drops "
10 " " 27 drops "
8 " " 24 drops "
6 " " 20 drops "
5 " " 17 drops "
4 " " 15 drops "
3 " " 12 drops "
2 " " 8 drops "
1 " " 4 drops "

Exceptions to this rule are calomel and castor oil, when half an adult dose can be given between 12 and 18.

Opium is dangerous to children and old people and should be administered by a physician or trained nurse.

"Lest We Forget." COMMON TABLES OF MEASURES. APOTHECARIES' WEIGHT.

Apothecaries' Weight is used in prescribing and mixing medicines

Table.

20 grains equal 1 scruple 3 scruples " 1 dram 8 drams " 1 ounce 12 ounces " 1 pound

The pound is the same as the pound Troy. Medicines are bought and sold in quantities by Avoirdupois Weight.

[NURSING DEPARTMENT 637]

1 grain equals 1 drop or 1 minim
60 grains or drops " 1 teaspoonful
1 teaspoonful " 1 fluid dram

8 drams (or 8 teaspoonfuls) make 1 fluid ounce
2 tablespoonfuls make 1 fluid ounce

1/2 fluid ounce is a tablespoonful
2 fluid ounces is a wineglassful
4 fluid ounces is a teacupful
6 fluid ounces is a coffee cup
16 ounces (dry or solid) is a pound
20 fluid ounces is a pint

MEDICINE CHEST.--More important than the furnishing of the house is the medicine chest. If you are beginning housekeeping let this be your first consideration. Do not put it off because it is a little trouble and costs a few dollars. Yon would not think of leaving your front room or your "spare room" half furnished. Your health is of vastly more importance than the looks of your best rooms. There may come a time when you cannot secure the doctor for several hours or get into a drug store. Be prepared for this emergency and either fix up a home-made box with shelves, etc., or buy a regular medicine chest; in either case have a lock to it and the key where you can find it but where the children cannot reach it.

We give below a few of the necessaries and you will of course add to this list. One mother writes that she went to the store and bought several tiny little bells and tied one of these bells around the neck of each of the bottles in her medicine chest that contained poison. There was no danger of her getting the wrong bottle in the dark. Contents of the Medicine Chest.

Ten cents worth of Alum. A small bag of Burnt Alum. A small bottle of Castor Oil. A small vial of Bichloride of Mercury Tablets. A box of Boric Acid Powder. A $mall bottle of Glycerin: A bottle of Extract of Witch-hazel A small bottle of Syrup of Ipecac. A bottle of Whisky and one of Brandy. A box of English Mustard. Medicine glass. A small box of Cold Cream. Soft rubber Ear Syringe. A Clinical Thermometer. An Eye Stone. A pad, pencils, and labels. A small bottle of Carbolic Acid. A roll of Adhesive Plaster. A small box of Pineoline Salve. A bottle of Arnica.

Hung near the chest should be a fountain syringe with the rubber catheter for use in irrigating the bowels and a hot water bag.

[638 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]

HOW TO CARE FOR THE DEAD.

The limbs should be straightened before the body becomes stiff (rigor mortis). The eyes should be closed and the jaws held in position by means of a support placed firmly under the chin; for this a roller bandage or a small padded piece of wood is generally used. Of course if the person has worn false teeth, and they have been taken out during the last hours, they should be replaced immediately after death. The nostrils, mouth, rectum, and vagina should be packed with absorbent cotton to prevent the escape of discharges after death. After this bathe the body, if so desired by the relatives, with a two per cent watery solution of carbolic acid, and if there are any wounds they should be covered with fresh cotton and neatly fastened with a bandage. The hips may be enclosed in a large triangular binder; the knees are held together by a broad bandage; the hair should be brushed smoothly, and finally stockings and a simple nightgown should be put on. If the case be one of the infectious diseases, wrap the body in a sheet wrung out of a five per cent watery solution of carbolic acid and this sheet should be kept damp.

The room where death occurs should be tidied and regulated to make it look natural and comfortable. The undertaker can be sent for as soon as desired by the family. But if such care as directed has been given, the undertaker need not be hurried.

ENEMA.--Enemata (Injections).--There are various methods used for injecting fluids into the body. When they are introduced into the intestines, we speak of giving enemata (enema is the singular). They are named according to their purpose.

1. Simple laxative or purgative enemata.

2. Nutritive enemata for the purpose of nourishment.

3. Sedative enemata for local or systemic quieting effects.

4. Astringent enemata to check bleeding and diarrhea, like hot water, ice water, solution of alum or nitrate of silver.

5. Emollient (soothing) enemata for soothing irritated and painful mucous membrane; starch and drugs are also used.

6. Antispasmodic enemata to relieve flatulence such as the turpentine enemata.

7. Anthelmintic (against worms) for destroying worms; salt, turpentine and quassia are used.

8. Antiseptic or germicidal enemata used in dysentery.

9. Stimulating enemata, like hot water, hot strong coffee, hot whisky and water, salt water.

10. To relieve thirst, water one pint or normal salt solution (one dram to a pint of water) and injected high up.

[NURSING DEPARTMENT 639]

ENEMATA are given either high or low.

A high enemas thrown high up into the bowel.

A low enema is injected into the rectum only, through a hard rubber tip to a syringe.

Directions.--There are many ways of giving a simple enema.

Position.--A good way is to place an adult patient on his left side, with the knees bent up close. Protect the bed with a rubber sheet and towel under the patient. The basin of water can be placed on the rubber sheet and the enema given under cover.

Amount.--An adult person will take one to four pints. A child one-half to one pint. For an infant about two ounces will do.

What material? A simple enema can be made with good castile soap or good brown soap and water, temperature about 95 degrees F. When ready for use make into a good suds.

Syringe.--Use a bulb syringe, see that the syringe is filled full to the nozzle before the nozzle is put into the bowel. Any air left in the syringe will pass into the bowel and cause pain. Oil the nozzle with vaselin or sweet oil and then gently put the nozzle into the rectum. It is better to introduce an oiled finger through the sphincter muscle and pass the nozzle along the finger and gently into the bowel. It should be in the bowel two or three inches. Do not attempt to force the nozzle through any obstruction. Introduce the water slowly in a gentle and steady stream. The main object is to distend the rectum by means of the water, thereby producing reflex stimulation. The worm-like movement of the bowels results, thus bringing about an evacuation. The patient should retain it for ten or fifteen minutes to get the best results. A folded towel placed against the anus will assist the patient in resisting the desire to expel the water. A large amount should be given in one-half hour if the first one does not produce the desired result.

Sometimes a laxative enema is necessary.--Olive oil or glycerin or castor oil may be used.

For olive oil, six ounces may be given in a hard rubber syringe; this is seldom successful unless followed by a soap suds enema in one-half hour.

Glycerin enema, one-half ounce with equal quantity of warm water 95 degrees F., and give with a hard rubber syringe. This generally proves successful, without an additional soap suds enema.

For infants and children the contents of a straight medicine dropper will be sufficient.

Glycerin irritates the mucous membrane, and it is best that we add an equal amount of olive oil.

If these enemata fail it will be necessary to use purgative enemata. These are made by adding drugs, such as turpentine, rochelle or epsom salts or castor oil in certain proportions to the simple enema. In giving castor oil and water it is necessary first to mix the oil with the yolk of an egg and then add the warm soap suds.

[640 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]

1. Formula.--

Castor Oil 2 ounces
Turpentine 1/2 ounce

Mix thoroughly and inject with hard rubber syringe, followed in one-half hour by a quart of soap-suds.

2. Formula.--

Turpentine 1/2 ounce
Rochelle Salts 1 ounce

Mix with warm soap-suds, one pint.

The buttocks and anus should be washed off with warm water after turpentine has been used in the enema.

3. Molasses and Laxative Enema.--Mix from two to ten ounces, according to age, with one pint of soap suds and inject slowly.

Nutritive Enemata.--Food is given by the bowel when the stomach cannot retain it. It is then called Nutritive Enemata. They should be given only from four to six times in twenty-four hours and the quantity given at one time should not exceed four ounces. It must be introduced high up in the bowel, about ten inches, and therefore they should be given through a rectal tube made of heavy rubber one-quarter inch in diameter and at least eight inches of it should be inserted in the bowel. After it has been oiled the tube is gently inserted in a backward, upward, direction and a glass funnel is attached to the outer end. The enema has been already mixed in a small pitcher and gently poured (very slowly) into the funnel, which is then raised so that the contents will go slowly through the tube into the bowel. The patient is protected from drops by a folded towel underneath him. Then the tube is slowly withdrawn. The tube should then be cleansed by allowing warm water to run through it, and then kept in a one per cent solution of boric acid. Food given by enemata should be very nourishing and concentrated. The following are excellent formulas:

Formula 1.--

One whole Egg
Table Salt 15 grains
Peptonized Milk 3 ounces or 3/8 of a cup
Brandy 1/2 ounce

Formula 2.--

White of two Eggs
Peptonized Milk 2 ounces or 1/4 of a cup

The whole amount should never exceed four ounces. The addition of salt aids the absorption of the egg. Brandy, and whisky are very irritating and should be given only every other time.

The fresh raw milk can be used, if it is impossible to have it peptonized.

After a nutritive enemata the patient should lie quietly on his back for twenty or thirty minutes.

[NURSING DEPARTMENT 641]

Turpentine enemata for distention may be given according to the following formula:

Mucilage of Acacia 1/2 ounce
Spirits of Turpentine 10 drops

This should be administered high up in the bowel.

Astringent Enemata. To check diarrhea.--They should be given slowly and injected high up, and they should be retained as long as possible.

Starch and Laudanum.--Boil the starch as if to be used in the laundry and dilute with luke-warm water, until it is thin enough to pass through a tube. Take of this three ounces. This can be given alone in mild cases; but if there is much pain and straining add ten to fifteen drops of laudanum to the starch water or thirty to forty drops of paregoric. This dose is for an adult.

Stimulating Enemata. 1. Black coffee.--One-half to one pint of strong coffee, injected as hot as possible. It should be strained before using. This is frequently given in poison cases.

2. Salt Enemata.--Two teaspoonfuls to one quart of hot water is mildly stimulating; one-half to one ounce of brandy or whisky may be added.

DOUCHES.--By this term is generally meant a jet of fluid directed with a certain amount of force upon a limited external or internal surface, for cleansing, stimulating purposes and to relieve inflammation. Three common douches are the ear (aural), the vaginal and the rectal.

The Vaginal Douche. For cleansing.--A one per cent solution of carbolic acid is often used in one to three quarts of water.

To allay inflammation.--A hot solution of the temperature of 105 degrees to 115 degrees is given, and three or six quarts may be used. Allow the stream to flow before the nozzle is inserted so as to have the warm temperature instead of cold at the start, and the nozzle should be introduced up towards the posterior vaginal wall. The fountain syringe bag should not be raised more than six to twelve inches above the patient who is lying down with her hips raised on pillows and her knees drawn up. Medicines can be used in all the douches.

Rectal douche.--This is to relieve piles and reduce inflammation. Hot or cold as needed. A rectal tube or fountain syringe is used.

Ear (aural) douche.--This is used for earache and inflammation. Salt or boric acid is generally used in the warm water. It should be allowed to flow in slowly and gently.

How to use a bed pan.--When you are placing the pan, you should slip one hand under the buttocks and then place the flat end of the pan under the buttocks. It should always be warm. Raise the patient in the same way before attempting to remove it. Do not pull it out.

[642 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]

TEMPERATURE (Fever).--A thermometer is necessary in taking the temperature. They can be bought for from fifty cents up. The temperature is taken by putting the thermometer under the tongue, in the arm-pit and in the rectum. For children it should be placed in the rectum or in the arm-pit or groin. Allow it to remain from two to five minutes. This depends upon the time limit of the thermometer. The normal temperature is 98-6/10 degrees F. This varies, some people are normal at times at 99 or 98 degrees. The temperature in the arm-pit is lower by 3/10 of a degree, but that in the rectum is 1/2 degree higher than that taken in the mouth. The normal point on the thermometer is marked by an arrow. The mercury in the tube must always be down to that at its highest point, before the thermometer is placed and the highest point the mercury goes indicates the height of the temperature (fever). If you take it in the rectum, that should be free from feces. Oil the thermometer and gently insert it into the bowel for one and one-half inches and hold the stem.

Under the Tongue.--Place the point under the tongue and instruct the patient to close his lips over the thermometer. He can also hold the stem with his fingers, It should never be taken here right after a cold drink. Unconscious patients may bite through the instrument, so care must be taken with them.

Arm-pit.--Wipe the part thoroughly dry and place the point directly in the arm-pit. Then place the elbow against the body and the hand on the chest pointing to the opposite shoulder. When ready to take it out move the arm away from the body and take the thermometer away gently for it sticks sometimes and you will cause pain if you draw it away quickly. The instrument should be cleansed in tepid mild salt solution.

PULSE.--Average in men, sixty to seventy. In women, sixty-five to eighty. Children ninety to one hundred to one hundred and twenty. Different authors vary. In men it is generally seventy to seventy-two. In women seventy-two to seventy-five.

It is better taken sitting. It is faster when walking, slower when lying down. I always take the pulse in the left arm unless there is a deformity there. I use my right hand with the third finger toward the elbow. By using the first three fingers you can find out different things about the pulse. Some people are very nervous and such an one will make your arm ache when feeling the pulse. The pulse should be regular, even beats, in health. Sometimes you can feel it best on the temple or on the neck.

RESPIRATION (Breathing).--In an adult the average is eighteen per minute. In a child the average is twenty to twenty-four. Respiration is the act of taking in (inspiration), and giving out (expiration) air by the lungs.

THE TONGUE.--This is coated in dyspepsia and fevers,--some healthy persons always have a coated tongue.

[NURSING DEPARTMENT 643]

In Ulcers of the stomach there is no coating.

In high fevers, the tongue may also be red and cracked as well as coated in some parts.

A dark brown or blackish coating indicates a serious condition in acute diseases.

Strawberry tongue is seen in Scarlet Fever.

Cankered tongue and month may be due to local conditions, or to stomach, liver and bowel disorders.

In Peritonitis the tongue is generally dry and red (beefy).

Cholera Infantum.--At first coated, then dry and reddish.

Constipation.--Tongue is generally coated.

Biliousness.--Yellowish dirty coating.

DIET

FOODS AND DRINKS FOR THE SICK ROOM.

DIET.--The importance of diet and its relation to the needs of the system in disease can hardly be overrated. One should not only know what kind of food to give, but how much and how often it should be given to get the best result. Food should be given in small quantities in acute diseases and at regular intervals. It will digest better. The food should never be left in the sick room after a patient has finished with it. This applies to all kinds of food, but especially to milk, for it absorbs impurities from the air more readily than any other kind of food. How often do we see milk standing in a sick room and uncovered; how often is it placed in an ice box uncovered. I have often wondered how such people could eat some foods I have seen prepared for them in such a careless way and with no attempt to make it appear tempting to their poor appetite. Foods should be given just as regularly as medicines, when so ordered, especially in long wasting diseases like typhoid fever.

The kind of food.--Under each disease directions for the kind of food, time, and quantity have been given. In diseases like typhoid fever, special care must be given. It is better in that disease to give too little than too much food and the proper kind of food must be given. I shall never forget the death of a minister in my childhood days. I was about four years old. This minister was loved by everyone and when he died of typhoid fever, everyone was grieved and shocked and they could not understand why God should take such a useful man away. It made a great impression upon me. I found out more about the "why" afterwards. This minister was in the convalescent stage and very hungry. He wanted a genuine boiled dinner. That is bad enough for a well man. The doctor forbade it, but the family gave him the dinner and the result, of course, was fatal. It could not be otherwise. We often blame God for our own sins. Many people are killed by kind friends. I have seen it more than once. Peanuts, popcorn, and candy have caused many convulsions in children and some deaths.

It is generally allowable to give a little liquid food every two hours in acute diseases. It should be given at regular intervals in the conscious or unconscious patients, especially in long continued diseases.

[644 MOTHERS' REMEDIES ]

LIQUID DIET.

1. Cream soups; tomato, pea, corn, celery, rice, spinach, asparagus, potato.

2. Gruels; oatmeal, cornmeal, cream of wheat, flour gluten (for diabetes).

How to Albuminize Fruit Juices.--Into a cup of lemonade, orangeade, grape juice, etc., put white of an egg slightly beaten, mix thoroughly, strain and serve.

The following may or may not be albuminized.

3. Fruit juices; lemonade, orangeade, unfermented grape juice, currant, berry juice.

4. Milk; peptonized milk, albuminized, buttermilk, malted milk, and milk porridge.

5. Stimulating drinks; tea, coffee, cocoa.

6. Broths; beef broth, mutton broth, chicken broth, bouillon, consomme, oyster broth, clam broth, oyster soup, clam soup, beef tea, and beef juice.

7. Eggs; raw eggs and egg-nog.

8. Cooling and nourishing drinks; oatmeal water, rice water, barley water and toast water. Ices and ice cream may be included in the liquid diet list.

SOFT DIET.--This diet includes everything in the liquid diet list, and the following additional foods:

1. Bread: soft bread; dry toast; milk, water or cream toast, brown bread (after the first day on soft diet).

2. Eggs: poached, soft-boiled and shirred.

3. Cereals: all cooked for some hours; cornmeal, oatmeal rice, sago, wheaten grits and cream of wheat.

4. Desserts: junket, custards, milk puddings, rice, thoroughly cooked, tapioca, jellies, baked and stewed apples, prunes whipped and stewed, ices and ice cream.

[NURSING DEPARTMENT 645]

CONVALESCENT DIET.--This includes everything in the liquid and soft diet lists and the following in addition:--

1. Breads: wheat, rye, Boston brown and graham bread and biscuits.

2. Meats: broiled steak, mutton, fish, game and fowl, or stewed fowl. Also calf's head, calf 's brains, shell fish and oysters.

3. Eggs, as in soft diet.

4. Drinks as in soft diet.

5. Vegetables: tomatoes, green peas, string beans, potatoes (Irish and sweet), lettuce, cresses, asparagus, onions, celery, spinach and mushrooms.

6. Desserts: custards, creams, jellies, ripe fruits and stewed fruits. No pastry or rich puddings.

FOODS FOR DIFFERENT MEALS FOR THOSE WHO CAN EAT, BUT WHO DO NOT HAVE MUCH APPETITE.

Breakfast; drinks: tea, coffee, cocoa, milk or albuminized fruit juices; cereal with cream; eggs; omelet, scrambled or poached on a piece of round toast, or soft boiled in a hot cup; muffins or gems.

Dinner; broiled porterhouse or tenderloin steak; baked potatoes; bread or rolls; pretty salad, as apple salad in apple case; custard baked in souffle dish; tea, cocoa or milk.

Supper; broiled squab, raw oysters or meat balls, asparagus tips on toast, fresh or stewed fruit, bread cut in fancy shapes.

Foods that may be taken together.--Meat; eggs: soft boiled, poached, shirred or baked; potatoes, baked, boiled or mashed; fruit sauce and ices may go with the following: stewed tomatoes, salad, spinach, or cucumbers, acid drinks, etc., any foods prepared with vinegar.

Meats, vegetables cooked in milk, or served with cream sauce, cream soups and eggs prepared with milk may be given with fruits, vegetables, drinks, etc., containing no acids.

Foods that should not be taken together.--Any food prepared with milk should not be given with lemonade, tomatoes, salads containing much vinegar or any foods served with vinegar or lemon juice.

Diets in Fevers.--Furnished us by a Trained Nurse in a Hospital.

May Take--

Foods.--Soups, clear or thickened with some well-cooked farinaceous substance, mutton, clam or chicken broth, beef tea, peptonized milk, panopepton with crushed ice.

Drinks.--Pure cold water, toast water, lemon or orange juice in cold water, jelly water, cold whey; all in small quantities sipped slowly.

Must Not Take--

Any solid or vegetable food or fruit until so directed by the physician in charge,

[646 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]

Diet in Debility sent us from one of our Leading Hospitals.

May Take--

Soups.--Any broth thickened with farinaceous material, chicken or beef soup containing chopped meat, rich vegetable soups, whole beef tea.

Fish.--All fresh fish, boiled or broiled, raw oysters.

Meats.--Beef, mutton, chicken, game, boiled ham, lamb chops or cutlet, broiled bacon, tender juicy steak, hamburger steak.

Eggs.--Soft boiled, poached, scrambled, raw with sherry wine.

Farinaceous.--Cracked wheat, rolled oats, mush, sago, tapioca, hominy, barley, macaroni, vermicelli, rolls, biscuits, cakes, whole wheat bread, corn bread, milk toast, dry toast, brown bread.

Vegetables.--Nearly all perfectly fresh and well cooked.

Desserts.--Custards, egg and milk, rice or apple pudding, baked apples, fruit jams, jellies, cocoa junket, marmalade, sweet fruits, calf 's foot jelly.

Drinks.--Cocoa, chocolate, milk hot, cold or peptonized, pure water, plain or aerated, wineglassful of panopepton.

Must Not Take-

Hashes, stews, cooked oysters or clams, pork, veal, thin soups, turkey, salt meats, except ham and bacon, cabbage, cucumbers, turnips, carrots, squash, spices, pickles, vinegar, pies, pastry, bananas, pineapples.

DISHES FOR THE SICK ROOM.

Oatmeal Gruel.--Boil one part oatmeal and two parts water in double boiler two hours; strain through gravy strainer, add one quart sweet cream, a little sugar, pinch of salt. Do not make it too sweet.

Raspberry Shrub.--Place red raspberries in a stone jar and cover them with good cider vinegar, let stand over night, next morning strain and to one pint of juice add one pint of sugar, boil ten minutes, bottle hot. When desiring to use place two tablespoonfuls full of the liquid in a glass of ice water; very nice.

Root Beer.--Take blackberry root, black cherry bark, spruce boughs, wintergreens, sarsaparilla roots; steep in a large vessel till all the goodness is out; strain, and when lukewarm put in a cup of yeast, let work, bottle up, sugar to sweeten.

Cream Toast.--Toast a piece of light bread and moisten it with hot water; butter and then put on a layer of sweet cream on top and place in oven a moment. This is easily digested.

Lemon Jelly.--On one box gelatine pour 1 pint cold water and let stand one or two hours. Then put on 4 cups of granulated sugar, squeeze juice of 4 lemons with the grated rind of one. When gelatine is dissolved, pour over it one quart boiling water and stir. Pour this over sugar and lemon juice and stir thoroughly until all is dissolved; strain. Put fruit in if desired--turn into molds, cool until firm.

[NURSING DEPARTMENT 647]

Baked Custard.--One quart milk. 4 eggs beaten light (separately). 5 tablespoons sugar, mixed with the yolks; nutmeg and vanilla. Scald but do not boil the milk, add, gradually, yolks and sugar, then add whites and flavor. Pour into dish or cups, set in pan of hot water, grate nutmeg over top and bake until firm. Eat cold.

Mountain Dew.--Yolks of two eggs, 3 crackers (rolled),--four if small. 1 pint milk, pinch of salt, cook in double boiler. Beat whites of two eggs stiff, add 3/4 cup sugar, lemon extract for flavor. Set in oven and brown. This will serve four people.

Raspberry Vinegar.--Equal parts of red and black raspberries, wash them and cover with cider vinegar, let stand over night. Strain and to each pint of juice take 1 lb. white sugar and boil 15 minutes. Bottle ready for use. To drink use about 2 tablespoons in glass of ice water.

Milk Porridge.--l tablespoon each of cornmeal and wheat flour wet to a paste with cold water, cook in two cups boiling water twenty minutes, then add 2 cups milk and cook a few minutes, stirring often.

Lemon Velvet.--l qt. milk, 2 cups sugar, juice of 2 lemons. Chill the milk, then add the sugar and lemon mixed, and freeze like sherbet.

Ice Cream.--Mix 3 cups sugar and 2 tablespoons flour and stir into 2 qts. hot milk until flour is cooked. When cool add 1 qt. cream, whipped, and one tablespoonful vanilla. Freeze.

Sago Custard.--Soak 2 tablespoons sago in a tumbler of water an hour or more, then boil in same until clear. Add a tumbler of sweet milk; when it boils add sugar to taste, then a beaten egg and flavoring.

Crust Coffee.--Toast bread very brown, pour on boiling water, strain and add cream and sugar. Good for stomach and diarrhea.

Cream Soup.--One pint boiling water, one-half cup of cream, add pieces of toasted bread and a little salt.

Cinnamon Tea.--To 1/2 pint fresh milk add stick or ground cinnamon, enough to flavor, and white sugar to taste; bring to the boiling point and take either warm or cold. Excellent for diarrhea in children or adults.

Barley Water.--Add two ounces pearl barley to 1/2 pint of boiling water; simmer five minutes, drain and add 2 qts. boiling water, add two ounces of sliced figs, and two ounces of raisins; boil until reduced to one quart. Strain for drink.

Arrowroot Custard.--One tablespoonful of arrowroot, one pint milk, one egg, two tablespoons sugar. Mix the arrowroot with a little cold milk and beat in the egg and sugar, pour into the boiling milk and scald until thickened, flavor and pour into cups to cool.

Odors.--A few drops of oil of lavender poured into a glass of very hot water will purify the air of the room almost instantly from cooking odors; the effect is especially refreshing in a sick room.

[648 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]

Dainty Way to Serve Egg on Toast.--Pile the well-beaten white of an egg on a slice of buttered toast, which has been softened with hot water. Make a hollow in the white and drop the yolk therein. Set in the oven to cook the egg.

Oatmeal Gruel.--Pour boiling water over a cupful of rolled oats, stir and let stand a moment, then strain off the liquid. Season with sugar and a little cream if desired. Especially good for children.

Prepared Flour for Summer Complaint.--Take a double handful of flour, tie up in a cloth and cook from three to six hours in a kettle of boiling water. Take out and remove the cloth and you have a hard, round ball. Keep in a dry, cool place. Prepare by grating from this ball into boiling milk enough to make it as thick as you desire, stirring it just before removing from the fire with a stick of cinnamon to give it a pleasant flavor. Salt the milk a little. This is very good for children having summer complaint.

Chicken Broth.--Take the first and second joints of a chicken, boil in a quart of water until tender, season with a very little salt and pepper.

Fever Drinks--Pour cold water on wheat bran, let boil one-half hour, strain and add sugar and lemon juice. Pour boiling water on flaxseed and let stand until it is ropy, pour into hot lemonade and drink.

Egg Gruel.--Beat the yolk of an egg with one tablespoonful sugar, beating the white separately; add one cup boiling water to that yolk, then stir in the whites and add any seasoning. Good for a cold.

Diabetic Bread.--Take one quart of set milk or milk and water, one heaping teaspoonful of good butter, one-fifth of a cake of compressed yeast beaten up with a little water, and two well-beaten eggs. Stir in gluten flour until a soft dough is formed; knead as in making ordinary bread; place in pans to raise, and when light bake in hot oven.

Lime Water.--Into an earthen jar containing hot water stir a handful of fresh unslaked lime. Allow it to settle; then decant the clear fluid and bottle it. Water may again be added to the lime, and the mixture covered and allowed to stand to be decanted as needed.

Vanilla Snow.--Cook one-half cup of rice. When nearly done add one-half cup of cream, small pinch of salt, beaten white of one egg, one-half cup of sugar, flavor with vanilla. Pile in a dish and dot with jelly. Serve with sugar and cream.

Omelet.--One egg, white and yolk beaten separately; two tablespoons milk, one-third teaspoon each of flour and melted butter, a little salt. Add the beaten white last. Pour in small spider in which is a little melted butter (hot) and cook over moderate fire. When it thickens and looks from under the edges, fold it over and slip it on a hot dish.

[NURSING DEPARTMENT 649]

Almond Milk.--Blanch one pound of sweet and two of bitter almonds that have been soaked in cold water for twenty-four hours. This is done by pouring boiling water over the almonds when, after a few minutes, they can easily be pressed out of their hulls. Grind the almonds in a mill or pound them in a mortar; mix with a half-pint of warm milk or water and allow the mixture to stand two hours after which strain through a cloth, pressing the juice out well.

Brandy and Egg Mixture.--Rub the yolks of two eggs with half an ounce of white sugar; add four ounces of cinnamon water; one coffee-spoonful of white sugar.

Cold Eggnog.--Beat up an egg; add to it two teaspoonfuls of sugar, a glassful of milk and a tablespoonful of brandy or good whisky; mix thoroughly.

Hot Eggnog.--Beat up the yolk of one egg; add a teaspoonful or two of sugar and a glassful of hot milk; strain and add a tablespoonful of brandy or old whisky, or flavor with nutmeg or wine.

Egg Broth.--Beat up an egg and add to it half a teaspoonful of sugar and a pinch of salt; over this pour a glass of hot milk and serve immediately. Hot water, broth, soup, or tea may be used in place of milk.

Egg Cordial.--Beat up the white of an egg until light; add a tablespoonful of cream and beat up together, then add two tablespoonfuls of sugar and a tablespoonful of brandy.

Caudle.--Beat up an egg to a froth; add a wineglassful of sherry wine, and sweeten with a teaspoonful of sugar; if desired flavor with lemon peel. Stir this mixture into a half-pint of gruel; over this grate a little nutmeg and serve with hot toast.

Albumin Water.--Beat the white of one egg until very light and strain through a clean napkin. Add six ounces of water. If intended for an infant a pinch of salt may be added. A teaspoonful or more of sugar and a teaspoonful or more of lemon juice, orange juice, or sherry wine may be added to enhance its palatableness. This drink may also conveniently be made by placing all the ingredients in a lemon-shaker, shaking until thoroughly mixed and then straining. Serve cold.

Apple Water.--Pour a cupful of boiling water over two mashed baked apples; cool, strain, and sweeten. Serve with shaved ice if desired.

Currant Juice.--Take an ounce of currant juice or a tablespoonful of currant jelly. Over this pour a cupful of boiling water (use cold water with the juice) and sweeten to taste.

Lemonade.--Take the juice of one lemon or three tablespoonfuls of lemon juice; add from one to three tablespoonfuls of sugar and a cupful (six ounces) of cold water. Serve with cracked or shaved ice if desired.

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Syrup for Cough of Long Standing.--"Five cents worth of flax seed, a little rock candy, two tablespoons of best brandy and a lemon makes the finest cough syrup in the world. Steep flaxseed a short time, strain and add rock candy to sweeten, then juice of one lemon and the brandy. One physician says it is as good as anything he can put up."

Syrup of Lemons for Fever Cases and to Disguise the Taste of Bad Medicines.--"Boil for ten minutes a pint of lemon juice, strain, add two pounds of brown sugar and dissolve. When cold add two and one-half ounces of alcohol. A fine addition to drinks in fever cases and good to disguise the taste of medicines."

Lemonade.--Pare the rind from one lemon, cut the lemon into slices, and place both in a pitcher with an ounce of sugar. Over this pour a pint of boiling water and let it stand until cold. Strain and serve with cracked ice.

Albuminzed Lemonade.--Shake together a cupful of water, two teaspoonfuls of lemon juice, two teaspoonfuls of sugar, and the white of an egg. Serve at once.

Orangeade.--Cut the rind from one orange; over the rind pour a cupful of boiling water; then add the juice of the orange and a tablespoonful of sugar; cool, strain, and serve with shaved ice if desired. If this is too sweet, a tablespoonful of lemon juice may be added.

Imperial Drink.--Add a teaspoonful of cream of tartar to a pint of boiling water; into this squeeze the juice of half a lemon, or more if desired; sweeten to taste and serve cold. This drink is most useful in fevers and nephritis.

Flaxseed Tea.--Add six teaspoonfuls of flaxseed to a quart of water; boil for half an hour; cool, strain, sweeten, and if desired flavor with a little lemon juice.

Mulled Wine.--One-fourth of a cupful of hot water, one-half inch of stick cinnamon, two cloves, a tiny bit of nutmeg, one-half cupful of port (heated) two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Boil all the ingredients except the wine and sugar for ten minutes; then add the wine and sugar, strain, and serve very hot.

Grape Juice.--Pluck Concord grapes from the stem. Wash and heat them, stirring constantly. When the skins have been broken, pour the fruit into a jelly bag and press slightly. Measure the juice and add one-quarter the quantity of sugar. Boil the juice and sugar together and then pour into hot bottles; cork and seal with paraffin or equal parts of shoemaker's wax and resin melted together. Less sugar may be used.

[NURSING DEPARTMENT 651]

Oatmeal, Barley or Rice Water. From the Grain: Use two tablespoonfuls of grain to a quart of water. The grain should have been previously soaked over night or at least for a few hours. When required for an emergency the soaking may be dispensed with and the grain boiled for five minutes instead. The water in which the grain was soaked should be poured off and fresh water added before cooking. The grain should be boiled for several hours, water being added from time to time to keep the quantity up to a quart. Strain. This makes a somewhat thin, watery gruel. From prepared flours: Various brands of prepared grain flours are on the market, such, for example, as Robinson's Barley flour. These are all somewhat similar in preparation. From two rounded teaspoonfuls to a tablespoonful of the prepared flour is added to a pint of boiling water and this is boiled from fifteen to thirty minutes and then strained. No previous soaking is required.

CEREALS AND CEREAL GRUELS.

Either the grain itself or the specially prepared flour may be used. When the grains are used they should be spread on a clean table and all foreign substances removed. If the whole grains be used, it is well to wash them, after picking them over, with two or three changes of cold water. Cereals are best cooked in a double boiler. The lower part should be filled about one-third full of water and, if more is added during the soaking, it should always be boiling hot. The cereal should be boiled over the fire for ten or fifteen minutes. The water should be boiled first and then salted. The cereal is added gradually and the whole stirred to prevent it from burning. It should then be placed in the double boiler and steamed until thoroughly cooked. Cereals, like other starchy foods, require thorough cooking. Most recipes allow too short a time. Oatmeal, especially, should be mentioned. It develops a better flavor if cooked for three hours or more, and is better when it is prepared the day before and reheated when used. It should be just thin enough to pour when taken out of boiler, and when cooled should form a jelly.

Any cereal mush may be thinned with water, milk or cream and made into a gruel, or the gruel may be made directly from the grain or flour. Gruels should be thin, not too sweet nor too highly flavored, and served very hot. Milk gruels should be made in a double boiler. Gruels can be made more nutritious by the addition of whipped egg, either the white or yolk or both, and the various concentrated food products.

When cereal flours are used, the flour should be rubbed to a smooth paste with a little cold water and added slowly to boiling water, stirring constantly until it is thoroughly mixed.

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LENGTH OF TIME TO COOK CEREALS.

Cornmeal mush: Boil 10 minutes, then steam for 3 hours or more. Oatmeal: Boil 10 minutes, then steam for l-1/2 hours or more. Irish oatmeal: Boil 10 minutes, then steam for 8 hours or more. Wheatena: Boil 10 minutes, then steam for 10 hours or more. Gluten mush: Boil 30 minutes. Steamed rice: Steam for one hour. Boiled rice: Boil for twenty minutes or until soft.

Arrowroot Gruel.--Dissolve half a teaspoonful of sugar and a quarter of a teaspoonful of salt in a cupful of water and heat. Mix half a teaspoonful of arrowroot flour with a little water and add to the heated water. Boil for twenty minutes, stirring constantly; then add a cupful of milk, bring to a boil, strain, and serve hot.

Barley Gruel.--Proceed as above, using a tablespoonful of Robinson's Barley flour instead of arrowroot.

Oatmeal Gruel.--As above, but use oatmeal, and boil for half an hour or longer before adding the milk.

Farina Gruel.--Proceed as in making arrowroot gruel, using instead a tablespoonful of farina, and boil ten minutes before adding the milk.

Cracker Gruel.--Brown the crackers, and reduce to a powder by means of a rolling-pin. Add three tablespoonfuls of the powdered crackers to half a cupful of milk and half a cupful of boiling water; cook for ten minutes; then add one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt and serve.

Cornmeal Gruel.--Take a tablespoonful of cornmeal and moisten with a little cold water. Stir this into a pint of boiling water to which a pinch of salt has been added. Cook for three hours in a double boiler, or for thirty minutes directly over the fire. In the latter case it must be stirred constantly.

Gluten Gruel.--Mix a tablespoonful of gluten flour with one-fourth of a cupful of cold water and stir this into one cupful of boiling salted water. Cook directly over the fire for fifteen minutes; then add one clove and cook over boiling water for a half hour.

Tapioca Jelly.--Soak a cupful of tapioca of the best quality in a pint of cold water for two hours; when soft, place in a saucepan with sugar, the rind and juice of one lemon, a pinch of salt, and another pint of water; stir the mixture until it boils; turn into a mold and set away to cool; if desired, a glassful of wine may be added.

Chestnut Puree.--One pound of chestnuts (not horse-chestnuts) are peeled, and boiled in water until the second (inside) skin comes off easily. The chestnuts are placed in a sieve until all the water drains off. They are then washed in a dish and afterwards passed through a sieve. Melt three ounces of butter in a stew-pan on the fire, add a little salt and sugar,--enough to cover the point of a knife, and then the chestnuts. Stew them for half an hour, stirring frequently; pour in enough bouillon so that the mush does not get too thick.

[NURSING DEPARTMENT 653]

Brown Bread.--Take one-half cupful scalded milk, one-half cupful of water, one teaspoonful of salt, one-half teaspoonful of butter, one-half teaspoonful lard, two tablespoonfuls of molasses, one-half cupful of white flour, sufficient graham flour to knead, and three-quarters of a yeast cake dissolved in one-quarter of a cupful of lukewarm water. Prepare the same as white bread. Instead of graham flour, equal parts of graham flour and white flour may be used in kneading.

Whole Wheat Bread.--Dissolve a quarter of a yeast cake in a tablespoonful of lukewarm water. Pour half a cupful of hot water over half a cupful of milk and when lukewarm add the yeast and half a teaspoonful of salt. To this add a cupful of whole-wheat flour and beat for five minutes. Cover and allow this to stand in a warm place for two hours and a half. Then add whole-wheat flour gradually, mixing the mass until it can be kneaded. Knead until elastic; shake and place in baking pans. Cover and allow to stand in a warm place until it doubles in bulk. Prick the top with a fork and bake for one hour. The oven should not be as hot as for white bread.

Cream-of-Tomato Soup.--One can tomatoes, one-fourth teaspoonful soda, one-half cupful of butter, one-third cup of flour, 3-1/4 teaspoonfuls of salt, one-half teaspoonful of white pepper, one quart of milk. Stew the tomatoes slowly one-half to an hour, strain and add soda while hot; make a white sauce and add the tomato juice. Serve immediately.

Cream-of-Celery Soup.--One and one-half cupful of celery, one pint of water, one cupful of milk, one cupful cream, two tablespoonfuls of butter, one-half cupful of flour, one-half teaspoonful of salt, one-eighth teaspoonful of white pepper. Cook the celery in the boiling water until very soft; strain and add the hot liquid; make a white sauce and cook until it is thick cream.

Cream-of-Potato Soup.--Three potatoes, two cupfuls milk, one-half cupful of cream, yolks of two eggs, one teaspoonful of salt, pepper, one-half teaspoonful of onion juice. Cook the potatoes until soft, drain, mash, add the hot liquid, and strain; add the beaten yolks and seasoning. Cook in a double boiler until the egg thickens, stirring constantly. Serve immediately.

Oyster Stew.--One cupful of milk, one pint of oysters, one-fourth teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of butter, pepper. Heat the milk. Cook and strain the oyster juice. Add the oysters, which have been rinsed, and cook until the edges curl. Add seasoning, butter and hot milk. Serve at once This soup may be thickened with a tablespoonful of flour cooked in butter as for white sauce.

Peptonized Milk.--Cold Process.--Mix milk, water and peptonizing agents, and immediately place the bottle on ice. Use when ordinary milk is required. This is particularly suited for dyspeptics and individuals with whom milk does not, as a rule, agree. The flavor of the milk remains unchanged.

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Peptonized Milk.--Warm Process.--Put in a glass jar one pint of milk and four ounces of cold water; add five grains of extract of pancreas and fifteen grains of bicarbonate of soda. After mixing thoroughly, place the jar in water as hot as can be borne by the hand (about 115 degrees). This should be heated for from six to twenty minutes. At the end of this time it may be placed upon ice until required. The contents of one of Fairchild's peptonizing tubes may be used in place of the pancreas extract. If the milk is to be kept for any length of time, it should be brought to a boil, to prevent the formation of too much peptone, which renders the milk bitter.

Hot Peptonized Milk.--Mix together the usual peptonizing ingredients and add a pint of fresh cold milk; after thoroughly shaking the bottle, place it on ice. When needed pour out the required amount, heat it, and drink it as hot as it can agreeably be taken. If required for immediate use, the ingredients may be mixed together in a saucepan and slowly heated to the proper temperature.

Peptonized Milk Punch.--In the usual milk punch recipes the specially peptonized milk may be used in place of ordinary milk. Take a goblet one-third full of finely crushed ice; pour on it a tablespoonful of rum and a dash of curacao, or any other liquor agreeable to the taste. Fill the glass with peptonized milk; stir well, sweeten to taste and grate a little nutmeg on top.

Peptonized Milk Gruel.--Mix with a teaspoonful of wheat flour, arrowroot flour, or Robinson's barley flour with half a pint of cold water. Boil for five minutes stirring constantly. Add one pint of cold milk and strain into a jar; add the usual peptonizing ingredients, place in warm water (115 degrees) for twenty minutes, and then put upon ice.

Junket or Curds and Whey.--Take a half-pint of fresh milk; add one teaspoonful of Fairchild's Essence of Pepsin and stir just sufficiently to mix. Pour into custard cups and let it stand until firmly curdled. It may be served plain or with sugar and grated nutmeg. It may be flavored with wine which should be added before curdling takes place.

Junket with Eggs.--Beat one egg to a froth, and sweeten with two teaspoonfuls of white sugar; add this to a half-pint of warm milk; then add one teaspoonful of essence of pepsin and let it stand until curdled.

Milk Punch.--Shake together in a lemonade-shaker a glass of milk, a tablespoonful of rum, brandy, or good old whisky and two teaspoonfuls of sugar. After it has been poured into a glass a little nutmeg may be grated over the top.

Whey.--Take a half-pint of fresh milk heated luke-warm (115 degrees), add one tablespoonful of essence of pepsin and stir just enough to mix. When this is firmly coagulated, beat up with a fork until the curd is finely divided and then strain. For flavoring purposes lemon juice or sherry wine may be added.

[NURSING DEPARTMENT 655]

Cream of Tartar Whey.--Add a heaping teaspoonful of cream of tartar to a pint of boiling water. Strain, sweeten to taste, and serve cold.

Wine Whey.--Cook together a cupful of milk and half a cupful of sherry wine. As soon as the curd separates, strain and sweeten. This may be eaten hot or cold.

Milk Mixture.--This is made of cream, two parts; milk, one part; lime water, two parts; sugar water, three parts (seventeen and three-fourths drams of milk sugar to a pint of water).

Milk-and-Cinnamon Drink.--Add a small amount of cinnamon to the desired quantity of milk and boil it. Sweeten with sugar and add brandy if desired.

Albuminized Milk.--Shake in a covered jar or lemonade-shaker, a cupful of milk, a tablespoonful of lime water and the white of an egg. Sweeten, flavor as desired and serve at once.

Milk-and-Cereal Waters.--A most valuable method of preparing milk for invalids with whom it disagrees is to mix equal parts of milk and thoroughly cooked barley, rice, oatmeal, or arrowroot water and boil them together for ten minutes. This may be served plain, or flavored by cooking with it a cut-up raisin, a sprig of mace, or a piece of stick cinnamon, which should be strained out before serving.

Irish Moss and Milk.--Soak about two tablespoonfuls of Irish moss for five minutes and wash thoroughly in cold water. Add to a cupful of milk and soak for a half an hour; then heat slowly, stirring constantly, and then boil for ten minutes, preferably in a double boiler; strain, pour into cups and cool. This may be served while hot and may be rendered more nutritious by the addition of the white of an egg stirred into it just before serving.

Eggs.--Eggs and all other albuminous food should be cooked at as low a temperature as possible in order to avoid rendering them tough.

Soft-Cooked Eggs.--Place in a pint of boiling water, remove from the fire, and allow to stand for eight or ten minutes. If the egg is very cold to start with it will take a little longer.

Hard-Cooked Eggs.--Place in water, bring to a boil and then set on the back part of the stove for twenty minutes.

Eggs should be served as soon as cooked and the dishes should be warm and ready.

Rules for Custards.--The eggs should be thoroughly mixed but not beaten light, the sugar and salt added to these, and the hot milk added slowly. Custards must be cooked over moderate heat; if a custard curdles, put it in a pan of cold water and beat until smooth. Custards should always be strained.

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