For the Sick Room.-Dried sage leaves, or any of the mints, or balm leaves, 1/2 oz.; boiling water, pt.; steep and strain, or pour off, when cool enough to drink. A little sugar may be used with any of them when desired.
46. Sage Tea, Made as above, with % tea spoonful of pulverized alum dissolved in it and sweetened with honey, is especially valuable as a gargle for sore throat.
47. Mint Teas, From the dried or green leaves crushed, with a little sugar, are agreeable to the taste, and soothing to a nauseous stomach, and to an irritated condition of the bowels of children.
48. Catnip Tea, However, is considered, by old nurses, as the greatest panacea for infant ills, known among them.
49. Pennyroyal Tea, Is equally well known as the best thing ta break up colds, and to restore a checked perspiration from exposures, damp feet, etc.
50. Gentian Root and chamomile flower teas are both valuable tonics, and may be taken hot or cold, as preferred, and with or without sugar, but as both are quite bitter, sugar will make them more palatable.
51. Strawberry Leaf Tea, From the green leaves, is considered valuable in canker of the mouth of infants, and with the alum, as in the sage, for adults, as a wash or gargle.
52. Blackberry Tea, Made from the roots are considered valuable in bowel difficulties; and that from the raspberry are believed to be equally valuable; and a syrup from these fruits are valuable in bowel complaints, and also make agreeable drinks in fevers and inflammatory diseases.
53. Mint Tea, Juleped.It would be hardly right to close the subject of herb teas without giving an idea that something besides teas can be made from the mints. Take, then, a few sprigs of green mint (if any urinary difficulty, or in case of fever let it be spearmint, as that is more diuretic and febrifuge than peppermint, while the peppermint is the most carminative and anti-spasmodic), and bruise them in a glass with a spoonmashing considerably adding sugar freely, and cold Water to half fill the glass, with a table-spoonful or two of wine, or brandy, and pounded ice to fill, shaking, or stirring well, and if quaffed quickly you will think there has been a hail storm in the neighborhood, of an agreeable charactera little of which is not bad to take by sick or well people.