Take for Fever Patients-To Allay Great Thirst in Hot Weather, and for Dyspeptics. Take nice Tamarinds (kept by druggists in large cities, and sometimes, also, by grocers), 1 qt. -3 lbs will about equal 1 qt.place them in an earthen jar and pour upon them 3 qts. of boiling, soft water; cover, and let stand three or four hours; then, with the hand squeeze the pulp out of the bird-nest clusters, in which the seeds and pulp are held; then strain through stout muslin; bottle and cork tightly; and put into a cool cellar. In three or four weeks it will be ripe and fit for use.
Remarks.-In hot weather, especially with dyspeptics, there is often experienced very great thirst. With such, I am not aware of any other article or drink equal to this to relieve them of the excessive craving for drink. Then take a wine-glass of this in as much ice-cold water, sweetened to taste, and you will have a healthy and most agreeable nectar, and one of the most powerful extinguishers of thirst ever discovered. The author has -tested it and knows whereof he speaks. It settles by standing and becomes as clear and pure as champagne. I have taken a glass of it’ when very thirsty, ice-cold, as above mentioned, and the relief would be so perfect I would not think about drinking again for 2 or 3 hours. The properties of. the tamarind are very peculiar, as it contains not only small quantities of sugar, but pectic, citric, tartaric and malic acids, and also the bi-tartrate of potassa; is nourishing, refrigerant (cooling), calmative and laxative; hence its great value in fevers. But, of course, to pre-pare it for a drink in fevers, you cannot wait for it to purify itself by standing, yet it should be bottled all the same, and a bottle of it placed at once upon ice; or if no ice is at hand, stand a bottle of it in a bucket of cold water, so as to have it as cool as possible; then add as much cold water to what you use of the tamarind water at each time, and sweeten to taste. Let the patient partake of it as freely as desired, so long as it agrees with the stomach, and does not prove too laxative.