Is Recession Preparing a New Breed of Survivalist? [Survival Today

>>>Tedious work, planting that sprouted corn, one kernal at a time, but worth it when you finally get to eat it.<<<

I had always heard that corn didn’t transplant well at all, so being the stubborn person that I am, I planted 144 (2 trays) and have put them out - they are doing great!

Going to have to extend that cold frame next year, or finally get the half greenhouse moved up to the South wall.

It is nice to see 6” corn this early...

Oh, correction to our temps...... They are now calling for 37º tonight... Hope your garden makes it as I know it will be colder up where you are.

Ah-ha, a kindred spirit. I have planted my gardens for 60+ years and helped my parents garden before that, and I STILL just have to get some seeds in the ground way too early.

Welcome to our thread. I have gained so much from these lovely people, I'm certain I will not live long enough to utilize even a fraction of the ideas I have harvested from knowledge evidenced here.

I have been experimenting on a small scale for a few years now. A few years ago, when I had my pick your own bouquet business strictly as a hobby, I joined a local gardening group which published a quarterly paper full of useful hints. One hint stated that cold didn't much bother corn after it was sprouted but it wouldn't sprout til soil temps were above 60 degrees so from that, I started planting 4-6 kernels in individual cells. Then I tried clumps in cardboard flats. Now, I just strew corn on wet newspaper, cover with plastic, and if it is in a warm spot, within 2-3 days it is sprouted enough to plant. Much easier than if it is in soil, but still a back breaking chore.

http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2009/apr09_quickview.htm

[Long list, wide variety]

The April 2009 posting includes 65 drug products with safety labeling changes to the following sections: BOXED WARNING, CONTRAINDICATIONS, WARNINGS, PRECAUTIONS, ADVERSE REACTIONS, PATIENT PACKAGE INSERT, and MEDICATION GUIDE.

The “Summary Page” provides a listing of drug names and safety labeling sections revised: http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2009/apr09_quickview.htm

The “Detailed View Page” identifies safety labeling sections and subsections revised along with a brief summary of new or modified safety information to the BOXED WARNING, CONTRAINDICATIONS, and/or WARNINGS sections: http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2009/apr09.htm

The following 45 drugs had modifications to the BOXED WARNING, CONTRAINDICATIONS, and WARNINGS sections:

Extraneal, Remicade, Orap, Prevpac, Soma Compund, Aleve, Aleve Liquid Gels, Aleve-D Sinus & Cold, Axert, Carbatrol, Celontin, Depakene, Depakote, Depakote ER, Depakote Sprinkle, Depo-Medrol, Dilantin, Doribax, Enlon Plus, Equetro, Exjade, Felbatol, Gabitril, Heparin Solium injection, Ibuprofen, Kaletra, Keppra/Keppra XR, Klonipin, Lamictal, Lyrica, Midol, Motrin, Children’s Motrin Cold, Mysoline, Neurontin, Peganone, Sarafem, Stavzor, Tarceva, Tegretol, Topamax, Tranxene, Treanda, Tridione, Trileptal, Zarontin, Zonegran

You are encouraged to report all serious adverse events and product quality problems to FDA MedWatch at www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm

Dela Where, thanks for the info on your hybrid trees.

Mrs. Ranger be sure to check out posts # 7932, 7934 & 7937 for information on fast growing trees.

If ALL of our fruits and nuts are to be imported from foreign places as the Central California Valley becomes a dust bowl............ this will HIKE PRICES TERRIBLY and increase worries about possible diseases. Yet, the sources will be so hard to track.

Lots of my friends still living in California laugh off their current woes, (legalizing marijuana being discussed, Prop 8 woes, wildfires, bankrupt cities, possibility of more earthquakes, drought, and now dying orchards....... they say they are not worried because if things get tougher...... they will just come and live with me. If all your friends and family are planning to just come and live with you too..... maybe I will see you at the nursery this afternoon also......... and we will buy a few more fruit trees together.<<<

All in all, your post about covers what is floating around in my head, the ugly facts of what is coming.

Such a simple thing, storing food and being prepared for what is coming and the fools do not do it.

In my youth, you went to town maybe, every few months and in the bad years, once, for supplies, and if you didn’t have any money for shopping, you bought seeds for the next crop and made do with what you could find.

Ate lots of Prairie Hens and Cottontails. Saved the Chickens for hard times and eggs.

They are now dumbing down the third generation in our schools and few of them have a clue as to what is going to hit them.

I don’t see much food value in a 2 inch fish.

It’s no wonder people are just heading down dirt roads and dumping all their trash.<<<

Here they will arrest you for dumping trash.

I kinda laugh, for a few years ago, I took an archeological class at the college and at last there was a field trip.

LOL, we went out, the entire class and viewed trash that had been dumped alongside the roadway, not that old, 1940’s and 50’s from the looks of it.

LOL, I had seen much finer “finds” all over the west, but then what do you expect, when the teacher is also a BLM employee.

[BLM =Bureau of Land Management in the west, or aka Gov. Employee.]

Oh, believe me, it’s illegal here to dump trash, but with miles and miles of woods roads, it is a law impossible to enforce. Drive a mile or two down any dirt road and I guarantee that you will see TVs, refrigerators, stoves, washing machines, mattresses and all manner of trash. Now, you pay for everything you take to the dump, get treated very rudely and some items they won’t take for any price, so what do the people do with it?

Thank you for that post Granny. Our worthless governor met the Latino Water Coalition near the Los Banos Reservoir after that group had marched for three days and nearly 50 miles. He was there for ten minutes, mouthed some platitudes and led a couple of half-hearted chants, “We need water! We need water!” Then he left and proceeded to do nothing further.

The one thing that came of it was that long-time liberal comedian Paul Rodriguez is starting to see how the environmentalists lie. They threatened him that he would not get comedy venues if he fought them.

We are in a war and most folks don’t even recognize it.

http://www.naturalnews.com/z026294.html

Silk, SoyDream, Pacific Natural Foods and Vitasoy all Rebuked in New Soy Scorecard Ratings

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor

(NaturalNews) The Cornucopia Institute (www.cornucopia.org) has just released a new report about organic soy products that’s sending shockwaves through the soy industry. By compiling information on the sourcing of soybeans, the use of toxic chemicals for soy protein extraction, and the use or avoidance of genetically modified soybeans, the Cornucopia Institute has created an Organic Soy Scorecard that reveals which soy product companies are truly trustworthy vs. those that are not.

(NaturalNews contributed funding to this investigative reporting, specifically on the subject of the laboratory testing for hexane residues in soy products. Thank you to all NaturalNews readers and customers who allow us to earn the funds needed to support these important public safety research initiatives.)

The scorecard (http://www.cornucopia.org/2009/05/soy-report-and-scorecard/) takes into account:

• Where the soybeans are sourced from (many companies use “organic” soybeans sourced from China!)

• How the soybeans are processed (some companies bathe soybeans in toxic chemicals, then put the resulting extracts into infant formula!)

• How forthright the companies are in providing information to investigators.

• Whether the company tests for and avoids genetically modified soybeans.

... and other details.

You can read the full report on www.Cornucopia.org

Here’s who came out on top:

The soy companies scorecard
5-star rating
• Eden Foods - 100% of their soybeans are grown in the U.S. and Canada.

• Vermont Soy (Vermont) - 100% of soybeans also grown in U.S. and Canada (mostly in Vermont). Low-heat pasteurization helps preserve soybean nutrients.

• Small Planet Tofu (Washington) - Buys solely from American farmers.

• FarmSoy (Tennessee) - Real tofu made from soybeans bought from American farmers.

• TwinOats (Virginia) - Buys soybeans from an organic family farm in Virginia.

• Unisoya / Green Cuisine (Canada) - They grown their own organic soybeans on 400 acres.

4-star rating
• Organic Valley
• Great Eastern Sun
• Fresh Tofu
• Wildwood
• Tofu Shop

3-star rating
• Harris Teeter

2-star rating
• Trader Joe’s - refused to disclose sourcing information

1-star rating
• Pacific Natural Foods - Buys soybeans from China and refused to disclose the name of the organic certifier in China. Refused to respond to questions about the certification of their “organic” soybeans. Cornucopia wonders whether Pacific Natural Foods is engaged in “a marketing gimmick” when it claims its products are “Certified to the Source.” (Certified by who?)

• Vitasoy USA - Buys soybeans from China.

• Westsoy / SoyDream (both owned by Hain Celestial Group) - Refused to share sourcing information.

• Silk (Dean Foods) - Refused to participate. Says the report: Since Dean Foods acquired WhiteWave, its founder, Steve Demos, has left the company, along with almost all of the pioneering management — those who believed in “green” values. According to Demos, the company is now all about “green, with the dead presidents on it.”

What to make of all this - the Health Ranger’s opinion
Nothing in this report surprises me. In my opinion, these greenwashing, fake food companies like Dean Foods, Hain Celestial Group and Pacific Natural Foods are health food charlatans who intentionally deceive consumers about the integrity of their foods.

Armed with slick marketing campaigns, clever packaging and an abundance of corporate greed, these operators rip off the vocabulary and imagery of the natural health industry in order to sell products that are little more than a mirage.

Dean Foods, in particular, is much like the Monsanto of the food industry, in my opinion. Many of its products are made with monosodium glutamate (MSG) and sodium nitrite, a chemical linked with dietary-induced cancer. (http://www.naturalnews.com/007024.html)

Hain Celestial Group is a “health” food conglomerate that routinely uses yeast extract in its foods (a form of hidden MSG). Its brands include Garden of Eatin’, Health Valley, WestSoy, Earth’s Best, Hain Pure Foods, Spectrum Naturals, Walnut Acres Organic, Imagine Foods, Rice Dream, Soy Dream, Ethnic Gourmet, Yves Veggie Cuisine, JASON, Avalon Organics, and Alba Botanica. I personally wouldn’t buy anything from this conglomerate.

It’s nice to know that Eden Foods was awarded the highest rating in this Cornucopia Institute report. Eden Foods’ soy milk tastes like real soy milk, unlike Silk, which to me tastes like soy-flavored sugar water.

So if you want real soy milk, go with Eden Foods soy products.

The low down on soy
I’ve noticed a tendency in the natural health industry to lump all soy products into the same category. While soy was a high-demand item five years ago, today’s best-informed natural health consumers tend to avoid soy products for various reasons.

The truth is that there’s good soy and there’s bad soy. It’s much like the question of sugar. There’s good sugar (raw sugar cane juice) and there’s bad sugar (processed white table sugar). Same stuff, different process. So you get different outcomes and results.

Companies like Dean Foods (Silk) process the life out of their soy milk (in my view), while companies like Eden Foods manufacture real soy products that have tremendous health benefits! (Such as helping to prevent prostate cancer.)

As with any other food item, you can’t just lump all soy products into the same boat and say they’re good or bad. You have to assess them on a case-by-case basis, which is of course what this Soy Products Scorecard is all about.

Personally, I drink soy milk and eat real tofu in Ecuador right now. That’s because our soy milk is made in our own kitchen by soaking (sprouting), grinding, straining and cooking non-GMO soybeans into a traditional, zero-sugar soy milk beverage.

Our soy tofu is made in town by a local resident who specializes in REAL tofu. It’s the real deal.

I don’t eat processed, corporate-branded soy products. Silk, in particular, is a complete joke, in my view.

The soy products I consume are real superfoods — and they’re made the same way in Asia, where soy is a routine part of the healthful diets consumed there. If you eat soy products the same way I eat soy products, you’re getting good superfood into your diet. But if you purchase and consume junk soy products backed by powerful food conglomerates that are really only interested in profits instead of integrity, you’re probably just consuming processed junk food with “soy” in the product name.

Be careful where you put your trust in any food product. “Natural” food companies will lie to you if they can get away with it, and most consumers are fooled by their slick promotional campaigns.

Please do your part to reward the honest, high-integrity soy companies like Eden Foods by giving them your business. And don’t you dare buy anything from Dean Foods or Hain. Do not reward their business practices with your hard-earned dollars.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2251401/posts

Scorpion venom neutralized - A drug used in Mexico proves effective in Arizona test

Science News ^ | May 13th, 2009 | Nathan Seppa

Posted on Fri May 15 2009 01:26:12 GMT-0700 (Pacific Daylight Time) by neverdem

The Arizona bark scorpion may be small, but its sting delivers a neurotoxin that can kill or render critically ill a young child. A study in the May 14 New England Journal of Medicine finds that an antivenom drug commonly used in Mexico for such stings neutralizes the toxin, eliminates symptoms and reduces the need for sedation in children who have been stung.

More than 200 children in Arizona and a handful in New Mexico become critically ill from Arizona bark scorpion stings each year, but there is no U.S.–approved remedy for the stings. Children are rushed to intensive care units and sedated to prevent wild thrashing and choking, says pediatrician Leslie Boyer of the University of Arizona in Tucson. The victims are closely monitored until the neurotoxin’s effects fade, which takes 16 hours on average but can take several days. Some children require a mechanical ventilator to breathe.

Adults typically face painful but much milder symptoms from the sting of this scorpion, Centruroides sculpturatus.

During 2004 and 2005, Boyer and her colleagues randomly assigned 15 children showing up at Tucson hospitals with scorpion poisoning to receive either the Mexican antivenom and sedation as needed or a placebo infusion along with sedation. Both groups also received other care, such as breathing assistance if necessary. Doctors treating the patients didn’t know who was given antivenom and who wasn’t.

Eight of eight children receiving the antivenom showed no signs of scorpion venom in their blood after only one hour and recovered within four hours. Only one in seven children who received the placebo recovered in four hours, and that child was the oldest and heaviest of the group at 42 kilograms. The children not getting the antivenom also needed 65 times as much sedative drug as the others on average, Boyer says..

You won't believe this Granny, even I can't.

There are a pair of ducks that land in my pool, and walk out on the pool
cover to drink the fresh water from the rain that lays on top. Well,
I almost ran them off a few days ago and I realized they were young ducks
and possibly the young of their parents who were here just three years ago
camping out and swimming in my pool. Well, I'm glad I didn't.

These Millard ducks are not shy and I can get within about five feet of them
before they start back peddling. Fun stuff, I like ducks because they
always travel in pairs like a couple.

This past morning I saw what looked like a golf ball on my pool cover, nope.
When I returned home from my business, and on closer inspection, it was an EGG.
Holy cow. She left me an EGG. That has to be the funniest thing that's
happened to me in my life.

(Duck leaves Egg for Homeowner, Thanks for the pool use)

Here's a pic of the egg,

Here is a closer pic,

Here's a light under it,

Here's a Garden pic with the Strawberry tree with fifty plants around four sides,

Closer pic of the Strawberries,

I plan on eating the Duck egg tomorrow, my neighbor hunter was drooling when
he saw the egg. LOL, poor guy he'll have to wait.

God Bless You Granny. /Salute

http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Friend/1992.htm/friend%20july%201992.htm/pioneer%20dolls.htm

Pioneer Dolls

By Judie Fordham

Judie Fordham, “Pioneer Dolls,” Friend, July 1992, 27
When pioneer children were crossing the plains,
They didn’t have cars, airplanes, or trains.
They walked beside wagons loaded clear to the top
With food, bedding, and seeds for the next season’s crop.
There just wasn’t room for a toy or a doll—
The wagons were filled with all they could haul.
So Papa’s handkerchief became a new toy,
A cherished soft doll that brought lots of joy.
This cute little doll loves to play or just sleep.
She’ll brush away tears if ever you weep.
So keep her close by—she’s easy to hold—
And pretend you’re a pioneer child of old.

http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Friend/1997.htm/friend%20march%201997.htm/exploring%20home%20remedies%20.htm?fn=document-frame.htm&f=templates&2.0

Exploring:
Home Remedies

By Rebecca Todd

(Based on Homespun, by Shirley B. Paxman)

And whosoever among you are sick … shall be nourished with all tenderness, with herbs and mild food (D&C 42:43).

Rebecca Todd, “Home Remedies,” Friend, Mar. 1997, 42
A red pepper instead of aspirin! What would you say if you went to the doctor with a cold and he handed you a red pepper or mint leaf to treat it? It may sound strange, but the pioneers used seeds, blossoms, and other plant parts to try to cure their colds and ease their aches and pains.

Since many pioneer homes were isolated, it usually fell upon the mother to care for the family when they got sick. She learned by trial and error which roots, seeds, and blossoms might help cure her family’s ills. The medicines were usually made by dropping dried leaves or roots into boiling water and letting it stand for five minutes. When a pioneer mother discovered an effective remedy, she’d be sure to share it with the other sisters at church on Sunday.

Hot peppers dried by the fire were made into a broth to treat colds. Pine needles were also boiled in water, and then the water was drunk for treating colds. Sagebrush dotted the brown valley when the pioneers arrived in Utah. It was used to treat ailments of the liver and the eyes. Many believed that sage helped a person have a long and healthy life. Dry mustard mixed with flour, or pine tar mixed with turpentine, was often spread on a cloth and placed on the chest to relieve congestion in the lungs.

The pioneers didn’t chew spearmint gum, but spearmint was prescribed for an upset stomach, nausea, or kidney stones. It was also thought to prevent swelling and inflammation. The tangy mint flavor made it a pioneer favorite.

When a child came down with a fever, a pioneer mother often boiled parsley to ease the fever. Parsley was also used for jaundice (a liver disease) and gallstones (a gall bladder condition). Raspberry and strawberry leaves were used to treat flu and/or diarrhea. Many believed that raw or cooked garlic helped heart disease.

Sometimes the women experimented, mixing plants with household ingredients. A paste of oatmeal, linseed oil, buttermilk, and baking soda was concocted to ease insect bites or bee stings. Mud or clay mixed with turpentine, crushed chrysanthemum leaves, butter, and salt might also ease the pain of a bite. A paste made of turpentine and brown sugar was sometimes applied to stop bleeding.

Some of the pioneer remedies are still used today, but most have been replaced by new and more effective medicines. There were no hospitals for early pioneer families. Mothers had to rely on Heavenly Father and the plants of the land to care for their families.

[illustrations] Illustrated by Dick Brown

[This could be an interesting site, as usual I have too many tabs open to really explore, most of what I am posting tonight will interest you, from the looks of it....LOL, a google or two floated through my mind and it will take a long time to see it all.
granny]

http://www.kclibrary.org/kchistory/taste-trail-books-examine-explorers-diet

A Taste of the Trail: Books Examine Explorers’ Diet

The bicentennial commemoration of the Lewis and Clark Expedition recalls a number of the epic triumphs and tribulations of the Corps of Discovery, but several books in the Library’s Missouri Valley Special Collections analyze a less-examined aspect of the journey: Food. Without daily nourishment of some kind, the explorers would not have had the energy to haul a keelboat up the Missouri River, survive a North Dakota winter, or portage the Great Falls of Montana. Books describing the culinary adventures of the expedition range from scholarly examinations of nutrition and food culture to gourmet interpretations that read like recipes straight from the pages of Bon Appetit magazine.

In preparation for the trip west, Lewis purchased 193 pounds of what would become a staple of the men’s diet -”portable” or “pocket” soup. Lewis’ expenditure of $289.50 on this item in May 1803 might be compared to a purchase of $4,500 worth of bouillon cubes in a 2004 supermarket. Mary Gunderson’s Food Journal of Lewis & Clark (History Cooks, 2003) provides a recipe for authentic portable soup, consisting of oxtail, onions, carrots, salt, and a bay leaf for a little zing. The recipe calls for boiling these ingredients for five hours, straining out the solids to produce a “quivering, gelled mass” of oxtail stock, letting this substance congeal in a refrigerated pan, and cutting it into 3.5 inch squares. In 1803, these cubes were packed in canvas oilcloth sealed with wax. Gunderson advises storage at room temperature for historical authenticity.

Cornmeal cooked in various forms was another staple of the expedition. It was most often prepared as a “hoe cake” — a patty of salted cornmeal fried in lard. Some 1,200 pounds of “parched meal” went up the Missouri with Lewis and Clark, as well as one keg of lard and 600 pounds of “grees.” The hoe cake was so named by early chefs who prepared it on the blade of a hoe over an open fire.

Once on the river and beyond, the nine men of the expedition went on what could be described as the most intense Atkins Diet of all time. An average of nine pounds of meat was consumed per man per day for much of the journey. Sergeant Ordway, a member of the Corps of Discovery, kept a careful tally of the game ingested from April 9-27, 1805. He records that the men ate all of the following in that three-week period: beaver, beaver tail, deer, deer liver, elk, buffalo, buffalo calves, buffalo tongue, antelope, white rabbit, muskrat, otter, grizzly bear, goose, goose eggs, bald eagles and swan. In his journal, Meriwether Lewis also writes of a potential backyard delicacy for many of us: “I made my dog take as many [squirrels] each day as I had occation for, they wer fat and I thought them fryed a pleasant food” (11 September, 1803). The physical effects of such a diet are examined in detail in Leandra Zim Holland’s Feasting and Fasting with Lewis and Clark (Old Yellowstone Publishing, 2003).

Additional books about food on the Lewis and Clark expedition range from cookbooks that interpret the men’s culinary creativity rather generously (a recipe for “Hazelnut Mushroom Pate,” for instance, or an elk marinade containing garlic, virgin olive oil, shallots and celery seed), to cookbooks intending to document the food preparation techniques of Sacagawea and other Native Americans encountered by Lewis and Clark. So as you remember the sights and sounds of the Lewis and Clark Expedition this summer, don’t forget the tastes. Gourmet cooks and historical purists alike know that the palate is a great way to share the experience of the Corps of Discovery.

Dan Coleman
Missouri Valley Special Collection Librarian
2004

http://www.stratfordhall.org/visit/gardens/herbs.php

Colonial Herbs

The Herb Garden is laid out in a traditional colonial pattern of two main paths meeting on a central axis with smaller paths radiating out in grid fashion. The beds are raised approximately ten inches using wooden boards as would have been done in the eighteenth century. The specimens are labeled and brief information is provided about the uses of each herb. Stratford Herbs

Raising the beds enables the soil to warm more quickly in the spring, allows for better drainage, and permits easy access for weeding and maintenance. The soft paths of shredded mulch make walking among the raised beds pleasant, and encourages guests to go into the garden for a closer look. Please do touch!

The history of gardening with herbs dates back to ancient times, covering all ages, in all countries. In America, the uses and knowledge of herbs grew with each race of peoples that came to the New World. Our forefathers and mothers brought seeds and cuttings from their homelands and the Native Americans passed on their extensive wisdom in indigenous species.

Though for many decades the understanding of herbs had become obscure, today they are enjoying a great resurgence of interest. Here at Stratford some of the herbs are used in our Dining Room for garnish and flavor while others are used in our interpretive programs and arrangements to grace special occasions.

Herbs are easy to grow as compared to other plants. They are relatively pest-free and, with a good start, grow without much attention.

All herbs and flowers - in fact all plants - have been given their own symbolism and meanings. The art of the language of flowers became highly specialized during the Victorian period. You will find in our list of herbs many of the meanings for each.
List of Herbs at Stratford

* Alkanet—Anchusa officinalis—biennial or perennial; used as a dye herb for striking red color; blossoms good in salads; used in herbal medicine.
* Angelica—Angelica archangelica—biennial; “inspiration”; large interesting plant in the landscape; wonderful licorice taste; cut stems, soak in simple syrup, dry and you have candy.
* Anise Hyssop—Agastache foeniculum—perennial; layer leaves in sugar for flavor in baking or stir into beverages; draws butterflies and “painted” wasps to the garden. (They DON”T sting unless harassed!)
* Silver Queen/Silver King Artemisia—Artemisia ludoviciana—perennial; silvery grey foliage is a must for dried arrangements; great in the landscape as well.
* Feverfew—Tanacetum parthenium—perennial; “you light up my life”; flowers fresh or dried are wonderful in arrangements; dried blossoms add sweet fragrance to potpourri; used medicinally to relieve headache and reduce fever.
* Wormwood—Artemisia absinthium—perennial; the plant once used in making absinthe, now known to cause severe brain disorder, a la Van Gogh, cutting off his ear!; good for decorating; tall, wispy foliage for the back of the border, nice pale grey-green leaves; frequently mentioned in the Bible (Jeremiah 23:15).
* Basil—Ocicum basilicum—annual; “love”, “hate”, and “good wishes”; no kitchen or garden should be without! Many great varieties available today; African blue is incredible in the landscape, lemon and cinnamon, as well as traditional greens (of pesto frame), are great for cooking.
* Bee Balm—Monarda didyma—perennial; “compassion”; delightful citrus/mint flavor good for tea and baking; a favorite of bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds (dark pink variety).
* Betony—Stachys officinalis—perennial; “surprise”; mostly used in the landscape today, beautiful, dark green foliage and purple-pink spiky blossoms; once used medicinally to strengthen the nervous system.
* Borage—Borago officinalis—self-seeding annual; “courage”; cucumber and melon blended into one, tiny sky-blue flowers are great for salads; also makes a nice vinegar.
* Salad Burnet—Poterium sanguisorba—perennial; “mirth”; all the flavor of cucumber without the burp; fun foliage is great year round for fresh salads.
* Calendula—Calendula officinalis—annual; yellow and orange petals add festive touch when sprinkled on salads; excellent healing salve made from the flowers.
* Caraway—Carum carvi—biennial; “faithfulness”; the essential seed in rye bread; seeds also used during the colonial period to curb appetite during prayer meetings.
* Catnip—Nepeta cataria—perennial; a delight to most felines, its minty leaves also make a tea that soothes the nerves; good for drawing beneficial insects to the garden.
* Chamomile—Chamaemelum nobile—perennial and annual; “humility”; sweetly scented of apples, it is the tea that soothes the tummy and lulls one to sleep.
* Chervil—Anthriscus cerefolium—biennial; “sincerity”; in the parsley family; excellent cooked with beans or chopped and added to scrambled eggs or omelets.
* Chicory—Cichorium intybus—perennial; popular to smooth out coffee’s harsh stimulant effect; used medicinally as a mild tonic; young leaves good tossed in salad.
* Chives—Allium schoenoprasum—perennial; so pretty in the spring landscape with pale pink pom poms; add to any dish-what would a baked potato be without chives?
* Garlic Chives—Allium tuberosum—perennial; wonderful white clusters of star-shaped flowers, blooms in summer; blossoms and leaves are good in salads and any dish where the light flavor of garlic is desired.
* Clary Sage—Salvia sclarea—biennial and perennial; used extensively in aromatherapy and once used medicinally to “clear the sight”; good landscape plant with fat, fuzzy, greyish leaves and unique dragon-head blossoms.

http://www.stratfordhall.org/learn/teacher/medicine.php

Medicine & Health

A Colonial teenager faced a struggle for existence. The average life expectancy was under twenty-five years. Diseases such as smallpox, malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia, influenza, rickets, and fevers caused many deaths in children and adults. Wells for drinking water were often contaminated by nearby privies and unpenned animals, causing many illnesses.

Colonial homes had no bathroom, septic system, or running water. Chamber pots, hidden under beds and inside chests, performed the function of today’s toilets. Slaves would dump the contents of the pots daily. Outdoor toilets of wood or brick, called privies, sometimes had four or more holes for larger families. The waste pits below the privies were normally cleaned by chickens; sometimes slaves would have to shovel out the pits. People in this period were accustomed to living with smells that we would consider extremely unpleasant.

Today most people bathe or shower daily, a practice that adults and children of the colonial period would have considered odd. They did not believe in bathing everyday, or even every week. They felt that bathing washed away the layer of dirt that was their protection against germs and disease. Most baths consisted of washing with a cloth dipped into a basin of water. When washing in warm water was desired, water had to be heated in the fireplace. No chemical deodorants or anti-antiperspirants masked body odors; however, since nearly everyone shared the same standard of cleanliness, odors were not as offensive. Pomanders, tussie-mussies, colognes, and lavender and other fragrant herbs used as air fresheners all helped to make indoor odors tolerable.

Colonists often wrote back to England for medical advice. Many were fascinated with Indian remedies made from herbs, minerals, and animal products. Home remedies for a variety of symptoms included ingredients such as snail water, opium, herbs, honey, wine, vipers, licorice, flowers, and berries. The alignment of the stars was believed to affect the healing properties of medicine.

Most family illnesses were treated at home. The plantation mistress or housekeeper usually kept a supply of medicinal herbs and other simple remedies in a physic chest in the Great House. She administered first aid and nursing advice as needed to all persons living on the plantation. Local barbers/surgeons would be consulted only after all other treatments failed. These barbers bled patients (a popular remedy) and pulled abscessed teeth in addition to their primary duties of shaving, cutting hair, and curling wigs. Midwives, who delivered babies, were extremely important since all babies were born at home and colonial families tended to have a larger number of children than those of today.

The term doctor was first used in the colonies in 1769. By the time of the Revolution only a small percentage of doctors had attended a medical school; most were either trained by another physician or self-trained. Physicians usually limited their treatments to rich patients who were chronically ill. Lack of knowledge of causes and cures of most diseases, effective medicines and pain-killers, and instruments such as the thermometer and stethoscope handicapped colonial doctors in their practice of medicine.
Suggested Readings

* Duffy, John. Epidemics in Colonial America. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1979.
* Kalman, Bobbie. Early Health and Medicine. The Early Settler Life Series. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, 1991.
* >Savitt, Todd L. Fever, Agues, and Cures: Medical Life in Old Virginia. An Exhibition for the Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, 4 October 1990 - 1 April 1991.
* Wilbur, C. Keith, M.D. Revolutionary Medicine: 1700 - 1800. Chester, CT: The Globe Pequot Press, 1980.

http://www.google.com/search?q=Wilbur%2C+C.+Keith%2C+M.D.+Revolutionary+Medicine%3A+1700+-+1800&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

http://www.google.com/search?q=Savitt%2C+Todd+L.+Fever%2C+Agues%2C+and+Cures%3A+Medical+Life+in+Old+Virginia&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

http://www.google.com/search?q=Kalman%2C+Bobbie.+Early+Health+and+Medicine.+The+Early+Settler+Life+Series&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Looks very interesting:

http://www.google.com/search?q=Duffy%2C+John.+Epidemics+in+Colonial+America&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2007_winter_spring/epidemics.html

[snipped from a page of several reports]

Influenza

Benjamin Rush provided “An Account of the Influenza as it appeared in Philadelphia in the Autumn of 1789 - In the Spring of 1790 - and in the Winter of 1791” in Medical Inquiries and Observations. 19

In October 1789, Congress arrived in Philadelphia much indisposed with colds, which they ascribed to fatigue, night air and travel. The influenza rapidly spread through the city. Symptoms included the following: hoarseness, sore throat, fatigue, chills, fever, head pains, swollen eyelids, watery eyes, ear ache and possible abscess of the frontal sinus. Sneezing was universal (”no less than fifty times in a day”) 20 as was cough. Other complaints were nose bleeds, nasal discharge, loss of appetite, nausea and sometimes vomiting, limb pain - especially back and thighs, sweating and a remitting fever.

Both sexes were equally affected but it usually passed children under eight years of age. It crossed all occupations but seemed to attack those who worked out of doors more severely than those indoors; surveyors of the eastern woods suffered terribly with influenza. There was no previous disease protection and many people were reinfected. It was usually fatal only to older people, drinkers, asthmatics and those with tuberculosis.

Common treatments included bleeding, antiphlogistic medicines, cordial drinks, and diet, but no cathartics.
Rush made the following observations about influenza: 1. It was as contagious as the smallpox, 2. It spread very rapidly, and 3. Neither climate nor state of society produced any change in the disease.

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:pwIUWDussqIJ:scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-65172149731401/unrestricted/CH1.PDF+Savitt,+Todd+L.+Fever,+Agues,+and+Cures:+Medical+Life+in+Old+Virginia&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

Page 1
Chapter One: The Transfer of Slave Medical Knowledge

In October of 1861, a Charleston shop placed an ad in the local newspaper which read “Van
Schaak & Grierson are agents for the following Southern Preparations!” There followed a list of
products, including Cherokee Remedy and Cherokee Cure, McLean’s Volcanic Oil Liniment and
Universal Pills, among other items. At the bottom of the advertisement, in fine print, the notation
that the druggists were members of the College of Pharmacy in Paris assured readers of the
store’s integrity

continued......

snipped.....Here is another onion cure.....

Domestic Medicine
Self-treatment, relied on from the earliest colonial period, continued to be prevalent during the
antebellum period. Whether by necessity or by choice, southerners frequently depended on
themselves to treat illnesses using remedies passed down in their families. Southerners turned to
do-it-yourself remedy books which were widely available at the time and so popular they went
through several printings.
6
Plantation mistresses and others compiled recipes for cures from a
variety of sources including newspapers, friends and slaves.
7
A daughter of a slaveowner
attempted to cure a slave child of the croup and later wrote of her efforts. While sitting at his
bedside, she decided “to look in ma’s recept book [to see] if there was no remedy there for the
croup. There was one, to cut up onions and stew them with tallow and sugar, give the liquor to
the patient - apply the onions to the breast, feet and wrist.” Unfortunately this particular remedy
failed and the child died.
8
Disseminating knowledge of effective remedies was considered so
important that a 1739 weekly edition of the Virginia Gazette devoted its first two pages to a cure
by a woman named Joanna Stephens, reprinted from a June 1739 edition of the London Gazette.
The cure called for a powder of egg shells and snails; a decoction, made by boiling herbs in water;
and some pills that contained, among the ingredients, snails, wild carrot seed, burdock seeds, soap
and honey.
9
Domestic remedies continued to be utilized throughout the antebellum period

continues

http://www.essortment.com/all/learnhowtomak_rkhq.htm

Learn how to make a corn husk doll

Corn husk dolls were first made by Native American children. Learn how to make a corn husk doll.
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Corn husk dolls have been around for centuries. Early arrivals to the United States admired the beautiful, simplistic dolls that Native American children made from corn and fashioned to resemble members of their tribe. Some of the first Americans were taught how to construct these tiny, colorful playmates at the first ever Thanksgiving dinner. Since then, thousands use corn husk dolls for decoration and play. They’re a perfect craft and activity for children of all ages, and make for unique and lively decorations.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

9-12 pieces of green corn husk

String or twine

Decorative pieces

Scissors

Bowl of water

Glue

A WORD ABOUT CORN HUSK

The corn husk you use to construct your doll should be green and not dried. Green corn husk can be purchased from any craft store. You can also use green corn husk you peel from a corn cob yourself. If you must use dried husks, before beginning the construction phase, soak all corn husks in a large bowl of warm water to make them more pliable. Corn husks which are purchased or fresh can be treated in this manner also, though it isn’t usually necessary.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Take a small handful of husks and bunch them together so that they are of equal length. Once this is done, use twine or string to hold them together. Approximately 1/2 inch from the top of your husks, wrap two layers of twine and knot tightly. This will serve as the body for your doll. Once you’ve completed this step, set aside.

2. Take 1 or 2 small pieces of husks and roll them together to form a ball. (If husks are too dry or stiff, soak them for about 30-minutes in a large bowl of warm water.) This “ball” will serve as your doll’s head, so you can play with its size until you are satisfied you’ve created the look you want.

3. Once you have the right size for your head, take a single piece of husk and drape it over your head, gathering the two loose ends at the base of the head. Pull the single piece of husk tightly around your ball (so that you can draw or design a face on it later), and twist the loose ends once and tie tightly with a single piece of twine. Set aside.

4. It’s time to make arms. Grab your first group of husks (which you’ve already tied together on one end in step 1). From the loose end, gather one husk and pull upward (as if peeling a banana). Cut two small pieces of twine. Use one piece of twine to tie the arm off near the center stalk of husks. (This will help to keep it separated from the body of your doll.) Use the other piece of twine or string to tie the loose end of the husk, forming a wrist for your doll. Repeat on the other side so that you have two distinct arms on your doll. If the arms appear too long or disproportionate, cut the husk to the proper size or find a husk more to your liking.

5. Take your dolls head and position it on top of the body so that your two loose pieces of twine drape themselves over the neck of the doll. Using a small piece of string or twine, attach the head to the body. (If the head does not seem to want to stay in place, you may dribble a small amount of glue on the underside of the head before securing it with twine to the body or add a pipe cleaner to it. Allow glue to dry completely before proceeding.)

6. Take a small piece of twine and tie a waist on your doll. It will be located near the center of your stalk of husks. Tightly knot the string or twine.

7. To make the legs for your doll, split the husks which have not yet been tied off, in half. (Right below the waistline you’ve just made.) Use several small pieces of twine to tie off the legs on each side. Make one knot just below where the legs separate and a second knot near the foot of your doll. Repeat on the other side until you have formed two distinct legs.

DECORATING AND DRESSING

Your new corn husk doll can be decorated to your liking. Small children will be able to decorate with colored construction paper
, crayons and markers. You can attach paper clothing, jewelry, facial features and other items with a small dot of household glue. Older children and adults can make clothing from fabric, additional pieces of corn husk or many other items.

Facial features, such as eyes, ears, noses, and mouths can be drawn on with permanent markers or crayons. Craft eyes, yarn mouths, and more can also be attached to your doll with glue.

TIPS, TRICKS, AND HINTS

MAKE A SKIRT for your corn husk doll out of a fresh piece of husk. Simply wrap around the waistline and tie off with a piece of twine or colored yarn. You can decorate your skirt beforehand with markers or crayons.

COLORED yarn can be bent in the shape of a smile or ears and glued into place for instant facial features.

CORN HUSKS can be soaked in food coloring to make colored clothing or skin. Soak husks for 30-minutes in a large bowl containing warm water and several drops of your desired color. To make vibrant browns, soak husks in a large bowl of coffee or tea.

DIP the feet of your doll into a small bowl of acrylic paint to make brown or black shoes. Allow to air dry and repeat, if necessary.

USE small doll clothes to decorate your corn husk doll.

SEQUINS, buttons, glitter and other craft supplies can be glued to your corn husk doll to make jewelry, eyes, colored clothing and more.

INSERT a pipe cleaner into the back of your doll to put them on display, help them bend into a variety of positions, or hang them.

MAKE instant hair for your doll with corn silk, yarn, or twine. Attach with glue.

WATERCOLOR paints will soak into corn husks, and give a deep, rich color to your doll.

USE a plastic bottle cap for a doll hat.

YOU can make a perfectly round head for your doll by placing a few cotton balls inside a piece of husk, instead of rolling husks. Decorate first, and then attach to the body using the above instructions.