Keeping chickens became popular for city and suburban dwellers a few years back. I knew a few ladies who had chickens in their large yards. In 1891 raising chickens was more than a fad. And Home Remedies had pages of illustrations and information on their care and treatment.
No one wants me to write about the symptoms of chicken diseases! It is gross! But the treatments given include carbolic acid in water for cholera, sulfured butter for asthma, castor oil and burnt butter for fever, and brown sugar water for loss of feathers.
"Poultry Raisers' Egg Food Powder": Red pepper, powdered, 2 ounces; Allspice powdered, 4 ounces; Ginger powdered, 6 ounces. Mix by sifting. 1 tablespoon to be mixed with every pound of food, and fed 2 or 3 times a week. Also feed chopped-up fresh meat.
"How to Doctor Sheep" included use of Epson salts, Jamaica ginger and peppermint for colic.
The most space was given for the care and treatment of horses. In 1891 horses were important and were causing environmental issues in urban areas. But within two decades they would be 'old technology.'
"To man, whether as a civilized being or as a barbarian, no animal is more useful than the horse. The beauty, grace, and dignity of his noble creature, when in a properly developed state, are as marked as his utility. As an intelligent animal, he ranks next in scale to the dog, that other companion and fiend of man. Taking into consideration, then, his usefulness, his attractive appearance, and his intelligence, what is known of his history cannot prove unacceptable."
How to Enliven an Old Horse.
1 ounce of oil of cloves
2 ounces oil of sassafras
1 ounce of oil of wintergreen
1 ounce
tincture cantharides
5 ounces of alcohol
3 ounces of tincture of
assfoetida
Mix well and give twelve drops daily in a pail of water
NOTE: I would not suggest actually using any of the home remedies presented in this book!
"Remember that he who buys a horse needs a hundred eyes."
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