Lavender.

It is very much to be regretted that the nerve-soothing vegetable perfumes of our grandmothers have been superseded, for the most part, by the cheap mineral products of the laboratory. Scents really prepared from the flowers that give them their names are expensive to make, and consequently high-priced. The cheap scents are all mineral concoctions, and their use is more or less injurious. A penny-worth of dried lavender flowers in a muslin bag is even cheaper to buy, inoffensive to smell—which is more than can be said of cheap manufactured scents—and possesses medicinal properties.

Lavender flowers were formerly used for their curative virtues in all disorders of the head and nerves.

An oil, prepared by infusing the crushed lavender flowers in olive oil, is recommended for anointing palsied limbs, and at one time a spirit was prepared from lavender flowers which was known as “palsy drops.”

A tea made with hot water and lavender tops will relieve the headache that comes from fatigue.

Dr. Fernie advises 1 dessertspoonful per day of pure lavender water for eczema.

The scent of lavender will keep away flies, fleas, and moths.

Lemon.

Lemons are invaluable in cases of gout, malaria, rheumatism, and scurvy. They are also useful in fevers and liver complaints.

I have found the juice of one lemon taken in a little hot water remove dizzy feelings in the head, accompanied by specks and lights dancingbefore the eyes, consequent upon the liver being out of order, in half an hour.

The juice of a lemon in hot water may be taken night and morning with advantage by sufferers from rheumatism. In the “lemon cure” for gout and rheumatism, the patients begin with one lemon per day and increase the quantity until they arrive at a dozen or more. But I think this is carrying it to excess. Dr. Fernie recommends the juice of one lemon mixed with an equal proportion of hot water, to be taken pretty frequently, in cases of rheumatic fever.

A prescription for malaria, given in the Lancet, is the following: “Take a full-sized lemon, cut it in thin transverse slices, rind and all, boil these down in an earthenware jar containing a pint and a half of water, until the decoction is reduced to half a pint. Let this cool on the window-sill overnight, and drink it off in the morning.”

A Florentine doctor discovered that fresh lemon juice will alleviate the pain of cancerous ulceration of the tongue. His patient sucked slices of lemon.

A German doctor found that fresh lemon juice kills the diptheria bacillus, and advises a gargle of diluted lemon juice to diptheric patients. Such a gargle is excellent for sore throat.

Dr. Fernie recommends lemon juice for nervous palpitation of the heart.

Lemon juice rubbed on to corns will eventually do away with them, and if applied to unbroken chilblains will effect a cure.

Lemon juice is also an old remedy for the removal of freckles and blackheads from the face. It should be rubbed in at bedtime, after washing with warm water.

Lettuce.

Lettuce is noted for its sedative properties, although these are not great in the large, highly-manured, commercial specimens. It is very easily digested, and may, therefore, be eaten by those with whom salads disagree in the ordinary way.

Nettle.

The tender tops of young nettles picked in the spring make a delicious vegetable, somewhat resembling spinach. They are excellent for sufferers from gout and skin eruptions.

Fresh nettle juice is prescribed in doses of from 1 to 2 tablespoonfuls for loss of blood from the lungs, nose, or internal organs.

Nuts.

Nuts are the true substitute for flesh meat. They contain everything in the way of nourishment that meat contains, minus the poisonous constituents of the latter. They are very rich in proteid (flesh and muscle former) and fat. In addition they possess all the constituents that go to make up a perfect food. Nuts and water form a complete dietary, although I do not suggest that any reader should try it. If he did so he would probably eat too many nuts, not realising how great an amount of nourishment is contained in a concentrated form. No one should eat more than a quarter of a pound of nuts per day, in addition to other food. A pound per day would be more than sufficient if no other food were taken. I have little doubt but that the diet of the future will consist solely of nuts and fresh fruit. After all it is the food most favoured by monkeys, and our teeth and digestive apparatus more nearly resemble those of the monkey than the carnivorous and herbivorous animals so many of us seemingly prefer to imitate.

The chief objection to nuts is supposed to be on account of their indigestibility. But this has its foundation, not in the nut, but in the manner of eating it. I recommend all those people who find nuts indigestible to pay a visit to the Zoo and see how the monkey eats his nuts. He chews and chews and chews. And after that he chews!

I know, alas! that the majority of people do not possess teeth like the monkey, and to these I can only suggest that they macerate their nuts in a nut butter machine. There are several of these machines on the market, and they are stocked by all large “Food-Reform” provision dealers. They cost anything from six or seven shillings. The daily allowance of nuts may be thoroughly macerated and eaten with fruit in the place of cream. Ordinary people may use a nut-mill, which flakes, not macerates, the nuts. But people with bad teeth and a weak digestion will do better to invest in a nut butter machine. I may add that the nuts will not macerate properly unless they are crisp, and to this end they must be put in a warm oven for a short time, just before grinding. I have found new, English-grown walnuts crisp enough without this preparation. But if the nuts are not crisp enough they will simply clog the machine.

Now to our nuts! Almonds are the most nourishing. Next in order come walnuts, hazel or cob nuts, and Brazil nuts. The proteid value of these three does not differ much. After these come the chestnut and cocoanut, and lastly we have the pine kernel. Speaking very roughly, we may liken walnuts, hazel nuts, and Brazil nuts to beef for flesh and muscle-forming value, while pine kernels correspond more nearly to fish. Almonds are nearly double the value of beef.

Nut Cream.

Doctor Fernie recommends the following nut-cream for brain-workers. Pound in a mortar, or mince finely, 3 blanched almonds, 2 walnuts, 2 ounces of pine kernels. Steep overnight in orange or lemon juice.

It should be made fresh daily, and may be used in place of butter.