Tonics

Are those medicines which act on the muscular tissue, making them firmer and more compact, and thus increasing the strength. All tonics not possessing stimulating properties should have stimulants combined with them.

BARBERRY BARK

Is tonic and laxative; efficacious in jaundice, removing the yellowness of the skin and eyes; greatly increases the appetite and the strength. The berries make a good wash for canker.

BUCKBEAN.

A valuable tonic, diuretic and anthelmintic; highly beneficial in -rheumatism, jaundice, dyspepsia, worms, &c.; an excellent bitter.

WHITE POPLAR BARK.

A splendid tonic, antiseptic, aromatic, and aperient; it is also diuretic. It is valuable as a general strengthener for old and debilitated persons; good in hysteria, &c.

GOLDEN SEAL.

A valuable bitter tonic; good in indigestion and bilious affections; makes a good wash for old sores, obstinate ulcers, &c.

BALMONY.

An excellent tonic; good in costiveness dyspepsia, general debility, loss of appetite, &c.; good for worms in children.

COLUMBA ROOT.

One of the best bitter tonics used in the herbal practice; employed in dyspepsia, chronic diarrhoea, and dysentery, and as a strengthener after fevers, &c.

HOREHOUND.

An excellent tonic, antispasmodic and expectorant; valuable in all kinds of coughs, colds, and pulmonary affections.

TANSY.

The properties of this valuable plant cannot be too well known; it is tonic, stimulant, emmenagogue, sudorific, vermifuge, and aromatic; it is a powerful aromatic bitter, excellent for strengthening the stomach and bowels, good in fevers, bloody urine, dropsies, and hysterics. If you want to give a lasting blessing to your daughters, give them plenty of this herb at the time of puberty.

 
UNICORN ROOT.

A good bitter tonic and stimulant, good to strengthen the reproductive organs; it is also diuretic, useful in suppressed menstruation, and may be used whenever a tonic and stimulant are required. CENTAURY.

This is a pleasant bitter; creates an appetite; good in combination with other herbs for liver complaint, indigestion, &c.

GENTIAN.

A useful bitter tonic, excellent for indigestion, but more powerful for that purpose when combined with other tonics.

PERUVIAN BARK.

Its properties are tonic, astringent, and febrifuge. There are three kinds - the yellow, the orange, and the red. The red and yellow are the best. Get it at a respectable and reliable herbalist, if possible, as it must be genuine to be depended on.

QUASSIA.

A good tonic in remittent and intermittent fever; also for worms.

MUGWORT.

Useful in epilepsy, hysteria, amenorrhoea; promotes the flow of urine and menses.

GUM MYRRH

Is a stimulating tonic, possessing antiseptic properties. It is good in chronic diarrhoea and general debility. The tincture makes an excellent mouth-wash, combined with an equal quantity of water. We have also found it a useful injection for inward piles, prepared in the same way.