Home medical advice

To arrest bleeding of the nose - introduce, by means of a probe, a small piece of lint or soft cotton, previously dipped into some mild styptic such as a solution of alum, white vitriol, creosote, or even cold water. This will generally succeed, but should it not; cold water may be snuffed up the nostrils. Should the bleeding be very profuse, medical advice should be procured.

Cure for weak or sore eyes – Sulphate of zinc, three grains; tincture of opium, ten drops; water, two ounces. To be applied three or four times a day.

Baldness  – Take of the common box, which grows in garden borders; stems and leaves, four large handfuls; boil in three pints of water in a closely covered vessel for a quarter of an hour. Let it stand in a covered earthenware jar for ten hours or more; strain and add an ounce and a half of eau-de-Cologne or lavender water to make it keep. The head should be washed with this solution every morning.

Household tips

The white of an egg well beaten with quicklime and a small quantity of very old cheese forms an excellent substitute for cement when wanted in a hurry, either for broken china or old ornamental glassware.

Taken from ‘Home Queries’ published by Associated Newspapers Ltd in early 20th C. but no date given at front of book