• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Clark’s Rule: Divide the weight in pounds by 150 to give the approximate fraction of the adult dose. (For example, for a 50-pound child, divide 50 by 150 = 1/3. Therefore, the dose is one-third that of the adult dose.)

Cowling’s Rule: The age of the child at his/her next birthday is divided by 24. That is, for a child coming 3 years of age, 3 divided by 24 = 1/8. Therefore, the dose is one-eighth that of the dose for an adult.

Young’s Rule: The dose is computed by dividing the child’s age by 12 plus the age. So, for a child of 4 years, 4 divided by [12+4] = 4/16 = 1/4. Therefore, the dose is one-fourth that which would be given to an adult.

As I mentioned, no exact rule can be established, and these doses should be lowered in some instances, most notably when administering strong and intense medicines like Goldenseal, Cayenne, Poke, etc.

DOUBLE MACERATION

This is a process of macerating a plant in a menstruum for an appropriate amount of time, decanting it, pressing it, and then using that solution (tincture) as the menstruum for a second round, pouring it over an equal amount of herb as used in the initial maceration, thereby repeating the entire process. Supposedly, this technique renders the extract more potent. It is used by some commercial companies as a marketing gimmick in an attempt to position their products as superior. However, although this technique makes sense when extracting very mild herbs such as Cleavers, Mullein blossoms, Plantain, Nettle leaf, Red Clover blossoms, or even Ginkgo, with most plants, if one does the initial maceration properly and is using good-quality herb, double maceration is really unnecessary, and, in my opinion, needlessly squanders a lot of good herb.

DRUG

“Drug” comes from the Dutch word droog, meaning dried plant. Strictly speaking, a drug is a dried medicinal plant containing its entire ingredients. However, corporations cannot patent a natural plant for economic exploitation. Consequently, the Western pharmaceutical industry has emphasized and promoted chemical “drug therapy,” giving themselves more economic control to manufacture and promote white powders and clear liquids. They also have fewer problems by not having to deal with organic materials that decompose and get buggy, and they generate immense profits from marketing patentable products. So today, by common cultural experience, a drug is thought of more as a modern chemical preparation than as a medicinal dried plant, unless of course that plant can get you high.

EXPRESSION (SEE PRESSING)

FILTRATION

Filtration is employed when the solid matter to be removed from a liquid solution is not present in large quantity. It is done by submitting the mixture to the separating action of certain materials which allow the fluids to pass through, but which block the passage of the solid particles. Sometimes filtration is called straining or collation. Actually, straining differs from filtration in that it affords less complete removal of suspended sedimentary matter from the fluid. It is useful when the solid particles are large enough to be easily retained by a coarser media than those generally employed for filtration.

The most common, easily attainable filtering material used in our work is a paper filter such as a coffee filter. It is advisable to use unbleached paper filters which have not been heat-sealed into preformed shapes, because it is suspected that the sealant is relatively toxic, especially when used to filter alcohol and vinegar-based extracts or any hot extract.

Collation is the preferred method of separation when the fluid is of a viscid (sticky or adhering) character, such as glycerites, oil infusions, and syrups. The filtering media employed here are cotton, muslin, flannel, or woolen cloth. These cloths can be used to line a wire sieve before the viscid fluid is poured through.

HERBS AND PHARMACEUTICAL MEDICATIONS

Herbs and pharmaceuticals are well-labeled as “complementary medicines.” Regardless of rampant prejudice in favor of, and in opposition to either one or the other, they are