Dr. Chase reports this treatment "for sprains, strains, lame-back, rheumatism, caked breast, caked udders, &c., &c.
Good sized live toads, 4 in number; put into boiling water and cook very soft; then take them out and boil the water down to 1/2 pint., and add fresh churned, unsalted butter 1 lb. and simmer together; at the last add tincture of arnica 2 ozs.
This was obtained from an old Physician, who thought more of it than of any other prescription in his possession.
Some persons might think it hard on toads, but you could not kill them quicker in any other way."
You'll have more trouble finding the toads than the arnica. Before you scoff at the recipe, take note. My medical dictionary, Dorland's, reports: Arnica (ar'ne-kah) A genus of composite-flowered plants. The flower heads (arnicae flores) or root (arnicae radix) a A. montana, or leopard's bane, are used as a cardiac stimulant, but in large doses are a posionous depressant. The preparations of arnica are extensively employed for sprains, bruses, and painful swellings, but their internal use is regarded by many as irrational.
So you see the doctor was onto a good thing, but bad news for the toads.
Arnica, believe it or not, is available from J.L. Hudson, Seedsman, Star Route 2, Box 337 La Honda, California, 94020. Arnica is a new addition to their Zapotec Collection of plants collected deep in the Sierra Madre del Sur, in southern Oaxaca, Mexico. He reports the Zapotec, "People of the Clouds" have grown Arnica and other plants since pre-history.
Arnica "Fragrant white flowers in large clusters to 1 1/2 feet long. A large plant with big lobed leaves with odd bumps. Striking. Used to wash infected wounds."
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