The Prepper Broadcasting Network - Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Agrimony

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey y'all, welcome to this week's show. Well, I'm finally back. Yes, I missed a few days. If you remember last week's show, you may remember me telling you that my laptop was dying and it did die. But the problem was not so much the laptop, but the people who were supposed to send me a new one. I ordered a laptop about a week before the first one died, or before the main one I used died, and they never sent it. Just never shipped it. Just took the money and, you know, fortunately it was through eBay and I was able to get

Starting point is 00:00:38 a refund. Never even shipped it. And tried to prevent me from getting my refund too. They refused to refund. eBay had to solve it. So that was fun. So that was a week's work lost. The second one was shipped very promptly and arrived unusable because it was supposed to be a new laptop but someone had registered their information on it as the owner or administrator of said laptop and not having their password I couldn't use it so that was returned prompt refund on that the third the phone that finally worked got here yesterday evening. And I ordered it...

Starting point is 00:01:28 Let's see, I ordered it last Tuesday and the seller was supposed to have it to me by Friday of last week. He didn't actually ship it until the following Monday. So yeah, I've lost so much time in work. It's just, wow, you know, I usually write two, three hours a day. This is how I get my work done. I do podcasts, I do everything. And I've lost a good two weeks, which may not sound like a lot, but when you're

Starting point is 00:02:00 writing three books at once and such it's a lot but in the meantime I haven't been unproductive I got an email and I've been using my phone which does not work for writing by the way it's you know you do actually have to have a computer if you're an author but anyway I got an email from my aunt my elderly aunt up in Virginia. I guess she's 84, 85. Anyway, she saw something on TV about what's called a spurtle. Now a spurtle is a very ancient actually. Probably goes back several thousand years. Sort of a spatula, scoop, spoon kind of thing pot scraper whatever it's it

Starting point is 00:02:48 originates probably in Scotland the word spurtle is Gallic and she said have you ever considered carving one of these so I said well you know I really haven't because I don't remember Martha Stewart or somebody associated with her Could be a Sarah Moulton. I think that was who it was Was marketing spurtles on television a couple years ago, and I thought you know that doesn't okay It's just something for stirring oatmeal. That's the way it was marketed and I didn't really see it. So I looked into it and I went through a bunch of really ancient designs for spurtles

Starting point is 00:03:29 and found one that I liked and then I modified it to make it even better. It kind of becomes like the ultimate stirrer, scoop, pot scraper. It's like the best, most most sturdy wonderful kitchen tool. Really honestly it's better than any of the wooden spoons I've been carving. And so I carved one. I made a holly and I toasted the holly in the oven so it got a little dark and I oiled it up and it sold in five minutes. I mean I posted the site

Starting point is 00:04:01 and in five minutes it sold. So I was like blown away. I thought okay That's probably a one-off right you know So then I had a piece of a spalted pear and spalding You know is what happens when like turkey tail fungus search infecting dead wood it puts these beautiful lines Throughout the wood. You know, before it starts breaking it down, it's just sort of the colonization process. Well, I posted that Spalted Pear spurtle

Starting point is 00:04:36 and it sold in three minutes. Not only did it sell in three minutes, but within 30 minutes I had an order for another one. Can you carve me one like this? I'll go ahead and send you the money up front. These things are selling like hotcakes. Check out my site, Judson Carroll Woodcraft.

Starting point is 00:05:02 The pictures are up there wow I mean this has certainly not been time poorly spent I've carved some stuff I bought a new truck actually a new old truck 1995 f-150 I used to have one just like it straight geared you know stick shift four on the floor, plus reverse I guess. The guy, he was in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, so just maybe a three hour round trip. I went and got it. And man, the dude put in a new rebuilt engine. He's an engineer he really built it himself he rebuilt the transmission he took remarkable care of it it looks like except for a small dent on one side like it just rolled off the lot in 1995 it's blowing me away the conditions in but it doesn't want to run smoothly between 20

Starting point is 00:06:09 and about 30 miles per hour and you know I'm off the mountain and where I'm staying where I'm living this winter the speed limit in the neighborhoods is 25 miles an hour so I can't it's it's it's crazy it's knocking and shaking and skipping on me like crazy between you know in the high part of second gear in the low part of third gear and once it does that for a while I don't know if it maybe heats up the transmission or what you know could be an EGR valve could be a throttle issue I don't know but it the engine is cool when the motors well the engine I should say yeah would the engines cool when the motors well the engine

Starting point is 00:06:45 I should say yeah when the engines cool it runs smoothly and beautifully Put a few miles on it and let it warm up and it's like shaking and Skipping and knocking and like about to knock off on me So I've been working a lot on the truck. A lot on the truck. You know I can't do everything but at least he rebuilt the engine and the transmission so most of the stuff I can't do he already did but I'm like going through this checklist of you know what could this be what could this be. If any of y'all have experience with an old F-150, especially a stick shift because this

Starting point is 00:07:29 is totally, I mean it accelerates so smoothly. I can actually, you know, start out in first gear. That's kind of hard to do on an old F-150. A lot of people just skip to second, but no, I can start off in first. I can work my way through the gears and I mean it did that thing would probably go 0 to 60 in I don't even know just a few seconds I mean it accelerates like a beast and as smooth as silk but it doesn't want I mean if if I've got it in fourth gear and I'm driving like 55 miles an hour it doesn't want me to stay there it wants me to take my foot on and off the gas pedal it

Starting point is 00:08:08 just it kind of skips on me so but especially especially the lower gears gives me a little trouble in first you know I'm used to that I used to have one you know first was always an issue. A lot of trouble in second and third. So if y'all got any kind of suggestion, I am totally open. Not the world's greatest mechanic, but I've been, you know, I can do a lot of stuff. And I actually know a couple old, old timers around here that sometimes will even lend me tools and give me a little advice, you know, retired actual like shade tree mechanics. That's the next step, you know, go to one of them and talk with them and they're going to just... I love those old guys, they just

Starting point is 00:09:02 give you hell the minute you walk in there, right? but you know if anyone has a Suggestion I'd really appreciate it because I mean I'm just like knocking my head against the wall you know the one time it actually ran smoothly in second and third and You're gonna think I'm a total moron for doing this, but I think we've all done at least once in our lives I know I've done it twice. You know I Not pay attention what I'm doing. Changed the oil and you know, there's a little O-ring, a little seal on the oil filter. And I did not make sure it was in the right slot,

Starting point is 00:09:41 in the right place when I screwed in the oil filter and it kind of kinked and the oil filter didn't seal and so I lost five quarts of oil in about 30 seconds but you know what as I was pulling out of the driveway giving a little test drive and the oil pressure dropped to zero, it ran as smooth as silk. Now that is baffling to me. You know, I then went and got some more oil and put in the full six quarts that the old F-150s take and got everything tightened up and good to go. And within five miles, she started running rough again.

Starting point is 00:10:21 So it's a mystery to me. It idles smooth. So I'm not thinking it could be a throttle issue. It could because I mean like I said it does seem to kind of rev high in first and second gear especially but so did my old truck. So EGR valve maybe. I'm baffled. So anyway y'all, if you have an answer on that, please let me know. Now let's get into the herb of the week and it is Agrimony. Now what a cool word, what a cool herb is Agrimony. I mean, agrimony is one of the classic bitter herbs. It's actually a word in the English language. Like if you go back and read some old Shakespeare

Starting point is 00:11:11 or something, you may know that agrimony is a word for like bitterness or strife. It was actually once known as the universal antidote. It is one of the most important herbs you can ever grow or learn to identify in the wild. Agrimony was commonly used in the ancient world for a remarkable variety of purposes, just about everything you could think of really. Agrimony is a plant in the rose family, very similar to potentilla and even blackberry and you know anything in the rose family which actually includes apple trees by the way.

Starting point is 00:11:52 We don't really think of apple trees as being a rose but it is. It's amazing. The rose family is just huge and even geraniums are in the rose family. So you know it's just it's crazy how many plants are in there. But Agrimonia's official name is Agrimonia upatoria and you may remember from the last show if you listen to that it refers to Mithradates upator the ruler of the kingdom of Pontius from 120 to 63 BC. This guy is one of the most famous herbalist in history actually and the main reason he was afraid of being poisoned and so he came up with herbs to use as poisoning antidotes. His formula, his combination of herbs was considered to be a universal antidote and was still referred

Starting point is 00:12:53 to in the Greek and early Roman herbals. Hundreds of, hundreds of years later, I mean, really hundreds, I don't have the number right in front of me. But Pliny the Elder or Pliny, I've been told it's actually pronounced Pliny. I'm not Italian or Greek, but those who are tell me it's pronounced Pliny, which I don't even like the sound of that, but anyway. He referred to Agrimony as an herb of princely authority. And Dioscorides wrote in Demeteria Medica, the leaves of this

Starting point is 00:13:27 pounded vine and applied with old swine's grease, so basically lard, will heal difficult scars and ulcers and the seed and herb taken as a drink will help with dysentery and serpent bites. So still, I mean hundreds of years later they had had, you know, hundreds of years to find out if it worked for serpents bites and such, and they decided it did. So, you know, maybe that's not medical proof for a scientist, but it's certainly empirical evidence. evidence. Getting up to 800s, the first herbal officially written and published in the Christian era was by the Abbot Wallifred Strabo. That actually means basically Wally the squint-eyed. He had bad eyesight. He was a fantastic herbalist. He was actually the tutor to Charlemagne's, the Emperor Charlemagne's grandchildren.

Starting point is 00:14:26 He was one of the most important figures in Christianity at the time. Very, very influential person. He loved to garden and he was a great herbalist and he wrote, he liked to write things in poetry and put a lot of little jokes in there. He was a cool guy, would love to have a beer with that dude. Anyway, a German I could get along with very much, but anyway he said, here, and here, in handsome rose you may see my agrimony. It closed all the fields with its profusion.

Starting point is 00:15:06 It grows wild in the woodland shade. Much honor it has and many virtues among them is this. If it is crushed and drunk, the draught will quench the most violent stomach ache. And if an enemy blade, let me put that right, if an enemy blade happens to wound us, we are recommended to try its aid, pounding the chutes and putting them on the open place. If we remember to add to the dressing some sharp vinegar, our full strength will soon be returned." I did a horrible job reading that, but you can see

Starting point is 00:15:47 by, I mean, 800, this is a good thousand years after that king of Pontius, Mithradates, Eupador, first recorded the use of agrimony for wounds and snake bites and all that. recorded the use of agrimony for wounds and snake bites and all that. Yeah, agrimony mixed with vinegar used for wounds made by swords. And yeah, that's the Middle Ages and there was a lot of swords going around. I mean, yeah, a lot. So I guess what? 300 years St. Hildegard von Bingen, again one of those things that Germans tell me I pronounced wrong, I always said von Bingen, it's von Bingen apparently, probably the greatest herbalist in history next to King Solomon

Starting point is 00:16:35 himself, said, agrimonious hot, a person who has lost his knowledge and understanding should have the hair cut from his head, for that hair may create a shaking tremor." Not sure how that works. Maybe some kind of like, I don't know. No, no idea on that. But remember this is written in 1100, so you know, I'm not expecting to understand everything that's being said.

Starting point is 00:17:03 But anyway, she said agrimony should be cooked in water and that warm water used to wash his head. So essentially you're using the astringency of the agrimony to relieve inflammation of the scalp. So that actually does make some sense. The same herb, so warm, should be tied over his heart when he first senses the inveneration of the madness. Then it should be placed warm over his forehead and temples. It will clear up his knowledge and understanding and take the insanity out of him." Yeah, no idea on that, but if you happen to be going insane or you know someone who's insane, why not give them a head bath with agrimony? Can't hurt, obviously. It will clear up his knowledge and understanding. Yeah, if someone produces or throws off mucus and

Starting point is 00:17:52 much phlegm, now this is actually very valid to this day, if someone produces mucus and phlegm from sick intestines, mucus in the intestines, kind of nasty stuff, but, or has a cold, and has a cold stomach, he should frequently drink wine in which agrimony has been placed before and after meals. It diminishes and purges the mucus and warms the stomach. Also, in order that a person be purged from saliva, discharge, or runny nose, one should take agrimony juice and twice as much fennel juice and add to these one half penny weight of the herb Robert. Now, herb Robert is geranium, wild geranium, or cranespill geranium. These are astringent herbs in the same family plus fennel, which is a totally different family.

Starting point is 00:18:45 But also mixed with galangal, which is a relative to ginger and turmeric. It's more mild. You know, you're going to actually kind of put this in your nose and such. And, you know, ginger would be a little stronger. So if I didn't have galangal, I might go with turmeric. Blend this with the liquid and make little pills the size of beans. Afterward, take a penny weight of the juice of selendine, another astringent herb in the same family, and place them to dry in the sun.

Starting point is 00:19:19 If the sun has no heat, place them in a light place with a gentle breeze. You're just drying this out and making like little almost little tablets little gummies out of them almost. And when a person wishes to eat these peels he should wrap his belly in lamb skins or the skin of some other animal so he becomes warm with their helpful heat. Again this is 1100. People were cold and they didn't have space heaters or furnaces. He should not get too close to the fire but use the heat of his covering so you could wrap in blankets and consume the pills before sunrise since dawn is a smooth and gentle time. She said you

Starting point is 00:20:00 wouldn't be as agitated. And she should take no more than five pills, dipping each one in honey before swallowing them. It would be quite bitter and sour actually. And afterwards he should walk around in a shady place, but not in the direct sun, until he feels a loosening. Afternoon, after he has felt the loosening of his stomach, this is what she's talking about, you know, an easing of the cramping of the stomach, he should sip a porridge of the finest whole wheat flour, always a good thing if you have an upset stomach, a nice, nice porridge, and she said this would heal his intestines or his hardened stomach might soften, and if someone's eyes are clouded, pound agrimony in a mortar and place the crushed matter over the eyes at night,

Starting point is 00:20:47 being careful that it not enter the eyes, and bind them with a cloth, and this will attack the fogginess of the eyes and make them clear. You have to remember this is a very astringent herb. So it's going to help with swelling. It's going to help with mucus in the eyes. Whether or not it helps with cataract is some matter of controversy. A lot of the old herbalists said it could. Violet, violet blossoms are another one that can, and rose petals, rose petals are in the same family as agrimony. I don't know. Haven't tried it? Worth a shot, certainly, but this

Starting point is 00:21:26 is ancient Visine, essentially. It's astringing the tissue. It's tightening up the tissue. And it does improve vision. You know, one of the old tricks for pilots and other people that have to pass eye exams is to use Visine before they go in to the test because the astringency actually improves the vision. It tightens the tissue. So, Brother Aloysius, just like 1900, so much later, continued the tradition of monastic medicine and German folk medicine. And he said that Iagrimony was used as astringent, good for liver and spleen and abdominal blockages, just as St. Hildegard said, etc. Laryngitis or pharyngitis as they used to say. Mild mouth ulceration, sore throat,

Starting point is 00:22:10 swollen tonsils, chronic rheumatism, heavy bleeding. Very important. Remember how Abbott Strabo said using on wounds. The astringency will tighten those blood vessels and help you not bleed out. Weakness of the digestive system, blood spitting, bedwetting, very commonly used for children who wet the bed. All the herbs of the Rose family, especially the Cranesbill geranium, Herb Robert and such as that. Rose petals, rose hips, astringency helps tighten that tissue. Let's see, good for blockages and weakness of the liver, urinary incontinence, cold urine consumption, skin complaints, gravel or urinary stones,

Starting point is 00:22:52 intestinal weakness, dropsy, renal colic, dysentery, hematuria, prolonged fever, flatulence, leukemia, ulcers of the bladder, and for sprains and dislocations. So as you can see, actually a variable panacea, which is why it's been held in such esteem. And you can totally grow this in your garden or a flower pot. I mean, this is, yeah, anybody can grow agrimony, seriously. So Ms. Grieve, 1930s England, quotes an old English medical manuscript, which they also like to write in poetry.

Starting point is 00:23:32 I love this, even though I am really not good at pronouncing English, Saxon, English. We'll give it a try. If it be laid under a man's head, he shall sleepen as he were dead. He shall never drede nor waken, till for under his head it be taken. Under his heed it be taken, I guess. Yeah, totally butchered that, but you get the idea. If you put it under your head, it would help you sleep. That's nice. Gerard Herbalista, John Gerard 1597, said to coxure the leaves of Agamemnon, it is good for them that have

Starting point is 00:24:16 naughty livers. So if you have a naughty liver, yes. But also for such as piss blood and upon the diseases of the kidneys and remember that was not considered An obscenity in the 1500s that was proper English So don't get upset with me these seed being drunk in wine as plant as Pliny affirmative does help the bloody flux or bleeding bloody diarrhea essentially or it could be menstrual bleeding would help you the way diarrhea essentially or it could be menstrual bleeding. It would help either way. Let's see, the leaves being stamped with old swine's grease supplied for ulcers. We got that agrimony boiled with wine helps hepatic fluxes in old people. 1600s, Culpepper said it was recommended for drop season jaundice. Externally it has indeed use. I have seen very bad sore legs cured by bathing with the decoction of this plant. Very important if you were in a survival situation and you're getting sores and wounds on your legs or your legs are just

Starting point is 00:25:23 sore. You know, maybe your feet are tired, that would help. Varicose veins, it was a strange that tissue, it's not the best, but it will help a lot. Actually hemorrhoids, excellent for hemorrhoids. He says it is a cleansing and has a cutting factor faculty without any manifest heat, moderately drying and binding, it openeth and cleanseth the liver, it helpeth with the jaundice, and is very beneficial to the bowels, healing all wounds, inward wounds and outward, bruises, hurts and distemperes, the decoction of the herb made with wine is drank and is good against the biting of serpents, and helps them that

Starting point is 00:26:02 have fouled, troubled, or bloody water that's urine and here we are you know 2 000 years later they're still using it for the biting of serpents by the way so maybe something to that right um it causes to make water clear speedily again he's talking urine it helpeth the collet cleanseth the, removeth and relieveth the cough. A draught of the decoction taken before the fit relieves first relieves and in time removes the tertian or quartsian ague. Those are generally malarial fevers also very common with COVID and such. Something else good to know. An ague is a fever and tertian means it comes every three days. Corsican means every four days. So you

Starting point is 00:26:51 know if we get into that situation again, this is a good one to have on hand. It's not you know esoteric old knowledge. You just have to know what the heck they're talking about, which that's an education in and of itself. The leaves and seeds taken with wine stay the bloody flux outwardly implied, helpeth old sores, cancers, and inveterate ulcers. It means more like cankers, you know, sores that won't heal. And dwareth, draweth forth, splinters of wood or nails, or any such thing gotten to the flesh.

Starting point is 00:27:22 Again, it's astringent and soothing, and it can help pull out a thorn, a splinter, etc. It helpeth strengthen the members that be out of joint. In other words, if you dislocate a joint, as I've done many times, it gets swollen, it's loose. You put this on, it reduces the swelling, but it also astringes the tissue and helps put things back in place. That actually really works. The juice dropeth helpeth droop the juice dropeth in helpeth foul and in posthum ears. In other words good for infected ears. Very important. Yes, that's one of the things we can use for ear infections or running pussy ears which are most unpleasant but really need to be dealt with quickly because that infection can be, it can go to your brain, it can be deadly. So I'm going to sign this infection. Don't take,

Starting point is 00:28:13 don't take such things lightly. The distilled water of the herb is good for all said purposes, either inward or outward, but a good deal weaker. So you actually just want to use a tea made from this herb. As simple as can be. Now Irish tradition, John Kehoe said, agrimony opens obstructions of the liver and wonderfully strengthens it. It purifies the blood and is good against the stranguary or inability to urinate. Also he says for the pissing of blood once again 1735 that was not considered vulgar and its seeds taken in claret that's a wine is powerfully good against the bloody flux. Red wine especially has an astringency in its own so this is a really good way to use it for diarrhea

Starting point is 00:29:01 and menstrual bleeding and such. The leaves, powdered with hogs lard, heal old wounds when applied in a warm poultice. The leaves are bruised in a plaster made with a yoke of an egg, flour and honey, and they can be applied to a cut or a gall or sore after writing. By the 1930s, when Maude Grieve wrote her very comprehensive A Modern Herbal. It is still the classic work. She said agrimony has an old reputation as a popular domestic medicinal herb, being a simple, well-known herb to all country folk. Agrimony was one of the first, was one of the most famous, vulnerable herbs. The Anglo-Saxons called it something I can't pronounce, and it was used to heal wounds, snakes, bites, and

Starting point is 00:29:51 warts in the time of Chaucer, when we find its name appearing in the form of Agrimony. No idea. It was used with mugwort, which is in the Artemisia family with vinegar For a bad back and all wounds, you know, I'm not gonna try to pronounce anglo-saxon again. I Remember in high school we had to like memorize the Lord's Prayer and ancient anglo-saxon. I actually did was the other uri do that a certain heaven them Fjæður Úrðiðuðal erðin hefinnan. Duðal halvath. I don't remember everything, but it's really hard to pronounce.

Starting point is 00:30:33 Really hard to pronounce. Okay. Good, she said good gargles for throat swelling or relaxed throat. This is the uvula. It needs to be toned up a little bit. Really good as a vulinary or wound healing herb. Specific medicinal actions and use is astringent, tonic, diuretic. Agrimony has a great reputation for curing jaundice and other liver complaints.

Starting point is 00:31:02 She talks about being used for serpent bites. Apparently it was still being used for serpent bites. Apparently it was still being used that way in the 1930s. So in addition to agrimony's varied medicinal uses, another wonderful aspect of this herb is that it is so common in most temperate zones. Agrimony can be found growing in the wild, whether it's native or introduced. It's often a weed. It has yellow flowers, they grow on spikes. Google it, super easy to identify.

Starting point is 00:31:32 Agrimony is also a really pretty flower. You could definitely grow it in a flower garden, ornamental landscape, put it in a pot, whatever. It was once called all-heal. Now there's several herbs called all-heal. This is one of them and that's because it was considered one of the most valuable herbs. It would like heal anything and I think, you know, we've been through that. You understand why it was so valued. Now it's considered a weed. So do I really need to go again through how we've lost our Heritage of knowledge and are now a stupid people. We are a stupid people

Starting point is 00:32:11 Well, does that sound harsh? Well consider that You know 20 years ago when I was working in journalism I did a big article on how 50% of kids in North Carolina were graduating high school functionally illiterate and unable to do simple math. They graduated, they got degrees, you know, they got a diploma. Most of them then went to college where they still couldn't read or do math and somehow got a college degree and now they are the teachers themselves. I mean yeah they're the secretaries and the insurance people and the guy at the DMV who drives you insane because he's too dumb to have a job. They're also the teachers teaching the

Starting point is 00:32:57 kids so the very kids 20 years ago are now 38 and they're still unable. Okay. Do I need to say more? Yeah. Real good thing Trump's getting rid of the Department of Education. Super good and thank God he is because education has gone to hell in America. I mean, since Jimmy Carter, the frickin' moron himself, founded that agency, it has gone, education in America has gone to hell. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:33:39 So anyway, y'all have a great week. I'm glad to be doing the podcast again. Thanks, James, for putting up with me and understanding the issues I was having. I'll talk to you next time. Definitely learn to identify Agrimony. This is key. You can totally grow it. We get into a lot of related plants. Like I said, rosy, strawberries, strawberry leaves, very similar, again, same family, but agrimony is nice and strong. Put it up there with ginseng, a few others.

Starting point is 00:34:14 That bugleweed, excellent, that you wanna have on hand for wounds, for liver problems, for digestion, for fevers, you name it. Agrimony is, wow, yeah, it's really one of the best. And I'm pleased to share this one with you today. Y'all have a good one. And as I said, the Lord willing and the creek don't rise, as Hank Williams used to say. I'll talk with you next time. The information in this podcast is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition.

Starting point is 00:34:50 Nothing I say or write has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I'm not a doctor. The US government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine and there is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm really just a guy who studies herbs. I'm not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write or say is accurate or true. I can tell you what herbs have been traditionally used for. I can tell you my own experience and if I believe in herbs help me. I cannot nor would I tell you to do the same. If you

Starting point is 00:35:18 use an herb anyone recommends, you are treating yourself. You take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, a sensitivity, an underlying condition that no one else even shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health. By continuing to listen to my podcast or read my blog, you agree to be responsible for yourself, do your own research, make your own choices, and not to blame me for anything ever.

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The Prepper Broadcasting Network - Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Agrimony

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