Authored by: tomaidh on Tuesday, January 31 2012 @ 04:33 PM GMT+4

Sounds like a business opportunity, CF: "Burt's Bees".

Authored by: Brattlebird on Tuesday, January 31 2012 @ 05:35 PM GMT+4

No, this isn't an opportunity to drum up any business. I'm just a common Brattleboro person with an interest in local history and folk medicine. I love the story of the Gilfeather Turnip and watch the documentary on it every fall. And sometimes I wonder if the Whetstone does have curative properties. If you were to read the bottle on Stratton's Liniment you would see this product would not be any competition for Burt's Bees. In fact, it would turn off most Americans probably. I couldn't find any information online so I thought I'd put the question out there. If I do find information through research I will post.

Authored by: tomaidh on Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 03:45 AM GMT+4

I wasn't suggesting that you're trying to drum up business, I was thinking that Stratton's Liniment might be a good product to resuscitate.
A product with "effectiveness on wounds, muscle aches, and just about any bodily injury or illness" could be a winner.
Further, something Patented April 9, 1872 would be in the Public Domain, and the particulars should be available from the Patent Office.

Authored by: tomaidh on Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 03:50 AM GMT+4

BTW, old-timers in Wardsboro, particularly one Melbourne Bills (Deceased, but with several living sons) used to scoff at Gilfeather Turnips, saying they were just ordinary turnips allowed to overwinter in the ground. (just sayin').

Authored by: cgrotke on Tuesday, January 31 2012 @ 05:54 PM GMT+4

I couldn't find anything online, either, but it sounds like Dr.
LePage's Comfrey Linament... : )

Lise makes a salve using comfrey and it is great for muscles,
wounds, skin things., etc.

Authored by: Lise on Thursday, February 02 2012 @ 08:41 PM GMT+4

Comfrey is great for clean cuts but Paul is right that if you put it on a less than sterile wound, your skin could heal over an infection. So that's something to be careful of (although I do use it on clean cuts and have had no problems -- I wash thoroughly and use an antiseptic first).

But for sore muscles, injured muscles, ligaments, tendons, and whatnot, nothing beats comfrey. Unlike Stratton's liniment, comfrey is analgesic and makes the pain go away (at least temporarily). It also helps heal the underlying injury which is why it's so helpful. If you pull your back or your achilles or whatever, you can rub some comfrey ointment in and it will be better faster.

I've never found any real comfrey salve so I make my own from the plant I have growing in my garden. Mine is very green.

Authored by: Jeezum Crow on Tuesday, January 31 2012 @ 09:04 PM GMT+4

Did you try Moore Free Library in Newfane? I don't know what their hours are but I think they have a web site. Stop in there and perhaps they can point you in the right direction.

If that does not work, wait until the Newfane Flea Market opens in May. Go there and you should be able to find some old timers.

Authored by: paulgardner on Wednesday, February 01 2012 @ 11:26 AM GMT+4

We use a similar product available at the Brattleboro Food Co-op.
It used to be compounded by a Brattleboro person but she sold her business and the product is now made by Twinstar Herbals of Cummington, MA. (http://twinstarherbals.com/products.htm they've got a great product line).
It's called "Wound Solution" and it contains olive oil, comfrey, chaparral, beeswax and various flower essences. Works so well you have to be sure there's no infection left deep in the wound or the wound will heal over trapping the infection under your skin (this has happened to me on at east two occasions). I get nicked up on a regular basis and I depend on this stuff.

Not to rain on the Stratton parade, but if you can't find it, here's a good organic, homegrown and relatively local option.

Authored by: kitty on Thursday, February 02 2012 @ 06:42 PM GMT+4

If it's the stuff I'm thinking of (the "man or beast" part is
pretty unique), we love it and believe it really works. A
bottle was given to us as a gift, but I've heard it can be
found at Hotel Pharmacy on a low shelf. We find it best
for wounds, it has some crazy ingredient like aluminum
that I don't want to know too much about, but it serves to
somehow cauterize and prevent infection. I've had
cuts that seemed like they were about to get infected
(red, swollen) and one bout of liniment solved the
problem. The stuff hurts like heck, but you only
need to use it once.

Authored by: RogerK on Friday, February 03 2012 @ 02:46 AM GMT+4

For many years Stratton's Surgical and Fresh Wound Liniment was compounded by Ken Carpenter in the basement of Town Rexall Pharmacy at 124 Main Street in Brattleboro. "A mineral and vegetable compound for external use."
Ken said alcohol was the main active ingredient but was compounded in a complex procedure with a variety of proprietary herbs and chemicals. It has a complex and confusing scent. Perhaps I will take a sample to the co-op to see if they can recognize the component odors.
When I worked in my darkroom in the basement adjoining the pharmacy I could hear Ken working on it in the evening and the subsequent sound of it being mixed slowly in an old device for a few days of constant rotation.