Welcome To Dragonshire Herbs and Oils
"LEGAL DISCLAIMER"bEFORE I BEGIN THIS PAGE, I WANT TO SAY THAT THIS IS FOR INFORMATIONAL USE ONLY. IT IS NOT TO BE CONCIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE USEING ANY HERBAL MIXTURES. I AM NOT ENGAGED IN GIVING MEDICAL ADVICE
First What are Herbs and oils?
Herbal medicine has been around for untold thousands of years. Many of todays medicines owe their exisistance to herbal remedies.
One good example is the medicine prescribed for Heart diease, Digitalis - For hundred's of years witches, herblist, midwifes, and medicine men have prescribed a tea brewed from Foxglove, which is where digitalis comes from.
It is fair and safe to say mordern medicine would'nt be where it is today were it not for the herbalist
For the purpose's of this site i will give you a basic vocabulary and some simple definitions and some basic use's. For more detailed information see the reading list
The first most important thing to say is when refering to a plant, when ordering or asking about a plant, is always call it by it's Latin name. that way everybody is on the same page at the same time. The main reason for this is that plants have different names in different parts of the country and the world in whole. However the Latin name is the same the world over.
Gathering herbsI always advise, before going out that you chose one or two species per trip, also pick the right time of day to pick them. Next decide which parts you need. Never take more than you need. You don't want to prohibit your next crop.
Parts
There are four basic parts to use. They fall into 2 catigories :
Roots and BarksThese should be simmered for at least 1 1/2 hours to extract the benifits. But do not boil heavily!!!
Flowers and LeavesThese should NEVER be boiled. You should steep them in hot water for at least 20 mins. and never in an open pot. Always keep it covered so as not to let the oils evaporate.!!!
Mesurment
- One minim (min.)
- One Fluid Drachm (FL. Drm) = 60 Minims
- One Fluid ounce (FL. oz.) = 8 FL. Drm
- One pint (O) = 20 FL. OZ
- One Gallon (Gal.) = 8 Pints
DRY
- One Grain (gr.)
- One Scruple (ei) = 20 Gr.
- One Drachm (dr.) = 3 ei (60 gr.)
- One Ounce (OZ.) = 8 dr. (480 gr.)
- One Pound (LB.) = 12 OZ. (5,760 gr.)