ABSTRACT
The most popular remedy for abscesses, sores and ulcers recorded from many people in all parts of the county as used until the early years of this century was ‘Lily Leaves in Brandy’. The leaves were the petals of the white Madonna Lily steeped in the spirit and bound to the affected parts. Phlebotomy or blood-letting was considered in the past to be a means of relieving almost all cases of disease or injury. In Hasling-field, until the 1880s, there was a woman who was often called upon to ‘bleed’ a patient, especially in spring in order to purify the blood. Goose grease smeared on brown paper or a piece of linen and applied to the chest was the universal Cambridgeshire remedy for coughs and ‘chesty’ colds. Often the greasy linen was kept on children’s chests for the duration of the winter.
