"The leaves of the elder, boiled until they are soft, with a little linseed oil added thereto," laid upon a scarlet cloth and applied, as hot as it can be borne, to piles, has been said to be an infallible remedy. Each time this poultice gets cold it must be renewed for "the space of an hour." At the end of this time the final dressing is to be "bound on," and the patient "put warm to bed." If necessary the whole operation is to be repeated; but the writer assures us that "this hath not yet failed at the first dressing to cure the disease." If any reader desires to try the experiment I would suggest that the leaves be steamed rather than boiled, and pure olive oil used in the place of linseed oil. It must also be remembered that no outward application can be expected to effect a permanent cure, since the presence of piles indicates an effort of Nature to clear out some poison from the system. But if this expulsion is assisted by appropriate means the pain may well be alleviated by external applications. (Pepper should be avoided by sufferers from piles.) _Fig._ A "lump of figs" laid on the boil of King Hezekiah, as recorded in 2 Kings xx. 7, brought about that monarch's recovery. The figs used were doubtless ripe figs, not the dried figs of our grocers. "This fruit," says Dr. Fernie, "is soft, easily digested, and corrective of strumous disease." The large blue fig may be grown in England, in the milder parts and under a warm wall. The fresh figs were rarely seen at one time outside of the large "high-class" fruit shops, but for the last year or two I have seen them peddled in the streets of London like apples and oranges in due season. Green figs (not unripe) were commonly eaten by Roman gladiators, which is surely a sufficient tribute to the fruit's strength-giving qualities. The best way of preparing dried figs for eating is to wash them very quickly in warm water, and steam for twenty minutes or until tender. _Grape._ The special value of the grape lies in the fact that it is a very quick repairer of bodily waste, the grape sugar being taken immediately into the circulation without previous digestion. For this reason is grape juice the best possible food for fever patients, consumptives, and all who are in a weak and debilitated condition. The grapes should be well chewed, the juice and pulp swallowed, and the skin and stones rejected. In countries where the grape cure is practised, consumptive patients are fed on the sweeter varieties of grape, while those troubled with liver complaints, acid gout, or other effects of over-feeding, take the less sweet kinds.