To remove maggots from wounds.
Take the leaves, bark, flowers, or berries of the common elder, make a strong tea by pouring boiling water on them and letting them steep. Wash the wounds once or twice a day with this. Boil some lard, and while boiling, stir in elder in considerable quantity, and strain off through a sieve or coarse cloth. This makes an ointment for the same purpose. It is improved by adding one-fourth as much common beeswax as the amount of lard used.
Source: Yorkville Enquirer, July 24, 1862as found in John Hammond Moore, ed., The Confederate Housewife (Columbia, SC: Summerhouse Press, 1997).
