Everyone should make the effort to have an Agrimony bath once or twice a year (see “directions”). Children with scrofulous sores should have one daily. Agrimony, because of its astringent and healing qualities, is one of our most valued herbs. Dr. Shi erbaum says: “A cup of Agrimony tea drunk three times a day is a remedy for enlargement of the heart, stomach and lungs as well as kidney and bladder disorders, if you drink it over a period.” Agrimony ointment, which is used in a similar way to Calendula ointment, is of benefit in varicose veins and sores on the lower legs (see “directions”).

For disorders of the liver mix 100 gm. of Agrimony, 100 gm. of Bedstraw and 100 gm. of Woodruff (Asperula odorata). Drink a cup of this tea on an empty stomach and sip 2 cupfuls during the day.

Galium verum, the True Bedstraw called also Yellow Bedstraw, Maid’s Hair, Cheese Rennet, grows in some parts in higher altitudes and in other parts on dry banks, chiefly near the sea. It has small bright yellow flowers on upright stems and grows to a height of 60 cm. This plant exudes a strong honey-like odour and is best gathered in July.

All three species have similar medicinal qualities and are used the same way. Bedstraw tea rids the liver, kidney, pancreas and spleen of toxic wastes. When suffering from a disorder of the lymphatic system, one should drink this tea daily. It is also beneficial for anaemia, dropsy and stitch in the side. Used externally this tea is of benefit in many skin disorders, wounds, boils and black-heads. It makes an excellent wash for the face as it tightens the skin. The freshly pressed juice of Bedstraw, brushed on the affected parts of the skin and left to dry, is very beneficial.

In popular medicine Bedstraw is recommended for epilepsy, hysteria, St. Vitus dance, nervous complaints, suppressed urine, gravel and stones. For goitre, gargling with this tea throughout the day is effective. A woman told me she had not only lost the goitre, but her thyroid gland is now also working normally.

Every year I meet my friends, a couple from Vienna, at a “Kneipp” spa. When we got together in 1979, I found that the woman had a rather noticeable goitre. She was afraid of an operation. I recommended Bedstraw. This is infused and, still warm, is deeply gargled as often as possible daily. In February 1980 we met again at the “Kneipp” spa and behold, the goitre was no longer there. Overjoyed she told me that her husband had repeatedly collected fresh Bedstraw for her. From the beginning she perceived that the goitre became gradually smaller until it disappeared completely.

In recent times, cases of constriction of the vocal chord have increased. It appears these cases are caused by a virus. Gargling and rinsing with Bedstraw tea brings swift relief. According to the Swiss Abbé Kuenzle, it is also a reliable remedy for serious kidney disorders, even if other remedies have failed – especially if Bedstraw is mixed in equal proportions with Golden Rod and Yellow Dead Nettle. In this case the effect shows very quickly. He talks of 14 days. The tea is infused, and half a cup is taken on an empty stomach 30 minutes before breakfast, then the rest is sipped throughout the day. For serious disorders 4 cups a day are taken.

In old times, Bedstraw was very much esteemed by women for disorders of the uterus. To ease child-birth, it was laid in the bed in their difficult hours. As the story goes, this was later attributed to the Virgin Mary. As “Our Lady’s Bedstraw”, She placed it in Her bed. From another legend, She placed it as a soft pillow in Jesus’ crib. A Silesian legend tells that She took it, as it was not eaten by the donkey. There is truth in this. Although cows like to eat it, pigs and donkeys won’t touch it.

The Abbé Kuenzle tells in his writings of a 45 year old man who suffered from a serious kidney disorder which worsened. Finally one kidney had to be removed, the other one was also affected and did not function normally. The man then began a treatment with Bedstraw tea. Daily he drank 4 cups of the previously mentioned tea mixture of Bedstraw, Golden Rod and Yellow Dead Nettle. Frequently he sipped his tea, whereupon his complaint completely cleared up. This same tea mixture is used for all kidney disorders.

While the noted botanist, Richard Willfort, in his book “Health through Medicinal Herbs” points out that rinsing with and drinking Bedstraw tea is an excellent remedy for cancer of the tongue, just as the freshly pressed juice mixed with butter is a remedy for cancerous growth and cancer-like skin disorders, Dr. Heinrich Neuthaler writes in “The Herb Book” the following about Bedstraw: “The white flowering Bedstraw is recommended for cancer in some districts even today – a nonsense that cannot be opposed strongly enough.”

For your judgement on this matter, I would like to place before you, esteemed reader, a few experiences with Bedstraw. About 10 years ago I learned of a dentist who suffered from cancer of the tongue. After the operation he lost a lot of weight and was to have had X-ray therapy in Vienna. I recommended gargling with Bedstraw tea. A week later I learned that the therapy was no longer necessary and that he recovered more and more from the illness. In a short time he was well.

Somewhat later I heard from a 20 year old woman who also suffered from cancer of the tongue. She was advised to consult a doctor in Carinthia (Austria). He promised her that she would get well within 5 years and gave her a herb tea which she showed me one day. I recognized it as Bedstraw. To save her the expense of going to Carinthia, I showed her the Bedstraw growing wild, so that she could gather it herself. She recovered from this terrible illness.

Still another example: It was at the end of March when a young woman from Vienna told me that her mother, 63 years old, was very ill and was to have a second operation on April 19. Six months before, a cancer-like tumour suddenly grew in her larynx. The doctor had hidden the truth from her, telling her it was a goitre and thus she had her first operation. For six months everything went well. But then she experienced terrible pain in her left arm which continued day and night. Her hand was swollen, arm and hand were without feeling so that she could not even hold a piece of paper. To ease her pain, the doctor who performed the first operation advised a second operation on April 19, as previously mentioned, in which he intended to cut the nerves between the neck and the collar bone to at least free her from the worst of the pain. He said that medically there was no other help. Despite that, I recommended that the woman drink Bedstraw tea and gargle with it. Besides, I recommended a tea mixture of 300gm. Calendula, 100gm. Yarrow and 100gm. Stinging ...