Some survival tools you can make with to make life better:
HOW TO MAKE A FOREST STOVE OR A CANDLE/LIGHT SOURCE
Take a large dried log about 2-3 feet long and about as big around as a basketball and stand it upright on one end where you want your fire for cooking or for light.
Cut/split the top end down about ten inches or a foot into the log in a six piece "pie shape" formation and stuff the cracks with some dried bark and small twigs and tinder. Light the tinder.
You can set your pot right on top and cook as soon as it is burning well or just leave it burn for a candle/light source that will last at least an hour. This will not cause a lot of smoke after it gets started.
HOW TO MAKE A SELF FEEDING FIRE....
Throw out everything you have learned about making a fire.. and this time... put your largest logs on the bottom.. then the next smaller.. then the twigs and then the kindling.
Get your kindling burning and feed it a little bit with a few more twigs.. and let it go. You don't have to baby it as it will keep on feeding itself as it burns down.
ANOTHER FOREST "STOVE"
Find a nice sized conk (those shelf funguses that grows on trees) and place it level in a pile of sand, gravel or dirt with the white underside up.
Use your knife to score a pattern on the white underside...I like a spiral myself... Pour on a little melted pitch or lighter fluid, fat or even cooking oil and light it. You can place your pot or can on top like a burner on your kitchen stove, and it will burn a long time.
A FISHING SPEAR
Another simple way to make a forked fishing spear is to simply split the tip of a sturdy pole into four parts... and stuff a bit of bark or stick into the cuts to force the tips apart. Sharpen the tips.
PRIMITIVE ARROWS..
Dried Mullien stalks make excellent arrows as well as a good fire bow drill. A sharpened stick will stick just as far into an animal as a commercial arrow.. but won't make the animal bleed as much as the commercial arrows or arrows with a stone tip do.
The stems of the thimble berry bush are also good strong and light weight and straight for use as arrows.
Speaking of the thimbleberry.. you can make a decoction out of the leaves and roots for a soap substitute that is good for your hair as well.
Mix your mullein leaves with equal parts coltsfoot to make a tea to make the flem go away and to move it on out of the body.
Mullein is said to be of much value in diarrhea.
Be sure to strain your tea as the tiny hairs of the mullein can irritate the mouth.
Also drink teas made of oregon grape roots..1/4 to 1/3 cup chopped roots to one cup of water. Nature's best tools for colds, bronkitis etc.
A dried mullein stem is one of the best tools for a firebow stick you can find.
Here is a link to more uses for mullein. A great plant for wilderness survival.http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/mulgre63.html
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More about mullien by: Wakien
I will add a bit more about mullien as this is such a great plant to know in the wilderness.
Find last years stalk with the seed head still on it or pick some mullien, and hang it upside down after stripping the leaves off and dry it for a while (best if dried all the way but will also work if not so dry as long as there is wax or tallow.)
Drip the wax from old candle butts, kids broken crayons, canning wax etc in layers over the seed head.
If you dont have wax you can dip them in tallow.
If you have no wax and no tallow, remember the sap of trees will make a great torch as well when used on a mullien stalk.
The oil in the stalk and head and the dried down acts like a wick.
You can also just scrap off that down to make an easy firestart material which of course is even better dried.
These torches of the wilderness have been known as Haglights, witches candles, candlewick plant, and hag taper among other names.
If you wish you can also add essentual oils of lavender, lemon balm or other herbs the bugs dont like or citrine to make the bugs stay away.
The custom of using mullein stalks as torches dates back at least to Roman times.
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I forgot to add..... by: Anonymous
When making a fire, a cooking log, using a conk for a stove or making a torch etc....dont forget that resin makes a great fuel and firestarter.
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Comments by: mike
thanks for tips. Saw the forrest stove on Ray Mears, been using for a couple years. A scaled down version makes a good torch. I put a couple around my camp for a few minutes of extra light during a late meal. Like the self feeding fire idea...similar to the Pyramid Fire in the Army Survival Manual.
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Always learning something new.... by: Anonymous
Thanks for that info Bill W. :) I had not heard of using the mullen although I have heard of using garlic.
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Great info! by: Anonymous
This post has great info. I know folks who've used garlic and mullein ear drops for their kid's ear infections for years, and swear by the results. They say it works faster and relieves pain better than the antibiotics that the doctors give out, but without making the organisms resistant to the drugs.
Great info.
Bill W.
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you are correct :) by: Anonymous
Yes it is a very remarkable plant and a great survival plant to know.
And lets not forget....the leaves are soft and velvety...and are great for emergency bathroom needs...not to be gross..but they work and one needs to be aware of what one is using as some plants can make you very sorry if you use them by mistake .. ;)
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Mullein by: Rob
Mullein can also be smoked to alleviated respiratory problems, or the flowers can be steeped in a tea to accomplish the same benefit. The tea also helps relax you.
Mullein also goes by the name 'Aarrons Rod' and grows wild in most fields. You can see the flower stalks in mid summer a good ways away since they shoot upward of anywhere from 4 - 6 feet high. Stalks are heavily budded with pretty yellow flowers. In addition, Mullein is a perenial and will come back year after year and is easily cultivated in the garden.
