Poultices, to be effective, need to be Troweled on half an inch thick, extending far beyond the effected area, covered with cheese cloth or rags torn from old cotton sheets so they don't dry out too fast.
"How and When to Be Your Own Doctor"
Dr. Isabelle A. Moser with Steve Solomon
Mrs. Draper Troweled this statement on with a dashing smear, saving Sylvia from being forced to answer, by adding lightly to the man, "Is ambrosia anything that will whip, do you suppose?"
"The Bent Twig"
Dorothy Canfield