Hiflory of the if Art of Saap-making. 109 



On Soap, and particularly the Combination of Fijh andPotaJh, called Fijh Soap. 



The utility of this fubftance muft have made it an objedl of early attention, for as man- 

 kind advanced in civilization, and aflbciated in villages and towns, faponaceous matter 

 became neceflary, not only for the purpofes of cleanlinefs, but for other cotemporary arts. 

 Although this feems to be the probable origin of the manufa£ture, we have no written re- 

 cord of its ufe until the time of Pliny, who attributes its invention to the Gauls. Their 

 foap feems to have been a compound of tallow and potafli, for Pliny obferves, that it was made 

 of tallow and afties, but the beft of goats' tallow and the aftiss of the beech-tree. Befides 

 this foap, we have early accounts of the ufe of different deterfive fubftances, particularly, 

 aflies of vegetables, natron, and urine ; feveral of the ancient writers mention faponaceous 

 vegetables, that appear to have been ufed for cleanfing clpthes. Beckman, profeflbr of eco- 

 nomy at Gottingen, is led to fuppofe, on the authority of Strabo, that bran was employed 

 by the Romans, for the purpofes of wafliing fuch cloth as would be injured by the hard 

 rubbing, and ftrong deterfive power, of an alkali or common foap. 



The Romans alfo ufed different natural combinations of the argillaceous earth, for the 

 purpofeof fulling. Thefe were imported from different countries, as the Chia, Lemnia, Sarda, 

 Samia, &c. They varied much in their deterfive power : the beft and moft valued was 

 named cimolia. This has been confidered by feveral raineralogifts, as the fame with our 

 fullers-earth ; but Mr. Hawkins has lately difcovered the true cimolia of Pliny, which is 

 very different from the fullers-earth, upon the ifland of Cimolo, or what is now denominated 

 Argentiera*. 



During the courfe of ages, feveral alterations have been made in the art of foap-making ; 

 but thefe, like many other improvements, have occurred accidentally to the manufacturer, who 

 in general was but ill qualified to make the beft ufe of them. Their prejudices, and the 

 vague general knowledge of the man of fcience, have been the greateft bars to improvement. 

 Happily, circumftances are now altering, the artift and the philofopher are combining their 

 efforts to improve the manufa(5lures, and to eftablifh fuch a connexion among them, as will 

 be for their mutual advantage. The great inftitution now forming in London, will contri- 

 bute very much to this end, and afford us another proof of the fuperiority of the Britifh 

 nation, in every thing regarding the improvement of manufaftures. 



The accounts which have been publifhed of the procefs for foap-making, are in general 

 vague, and often contradictory. The report in the 19th vol. of the Annales de Chimie, is' 

 the moft complete treatife that has ever appeared upon this fubjeft, It is a model which 

 deferves to be imitated, not only for the accuracy of the details, but the comprehenfive 

 manner in which the whole is treated. 



Different Kinds of Soap. 



I cannot pretend to enumerate in this paper all the kinds of foap which are now manvi-; 

 fadlured, but will only mention the moft important. ■,,-. % 



•Pliniushift. nat. lib. 35,cap. 57.— Agricola de natuvA. FsfT. lib. z.— Lenz. Mineralogiftes Haad-buch, 

 Emmerling, Lehrbuch, vol. 3. — Klaproth. Beitrage, 



u 



