540 



un unpleasant odour ; cocoa-nut soap, being too alkaline, acts upon the skin. The 

 perfumers, therefore, to make a good body soap mix these in various proportions. 

 Thus Piesse and Lubin prepare 



Curd soap . . 

 Marine soap 

 Olive-oil soap . 

 Pale yellow soap 

 Otto carraway . 



Windsor- Castle Soap. 



1 cwt. Grain musk 



21 Ibs. Oil of cloves 

 14 ,, rosemary 



7 ,, thyme 



8 ounces. cassia 



of each 

 3 ounces. 



The soap is sliced into thin slabs, and put into the steam-pan in proportions of what 

 is termed ' a round,' that is, the slabs are placed perpendicularly all round the side of 

 the pans, so as to be in contact with the metal. In about half an hour this soap will 

 have melted, or ' run down.' Another round is then introduced, and so continued 

 every half-hour, till the whole melting is finished. 



The different soaps that are being melted must be put into the pan separately, 

 because they do not all take the same time to liquefy : thus, we must have a round of 

 curd, then a round of marine, then of curd again, varying each time or half-hour ; 

 but each round n>ust be of the same sort ; the mixture being rendered perfect by 

 stirring the soap with a crutch, or tool like an inverted j,, with a long handle. When 

 the melting is finished, the ottos and musk are added ; then the soap is turned out 

 into a cooling-frame. 



The musk, before being put into the soap, has to be well rubbed in a mortar with a 

 little water, and then passed through a sieve to remove extraneous matters. When new 

 this soap has little fragrance, but when old its ' bouquet ' is delightful : the alkaline 

 reaction of soap improves the perfume of the musk. 



Brown Windsor Soap 



is made of various qualities, generally inferior ; the brown colouring added to the soap 

 disguising its yellow origin. The scents used for perfuming it are also generally of a 

 common quality, although there are some honourable exceptions. 



Glycerine Soap. 



In consequence of the many virtues attributed to glycerine in a pure state, various 

 soaps under the name of Glycerine Soap have been foisted upon the public. It is 

 known to chemists that glycerine is one of the proximate elements of fatty bodies, 

 and that during the saponification of grease it is eliminated as an educt. The better 

 the soap, as a rule, the freer from glycerine. The presence of glycerine in soap is 

 indicative that the soap is imperfectly made. To add glycerine to good soap is, in 

 fact, to spoil the virtues of both articles. 



Almond Soap 



is made with a mixture of soaps such as is given above ; and, when melted, is perfumed 



with 1 Ib. of otto of almonds to every 

 cwt. of soap used. Other fancy soaps 

 are prepared in a similar way ; the pro- 

 portion of perfume regulating the retail 

 price, or vice versa. 



2. Soaps are also perfumed by the 

 ' cold process,' as it is termed ; that is, 

 the soap is reduced to a stole of fine 

 division by shaving it up into a mortar, 

 by putting the bars over an inverted 

 cutting-plane. The best curd soap is 

 generally selected for this purpose. After 

 the soap is reduced to shavings, the 

 scent is well incorporated, and then 

 thoroughly beaten together with a heavy 

 pestle. The soap is then moulded by 

 the hand into lumps of about 4 ounces 

 each, placed on racks to dry for a few 

 days ; when sufficiently firm, each lump 



^^^ is placed in the die-press or stamp (see 



fig. 1615) to give it* the desired form and lettering. In this way are made all the 

 finest scented soaps, of which we now give a few illustrations : 



