102 CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 



keep the ashes from the hole. Fill the tub almost full 

 with the ashes and lime mixed as above, and press them 

 down pretty hard; lay a wisp of straw on the top of the 

 ashes in the middle of the fat, to keep the water from 

 making a hole ; pour on a little water upon the wisp at 

 first, so as it may spread in the ashes about a hand- 

 breadth about the wisp ; then pour on more than at the 

 first, as soon as the first is drunk up by the ashes ; and 

 at the next time you may pour so much as will spread 

 over all the tub ; and if it take that without breaking the 

 ashes, you may pour on more. If that ley which comes 

 through the hole into your receiver at the first be not 

 clear, put it up again, and so long continue pouring on 

 water as the ley in the receiver will bear an egg ; and 

 this they call strong ley. 



Keep this by itself, and pour on cold water again, 

 and the next will be middle ley, which you must know 

 by its taste. The last will be small ley, prepared after 

 the same manner, which hath scarce any taste at all. 



Take next a hundred weight of tallow ; put it into the 

 copper ; put about six gallons of middle ley upon it ; 

 then put fire under the furnace, and melt it down in the 

 ley, but so as it do not boil . Draw the fire from under 

 it, and let it stand for four or five hours; then warm it 

 again, and put in three or four gallons of strong ley, and 

 so let it cool again four or five hours. Warm it again, 

 and, if need require, put in more ley, which you will 

 know by the sharpness of the taste of the soap : if it be 

 pretty strong, let it boil until it become like a jelly. 

 When it is ready for graining, if you dip your knife into 

 it, and take out some, and let it cool, it will roll about 

 your knife. 



To grain it, or separate the ley from the soap, put in 

 a peck of bay-salt ; then keep a fire only upon one side 

 of your copper, so that it may boil only on that side 

 where the fire is. After it hath boiled a little, take out 

 some of the ley, and look whether the tallow be clearly 

 separated ; if not, you must put in more salt. It must 



