ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 291 



ferred for many purposes, particularly for 

 the scouring of woolens. 



The lyes prepared for making soft soaps 

 should be made very strong, and of two 

 densities, as the process of making potash 

 cr soft soap differs materially from that of 

 making soda or hard soap. A portion of 

 the oil or fat being placed in the boiling- 

 pan and heated to near the boiling-point 

 of water, a certain portion of the weaker 

 lye is introduced and the fire kept up so 

 as to bring the mixture to the boiling- 

 point ; then some more oil and lye are 

 introduced alternately, until the pan is 

 filled. The boiling is continued gently, 

 strong lye being added until the saponifi- 

 cation is complete. The fire should then 

 be removed, and some good soap, pre- 

 viously made, added while cooling down, 

 to prevent any change by evaporation. 

 One pound of oil requires about one-third 

 of a pound of American potash, and will 

 make one and three-quarters to two 

 pounds of well-boiled soap, containing 

 about 40 per cent, of water. Sixty pounds 

 of lard will make 100 pounds of first-class 

 soft-soap by using one and a half cans of 

 concentrated lye, which is made from salt, 

 and is really a soda-lye. 



BOOTS, To Keep— These are pre- 

 served in different ways, according to the 

 object in view. Tuberous roots, as those 

 of the dahlia, paeonia, tuberose, etc., in- 

 tended to be planted in the succeeding 

 spring, are preserved through the winter 

 in dry earth, in a temperature rather un- 

 der than above what is natural to them. 

 So may the bulbous roots of commerce, 

 as hyacinths, tulips, onions, etc., but for 

 convenience, these are kept either loose, 

 in cool dry shelves or lofts, or the finer 

 sorts in papers, till the season of planting. 



Roots of all kinds may be preserved in 

 an ice house till the return of the natural 

 crop. 



After stuffing the vacuities with straw, 

 and covering the surface of the ice with 

 the same material, place on it case boxes, 

 casks, baskets, etc., and fill them with tur- 

 nips, carrots, beet-roots, and in particular 

 potatoes. By the cold of the place veg- 

 etation is so much suspended that all 

 these articles may be thus kept fresh and 

 uninjured till they give place to another 

 crop in its natural season. 



SAUERKRAUT, To Make.— In the 

 first place, let your "stand," holding from 



half a barrel to a barrel, be thoroughly 

 scalded out; the cutter, the tub and the 

 stamper also well scalded. Take off all 

 the outer leaves of the cabbages, halve 

 them, remove the heart and proceed with 

 the cutting. Lay some clean leaves at 

 the bottom of the stand, sprinkle with a 

 handful of salt, fill in half a bushel of cut 

 cabbage, stamp gently until the juice just 

 makes its appearance, then add another 

 handful of salt, and so on until the stand 

 is full. Cover over with cabbage leaves, 

 place on top a clean board fitting the 

 space pretty well, and on top of that a 

 stone weighing twelve or fifteen pounds. 

 Stand away in a cool place, and when 

 hard freezing comes on remove to the 

 cellar. It will be ready for use in from 

 four to six weeks. The cabbage should 

 be cut tolerably coarse. The Savoy vari- 

 ety makes the best article, but it is only 

 half as productive as the Drumhead and 

 Flat Dutch. 



SAUSAGE, Making and Keeping. — 1. 

 To make family sausage, the trimmings 

 and other lean and fat portions of pork 

 are used, taking care that there is about 

 twice as much lean as fat ; some consider 

 it an improvement to add about one-sixth 

 of the weight of lean beef. As to sea- 

 soning, that is a matter of taste. The 

 majority of people use salt, pepper, and 

 sage only, some use only salt and pep- 

 per, while others, in addition to the above, 

 put in thyme, mace, cloves and other 

 spices. There is something repulsive 

 about the intestines or "skins" used for 

 stuffing sausage, and the majority pre- 

 serve the meat in bulk. In cold weather 

 it will keep for a long lime, but if it is 

 desired to preserve it beyond cold weath- 

 er it needs some care. We have found 

 that muslin bags, made of a size to hold 

 a roll two and one-half or three inches in 

 diameter, keep the meat very satisfactori- 

 ly. These bags, when filled with sausage 

 meat, are dipped into melted lard, and 

 hung up in a dry, cool place. For sea- 

 soning, we use to one hundred pounds of 

 meat forty ounces salt, and from eight to 

 ten ounces each pepper and salt. 



2. Take two-thirds ham and one-third 

 fat pork; season well with nine teaspoon- 

 fuls of pepper, and the same of salt, three 

 of powdered sage, and one of thyme or 

 summer savory to every pound of meat — 

 not heaping teaspoonfuls, remember; 



