174 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



composition of the soap, eaya ihe patentee, 

 should be made in a large quantity of water, kept 

 well stirred durmg the operation, and warmed by 

 steam introduced ui any convenient way. When 

 the mixture lias stood sufficiently \oi\s, the acid 

 of (he I'at or tallow will rise to the surface, and 

 the water being drawn off, will carry the alkaline 

 or saline matters with it, but il ihe acids or tallow 

 should retain any portion of the salts, repealed 

 portions of fresh water must be added to it, and 

 ihe whole well agitated until the acids have be- 

 come entirely freed from aUialine matter. 



'J'he washed nux'.ure of the three acids, stearic, 

 margaric, and oleic, is next drawn oft' into tin or 

 other suitable pans, and allowed to cool, and then 

 reduced to thin shreds by a tallow cutter — an in- 

 strument used by all tallow chandlers. 



The next step is to encase the crushed mass in 

 canvass or carga bags, and then submit it lo the 

 action of a powerful hydraulic or the stearic cold 

 process, a machine made lor the purpose. By 

 this means a large quantity of the oleic acid is 

 expelled, carrying with it some little of the mar- 

 garic. The cakes, alter considerable pressure, 

 are then taken out, and again subjected to the 

 action of steam and water; after which the 

 supernatant stearic acid is run oft' into pans and 

 cooled. The cakes are then reduced to a coarse 

 mealy powder by a rotary rasping machine, put 

 into strong canvass bags, and submitted to the 

 joint action of steam and pressure in a hydraulic 

 press of appropriate construction, called Mau- 

 delay'fi stearine cold press. By these means the 

 stearic acid is entirely heed from oleic acid. It is 

 then subjected to a final cleansing in a tub with 

 steam, melted and cooled in clean vessels. These 

 cooled masses, owing to their crystalline texture, 

 .are unfit lo be made into candles, it is therefore 

 necessary to crush them into powder, and fuse 

 along with it in a plated copper pan a sufficient 

 quantity of arsenious acid. The stearine is now 

 ready to be moulded into candles. 



The wick lo be used in the manufacture of these 

 improved candles is to be made of cotton yarn, 

 twisted rather hard, and laid in the same manner 

 as wire is sometimes coiled round the bass strings 

 of musical instruments. For this purpose straight 

 rods or wires are to be procured, of suitable lengths 

 and diameters, according to the intended size of 

 the candle about to be made ; and these wires 

 having been covered with cotton, coiled around 

 them as described, are to be inserted in the candle 

 moulds as the common wicks are ; and when 

 the candle is made, and perlectly hard, the wire 

 is to be withdrawn, leaving a hollow cylindrical 

 aperture entirely through the middle of the candle. 



C. MORFIT. 



Philadelphia, February 16, 1842, 



Mode of manufacturing Elaine and Stearine from 

 JL,ard, Sj-c. : Patented by John //. Smith, 122 

 Front Smith street, New York city. 



To all whom it may concern : Be it known that 

 I, John H. Smith, of the city of Brooklyn, in tlie 

 county ol' Kings, and state of New York, have 

 invented a new and useful improvement in the 

 manner of separating from each other the elaine 

 and stearine which are contained in lard, by 

 means of which improved process the operation 



is much facilitated, and the products are obtained 

 in a high degree of purity ; and 1 do hereby de- 

 clare ihat the Ibllowing is a full and exact de- 

 scription thereof: 



The first process to be performed upon the lard 

 is that of boiling, which may be effected either 

 by the direct application of fire to the kettle, or 

 by means of steam ; when the latter is employed, 

 I cause a steam tube to descend from a steam 

 boiler into the vessel containing the lard ; this 

 tube may descend to the bottom of the vessel, and 

 be coiled round on the said bottom so as to present 

 a large healing surlace to the lard, provision be- 

 ing made for carrying oft the water and waste 

 steam in a manner well known ; but 1 usually 

 perforate this tube with numerous small holes 

 along the whole of that portion of il which is 

 submersed below the lard, thus allowing the 

 whole of the steam to pass into and through the 

 lard. 'I'o operate with advantage, Ihe vessel in 

 which the boiling is effected should be of consi- 

 derable capacity, holding say from ten to a hun- 

 dred barrels. The length of lime required lor boil- 

 ing will vary much, according to the quality of 

 the lard ; that which is fresh may not require to 

 be boiled for more than four or five hours, whilst 

 that which has been long kept may require twelve 

 hours. It is of great importance lo the perfecting 

 of the separation of the stearine and elaine, that 

 the boiling should be continued for a considerable 

 period as above indicated. 



JVly most important improvement in the within 

 described process, consists in the employment of 

 alcohol, which 1 mixed with the lard in the kettle, 

 or boiler, at the commencement of the operation. 

 When the lard has become sufficiently fluid, I 

 gradually pour and stir into it about one gallon of 

 alcohol lo every eighty gallons of lard, taking 

 care lo incorporate the two as intimalely as possi- 

 ble ; and this has the effect of causing a very 

 perlecl separation of the stearine and elaine from 

 each other by the spontaneous granulation of the 

 former, which lakes place when the boiled lard 

 is allowed to cool in a stale of rest. I sometimes 

 combine camphor with the alcohol, dissolving 

 about one fourth of a pound in each gallon of 

 alcohol, which not only gives an agreeable odor 

 to the products, but appears to co-operate with 

 the alcohol to effect the object in view ; the cam- 

 phor, however, is not an essential ingredient, 

 and may be omitted. Spirit of lower proof than 

 alcohol may be* used, but not with equal benefit. 



After the boiling of the lard with the alcohol 

 has been continued for a sufficient length of time, 

 the fire is withdrawn, or the supply of steam cut 

 off", and Ihe mass is allowed to cool sufficiently to 

 admit, of its being laded, or drawn off into hogs- 

 heads, or other suitable coolers, where it is to be 

 left at perfect rest until it has cooled down, and 

 acquired the ordinary temperature of the atmo- 

 sphere ; as the cooling proceeds, the granulation 

 consequent upon the separation of the stearine 

 and elaine will lake place and become perfect. 

 The material is then to be put into bags, and 

 pressed moderately, under a press of any suitable 

 kind, which will cause the elaine to flow out in 

 a state of great puriiy, there not being contained 

 within it any appreciable portion of the stearine; 

 this pressure is to be continued until the stearine 

 is as dry as it can be made in this way. 



The masses of the solid material thus obtain- 



