INDUSTRIES AND FIRESIDES. 233 



up through the cloth. Dip out the whey. Then empty the 

 remaining curd into a basket lined with a sheet of cheese 

 cloth so that the rest of the whey shall drain off into a 

 tub underneath the basket. Turn the corners of the 

 cloth over upon the curd and put on stones to press all 

 day. The dry curd is then to be salted to taste and, if sage 

 cheese is to be made, some sage leaves and corn leaves to 

 color it and to give flavor are mashed and soaked until 

 enough liquid is obtained to mix into the curd. Then for 

 the press ! A stout frame with pulleys on each side is used 

 to press down the curd into a wooden cylinder, squeezing 

 out the juice until it can be made no harder. After sev- 

 eral days of continuous pressure the cheese is taken out 

 of its hoop. The cheese is done, and it needs only time 

 to ripen and to strengthen it." 



Having glanced at a few primitive matters of clothing 

 and food, some other interesting home industries may be 

 reviewed'; for instance, soap making. 



Our forefathers and foremothers were not generally so 

 scrupulous in the virtue of cleanliness as we are required 

 to be. In fact, their work kept them more in the dirt of 

 V -Ihe world, and their appliances for cleansing were far less 

 effective than ours. Soft soap was their main defense 

 against all that sullied or stained. 



It was made from the ashes of their own fireplaces and 

 from greasy scraps of their own saving. It was made as 

 follows : A barrel or leeching box full of wood ashes is 

 set up on stones and water poured into it two or three 

 gallons at a time at intervals of a few hours. In a day or 

 two it begins to drip through a hole at the bottom into 

 buckets, a liquid the color of strong tea or vinegar. It is 

 lye. The other ingredient is grease, and this is saved 

 scrap at a time all through the winter until soap-making 

 time, when it is all cut up and melted in a great iron kettle 

 holding about three pails. 



