STANDARD ,:iECEIPTS. 50i 



2. Glauber salts has been used to harden soap, which made from in- 

 ferior fats, would otherwise be too soft. This substance (melted on a 

 shovel or otherwise, ) added to the soap in the proportion of one pound 

 of the salt to twenty pounds or the soap, is said to remedy the defect, 

 and to make a hard and sound soap out of what would otherwise be too 

 soft for economical use. 



3. HARD SOAP WITH IvARD. Sal-soda and lard, of each six 

 p>.;unds; stone lime three pounds; soft water, four gallons; dissolve the 

 lime and soda in the water, by boiling, stirring, settling and pouring 

 off; then return to the kettle (brass or copper) and add the lard and boil 

 until it becomes soap; then pour into a dish or moulds, and when cold, 

 cut it into bars and let it dry. 



4. HARD SOAP FROM SOFT. Take seven pounds good soft 

 soap; four pounds sal-soda; two ounces borax; one ounce hartshorn; 

 one-half pound resin, to be dissolved in twenty-two quarts of water, 

 md boiled about twenty minutes. 



Whale Oil Soap. For the destruction of insects: render common 

 lye castic, by boiling it at full strength on quick-lime; then take the lye 

 and boil it with as much whale oil foot as it will change to soap; pour 

 off into moulds, and, when cold, it is tolerably hard. Whale oil foot 

 is the sediment produced in refining whale oil. 



How to Test Soap. The value of boiled soaps of course depends 

 greatly on the quality of the materials used. This accounts for the dif- 

 ference in price and quality. The purest materials, such as clean tallow 

 or pure oils, thoroughly saponified, yield the mosl; valuable soaps, cost- 

 ing more per pound, but they are cheaper in the end. A good soap is a 

 perfectly neutral compound, and will in no case injure the most delicate 

 fabrics. The simplest method of testing soap is by tasting. If it is 

 sharp and biting on the tongue, there is an excess of alkali; but if it 

 leaves no unpleasant sensation on the tongue, there is not the least dan- 

 ger that it will rot or otherwise injure clothes in washing. 



Resin Soap. About fifteen per cent, of resin can be mixed with 

 tallow without injuring the color and firmness of the soap. A larger 

 proportion deteriorates the quality and produces an inferior soap. Some 

 soap-makers melt the resin and tallow together before mixing; better 

 make a separate soap of each, then mix and boil them together thor- 

 oughly for half an hour, and strain through a sieve before filling the 

 frames. Use only the lightest colored resin, if you would have light 

 ..;olored soap. 



