176 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



says he punishes the first fault to save him from 

 the necessity of inflicting ten times as much, 

 which would be the necessary consequence of 

 the omission. As he is unflinching in punish- 

 ing a disobedience of his orders, so is he espe- 

 cially particular that his commands shall be ex- 

 plicitly defined, that they may be clearly under- 

 stood. The great object, he affirms, is to sepa- 

 rate the mental from the manual labor ; so that 

 the superintendent may do the one, and the 

 operative the other. No laborer should have 

 his attention distracted or his time occupied in 

 thinking what he shall do next ; the process of 

 thought and arrangement should devolve wholly 

 upon the superintendent, and the manual laborer, 

 to be most effective, should, by constant repeti- 

 tion, perform mechanically, and almost without 

 the effort of thought, his daily task. It is by 

 this system, that, that degree of intellect, which 

 alone can be obtained from the great mass, is 

 rendered sufficient to the accomplishment of the 

 greatest and most complicated effects. But to 

 do all the thinking for fifty individuals requires 

 no common power of intellect, and, consequent- 

 ly, it is not every stupid fellow that can make a 

 good manager. The gentleman that we have 

 described, for although born in an humble sta- 

 tion and a self made man, he is in every respect 

 worthy the title, is a highly informed and well 

 read man ; otherwise, he could never have at- 

 tained his acknowledged excellence in so simple 

 a matter, as some would esteem it, of conduct- 

 ing a small manufacturing establishment. Such 

 a man, we verily believe, could go upon any 

 farm in Virginia, and treble the products, solely 

 by the discipline and system he would carry 

 with him. 



From the Tennessee Agriculturist. 



SOAP MAKING. 



As soap making is a matter of no small in- 

 terest to every house keeper, a few suggestions 

 on the process of manufacturing will be of uti- 

 lity. Soap, as every one knows, is made of al- 

 kali and fat or oil of almost any kind. Al- 

 though grease and lye are common in every 

 kitchen, yet few can combine them with accu- 

 racy ; and frequently much more labor is be- 

 stowed, than is necessary. The first considera- 

 tion is the obtaining a sufficient quantity of al- 

 kali. This requires good wood, green is best, 

 and if it be cut in the winter or while the sap is 

 down, the lye will be much stronger. Old rot- 

 ten wood should not be burnt when the ashes 

 are to be used for lye. 



The ashes being ready, put them into a hogs- 

 head, barrel or old fashioned hopper, and put on 

 water till the strength is exhausted. Next com- 

 mence boiling to evaporate the water, and con- 

 centrate the potash. To be assured there is 

 enough potash, make a trial with an egg. If 

 the egg is supported, all is right, but if it sinks 

 to the bottom, the boiling must be continued. 



But often it occurs that the lye is sufficiently 

 strong and yet soap cannot be made. This is 

 generally owing to the fact, that the potash of 

 the lye is not sufficiently caustic, or capable of 

 corroding the skin. This lack of causticity is 

 owing to the existence of too much carbonic 

 acid, in combination with the potash. To pre- 

 vent this, use the ashes fresh, or before the acid 

 is absorbed. The cure for the evil is quick 

 lime. It has a greater affinity for carbonic acid 

 than potash, and if a half bushel unslaked lime 

 be placed at the bottom of the hogshead of 

 ashes, the lye will be free from the acid. The 

 proper causticity will be shown by dipping 

 a feather into the lye, while boiling. If the 

 more delicate parts are consumed, the lye is 

 ready for the oil. The fat should be as clean 

 as possible. The proportion of fat should be 

 about three pounds to one gallon of the alkali. 

 The fat of course is to be put in while boiling 

 and the whole should be constantly stirred, till 

 the soap is finished. 



Hard Soap is made by adding salt to soft soap 

 while boiling. Tallow soap is perhaps the best, 

 but too expensive for common use. The Wind- 

 sor soap is made of tallow and potash, scented 

 with caraway seed. Butter, lard and the finer 

 oils are used for making the fancy toilet soaps. 



T. F. 



HESSIAN FLY. 

 In the last number of the American Farmer, 

 we find a communication from Mr. Samuel 

 McKenney, of Georgetown, D. C, advancing 

 a doctrine somewhat striking and original. He 

 contends that the insect found in vegetable pro- 

 ductions, as the fly in wheat, the worm in the 

 garden pea, and the maggot in the chesnut, are 

 not, as has been supposed by naturalists, the 

 growth of the egg deposited by the parent fly 

 in the embryo seed, but are the immediate re- 

 sult of vegetable action ; that animal, as well 

 as vegetable life and growth, is the result\ of \ 

 vegetation ; that the two principles are alwaW/ 

 present, and that the perfection of "the grai«4j£ 

 pends upon the proportion in which they exist; 

 which proportion is modified by weather, climate, 

 soil, &c. 



Mr. McKenney puts his case very boldly and 

 strongly, and startling as his doctrine is, he sup- 



