SOlTHERX CULTIVATOR 
4 !) 
Siilficie):: qa:^!)tiiy to potr.sh soafu sue!) as you describe, i 
nlLca'iir sol.diiv ' Aii-! does if ih)C tdr!i;-t« h-to a soda , 
soap 'j say ihe autuovides.” ■ 
II’ Oil-; fiieuJ i)ad read ilie • autlioi Ities'/ closely. 1‘6 ; 
would Lave faund tiiat oy addiiiy an exc.es.s of what he : 
calls a ‘‘suriicent quantity ofcoiunion salt'' the foi rnaiiun j 
of a soda soap wid be preve nted. In the lirst volume, i 
(Philddelpliia odidon.. ISIS) page 405, of Knapp .s Cherni- i 
cal Technology, laay be found the following ; j 
“ When .‘^oap [meaning potash soapj is cut up into ; 
small pieces, and placed iii a solution of common salt, 
saturated a: the ordinary temperature, no a-ction lohaUtcr 
kikes piuce. The pieces of soap, far from being dissolved 
or soliened, swim on the suviace of the solution without 
ever being wetted by it. The solution of salt flows from j 
their surihoe as oil from iee. Even after long immersion, j 
no other result ensues than would occur if soap were j 
plunged into mercury ; instead oi softening, its hardness! 
is ratUef inci'f-ased. II tiie solution of salt is boiled, the j 
soap is softened by heat, and assumes the form of a gelati- ; 
oUSj or, rather, thick and doughy mass, which is equally i 
insoluble ia the saline .solution, keeping perfectly distinct ' 
from it, or at most separating into flocks that swim upon | 
the surface. Tliese flocks harden w'hen taken out, and i 
cool down to hard soap, if the solution of salt is not [ 
saturated, but diluted to a certain extent, the soap and salt | 
contend for the water after such a fashion that neither | 
positively get.s possession of it. The water is partly im- j 
bibed by the soaf., but a part remains with the salt, so ; 
that a solution of soap is seen swimming upon the saline; 
solution, which is now' saturated, without mixing with it | 
or dissolving, but still forming a distinct layer. It is i 
only when ihc salt in solution is below one four hundreth ! 
of the Liquid, that the soap is not prevented by it from dis- I 
solving.’’ 1 
The fav2ts above quoted are important to all w'ho are in | 
the habit nf adciiig salt to a pouish lye when boiling it | 
with grease for making soap. It is easy to put in too \ 
much Siil: ; and it is as easy to see why we qualided our [ 
remarks as to the certaivtp of getting hard soda soap by | 
the use of salt a.s indicated. | 
In turn, it would not be ditTicult for us to criticise our | 
critic ; but as it is not likely our numerous readers wmuld | 
be beneflited thereby, we sha'I let the matter pass; | 
wiih ilie remark, that the manufacture and use of poor | 
soap :s on the increase in this country', Every where 1 
men use ilirii bale scientific knowledge to make money j 
by shaiTirless uduHerations, by the production of inferior | 
articles, and bv the aid of the most enticing pufls. j 
L 1 
XOftTlIERN COTTON AND WOOEF.N ?TANU- ; 
factories. j 
As it may be interesting to the growers of Cotton to! 
know .siuncthin:: of the manner in w'hich it is worked up j 
in the large cstai)li;hmenrs of (he Xerth, we subjoin the 
following iirfn ic from a NfW E.iglaad paper. The wri- 
ter i^ iji^acrining the ••pacifle Ll.lis and Print Works" of 
Ervn iif.a, M ’j.s : 
‘ Th > e^.’ v !:s'«mcnt celei^rated fur its print.s, delaines 
ami • h-i 1 .“s coiiipuiy, whirh has a capita! nf t v > 
miliniii^ I'f lini! rs, was cnarieietl in lis4'.l. and l•o!|lm^'nced 
Ofiera n>ns L: Pj5!. Tfie e-l; l>!i>h!iieiit cnii>ists of three 
paiiilUl i.n ! ;ings -the mi l in liof.t. the print works in 
the iv.ir, and a large inter. nehiate building. 
Tiiat pari of liie main bmliling in operaiton is 50G feet 
long, 7'2 foe: .vide, a.nd seven stories high: when com- 
pleted, it will be h(it> feet in length. 
Bleaciiing, primiiig, dyeing, &c.. are carried on in the 
rear edifice the principal part of which is 050 feet by 60 
feet, exclusive of two wings used for storage, oflices, &.c., 
each 450 f'eet by iO feet, and three stories high. The in- 
termediate building is 800 feet, by 50 feet, and is also 
three stories in height If the various floors were ail on 
one plane, the works would cover an are of more than 
1 63 acres. These buildings constitute, it is believed, the 
largest cotton mill and print v/orks in the world. 
In that portion of the works now in operation, there are 
employed 50,000 self acting spindles, 1,P27 looms, 275 
carding machines, 36 fly frames, 19 warping machines, 
and 27 dressers. The yearly consumption of cotton is 
1.500.000 pounds, and of wood, 700,000 pounds. The 
aver.age produce of cotton yarn per day is 3,500 pounds, 
and of woolen, 1,000 pounds. The printing room con- 
tains 12 steam engines, and 12 great printing machines, 
capable of giving from five to twelve colors at once. These 
beautiful pieces of mechanism are capable of running 
through 300 pieces per day, or an average of 75,000 y’ds. 
They are truly lightning machines. In the printing ar- 
rangements there is an investment of BOO, 000 to S70,000 
for copper cylinders alone. 
The engi'aving room, where designs are prepared 
and sketched, is an interesting department. A little host 
of sketchers and designers here exercise their ingenuity, 
taste, and skill to please the fancy/ of the ladies, who are 
to purchase the fabrics of the company. The sum of 
$12 000 is annually spent for designs. 
The chemicals and dyestuffs used, reach the value of 
over Si, 000 daily, and comprise an anmtal consumption 
of 800,000 pounds madder, 40,000 pounds of cochineal: 
and there are employed besides, 550,000 pounds starch, 
4.000 gallons sperm oil, 2,000 pounds glue, 450 barrels 
flour, and numerous other articles. The gross annual 
amount of prints manufactured, reaches 7,000,000 yards, 
and of delaines and challies 5,600,000 yards. The power 
which sets in motion the vast machinery of the Pacific 
V/orks is derived from five turbine wheels, each six feet 
in diameter, and calculated to work up to 275 horse pow- 
er, but at present only exerted to about 150 horse power. 
The steam engines also furnish about 100 horse power. 
When the entire building is completed, the number of 
wheels ’will be increased to eight, two of them seven feet 
in dia.meterand of 350 horse power each” 
Of the steam apparatus of the Pacific Mills the writer 
says : 
‘'‘file steam for warming the premi.ses in cold weather 
and heating the dryinj; room — the steam for the priming 
engines, and for bleaching, dyeing, and other processes — 
is generated in 25 cylindrical boilers, each 28 feet long by 
5 feet diameter, and which are now producing, in the ag- 
gregate, high pressure steam equal to 1000 horse power 
per hour; while in winier the volume is equal to 1700 
horse power per hour. No lire is used on the premises, 
except in the great boiler hall, in the intermediate build- 
ing; and in this department occur some items of consump- 
tion, viz; 10,000 tons ofanthracite coal per annum, lOOO 
bushels of charcoal, besides over 100 cords of wood. 
'I'here are l.Gl'O persons employed on the works, one- 
half of whom are females, and ihs sum paid them annually 
IS over .$360,000. In connection wuth the cstabiisttment 
is a library of 1 700 volumes furnished for the use of the 
empl 'Vf es, who are required to confribute one cent a 
week for its mainienam e and increase. Theie is al'O a 
reading rouni open every evening f.ir llie workers, 
'in which thirty-tw o of the leudij'g newspapers and nmga-' 
zmes ot the day are on fiie. Besides tlieie is a lecture 
room where lectures are given. A relief society fur the 
