RECIPES FOR SOAP.-METHOD OF PRESERVING FRUIT FRESH. 
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contrived and ingeniously woven around themselves, 
that it requires sharp eyes to detect them; and thus 
they feed securely until their time of change, when 
they make their escape, if not too closely packed 
away, and suspend themselves to the wall or ceiling, 
in some dark corner or unmolested place, until the 
warm spring weather, when they take wing and im¬ 
mediately seek a home for their future progeny. 
They never feed in the winged stale, and therefore 
only live a few days. A good house-keeper know¬ 
ing this, wilt take good care not to delay packing 
away her flannels, furs, or cloth, until late in the 
spring; and at all times be certain that each article 
is well brushed before being packed, then closely 
enveloped in a thick linen or cotton cloth, sur¬ 
rounded with pepper, camphor, or turpentine, to 
prevent the fly from approaching it, or to kill the 
young worms when hatched, if there should unfortu¬ 
nately be any eggs already deposited. Then each 
loft, closet, and wall, in the house, should .be well 
swept, and jf possible white-washed, to clear away 
the moths That will always be found hanging around; 
and no pieces of woollen material, old or new, should 
be suffered to remain unmolested or exposed. 
Fruit and Insects .—To supply the table with good 
fruit is equally important; and this may be greatly 
facilitated if the women and children of the house 
will take it under their care, and spend a few minutes 
in each day in its culture and protection. A few 
easy and interesting experiments will show that there 
is an immense loss of valuable fruit each year, for 
want of a little knowledge of insects and a few 
minutes spent in preventing their ravages. For ex¬ 
ample, take a few fallen plums or apricots, place 
them in a tumbler nearly filled with earth, cover the 
tumbler close to prevent the escape of the insects that 
are in them, and then set it away for a few days or 
weeks, if it be in the early part of summer, but if 
late in the season, they must remain until spring un¬ 
molested ; then carefully turn the earth out, and 
examine each little lump, and you will find that the 
worm has left the fruit and made for itself a nicely 
plastered cell, a little larger than its body, where it 
remains secure from all injury until it has changed 
from a worm to a little brown or ash-colored beetle 
(Rhynchiles cupreas, or plum weevil). If liberated 
now they will return to the tree and deposit their eggs 
in the remaining fruit, which soon falls, and thus one 
well-filled tree may produce two or three separate 
broods in a year, according to the season or the quan¬ 
tity of late fruit on the tree. I have known many 
large, profusely-bearing trees never ripen a single 
plum, until the system of gathering all the fallen 
fruit, daily, had been practised for two or three years; 
then were the owners rewarded by an abundant sup¬ 
ply. The growth of insect-larva may be advanced 
or retarded according to the different circumstances 
under which it is placed. Those hatched in the 
spring or summer remain but a short time in the 
chrysalis state, while those fed in the fall never take 
wing until the spring has prepared food for them and 
their progeny. This fact should keep lovers of fruit 
always on the watch, and the task of picking up the 
fallen fruit be made pleasurable to the children, by 
offering a reward for each basket full, or a larger share 
of that which remains than would belong to them if 
they had been too lazy or playful to protect it. 
Many persons believe they have no time to waste 
on the study of a bug or worm ; but let them think 
for a moment on the immense amount of produce 
destroyed by these little creatures in a year, and they 
will feel that a few minutes of each day devoted to 
their destruction may be time well spent. They will 
be rewarded, too, by the pleasure derived from the in¬ 
genious habits and instincts of these little creatures, 
given to them for their support and protection by their 
great Creator; and while studying their wonderful 
forms and curious histories, learn that each one has 
its appointed place and use, and that whatever God 
has thought worthy of his creation and care, is a fit 
study for us, their fellow creatures. G. P. 
Never-failing Recipes for Soap.— Soft Soap. 
•—To 25 lbs. of clean fat, add 16 lbs. potash dissolv¬ 
ed in four buckets of water, and boil it until the fat 
is entirely destroyed. This you must test by taking 
out some of the soap in a clean cup, add a little 
water, and let it stand to cool. If the soap becomes 
thicker and clearer by the addition of water, and 
continues so, the soap is done; but should it be¬ 
come thinner or whitish, the ley has not combined 
sufficiently with the fat, and the boiling must continue 
until it will bear the water test. When it has arriv¬ 
ed at this point, add water until it becomes a thick 
jelly, then let it boil one hour slowly, when it will 
be finished and fit to be barreled. The most frequent 
cause of failure is, that the ley is not strong enough 
for the quantity of fat; therefore, when home made 
ley is used instead of potash, the ley should be strong 
enough to float an egg freely. To each gallon of 
strong ley add three quarters of a pound of clean 
grease ; if cracknels be used, take one pound to each 
gallon. Boil it very fast, and stir it frequently. A 
few hours will suffice to make it good soap. 
Hard Soap. —Add salt in proportion of one pint to 
three gallons, let it boil a few minutes, and put it in 
tubs to cool. Should the soap be thin, try it in a 
cup if it requires water. If very strong ley be used, 
water is necessary to thicken it after the incorporation 
is complete; this must be done before the salt is 
added. Next day, cut out the soap, melt it, and cool 
it again ; this takes out all the ley, and keeps it from 
shrinking when dried. The fat should be prepared 
before soap-making day, by boiling it in clear water 
and straining out all the bones and flesh, as they 
give out but little grease and always make the soap 
impure. Be careful to save the bones and scraps thus 
left, as they form the best manure for rose bushes, 
flowering shrubs, and peach trees. S. 
A Method of Preserving Fruit fresh all » 
the Year. —Take of saltpetre one pound, of bole- 
armeniac two pounds, of common sand, well freed 
from its earthy parts, four pounds, and mix all 
together. After this, let the fruit be gathered with 
the hand before it be thoroughly ripe, each fruit being 
handled only by the stalk; lay them regularly, and 
in order, in a large wide-mouthed glass vessel; then 
cover the top of the glass with an oiled paper, and 
carrying it into a dry place, set it in a box filled all 
round to about four inches thickness, with the afore¬ 
said preparations, so that no part of the glass vessel 
shall appear, being in a manner buried in the prepar¬ 
ed nitre ; and at the end of a year such fruits may be 
taken out as beautiful as when they were first put in. 
—Family Receipt Book. 
