JQoiWlic Oironomii. 
SOFT AND HARD SOAP. 
I THINK the process is not generally un¬ 
derstood, for T have had many ask me how 
I made hard soap. The ingredients are lye 
and grease, which must first be made into 
good soft soap. The grease may consist of 
rinds, bones, scraps of lard or tallow, and 
all waste grease about the house. Any fat 
or oil may be used as grease. The lye may 
be made of good, hard wood ashes, with a 
little lime mixed with them if not strong 
enough to make good lye without; or, it 
may be made from concentrated lye, which 
may be procured of the manufacturers of 
concentrated lyo, or of most druggists. 
People who burn wood can save their ashes 
in a brick or stone ash house, at a proper 
distance from the house, or they may be 
placed in a leach if proper precaution is 
used. If stored in a loach wet them so sis to 
extinguish all fire or heat in them. This 
will not hurt, the ashes for making soap at 
all, unless sufficient water is put on them to 
start t he lye, which need not be, to put out 
all fire or embers in them, if well stirred 
tip. They must not have sufficient water 
put on them to start the lye until ready to 
make soap. A box, barrel, cask or hollow 
log may be used for a leach. 
Make a foundation with large blocks or 
stones, a little slanting one way. This lower 
side must be. high enough to set the kettles 
under in which to catch the lye. Place on 
this a very wide or tightly matched board, 
if a hollow log is used, as it has no bottom in 
it. If a box, cask or barrel is used, having 
a tight bottom, so that the lye will not run 
through except where you want it to, and 
you can manage your plat form so as to bal¬ 
ance it, the board may be dispensed with, 
but not without, A tight box or cask must 
have holes bored where the lye can run 
through on the lowest side. 
Place a few sticks in the bottom of the 
leach, with a handful of straw over them; 
then, if your ashes are not quite strong, add 
a peck of slaked lime to them ; but if st rong, 
they will do with less, or noneat all. When 
ready to make soap, pour on water at Inter¬ 
vals until the lye begins to run. Then place 
your grease, more or less, into your kettle 
over the fire, add your lye, and boil, taking 
care not to let it boil over, in which case you 
would lose much of your grease, as that rises 
to the top: and ash agas you can see grease 
on the top of the soap, it will bear more lye. 
if you have it. Sometimes, when a small 
quantity of lye is added to the grease at 
first, it. will become soap after boiling a 
short, t ime. 1 f you have added more grease 
than your lye required, it will remain on the 
top of the soap, and may be taken off to use 
again, if you have not sufficient lye to use it 
all up at once. 
Rancid grease will make soap sooner than 
sweet grease; but it often takes from live 
to ten hours' boiling to make soap. Dip out 
a little to cool to tell when it has come, and 
if quite thick when cool, and you see oil on 
the surface, add more lye and boil longer. 
When it is well come into good soft soap, 
add a small quantity of salt, and boil until 
the soap separates from the lye. Do not 
add too much salt, as it will be crumbly and 
brittle. Put in a teaCUpful in a hall barrel 
of soap at first, stir, boil, and watch to see 
if the soap and lye separat es, the soap rising 
to the top, and t he lye settling tothe bottom 
of the kettle. I f it. does not so separate after 
boiling a half hour, add some more salt 
gradually, until it does separate; but be 
careful not to add too much. 
This process will make common hard soap, 
which will be of the color that your soft soap 
would be, made of the same grease and lye; 
and ns good for the various uses for which 
common hard soap is used as any. But if 
you want a yellow-looking soap, such as you 
have seen sold in bars, you must dissolve , 
one third as much resiu as you use of grease, ] 
and add to the lyo, or place it in the lye to 
dissolve before adding the grease. In this 
case your grease needs to be free from re- , 
fuse to estimate its weight, unless you can ( 
guess what quantity of resin to put in. If [ 
you do not put. in resin enough, it may not j 
be quite as yellow as that you buy, but f 
equally as good. t 
If you wish to make some of it into per- * 
fumed or fancy soap, dip some of the soap, a 
while warm, into a tight box, first wetting f 
the bottom and sides of the box with cold li 
water, stir in your perfume or coloring, n 
—cover up, and let stand to cool, when si 
it may be taken from the box and cut in g 
small cakes, and placed on boards to dry c 
in an airy room, n 
That wanted for common hard soap may 
be covered up and left, in the kettle to cool, 
and then cut into bars and placed on boards 
to dry, or it may be dipped into other ket¬ 
tles, leaving the lye and sediment in the one 
in which it was made, and boil that dipped 
off, to evaporate more lye from it, so that it 
will cure sooner; then turned into tight 
boxes to cool, as it will cut in better shape; 
then place on shelves to dry, and the drier 
and older It gets the farther it will go in 
washing. It can be used in a short time, or 
kept any length of time, as it is improved 
by age. h. 
- +■■*"* - 
ODDS AND ENDS. 
That Monday’s Dinner,—Tn theRntAT, 
NEW-YORKER, of .June 1st a lady tells us 
how she got her Monday’s dinner. She tells 
us that she baked bread, mince pies, cook¬ 
ies, ginger snaps and fruit cake. What be¬ 
came of her washing? Shi* is supposed to 
do it herself, because she speaks of doing 
her own work, and of its being wash-day 
and making arrangements accordingly. She 
does as much baking as an ordinary woman 
could accomplish in one forenoon, besides 
getting her dinner. What had her different 
varieties of cake to do with her dinner ? In 
a later article she tells us that for tea (I 
suppose that same Monday) she had delicate 
cake and cookies. It is my opinion that the 
person who wrote that article has never 
seen much actual service in the kitchen. A 
woman who knows what it is to do the 
washing for a family and get dinner the 
same forenoon, will be very likely to be 
satisfied with one kind of cake for her tea 
table, which she appears to have had baked. 
My sister housekeeper at Fulton, from 
whom we heard last week, understands t he 
matter, as do others of your readers who 
know whereof we affirm.— Housekeeper, 
Ontario Vo A'. 1". 
Domestic Inquirice.— Mrs. A. E. 8., 
(Testou, Iowa, asks for a good recipe for 
muffins. . . . Mary P. R. asks someone to 
tell her how to make a lettuce salad with 
sugar, cream and eggs. Sho has eaten it 
but never had opportunity to find out how 
it was made. . . . Mrs. V. P. Muzzy asks 
some of her “sister readers” of the Rural 
to tell her how to cook mutton kidneys. . . 
Josh 11. Brown says:—"I wish there was 
a more general diffusion of knowledge upon 
the best mode of frying potatoes. I have 
eaten potatoes, fried, that were delicious; 
I have eaten potatoes, so id to hove hero 
tried, that wore perfectly abominable. 
Who knows, among the Rural’s readers, 
how to fry potatoes and have them edible? 
T will take Off my bat (and do far more if 
necessary! to the woman who sends you a 
mode of doing it. by which my lovely and 
loving wife will be enabled to do justice to 
tlte subject— and to me! Who wants to see 
me doff my hat ? Publish the first, hundred 
recipes, will you ?” 
Preserving Grapes with Honey is 
recommended by those who have tried it, 
it being asserted that many kinds of fruit 
are preserved nicer with it than by the use 
of sugar. Mrs. Tupper says: — “(.rapes, 
plums, and all kinds of crab apples are es¬ 
pecially nice. Jam or “ butter,” made with 
honey is delicious, whatever fruit is used. 
We have preserved grapes in this way for 
years, as follows:—Seven pounds of fruit 
(in perfect bunches if possible.) 4 pounds of 
honey, 1 pint of good cider vinegar, and 
spices of any or all kinds, to suit the taste. 
Boil the honey and vinegar together, with 
the spice tied in a cloth; pack the grapes 
closely in a jar, and turn the boiling sirup 
over them. If it is sealed at once no fur¬ 
ther care is necessary— it will keep for 
years. If not sealed, the sirup should be 
turned off the ninth day, re-boiled, and 
turned again on the fruit.” 
nml TftWfnl a reiy BOOd plan ’ and wiU undou 
1 t ll111(l aim U.I rJl | U l . make a permanent wall. The mix 
___*•_ mortar, however, without sand , is a 
WATER FROM A SPRING. 
I have a spring of water which I would 
like to use in watering stock in the barn¬ 
yard, a distance of some thirty rods. What 
power can 1 use to best bring the water, and 
where can I get said power ? Will a hydraulic 
ram do the work? Are they practical? 
What will be their probable cost?—<J. W. 8., 
Lake Co.. 0. 
What agency you use. to force the water 
from the spring to the barn-yard must de¬ 
pend upon circumstances you do not detail. 
For instance, you do not tell us what quan¬ 
tity of water your spring will supply, the 
bight to which it must be elevated, nor 
what fall can be obtained in order to oper¬ 
ate a rain. For instance, if you can get a 
fall of 3(£ or 4 feet from the spring to the 
ram, and a supply of water that will fill an 
inch and a-half pipe, say 30 feet long (the 
distance from the spring to the ram) it will 
elevate a constant stream of water one-half 
inch in diameter 35 or 40 feet, and force it 
thirty rods or more. 
The following rule is given for ascertain¬ 
ing the quantity of water, and the higbt to 
which it maybe elevated, by a given fall and 
volume of water— the discharging pipe being 
not over 50 rods in length. Find, by means 
of a common level, the fall of your spring or 
stream: t hen find the quantity of water it 
discharges per minute, or hour. Then mul¬ 
tiply the flight of the fall by 5, for the ele¬ 
vation, and divide the number of gallons 
discharged by tire spring or stream by 7, for 
the quantity of water raised. For instance, 
if you have a spring with a fall of 8 feet, dis¬ 
charging 28 gallons per minute. Multiply¬ 
ing the fall 8 by 5. we have forty feet as the 
higbt to which a ram will elevate it. Divide 
28 by 7, and we have four gallons as the 
amount the ram will discharge per minute 
at a distance of not over 50 rods. 
Horace L. Emery. Albany, N. V., a gen¬ 
tleman experienced in such matters, says: 
“ To enable any one to select the size ram, 
it is necessary to compute the elevation to 
be overcome, the greatest amount of fall 
that can be conveniently obtained, divide 
the first by the last, and the quotient will be 
the proportion of water (passing through 
the drive pipe) which will be raised; first, 
however, deducting for waste of power and 
friction, say one-fourth of the amount. 
Thus, with It) feet fall and 190 feet elevation, 
one-tenth of the water would he raised if 
there Avere no friction or loss; but. deduct¬ 
ing, say one-quart er for loss, and 7}4 gallons 
for each 100 gallons would be raised, all the 
balance of the water being required or 
wasted to accomplish this result." 
But if our correspondent has a spring that 
will not supply water enough to run a rain 
with this proportion of waste, or if he can¬ 
not get fall enough to operate one, then the 
best agency for raising water (if it must be 
elevated), is a wind-mill and pump. Of the 
prices, and where hydraulic rams and wind¬ 
mills and pumps can be obtained, we 
know nothing that our advertising columns 
do not tell. 
a very good plan, and will undoubtedly 
make a permanent wall. The mixing of 
mortar, however, without Hand , is a novel¬ 
ty even in these days. The writer says 
slake 30 lbs. lime with four gallons water, 
(this must be quick lime 1 understand, 
or it would not slake in ivater), then mix 
dry Avith seven times the measure of stone 
lime; run through a sieve of 100 meshes to 
the inch ; then Avet up in the usual manner. 
Now these directions for mortar-making, 
to an old bricklayer or plasterer, arc of no 
use AvhateA'er, and Avill require a consider¬ 
able degree of explanation to make tliem of 
any benefit to a novice. Docs the writer 
mean to use anj - sand at all? and if so, in 
what proportion to the lime used? 1 have 
been engaged in building 25years, and haA e 
always seen sand used in various propor¬ 
tions in the composition of mortar.—D. T., 
Topeka , Kansas. 
Nitrogen in Plants.—It is AA-ell knoAvu 
that the quantity of nitrogen ooutained in 
the crops exceeds in enormous proportion 
that existing in the manures, the excess 
undoubtedly being derived from the air. It 
is now a question Avhether this is extracted 
directly from the air by plants, which would 
thus have the power of assimilating direct¬ 
ly. or if it is first taken from the air by the 
soil so as to combine with organic matter 
and form ati assimilable compound. Ac¬ 
cording to Deiteratn. oxygen, in the pres¬ 
ence of organic matter, combines directly 
with nitrogen to form a compound analogous 
to the humus of the earth, or to ulniic acid. 
To illustrate this he placed in a tube oxy¬ 
gen, nitrogen, glucose and ammonia. On 
drying the tube and heating it, a black, ni¬ 
trogen tzed matter was left, and a portion of 
the nitrogen in the tube was found to have 
disappeared.— tSdcnliflc American. 
Useful and Scientific Inquiries. —Will 
some one give a recipe for making a yellow 
or straw-colored paint — such as is used for 
painting plows and other farm implements? 
—r. w. ll. 
glrborii'iiltunil 
SCIENTIFIC AND USEFUL NOTES. 
Put Up Jam While Hot.—It is said 
that ordinary jam —fruit and sugar which 
have been boiled together for some time— 
keeps better if the pots into which it is 
poured are tied up while hot. If the paper 
can act as a strainer, in the same Avay as 
cotton wool, it must be as people suppose, 
II' one pot of jam be allowed to cool before 
it is tied doAvn, little germs will fall upon it 
from the air. and they will retain their vi¬ 
tality, because they fall upon a cool sub¬ 
stance; they will be shut in by the paper, 
and Avill soon fall to work decomposing the 
fruit. If another pot, perfectly similar, be 
filled Avith boiling hot mixture and im¬ 
mediately covered over, though, of course, 
some of the outside air must be shut in, any 
germs which are floating in it will be scald¬ 
ed. and in all probability destroyed, so that 
no decomposition can take place. 
Desiccated Vegetables.—It is some- 
Avhnt remarkable, considering the feasibili¬ 
ty of drying vegetables so as to at once re¬ 
duce their bulk and insure their preserva¬ 
tion, that this plan lias not been more ex¬ 
tensively carried into practice. It has, in¬ 
deed, been talked about for the last half 
century, it being, we think, nearly fifty 
years since it was proposed to dry and pow¬ 
der the West Indian plantain and export it 
to Europe as a substitute for ordinary 
breadstuff's. It is as much as twenty-five 
or thirty years since the use in the same 
manner of the sweet potato was proposed. 
For ordinary purposes drying by currents 
of hot air is preferred, and the limited quan¬ 
tity of desiccated vegetables uoav in the 
market is prepared in this Avay. But for 
army rations, for travelers, etc., a foreign 
method in which seven or eight per cent, 
only of the moisture is evaporated, and the 
rest expelled by compression under a hy¬ 
draulic press, is found to give the best 
results, from three to four thousand pounds 
of cabbages, or other juicy or succulent ma¬ 
terial, being brought within the compass of 
a cubic yard. Special and costlj' machinery 
is required in carrying out this process, and 
this explains AA’hy it is not likely to come 
into very common use.—j. a. av. 
Laying Brick in Chimneys.—In Rural 
Neav-Yorker of June 22d, page 410, I no¬ 
tice manner of laying up brick chimneys, 
and making mortar. The dusting of the 
brick and soaking in lime Avater is certainly 
WHY CHESTNUT TREES DIE. 
Chestnut trees, like many other nut- 
bearing mid certain fruit trees, will seldom 
flourish at all satisfactorily after they have 
been transplanted, for the reason Unit it is 
a habit of the tree to send down a long and 
strong tap-root, to fortify the groAving tree 
against injury during dry weather. The 
office of the long tap-root, with its system 
of laterals, is to supply the' branches and 
leaves with moisture ii* a dry time, when 
the surface, roots cannot collect, one drop of 
water from the dry soil. When a chestnut 
tree is transplanted, the long tap-root is so 
badly mutilat ed, or left entirely where the 
tree stood, that the groAvtlt of stem and 
branches will be exceedingly small; and 
many times the tree will barely keep alive 
for two or three seasons, after which it will 
die. The correct reason of the failure is, 
the tap-root is gone.— Exchange. 
The above is going the rounds of the press, 
and we presume many will believe that it 
is all true. In fact., we have often heard 
the same reasons advanced in support of 
the supposed to be deterioration of some 
kinds of forest and fruit trees. There is, 
however, not a shoAV of truth in this talk 
about the importance of the tap-root on 
trees. No one appears to think that a lead¬ 
ing or top branch is so very important, or 
that a tree is likely to die or become sickly 
if it should happen to be removed; still it 
is just as necessary to a tree, under certain 
circumstances, as a tftp-root. 
Whenever a tree has plenty of other roots, 
the center or tap-root is of no value to it, 
and, in fact, it is seldom found on very old 
trees, showing that nature provides for its 
decay when of no use. It is the nature of 
almost all tree seeds to produce one root 
which grows doAvnward and a single stem 
Avhich is of a similar form but shoots in an 
opposite direction. Now, because the first 
shoot takes an upward direction it is no 
good reason Avhy it should be preserved in¬ 
tact in order to preserve the health or 
insure long life to the tree. The same rule 
applies to tap-roots, and there is neither 
reason nor common sense in all the stuff 
AYhich is continually being promulgated in 
regard to their importance. In stony soils, 
or Avhere the subsoil is too hard to be readily 
penetrated by roots, the trees have no tap¬ 
roots or probably never had after the first 
year or two of their existence; still some of 
our best forests are on just such soil. Trees 
in sAvamps and low grounds seldom have 
tap-roots, they having died and rotted away 
Avhile the trees Avere young; and is there 
any oue Avho Avill assert that to cut off a 
root is any more injurious than to haA r e it 
rot off? ’ ! 
