30 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Jan. 
DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 
SOAP FOR WASHING WHITE CLOTHES. 
Editors of the Cultivator —I enclose you a re¬ 
cipe for making a washing soap, given to my wife, which 
she thinks is capital ; and has no doubt it will be found 
very economical, both on the score of saving soap and 
the wear of clothes. It had been used by the friend who 
gave it to her. If it proves what we think it will, ev¬ 
ery subscriber who uses it, can afford to subscribe for 
five copies of your paper and give them to his neigh¬ 
bors. 
Recipe.- — 1 gallon good soft soap, 
1-2 gallon water, 
1 ounce sal soda, 
1 gill spirits turpentine, 
Mix cold ,• let it heat gently to a boil ; then take it 
off to cool, stirring frequently until it becomes hard. 
Directions for Use. —To a four or five pail boiler, 
add a tea cup full of the soap. The clothes want to be 
soaked over night, or slightly washed in the morning 
before boiling. Must not be boiled over 20 or 25 min¬ 
utes ; suds and rinse in hot soft water, with a little 
blueing ; fig blue is preferable. 
The suds, after boiling, is preferable to hard soap for 
washing calico. 
If these directions are strictly adhered to, it will be 
found that the washing is done with less labor and fuel, 
the linen and cotton is of a purer white, and the dam¬ 
age by pounding and rubbing is avoided, rendering the 
garments much more durable. M. Y. 
DIFFICULTY IN PRODUCING BUTTER. 
Messrs. Editors-—I have been for a few years past 
the wife of a farmer, and, although previous to my mar¬ 
riage, I was quite unaccustomed to a country life, I 
have been much interested and gratified with the various 
pursuits and engagements connected with a small farm. 
There is one employment that has of late given me 
“ a world of trouble,’ 5 — that of churning. Our favorite 
brindle gives an uncommon supply, for this season of 
the year, but we cannot with all our efforts and ingenu¬ 
ity, produce any butter. I have availed myself of the 
experience of my neighbors, but all to no purpose. One 
has suggested that the cream is too sweet, another that 
it is too sour, too cold, or too warm, or that the cow is 
not sufficiently salted ; and to all these supposable cau¬ 
ses. I have tried to apply the appropriate remedy, (for 
we have had no less than five unsuccessful churnings.) 
I have heated the milk, too, when first taken from the 
cow, but alas, all in vain, and now I have to regret, 
not only the loss of the butter, but the greater waste of 
time it has occasioned. 
I have sometimes wished, as I have read of the great 
practical benefits derived by the farmer, from the aid 
of chemistry, that some kind-hearted chemist would 
consider milk worthy a place in his laboratory, and the 
result of his discoveries might cause hope, once more, 
to dawn on the dreaded churning day. 
Mary. 
P. S.—We have just purchased one of Kendall’s 
cylinder churns, at the recommendation of the Cultiva- 
vator, to which we are subscribers, and have used it 
twice, but as no butter made its appearance, are una¬ 
ble to judge of its merits. There is, however, one evil 
to which it seems liable — the friction at the ends of the 
iron axis, produces a collection of black particles of 
cream, which falls down into the milk. This churn is 
highly recommended in some places, and I should like 
to inquire of any that use it, whether this occurs in 
churning a moderate length of time, for I should consi¬ 
der it a serious objection. M. 
Hempstead, L. I., Dec. 16th, 1846. 
Note.— We should like to know, whether our cor¬ 
respondent’s cow was fed on grass or fodder which had 
been touched by frost, while she was giving the 'milk 
from which no butter could be made 1 We have for¬ 
merly experienced the same difficulty, but it was gene¬ 
rally, if not always, while the cows ate food which had 
been frost-bitten. What chemical changes are produc¬ 
ed on the food or on the milk, by this cause, have not, 
perhaps, been determined. We should be glad to re¬ 
ceive any suggestions in regard to the cause of, or 
remedy for the trouble complained of. As to the objec¬ 
tion mentioned in regard to Kendall’s churn, we are in¬ 
formed by a person well acquainted with its use, that 
if the axis is made properly smooth, in the first instance, 
and due care is taken to keep it perfectly clean, no dif¬ 
ficulty of the kind alluded to, would occur.— Eds. 
HUSK BEDS. 
Mr. Tucker —Corn husks are becoming- an impor¬ 
tant article of domestic economy. For health, comfort, 
and durability, they cannot be surpassed. I speak from 
experience, having used them in my family for more 
than thirty years; and what is truly remarkable, those 
beds which have been in use all that time, are to ap¬ 
pearance quite as good as new. They are regarded by 
the medical faculty as conducive to health, and as the best 
article that can possibly be used by asthmatic and con¬ 
sumptive persons. But the difficulty of separating the 
coarser from the more delicate fibres, has prevented 
their being brought into general use. This hindrance 
has been overcome by the invention of a machine by 
Mr. C. Boorum, Jr. of New-York, which produced the 
article in a manufactured state, resembling the finest 
curled hair. Being nearly as light as feathers, and per¬ 
fectly free from dust, they form the most pleasant and 
desirable, and at the same time the most economical 
article for bedding now in use. Two years since, this 
gentleman exhibited some of his beds at the fair of the 
American Institute, for which he received one of its 
honors. Since this time the demand has rapidly in¬ 
creased. Mrs, B. R. Voorhees. 
Amsterdam, Oct. loth, 1846. 
Rationale of Churning.— According to Bous- 
singault, the butter in milk is in the form of minute 
globules, each globule being enclosed in a very thin, 
transparent pelicle, which prevents them from adhe¬ 
ring together. During agitation by churning, these 
delicate pelicles break, and the fatty globules immedi¬ 
ately unite, and form granules of butter. There is no 
absorption of oxygen during the process, as was once 
supposed ; the operation succeeds in vacuo, and with 
the churn filled with carbonic acid, or hydrogen gas. 
Keeping Winter Fruit. —The Genesee Farmer 
says, “ A gentleman of experience in these matters in¬ 
forms us, that he invariably puts his keeping fruit 
in dry sand, and in this way he can keep it two or three 
months after the usual time, with flavor and freshness 
unimpaired in the least.” 
Preserving Apples. —The Maine Farmer says that 
dry, ground hemlock bark, from the tanning mills, has 
been used for preserving apples with good results. We 
think this would be preferable to sand or plaster, which 
some have recommended. 
