VARIETIES. 
559 
At  Pompeii  (overwhelmed  by  an  eruption  of  Vesuvius,  a.  d.  79.)  a  soap- 
boiler's shop  with  soap  in  it  was  discovered  during  some  excavations  made 
there  not  many  years  ago.    (Starks1  Letters  from  Italy.) 
From  these  statements  it  is  evident  that  the  manufacture  of  soap  is  of 
very  ancient  origin  ;  indeed,  Jeremiah  figuratively  mentions  it — c-  For  though 
thou  wash  thee  with  natron  and  take  thee  much  sope,  yet  thine  iniquity  is 
marked  before  me."    (Jer.  ii.  22.) 
It  would  be  out  of  place  here  to  enter  into  the  details  of  soap-making, 
because  perfumers  do  not  manufacture  that  substance,  but  are  merely  11  re- 
melterSj"  to  use  a  trade  term.  The  dyer  purchases  his  dye  stuffs  from  the 
drysalters  already  fabricated,  and  are  merely  modified  under  his  hands  to 
the  various  purposes  he  requires;  so  with  the  perfumer,  he  purchases  the 
various  soaps  in  their  raw  state  from  the  soap  makers,  these  he  mixes  by 
re-melting  scents  and  colors  according  to  the  article  to  be  produced. 
The  primary  soaps  are  divided  into  hard  and  soft  soaps:  the  hard  soaps 
contain  soda  as  the  base :  those  which  are  soft  are  prepared  with  potash. 
These  are  again  divisible  into  varieties,  according  to  the  fatty  matter  em- 
ployed in  their  manufacture,  also  according  to  the  proportion  of  alkali.  The 
most  important  of  these  to  the  perfumer  is  what  is  termed  curd  soap,  as  it 
forms  the  basis  of  all  the  highly  scented  soaps.  [Curd  Soap  is  a  nearly 
neutral  soap,  of  pure  soda  and  fine,  tallow.] 
Oil  Soap,  as  made  in  England,  is  an  uncolored  combination  of  olive  oi1 
and  soda,  hard,  close  grain,  and  contains  but  little  water  in  combination. 
Castile  Soap,  as  imported  from  Spain,  is  a  similar  combination,  but  is 
colored  by  protosulphate  of  iron.  The  solution  of  the  salt  being  added  to 
the  soap  after  it  is  manufactured,  from  the  presence  of  alkali,  decomposition 
of  the  salt  takes  place,  and  protoxide  of  iron  is  diffused  through  the  soap  of 
its  well-known  black  color,  giving  the  familiar  marbled  appearance  to  it. 
When  the  soap  is  cut  up  into  bars  and  exposed  to  the  air,  the  protoxide  passes 
by  absorption  of  oxygen  into  peroxide  ;  hence,  a  section  of  a  bar  of  Castile 
soap  shows  the  outer  edge  red  marbled,  while  the  interior  is  black  marbled. 
Some  Castile  soap  is  not  artificially  colored,  but  a  similar  appearance  is  pro- 
duced by  the  use  of  a  barilla  or  soda  containing  sulphuret  of  the  alkaline 
base,  and  at  other  times  from  the  presence  of  an  iron  salt. 
Marine  Soap  is  a  cocoa-nut  oil  soap,  of  soda,  containing  a  great  excess  of 
alkali,' and  much  water  combination. 
Yellow  Soap  is  a  soda  soap,  of  tallow,  rosin,  lard,  &c,  &c. 
Palm  Soap  is  a  soda  soap  of  palm  oil,  retaining  the  peculiar  odor  and 
color  of  the  oil  unchanged.  The  odoriferous  principle  of  palm  oil  resembling 
that  from  orris-root,  can  be  dissolved  out  of  it  by  tincturation  with  alcohol ; 
like  ottos  generally,  it  remains  intact  in  the  presence  of  an  alkali— hence, 
soap  made  of  palm  oil  retains  the  odor  of  the  oil. 
The  public  require  a  soap  that  will  not  shrink  and  change  shape  aftertbey 
purchase  it.  It  must  make  a  profuse  lather  during  the  act  of  washing.  It 
must  not  leave  the  skin  rough  after  using  it.  It  must  be  either  quite  inodor- 
ous or  have  a  pleasant  aroma.    None  of  the  above  soaps  possess  all  these 
