VARIETIES. 
561 
the  soap  ;  its  name  is  indicative  of  its  form,  a  long  handle  with  a  short  cross 
— an  inverted  £,  curved  to  fit  the  curve  of  the  pan.  When  the  soaps  are 
all  melted,  it  is  then  colored,  if  so  required,  and  then  the  perfume  is  added, 
the  whole  being  thoroughly  incorporated  with  the  crutch. 
The  soap  is  then  turned  into  the  "  frame."  The  frame  is  a  box  made  in 
sections,  in  order  that  it  can  be  taken  to  pieces,  so  that  the  soap  can  be  cut 
up  when  cold;  the  sections  or  (l  lifts"  are  frequently  made  of  the  width  of 
the  intended  bar  of  soap. 
Two  or  three  days  after  the  soap  has  been  in  the  frame,  it  is  cool  enough 
to  cut  into  slabs  of  the  size  of  the  lifts  or  sections  of  the  frame  ;  these  slabs 
are  set  up  edgeways  to  cool  for  a  day  or  two  more;  it  is  then  barred  by 
means  of  a  wire.  The  lifts  of  the  frame  regulate  the  widths  of  the  bars;  the 
gauge  regulates  their  breadth.  The  density  of  the  soap  being  pretty  well 
known,  the  gauges  are  made  so  that  the  soap  cutter  can  cut  up  the  bars  either 
into  fours,  sixes,  or  eights;  that  is,  either  into  squares  of  four,  six,  or  eight  to 
the  pound  weight.  Latterly,  various  mechanical  arrangements  have  been 
introduced  for  soap  cutting,  which  in  very  large  establishments,  such  as  those 
at  Marseilles  in  France,  are  great  economizers  of  labor,  but  in  England  the 
"  wire  "  is  still  used. 
For  making  tablet  shapes  the  soap  is  first  cut  into  squares,  and  is  then  put 
into  a  mould,  and  finally  under  a  press— a  modification  of  an  ordinary  die 
or  coin  press.  Balls  are  cut  by  hand,  with  the  aid  of  a  little  tool  called  a 
u  scoop,"  made  of  brass  or  ivory,  being,  in  fact,  a  ring-shaped  knife.  Balls 
are  also  made  in  the  press  with  a  mould  of  appropriate  form.  The  grotesque 
form  and  fruit  shape  are  also  obtained  by  the  press  and  appropriate  moulds. 
The  fruit-shaped  soaps,  after  leaving  the  mould,  are  dipped  into  melted  wax; 
and  are  then  colored  according  to  artificial  fruit-makers'  rules. 
The  variegated  colored  soaps  are  produced  by  adding  the  various  color--, 
such  as  smalt  and  Vermillion,  previously  mixed  wTith  water,  to  the  soap  in  a 
melted  state;  these  colors  are  not  crutched  in,  hence  the  streaky  appeara a 
or  party  color  of  the  soap. 
Almond  Soap. 
This  soap,  by  some  persons,  "  supposed"  to  be  made  of  "sweet  almond 
oil,"  and  by  others  to  be  a  mystic  combination  of  sweet  and  bitter  almonds, 
is  in  reality  constituted  thus:  — 
Finest  curd  soap  1  cwt.    Otto  of  almonds  1^  lb. 
<*     oil  soap  14  lb.         ee     cloves  1  lb. 
iC     marine  14  lb.         iC      carraway     .    .    .    .    h  lb. 
By  the  time  that  half  the  curd  soap  is  melted,  the  marine  soap  is  to  be 
added  ;  when  this  is  well  crutched,  then  add  the  oil  soap,  and  finish  with  the 
remaining  curd.  When  the  whole  is  well  melted,  and  just  before  turning  it 
into  the  frame,  crutch  in  the  mixed  perfume. 
Camphor  Soap. 
Curd  soap  .  . 
Otto  of  rosemary 
28  lb.  1  Camphor 
1*  lb.  | 
36 
Ulb. 
