176 
VARIETIES. 
lard  or  suet,  or  a  mixture  of  wax,  spermaceti,  and  oil,  or  some  of  them 
or  all  blended  to  produce  a  particular  result,  according  to  the  name  that  it 
bears. 
The  most  important  thing  to  consider  in  the  manufacture  of  pomatum, 
&c,  is  to  start  off  with  a  perfectly  inodorous  grease,  whatever  that  grease 
may  be. 
Inodorous  lard  is  obtained  thus  : — Take,  say  28  lbs.  of  perfectly  fresh  lard, 
place  it  in  a  well-glazed  vessel,  that  can  be  submitted  to  the  heat  of  a  boiling 
salt-water  bath,  or  by  steam  under  a  slight  pressure  ;  when  the  lard  is 
melted,  add  to  it  one  ounce  of  powdered  alum  and  two  ounces  of  table  salt; 
maintain  the  heat  for  some  time,  in  fact  till  a  scum  rises,  consisting  in  a 
great  measure  of  coagulated  proteine  compounds,  membrane,  &c,  which 
must  be  skimmed  off ;  when  the  liquid  grease  appears  of  a  uniform  nature 
it  is  allowed  to  grow  cold. 
The  lard  is  now  to  be  washed.  This  is  done  in  small  portions  at  a  time, 
and  is  a  work  of  much  labor;  the  result,  however,  repays  the  time  bestowed. 
About  a  pound  of  the  grease  is  now  placed  on  a  slate  slab  a  little  on  the 
incline,  a  supply  of  good  water  being  set  to  trickle  over  it ;  the  surface  of 
the  grease  is  then  constantly  renewed  by  an  operative  working  a  muller 
over  it  precioely  as  a  color-maker  grinds  paints  in  oil.  In  this  way  the 
water  removes  any  traces  of  alum  or  salt,  also  the  last  traces  of  nitrogenous 
matter.  Filially,  the  grease,  when  the  whole  is  washed  in  this  way,  is  re- 
melted,  the  heat  being  maintained  enough  to  drive  off  any  adhering  water. 
When  cold  it  is  finished. 
Although  purifying  grease  in  this  way  is  troublesome,  and  takes  a  good 
deal  of  time,  yet  unless  done  so,  is  totally  unfit  for  perfuming  with  flowers, 
because  a  bad  grease  will  cost  more  in  perfume  to  cover  its  mal  odeur  than 
the  expense  of  thus  deodorizing  it.  Moreover,  if  lard  be  used  that  "  smells 
of  the  pig"  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  impart  to  it  any  delicate  odor ;  and 
if  strongly  perfumed  by  the  addition  of  ottos  the  unpurified  grease  will  not 
keep,  but  quickly  becomes  rancid.  Under  any  circumstances,  therefore, 
grease  that  is  not  perfectly  inodorous  is  a  very  expensive  material  to  use  in 
the  manufacture  of  pomades. 
In  the  South  and  flower-growing  countries,  where  the  fine  pomades  are 
made  by  Enfleurage,  or  by  Maceration  (see  vol.  2d,  (3d  series,  1854)  pag  > 
273  of  this  Journal)  the  purification  of  grease  forthe  purpose  of  these  manu  . 
factures  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  become  a  separate  trade. 
The  purification  of  beef  and  mutton  suet  is  in  a  great  measure  the  sam  • 
as  that  for  lard:  the  greater  solidity  of  suets  requires  a  mechanical  arrange 
ment  for  washing  them  of  a  more  powerful  nature  than  can  be  applied  by 
hand  labor.  Mr.  Ewen,  who  is  undoubtedly  the  best  fat  purifier  in  London 
employs  a  stone  roller  rotating  upon  a  circular  slab  ;  motion  is  given  to  the 
roller  by  an  axle  which  passes  through  the  centre  of  the  slab,  or  rather 
stone  bed,  upon  which  the  suet  is  placed ;  being  higher  in  the  centre  than 
at  the  sides,  the  stream  of  water  flows  away  after  it  has  once  passed  over 
