Cut up three pounds of country bard soap into three pints of strong ley;
simmer it over the fire until the soap is dissolved, and add to it three
ounces of pearl-ash, pour it into a stone jar, and stir in half a pint
of spirits of turpentine, and a gill of spirits of hartshorn, cover the
jar tight, and tie a cloth over it.
To use the soap, have a tub half full of water as hot as you can bear
your hands in, assort the clothes, and, beginning with the cleanest of
them, rub a small quantity of the soap on the soiled parts of each
article, and immerse them in the water one by one, until it will cover
no more, let them soak for fifteen or twenty minutes, then stir them
well for a few minutes, and boil them for half an hour in eight or ten
gallons of water, to which a table-spoonful of the soap has been added,
rinse them, using blue water where it is required as usual, and they are
ready for drying. After the white clothes are finished, the same waters
will answer for the colored ones, adding hot water and more soap. By the
use of this soap, most of the rubbing can be dispensed with, and it is
not injurious to the texture of the clothes. It has been proved that the
clothes washed in this way are more durable than with the common soaps,
and the rubbing required in connection with them.
It is particularly recommended for washing flannels, and calicoes. The
above quantity is sufficient for a family of four or five persons for a
month, varying slightly as the clothes are more or less soiled. Its
cheapness recommends it to all housekeepers.
Candles.
Weigh the tallow, then you can judge how many candles you can make, six
and eight candles to the pound do very well for working and reading by,
ten to the pound does to use in the kitchen or to carry about the house.
Put the wicks on the rods the day before you expect to make candles, and
dip them in a little melted tallow, you can then straighten them out.
Have a large pot nearly half full of hot water, melt the tallow in
another pot and fill it up, and keep more tallow at the fire to fill in
as it is used out, put coals under the pot to keep it at a proper heat.
Have poles set on stools about a foot apart, to support the rods, dip
the rods in the pot, alternately, until they are as large as you wish
them. Wax makes candles burn longer, but turns them yellow. The best way
is, to put in two pounds of wax, when you first begin to dip, and it
will be used up before they are dipped the last time, when they are
done, cut off the ends and put them in boxes. Most good managers in the
country make enough candles at a time to last a year. If you have not
enough tallow to dip candles, you can mould some mutton tallow is very
good for this purpose.