CHEAP SOAP.

Patea Mail, Volume XII, Issue 16, 26 May 1886, Page 4

CHEAP SOAP.

A northern contemporary contains the following ;— Anything which tends to the manufacture of raw material, ,on the spot, into an extensive article, of use must tend to assist the settler in his struggle to make both ends meet. There has lately been introduced into the colony an article of great value to the country farmer, which will revolutionise [- the method of making By the means of a caustic soda of a high power (which can now be obtained at Christchurch,"but which when its merits are ’ known, will certainly be sold at all centres) the hitherto waste fat of a farm can be converted by a simple process into a soap equal to the best received from the Auckland factories. Into7olbs of rendered fat, melted, but not too hot is poured a solution made of water and ]Olbs of caustic soda; the mixture is stirred for an hour; then when of the consistency of honey is poured into a box and left for a week or two, when it ;■ can he removed and cut into bars, which will be found to contain about 12Olbs of soap without any of the deleterious chemicals which are usually employed to fortify the cheap bought article. When Mr Forsythe of Pihama, was in Canterbury, he obtained some of this soda the cost of which in small packets is 9d per lb, but in cask 4|d,and he has already made a considerable quantity of soap for home consumption. The , value to this district, whence tallow is exported to realise 13s per cwt. in Wellington, is great, as every district butcher can now obtain a fair return for the fat which has lately been anything but a profitable portion of the proceeds _