The Russellville Democrat., 1881-03-24
HOME. TOPICS.
English Housekeeplng-lgnora Cause of Disease-Household Soap-MakIng About Tea Kettles-Reme-
 dies for Headache.
,NCT.TsTT uot-arvrrprn-l

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 English wives, high and low, keep household accounts in way that would surprise many American women, Every penny spent in the house goes down in | the "Sousekeeper's book" with which every mistress of household is pro- vided. Every bill is filed away carefully when receipted In fact, a perfect sys- tenn of order prevails, which enables every man to know exactly what it costs him to keep up his home In that coun- try every expenditure is made to bear its proper relation to the income re- ceived. House rent must be only such percentage, table outlay so much, ser wants wages so much, children's school ing so much, aims giving so much, and Ii at the end of the year it is found that the income has been exceeded these neo- pie immediately proceed to reduce items in every department. The general style of their living remains about the same. but 1t IS necessarily not quite so genuine. IGNORANCE A CAUSE OF DISEASE.
 The more thoroughly the causes of diseases are understood, the more and more they are found traceable to vio- lation of the hygienic laws. If the rava- ges of cholera, of yellow fever and ty- phoid may be controlled in great meas. ure hy the observance of such laws why
 may not scarlet fever, measles and whooping cough-these scourges of in- fant life-be prevented, or very much
 limited? The prevailing sentiment that all children must necessarily have these diseases once, finds no support in the nature of physiology or in the principles of hygiene. The fact is already we'll es- tablished that the spread and violence
 of scarlet fever, by isolation, cleanliness and ventilation, are very much modified
 and, in some instances, entirely prevent ed. We believe the time will come l when measles scarlet fever and whoop- ing cough, which now destroy such mul- l titudes of children, will become, in a
 measure, things of the past It is not only the great amount of sickness and
 mortality occassioned directly by these | diseases, but the impaired constitutions and other complaints consequent upon
 them, that may also be prevented 1 When the community realizes fully that
 the means of preserving health especi- l ally in early life, are placed, in great
 measure, in its own hands, far higher
 estimate will be placed upon the value of 1 human life, and the responsibility for it's preservation will be found to depend in great measure upon human efforts. | -Dr. Nathan Allen.
 HOUSEHOLD SOAP MAKING.
 Mir. W. Menzies gives in The Chemist
 and Druggist the following practical re- | ceipt for making soap without boiling: | Take exactly ten pounds of double re- 1 fined 9S per cent. caustic soda powder | (Greenbank), put it in any can or jar with forty-five pounds -four and halt | gallons) of water stir it once or twice, when it will dissolve immediately and
 become quite hot; let it stand until the 1 lye thus made IS cold. Weigh out and | place in any convenient vessel for mix
 ing exactly seventy five pounds of clean grease or tallow, or oil (not mineral
 oil). If grease or tallow be used, melt it
 slowly over the fire until it is liquid and
 just warm-say, temperature not over 100
 degrees Fahrenheit. If oil be used, no
 heating is required. Pour thelye slowly
 into the melted grease or oil in small
 stream continuously, at the same time
 stirring with a flat wooden stirrer about
 three inches broad; continue gently stir
 ring until the lye and grease are thor
 oughly combined and in appearance like
 honey. Do not stir too long or the mix
 ture will separate itself again. The time
 required varies somewhat with the weather and the kind of tailow, grease or oil used; from fl fteen to twenty min-
 utes will be enough. When the mixing
 is completed pour off the liquid soap into | an old square box for a mould sufficient ly large to hold it, previously dampening
 the sides with water, so as to prevent the
 soap sticking. Wrap up the box well
 with old blankets, or, better still, put it
 in warm place until the next day when
 the box will contain block of l30
 pounds of soap, which can afterward be
 cut up with wire. Remember the
 chief points in the above directions,
 which must be exactly followed. The
 lye must be allowed to cool. If melted
 tallow or grease be used, it must not be
 more than warm. The exact weight of
 double refined 9S per cent. powdered
 caustic soda and tallow or oil must be
 taken; also the lye must be stirred into
 the grease, not grease or oil added to the
 lie If the grease or tallow used be not
 clean, or contains salt, it must be 'ren-
 dered," or purified, previous to use, that
 is to say, boiled with water and allowed
 to become hard again to throw out the
 impurities Any salt present will spoil the whole operation entirely, but dis
 colored or rancid grease or tallow is just
 as good as fresh for soap-making pur-
 poses. If the soap turn out sticky and
 uneven it has not been thoroughly
 mixed. 5f very sharp to the taste, too
 much soda has been taken. If soft, mild
 and greasy, too little soda has been used. In either case it must now be thrown into pan and brought to a boil
 with little more water. In the first
 place boiling is all that is necessary; in
 the other instances very little oil or a little more of the double refined pow dered caustic soda must be added to the water. These things will never happen, however, if the directions are exactly : followed, and after the soap has been r made several times with the experience thus gained, the process is extremely
 easy, and the result will be always a
 good batch of soap. Beef tallow makes the hardest soap, mutton fat rather softer soap; of oils, cotton-seed is the { cheapest and best, but the soap is much , softer, lathering very freely indeed. , Ordinary household fat or drippling will } make nice soap, and in many places , can be obtained at a trifling cost, and ' in exchange for goods sold Such grease however, must be carefully examined a for salt which it often contains. It will r be evident that any smaller quantity ol = soap can be made at time, according tc F the above directions, by taking the in l gradients in exact proportion. It is mol F 1 advisable to make more than double tho