The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-06-18

beams and platforms and with enor
nous kettles sunk Into the floor, eacl
of which has a capacity of 10000 pounds
Of soap. These kettles are seventeen
feet deep coneshaped, and from ten fee
to fourteen feet across the top. In eaci
is coiled steam pipe punched with holes
through which the steam escapes ant
boils the fats. Overhead is a platform
on which are arranged q dozen barrel.
| of tallow, and a trough leading into the
bung-holes of the barrels and, as tbs
tallow mels, 1t runs into the kettles
When the barrels become empty others
take their place until the proper percent.
age of tallow has been run In. The pro
portion Of fats put into a kettle is about
10000 pounds of tallow, 10 to Is per cent Of
cotton-seed oil and TO 10 per cent oi
cocoanut oil. The cocoanut oil and q
to 50 per cent of resin afterwards added
give the soap it's latfer. The greater
percentage of fats in soaps the better the
soap.
After the fats are in the kettle the
alloali is started, the fats holding about
20 or 10 per cent. The alkali Is KEPT
running continuously from a tank OF
caustic soda and water overhead. The
mass in the kettle is frequently tested
with a Baume's scale until the proper
percentage of all1ah Is in solution.
Under the action of the alkali and the
hot steam pourng into the mass the fats
begin to boil. An ebullition is produced
that keeps changing the chemical con-
stituents of the mass. It bubbles and
foams like huge kettle OF cornneal
mush, which it much resembles. This
keeps up until saponhficaltion ensues,
Saponificaton is the chemical action of
alkan on fats, by which the latter are
turned into acids, which, in combination
with all1ali, produces soap. When this
point is reached from 1000 to 1900 pounds
Of common salt are added to get rid of
the excess of water; the salt making
the water heavier, which sinks through
the boiling mass to the bottom of the
tank. The water, which is really a lye.
is run into the river or saved to mako
glycerine, the basis of all fats. When the
lye has Sbeen separated from the soap
from 20 to 25 per cent of fresh alkai is
added and the mass started to boiling
hard. Then from 20 to % per cent or
resin Is shoveled in and the mass boiled
under an excess of allsali and finished for
that day.
In the morning the excess of lye pro-
duced is drawn off and saved for glycer-
ine, and the soap is thinned with water
so that 1t will drop the excessive alkali
and impurities to the bottom of the kettle
which are again drawn off. The mass,
which has been treated to from 100 to
$50 degrees Fahrenheit, Is left in the ket-
tie about ten days to cool. 1t is then
soft soap. The bottoms Of the kettles
are on the floor below. The kettles are
then tapped and the soap run into q
steam Jacket kettle, which warns 1t
until 1t is soft enough to be pumped to
the floor above.
On the platform above the kettles is
the soap mixer, known as the crutcher,
The soft soap is pumped into the crutcher
and is mixed with sal soda in quantity
according to grade of the soap. Then
II the soap be a cheap grade, the aduiter
ants are added. The principal of these
are sllicate of soda, or liquid glass-this
is made by .dissolvfng common sand In
acids and neutrali1ng 1t with alkal.
Other adulterands are starch, which ho.ds
In solution tale, clay, silex and other
heavy and cheap substances according
to the makers various brands. Long
continued beating and mixing in the
crutcher makes floating soap.
The crutch. .ng process finished the
soap runs into frames and there hard
ems, The frames are large deep boxes
with removable sides and ends When
the soap has hardened sufiici iontly-per-
haps In three or four days-it Is
stripped" that is the side and end
boards are taken off, and huge cake Of
soap from 1900 to 1,400 pounds in weight,
ready to be cut into cakes remain. The
cake Is wheeled up to the cutter, two
men grasp gauge with wire cutter
fastened m 1t as deep as the cake OF
soap, and big slab IS cut off This is
thrown on the p.aten OF the soap cutter,
few revolutions Of the wheel and the
platen carries the slab along, pushing
1t against wires which cut the soap
lengthwise into pieces the width of a
bar of soap. An arm then pushes alter.
nate layers of bars of soap on open
racks, which are carried away and stored
n a drying room. In dry weather soap
will harden dD twenty-four hours, but
in humid weather 1t takes a week or
more. A dry room fitted with steam
pipes facilitate the business of drying
when necessary.
After the soap Is dry enough for wrap
ping 1t is taken to the pressing machine.
1t IS placed cake by cake in die and
great pressure brought to bear upon II.
When 1t energies Its edges are beveled
and on the top and bottom is the name
OF the maker and the soap in relief. The
cakes are then passed to girls. who wrap
them dn double covers and lay them away
in boxes. An average of 225 boxes a day
are pressed and wrapped.
About 5000 boxes of laundry soap ara
kept in stock. In large airy rooms
thousands OF pounds of soap are kept
drying in racks. II soap is thoroughly
dried It VIII shrink about one-fourth In
weight and size, but add 50 per cent to
to its lasting qualities. This is generally
done with high grade soaps and makes 1t
more valuable
On another floor is the process OF MAX
ing toilet soaps without the aid Of kettles
or boiling. Cocoanut oil Is placed in watts,
the proper quantities Of ail1ali are added
and the mas kept in a state of con-
unual ebullltion with paddles worked by
hand, the all1ali boiling the fa.s into acid
Alkali Is added To neutralize the acids
and soap Is the result. The soft soap Is
put into the crutcher, where soda per-
fumes and coloring matter are added and
the mass run into frames to harden
Notified soaps are made by floating the
coloring matter on top and mixing II by
swift movements of paddle. 1t B-after-
wards cuts and pressed into cakes in
much the saline manner as laundry soap
When the soap comes out Of the forms
1t IS huge cake with rough and dirty
exterior, but after 1t has been scraped IL
Is beautifully smooth, white and mot
tied. The best toilet soaps are made BY
what is known as the milling process,
the ingredients being ground.
A soap factory Is provided with a
laboratory in which the chemistry of
soap making Is carefully studied and ex-
perimented with. Here new soaps and
washing powders are invented and acid
compounds, to rapidly eradicate the dirt
from CLOTH are discovered. for soap max
Ing is. after all, very practical chem
istry.
The American soap box ts an instftu-
tfon worthy OF epics. II is to be found
in the desert. doing duty for table or
chair IN many a-ealin. Covered with or
uameufa1 frar1er or chiutz IL has been