The herald., 1896-02-01
SOAP and ITS HISTORY
An Interesting Account OF the
Necessary Article
ITS ORIGIN IS UNKNOWN
The Oldest Record Is a Group of
Bubble Blowers
A Sosperv IN the Unesrthed City of Pompeii.
Process es OF Manuiacture Whi-n Have
Always Been About the Same

The origin of soap is mystery, but We
have many evidences of its antiquity. 1t
Is mentioned at least twice in the Bible,
under the name of borith, at period cor
responding to several centuries before
Christ.
In the Louvre in Paris there is an inter-
esting old vase of Etruscan manufacture
whose age Is computed at about $500
years. 1t is interesting in connection with
our subject as bearing group of children
In relief who are engaged in blowing bub-
bles from pipes. Though we must not
overlook the fact that certain vegetable
juices are capable of being used in blowing
bubbles, it is for many reasons more prob
able that soap of artificial manufacture
was employed for the purpose.
In the unearthed city of Pompeii the
preservation of which has been the means
of revealing to us many antique customs,
there is to be seen soap manufactory,
with all the kettles and other parapherna-
liza pertaining to the business; also guam
tity of soap, evidently the product of this
antique "soapery."
The memorable volcanic eruption, while
removing a city from the face of the earth,
preserved to US the evidences of high civ
ilization.
1 had the good fortune, when visiting
Pompeii, to secure some Of this ancient
soap and also quantity Of q peculiar
white clay of highly saponaceous char
acter and possessing remarkable detergent
properties. 1t was taken from the bottom
of well sunk inside the soap factory
the spring, no doubt, from which the Pom
peiian soap manufacturer obtained the
water which he used in making his soap.
Political economists tell us that the
quantity of soap consumed by nation is
gauge of its state Of civilization and in
this connection it is interesting to observe
that the country in which the soap manu-
facture was first conducted as CONNER
cial enterprise 4, far behind others today
as soap making or soap consuming COM
munity.
The English manufacture the greatest
quantity of soap per head of population,
the output being little over one pound
per week per head, while in America it is
just a little under that figure. But we
must not conoede that this indicates a
higher civilization in England than at
home. Great Britain not only consumes
more soap than we do, in various manu-
factures, but she exports a great deal of
her product to other countries, some of
which is use1 by the people of the United
States. So our consumption is doubtless
OF least equal to that of our English
cousins. Germany follows next, then
France, then Holland, while Italy takes
poor sixth place.
The United States can boast the largest
and most perfectly equipped soap factories
in the world. Some of them have a capac-
ity of more than 5000, 900 pounds week
striking contrast to the little establish
ment at Pompeii which, though perfect in
its equipment, had scarcely capacity of
as many grains, equivalent to about 40
pounds, in the same time.
OF all the soaps which are now or have
ever been manufactured, those made from
olive oil are the best. 1t is not surprising
that the olive growing countries of south
ern Europe should have acquired such
great and worldwide reputation as soap
producing regions, for their natural ad-
vantages for such an industry are great
The climate and the fertility of their soil
fitted them well for the cultivation of the
olive on the one hand and ON the other the
immense supply Of seaweed, known as
barilla, or bariglia, from the ashes of
which they prepared their caustic lyes, gave
them an advantage over the rest of the
world.
However, through the discovery of
means of producing caustic soda in unlim-
tied quantity from our enormous salt de-
posits, and even from the ocean itself,
soapmaEing has ceased to be local indus
try.
At the present time the alkali plains of
the United States promise to become an
important center for this industry, for
there in nature is to be found large
quantity Of alkali which can be had for
the trouble of t,sIing it from the soil. 1t is
now being usGd in converting into soap
the tallow and grease from the large herds
Of live stock raised on the adjoining plains.
In it's essentials the process of manufae-
turing soap has scarcely changed since the
time Of the Pompeiians. The large fac
tories use the selfsame methods that were
employed in Pompeii IS or more centuries
ago, and the process is so simple that the
farmer, or more frequently his wife, can
and often does make his own household
soap.
, g simple boiling of quickened lye
with grease or oil and the subsequent ad-
dition of salt to separate the excess of wa
ter and glyoerin, which would make the
soap too soft were they not removed, con-
stitute the process. Grease and oils used
in soapmaking all contain glycerin, and
soapmaking consists in boiling the fat
long enough and with sufficient caustic lye
to separate all the glycerin from the fat.
Until the last two decades it was the
habit of the soapmaker to throw away all
his waste lyes which contained this glycer-
in, and in this way an enormous value in
material must have reached our sewers
since the commencement Of the present
century.
Today nearly every soap works is also a
glycerin factory, and this is very i'm
portant and profitable branch of the busi
ness.Youths Companion.