The Sun. — 1867-10-14 (London, England)

SOAP.  Most people imagine that the best soap is that which dissolves easily and makes a good deal of froth in water ; but this is a mistake, for soap cannot acquire those qualities without being overcharged with alkalies. The only way of having soap deprived of causticity is to keep it a long while ; because it then loses some of the water it contains, whereby the caustic soda incorporated with the mass is brought to the surface by efflorescence ; it then combines with the carbonic acid of the air, and becomes a carbonate. The soap-wort (saponaria) of Egypt contains a vegetable base called saponine, which was obtained for the first time in 1832 by Professor Missy. This principle exists in various other plants. Dioscorides tells us that the ancients used a plant called struthion (Lanaria herba, Pliny) for washing ' wool with. Forster states that the root of this same plant, called chohen in Persian, is reduced to powder by the people of Thibet, and used to cleanse the goat's hair with which Cashmere shawls are manufactured. In all Asiatic intertropical countries, such as Java, the coast of Coromandel, and Cochinchina, there is a tree called Sapo Indicus, corrupted into Sapindus, producing red viscous berries much used in those countries for washing linen. In Chili there is a tree called quillay, first described in 1716 by Frezier. Its leaves resemble those of the oak ; its bark produces suds like soap, and is an excellent detergent of wool, though not for linen, to which it imparts a yellowish appearance. The Indians wash their hair with it, under the impression that it makes it blacker. The wood of this tree is much used for building. In Europe there are several plants enjoying similar properties. Soap-wort commonly grows among the hedges and on the banks of streams, and the roots of clover are generally employed for washing linen in many parts of France. M. Duroy extracts saponine from the above-named quillay, which is now sold by grocers under the name of Panama wood. With this saponine a soap is made of a peculiar quality which must surprise those who consider toilet-soap the best. It does not froth up in water, and does not stick to the skin, but cleanses it perfectly, imparting to it a peculiar softness and elasticity. Pure saponine, however, will produce abundance of suds ; a centigram in a litre of water is quite sufficient for the purpose. It decomposes lime and even sea-water, while these, on the other hand, decompose soap made with soda, and transform it into pellicles which do not possess the slightest detergent quality.  THE ALLEGED MURDER OF A CHILD AT WOOLmorning,an inquest was held in Newroad, Woolwich, on the body of Mary Golden, aged 1 year and 9 months. From the evidence of Margaret Golden, a single woman, the mother of the deceased, it was ascertained that she had left it with a German named Roder, with whom she lived (but who was not the father of the child) on Wednesday. It was then in good health, but on her return she found the child dying, which Roder said was caused by its falling from a chair. A woman named Boyce said she had frequently heard Roder beat the child, and on Wednesday saw him, through the keyhole, beat the child from half-past 10 o'clock to 11. She had seen him throw the child from one end of the room to the other. Mary Barrett gave evidence as to Roder's cruel treatment of the child. Dr. J. B. Ryloy said that ho had found several bruises on the child's head, the result of recent blows. The brain was congested from blows on the forehead, which might have been caused by a fall or by a clenched fist. Inspector Brown thought that the police would be able to find Roder, Nho has for the present disappeared, and the coroner adourAeci .y the iuquo§t jpr that purpog