who invariably assimilates the most appropriate substances. Wool when
growing in its natural state is lubricated and protected by a sticky
substance called "grease" or "suinte;" this consists to the extent of
nearly half its weight of carbonate of potash, hardly a trace of soda
being present. It is very evident, therefore, that potash must be more
suitable for washing wool than soda, as the teaching of nature is always
correct.

There are certain prejudices against the use of potash soap, which have,
to a great extent, prevented its more extensive use. Many consumers
of soap fancy that because a potash soap is soft it necessarily must
contain more water than a soda soap; this, however, is quite an
erroneous notion. A potash soap is soft, because it is the nature of all
potash soaps to be so, just in the same way that on the other hand all
soda soaps are hard. As an actual fact a good potash soap contains
less water than many quite hard soda soaps that are now in the market.
Another reason is that soapmakers have had every interest in using soda
in preference to potash--particularly when latterly soda has been so
cheap.

Potash not only is a more expensive alkali, but its combining equivalent
is greatly against it as compared with soda; that is to say, that
thirty-one parts of actual or anhydrous soda will saponify as much
tallow or oil as forty-seven parts of anhydrous potash. It will be
evident, therefore, that the use of potash instead of soda is decidedly
more advantageous to the soapboiler, and more particularly in the
present age, when the demand is for cheap articles, often quite without
regard to the quality or purpose for which they are to be used. As far
as consumers are concerned, this has been a mistake. Potash soap, though
it may cost more, is in most cases actually the most economical. Soap is