is exceedingly superficial, the ashes being simply tested for their _alkaline_ strength, with no discrimination between potash and soda, which is a difficult and delicate chemical test. Soda being now far cheaper than potash, and also the alkaline equivalent, as previously explained, being greatly in favor of soda, there has been every inducement to "enterprising" producers of ashes to adulterate them with soda, which, in many cases, has been largely done. Another source of potash has been beetroot ashes, very similar to wood ashes, and also German carbonate of potash, which latter about corresponds to a common soda ash, as compared with caustic soda; with these articles, a tedious boiling process, very similar to the old process for the production of hard soap, had to be adopted, the ashes, or carbonate of potash, previously being dissolved and causticized with lime by the soap maker. The production of a first-class soft soap was also a very difficult operation, as the impurities and soda contained varied considerably, often causing the "boil" to go wrong and give considerable trouble to the soapboiler. During the last two years, however, caustic potash has been introduced, that manufactured by the Greenbank Alkali Co., of St. Helens, being very nearly pure. With this article there is no difficulty in producing a pure potash soap, either for wool scouring, fulling, or sizing, by a cold process very similar to that described for the production of hard soda soap with pure powdered caustic soda. The following directions will produce an excellent soap for wool scouring: Fifty pounds of Greenbank pure caustic potash are put into eight gallons of soft water; the potash dissolves immediately, heating the water. This lye is allowed to cool, and then slowly added, with continual mixing, to 20 gallons of cotton seed oil, mixed with 20 pounds of melted tallow, the whole being brought to a temperature of about 90° F. After stirring for some minutes, so as to completely combine the lye and oil, the mixture is left for two days in a warm place, when a slow and gradual saponification of the mass takes place. If when examined the oil and lye are then found not completely combined, the stiff soap is again stirred and left two days, when the saponification will be found complete, the result being the formation of about 330 pounds of very stiff potash soap, each pound being equal to about two pounds of the ordinary "fig" soap sold. The requisite quantity is thrown into the scouring vat with about five per cent of its weight of refined pearl ash to increase the alkali present, the weight depending somewhat upon the kind of wool washed on purpose for which the soap is required. If the wool is very dirty or greasy, rather a stronger soap is sometimes advisable. This can easily be attained by reducing the quantity of oil used to 18 gallons.