It is absolutely necessary before proceeding further to ensure that saponification is complete. A greasy, soft feel and the presence of "strength" (caustic) would denote incomplete saponification--this can only be remedied by further heating and crutching. Deficiency of caustic alkali should also be avoided, and, if more lye is required, great care must be exercised in its addition. Saponification being completed, the sugar solution is carefully and gradually crutched into the soap; when the contents of the pan have become a homogeneous and syrupy mass, the crutching is discontinued, and the pan is covered for one hour. The heat of the soap in the pan should not exceed 170 deg. F. (77 deg. C.). Having rested the necessary period, the soap will have a slight froth on the surface, but will be clear underneath and appear dark. Samples may now be withdrawn, cooled, and examined prior to framing. If the process has been successfully performed the soap will be firm and transparent, of uniform colour, and possess only a faintly alkaline taste. If the sample be firm but opaque, more sugar solution is required; this should be added very carefully whilst crutching, an excess being specially guarded against. If the sample be soft, although transparent, and the alkaline taste not too pronounced, the soap evidently contains an excess of water, which may be remedied by the addition of a small quantity of soda ash; too much soda ash (carbonates) must be avoided, lest it should produce efflorescence. Having examined the soap and found it to be correct, or having remedied its defects, the soap in the pan is allowed to cool to 145 deg. F. (63 deg. C.) and perfume added. The soap is now quickly filled into narrow frames and allowed to cool rapidly. The blocks of soap should not be stripped until quite cold throughout, and they should be allowed to stand open for a while before slabbing. When freshly cut into tablets, the soap may appear somewhat turbid, but the brightness comes with the exposure it will receive prior to stamping and wrapping. _Saponifying Mineral Oil._--This sounds somewhat incongruous, as mineral oil is entirely unsaponifiable. Most of the suggestions for this purpose consist of the incorporation of mineral oil, or mineral oil emulsified by aid of Quillaia bark, with a cocoa-nut oil soap, and in all these instances the hydrocarbon merely exists in suspension. G. Reale (Fr. Pat. 321,510, 1902), however, proposes to heat mineral oil together with spermaceti and strong alkali, and states that he transforms the hydrocarbons into alcohols, and these, absorbing oxygen, become fatty acids, which are converted into soap by means of the alkali.