Soap

IMG:p531_2.png:Chinese characters.% fei tsao. There are now many soap factories in different parts of China, but previously to the introduction of Western methods of manufacturing the article, the Chinese chiefly depended for soap on the following three kinds of soap-tree, viz.: (1) Cijmnocladus chincnsis, a leguminous tree whose long brown pods contain a thick layer of brown tallow, with which clothes may be washed. Hosie states IMG:p531_3.png:Chinese characters of Ssuch'uan, p. 31) that the pods are also cut up very fine and ground into a paste with such pei'fumes as sandalwood, cloves, garoo, putchuk, rue, musk, camphor, etc., and then thoroughly mixed with honey. The result is a dark substance of the consistency of soft soap, used by the fair sex as a cosmetic and by barbers as a salve. (2) Gled its i a sinensis, with black pods growing to a length of one foot, from the tallow in which a fine lathery soap is obtained. (3) Sapindus mukoro i, the tallow of which is cleaner than that of the other two. From all three a lather is formed in either hot or cold water. Soap is also obtained from an efflorescence which appears on the ground in the Lower Yellow River 532 region. It is boiled for some time, the scum removed, the useful part sinking to the bottom, and the water drained off, the residue being mixed with alkali. This is used for washing clothes only. A substitute for soap was i tzu IMG:p532_1.png:Chinese characters said to be the sweetbread of animals, or according to Giles, the hog's caul. There are some thirty modern soap factories in China, of which eight are at Harbin and eight at Shanghai.. The amount imported in 1916 was of the value Hk.Tls. 2,555,307.