Fat For Socles

Remove the skin and all the membranes from twenty pounds of mutton kidney suet, cut it up in half inch squares, and put this grease into twenty-five quarts of cold water with one pound of carbonate of soda, wash well the fat. change the water frequently, drain, then melt it on a slow fire, being careful to stir it so that it does not adhere to the bottom of the pan, nor brown in the slightest, add to it eight ounces of Siam benzoin and as soon as it is thoroughly rendered out, mix in the same quantity of lard, strain through a fine towel, and put it aside to cool slightly; then add a little ultra-marine blue. Stir with a whisk until cool, and having body enough to be worked; fasten a mandrel on a round or oval board, begin working at the bottom of the foundation with a profile, previously soaked in cold water and kept wet, and when the base is very firm, continue coating the mandrel with the fat, and profiling it until the whole socle is finished. Decorate with natural or grease flowers as below forming a wreath around the top of the mandrel, or if preferred festoon it, leaving a few inches of the decoration fall in scallops gracefully around.

Fig. 45.

Fig. 40.

How To Make Grease Flowers

Have half as much fat prepared for socles as virgin was, melting both together; color them in various colors while the fat is still hot and place in vessels keeping each color separate; have for instance: white, pink, red, green, brown, etc., let cool. Twelve hours later unmold the fat on to a wet napkin and scrape into fine shavings with a strong knife, then gather all of these in a damp cloth so as to soften and have it get smooth by kneading it till it becomes ductile as clay; roll into small balls and place these between two wet cloths; rub the top of each ball with a piece of smooth ice until it is very thin so that it resembles the petal of a real flower for example, to make a rose arrange some pink fat around a small stick to imitate the center of the flower, fasten on the petals all around as quickly as they are prepared and when there are sufficient, pull out the stick and begin another until enough flowers are obtained. Fasten them on to the upper border of a socle. This same grease can be used for modeling.