Recipe For Soap; Runaway Wagon

Friday, May 21, 1852: Today I and John F and Irish Daniel worked to home, we drew manure onto Merrils carrot ground and John F. plowed it and Daniel worked filling up the ditch with stone a spell and this afternoon I beat manure to pieces in the meadow and old Mr. Perkins planted corn for Geo P.
Monday: I this forenoon drove back one of Geo P. young oxen onto my Rodgers farm, he got out and came home, and I put up some fence on said farm, and this afternoon I went onto said farm and put up twine to keep off crows from pulling up the corn. Today Geo P. took his carriage and carried Beriah Wylie to Canaan to take the cars for New York, and on the way home he left his carriage to J. H. Rich’s to be repaired and varnished. Today the son of Ezekiel Knapp called and I paid him half a pound carrot seed for a recipe to make soap and is as follows: take 15 pounds of bar soap, 3 pounds salsoda, one fourth pound rosin, half pound salt, put the same in five gallons of soft water over a fire until dissolved, then put the same into a barrel and fill it up with cold water adding two ounces of spirits of turpentine and stir it up. This morning John Merrils came to lath and plaster overhead the kitchen and prepare the mortar, by the job, one dollar and fifty cts, he only nailed on one lath and quit because he could not lath it alone, but promised to come again and do the job according to contract.
Tuesday: I this morning paid the Irishman Daniel his ten dollars for his month’s work and he quit. Today Geo P. put up twine and other things in his corn field.
Wednesday: Today Mr. Tylor sent his colored man from Pittsfield and paid John F. for thirty eight bushels of potatoes at fifty cents per.
Thursday: I this afternoon returned to my Rodgers farm with three head of my cattle that came home and Wm B. Maxon helped me get back the young cattle that got in their lot.
Friday: This evening I went to Lebanon with one horse wagon and I called to James Henry Rich wagon shop and he tied Geo P. carriage to my wagon and I drew it nearly up the hill on the cross road below Charles Gillette’s and the ropes broke and the carriage ran backwards down the hill. I then left my wagon and hitched to Geo P. carriage and came home. S. Owens rode a piece with me.
Saturday: I this morning early led my horse to Lebanon and got my wagon, I left last night on side of the road.