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Crushed Fruit Bowls (Our line of Counter)

Our line of Counter Furnishings is without equal for style, utility and service. Ice Displays.

A new field is opened up for the owner and operator of soda fountains, who wishes to add to the attractiveness of his establishment. Nothing goes further in making a place popular than clever and novel advertising, as we'l as good service, and here you have an opportunity of offering to your patrons a work of art as well as a curiosity wrought in ice. A harp, the national emblem of Ireland, was prepared for St. Patrick's Day, March 17th. It was made from a solid piece of ice 5 feet high, frozen green. The harp was cut out of this block, a cupid's head, bust and wings formed the front and top of the instrument, green ribbons were used for strings and crême de menthe cherries for the eyes. It was mounted on a square of natural ice and the date, March 17th, cut in the side facing the street. It made a fine window display.

Use a solid, clear block of ice for base and carve your initials on front side. Cut out two fruit bowls and fill one of them with oranges, bananas and lemons and the other with eggs. Take a large square of ice and hew out either a pitcher or a vase.

A pronged chisel should be used first for the rough carving and then an ordinary inch chisel will smooth off the edges nicely. This work looks more difficult than it really is. Select a good shaped vase or pitcher and a fruit bowl and place them beside the block of ice you are working on. Get the proportions and the rest will be easy. This makes a fine display for an opening.

For Easter a large rabbit, cut from natural ice or from white ice, is appropriate. Red cherries in for eyes, mount on a cake of ice and carve "Easter, '07," on it. If you are in a town where artificial ice is made you have unlimited resources for this kind of work. Easter lilies may be frozen into a large square transparent block of ice, a hole may be hewed out of the bottom of the cake and an electric incandescent, blue, green, red or yellow, inserted. This gives an exquisite coloring to the ice and adds greatly to its beauty. An egg may be carved out of a block of ice with very little trouble and a small colored light inserted from underneath. The ice will not melt as quickly as you think, and if an electric fan is placed near the figure it will aid greatly in its preservation. Ice is not difficult to carve, and with a little practice one may have splendid results.

Fourth of July, with its demands for patriotism, furnishes a splendid opportunity for a novel ice display. If you are in a town that has an artificial ice plant have a block of ice frozen in three colors, red, blue (use coal tar colors), and make white with oxide of zinc. Have the blue very strong. Divide the quantity of water that may be contained in the ice mold into three parts. First lower the blue water into the tank and through a tube carefully pour in the white, then the red. If proper precaution is used these colors will not blend. It will take about forty-eight hours for this ice to freeze well. Colored ice is not a necessity, but it produces a better effect. Put your block on a large tin tray, get your design ready and with a sharp chisel cut out the cannon, being careful to outline shape on either side equally as a guide to work by. This is not difficult to do. On the lower block cut the letters July 4, and in front of the cannon, under the nozzle, place a pile of eggs to represent the balls. If this display be placed in the window a good effect would be to drape the background with an American flag. At the base of the gun mount a red incandescent. The electric wire will carry out the idea of the fuse. In the window may be placed a placard announcing a Fire Cracker Fizz, a Fourth of July Sundae, or some special that may be suggested by the occasion. Fire crackers may be strewn about the floor of the window, a few toy pistols, flags, etc., will assist in the decoration.

An appropriate early summer display is the cornucopia. It is made from a solid piece of ice resting on a square block. Chisel one end round and gradually taper it in a slight curve until the desired shape is obtained. Cut out a hole in the large end and smooth both inside and outside, then fill the hole with brilliant fruits, using bright red cherries. To Remove Stains from Marble.

Mix quicklime with strong lye to the consistency of thick cream, and apply to the marble surface with a brush. Leave the composition in contact over night and wash off in the morning. If this is of no avail, mix 4 ounces soft soap with an equal quantity of whiting, add I ounce of soda (sodium hydrate) and a half ounce of copper sulphate in powder, and boil the whole together for 15 minutes. Rub this mixture, while still hot, over the marble, using a bit of flannel on a stick for the purpose. Leave the application in place for 24 hours, then wash off and polish.

Oil stains may be removed by applying a paste of common clay and benzine.

Iron rusts and iron inks are treated as follows:

Butter of antimony Oxalic acid Soft water (rain water) I part 2 parts 32 parts Dissolve, and add whiting or flour to the consistence of a thick paste. Apply evenly with a brush and leave on for a few days. If the stains are still visible repeat the operation.

To restore polish after any of these operations with a bit of old felt hat, wrapped around a bit of wood, and with it water and emery powder, rub the marble until an even surface is obtained. The emery powder should be in graded sizes, using coarser first and finishing with the finest flour of emery (changing the felt with each change of powder). The flour will leave a comparatively fine gloss on the surface, which should be hightened by putty powder and fine clean cotton rags, finishing with silk. No water should be used toward the last.

Preparing Fruits for Creams and Ices.

LEMONS. Lemons with smooth, thin skin are preferable to the rough, thick ones which are spongy and dry. Choose only sound fruit, wash them lightly in cold water and wipe them dry with a soft cloth, after which wrap in soft paper again and store away in a dry and cool box, well covered with a lid. By doing this the fruit will keep a good sound flavor, and all the odor of the box or the bad smell from the decayed fruit, so often noticed with lemons or oranges, will be removed, and an ice cream or water ice of superior quality will be the reward for the little trouble. To prepare the lemons for cream or other ices, they should be rubbed on a grater till all the yellow rind is taken off (don't get the white part or felt). Then rub this yellow rind up in a mortar with a little lump sugar. The fruit is then cut in half, pick out the seeds, squeeze out the juice, add the sugar and yellow rind, mix to solution, strain it and it is ready for use or it may then be bottled. By removing the seeds the juice will have a finer taste, as the seeds, especially when some are mashed in the squeezer, will impart a bitter flavor to the juice. Many ice cream makers neglect these little things. ORANGES. Select the best thin-skinned, dark oranges, either Florida or other heavy fruit, and proceed as above, PINEAPPLE. The best kind for ices is the Bahama pineapples; indeed, much better than the sugar loaf, which is better adapted for preserving whole. Pare and cut them into slices, cut out the core, which is hard and of very little flavor, grind or pound the pulp in a stone mortar and after straining add sugar, use it right away, as most of the fruit will darken or change color.

STRAWBERRY AND RASPBERRY. In selecting strawberries the opinions differ a great deal as to which berry to use. While some prefer a large berry, others again say that the small berries contain more juice and flavor. From our own experience, a dark red, medium-sized, pointed-on-top berry gave the most satisfaction for color as well as for flavor and juice, while the extra large berries are more for the eye and well adapted for dessert or fruit stand. Mash the berries with a wooden masher; never use iron or copper, as this will discolor the fruit, then mix the sugar, bottle or use immediately. As the strawberry has not much acid it is best to add a little lemon juice, as it will highten the flavor and color as well. For raspberries follow the same rules. Use the dark berries, pick them and mash them and finish as quickly as possible, and never let any juice stand over night unless you have some sugar mixed with it, and set it in a porcelain-lined bowl in the refrigerator. CHERRY. As the variety of good cherries is not as abundant as in some other countries, unless you choose the California large or white kind, which do not come to us in a ripe enough state to be used for ices, it is best to use as far as possible the black varieties which are of fine flavor and good color. Stone the cherries, pound about one-tenth of the kernels to a paste, mash and mix well together, add sugar, let stand for a short time, stirring it occasionally, and strain. GRAPE. Any good grape, white, red or dark, will do for water ice; the only thing to be looked for is that the grapes are ripe and sound. Pick them off the stems, mash, strain and mix with your sugar or syrup. Fruit Syrups.

The important thing that makes or mars your soda water trade is the quality of the fruit syrups that form the flavors.

The real fruit syrups are the only ones that give the true fruit flavor. The real essence of fruit is the best to give your patrons to guarantee satisfaction and success.

Crushed fruits should be made only from the fresh, ripe article, or bought from standard makers of this class of goods.

To make and serve the best soda you must have the purest of syrups, the freshest crushed fruits and the truest flavorings.

In former years it was the general custom to use nothing but essences and extracts for soda, but during the last ten years a change has taken place and nearly all first-class dispensers of soda are using pure fruit syrups and so-called crushed or liquid fruits, both of which are made from selected fruits and sugar only. The fruit syrups are made from pure fruit and put up with sugar, either in gallon jugs, kegs or barrels. The crushed or whole fruits are made from selected fruits, either of domestic or foreign origin and pure cane sugar, very carefully prepared, and put up generally in half-gallon air-tight jars after being duly pasteurized. The natural flavor of the respective fruits is preserved without the addition of any chemicals whatever. Some few flavors such as ginger, birch and sarsaparilla, cannot very well be produced from the fruits by crushing and pressing, but are made by distillation.

Preservation of Syrups.

The preservation of syrups is purely a pharmaceutical question. They must be made right, in order to keep right. Syrups, particularly fruit syrups, must be kept aseptic, especially when made without heat. The containers should be of glass, porcelain or pure block tin so that they may be sterilized, and should be easily and quickly removed so that the operation may be effected with promptness and facility. As is well known the operation of sterilization is very simple, consisting in scalding the article with boiling water. No syrup should ever be filled into a container without the container being first sterilized. The fruit-acids in the presence of sugar serve as media for the growth and development of germ-life upon exposure to the air. Hence the employment of heat as pasteurization and sterilization in the preserving of fruits, etc. A pure fruit syrup filled into a glass bottle, porcelain jar or block-tin can which has been rendered sterile with boiling water, and kept at a cool temperature, will keep for any reasonable length of time. All danger of fracturing the glass by pouring boiling water into it may be obviated by first wetting the interior of the bottle with cold water.

The Preservation of Fruit Juices.

During the fruit season there is a possibility of the preservation of fruits by the use of the old and tried process of heating the bottles containing the juice for a period of from two to three hours. There can be no doubt that sound (i. e., neither damaged, decayed, nor bruised) ripe fruit may be kept in suitable quantities for a considerable time, if covered with sugar and left undisturbed, this, too, without deteriorating the taste, color or aroma of the fruit if packed with care. The advantages of a temporary, easy and ready preservative, which will keep fruits, are obvious, provided the fruits are kept in a cold place, for it enables the manufacturer to stock a quantity of fruit which he may retain till he may have either more time to attend to it, or a better chance of deciding for what purpose he may employ it, and these are matters of no mean importance. Whole fruit may thus be stored in bulk, by carefully, and without fracture, filling into convenient sized jars or bottles, so filling each vessel that the solution is within an inch of the cork when pressed into position. The corks should first of all be immersed in melted paraffine wax, then drained and allowed to cool. Then by sterilizing the bottles they will keep reasonably well. When fruit juices alone are required for storage purposes they are prepared by subjecting the juicy fruits to considerable pressure, by which process the juices are liberated. The sound ripe fruits are crushed and packed into felt or flannel bags. The fruit should be carefully selected, rotten or impaired portions being carefully removed; this is important, or the whole stock would be spoiled. Several methods are adopted for preserving and clarifying fruit juices. A common way in which they are kept from fermenting is by the use of salicylic acid or other antiseptic substance, which destroys the fermentative germ, or otherwise retards its action for a considerable time. About 2 ounces of salicylic acid, previously dissolved in alcohol, to 25 gallons of juice, or 40 grains to the gallon, is generally considered the proper proportion. Another method adopted, and which is quite practicable, is to fill the freshly prepared cold juice into bottles until it reaches the necks, and on the top of this fruit juice a little glycerin is placed. Juices thus preserved will keep in an unchanged condition in any season. Probably one of the best methods of preserving fruit juices is to add 15 per cent of 95 per cent alcohol. On such an addition, albumen and mucilaginous matter will be deposited. The juices may then be stored in large bottles, jars or barrels, if securely closed, and when clear, so that further clarification is unnecessary, the juice should then be decanted or siphoned off. An efficient way of clarifying fruit juices is to heat them with a small quantity of albumen (white of egg) in an enameled vessel, provided with a close-fitting lid, without stirring, to near the boiling point of water. The impurities under this treatment coagulate, and either rise to the top or fall to the bottom; they then need to be filtered through felt or flannel. This heating process most effectively destroys the germs of fermentation, and the subsequent filtration clarifies the juices, which should be kept in a cool place; so stored they will remain unchanged for an indefinite period if they have been properly and carefully prepared. Corks should be coated with wax, and, if possible, the bottle necks dipped. Great care should be observed in heating the juices, no more being applied than is absolutely necessary, or the delicate aroma will suffer. The manufacturers of this class of goods have made such progress in the last few years in the quality of the syrups and fruits they are turning out that it is considered safer by the majority of the soda dispensers to buy these goods rather than attempt to manufacture them in the store. The pure food laws, such as have been passed in the various States, also make it unsafe to use preservatives, and manufacturers of crushed fruits, syrups and juices sell in each State goods which comply with the law of that State, which relieves the dispenser of responsibility. NO MATTER how many drinks you may serve at the fountain try to have some of them distinctly your own, and which bear a mark of proprietorship. Suggestions Based on Success.

The Wm. B. Riker & Son Co. does one of the largest soda businesses in the entire city of New York. It operates five fountains in five different stores and intends shortly to instal two more fountains in its other two establishments.

Such a soda department naturally requires an expert at its head and Albert P. Corcoran is the man. He has made soda his specialty, selecting that from the many lines open to him as a registered pharmacist. Mr. Corcoran is a firm believer in the future of the soda water business, and is sure that the next few years will see as great expansion as has characterized the last decade. "Soda water must be regarded as a specialty," he said, "and any man who gives but cursory attention to his fountain and intrusts his dispensing to an unskilled boy is making a grave mistake. Pretty soon some more progressive rival will have all the trade in that locality. "Another mistake is to charge too little for soda. It's just as easy to get 10 cents a glass as it is 5, and at the latter figure what can a fountain owner give his customers? Every one knows but the customer, and it won't take him long to find out. The public will buy more good soda at 10 cents than poor at 5. "During the past year our soda trade has increased 50 per cent. In some of our stores it has doubled. We know that most of that is due to the quality of our soda and our methods, but some of it arises because more soda is drank each year. One of our Brooklyn stores is alongside of one of the branches of a famous confectioner, yet we have doubled our soda sales there. It's rather a feather in the cap of our methods. It comes of making a specialty and a special study of the business. "In our 23d street, New York, store our soda sales are growing so rapidly that we installed a new $20,000 Innovation fountain to meet the demands of our trade. "Of more specific matters there can be no doubt that the sundae is steadily growing in popularity. I am sorry it is, for a sundae requires so much time for service and cleansing the dishes and spoons afterward. But the public must get what it wants. In a small business where there is lots of time all this makes little difference, but on the corner of 23d street every minute counts. "Cider is a coming thing in fountain drinks and sundaes. There is no doubt about that. Here's a good formula for cider punch: Peel a lemon and pour half a pint of cooking sherry on the peeling; to the juice of a lemon add a cupful of sugar, a little grated nutmeg and one quart of sweet cider. Mix this together thoroughly and then add it to the rind of the lemon and the sherry. Let it get perfectly cold on ice. A wineglassful of brandy is a great improvement, but localities alter the advisability of that.