The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-11-18
Bakeries -Enside View Of a Vile Shop,

The Boston Commercial Bulletin of Sat
urday gives the results of an inside view Of
what, let Us hope, as its reporter states, is
| one Of the dirtiest bakeries in that city, to
obtain which he passed himself off as q
Iiourneyman baker. and labored according
| ly, certainly showing an enthusiasm for OBJ
tanning The full particulars that rivals that
Of the amateur casual Of the Pail Mall
Gazette. Dressed in worn and dingy suit,
he boldly made application, succeeded in
obtaining the situation rs a baker, and pre-
scnted himself ready for work one Saturday
night at all occupation of which he had not
the slightest practical knowledge. We
wonder how many similar bakeries there
are in this city, But to the reporters story:
had given the baker to understand that
was from New York, and so l lodged the
certain disclosure Saturday night would
have made, that / was d greenhorn, as in
that city no Saturday night work is done,
and beans and brown bread are only Bos-
ton institution so when I went into the
shop at 5 o'clock 2. NJ, though the other
bands were averse to taking on a non-unon
man, was not slow in informing them I'd
lock up the union here at its first meeting.
Ny first duty was being sent into the shop
to help clean up the Shelves and boxes OF
broken and stale bread and cake, which,
when all collected-and much of it was
was worse than stale-was taken into the
bakery and cmptied into trough then q
nasty old pail that took to be slop bucket,
but which in reality turned out to be the
measure for yeast, was filled once or twice
| with water and cmptied into this mixture
of bread, crusts, and cake fragments, and
was directed to @ take the shovel" then
standing in an ash heap by the oven door,
| and "chop and stir" this mess into a thin
Cruel.
"Be quick about it, too, and not spend
so much time polishing up that shovel
blade"
From this, in my innocence, l was re.
| moving the ashes and dust, not rejecting
| that "them ashes don't hurt nothin,"
This task accomplished, and the necessary
amount Of meal added, gave the cruel q
| brown-bread value. The deep tins for put.
ting this thickeued liquid into for baking,
| were produced, and all hands of us We're
busy painting the inside of them with little
| brushes dipped in slush that would have
hardly stood the test as fairly valuable for
soap grease. This task done, we went to
supper, one man, however, being left to
| receive numbers and give tickets for the pots
Of beans that were brought in by customers
to be baked in the bakers oven.
THE BAKED BEANS swINDLE.
Returning from supper, / found but a
portion OF the hands held for duty all night,
so the work Of filling up the brown bread
pans was Immediately begun and duly ac-
from outsiders having been brought in, the
covers were put upon the troughs, and four
very large sheet-iron fats were laid together
on these, and each bean pot emptied of its
beans, the pork therein being replaced, for
the boss told me, abe careful to get each
piece of pork into the right pot. Every
woman knows her piece OF pork us quick as
lightning" AL the pots being emptied,
nearly, If not more than two hundred,
was told to "be lively and help bring in the
snap stones from the Kitchen" ThiTher we
went, returning with the family boiler. none
of the cleanest, brimnling full OF par-boiled
beans, evidently the very refuse of the mar
ket. After straining the water of, these wei e
poured upon the pile Of customers beans
and the whole thoroughly mixed. Then
each pot was refilIed, the pork nicely set in,
and the balance scooped into several very
large pots, holding about u gallon each, be-
longing to the baker. 1heSe were to he
sold by the quart, though we did till some
small pots to De sold. Thus was his refuse,
UNBEATABLE stock, made good by the large
percentage of good beans gained by de-
frauding those Who had sent in their beam
pots to be baked Tor their Sunday dinner.
TRIALS OF AN AMATEUR.
Itwould hardly interest you to tell about
filling the ovens, watering the pots, watch
ing the fire, and waiting upon the custom.
ers in the morning. That / was useful
there can be no doubt, but my burnt and
blistered fingers told there is need of expe-
rlence IN handling hot bean and brown
bread pots, and all that Sunday was anx,
iously tending and nursing them.
The duty Saturday night relieved me
from early duty Sunday eve in setting
sponges, &C.; so that when appeared for
duty, about 10 o'clock Z. NJ I found the
process OF kneading just commenced. 1t
was here some Of the men tried to play me
sharp and set me kneading by myself but
bad used my eyes and wits the previous
night, and had the run of the shop SO
Thoroughly that 1 found plenty of odd tri-
ties to take my time until lusty call from
The boss startled me.
THE REPORTER PUTS HIS FOOT IN TT.
"Aere, gou New York Dutch krutzer,
get out oil them mud scows and knead."
~ can knead us we'll with my shoes on,o,
said /, rolling up my snirt-sleeyes.