The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1879-04-24
SODA WATER.
Fscts OF Interest About the Popular sarur
SeasonabIe Bevernxe.
We" 'ofA Soniectiouer.

and the "sizz" OF the ountain will sOon
be heard throughout the land.
In 1907 Henry Thompson, of Totem
ham, England. took out the first patent.
and in 1910 Simmons and Rundeu. Of
Charleston, South Carolina, obi aimed
letters patent ''fer impregnating water
with liked air." Europe may have led
IN the discovery of the principles of
aerlzatlon, but it was for America to
lead In the invention of improved msch-.
lnery, and in making soda water a
pleasant, exhilarating and innocuous.
beverage for general use. Until within
a score OF years ago the processe OF the
original makers were still in use in the
OId World. Such q thing as drinking
soda water except from a bottle. was
unknown. 1t remained for the United
States to astOnish and delight Europe
with the soda water fountain, and to
teach even such makers ss Ellis nj
Ruthin, some new wrinkles in soda water
manufacture. The soda water interest
IN the United States has of late wears
grown into enormous proportions. Some
$4,000, 600 are now invested in the man..
uiacture OF aerated drinks, fountains.
and other apparatus.
As long ago as the London Tnterna-
tional exhibition of 1862 the American
sOds-wster fountain was the wonder of
Europe, ard the effervescing, ice.cold
liquid, with delicious syrup and cream.
was veritable revelaLi lion to the British
palate. The British taste runs largely
to hot drinks, and the reader can i'm
agine the sensations of London civic
msgnste who was led to the fountain in
the American section at the London
exhibition, and there introduced to his
first experience of Yankee saltwater.
The day was terribly hot for London,
the soda was delicioCsly cold, creamy
and toaming. The alderman eyed the
draught conservatively, tooK one stSAl-
low and set his glass down.
"My DEAR" he said, addressing the
young lady who dispensed the beverage,
Fave you such thing as drop Of 'ot
water7"
What is sOda>water? It5 is simply
water impregnated with carbonie acid
gas. The gas is obtained by pouring
sulphuric acid upon the carbonate of
lime as it exists in marble dust and
chips, in a powerful metal cylinder
termed generator" Copper gener-
atOrs were formerly In vogue, but ire
queDt explosions, leakages, and inevita>
ole corrosion, even where the interior is
lined with tin, has led to the substitu-
ton of steel. The contact of the sui
phuric acid with the carbonate of lime
produces tremendous effervescence.
The vitrioI, having a stronger affinity
for lime than the carbonic acid gas has,
liberates the latter, and a sulphate of
lime Is formed. The gas thus obtained
is then passed through washer-you
can wash gas as perfectly as you can
handkerchief-to remove any trace of
sulphuric acid, and then it is pumped
under enormous pressure into the foun-
tains, already charged with water. This
in brief, the whole process
Of carbonating.
limitations of Vichy, Kissingen, Ssltzer
and other mineral waters are made by
dissolving in the water in the fountains
the requisite amount of the salts held in
solution by the genuine water. Ginger
ale, birch beer, root beer and draught
are made in the same way,
except that the aerated water is passed
through closed vessels holding the es-
sences and extracts in solution, which
impart to these drinks their character
stic flavor. The machinery required is
intricate and costly. The generators used
IN large establishments cost about s., 600
each, and the other appliances are very
Very few druggists in cities
make their own soda water, as they can
buy it very cheaply from wholesale
chargers"
The fountains vary from one drsught
tube and Eve sirups to six tubes and
twenty-five sirups, ranging in form from
q simple square marble box to an elsb-
Orate gothic temple of the most exquisite
and in cost from $40 to
81, 000 On no other beverage is there
such an extravagant outlay of money,
and we'll managed concern seldom fails
to be very profitable. With good sirups,
an attractive fountain and attendant,
and strict cleanliness, the soda water
stand will pay the rent. Il is upon the
sirups that the trade turns generally.
dealers make their own
sirups, some even making genuine fruit
sirups; but essences are generally pTe~
ferred.
Parsimonious dealers sometimes let.
their fountains go to ruin by allowing
the tin lining of the coils and sirup cans
to wear of, thus exposing the copper, and
dosing their customers with verdlgrls-
An Ypsilanti druggist once pursued this
system OF mastery inactivity with such
success as to kill one man and to lay up
another for an entire summer. Who are
the soda water drinkers? Every soul
within reach of the fountains almost. It
is the great American beverage after beer
and whisky Last year the cost o. ice
was so high that most of the small "soda-
men" were squeezed out, as ice at sixty
cents per 100 pounds is too much for
them.
Soda water is a great social power. It
is the one drink to which a gentleman
may publicly invite lady; the fountain
is the only bar at which the sexes may
meet with perfect prepriety, the lady sip
ping vanilla and cream, and the gentle
man moistening his clay with club lemon
that is to say, lemon with stick IN &c
Courtships are thus materially helped
and matches facilitated.
Wonders of the Yellowstone.