The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-05-01
SODA WATER.


Facts Of EnteFe.t = bout the Popular and
SeaaOaahIe Beverage.
New York Coufectioner.
The soda water season il nearly opened,
and the "sizz' OF the 'ountain will soon
be hesrd throughout the land.
In 1907 Henry Thompson. of Totem
ham, England. took out the first patent,
and in 1910 Simmons and Rundell, o.
Charleston, South OarOlius, obi tine1
letters patent ';fer impregnating water
with fixed air" Europe may have led
in the discovery of the principles OF
serization, but it was for America TO
lead in the invention of improved naCh~
inery, and in making soda water q
pleasant, exhilarating and innOcu0us
beverage for general use. Until within
a score of years ago the processes o. the
original makers were stlll in use in the
Old World. Such a thing az drinking
soda water except from a bottle, was
unknown. It remained for the United
States to astOnish and delight Europe
with the soda water fountain. and to
teach even such makers as Ellis, Of
Rutbin, some new wrinkles in soda water
manufacture. The soda water interest
in the United States has of late years
CROWD into enormous proportions. Some
$12 900, 600 are now invested In the man~
ufacture of aerated drinks, fountains,
and other apparatus.
As long ago as the London Interna.
tional exhibition of 1862 the American
soda>water fountain was the wonder of
Europe, ard the effervescing, ice.cOld
liquid, with delicious syrup and cream,
was q veritable revelation to the British
palate. The British taste runs largely
to hot drinks, and the reader can inn
agine the sensations of & London civic
magnste who was led to the fountain in
the American section at the London
exhibition, and there introduced to his
first experience of Yankee soda.Wster.
The day was terribly hot for London,
the soda was delicioUsly cold, creamy
and foamiDg. The alderman eyed the
draught cOnservatively, took one swal-
low and set his glass down.
My dear" ne said, addressing The
young lsdy who dispensed the beverage,
"'ave you such a thing as drop of 'ot
water?"
What is soda>wster? Itg is simply
water impregnated with carbOnic acid
gas. The gas is obtained by pouring
sulphuric acid upon the carbonate o
lime as it exists in marble dust and
chips, in a powerful metal cylinder
termed q generator" Copper gener-
stors were formerly In vogue, but fre-
queDt explosions, leskages, and inevits-
ole corrosion, even where the interior ia
lined with tin, has led to the substitu-
tion of steel. The contact of the sui
phuric acid with the carbonate of lime
produces a tremendous efervescence.
The vitTio', having a stronger affinity
for lime than the CarbOnic acid gas has,
Hhorc4ag tho Lott and nh Of
lime is formed The gas thus obtained
is then passed through q washer-you
can wash gas as perfectly as you can a
h8ndkerchief-tO remove any trace of
sulphuric acid, and then it is pumped
under enormous pressure into the fOun-
tsins, already charged with water. This
constitutes, in brief, the whole process
of caTbonating.
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
champagne 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
istic flavor. The machinery required is
intricate and costly. The generators used
in large establishments cost about 900
each, and the other appliances are very
expensive. 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
8 simple square marble box to an elsb-
crate gothic temple Of the most exquisite
workm 1nship, and in Gust from $40 to
81 0a0. On no other beverage is there
such an extravagant outlay of money,
and q 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 tuGns generally.
Conscientious dealers make their own
siTups, some even making genuine fruit
sirups; but essences are generally pre-
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 veTdigTis.
An Ypsilsnti 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. 1t
is the great American beverage after beer
and whisky Last year the cost Of ice
was 30 high that most of the small "sOda
men" were eez9d out, as ice at sixty
cents per 100 pounds is too much for
them.
Soda water is great social power. 1t
is the one drink TO which 8 gentleman
may publicly invite lady; the fountain
is the only bar at which the sexes may
meet with perfect pr9priety, the lady sip
ping vanilla and cream, and the gentle
man moistening his clay with club lemon,
that is to say, lemon with a stick in it "
Courtships are thus materially helped
and matches facilitated.
T.-n,so-,e Md % U,r,vo. uo,--o.