The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1880-07-15
A QUAINT eaENoN f6WN.



Dion is celebrated for three naiiu-
| factures-its pills, its mustard and its
gingerbread; and the history of each
is curious in the extreme. We will
take the pills first. Without doubt
the people who take most pills will he
FIRST to make them wholesale, and the
consumption Of nIaehine-ina.ie pills
throughout the length aud breadth of
France Is enormous II was a happy
thoughtOfasuccessful Freach pill-mak-
er, who, with the best intentions in the
world could hardly satisfy bis custom
ers, to haverecOurse to machinery. 1t
must have flashed upon him like light
ming that the ciuHusiest maciiiue
might turn OF three times "a many
pills In a day rs the most dexterouS
fingers. and now the prospect is so eS-
act that sonic hundreds OF thousands
u pills are fabricated daily on the
premises of the original inventor.
This gentleman, Thevenot. u ciie;nis,
Of Dion, gained large fortune by hi,
mandatory, and il is satisfactory 10
learn that his defendants are dim. ~
prosperous a trade As himself rae
hardness of the times in no degree al
fects the sale of pills. People will hav.
pet luxury AT any cost, and 50 while
they are ready 10 give up their horse,
aud carriages and toilets, they retain
their pill. had the opportunity OF
cOnversing with several manufacture
ers in different branches Oftrsde whilst
at Dion, and ali complained of the
slackness in trade. Only the fortunate
fabricator Of pills showed a cheerful
cOuntenance. Tar, cloroforni. cam
phOr, castor oil. oil of eucalyptus, are
amongst the favorite ingredients The
process Of pili-niaking by machinery
is extremely rapid and neat. Tain
layers, composed of gum, sugar. AMI
gelatine. are spread out in small pieces;
the desired oil is then spread ON the |
under layer, just as We put jam ia "a |
layer of paste a second put on, the |
whole adhering like thin covered past |
~. This Is now placed between two
iron plates indented with little holes |
the size of the pill, two turns are Civ
en- to il III what may be called a bak- |
ing oven and out come the pills, each |
separating itself from its envelope,
smooth, compact and hard As shot. In |
fact. they are like mince-pies in min
iature. Any eassciicc indissoiuble in |
waller can be manufactured into pills,
and, Of course, the economy upon hand |
labor Is very great.
The celebrated Dion mustard is even
more worthy of note Is a manufacture. |
It's peculiar quality is certain
piquancy not found in any other mus
tard, of which there are deserveily |
celebrated manufacturers in several |
other places. The Dijon mustard is
always sOwn on cleared charcoal he,s
in the neighbOring forests, spaces diff
ficult to utilize i'm any other way, as
the young plants sf green peas, pOta-
toes, French beans and the like would |
inevitably be devOured by the rabbits,
wild bOars and other animals, who
will ON no account touch the mustard /
plant. The soil gives one peculiar fia-
vOr to the mustard; another is differ
emily to be accounted for. The mus
tard when in powder l. mixed with
the juice of a new wine, leading that
pleasant acidity with which we are
familiar. But in order to obtain pre-
ciseiy the same degree Of acidity, il is
necessary that the grape be always in
precisely the same state of unripeness.
. degree more or less making all the
difference. Amateurs of this ceiebra-
ted cOndiment of which the sale is
enormous in France ana elsewhere,
will like to have these few particulars
concerning 1t. We next come to the
no less famous Dijon gingerbread, or
pain d'epice, of which most travellers
carry u sample home for their little
friends. The nOnnettes, As these calves
are generally called, figure constantly
OH French dinner tables with the des-
sert. but few people. perhaps, suspect
their origin. The pain d'epice is made
Of honey, rye flour and spice, no trea-
Gle entering into its composition, as in
our own gingerbread. But honey pos
sesses, as we all know. besides its
agreeable sweetness, a medicinal quail
ity, rendering the pain d'cpice as use
full rs il is ornamental on the family
table. Its inventors were. oddly
enough. neither bakers nor cooks, but
the former grand seiyneurs of Burgun-
,fy. These >eigneurs set the example |
Of curing disorders of frequent occur
renee 10y means of palatable cakes
the bourgeoise and. In their turn. the
followed their example. Huge
bakeries of the pain d'epice were set
up at Dion. The bakers made large
Ortunes, and 10 this day it is as flour
shing trade as any in Dion, seven
arge manufactures now existing
here.