Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-09-15
THE SODA WATER HABIT.
CARBONIc ACID TIE BASS OF MOST
SUMNER DRINKS.

Artful wiles Of tho Faucet TurnerBig
Money in the Business-How Good
Syrups Are NIade-The '.Foam"-Float-
ing Island.
He was pleasant looking young man,
with a well trained bang and o set Of stock
smiles-sylnpathetic questioning, confiden-
tial and deprecatory-that would have done
credit to an emotional actress. Taken alto
gether, a superior person. He is the presid-
ing genius of 5000 soda fountain, and
what he does not know about soft drinks is
as yet undiscovered.
r. 1.-THE soda water business is better than q
gold mine this year." said he "Never be-
fore have carbonated beverages been so pop
ular. See that man there filling up on
Vichy waterl That's his tenth glass for to
day. You see the carbonic acid habit gets
es firm a hold on its victim as does the alco-
hol habit or smoking. Not generally known,
but it's a fact. If we once succeed IN Turing
a man within our doors he's gone for the sea-
son. This it is that makes the business good
this year. Heretofore we've only had the
women. They're all right, but speaking can
Gidly, they don't like to spend much money
on such intangible stuff as froth. It's differ
snt with the men. Take that young fellow
who has just called for phosphate and egg;
this liquor will cost him Sc or 50 daily, SO
ne regards fifty cents worth Of soda water as
\ mere bagatelle. His sister now, I'll war
rant, thinks herself extrayagant if she drinks
one, or expends one-haf Of that sum on sum-
mer beverages. It is peculiar to notice the
way in which man accustoms himself to
the soda habit. Take the steady consumers
Of mineral water for example. They will
commence on glass day, nominally for
the sake Of their digestion, and end by coz
ing into the store every chance they get.
BIG MONEY IN IT.
"Much money in IT'D Yes, young man, an
income that would make the owners of some
FIRST class hotel bars turn green with envy.
One of the large drug stores pays its rent and
clerk hire out Of the profits from its soda
fountain, and has large balance left One
thousand two hundred glasses per day is per-
haps the best business done in this city. This
includes all sorts Of soft drinks and half
dozen semi hard ones, as soda with dash Of
spirits of some kind in it. It's safe to say,
think, that 100000 people in this city pa
tronize a soda fountain every day Of their
lives This must be so, because there are
during the warm weather months OF course
the number Of the an-the-year-round foun-
tains Is much less
"Soda water, as you may happen to know,
Is nothing but pure water heavily charged
with carbonic acid gas. When properly
made it is the best and healthiest hot weather
drink known. This is when it is taken plain
as it comes from the fount. When mixed
with syrups Of greater or lesser degree of
purity its effects on the system is a matter Of
doubt.
There is q lot Of hocus-pocus about the
business. Watch that blonde junior Of mine
draw the glass of vanilla and ice cream he's
fixing for that 8 o'clock young lady. First
he put in the glass an ounce or SO Of syrup,
heavy, rich looking stuff. then he dashes il
a thimbleful Of cream, then dab Of ice
cream, and now watch him manipulate the
faucet; he's an expert, is that young man;
you observe, the maximum Of fizzy and foam
with the minimum of Soda There isn't in
that large glass, that will hold two-thirds of
pint, over two gills Of soda water. But the
foam is there, rich creamy foam that looks
hard enough to stand alone and thick enough
to cat with fork.
A RICH, CREAMY FOAM.
s'This effect does not all come from the dis
pensiug. Good syrups are made in this way:
To the mixture Of plain sugar and water,
clarified with sizing of some sort, is added an
antiseptic to keep the stuff from fermenting.
This is usually saiicylic acid, which is a very
good thing for the purpose. Next the flavor
ing extract is mixed with the syrup. The
other ingredient is a small percentage Of a
preparation sold by the dealers called
foam This is nothing more than clarified
gum arabic dissolved in water clean muci-
lage, In fact. The object Of this is to give
body to the mixture OF soda and syrup, so
that bubbles Of gas raised on the surface Of
the liquid will not subside. This practice is
all right, because the public demand rich,
creamy foam, and it is to be obtained in no
other way But it doubles the profit on a
glass of soda water.
ITO satisfy an absurd prejudice crushed
fruit syrups have come in vogue We take
a lot Of fresh Observation-Disclosures black
berries, raspberries, or whortleberries-and
crush 'em and mix the mass with syrup. a
modicum Of this is ladled into glass, which
is filled with soda A moro insipid mixture
cannot be imagined The flavor Of fresh
fruit is too delicate to be retained under such
S.A1O Vuc GsScnLidi uSeQ III
making the essences from which regular
syrups arc concocted are fully as healthful,
when used, os they are, in small quantities,
as are the juices Of fresh fruit.
"The application of a spoonful Of ice cream
to glass Of soda has proved the most sue
cessful innovation of years Never before,
since 1882, when first used this way, has soda
water with floating island in the center of
the glass been SO popular. 1t has sugges-
ton Of a hot oyster with every drink about
it that is captivating. It seems to be
bonus and that's taking. Convince the people
that they're getting something for nothing
and you'll have EN- around you in focks.
The ice cream used for this purpose is flavor
less, and as little of it goes q great way in
glass of soda, the chestnut paragrapher to
the contrary notwithstanding, a skillful dis
penser can sell the mixture for five cents
glass, although almost all the downtown