Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-09-17
THE SODA WATER HABIT.
CARBONlC ACID THE BASIS OF MOST
 SUMMER DRINKS.
Artful Wiles of the Faucet Turner-Big Money in tho Business-How Good Syrups Are Madeline ''Foam"-T1oat- ing Island.


 syrups Are NIade-Thc "Foam"-Float-
 ing Island.
 He was q pleasant looking young man, with we'll trained bang and set of stock smiles-sympathetic, questioning, confiden- tial and deprecatory-that would have done credit to an emotional actress. Taken alto gether, superior person. He is the presid- ing genius of a $5,0OO soda fountain, and what he does not know about soft drinks is as yet undiscovered.
 "The soda water business is better than gold mine this year." said he. "Never be- fore have carbonated beverages been so pop ular. See that man there filling up on Vichy water2 That's his tenth glass for to- day. You see the carbonic acid habit gets as firm hold on its victim as does the alco- hol habit or smoking Not generally known, but it's 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- didly, they don't like to spend much money on such intangible stuff as froth. It's differ ent with the men. Take that young fellow who has just called for phosphate and egg this liquor will cost him So or $9 daily, so he regards fifty cents worth of soda water as mere bagatelle. His sister now, I'll war rant thinks herself extravagant if she drinks one, or expends one-hah 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 a glass day, nominally for the sake of their digestion, and end by co'~- ing into the store every chance they get.
 BIG MONEY IN IT.
 Much money in it3 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 it's rent and clerk hire out of the profits from its soda fountain, and has a 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 0 dozen semi hard ones as soda with a dash of spirits of some kind i'll it. Its safe to say, think, that 100000 people in this city pa tronize soda fountain every day of their lives This must be so, because there are ! over 600 fountains in this city kept busy during the warm weather months. Of course the number of the all-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 1t 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 lot of hocus-pocus about the | business Watch that blonde junior of p1ine l draw the glass of vanilla and ice cream he's l fixing for that 8 o'clock young lady. First l he put in the glass an ounce or so of syrup, heavy, rich looking stuff, then he dashes in a thimbleful of cream, then 6 dab of ice l cream, and now watch him manipulate the | faucet; he's an expert, is that young man; 1 you observe, the maximum of fizzy and foam l with the minimum of soda There isn't in I that large glass, that will hold two-thirds of 1 pint, over two gills of soda water. But the | foam is there, rich creamy foam that looks l hard enough to stand alone and thick enough l to cat with fork.
 A RICH, CREAMY FOAM. 1 ''This effect does not all come from the dis | pensing. Good syrups are made in this way: ] To the mixture of plain sugar and water, clarified with sizing of some sort, Is added an antiscptic to keep the stuff from fermenting | This is usually salicylic acid, which is very good thing for the purpose. Next the flavor 1 ing extract is mixed with the syrup. The other ingredient is a small percentage of a l preparation sold by the dealers called foam This is nothing more than clarified 1 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 l the liquid will not subside. This practice is all right. because the public demand a rich, creamy foam, and it Is to be obtained in no other way But it doubles the profit on 8 l glass of soda water.
 I hoS l fruit syrups have come in vogue We take | lot of fresh berrieS-strawberrie black l berries, raspberries, or whortlebeTries-a and | crush lem and mix the mass with syrup. 4 modicum of this is ladled into glass, which is filled with soda. A more insipid mixture cannot be imagined The flavor of frest | fruit Is too delicate to be retained under sucf circumstances, and the essential oils used 1T ] making the essences from which regular syISps are concocted are fully as healthful when used, as they are, in small quantities as are the juices of fresh fruit.
 ''The application of 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 sodf water with floating island in the center o the glass been so popular. It has a sugges tion of a hot oyster with every drink abou
 it that Is captivating. It seems to be bonus and that's taking Convince the peopl, that they're getting something for rothins . and you'll have ern around you in hocks
 The ice cream used for this purpose Is flavor less, and as a little of 1t goes a great way II glass of soda, the chestnut paragrapher tt the contrary notwithstanding, 8 skillful dis penser can sell the mixture for five cents glass, although almost all the downtown places charge either eight or ten cents."- Chicago Inter Ocean.
 | A Livelihood in the City.
 In a great metropolis like New York, tn
 methods by which people earn a ivelihoo'
 are immensely varied. An old man wh