The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-03-02

Plums are great globes of luscious sweet
ness; indeed. it is a marvel that fruit
should be so fine which has 80 little sun.
Peaches are rare luxuries, and at the
chcapest sell two for a shilling in COvcnt
Garden. being dearcr at the shops. It's
safe 10 saw that thousands Of Londoners
never taste fruit except oranges, which
are sometimes as low as penny apiece;
and an apple or stale berries, very rarely.
The British muskmelon is more like a
pumpkin than it Is like 10 our American
cantaloupe. and it is tax upon Yankee
politeness to be asked 10 eat it, although
it is much more expensive than our
freckled Jenny Limbs
Watermelons are strictly hot house
fruit, but are imported 20 some extent
from America. I'm fact, al the best fruit
eaten in England is raised in hot houses,
the art being carried TO the utmost per
lection. Peaches and plums arc known
as "wall fruit, the trees being trained
against q wall as though they were vines
The Englishman builds a high brick wall
around bis premises, and fortiiies it with
broken bottles. or sharpened nails, stuck
thickiy along the top Ills idea Of com
fort includes seclusion from the outside
world. Against this wall me nails his
trees, and tends the fruit with jealous
care. A story is told Of an Amoricansea
captain. who, ut a little dinner, helped
himself TO three peaches from plate con-
taing half q dOzen-one for each guest
and coolly ate them all. Peaches were
no rarity 20 him, and he did not dream
that these had cost his host a guinea
apiece. Hot house grapes may be had at
all seasons, anda second only topeaches
and pineapples they always call them
pines in expensivenoss.
None Of our American peculiarities
hcrrilics the English like our fondncs-
for ice. OF late years you find it at all
the hotels and large restaurants, bat iis
use I'm private houses is exceptional, and
at some of the leadin. hotels YOU are ex-
uocted to pay extra for ice water The
ENGLISH never drink it. "Ihey give you
q cents worth Of hoky-poky, and call it
Ncap0litan Zee cream" saidn Philadcl-
phian. who could not forgive The short m-
lions of his favoriie dainty. The guam
titles served are inhnitcsimal, two tea
snoonfuls in q nest of iluted paper, such
as confecu0ncrs use for fine candies, be-
ing the regulation dish. "Eat great
saucerful of ice croamw exclaimed an
Englishw0man to the writer, u should
expect % dier ! CHANGED 20 mention
my weakness for frozen bananas "Fan-
cym was the short but emphatic CONF
ment You never sec q whole bunch OF
bananas. even in the windows of the
Regent street shops. 4 "hand' or two
is the largest display made at once.
II have am infalible method of telling
the Americans at dinner in % resiau-
rant" said an Englishman. "Want to
hear il? They always take butter, I'M
less they have been here long and affect
English manners. Now we English
never do. Look around and you may
count them n0w.'
Their method of serving butter at table
Is as pretty as it is economical. You
never see q pound print of butter ON am
English table. Instead, the butter is
made into an manner Of lanciful shapes,
making the portions dealt To- each person
as small as they can well be, often look
ing as though meant for a dolls table
squited butter, made by squeezing the
butter in strings through q hole in the
bottom Of q stiff piece of paper rolled %
a funnel; "scooped butter" made by
scooping the butter quickly and thinly
with a scoOper that has been dipped IN
warm water; "curled butter, by putting
the butter into cloth, two endsof which
are fastened TO @ hook in the wall. and
the other two tied in o knot TO pass q
stick through. The cloth is twisted
tightly, SO that the butter falls in small
curlecues through the knot. Besides
these there are any number of pretty
molds sold for shaping thin, small squares
Of butter. You do not often see indi-
riduaI butter plates; instead, the custom
Is to use one small plate for both bread
and butter.
Cream is sold in quaint little jugs,
holding about half a pint, and is deli
cious, although the London lodging
house keeper regards it with distrust and
says it is "doctored." The Devonshire
clotted cream is national dish which
there are few who do not Ike
The best pickles In The world are. as
everybody knows. made in London, and
are cheap accordingly, as they pay no
duty. Jams are good and pientiful-so
plentiful that one is apt TO have too n-ich
Of them.
Potatoes, eggs and apples are sold By
weight, which is undoubtedly the faircst
way both TO buyerand seller; still it looks
odd TO American eyes TO see the piacard
surmouuiing a hand barrow of apples:
"3d. @ pound
Mrs. II. =. HANDY.