Semi=weekly graphic., 1896-12-23
WESTERN HOSPITALITY.
What Roasting Ear Is. and How 1t d
 Eata,, Y,ys ssx-.rfs

vFhet Roasting Ear Is. and How 1t d
 Eaten by Experts.
 When the Union Pacific and Gulf pas senger officials wore arranging then last Around the Horn" excursion of the season a few weeks ago the people of Lo7eiand asked that an extended atop be arranged for the train at theis town. It is the custom in these excur- sions to make stops at several towns en i route, generally of thirty minutes each. l Loveland wanted an hour and half this time, and promised to take care of the eNcursionists every one of the nine. ! ty minutes they would be in town.
 The last Around the Horn exeur. sion went out, and as was predicted be- cause of the contemplated treat at Loyeland, it was a tremendous one. The train was scheduled to leave the | Union depot at s;45, but ct that tims and for fifteen minutes later the ticket clerks at the depot office were selling tickets so fast their date punches rat tied away like typewriters It waa after nine o'clock before the crowd could be ticieted, and away went the train for the excursion.
 At one o'clock Loveland was reached. It was about eleven o'clock that the people on the train began seentlng roasting ears. All manner of extrava- gant ideas were contemplated as to what would be in store when the train reached Loveland. Extravagant as they were, none of them were l cho,.f aF 1 of that town had gone to no end of trouble. Within ahundred yards of the depot, in the shade of long rows of cottonwood trees, tables had been constructed, and along these were ar rayed great heaps of eatables. Apples there were in abundance, besides other fruits, there seemed to be no limit to the sandwiches, and clearly the pro- fessional carver, whose proud boast it is that he can cover an acre of ground with ham, had no part or parcel in preparing those sandwiches Coffee had been promised before the train started. and coffee there was, but never a word had been said about lemonade, fresh milk, and buttermillz as is buttermilk, yet there were tubs and whole dairy wagon loads os all of them.
 Then there was tie corn pit. Every body knows what roasting ears are, or at least think they do. Once there was little girl who, as she regarded half acre of peas growing, asked in all sincerity when the cans and bright green labels would grow on them She was about as near the exact con- dition of things as some of those six hundred and fifty Denver people con. l cerning roasting ears. The popular idea of roasting ear of corn is one boiled. Nothing of the sort. 4 roast ing ear IS a roasting ear, as anybody about Loveland can tell and there are men there who know how to roast them quite as we'll as a Missouriaa knows how to barbecue q side Of beef.
 The Loveland corn was all roasted in pit A deep pit was dug and lined. Into this were thrown ears of young corn encased in the husk When enough had been put in the pit, and the impression of the liberal folks at Loyeland was that each Denver man was good for dozen ears or more, cool ashes were put over the whole then warmer ashes, until there was 8 regular fire burning on top. By keep ing this fire going the corn waa roasted, and by the time the excursion train was to reach the place the bot tom ears were done to turn.
 It was worth going to Loveland to see the pit and the way the corn was handled. It was the sight of life time to see an able bodied man get into the pit with fouratine pitehfork and begin hoisting the roasted ears. Att tendants stood near with buckets to receive the corn, and these distributed them to the excursionists. Each ear had it's quota of wood ashes on it, but by the exercise of little care the husks were removed and the rich brown kernels brought to light.
 There are several ways of eating roasting ears, most of which, however, are to grasp hold of either end of the ear and set the incisors to work. Thero are other ways, but the excursionists voted this was the proper one, and for fifteen minutes over the allotted time in town they regaled themselves on the bounteous feast the Lovelanders had provided. Denver Republican.