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SIX CUPS OF COFFEE



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                                            BOSTON, June 16, 1886.

Messrs. WOOLRICH & CO.

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SIX CUPS OF COFFEE.

PREPARED FOR THE PUBLIC PALATE

BY THE

BEST AUTHORITIES ON COFFEE MAKING.

       *       *       *       *       *

    MARIA PARLOA, CATHERINE OWEN, MARION HARLAND, JULIET CORSON,
    MRS. HELEN CAMPBELL, MRS. D. A. LINCOLN,

    WITH THE

    STORY OF COFFEE, BY HESTER M. POOLE.

[Illustration]


    APPETIZING, AROMATIC, HEALTHFUL.


    "This coffee intoxicates without exciting, soothes you
    softly out of dull sobriety, and makes you think and talk of
    all the pleasant things that ever happened to you."--_W. D.
    Howells._

    GOOD HOUSEKEEPING PRESS,
    CLARK W. BRYAN & CO., SPRINGFIELD, MASS.
    TRADE SUPPLIED BY
    C. A. MONTGOMERY & CO., NEW YORK.




    COPYRIGHT, 1887.

    ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.




PREFACE.


It is not much to say that nine-tenths of that decoction which passes
under the name of coffee, is unworthy to be so called, and that many
persons live and die without ever tasting a really good cup of that
delicious beverage.

As a nation, the American people want the best of everything, and
intend to have that best. Furthermore, they are very properly and
intelligently eager to turn it to the greatest advantage. But what
avails the best raw material if it be not prepared in such a manner as
to develop and secure its subtle, delicate, volatile and enlivening
qualities? The very same ingredients may be injurious and depressing,
or wholesome and exhilarating, according to the way in which they are
treated.

The six cups of coffee offered to the reader, by six of the foremost
authorities regarding cooking, will bring a new and healthful stimulus
to prepare that refreshing drink in a manner which shall leave nothing
to be desired. They are not made from old grounds re-heated for the
occasion, but are as fresh as the intelligence and the experience which
have produced them.

A country which expends nearly thirty-five millions of dollars each
year for the aromatic berry, can well afford to study the best methods
of extracting its desirable qualities.

In those family circles where Good Housekeeping is the rule, not the
exception, it is to be hoped that this little book will be welcomed as
a useful friend and interesting companion.




INDEX.


                                                 PAGE
  I.--AS PREPARED BY MARIA PARLOA,                  5
        Filtered Coffee made with Cold Water,       9
        Filtered Coffee made with Boiling Water,    9
        Boiled Coffee made with Cold Water,        10
        Boiled Coffee made with Boiling Water,     10

  II.--AS PREPARED BY MARION HARLAND,              11

  III.--AS PREPARED BY MRS. HELEN CAMPBELL,        15

  IV.--AS PREPARED BY JULIET CORSON,               20
        A French Chef's Method,                    21
        Cafe au Lait,                              23
        Cafe Noir,                                 23
        Filtered Coffee,                           23
        Breakfast Coffee,                          23

  V.--AS PREPARED BY MRS. D. A. LINCOLN,           25
        The Wrong Way,                             25
        The Right Way,                             26

  VI.--AS PREPARED BY CATHERINE OWEN,              30
        French Coffee,                             31
        French Coffee in a Pitcher,                32
        Boiled Coffee,                             32

  THE STORY OF COFFEE, BY HESTER M. POOLE,         36




SIX CUPS OF COFFEE




COFFEE--I.

_As Prepared By Maria Parloa._


[Illustration]

IN war times, after a battle or a long march, how the soldiers enjoyed
their coffee! And in many cases it was pretty poor coffee, too, though
to them it seemed fit for the gods. The delicious aroma which arose
made their feelings of weariness or depression vanish for a while, and
the beverage itself cheered them in a marked degree. Nothing could take
its place; nothing can take its place to-day. The consumption of coffee
in this country is enormous. Rich and poor alike must have it. But it
is a common complaint that a cup of good coffee is the exception rather
than the rule. Considering the low price of the raw material, this
should not be the case. People are prone to think that they know all
there is to be known about coffee, and do not take pains to learn what
special qualities different brands possess, and what the most approved
modes of making coffee are.

Time was when a Mexican or South or Central American coffee was
considered an inferior article. To-day some of the best coffees come
from these places. For example, one of the most delicious coffees
which is brought into this country comes from Guatemala. It bears the
name of "Las Nubes" (The Clouds), which it takes from the plantation
where it is grown. There is an odd bit of history connected with this
plantation. A Scotchman named Nelson owned it, and was coining money
from it, when he was banished from the country by President Barrios,
and his property was confiscated. It is now owned by the widow of
Barrios. The annual yield from it is four hundred and fifty thousand
pounds. A large proportion of this goes to England, where it brings a
higher price than here.

There are two kinds of coffee,--the strong and the mild. To the first
class belong the Rio and Santas, and to the second, the Java, Mocha,
Maracaibo, and, indeed, almost all the other kinds. When a rich, smooth
beverage is desired, a combination of Mocha and Java--or some coffee
that has the qualities of Java--should be used; but when a very strong
flavor is liked, Rio or Santas should be taken. The supply of Java
meets only about one-fifth of the demand. For this reason many other
mild coffees are sold under the name of "Java." Good Maracaibo is equal
to Java, and is constantly sold under that name. A combination of one
pound Mocha, one pound Rio, and two pounds Java or Maracaibo will give
a rich, strong-flavored drink, but not so smooth as if the Rio were
omitted.

When buying the berry, pause for a moment to think how you like your
beverage. Do you want it smooth and of delicate flavor? Take one-third
Mocha and the rest Java or Maracaibo. Do you want it strong? Use all
Rio, or temper that brand by combining it with some one of the mild
kinds.

A large proportion of housekeepers buy their coffee roasted, and many
also buy it ground. If coffee, while still hot from the roaster, were
put into vessels almost air tight, and kept in them until ground for
use, the improvement in the drink made from it would amply repay for
the trouble taken. Much of the fine aroma is lost before the roasted
bean reaches the housekeeper, and there is even a greater loss if the
coffee has been ground for a considerable time. These are some of
the disadvantages which must be endured when one buys coffee already
roasted. But, on the other hand, unless the roasting be done very
carefully, the coffee will not be good. A few burnt beans in a quart
will ruin the drink. When careful attention to roasting cannot be given
at home, it will be better to buy a supply already roasted, but never
ground. A French small mill, which can be regulated to grind coarse or
fine, can be bought for about a dollar and a half. With care it will
last for ten or twenty years. Some firms put up coffee in tin cans. It
costs more, but retains so much of the aroma as to be well worth the
extra price.

When green coffee is bought, be careful that it is well seasoned. It
should have a brownish or yellowish tint, which comes only with years
of seasoning. The best way to do, when it is possible, is to buy green
coffee by the sack, and keep it stored in a sweet, dry place--say
the attic--for two or three years. In that time it will have become
sufficiently mellowed.

To roast coffee, put the green beans into a large dripping-pan, being
sure that the pan is perfectly clean. Have the coffee about an inch
deep. Place the pan in a moderate oven. Stir frequently, and at the end
of half an hour increase the heat of the oven. From this time until
the beans are sufficiently browned, there should be a stirring every
three or four minutes. When the coffee is almost a chestnut color,
remove the pan from the oven, and for every quart add one tablespoonful
of butter. Stir well; and, while the coffee is still hot, put it into
cans and cover closely. Coffee absorbs moisture and odors. It should
therefore be kept in a sweet, dry place.

There are so many ways of making coffee, and so many kinds of
coffee-pots, that young housekeepers often are perplexed in choosing
either a mode of preparing the drink or a utensil in which to make it.
If a few principles be carefully observed, a perfect result may be
counted as a certainty--provided, of course, that the ground coffee
be good. The berries should be heated before or after grinding. The
coffee-pot should be entirely clean, without a particle of old coffee
grounds in it. The coffee should not be subjected to long boiling, as
this will dissipate the aroma and produce a rather bitter drink. Coffee
that is not boiled at all is very smooth and free of bitter flavor. All
coffee should be served hot, and as soon as possible after being made.
Always serve cream or hot milk with it. Heat the milk to the boiling
point, but do not let it boil.

Tastes vary as to the proper strength of coffee. The rules given in
this article are for a strong drink; and where only moderate strength
is desired, use but half the quantity of dry coffee for the quantity
of water stated. Coffee made with cold water always is stronger than
that made with boiling water, and in the opinion of many people it is
better; but some folks think that no coffee is equal to that which has
been boiled with an egg. No matter what mode of making the drink is
followed, the result will be pleasing if good material is used, the
work done quickly, and the coffee served fresh and hot.

Here are four rules, any one of which will give perfect coffee, but
each of a different flavor:--


FILTERED COFFEE MADE WITH COLD WATER.

Put one cupful of fine-ground coffee in a small saucepan and on the
fire. Stir constantly until hot. Put the hot coffee in the filter of
a coffee-biggin. Place the coarse strainer on top, and then add half
a cupful of cold water, pouring it in by tablespoonfuls. Cover it and
let it stand for half an hour, though less time will do. Next add three
cupfuls and a half of cold water, a cupful at a time. When all the
water has passed through the filter, pour it from the pot, and again
through the filter. Cover closely; and at serving-time heat it to the
boiling point and serve at once.

One advantage in using cold filtered water is that the coffee may be
made at any time in the day, and heated when required. If to be served
after dinner, it will be better if made with three cupfuls of water
instead of four.

This coffee will be perfectly clear, and of a fine color. The flavor
will be rich, smooth and delightful.


FILTERED COFFEE MADE WITH BOILING WATER.

Heat one cupful of fine-ground coffee in the manner described in the
preceding receipt, and put it in the filter of the coffee-biggin. Put
the biggin in a pan with a little boiling water, and place it on the
stove. Pour a gill of boiling water on the coffee, cover, and let it
stand for five minutes. At the end of that time add half a pint of
boiling water, and continue to add boiling water by the half-pint, at
intervals of three minutes, until a quart of water has been used in
all. Serve the coffee at once. Or, the coffee may be passed through
the filter a second time, giving a stronger cup.

Filtered coffee never should be boiled. Placing the pot in the pan of
boiling water keeps the coffee at the boiling point, and yet protects
it from a boiling.


BOILED COFFEE MADE WITH COLD WATER.

Heat a cupful of coffee, ground rather coarse, and put it in a bowl
with one pint of cold water. Cover closely, and let it soak for an hour
or more.

Break an egg into the bowl with the coffee, and stir well. Put this
mixture into the coffee-pot and place on the fire. Heat slowly to the
boiling point, then add a pint of boiling water, and boil gently for
five minutes. Now add a gill of cold water, and set the pot back where
its contents cannot boil. At the end of three minutes strain into a hot
pot and serve at once.

This coffee will be stronger than that made with boiling water; its
flavor, too, will be somewhat different.


BOILED COFFEE MADE WITH BOILING WATER.

Heat one cupful of coffee, ground rather coarse. Put it into a
coffee-pot, and add an egg. Stir well, and add a quart of boiling
water. Place over the fire, and stir until the coffee boils up. Now
stir the coffee and egg down, and then shut down the cover, and set the
pot where its contents will only simmer during the next five minutes.
At the end of that time add a gill of cold water. Let the coffee stand
at the side of the stove for three or four minutes, then strain into a
hot pot, and serve at once.

The rules for making coffee might be multiplied almost indefinitely,
but what has been given here will insure a good beverage every time.




COFFEE--II.

_As Prepared by Marion Harland._


[Illustration]

THE _very_ best way to make coffee is to buy the raw berries and brown
them yourself, at least once a week. Most printed directions for
preparing the beverage insist upon these preliminaries as a _sine qua
non_. When the mistress cannot superintend the roasting, it is seldom
well done, the coffee being burned or unequally cooked. Therefore, the
average housewife, who has her hands full of "must-be-dones," reading
that tolerable coffee cannot be had unless this rule be obeyed, makes
up her mind to give her family a second-rate article. Should coffee be
regarded as a daily necessity of existence by her and her household,
she would do well to spare time from other occupations (if possible) to
prepare it in the most approved manner.

To this end, purchase Java and Mocha in equal quantities; mix and roast
them in a broad dripping-pan, shaking and stirring often, particularly
when they begin to brown, turning the pan, end for end, several times
during the operation. The berries should be evenly tinted to the shade
we know as "coffee-color." Burnt grains must be thrown away. Lift the
pan to a table, and stir into the hot coffee the beaten whites of
two eggs for each pound, and a dessertspoonful of fresh butter. This
keeps in the aroma until the grinding lets it out. Do it quickly and
faithfully, glazing every berry with the air-proof coating. When cool,
shake the coffee in a sieve, that the berries may not stick together,
and put it into a tight canister. Grind in a good mill--_i.e._, one
that works well without rattling or "wobbling"--every morning as much
as will be needed for the day. This was our mothers' and grandmothers'
way of preparing coffee grains for making the most popular beverage
known to civilized peoples, and no domestic considered herself
aggrieved if required to do it. Now, the good wife who informs her cook
that "we roast and grind our own coffee," will have trouble in the
flesh. Bridget's impregnable belief is that "what is good enough for
people that lives in finer houses nor yerself, is plenty good for yez."
It is not to be undermined by representations that ground coffee bought
by the package has lost much of its original value with time, and is,
furthermore, shamefully adulterated. What your richer neighbors use
ought to satisfy you, especially when discontent with it entails worry
and labor upon herself. I repeat it: If you must have irreproachable
coffee, look to it in person.

Next to this process in excellence is the plan of purchasing, a pound
at a time, freshly-ground coffee from a trustworthy grocer, whose mill
goes every day; or you may buy it freshly roasted in the grain from
him in small quantities, putting a certain portion in the oven until
warmed through, as you need it, and grinding it before it cools. This
insures you against the admixture of foreign substances. The belief in
the extensive adulteration of the ground coffee sold by the package at
a low rate is founded upon a rock of fact. Sacks of beans and tons of
chicory are bought without a scruple, and stored unblushingly in the
warehouses of coffee and spice millers.

Make sure then, to begin with, that your material is pure and lately
ground. On the last point, take notice that the coffee which is to be
made into a drink by the percolation of steam or water should be ground
more finely than when it is to be boiled.

Next see that the water is on what may be called "a fresh boil." It
should not have simmered for hours at the side of the stove until all
the liveliness is spent, but stand in the hottest place, where it will
come quickly and furiously to the boiling point, then be used at once.

The perfection of coffee, to my way of thinking, is made in the "Vienna
coffee-pot." A tea-kettle of copper, brass, or plated silver, full of
boiling water, is set over a spirit lamp. Into it is fitted a tube
attached to a glass receptacle for the finely-ground coffee, which is
kept from entering the tube by a wire sieve. A tight stopper prevents
the escape through the kettle-spout of the steam generated by the
lamp. It is thus forced upward through the tube and sieve into the
dry coffee. The globe has a brass cover that keeps in the heat. The
coffee is speedily saturated with vapor, and begins to heave and boil
like the crater of a volcano. When the tossing mass fills the upper
vessel, the stopper is withdrawn from the spout of the lower, and the
surface slowly sinks to the original level. The stopper is replaced,
and another boil begins. Three boils and as many drainings will leave
in the kettle delicious black coffee, fragrant and clear. It can be
made on the breakfast or dinner-table in five minutes, if the flame
be strong and the water on the boil when set over it. Directions and
measures for quantities of coffee and water accompany the pot.

Hardly second in merit to this method is the use of the French "biggin"
or "grecque." A tin cylinder, furnished with two movable and one
stationary strainers, is set on a coffee-pot. Dry, fine coffee goes
into the upper vessel in the proportion of a half-pint cupful to a
quart of _boiling_ water poured on this, and left to filter through
once, twice, or three times, as a moderately or very strong infusion
is desired. The pot should be made hot by scalding before the cylinder
is fitted on, then stand on the hot range or hearth, while the
liquid drips through the strainers. But this _must not boil_ then or
afterwards.

Persons accustomed to Vienna or French coffee do not relish that cooked
in the old-fashioned style, but as many still cling to the latter, it
is well to know how to obtain the most satisfactory result offered by
it.

Allow to each even cupful of ground coffee a quart of boiling water.
Mix the coffee in a bowl with half a cupful of cold water and the white
and shell of an egg; stir all well together before putting the mixture
into the boiler. Add the boiling water, and let it boil _fast_ ten
minutes after it begins to bubble. Throw in one-third of a cupful of
cold water to check ebullition; draw to one side, and let the decoction
settle for three minutes before pouring it off gently from the grounds
into the urn.

Send hot milk--cream, if you have it--to table with coffee. A
teaspoonful of whipped cream, laid on the surface of each cupful, adds
to the elegance of the beverage.




COFFEE--III.

_Two Ways with Coffee, as Described by Mrs. Helen Campbell._


[Illustration]

PERHAPS the _two_ should read twenty, and it would, were it any part
of my present mission to give every possibility of method with the
berry from bush to pot or filter. But I deal to-day only with two, and
they define themselves at once, sharply and decisively--a good way
and a bad way; and as, according to a famous moralist, we take more
interest in the faults than in the virtues of a friend, it is with the
bad way that we begin. It is a way susceptible of many variations, as
my own eyes have seen, but all reducible to the one formula,--bad.
Moreover, they all emanated from a source supposed to represent the
acme of good housekeeping. It was in New England, far to the east, and
the quiet house where a part of a summer was spent had every charm but
that of good coffee. Paint, walls, and floors were spotlessly clean.
The sheets smelled of green grass and all growing things, and, like
every washable article, dazzled one with the whiteness and purity
of their cleanliness. Bread and butter were perfect, and innumerable
pies equally so. But the coffee! Freakishly, mysteriously, variously
bad; but bad inevitably. Why and how one act could have such manifold
effects became the problem, and gradually, by means of much patient
observation made from my place by the south window in the room, which
was both dining-room and sitting-room, I found out.

My hostess came down late one morning. The coffee of the previous day
had stood in the tin pot all night, and she poured off such liquid
as remained, emptied the grounds, rinsed the pot with cold water,
and put in a cupful of cold coffee. This was set on the stove, and
soon began to boil. The potatoes were frying, and some slices of pork
also, and she busied herself with these for a time; then, as a sort of
afterthought, took some coffee from the canister, ground it, and poured
it into the pot. The kettle had boiled furiously for an hour, and I
knew that the water that filled it had stood all night in the kitchen;
these two facts meaning that it had parted with the last bubble of life
and spirit, and was flat, stale and unprofitable. But she filled the
coffee-pot to the brim, throwing in the bit of fish skin for clearing;
and on it boiled till the bell had rung, and Aaron came in from the
barn and received his cup, made bearable by the cream, which she never
stinted. But not a detective appointed for the purpose could have
told the nature of the compound before him, and would have echoed the
despairing traveler's request: "If this is tea, bring me coffee; and if
it's coffee, bring me tea."

Happily, Aaron was thirsty, and emptied the pot. His mother turned
out the grounds, washed the pot with soap-suds, and set it away, half
dry--an immediate explanation of one of the flavors sometimes to be
perceived. Observation, the next morning, showed that the kettle did
not boil, because the fire refused to burn properly. But the coffee
went in, and the water went on, and in due time came to the table,
distinctly flavored with soap, but drank with calm unconsciousness by
both Aaron and his mother. The supply of cream had gone by mistake into
the churn, and there was no alleviation. I looked at the determined
countenance of my hostess, and wondered if I might speak. Here was
the well by the door; here was a canister of real coffee; here milk
that could boil. What lacked it that I must forego the real union of
all these elements? Only my own craven nature, which shrunk from the
conflict, and continued to shrink, through three weeks of vicissitude.
I had grown indifferent, but the sight of a fresh package of coffee
coming in under Aaron's arm aroused me to mild persuasion. I read at
the tea-table a bit from some paper on Delmonico's theory of boiling
water.

"He must a' been dretful notional. I wouldn't a' had him come pokin'
about _my_ kitchen," remarked my hostess, decisively.

"But he was quite right. Water is spoiled for drinking, as hot water,
or for making tea or coffee, if it passes beyond that first few
minutes of effervescence. It should be fresh water, freshly boiled,
and poured at once on the coffee, which ought to be in a clean, hot
pot. It doesn't make much difference whether it is boiled or filtered.
Delicious coffee can be had by either method, if those conditions are
followed absolutely; the best coffee is ruined if they are not."

"Folks that don't like my vittles can go where there's vittle's they do
like," was my hostess's answer, after a moment of stony silence. And so
I lost that boarding-place, and found one where they never ground their
own coffee, but where they did everything else to it, decently and in
order.

Two years later I found myself one morning in a waste, howling
wilderness in North Carolina--a tar and turpentine station in the pine
woods, where only a cabin or two showed signs of life. One truck of the
car was off the track. Hours must pass before we could go on, and any
breakfast lay forty miles beyond.

"You'll get a snack in yonder," the conductor said presently, pointing
to a distant cabin. "And it's a pretty good one. I've tried it before."

He led the way under the pines to the lonely little cabin, in the
door of which stood a tall "cracker," with a keener face than most of
his order. It was the roughest of interiors, but it was clean. He had
already cut some slices of bacon and placed it in his pan, and a pone
baked in the ashes. A coffee-mill was screwed against the post, and
from a shed I heard the lowing of a cow. We should not be milkless.

"Do your prettiest, Jacob," the conductor said, and Jacob nodded. Then
he went to a spring and filled a little kettle with the fresh, bubbling
water, and hung it over the coals. Coffee was in a sack in the corner,
and he took out a handful and roasted it then and there, turning each
grain in the pan as it browned, and grinding it the instant the
process ended. The water boiled on the same moment. He scalded his
coffee-pot, put in the ground coffee and the boiling water, and put
that and a little can of milk on the coals. Three minutes passed. Then
he lifted the pot, poured off a cupful to free the nozzle, poured it
back, and put it aside to settle.

"Set by," he said, concisely, putting a tin cup at my place, with a
spoonful of sugar in the bottom.

"We hain't any store cups," he said; "an' this ain't what you're
used to, but it won't spoil the coffee." And with that he poured two
streams, one a rich, clear brown, the other snowy white, and both at
boiling-point, till the cup was full. Never had more perfect coffee
passed my lips, and I said so.

"Learned that in Mexico," said the tall "cracker," with a smile of
pride. "Used to drink my coffee straight; but go down thar for a year,
an' now can't bar it no other way but their's. Roast it, an' boil it,
and drink it all to onst. It gits ahead o' whiskey, or even peach an'
honey."

Here are the two ways: Admirable cook-books will give you admirable
rules for making coffee; but, if you believe it worth the trouble,
try my "cracker's," otherwise Mexican, method. Cream and coffee are
often indigestible; boiled milk and coffee, almost never. The union
prevents excess of coffee, and, if both come to the table as near the
boiling-point as possible, you have the perfect drink. Only remember
that the coffee must be one-third Mocha to two-thirds Java, and, if you
will roast more than enough for once, keep closely covered, and heat
before grinding.




COFFEE--IV.

_As prepared by Juliet Corson._


[Illustration]

THAT "the easiest way is the best" is a proverb not always verified in
the kitchen; but it certainly applies to the making of good coffee, if
the ideal beverage is a clear, wine-brown, fragrant fluid of comforting
quality. Testing many ways of preparing this almost indispensable
accompaniment to a good breakfast has proven that the Turks and
Arabians treat it most fairly; the reservation may be made that
Americans generally prefer not to absorb the substance of the berry,
even in the form of an almost impalpable powder, as do the followers
of Mahomet. These comparatively temperate people attach its true value
to coffee as a frequent beverage; its free use is unfavorable to
indulgence in intoxicants of any character, and, properly prepared,
it does not exercise any deleterious action upon the digestive organs
under normal conditions. Some persons are unable to use it freely
without more or less intestinal disturbance, just as others cannot
digest eggs, fish, or milk; once convinced of its injurious effect, one
would be as foolish to drink it as to persist in testing the relative
hardness of one's head and a stone wall.

Much of the physical trouble arising from the drinking of coffee is
to be attributed to the use of uncooked milk with boiled coffee. The
actual boiling of coffee extracts its tannic acid, and this, combining
with some of the component parts of milk, forms an indigestible
substance that appears on the surface of the beverage in the form of a
thin scum. When coffee disagrees with any one who likes it boiled, the
trial is suggested of making it with boiled milk, as the French prepare
_café au lait_; if the ill effect is still apparent, dispense with
milk, using only sugar; or try condensed milk, in which the elements
are somewhat changed chemically; if it still produces disturbance, be
sensible; do not use it. Cocoa is a good breakfast drink.

Coffee is preferable to any kind of tea as a breakfast beverage,
because, under right conditions, it does not, like tea, retard the
digestion and assimilation of food; it is slightly stimulating and
conducive to appetite, and is especially valuable when the bulk of the
meal is made up of cold food, as it sometimes is in summer, and when
it is hurriedly prepared. Several recipes are given for making coffee,
with preference for the last, because it develops all the flavor and
aroma of the berry, and secures its nutrient properties so far as they
can be obtained by infusion.


A FRENCH CHEF'S METHOD

    Of making breakfast coffee was to mix a cupful of the ground
    berry with one raw egg and its shell, and a quart of cold
    water; these ingredients were placed in the coffee-pot over
    the fire, occasionally stirred, and allowed to reach the
    boiling-point; the coffee-pot was then drawn to the side of
    the fire, where it could not boil, one-half cupful of cold
    water was poured into the spout and top of the pot, and the
    coffee was allowed to stand ten minutes before it was used.
    Boiled milk is the best for all kinds of coffee except _café
    noir_.

A favorite French mixture of coffees is one-third each of Java, Mocha,
and Maracaibo, with at least an ounce of pure chicory to each pound of
coffee. The addition of chicory to coffee gives it a rich color and
pleasant flavor; it is best to make the mixture at home, buying the
chicory from some reliable dealer.

Green coffee--that is, unroasted coffee in the bean--may be bought at
any time when the market is favorable; it improves by being kept in a
cool, dry place. Roast it in small quantities, and grind it just before
using it; this is quite feasible, even if home facilities are limited.
In some households there are small coffee-furnaces; or the beans can
be browned in the oven by exercising due care. Add a very little good
butter to the coffee, just enough to make it glossy, but not greasy;
after it has been put into an iron pan, place it in the oven, and shake
the pan often enough to make the beans brown evenly; do not burn the
coffee. The same precautions must be taken in using the furnace or
coffee-roaster. If coffee is bought roasted and unground, put into a
frying-pan with enough butter to make it glossy, and shake the pan over
a hot fire until the aroma of the coffee is perceptible; then grind it,
and use it at once. Only enough for one meal should be heated at one
time, the quantity depending upon the desired strength of the beverage;
from one to two ounces of coffee to a quart of water is the usual
allowance in families. When coffee is made in large quantities a pound
is allowed for twenty-five persons.


CAFE AU LAIT.

    This favorite breakfast beverage of the French is made of
    _café noir_ and boiling milk in equal quantities, poured
    together into a cup from two coffee-pots, and sweetened to
    taste.


CAFE NOIR.

    This beverage, called after-dinner or black coffee, is made
    clear and strong, being allowed to reach the boiling-point,
    but not to boil. The usual proportions are one cupful (or
    four ounces) of coffee to a quart of water. If made in a
    percolator, a half additional of this quantity of coffee
    should be allowed; that is, six ounces to a quart.


FILTERED COFFEE.

    When coffee is made in a percolator, or a coffee-pot with
    a strainer at the top, one-third at least should be added
    to the usual proportion of coffee; three ounces to a quart
    makes a good coffee by this method. The coffee is placed in
    the strainer, and actually boiling water is poured through
    it; the coffee-pot is placed where the coffee will keep hot
    without boiling for about ten minutes, and then used.


BREAKFAST COFFEE.

    The best and most economical coffee is made as follows: A
    small bag of unbleached cloth is so arranged as to remain
    suspended about midway of the coffee-pot. The coffee,
    freshly roasted, or heated in a frying-pan, as described
    above, and then ground to a fine powder, is put into the
    bag, an ounce being allowed for each quart of coffee;
    _actually boiling water_ is then poured upon the coffee, and
    it is allowed to stand for ten minutes where it will keep
    hot _without boiling_, and then used with boiling-hot milk
    and sugar. Of course the coffee-pot must be of such a size
    that the bag of coffee will be entirely covered with the
    boiling water.

Coffee made in this way is clear and fragrant, absolutely harmless
to the digestive organs, and as delicious as coffee should be. The
boiling-hot milk is a necessity for those who like coffee hot. The
coffee-pot should be rinsed with clean boiling water after the coffee
is used, and then thoroughly dried; the bag should be rinsed in boiling
water to free it from grounds, and then dried before it is again put
into the coffee-pot. No soap should be used upon it, nor any soapy
water; simply water that has been boiled before it is used. If this
method is followed, clear coffee will always be the order of the day.




COFFEE--V.

_The Right and Wrong Ways of Making Coffee, as Described by Mrs. D. A.
Lincoln._


THE WRONG WAY.

[Illustration]

BUY the cheapest coffee--that is, the kind which costs the least
money--without regard to its purity or quality. Use more or less
coffee, just as it happens; accurate measurement is not essential. Put
it in an old tin coffee-pot; pour on water from the tea-kettle--never
mind about the quantity or its temperature, or the time it has been
in the kettle, since, as it comes from the tea-kettle, it must be all
right. Let it boil indefinitely, and if, when breakfast is ready, the
water has boiled away, just pour in more. If you can afford it, add one
or two eggs at any time during the process, when you happen to think of
it. If it be roily, strain it, if you can find a strainer, and serve it
with--yes, common brown sugar and skim milk will do, if you choose to
think so. The compound is--what?

If there be any left, keep it warm on the back of the stove until the
next meal. As this long steeping makes it dark, it must be strong,
so, add more water. After dinner set the pot away, and the next
morning pour out the old grounds; rinse it or not--just as your time
will allow--and repeat the process of making. Wash the coffee-pot
occasionally if the outside need it, but rinsing is sufficient for the
inside.


THE RIGHT WAY.

Buy pure coffee--not necessarily that which costs most--but buy it
from some reliable dealer. Mixtures of one-third Mocha and two-thirds
Java, or half Mocha and half male berry Java, have given general
satisfaction. There are some varieties of South American coffee which
are very good. Occasionally one finds a brand, through some friend who
is in the business, or who has had opportunity of procuring it directly
from coffee-growing countries, which is of such remarkable excellence
that it leads one to suspect that much of the best coffee grown is not
in the market.

The raw berries are tough, difficult to grind, and have but little
flavor. Roasting makes the berries brittle and crisp, and when properly
done develops a fine flavor; but when half done or done to excess,
the result is a raw or bitter flavor. Many prefer to roast and grind
the coffee for themselves; but in coffee houses the arrangements for
roasting are so complete, that it is better for small families to buy
roasted coffee and to grind it as needed, or to buy it ground in a
small quantity. It should be kept in air-tight tin cans or glass jars,
that the fine flavor may be preserved.

Opinions vary as to the best kind of coffee-pot. Some prefer porcelain
or granite ware, others prefer tin, but all good housekeepers agree
that absolute cleanliness is of the utmost importance. The pot should
be cleansed every time it is used--all parts of it, the spout not
excepted. A brown deposit is soon formed on the inside of the pot if
the coffee be allowed to stand in it long, or if it be not often and
thoroughly cleansed.

An important point, and one often overlooked even by intelligent
housekeepers, is that the water should be freshly boiled in a clean
kettle. Water, in boiling, loses the air or gases which give it a fresh
taste and sparkling appearance. It should be used as soon as boiled,
or it becomes flat and tasteless. A brown substance is deposited on
the inside of the kettle, and this, if allowed to accumulate, imparts
an unpleasant taste to the water; yet there are many housekeepers,
exquisitely neat in many ways, who seldom wash the inside of a
tea-kettle. It is an excellent plan to keep a small kettle to be used
only in boiling water for tea or coffee. Wash and wipe it carefully
every time it is used.

The proportions of water and coffee are one heaping tablespoonful of
ground coffee to one half-pint cupful of boiling water. Reduce the
amount of coffee slightly when several cupfuls are required. It takes
a larger proportionate amount of both coffee and water to make just
enough for one cupful than for more, as the grounds absorb a certain
portion of the water, and the last coffee poured out is not as clear as
the first. Coffee should be made in such a way that the full strength
and aroma may be obtained without developing the tannic acid.

Whether coffee shall be boiled or not will probably be always a
question. Many think it has a raw taste if not boiled; others contend
that, in boiling, much of the aroma is lost. Boiling makes the mixture
roily, and it must stand long enough to let the grounds settle and
the liquid become clear. Some albuminous material will help to clear
it. Fish skin, isinglass, cold water, and eggs are used for this
purpose. Eggs give it a flavor and body, and, no doubt, improve an
inferior quality of coffee; but they increase the cost of the beverage,
as, aside from their own cost, they clog the grounds, thus making a
larger amount of coffee necessary to obtain the desired strength.
But if coffee must be boiled, let it be boiled in a closely covered
vessel, with a thimble or cork in the spout, as, if left uncovered,
the volatile oil which forms the fragrant aroma is dissipated; and it
should never boil more than five minutes, as longer boiling extracts
the tannic acid. There is a widely prevalent but erroneous notion
that long boiling extracts more of the strength and color, and is,
therefore, more economical; but strength and color thus gained are
obtained at the expense of flavor and wholesomeness.

After thorough trial of several methods of making coffee, I have found
filtering (or percolation) the simplest, most economical, and most
satisfactory. Various modifications of the biggin, or French filter
coffee-pot, are in use. This is a double coffee-pot, with one or more
strainers in the upper pot. Some of these biggins are expensive, and
soon get out of order; but others are very simple, and, with care,
will last a long time. The coffee should be ground very fine, and be
placed in the upper pot. Some varieties have a convex, coarse strainer
in the bottom, to keep the grounds from clogging the fine strainer.
Then a coarse strainer is placed over the grounds, the boiling water
is poured in, and allowed to drip slowly through the coffee into the
lower receptacle. Many of the coffee-pots made on this principle are
placed in another vessel containing boiling water; but, if there be
only two parts to it, the coffee-pot should stand where the coffee, as
it drips through, will keep hot, but will not boil. If the upper part
be not large enough to contain all the water desired, it must be poured
on in small portions. The full strength and aroma are thus obtained; no
clearing is necessary, and, if care be taken to observe all the minor
points in the directions, the beverage will invariably be good.

For good breakfast coffee, cream, scalded milk, and block sugar are
necessary. The milk should be scalding hot, but never boiled, as boiled
milk gives an unpleasant flavor. Ascertain the tastes of those at
the table, as most coffee drinkers prefer to have the coffee poured
on the cream and sugar. One tablespoonful of cream, two of hot milk,
and two blocks of sugar, with an extra block in the saucer, is a fair
proportion for a breakfast cup. Pour in the coffee until the cup is
three-fourths full. Never fill it to overflowing.

After-dinner coffee, or black coffee, is made in the same way, a
double proportion of coffee being used. It should be very strong, and
perfectly clear. Serve it in small cups, with block sugar if desired,
but not with cream or milk, as the milk counteracts the purpose for
which the coffee is taken.

Coffee is stimulating, and, when taken clear and very strong after a
hearty meal, aids digestion; but, when combined with cream or milk, a
leathery compound is formed, which is indigestible and irritates the
internal membranes.




COFFEE--VI.

_A Cup of Good Coffee, as Described and Prepared by Catherine Owen._


[Illustration]

PEOPLE often speak of the delicious coffee they drank at this place or
that, as something quite unattainable in their own homes; yet, as rich,
fragrant, clear coffee is no more expensive than strong coffee--thick
and muddy, bitter, but not fragrant--there is no reason why every one
should not revel in the simple luxury. First of all, as to the pot:
Some people seem to have quite a superstition about a coffee-pot. The
fact is that any absolutely clean pot will make good coffee, and I have
made as good coffee in a warmed pitcher as ever was made in the most
perfect of filtering pots.

Strong French or filtered coffee is not used in many families, because
it is believed to be more expensive; but this mistake comes from the
fact that the experiment is often made with coffee too coarsely ground.
Grocers usually grind coffee like coarse oatmeal; but coffee so used is
very extravagant, for you require double the quantity necessary. Coffee
should be ground as fine as coarse corn meal--not so fine as flour, or
it will clog the strainer--and it should be freshly ground each time
coffee is made. These rules apply both to boiled and filtered coffee.


TO MAKE FRENCH COFFEE.

    Allow for strong breakfast coffee, one tablespoonful of
    finely-ground coffee for each person, and half a pint of
    boiling water to each spoonful. Put the coffee into the
    strainer, and set it where it will get heated, but not burn
    (the flavor of both coffee and tea are improved by being
    warmed before the water is added). Pour the freshly-boiled
    water on the coffee ten minutes before breakfast. Coffee is
    spoiled if made too long.

If you use the usual French coffee-pot with two strainers, you will
save time by pouring the water on a little at a time. There is,
however, a coffee-pot that is easier for general use, as the water
can all be poured on at once; the process is then exactly the same
as making tea, except that part of the water must be poured out and
returned.

For black, after-dinner coffee, you require four tablespoonfuls of
coffee to a pint of water.

You must remember that, in using little water, you make very strong
coffee, and you need only each cup one-third or half full; then fill
it up with foaming, hot milk. If you live in a city, this is the real
expense; but a cup of such coffee is far more nourishing than the
usual weak coffee just clouded with milk. For instance: If you put a
pint of water on a tablespoonful of coffee, you get two cups of coffee
too weak to allow much milk. If you put one-half pint of water to a
tablespoonful of coffee, you get two half cups, rich and strong, each
of which will allow being filled up with boiling milk. Therefore, you
get the same quantity of the beverage in one way as the other; but one
will be fragrant and nourishing, the other will be neither.

Just here let me digress from the actual making of coffee to another
matter that concerns coffee drinkers. It is often said by those who
drink weak coffee for breakfast, such as would be made by using a pint
of water to a tablespoonful of coffee, that they would be afraid to
drink strong coffee. They will perhaps see from the above that they
consume just as much coffee--and whatever unwholesome ingredient it may
contain--in the one case as the other, but that, in one case, it is
diluted with water, and in the other with milk. The moral they can draw
for themselves.

Any reader who has not tried making French coffee, and has no proper
pot, can experiment in the following way:


FRENCH COFFEE IN A PITCHER.

    Put two full tablespoonfuls of finely-ground coffee in a
    well warmed pitcher; pour on it a pint of freshly-boiled
    water, and stir it to saturate the coffee: cover close with
    a cloth pressed into the top, and let it stand on the range
    five minutes. Have another heated vessel (a pitcher, if
    you choose); lay a piece of muslin (scalded) over it, and
    pour the coffee carefully through it. This will be clear,
    fragrant coffee.


BOILED COFFEE.

    This is preferred by many, although it lacks the aroma of
    filtered coffee, which some consider a _raw_ flavor. Put two
    tablespoonfuls of coffee into an ordinary coffee-pot, with a
    pint of boiling water. Stir it well; then let it just boil
    up, and set it where it will keep hot, but _not boil_. Throw
    into it a tablespoonful of cold water, and in five minutes
    pour out a cupful of the coffee, return it to the pot,
    repeat this, leave it five minutes to settle, and the coffee
    will be perfectly clear, without any egg to clear it.

Of course I am assuming, when I promise good coffee from either of
these methods, that you use the best quality of coffee. Out of poor
coffee you may make a _clear liquid_, but you can never make fine
coffee. By fresh-boiled water, I mean water which has not been kept
boiling, but is used as soon as it boils.

But it is not enough to know how to make good coffee. There are
mysteries about it which beset even those who understand how to make
it--periods when the coffee will be poor in spite of the quantity or
quality of coffee used, or it will be bitter, black, and flavorless,
even though we know we have the finest Java, the very same that has
yielded golden fragrance to us heretofore. So it seems to me not enough
to tell how to perform the simple feat of making coffee, but how to
explain the periodical deterioration to which it is subject. The first
difficulty is that of a weak product, in spite of the fact that you
know the right quantity of coffee, and not too much water, is used. You
may be almost sure, in this instance, that the coffee is not ground
fine enough, half of it, probably, being as large as rice. Alter the
screw of your mill. It is harder work to grind coffee when the mill is
screwed tight, and you may not find it easy to keep it screwed just
right, for it will develop a perverse tendency to loosen under Delia's
care, which you will know by your coffee being weak and your grocer's
bill long.

Another trouble that seems sometimes unaccountable: The coffee will
be cloudy in spite of strainers. There is only one honest reason for
this--the coffee may be ground too fine. But this is unlikely; it is
more probable that the water has been poured all at once into the
strainer, instead of gradually. This would have taken a long time to
drip through, and a spoon has been used to facilitate the process, and
muddy coffee is the result.

Sometimes families will have trouble of another sort. The coffee will
be strong and bitter, without aroma, and when milk is added, instead of
the beautiful, clear brown it should be, it will be of a blackish hue.
This kind of poor coffee will come to the table week after week, and
the quality of the coffee itself be blamed. It comes from one of two
causes: It has been made too long and kept hot in the pot, or the pot
itself is not well kept.

Not even milk-pans require more scrupulous care than the coffee-pot.
It may be rinsed after each time of using, and yet be far from
clean. There is an oily property about coffee which adheres in spite
of rinsing out. You can see this for yourself by taking almost any
coffee-pot that has been some time in use (unless it has been very
carefully kept), and you will find clinging to it a sort of black
grease (not brown); this will come off if you rub a cloth round the
inside. Now, this deposit, for some reason which I should like to have
explained, destroys the fragrance, color, and flavor of coffee. If you
see your coffee looks black-brown instead of ruddy brown, you will know
it will be flavorless, however strong.

To keep this black oil from the pot it must be daily washed (not
rinsed), scalded, and _dried_. Each piece of a French coffee-pot
should be separately dried before it is put away. If packed together
wet, the strainers will in time give a metallic taste. Another reason
for great care is that, without it, the strainers get clogged and the
coffee will not go through.

If you find your coffee-pot has been neglected, put a piece of washing
soda as large as a hickory-nut into hot water; set the strainers in it;
let them stand on the stove for hours; put the same in the coffee-pot;
then rub and brush both till the wire gauze is clear and all the black
removed; then run boiling water slowly through, and dry it. Let the
care be daily afterwards. The grease will not form, nor will the gauze
fill up, if a pint or so of boiling water is poured through _every_
morning and it is dried before being put away. _Cold_ water is worse
than useless, as it sets the oil. Sometimes the coffee-pot is put away
exactly as it leaves the table, with left-over coffee in it. This
should never be.

In drying the coffee-pot, or warming it, be careful not to let it get
too hot, or there will be the flavor of burnt coffee to spoil the
beverage for that occasion.




THE STORY OF COFFEE.

_Its History, Properties and Powers, as described by Hester M. Poole._


[Illustration]

IT would be almost as desirable to know who drank the first decoction
of coffee as "who tamed the first wild steed," or "who first conquered
fire." Perhaps, like Charles Lamb's roast pig, it was first parched
through the burning of a rude cabin, near which grew the odorous and
inviting shrub. Some of the roasted berries may have fallen into a
calabash of water, whose primitive possessor, weary and thirsty through
vain efforts to save his shelter, drank unwittingly of the decoction,
and, in the bewitching cup, made a great discovery while drowning his
sense of misfortune. All great benefits to mankind have their origin
in obscurity. It will never be known whether coffee was first used in
Abyssinia, Arabia, or Ethiopia, as the plant grows wild in each of
these countries. Its name is derived from Kaffa, in Eastern Africa, and
a Mahometan legend ascribes its discovery to a party of dervishes, who,
for some misdemeanor, were banished from the city of Mocha on or about
the year 1250. Repairing to the mountains of Yemen, they came near
starvation before finding that, upon chewing the wild coffee berry,
their strength was marvellously supported and hunger relieved during
enforced fasts and vigils. The prior, Sheykh Omer, began to steep
the berries in water and to dry a store of the fruit for sustenance
during long marches. Its use spread to other dervishes, then to Mecca
and Mocha, Damascus and Aleppo, till, in the year 1550, coffee became
the favorite drink in Constantinople, in which city coffee-houses
were soon after opened. If Prior Omer has not yet been canonized, he
should certainly fill the first vacant niche, for, surely, no man
ever conferred greater enjoyment upon his fellows. Yet, during a long
period--perhaps for ages--the wild tribes in the interior of Africa had
before that date used the berry, and the incident of the burning of the
primitive hut is neither far-fetched nor improbable.

As the mosques were comparatively deserted for the coffee-houses, the
Mufti was petitioned to issue edicts against the use of a beverage so
delicious as to cause the sons of the faithful to forget the call to
prayer, and for a little while it was a secret and stolen delight.
Seeing that it could not be suppressed, the priests, with an eye to
the main chance--common to the powers that be in all nations--wisely
decided to impose a high tax upon the berry, and the coffee bean,
from that day to this, has been the daily inspiration of the dreamy,
sensuous, and fate-worshiping Turk.

It was not until about the year 1670 that coffee-drinking became
popular in France, though infrequent travelers had brought with them
from the East a few pounds of the curious berry. At that time Solomon
Aga was sent from the Sublime Porte to the court of Louis XIV.,
and he became very soon the rage, through the splendid and unique
entertainments at which he figured as host. Costly Eastern stuffs, at
that time seldom found in the elegant capital, displayed the rich and
harmonious coloring of which the Turks are masters. Divans and cushions
of embroidered velvet shot with gold, prayer rugs of every kind and
device, vestments of many hues, bedizened with jewels and diamonds--all
these made him the magnate of the city.

Most of all, the gay world coveted the services of exquisite porcelain
and silver, the napkins fringed with bullion, and--served in cups of
egg-shell porcelain, hot, strong, and fragrant--that delicious coffee
which has never lost the place it then secured. On bended knees the
slaves of the ambassador presented the choicest Mocha to these grande
dames, who fluttered their fans with many grimaces and bent their
piquant faces--bepatched, bepowdered, and berouged--over the steaming
beverage. Such were the half-barbaric occasions upon which coffee first
became generally known to that nation which is now so largely dependent
upon the tiny brown berry of Arabia. Four years afterward an Armenian
opened the first coffee-house to the Parisian public. Others followed
his example, and a little later beer and wine were also served at the
same establishments. Finer than any of his predecessors came a dusky
Italian from Florence, and to his salon flocked the chief literary men
of the last quarter of the seventeenth century. Coffee became a tyrant,
and, as tyrant, it still holds matutinal and undisputed sway over the
civilized portions of the earth.

Common as it is in this age, it was then an expensive luxury. The
cultivation of the plant was confined to small districts, navigation
tedious, and commerce with the East restricted. It is recorded that
the daughters of King Louis of France had coffee imported for the use
of the royal household at a cost of £3,200 yearly,--a fact which, after
making all due allowance, shows that "rings" must have existed as far
back as two centuries ago. The exact date of the introduction of coffee
into England is not known. It is supposed to have been about the middle
of the seventeenth century, and it became a popular drink there earlier
than in France. Perhaps this may be due to the fact that the first
English merchant who dealt in coffee had lived in Constantinople, and
brought back with him to London a pretty Greek wife, who acted as his
saleswoman. At first it sold for four or five guineas per pound, but
soon became cheaper.

Coffee-houses multiplied, not only in the capital, but in all the
large cities. Long antedating common newspapers, these shops were news
centers, where the intelligent men of the age gathered to learn what
was taking place, to discuss public affairs and governmental measures,
and form public opinion. Considering that they were hot-beds of
sedition and revolution, Charles II. ordered them closed in 1675, but
the order was soon revoked. Cromwell ordered them closed again during
the Protectorate for reasons somewhat similar; but they had become
necessities to the people, and could not be put down for any great
length of time.

Wits and poets, essayists and philosophers, daily gathered in the
coffee-houses of London during several generations. How much they
quoted from favorite authors--how faithfully they harangued and
button-holed each other in that fashion, common to all ages, from the
cloudy eras of the Chimpanzees to the year of our Lord 1887--there are
no annals full enough to describe. Within their precincts, what fear
and folly, what foolishness and wisdom, have been uttered over steaming
cups of Mocha!

It was at Will's Coffee-house, Covent Garden, that Dryden and Addison,
Steele and Davenant, Carey and Pope, met with other luminaries, and if
it be proven that other potations, more fiery and deep, mingled with
those of the Eastern berry, it may well be surmised that coffee often
supplied the place of worse beverages, or mitigated their evil effects.
The "intellectual drink," as it has been called, gained friends every
day among the wits of the reign of Queen Anne. Here Pope found the
inspiration of "The Rape of the Lock," if not the "Essay on Man," an
inspiration which he celebrated in these lines:

    "From silver spouts the grateful liquors glide,
     While China's earth receives the smoking tide;
     At once they gratify their sense and taste,
     And frequent cups prolong the rich repast.
     Coffee!--which makes the politician wise,
     And see through all things with his half-shut eyes!"

Prior to the year 1700, coffee planting had been confined to Africa.
The preceding year the President of the Dutch East Indies had brought
some of the shrubs to Batavia, and Java rapidly became one of the first
coffee-bearing countries--now exporting more than 75,000 tons annually.
A shrub was sent from Batavia to Amsterdam shortly after, and in 1710 a
shoot from this plant was taken as a curiosity to Louis XIV., who had
it carefully tended in the _Jardin des Plants_, where it flourished for
some years.

But, with the development of the New World, coffee was a necessary
concomitant. Across the stormy ocean, to the Island of Martinique, the
Grand Monarch sent three plants in 1720, only one of which survived the
voyage, and from this one shrub have sprung all the rich and expensive
plantations of the West Indies and Central and South America.

It was not till the year 1754 that the first coffee tree was planted by
a friar in the garden of the convent to which he was attached in Rio
Janeiro, and not till 1809 did the first cargo of coffee land on the
shores of the United States. Now, three-quarters of our coffee comes
from Brazil, although much of it is sold under the name of Mocha or
Java, the Chamber of Commerce report itself declaring that the "Santos
pea berry and other similar appearing beans are used by mixers to
supplement the supply of genuine Mocha." It would be a gratification to
be able to say that no other mixing or adulteration is practiced.

Brazil, under the enlightened statesmanship of Dom Pedro, now ships
from her ports over one million of pounds daily, Sundays included, only
a portion of which comes to this country. At our ports, chiefly at New
York, vessels are unloading which received their precious freightage
at Maracaibo, Central America, Savanilla, Hayti, Porto Rico, Jamaica,
Macassar, Ceylon and Mexico, as well as from places which have been
previously mentioned.

In the year 1886, 247,141 tons of coffee were used in the United
States, against 242,677 tons in 1885. This gives an increase in one
year of 1.8 per cent., making the _per capita_ consumption of the
population of 60,000,000 to be 9.22 pounds, nearly nine pounds and a
quarter for every man, woman and child in this country.

As may be supposed, the consumption of the berry is yearly increasing.
While this is due partly to the growth of population, it is still
more affected by the increasing popularity of coffee as a beverage,
by its relative cheapness, and by the fact that it is prepared much
easier than before it was sold in its roasted state. The loss and labor
entailed in the preliminary preparation deterred many housekeepers from
its use. A moment's forgetfulness or preoccupation converted the berry
into a piece of charcoal, and rendered it bitter and innutritious. Now,
by the aid of large roasting establishments and improved machinery,
that tedious process is thoroughly done, though, it must be confessed,
with the loss of a slight portion of its volatile aroma.

This loss, again, is more than balanced by the avoidance of a more
serious trouble. Large dealers well know that, in order to give
coffee a good color and thereby increase its value, the traders in
Rio and manipulators in New York use vile drugs, coloring matter, and
soapstone. To buy this green coffee and roast it at home is to take
slow poison, because this adulteration is not wholly dissipated by the
process of roasting. The large roasters of the country do not buy this
doctored berry; they care nothing for the appearance if the coffee
roasts well, and is clear and free from "quakers" or decayed berries.
Therefore it is better to buy roasted coffee of the retailer, either in
paper packages or out of tins bearing the name of a reputable house,
and refuse to purchase the green under any circumstances. The can from
which it is taken should be practically air-tight. Coffee scooped from
the top must come in contact, more or less, with the atmosphere, and
readily loses its value. Nothing so quickly parts with its delicate
aroma; nothing so easily absorbs injurious or disagreeable particles
from surrounding substances. The near presence of decayed vegetables,
kerosene oil, effluvia, or foul air of any kind, not only destroys its
delicacy, but may render it deleterious. That very quality which makes
it capable of cleansing a room of foul odors is the very property which
makes it dangerous to expose it to them.

The average consumption of coffee per head now amounts to slightly over
nine and a half pounds yearly, an increase of over five per cent.,
or about one-half pound more for every man, woman and child for one
year. As a whole, the United States consumes coffee largely, but it
has not reached the point of consumption of Denmark, where the average
is thirteen and a half pounds for each person, and of Holland, where
the _per capita_ consumption is twenty-one pounds. But with Mexico on
the west materially increasing her yield of coffee, and with increased
railroad facilities for commerce with this country, dealers in the
fragrant berry expect that the importation this year will be double
that of last year. Mexican coffee is of excellent quality, but loses
its identity by being mixed with other grades. It figures under other
names, just as various kinds of wine are mingled to make champagne.

Coffee-growing is an industry as interesting as it is important. In
Brazil the seed is sown in the shade of coffee trees in long rows.
At the end of a year the plants have reached about the height of
a foot, and are ready for transplantation. The grounds which are
selected for plantations lie principally between 25° north and 30°
south of the equator, as the plant does not flourish in a climate
where the thermometer falls below 55°. High altitudes also favor its
perfect development, and the best berries are found on hills having an
elevation of 3,000 or 4,000 feet above the sea. The ground must be rich
in mineral matter, well watered and well drained.

The plants are then removed to the plantation and set out in long beds,
at a distance of four to six feet apart, with roadways between the
beds. The plants are topped when reset, and are ever after kept closely
pruned, so that they are about twelve feet high, instead of attaining
their natural growth of fifteen or twenty feet. In three years the bush
bears fruit, and thereafter for forty years, being in full vigor from
its tenth year till its decay. From three to eight pounds are plucked
yearly from each bush, and the longer the bean is kept the richer will
be its flavor.

And a beautiful sight it is when the coffee unfolds its first blossoms
during September and October! Appearing in clusters only for a day
or two at the axils of the dark-green, shining, evergreen leaves,
the scene is made all the more brilliant by the consciousness of its
evanescence. Each flower consists of a small, five-clefted white
corolla, affording a fine contrast to the laurel-like leaf, some four
or five inches in length. The bright blue sky, the warm air, the
billowy lines of foliage, the clusters of jessamine-like flowers,
tossing fragrance from their tiny bells, the intoxicated butterflies
flitting from plant to plant, all belong to a climate as unlike our
northland as it is possible for the mind to conceive.

Soon the fruit makes its appearance,--green at first, but shortly
turning a dark red,--which is ripe for gathering in March, and from
that until August. The two seeds or berries contained within the fruit,
which is shaped something like a cranberry or a cherry, are glued
together, each being enveloped in a peculiar, leathery, parchment-like
membrane.

The berries are picked by hand, care being taken to select only those
which are perfectly ripe. They are then thrown into large, open yards,
paved with rock and stone, with a grade sufficient for the free
drainage of water. After a few days' exposure to the sun, the berries
being perfectly dry, they are put in the crusher to separate the berry
from the husk. The coffee is then passed through large and small
sieves, one under the other, with a fan at the back, by which means the
husks are winnowed from the berry.

Grading follows next, according to the size of the grain. The best
grade of coffee is Mocha, the next Java. The blending of various
qualities is one of the most difficult accomplishments, without which,
good coffee is almost an impossibility. Hence it is that retail
dealers, who roast their own coffee, so often fail of success, since
it requires skill, experience, and a knowledge of the properties of
different growths to produce blendings which suit the palate.

As might be expected, numerous adulterations are found in ground
coffees of inferior grades. Some of them, like venetian red to give
color, are positively poisonous. Others, like chicory, an endive like
the dandelion, are injurious. Tons of this root are annually consumed,
many persons believing that it accentuates the flavor of the real
article. Yet it has been proven that chicory produces heartburn,
cramps, and, finally, total blindness.

Besides these, are less noxious mixtures of roasted corn, beans, peas,
wheat, rye, dandelion, and various nuts. As long ago as 1850, 18,000
pounds of vegetable matter were sold for coffee in the United States.
Professor Sharples, the State Assayer of Massachusetts, last year found
that one favorite brand contained no coffee at all. It was made up of
green peas, burnt molasses, and "an occasional grain of rye." Another
French coffee was a concoction of peas, rye, and oats. Be sure of an
honest grocer, is the moral, unless the coffee is burnt and ground at
home. Some of these ingredients are harmless enough, but who wishes to
be deceived and defrauded?

The adulterations of ground coffee can be easily detected. It must
be premised here that the genuine coffee berry is extremely hard and
tough. Every one knows the character of the grounds even after long
soaking and boiling. "Now," says an expert, "a spoonful of pure coffee
placed gently on the surface of a glass of cold water will float for
some time and scarcely color the liquid. If it contains chicory it will
rapidly absorb the water, and, sinking to the bottom of the glass,
communicate a deep reddish brown tint as it falls. Again, shake a
spoonful of the coffee with a wineglassful of water, then place the
glass upon the table. If it is pure it will rise to the surface and
scarcely color the liquid; if chicory is present it will sink to the
bottom and the water will be tinged of a deep red as before."

Still again: "If, when a few pinches of the suspected coffee are placed
upon water in a wineglass, part floats and part sinks, there is reason
to believe it is adulterated either with chicory, roasted corn, or
other substances. Coffee does not absorb the water; other substances
do.... If the cold water becomes deeply colored, it is evidence of the
presence of some roasted vegetable or burnt sugar. Or if, when a few
grains of coffee, spread out on a piece of glass, are moistened with a
few drops of water, we are enabled to pick out, by means of a needle,
minute pieces of a soft substance, the coffee is adulterated, for the
coffee particles are hard and resisting."

But, given coffee pure as pure can be, what are its effects upon the
system?

Coffee owes its stimulating and refreshing qualities to caffeine. It
also contains gum and sugar, fat, acids, casein and wood fibre. Like
tea, it powerfully increases the respiration, but, unlike it, does
not effect its depth. By its use the rate of the pulse is increased
and the action of the skin diminished. It lessens the amount of blood
sent to the organs of the body, distends the veins and contracts the
capillaries, thus preventing waste of tissue. It is a mental stimulus
of a high order, and one that is liable to great abuse. Through its
fascinations the scholar burns the midnight oil, and too rapidly
reduces his store of vital force. To some temperaments it may be
called a poison. Carried to excess it produces abnormal wakefulness,
indigestion, acidity, heartburn, tremors, debility, irritability of
temper, trembling, irregular pulse, a kind of intoxication ending in
delirium, and great injury to the spinal functions. Unfortunately,
there are many coffee tipplers who depend upon it as a drunkard upon
his dram.

On the other hand, coffee is of sovereign efficacy in tiding over
the nervous system in emergencies. Soldiers in the late war declared
they could march longer and endure more hardships under the stimulus
of coffee than under that of liquor. During their long predatory
excursions the tribes of Central Africa subsist for many days at a time
on a mixture of coffee and butter. Made into balls an inch and a half
in diameter, one lasts a man during twenty-four hours. The Belgian coal
miners live on a less quantity of solid food than the French miners,
who are furnished with a smaller amount of coffee.

Coffee is also, in its place, an excellent medicine. In typhoid fever
its action is frequently prompt and decisive. It is indicated in the
early stages before local complications arise. Coffee dispels stupor
and lethargy, is an antidote for many kinds of poison, and is valuable
in spasmodic asthma, hooping-cough, cholera infantum, and Asiatic
cholera.

It is also excellent as a preventive against infections and epidemic
diseases. In districts rife with malaria and fever, the drinking of hot
coffee before passing into the open air has enabled persons living in
such places to escape contagion. Probably the nervous system is aroused
to a positive condition, in which fever germs are rendered innocuous.

That coffee is a medicine in cases of extreme alcoholism is well known,
but it is hardly understood to what extent this exhilarating and potent
beverage might be used in place of liquor. Coffee-houses, where all the
accessories are cheerful and wholesome for mind and body, greatly tend
to diminish drunkenness. In the city of Birmingham, England, according
to the report of the American Consul a few years since, the seventeen
temperance coffee-houses in operation received the patronage of
20,000 men daily, six days in the week. "And," he truly adds, "a large
proportion of these visitors would otherwise have spent their evenings
and their earnings in liquor saloons."

The methods of making coffee are as various as the nations that partake
of it. In Arabia the coffee is freshly roasted and pounded whenever the
decoction is prepared, and its flavor is enhanced by the addition of
a few aromatic seeds or a little saffron. It is drank in small cups,
without sugar or milk, but hot and strong, and Oriental hospitality
demands that it be served to every visitor. In country places the
people use an infusion of coffee leaves, steeped like tea and tasting
like a mixture of coffee and tea.

It is curious to observe that in the extremes of the North and South
coffee is alike regarded. In Sweden, near the midnight sun, where the
necessaries of life are scant and dear, Du Chaillu found that the
rudest cabin cherished a little store of the precious berry to be
used on festive occasions, feasts and funerals, or for the infrequent
and welcome traveler. Nothing in his narration is more touching than
those portions in which he describes the hospitality set forth in the
odoriferous cup in those hamlets near the Arctic circle, where salt
fish and sour milk form the staple winter food.

From its cordial and gently stimulating effect, Western nations may
well join in the panegyric pronounced upon coffee by an Arabian,
translated thus: "O Coffee, thou dispellest the cares of the great;
thou bringest back those who wander from the paths of knowledge!
Coffee is our gold, and in the place of its libations we are in the
enjoyment of the best and noblest society. Every care vanishes when
the cup-bearer presents the delicious chalice; it will circulate freely
through thy veins and will not rankle there. Grief cannot exist where
it grows; sorrow humbles itself before its powers."

Lastly, it may be said in the words of Sidney Smith, "If you want to
improve your understanding, drink coffee."

No matter where the coffee bean may have grown or how perfect its
condition, the decoction may be ruined in its preparation. Among the
numerous coffee-steepers in the market, one, lately devised, seems to
fill all requirements. It is the Common-sense Coffee-pot, a veritable
wonder worker, invented by Mr. Krag, of Indianapolis. A bag or
filter at the top, like that used by the French, is nothing new. The
improvement--and it is a great improvement--consists in a simple yet
ingenious arrangement whereby the steam is condensed and returned to
the coffee. By this means the delicate aroma is entirely preserved, and
the coffee made delicious and strong.




A FEW FACTS ABOUT GOOD COFFEE.


INFORMATION regarding the making of good coffee is worthless unless the
roasted coffee bean is at the outset of good value itself. The larger
percentage of roasted coffee sold by the average retailer is inferior.
The crude and ignorant manner in which roasted coffees are handled by
the small dealers is of itself sufficient to depreciate and almost
destroy the good that is in any coffee; and, to meet this emergency,
the Schnull-Krag Coffee Co., of Indianapolis, Ind., adopted a patent
can from which their coffees are sold. These cans are sealed as soon
as the coffee is placed in them, and, by the intervention of a trap on
the inside of the can, refilling is prevented except at their mills. To
further protect the consumer a strip of heavy paper is fastened across
the cap, or top, of the can, the removal of which becomes evidence of
an attempt at tampering with the contents.

The coffee placed in these cans comes hot from the coolers at the
mills, and is, therefore, fresh and fragrant, and no portion of the
aroma is allowed to escape.

These patent cans guard jealously the rights of the consumer, and all
lovers of good coffee should see that they get their supplies from
these cans.

The Schnull-Krag Coffee Co. has its own secrets of so mixing and
blending coffee as to get results which have never been paralleled.
Prof. William E. S. Fales, analytical chemist, of New York, pronounces
the fine coffees roasted and sold by the Schnull-Krag Coffee Company
not only the peer, but the giant of all roasted coffees.

The leading brands roasted by this company are "Windsor, Mocha, and
Java," and "Our Best Java," and every customer failing to find these
goods with their dealer should insist, for their own happiness,
comfort, and economy, that they order them from the company. The price
is never above that of inferior goods, and the coffees are so boxed or
crated that shipment is safe to all quarters of the globe. No dealer
need excuse himself. He can get these coffees if he so wills it. Insist
upon having them.




WHEN the foregoing papers were written by the famous authorities on
cooking, the Q. Q. common sense condensing coffee pot had not yet been
shown to the public, the inventor prudently desiring to give it a rigid
trial before claiming for it marvelous possibilities. It is now known
that the whole field of invention in coffee pots has nothing which
ever created the interest and captured the housekeepers affections
as has the Q. Q. Had Mrs. Harland or Miss Parloa, or either of the
contributors to this book been advised of the existence of this at once
practical, reliable and common sense coffee pot they would have given
it the priority over all other methods of coffee making. How do we know
this? How do you know that you would prefer a glass of pure crystal
spring water to a drink of Missouri river water? How do we know that a
gas jet is preferable to a tallow dip? So do we easily reckon where the
remarkable work of the Q. Q. coffee pot would place it in the opinions
of all good housekeepers.




"A DREAM OF PERSIA."

THE AR-MO-JA COFFEE, (POWDERED.)

Sold only in one and three pound cans. Full weight.


Ar-mo-ja is powdered from the purest importations of the highest grade
coffees. It is economical, convenient and wholesome. Being packed as
soon as roasted and pulverized, in air-tight cans, it will retain
its strength and exquisite aroma for any length of time, and in any
climate. For sale by all first-class grocers. Should you fail to find
it with your grocer, have him order a case.

Ar-mo-ja and the Q. Q. Coffee Pot make a partnership giving unexampled
results.

                         THE SCHNULL-KRAG COFFEE CO.,
                                       INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.




[Illustration: Handsome

Neckwear

for

Men and Boys

THE CELEBRATED

TRADE MARK

"Linene"

COLLARS AND CUFFS]

=Reversible and Finished on Both Sides Alike.=


=HOUSEWIVES= who desire to have their Husbands and Boys look their
best, should make note:

    The "Linene" Goods

    =Are the most convenient article for the Farmer, the Mechanic,
    the Machinist, the Traveler, and all Professional Men.=

    Both Standing and Turn-down in all desirable Sizes and Styles.
    Always comfortable and easily adjusted.
    Unequalled for cheapness, unrivalled for elegance.
    After soiling on one side can be folded and used on the other.
    No fretting, no worry, but clean linen always ready.

=We desire EVERYBODY to give these goods a FAIR TRIAL, and will send to
any address a sample Collar and pair of Cuffs, on receipt of SIX CENTS.
(Name Size.)=

Please send for our _Illustrated Catalogue_ (free), which gives full
particulars as to styles and varieties.

=Ten Collars, or Five pairs of Cuffs, sold at stores for 25 cents.=

[Illustration: hand]_Collars and Cuffs for Ladies, both White and
Percale._

    REVERSIBLE COLLAR COMPANY,
    27 KILBY STREET, BOSTON, MASS.




THE DANGLER

Vapor Cook Stove.

[Illustration: THE HOUSEKEEPER'S DELIGHT]

These celebrated labor saving and economical Cook Stoves are rapidly
going into general use. They will Bake, Roast, and Heat Irons Quicker
and Better than either the coal or wood stoves or range; and no
kindling wood or coal to carry, no ashes, dust or dirt. Be sure and
inquire of your dealer for THE DANGLER NON-EXPLOSIVE VAPOR COOK STOVE.
For circulars and catalogue address


    =THE DANGLER STOVE AND MFG. CO.,
    Cleveland, Ohio,     or     Chicago, Illinois.=




The All Right Steam Heater.


[Illustration]

THESE HEATERS ARE GUARANTEED FOR FIVE YEARS AGAINST ANY FAULT OF THE
BOILERS, AND HAVE BEEN

WELL TESTED.


=ARE RELIABLE, ECONOMICAL AND EFFICIENT.=


Contains all that any good apparatus does, and the price is below them
all. It could be no better if it cost twice as much.


    CIRCULARS SENT ON APPLICATION TO
    =THE COMBINATION CO.,
    Or WM. H. PAGE, Treas., Norwich, Conn.=


[Illustration:

    GEER'S

    Phenol

    DENTRIFICE

    OR

    CARBOLIZED TOOTH POWDER

    _For imparting to the Teeth a
    PEARL-LIKE WHITENESS
    strengthening the GUMS
    and rendering the Breath
    SWEET AND PURE_

    _Prepared by_

    DR. S. L. GEER. DENTIST

    _NORWICH, CONN._
    _Copyrighted 1870_      _Registered 1880_]

[Illustration:

    1 LB

    GEER'S

    PHENOL DENTRIFICE

    OR CARBOLIZED
    TOOTH POWDER

    ONE POUND.

    PREPARED BY

    S. L. GEER. DENTIST

    NORWICH. CONN.]

PHENOL

DENTIFRICE.


_To maintain the health of the MOUTH and preserve the freshness
and beauty of the TEETH, the frequent use of a Dentifrice becomes
indispensable. It is important to obtain an article free from obnoxious
ingredients, the presence of which would surely cause numerous
troubles, the origin of which is unsuspected._

_The proprietor of Phenol Dentifrice recommends it to the notice of
those not already acquainted with its long established merits. This
preparation which has been in the highest repute since its introduction
in 1870, and sold to the dental profession throughout the United States
by the leading Dental Depots, is a scientific combination of the finest
materials, so united chemically as to insure the greatest efficiency
and the best possible results upon the MOUTH, TEETH and GUMS._

    _The excellence of this Dentifrice, the formula of which
    originated with the proprietor, a dentist of 30 years
    practice, has obtained for it the strongest recommendation
    of many of the professors in our DENTAL COLLEGES, as well as
    from those most noted in private dental practice._

    =As a TOOTH POWDER for general use, by old and young it
    stands unrivalled.=

    =Sold by Druggists, 25c. per bottle, $1 per lb. in cans.=

On receipt of 35 c. a ¼ lb. can; of 50 c. a ½ lb. can; of $1 a 1 lb.
can will be sent _post paid_, to any address.

S. L. GEER, DENTIST, 59 BROADWAY, NORWICH CONN.




[Illustration]

"You need not work so hard to blacken your shoes, if you will commence
using WOLFF'S ACME BLACKING. See how easy it is? While you sweat and
groan, I sit in perfect composure."


=WOLFF'S ACME BLACKING=

requires no brush to polish; gives a brilliant finish; preserves the
leather and is suitable alike for Ladies' French Kid Shoes and Men's
Calf Boots; in fact, all leather.


For Sale in Groceries, Shoe Stores and Retailers in General.

    =WOLFF & RANDOLPH=,    -    =PHILADELPHIA=.




[Illustration: WOLFF'S TRANSPARENT PAINTS]


Produce the same effect as wood-staining and polishing, without the
cost or labor.

=NO SKILL REQUIRED TO APPLY IT.=

Will stain old furniture without scraping off the varnish. Can be used
as a Lacquer for Metal, China or Glassware, Pottery, Cane, Willow and
Wicker Work, Papier-Machè,
      etc.

For Restoring Grained Wood-Work To Its Original Beauty, Or Renewing
Wall Paper.

    Can also be used for painting expensive Lincrusta Walton,
    and will add greatly to its beauty. Will make Imitation
    Stained Glass as clear as colored glass itself.

    SEND STAMP FOR CIRCULARS.      SAMPLE BOTTLE BY MAIL 35 CTS.
  _When ordering, state on what you wish to apply it and the effect
                             desired._
    =WOLFF & RANDOLPH, PHILADELPHIA.=




           =BURNETT'S=
            PERFECTLY
               PURE
    Standard -- · -- Flavoring
              HIGHLY
           CONCENTRATED
            =EXTRACTS=


=Thoughtful people should read the testimonial below.=

    JOSEPH BURNETT & CO., Boston:

    _Gentlemen_,--I have used your Extracts for years, knowing
    them the best to be found in the market.

                                              MARIA PARLOA.

WITH THOUSANDS OF OTHERS OF SAME IMPORT.


    _Burnett's Coffee Clearer._

    =A WOMAN'S INVENTION.=

    A patented combination of
    _Cod Fish Skin and White of Eggs_.

    The best article for
    SETTLING COFFEE.

    EGGS SAVED AND NO PATENT COFFEE POTS NEEDED.

At a daily expense of less than (½) one-half a cent per family. A
superior article for settling Coffee, meeting with great success. If
your grocer has not got it send 12 cents for full sized package by
mail, to


    JOSEPH BURNETT & CO.,
    Boston and Chicago,
    MANUFACTURERS AND PROPRIETORS.




"=PRIME COFFEE AND GOOD COOKING="

Is the remark of those who eat meals served on the gorgeous Dining Cars
which run on all through passenger trains between Chicago and Council
Bluffs (_West_), Minneapolis and St. Paul (_via_ the "Famous Albert Lea
Route," _Northwest_), and St. Joseph, Atchison, Leavenworth and Kansas
City (_Southwest_), over the

CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND & PACIFIC R'Y.

Its passenger equipment also includes magnificent Pullman Palace
Sleepers, fine Day Coaches and elegant Reclining Chair Cars, and is
unequalled in the West, unsurpassed in the world.

[Illustration]

The "=GREAT ROCK ISLAND=" is the popular overland thoroughfare and
offers a choice of the best routes to Pacific Coast cities, and all
intermediate points, making connections in commodious Union Depots.
To enjoy the superior facilities, comforts and luxuries of this
First-class, Railway, apply to your nearest Coupon Ticket Office for
tickets _via_ Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway or Albert Lea
Route, and refuse to take any other.

For Tickets, Maps, Folders, copies of Western Trail, or any desired
information, apply also at Chicago to

    R. R. CABLE,
    _Pres. and Gen. Mgr._

    E. ST JOHN.
    _Asst.-Gen. Manager._

    E. A. HOLBROOK,
    _Gen. Ticket & Pass. Agt._




_Given good browned Coffee it follows that it must be well made, and to
do this a good Coffee Pot is essential. The Q. Q. is that pot._


DON'T RUN IN A RUT!


----THE----

Q. Q.

Common Sense Condensing COFFEE POT

=Patented in America, Canada and Europe.=

The Result of Experience and Experiments.

=PRACTICAL, ECONOMICAL, SENSIBLE.=


    =THE W. A. KRAG CO., Manuf'rs,
    93 Wall Street, New York.=

=Western Office, Indianapolis, Indiana.=




=KINGSFORD'S=

OSWEGO [ILLUSTRATION] STARCH,

    _THE BEST IN THE WORLD._

          _THE QUALITY ALWAYS UNIFORM._

The New Wrappers making most attractive Shelf Goods.




Kingsford's Corn Starch,


For the Table, is Most Delicious, for

    _PUDDINGS_,
              _BLANC MANGE_,
                            _CUSTARDS_, _Etc._

AND IS PERFECTLY PURE.

To secure the BEST--the UNADULTERATED ARTICLE, see that the name

    =T. KINGSFORD & SON,
    OSWEGO, N. Y.=

_Is on Every Box and Every Package_.




P. D. & Co. Patent Tea or Coffee China Pot Lid Fastener.


Prevents the Lid from falling off while pouring from the Pot.

[Illustration:

           WITHOUT IT.                       WITH IT.

    BURNT HANDS.  BROKEN LID OR CUPS.  SAFETY AND COMFORT.]

It fits any shaped pot, and saves its cost many times over by
preventing the breakage of lids and cups. It is made of German Silver
and is an ornament to the pot. Every one will appreciate the additional
comfort from its use.

    =Per Mail, 20 Cents each.=




P. D. & CO. PATENT EGG BEATER.

IT FITS INTO ANY SHAPED DISH.


[Illustration]

It whips up and down into the egg, being just as effective on one egg
as more. With all revolving beaters but little of the whipping surface
comes into use, the whipper spinning around above the egg, unless
enough eggs are used to cover it.


    TRY IT!
    =Beats ONE EGG in a TEA CUP in 18 Seconds.=
    TEST IT!
    =Beats SIX EGGS in a BOWL in 70 Seconds.=
    Per Mail, 30 Cents each.


    PAINE, DIEHL & CO.
    MANUFACTURERS,
    12 BANK ST.,     PHILADELPHIA, PA.




GRANITE IRON WARE.


[Illustration: PATENT GRANITE IRON WARE]

Coffee and Tea Pots are absolutely the best articles made for this
purpose.

Being a combination of _Glass_ and _Iron_ they possess the qualities
of both; the _Glass_ insuring a pure beverage, free from taste or
discoloration, and the iron supplying the strength necessary for
durability.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

A full line of _Kitchen Utensils_ is made in _Granite Iron Ware_, and
can be found with all first-class dealers in House-Furnishing Goods.
Made only by the ST. LOUIS STAMPING CO., St. Louis, Mo.

Branches: 96 Beekman St., N. Y., 16 Lake St., Chicago.

[Illustration: PATENT GRANITE IRON WARE]

[Illustration: AGATE IRON WARE.

WORKS OF THE LALANCE & GROSJEAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY.]




EXTRACT FROM AN EDITORIAL

ON

AGATE IRON WARE,

BY

MARION HARLAND.


"Those who use the =AGATE IRON WARE=, patented and made by this firm,
need no recommendation of it. Eminent chemists certify to its =safety=,
=durability,= and =cleanliness= of the materials employed in its
composition. The =shapes= are unusually =graceful= for household and
kitchen utensils. It is easily kept =clean=; is =light=, =strong,= and
pleasing to the sight by contrast with the black Iron and dim or rusty
Tins. After several years' trial and thorough satisfaction with this
ware, editorial attestation to its =excellence= is an act of =simple
justice= to the manufacturers. It is given in hope that others may
share the =comfort= and =pleasure= attendant upon its use."




FOR CANDY MAKING


[Illustration]

BUY

[Illustration]

[Illustration: ANDES

STOVES AND RANGES]

THEY ARE THE BEST.

THEY GIVE THE BEST SATISFACTION.


MANUFACTURED BY

PHILLIPS & CLARK STOVE CO.,

GENEVA, N. Y.

=SOLD EVERYWHERE.=

=USE=

[Illustration: HUNTER'S

ROTARY

=FLOUR=

And

=MEAL=

=SIFTERS=.

Best in the World.

Have no Equal.]

=12 Articles in One.=

MANUFACTURED BY

    =THE FRED. J. MEYERS MFG. CO.,
     COVINGTON, KY., U. S. A.=




    =FOR SALE BY ALL FIRST CLASS DEALERS.=
        _ASK FOR THE IMPERVIOUS SAFETY OIL CAN!_
                                          =THE BEST IN THE WORLD.=

A COMPLETE FAMILY =OIL= TANK AND LAMP FILLER COMBINED.

[Illustration:

    KEROSENE   KEROSENE   KEROSENE   KEROSENE   KEROSENE
       OIL       OIL        OIL        OIL        OIL

     2 Gal.     3 Gal.     5 Gal.     6 Gal.     10 Gal.

        PATENTED.                ALL WARRANTED.]

These Oil Cans are made of WOOD, with the inner surface so prepared as
to be perfectly impervious to Kerosene or other Oils. They are fitted
with Nickel-plated Compression Faucets and Vented Fillers. They are
absolutely free from Leak, Sweat or Odor. Lamps can be filled direct
from the FAUCETS, thus rendering them the =Safest, Neatest and most
Convenient Oil Can for Family Use=.

    =Beware of Infringements.=    MANUFACTURED BY
             =THE IMPERVIOUS PACKAGE CO.=,
                                       =KEENE, N. H.=

[Illustration: =WASTE EMBROIDERY SILK=

Factory Ends at half price; one ounce in a box--all good Silk and good
colors. Sent by mail on receipt of 40 cents. 100 Crazy Stitches in each
package. Send Postal note or Stamps to THE BRAINERD & ARMSTRONG SPOOL
SILK CO., 621 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pa. or 469 Broadway, New
York.

ONE OUNCE IN EACH BOX

MENTION THIS PAPER.]

[Illustration: Hand] For the names and addresses of 10 ladies interested
in Art Needlework, we will send our new book "Art Needlework," free.

    The Brainerd & Armstrong Spool Silk Co.,
    621 Market St., Philadelphia, Pa.




Books for Every Housekeeper.

=By MARIA PARLOA.=

First Principles of Household Management and Cookery. A Text-Book for
Schools and Families. 18mo, New Edition enlarged. Flexible cloth, 75
cents.

=By MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.=

Just How: A Key to the Cook-Books. 16mo, $1.00.

Of all the American cook-books we know, Mrs. Whitney's is the very
best.--_"H.H." in Denver Tribune._

=By CATHERINE OWEN.=

Ten Dollars Enough, Keeping House Well on Ten Dollars a Week, How it
has been Done, How it may be Done Again. 16mo, $1.00.

*** _For sale by all Booksellers. Sent by mail, post-paid, on receipt
of price by the Publishers._

    HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY,
    4 PARK ST., BOSTON.           11 EAST 17TH ST., NEW YORK.




MRS. E. M. VANBRUNT'S

DRESS REFORM PARLORS,

39 E. 19th STREET, NEW YORK.


[Illustration]

HYGIENIC AND ARTISTIC

UNDERWEAR

FOR

WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

Sole Agent for MISS C. BATES'

DRESS REFORM GARMENTS.

Jersey fitting Undergarments in Silk, Wool, Merino and Lisle, in stock
or made to order.

At all times a full line of Ferris Bros.'s celebrated

=COMMON SENSE WAISTS=.


[Illustration: =BATES' WAISTS.=]

CORDED WAISTS,

For all ages, "=Breakfast Corsets=," Dress Forms, Stocking Supporters,
Abdominal Bandages, Sanitary Towels, Bustles, etc., made of best
material. Corsets for Equestriennes, Corselettes for Sea Shore Bathers.

SEND FOR DRESS REFORM QUARTERLY.

MAILED FREE.




THE BOSTON COOK BOOK,

By MRS. D. A. LINCOLN, is the best Cook Book in the World. Nearly 600
pages, 50 illustrations, price $2.00. Sent by mail, post-paid, on
receipt of price by the publishers,

                                          ROBERTS BROTHERS, Boston.




Good Housekeeping Series of Household Books.


=PERFECT BREAD.=

FIFTY RECIPES for Making Breads of all kinds, the Preparation of Yeast,
and Instructions, which, if duly followed, will enable any housewife
to be sure of always having Perfect Bread. Postpaid on receipt of
Twenty-Five Cents.


=A KEY TO COOKING.=

Of which the author, Catherine Owen, says, "I do not think anything I
shall ever be able to write will be more valuable to the inexperienced
cook than this book." Sent by mail, postage free, on receipt of price,
Twenty-Five Cents.


=LESSONS IN CANDY MAKING.=

The very popular Series of Catherine Owen's papers on Candy Making at
Home, recently published in GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, are now re-published in
book form. Sent postpaid for Fifty Cents.


="SIX CUPS OF COFFEE."=

By Maria Parloa, Catherine Owen, Marion Harland, Juliet Corson,
Mrs. Helen Campbell, Mrs. D. A. Lincoln. A book of greater value to
housekeepers than anything of the kind ever before published. Sent
postpaid on receipt of Twenty-Five Cents.

=We will send these Four Books for $1.=

Others of this series in preparation are: "Progressive Housekeeping."
"In the Sick Room."

    CLARK W. BRYAN & CO., Publishers.
    SPRINGFIELD, MASS.




Good Housekeeping

A FAMILY JOURNAL.

    PUBLISHED FORTNIGHTLY. - $2.50 A YEAR.

Good Housekeeping Bill of Fare.

The Fortnightly Bill of Fare of GOOD HOUSEKEEPING has heretofore been
enriched by contributions from some of the most noted and practical
writers on household subjects, and new ones are being constantly added
to the already largely extended list, which now contains the names of:

Marion Harland, Maria Parloa, Catherine Owen, Juliet Corson, Rose
Terry Cook, Mary E. Dewey, Margaret Sidney, Hester M. Poole, Lucretia
P. Hale, Elisabeth Robinson Scovil, Mrs. D. H. R. Goodale, Dora Read
Goodale, Anna L. Dawes, Ellen Bliss Hooker, Anna Barrows, Margaret
Eytinge, Helen Campbell, H. Annette Poole, Emma P. Ewing, Ruth Hall,
Carrie W. Bronson, Mrs. H. M. Plunkett, Elizabeth M. Griswold, Adelaide
Preston, Pauline Adelaide Hardy, Henrietta Davis, Georgia A. Peck,
Emily A. Brownell, Helen Chase, Mary Stuart Smith, Kate Tannatt
Woods, Mary Winchester, Mrs. Fanny A. Benson, Carlotta Perry, Julia
H. May, Sarah DeWolf Gamwell, Clarissa Potter, Mrs. C. S. Fox, May
Kingston, Nellie F. Burnham, May Riley Smith, Anne Aldworth, Florence
B. Hallowell, Mary Clark Huntington, Olive E. Dana, Emma W. Babcock,
Marion Foster Washburne, Mary B. Sleight, Olivia Lovell Wilson, Mrs.
Lewis Swift, Helen Whitney Clark, Frances B. James, England, Marie
Gozzaldi, Lugano, Switzerland, E. C. Gardner, Milton Bradley, Dr. F.
M. Hexamer, William Paul Gerhard, John Wentworth, Zenas Dane, Edgar
L. Wakeman, Frank H. Stauffer, and scores of other famed writers on
matters pertaining to the interests of the Higher Life of the Household
in the Homes of the World.

=SAMPLE COPY 10 CENTS.=

    Clark W. Bryan & Co., Publishers,
    SPRINGFIELD, MASS.




MARK YOUR LINEN YOURSELF!

WITH

PAYSON'S INDELIBLE INK

With a COMMON PEN, without a preparation.

    THE OLDEST. {_Established over} THE BEST.
                {    50 Years._   }

    INDISPENSABLE IN EVERY FAMILY.

[Illustration: PAYSON'S INDELIBLE INK, for Marking Linen, Silk & Cotton
WITH A COMMON PEN, Without a Preparation.

EST 1815

PAYSON'S INDELIBLE INK]

A single letter or number even, will save time and confusion in sorting
the family linen.

Don't waste patience and money, trying the so called cheaper inks, or
leave your articles to be disfigured and injured by laundrymen.

Sold by all Book, Drug and Fancy Goods stores.




ESTABLISHED, 1801

BENT & CO.'S Celebrated Hand-made WATER CRACKERS

[Illustration: BENT & CO'S HAND MADE WATER CRACKERS

MILTON, MASS. U. S. A.]

GUARANTEED ABSOLUTELY PURE.

Hand-Made from Choicest Flour.

They are Easy of Digestion.

Recommended by Eminent Physicians both sides the Atlantic.

Get only the genuine, which bear the stamp of the makers.

For more than four-score years the Crackers have been unequalled for
excellence and their superior keeping qualities. They are sold by
first-class grocers everywhere.

    BENT & CO., Milton, Mass.




[Illustration: "Wait a moment, please, while I step in and order a
package of Schnull-Krag's Windsor Mocha and Java Coffee. You know
we are always sure of having a good cup of coffee when we use the
Windsor."]

       *       *       *       *       *

Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired.

Page 33, repeated word "may" removed from text. Original read (coffee
you may may make a)

Page 42, "poision" changed to "poison" (to take slow poison)

Page 56, "TOOH" changed to "TOOTH" (As a TOOTH POWDER for)

Page 68, "SAFTY" changed to "SAFETY" (IMPERVIOUS SAFETY OIL)

Page 69, "Enongh" changed to "Enough" (Dollars Enough, Keeping House)