388 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF FACTS. 



of that kind are, of course, to be eaten with 

 the fingers ; the salt should be laid upon one's 

 plate, not upon the cloth. Fish is to be eaten 

 with the fork, without the assistance of the 

 knife ; a bit of bread in the left hand some- 

 times helps one to master a refractory morsel. 

 Fresh fruits should be eaten with a silver- 

 bladed knife, especially pears, apples, etc. 



Berries, of course, are to be eaten with a 

 spoon. In England they are served with their 

 hulls on, and three or four are considered an 

 ample quantity. But then, in England they 

 are many times the size of ours ; there they take 

 the big berry by the stem, dip into powdered 

 sugar, and eat it as we do the turnip radish. 

 It is not proper to drink with a spoon in the 

 cup ; nor should one, by the way, ever quite 

 drain a cup or glass. 



Don't, when you drink, elevate your glass as 

 if you were going to stand it inverted on your 

 nose. Bring the glass perpendicularly to the 

 lips, and then lift it to a slight angle. Do this 

 easily. 



Drink sparingly while eating. It is far bet- 

 ter for the digestion not to drink tea or coffee 

 until the meal is finished. Drink gently, and 

 do not pour it down your throat like water 

 turned out of a pitcher. 



When seating yourself at 'the table, unfold 

 your napkin and lay it across your lap in such 

 a manner that it will not slide off upon the 

 floor ; a gentleman should place it across his 

 right knee. Do not tuck it into your neck, 

 like a child's bib. -For an old person, how- 

 ever, it is well to attach the napkin to a napkin 

 hook and slip it into the vest or dress button- 

 holes, to protect the garments, or sew a broad 

 tape at two places on the napkin, and pass it 

 over the head. When the soup is eaten, wipe 

 the mouth carefully with the napkin, and use 

 it to wipe the hands after meals. Finger 

 bowls are not a general institution, and yet 

 they seem to be quite as needful as the napkin, 

 for the fingers are also liable to become a little 

 soiled in eating. They can be had quite 

 cheaply, and should be half filled with water, 

 and placed upon the side table or butler's tray, 

 with the dessert, bread and cheese, etc. 

 They are passed to each person half filled with 

 water, placed on a parti-colored napkin with a 

 dessert plate underneath, when the dessert is 

 placed upon the table. A leaf or two of sweet 

 verbena, an orange flower, or a small slice of 

 lemon, is usually put into each bowl to rub 

 upon the fingers. The slice of lemon is most 

 commonly used. The finger tips are slightly 

 dipped into the bowl, the lemon juice is 

 squeezed upon them, and then they are dried 

 softly upon the napkin . At dinner parties and 

 luncheons they are indispensable. 



Spoons are sometimes used with firm pud- 

 dings, but forks are the better style. A spoon 

 should never be turned over in the mouth. 



Ladies have frequently an affected way of 

 holding the knife half-way down its length, 

 as if it were too big for their little hands ; but 

 this is as awkward a way as it is weak ; the 

 knife should be grasped freely by the handle 

 only, the forefinger being the only one to 

 touch the blade, and that only along the back 

 of the blade at its root, and no further down. 



At the conclusion of a course, where they 

 have been used, knife and fork should be laid 

 side by side across the middle of the plate 

 never crossed ; the old custom of crossing them 

 was in obedience to an ancient religious for- 

 mula. The servant should offer everything at 

 the left of the guest, that the guest may be at 

 liberty to use the right hand. If one has been 

 given a napkin ring, it is necessary to fold 

 one's napkin and use the ring ; otherwise the 

 napkin should be left unfolded. 



BRANDY. 



Brandy is made by distillation from wine, 

 and genuine brandy can be made in no other 

 way ; it is, therefore, in its pure state the 

 choicest and most agreeable of the class of ar- 

 dent spirits. The best brandy is made from the 

 white wines of Cognac and Armagnac districts 

 of France ; but as 1000 gallons of wine makes 

 only 100 to 150 gallons of brandy, it may be 

 imagined that some inferior wines are gener- 

 ally substituted for delicate and highly flavored 

 wines. In point of fact, however, the greater 

 part of the brandy consumed all over the world 

 is not made from wine at all, but is simply al- 

 cohol distilled and flavored with oil of Cognac. 

 Fiery potato spirits are also frequently con- 

 verted into so-called brandy by distillation and 

 "flavoring." Among the adulterations of 

 brandy, hot and pungent substances, such as 

 pepper, capsicum, ginger, etc., are added to 

 give the appearance of strength. They may 

 be detected by evaporating a little of the sus- 

 pected brandy nearly to dryness, when the 

 acrid and burning taste will be sensibly in- 

 creased if such substances have been used. 



The liquors manufactured in this country 

 and known as apple brandy, peach brandy, 

 blackberry brandy, and the like, are not bran- 

 dies at all but a radically different spirit. 



BANANA. 



A variety of the plantain, found in the 

 West Indies and South America, and through- 

 out the tropical regions of both hemispheres. 

 In the countries where it grows it is almost al- 

 ways the staple food, occupying the same place 

 thfvrf ns the cereals with us. No other product 



