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THE luxurious mode of living
which has become fashionable with the advance of civilisation has given rise
in modern times to many branches of trade which were unknown to the
ancients. An interesting example is the manufacture of confectionery, which
has assumed dimensions entitling it to mention in any record of industrial
progress. Conserves, or fruits preserved in sugar, are mentioned in the
works of Shakspeare and other writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. The Queen in "Cymbeline," addressing Cornelius, says
"Hast thou not learned me to
preserve? Yes, so
That our great King cloth woo me oft
For my confections."
Again, in the bedchamber
scene in "Taming the Shrew," conserves are among the delicacies offered to
Sly in order to delude him into the belief that he is of noble estate. It is
evident from these and other passages which might be quoted, that the making
of confections was at one time an art practised by ladies of the highest
rank, and that among the wealthiest classes conserves and the like were
esteemed as the most delicious of luxuries. The consumption of sweetmeats
has increased enormously of recent years, and the great advance that has
taken place in the quantity of sugar used by the more enlightened nations,
as shown in a previous article, is attributable in no small degree to the
growing favour which is being extended to the productions of the
confectioner, and to the increasing fondness for home-made "sweets." Paris
is the chief seat of the manufacture of saccharine delicacies; and to the
ingenuity which the French display in devising all manner of dainties is
owing many of the choicest varieties of confectionery. Though thus
distinguished, however, Paris has by no means a monopoly of the trade. In
all the more important towns of Britain sugar goods are produced.
There are several extensive
manufactories of confectionery and preserved fruits in Scotland, and some of
these have a world-wide reputation. Among the best known firms are the
following:—In Edinburgh—Mr Alexander Ferguson, and Messrs R. Shiels & Son.
In Glasgow—Messrs J. Buchanan Brothers, Messrs John Gray & Co., and Messrs
Robert Wotherspoon & Co. In Dundee—Messrs James Keiller & Son, and Messrs
John Low & Son. It is difficult to form an estimate of the extent of the
confectionery trade in Scotland, but, judging from the returns of the
principal manufacturers, the value of the goods produced cannot be less than
L.1,000,000 per annum. The quantity of sugar used is estimated at from
12,000 to 14,000 tons. Upwards of 2000 persons are employed in the trade.
The most extensive
confectionery establishment in Britain is that of Messrs James Keiller &
Son, Dundee. The firm have a specialty in marmalade—a conserve which they
have been chiefly instrumental in bringing into general use. The history of
the firm is brief, but it records a brilliant success. About the beginning
of the present century, Dundee, which stands in the neighbourhood of a
famous fruit-producing district, was pretty extensively engaged in the
manufacture of "preserves," and the late Mr James Keller was among those
engaged in the trade. By way of increasing the variety of his productions,
Mr Keller 'began to make marmalade, and was the first in the country to
produce it as an article of commerce. For some years the demand was limited
to the town and district; but in course of time the new conserve worked its
way into the more important towns of Scotland, and subsequently crossed the
Border into England. Between thirty and forty years ago, one of the
principal grocery firms in London gave marmalade a trial, and soon secured a
steadily increasing demand for it. A new market was thus opened up; and from
being a subordinate part of Mr Keiller's business, the manufacture of
marmalade took precedence. The little factory set up in an old house near
the High Street of Dundee became too small for the increasing business, and
more commodious premises were acquired. Successive extensions have been
made; and now the establishment, which occupies several blocks of three-
storey buildings, is the largest and finest of the kind in the country;
while Messrs Keiller & Son's marmalade has become familiar and is relished
in all quarters of the earth. Though marmalade constitutes the most
important part of the goods manufactured by Messrs Keiller, it is not the
only article produced, for they do an extensive business in jams, jellies,
and general confectionery; and in giving a description of the manufactory,
the processes by which these are prepared will fall to be noticed.
The visitor to Messrs
Keiller's manufactory is first conducted to the stores in which the raw
materials are kept. There, in boxes, barrels, and bags, are to be seen the
fruits, seeds, sugars, gums, &c., used in the trade. Of course, the green
fruits are deposited in the store for the briefest possible time; but of the
other articles, a constant stock is kept on hand. Oranges are usually in
season from the beginning of December till the end of March, and the year's
supply of marmalade must be made in that time. The oranges used are the
bitter variety obtained from Seville in Spain. They are imported in chests
containing 2 cwt. each. Messrs Keiller consume 3000 chests annually, from
which they produce about 1000 tons of marmalade, the greater part of which
is sent out in pots containing one pound each. The term marmalade is
supposed to have been derived from an Indian fruit resembling the orange,
and named the Egle Marmelos, or Indian Beal, from which at one period a
similar conserve appears to have been made. Marmalade is of the nature of a
jam, as it contains the whole substance of the fruit except the internal
fibres and the seeds. The first operation in the process of converting the
oranges into marmalade is to remove the skins. The fleshy part of the orange
is then squeezed to extract the juice, and the "peel" is sent into the
cutting-room, where it is softened by being subjected to the action of
steam, and is then sliced into "chips." In the early days of the manufacture
the peel was cut by hand; but now the cutting is done by a simple but
thoroughly effective machine, invented by Mr Wedderspoon Keiller, of Perth
(a nephew of the late Mr James Keiller), the author of several ingenious
contrivances for facilitating the manufacture of confectionery. Each machine
consists of a spindle, from which a number of blades or cutters radiate. The
blades revolve within, and close to the side of a box; and in an aperture in
the side of the box a tube is fixed. The machines are attended by girls, who
take up a handful of peel at a time, and, by pressing it into this tube,
bring it into contact with the cutting part of the apparatus, which speedily
reduces it to very thin chips.
Certain proportions of the
chips, the juice of the orange, and refined sugar are mixed together and
boiled to produce marmalade. The boiling-house contains a number of open
copper pans about three feet in diameter, and two feet deep. The pans are
made double, and the boiling is effected by the admission of steam into the
space between the outer and inner vessels. A young woman attends to each
pan, the contents of which she has to stir constantly. The time of boiling
depends on many circumstances; but the attendants know by experience when
the proper point has been reached. The boilers are so worked as to be ready
in rotation; and when the contents of one are sufficiently boiled the
marmalade is emptied into a pan fixed on a small truck, and conveyed to the
filling-room. This is a large apartment, with tables arranged
longitudinally, on which thousands of pots and jars are piled. Adjoining the
filling-room is a sort of scullery in which the pots are washed by a
steam-machine. The jars, which contain from 7 to 14 lb. each, are filled on
a set of scales; but, as the pots are made of a uniform size, holding 1 lb.
each, they are not weighed. When the contents have sufficiently cooled, the
pots are raised by a steam-elevator to an upper room, where they are
covered. About fifty women and girls are employed in this department. A
circular piece of tissue paper is first laid on the surface of the
marmalade, and then a piece of vegetable parchment is tied over all.
Formerly, animal tissue was used for covering the pots; but now vegetable
parchment, a much more cleanly and equally effective material, is being
employed. In the course of the season, about a million and a-half of
pound-pots of marmalade, besides a considerable number of jars containing
from seven to fourteen pounds, are turned out. It is important to know that,
for the present price of one pound of butter, three pounds of marmalade may
be procured; so that in this, as in so many other cases, what was a luxury
with one generation, will probably become a necessary with the next.
When the marmalade season
closes in the end of March, the manufacture of candied peel, now so much
used in cakes and puddings, is commenced, and lasts till the jam fruits
begin to appear, which usually happens about the beginning of June. The
kinds of peel candied are orange, lemon, and citron. The fruits for this
branch of the manufacture are obtained chiefly from Messina. After the peel
is stripped from the fruit and subjected to a preliminary treatment, it is
steeped in a syrup of pure sugar for several weeks, and when taken out,
candied, and dried, it is ready for the market. Messrs Keiller make a large
quantity of the various kinds of peel every season. The jams and jellies are
made in the ordinary way from fruit grown in various parts of Scotland,
England, Ireland, and the Continent. Many tons of these preserves are
produced annually.
The most interesting section
of the manufactory is that in which the dry confections, such as lozenges,
comfits, candies, and gum- goods are made. The sugar used in this branch is
chiefly fine loaf; and the first operation is the reduction of the sugar to
an almost impalpable powder. That is effected by crushing or grinding it in
a mill with vertical stones. The conversion of sugar into the various kinds
of sweets is carried on in separate groups of apartments, by distinct sets
of workpeople. In the lozenge department the first step is to mix ground
sugar, water, and gum in certain proportions, and so to form a paste or
dough. The addition of a small quantity of essence imparts the desired
flavour. After being well kneaded by a machine, the dough, in quantities of
2 or 3 lb. at a time, is passed between polished cylinders, and rolled out
into sheets of any required thinness. The sheets are received from the
rolling- machine on boards, from which they are transferred to the cutting-
machines. Before the invention of the cutting-machine all the lozenges were
stamped out with hand-cutters; and for particular kinds of goods cutting is
still done by hand. Each machine, attended by a boy and two girls, whose
duties are exceedingly light, will execute as much work in a given time as a
considerable number of expert hand-cutters. The lozenges are spread out on
trays, where they are examined, and all imperfections and scraps removed.
Large lozenges bearing mottoes are much in fashion; and these are made from
dough prepared as above, but printed and cut by hand. The lozenges are baked
by being placed in a hot-room or stove, where they are subjected to a slow
heat. Comfits, or confects, as they were originally called, are known in the
trade as "pan goods," and are produced by surrounding aromatic seeds with a
coating of sugar. The seeds most commonly employed are caraway, coriander,
and cassia; but almond kernels and slips of cinnamon bark are also
extensively used. After the seeds and cinnamon have been carefully cleaned
and picked, they are removed to the pan-room, where there are a dozen large
copper pans. Some of the pans are inclined at an angle of forty-five
degrees, and revolve slowly; while others maintain a horizontal position,
but are violently shaken about. The pans have double bottoms for the
admission of steam; and, like the other machinery in the establishment, they
are set in motion by a steam-engine. When the seeds are put into a pan, they
begin to tumble about in consequence of the peculiar motion which the vessel
receives. The pan attendant then pours upon them a quantity of syrup made of
pure sugar. The sugar is speedily dried by the heat, and the contents of the
pan become white:– As measure after measure of syrup is added, the comfits
grow in size, each appearing to receive an equal share of the sugar. By
pouring in syrup at intervals, the comfits are made to assume a smooth
exterior; while by letting the syrup flow in constantly from a series of
minute jets, a rough or "pearled" appearance is given to them. From the din
of the pan-room to the quiet but equally warm retreat of the candy and
"rock" makers is but a step. Rocks are made by boiling the sugar in a
variety of ways, and mixing certain essences with it. The material is worked
up into pieces shaped like loaves, and, two or three of these of different
colours being pressed together, the workman begins by rolling the mass to a
point at one end, and drawing it out into sticks about two yards long. The
colours in the attenuated portion bear the same proportion to each other as
they did in the mass. A variety of rock with names or mottoes running
through it from one end to the other is made; and many persons are puzzled
to know how it is manufactured. As the process is not a trade secret, it may
be here explained. The workman, in preparing a block of sugar-paste, embeds
in it longitudinal pieces of a different colour from the body of the mass,
and having a section corresponding with the letters of the motto. The block,
as thus built up, may not measure more than a foot in length, but by drawing
it out it is converted into many yards of rock, which, on being broken at
any point, shows the motto. Fruit drops are of the candy class, and are made
in a variety of forms by passing sheets of prepared sugar between moulded
rollers. Gum goods consist chiefly of jujubes, plain and candied. The gums
used here are the finest Turkey sorts. After being boiled with a certain
quantity of sugar, the gum liquor is poured into trays, and deposited in the
hot-room, where it is allowed to consolidate for a week. It is then taken
out and cut up into square pieces. The circular jujubes, or pastiles, which
are usually coated with sugar, are formed by pouring the gum liquid into
indentations in a mould of fine starch spread over a tray.
This is a brief outline of
the manufacturing processes to be witnessed in Messrs Keiller's
establishment. The packing department remains to be noticed. In it the
confections, marmalade, &c., are made up, some in bottles, and others in
parcels, boxes, and casks. Many hands are employed in packing—first in
making up the goods into small parcels, and then in selecting and packing
goods ordered.
Taking all the departments
together, the number of workpeople is about 300, most of whom are young
women, who earn from 8s. to 14s. a-week. About the whole establishment there
is an air of cleanliness and order which the visitor cannot but be gratified
to witness; while the appearance of the workpeople is a sufficient proof
that their occupation is by no means unhealthy. |
