waxy ball between the moistened fingers.  It should then be removed from the fire and put in a cool place until the hand can rest with comfort on the bottom of the kettle.  If too hot, it will turn back to sugar; if too cold, it will not thicken properly.  In either case it is not spoiled, try again; add boiling water, stir until dissolved, and repeat the boiling.  A little experience makes one to seize “the psychological moment” when the syrup is in the right condition.  When the syrup has cooled to the degree indicated above, begin to stir it, using a long-handled wooden spoon.  It will turn milky at first, then thick and white, finally dry on the edge of the dish and get so stiff it is difficult to stir.  Then take the mass out on a marble slab and knead as you would bread dough; if you have no marble slab you may work it in the hands.

[350 Mothers’ remedies]

Flavor and Color.—­At this point add the flavoring.  Make little holes in the fondant with the fingers and put in each a little of the flavoring, working it through the mass.  The essential oils are better than extracts.  Three or four drops of any of the oils will flavor a pound of fondant.  Three cents worth would be sufficient for a number of pounds.  The flavor should not be strong.  About a teaspoonful of any extract will be sufficient.  If it is desirable to have two or more flavors, divide the fondant into the required number of portions, and have an assistant take up the kneading of each.  Work the fondant until it is creamy.  The pure food laws discourage the use of colorings, and it is difficult for the amateur to procure them in economical quantities.  Cochineal can always be had and provides any number of shades of pink.  Spinach heated over steam, and the juice expressed, gives a pretty green which is perfectly harmless.  Work into the fondant as you used the flavoring oil or extract.  The above ingredients will make one pound of fondant, all the beginners should undertake at one time.  It may be kept for some time by packing it in glass cans and sealing tightly.  The fondant should “mellow” for at least twenty-four hours before being used, especially as centers for chocolate creams, etc.; and these in turn should stand as long before being dipped.  It is also advisable to let the bon-bons stand a day at least before being wrapped and packed.  Choose a dry, clear, quiet day to make fondant, and do not attempt to work with it in wet weather; it is very sensitive to atmospheric conditions.

Making the Bon-bons.—­After the fondant has stood the required interval it is ready to make up.  Here comes in play the ingenuity of the candy maker in the employment of various accessories.  Candied cherries, candied violets and rose petals, angelica, dates, figs, hard jellies, raisins, white grapes, crystallized ginger, cocoanuts, marshmallows, nuts, all are employed, while chocolate is used in so many forms that it gives rise to an entire class