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. — The question of the supply of these beverages at prices within the reach of working people deserves attention. In a paper read at the Grosvenor House Conference it was stated that some of these drinks were thought to stimulate rather than counteract the craving for intoxicating liquors. It is possible that the use of articles of inferior quality may have led to that impression, the bottled lemonade and ginger beer offered in the market at low prices frequently containing acetic acid, cream of tartar, and even traces of copper or lead, in quantities likely to be injurious to the consumers. There is, however, abundant testimony that pure aërated drinks are wholesome as well as refreshing, and they are especially valuable in towns where good drinking water is difficult to be obtained. If brought within the means of the working classes they would form an important and very profitable item of the trade of the Coffee Publichouse.

When these drinks are drawn from a fountain the expense of bottling is saved, and the cost proportionately reduced. The fountains, with apparatus for supplying them vary in price from £18 to £50 or more. Manufacturers in London will supply the fountains on hire, if preferred, together with the cylinders in which the aërated water is conveyed. The cylinder is usually placed underneath the counter and