able, across one
end, Jack laid a white marble table-top from an old-fashioned table in
the attic, and this they washed off and made very clean. Mother Blair
said she was sure some kinds of candy were made on marble, and she meant
to be prepared.

When the girls had come and their hands and aprons were ready, Miss
Betty said she would take four or five girls into the kitchen to start
the candy, and the rest could blanch almonds and get them ready to salt;
and when the candy was ready for the finishing touches, she would bring
it in and show them what to do with it. So she went off with Mildred and
three other girls, and Mother Blair and Brownie went to work with the
rest on the almonds. They wanted to have quantities of these because
they always sold so well at fairs. This was the rule she used:

SALTED ALMONDS

1 pound of Jordan almonds.
White of one egg.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.

Put a cupful of shelled almonds into a saucepan of boiling water,
enough to well cover them. Put on a cover and let them stand two
minutes; take out one and see if the skin slips off easily in your
hand; if not, pour off the water, pour on more that is boiling,
and let them stand again. When they are ready, dip out a few at a
time and keep the rest under water; slip off the skins and put
them in bowls till all are done. Beat the white of the egg till
half light, mix with the nuts, and spread them on shallow tins;
sprinkle with salt and put them in the oven; stir them every few
minutes till they become an even, light brown; then take them out.

Instead of having one pound of almonds, they had ten pounds, so the
girls had plenty to do to keep them busy till the candy came in.
Meanwhile, Miss Betty was showing them how to make:

COFFEE CANDY

3 tablespoonfuls of ground coffee.
1 small cup of boiling water.
2 cups of sugar.
1 cup of chopped nuts.

Boil the coffee in the water for two minutes; then strain through
a very fine sieve. Measure one-half a cupful and mix with the
sugar; boil without stirring, till it spins a thread when you hold
up a little on a spoon. Then stand the saucepan in another, half
full of very cold water, and beat rapidly till it becomes a cream;
stir in the nuts, pour into a shallow pan and cool, cut in
squares.

Miss Betty had to show the girls how to see candy "spin a thread,"
because those words, she sa