This section is from the book "Practical Cooking And Serving", by Janet McKenzie Hill. Also available from Amazon: Practical Cooking and Serving: A Complete Manual of How to Select, Prepare, and Serve Food [1919].
Dissolve a cup of granulated sugar in one fourth cup of hot water. Wash down the sugar from the sides of the pan, cover and let boil three or four minutes; uncover and let boil to 240°Fahr., or to a rather firm "soft ball." Pour in a fine stream on the whites of two eggs, beaten dry, beating constantly meanwhile. Return the icing to the saucepan and let cook on an asbestos mat or over boiling water, beating constantly, until the icing will hold the shape given it. For poinsettias use a leaf tube. For the centres use tiny yellow candies. The icing may be left white or tinted with color paste.

 
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