Put three pounds of loaf sugar in a sugar-boiler with one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and two breakfast cupfuls of water, and boil them to the crack. When the pan is removed from the fire, stir in a few drops of essence of lemon, pour the sugar onto an oiled marble slab, sprinkle over one tablespoonful of powdered tartaric acid and work it in. Place it on an oiled tin sheet to keep warm; take a small quantity at a time, roll it out to the shape of a pipe-stem, cut it into small pieces with a pair of scissors, roll them round in the hands, or the paste may be passed through a drop-machine; dust over with fine sugar, and put them away in boxes.

Cough Drops

Prepare a decoction of two ounces of dried horehound, half that quantity of camomile, the same of boneset, and two ounces of mullein-flowers, by placing them all in a saucepan, covering them all with water, and boiling them for ten or twelve minutes. Turn the whole into an earthenware or porcelain bowl, cover closely, and let them remain until cold. Strain and pass the liquor through a hair-sieve, measure it, and to each pint allow two pounds of sugar Put the sugar and liquor into a saucepan, boil them to the crack degree, let it cool, pour it onto a greased marble slab, turn it at the edges, and cut it into tablets, or pass it through a drop-machine. Dust them over with fine sugar, put them in boxes, and keep in a cool place.

Millefleur Drops

For all sugar drops the sugar should first be sifted through a fine sieve, and then through a very fine one to sift out all the powder that is not required in making them. Put the necessary quantity of sugar into a basin, and mix in by degrees with a spoon sufficient water to make a paste of such a consistency that it will easily drop from the spoon and leave none sticking on it. Pour the paste into a bright sugar-pan, place it on the stove and stir it with a spatula until the sugar is dissolved and on the point of boiling. Then remove it at once, and stir in a sufficient quantity of essence of millefleur to flavor it, and with a wire in the right hand, and the pan in the other, drop off small pieces, cutting them with the wire and allowing them to fall on thick cartridge paper, a marble slab, or a tin or copper plate. This is the old-fashioned and homely style of making drops. Place the drops away to cool for about two hours, and remove them from the paper or plate by draining the former, and by using a thin spatula for the latter; pack them away in bottles or boxes, and keep them in a cool dry place until they are wanted.

Strawberry Drops

Pass a quantity of ripe strawberries through a fine hair sieve, and mix with them some coarsely sifted sugar. Put the paste into a sugar-boiler with a lip to it, and stir it over the fire until boiling; then let the drops fall slowly from the lip of the pan on to a baking-sheet, leaving a small space between each. When cold, place the drops onto a sieve, and dry them in a hot closet. Keep them packed in canisters.

Vanilla Drops

Cut up as fine as possible two vanilla beans; place them in a mortar with a little sugar and pound them to a powder. Sift this through a fine sieve, and mix with it one pound of coarsely sifted sugar. Put this in a basin and add gradually, stirring with a spoon, sufficient water to make the paste of such a thickness that it will fall from a spoon and none of it remain sticking to it. Turn the paste into a liquid sugar-pan, place it on the stove, and stir well with a spatula until the sugar is dissolved and makes a slight noise. When on the point of boiling, remove the pan and work well with a spatula until when dropped the paste will retain its former shape and not spread too much. With the pan in the left hand and a piece of wire in the right, let the drops fall on a smooth tin or cartridge paper; harden then in a hot closet for two or three hours, remove from the tin or paper and pack them away for use. Vanilla beans are used in preference to the essence, as the latter is apt to make the paste greasy.

English Rock

Put seven pounds of moist sugar and one quart of water into a sugar-boiler, boil it to the crack, turn it out onto an oiled slab, and spread over and work in thoroughly four pounds of sweet almonds, not blanched, form the mass into a roll, and let it get cool. Cut it into slices about one-half inch in thickness, and when perfectly cold it should be packed away in tins.