Britain at Work
A Pictorial Description of Our National Industries

IOI THE MANUFACTURE OF BISCUITS AND CAKES. IT is not necessary for the purposes of the present article to enter into a long detailed history of the biscuit and the cake, although such a task would, no doubt, be attended with considerable interest. Among the early Romans it was the custom to break a cake above a bride’s head as a token of good luck. This, however, was long before the custom of throwing rice, old shoes, and confetti after the bride. Cakes on the basis of a calculation made by an authority in the matter, that there are about 25,000 persons employed in the manufacture of biscuits and cakes. The majority of these workers are, of course, attached to the leading firms. For instance, one house may have 1,500 or 2,000 employees, whereas a much smaller manufacturer may be unable to employ a hundred, or even a score. Most of the large firms have a night and a also performed an important part in matri- monial separations. When a husband and wife decided to part, a cake would be broken in twain, each retaining a half, which, like rosemary, was “ for remembrance.” But in these practical and matter-of-fact clays biscuits and cakes are produced and utilised only for consumption. It is not possible to lay clown any specific figures in relation to this industry, for the simple reason that nobody appears to have thought it worth his while to compile a statistical work on the subject which should be kept up to date and as a book of refer- ence. It is therefore only by comparison and computation that we can arrive at a repre- sentative aggregate. But it may be stated, day staff, and machines are constantly going. It is the aim of the makers to get the biscuits into the hands—or mouths—of the public as soon after production as possible. Practically speaking, they do not stock any goods, making one day what is required for the next clay’s delivery. Anyone who has eaten a biscuit warm from the oven, and compared its flavour with the article which may have been stocked for some time by a grocer or confectioner, will appreciate this promptitude. It is proposed in the present article to trace the evolution of the biscuit, from the flour in sack to the completed and baked comestible. The manufacture of biscuits is an industry that has advanced with giant stride, and a commercial traveller who, thirty years ago,