A butler is a domestic servant, one of the principal menservants, who is principally in charge of the household's wine and beer cellar (hence the name which derives from the French word meaning someone who bottles drinks) and plate. It is a common misunderstanding that a butler is in charge of the other servants, in reality this was the duty of the valet, however in the absence of a valet the role would be required of a butler. Primarily a butler is a wine consultant and brewer of beer. The notion of a butler opening the door to guests is quite incorrect, that duty was traditionally conducted by a footman.
The duties and role of the 19th century butler were helpfully described in 1860 by Mrs Beeton to those starting a household as:
The domestic duties of the butler are to bring in the eatables [food] at breakfast, and wait upon the family at that meal, assisted by the footman, and see to the cleanliness of everything at table. On taking away, he removes the tray with the china and plate [silver plated metal articles], for which he is responsible. At luncheon, he arranges the meal, and waits unassisted, the footman now being engaged in other duties. At dinner, he places the silver and plated articles on the table, sees that everything is in its place, and rectifies what is wrong. He carries in the first dish, and announces in the drawing-room that dinner is on the table, and respectfully stands by the door until the company are seated, when he takes his place behind his master's chair on the left, to remove the covers, handing them to the other attendants to carry out. After the first course of plates is supplied, his place is at the sideboard to serve the wines, but only when called on.
The first course ended, he rings the cook's bell, and hands the dishes from the table to the other servants to carry away, receiving from them the second course, which he places on the table, removing the covers as before, and again taking his place at the sideboard.
At dessert, the slips being removed, the butler receives the dessert from the other servants, and arranges it on the table, with plates and glasses, and then takes his place behind his master's chair to hand the wines and ices, while the footman stands behind his mistress for the same purpose, the other attendants leaving the room. Where the old-fashioned practice of having the dessert on the polished table, without any cloth, is still adhered to, the butler should rub off any marks made by the hot dishes before arranging the dessert.
Before dinner, he has satisfied himself that the lamps, candles, or gas-burners are in perfect order, if not lighted, which will usually be the case. Having served every one with their share of the dessert, put the fires in order (when they are used), and seen the lights are all right, at a signal from his master, he and the footman leave the room.
He now proceeds to the drawing room, arranges the fireplace, and sees to the lights; he then returns to the pantry, prepared to answer the bell, and attend to the company, while the footman is clearing away and cleaning the plate and glasses.
At tea he again attends. At bedtime he appears with the candles; he locks up the plate, secures doors and windows, and sees that all the fires are safe.
In addition to these duties, the butler, where only one footman is kept, will be requires to perform some of the duties of the valet, to pay bills, and superintend the other servants. But the real duties of the butler are in the wine-cellar; there he should be competent and advise his master as to the price and quality of the wine to be laid in; "fine," [refine] bottle, cork and seal it, and place it in the binns [wine racks]. Brewing, racking and bottling malt liquors [beers, ales, stouts and the like], belong to his office, as well as their distribution. These and other drinkables are brought from the cellar every day by his own hands, except when an under-butler is kept; and a careful entry of every bottle used, entered in the cellar-book; so that the book should always show the contents of the cellar. Research Butler
Barley is the name of several cereal plants of the genus Hordeum, family Gramineae, which yield a grain used in food and for making malt. Barley has been known by man since ancient times and was used by the Egyptians to brew beer. Excellent barley is produced in Britain. The species traditionally cultivated are Hordeum distichum, two-rowed barley; Hordeum'vulgare, four-rowed barley; and Hordeum hexastichum, six-rowed, of which the small variety is the sacred barley of the ancients. The varieties of the four and six rowed species are generally coarser than those of the two-rowed, and adapted for a poorer soil and more exposed situation. Some of these are called bere or bigg. Barley is better adapted for cold climates than any other grain, and some of the coarser varieties are cultivated where no other cereal can be grown. Some species of the genus, three of which are natives of Britain, are mere grasses. Research Barley
Cocculus is a genus of East Indian menispermaceous plants, consisting of climbers with heart-shaped leaves and small flowers. The species are generally powerful bitter febrifuges. The fruit of the Cocculus Indicus forms a considerable article of commerce, and is sometimes added to malt liquors to give bitterness. Research Cocculus
Coke is the residue, mainly amorphouscarbon, left on heating bituminous coal and thus driving off its volatile constituents, or on heating hydrocarbons to a point at which they decompose with deposition of carbon (cracking).
The simplest method of producing coke is based on the preparation of wood charcoal, the coal being arranged in heaps which are smothered with clay or coal-dust, and then set on fire, sufficient air being admitted to keep the mass at the proper temperature for decomposition without wasting the coke. After the volatile portions are got rid of, the heap is allowed to cool, or is extinguished with water, and the coke is then ready. Methods of heating the coal in close or open ovens until the gaseous and fluid products are driven off are also commonly used. Gas-coke is that which remains in the retorts after the gas has been given off.
Good oven-coke has an iron-grey colour, sub-metallic lustre, is hard, and somewhat vesicular; but gas-coke has rather a slagged and cindery look, and is more porous. Coke contains about 90 percent of carbon, and is used where a strong heat is wanted without smoke and flame, and it is accordingly largely consumed in drying malt and similar purposes. It used to be burned regularly in locomotive-engines, but after about 1900 raw coal was commonly substituted. The largest quantities of coke used to be consumed in smelting operations. Research Coke
Dextrine is a generic name applied to soluble gummy substances intermediate between starch and glucose. They are prepared from starch by the aid of dilute mineral acids or of malt extract, and are usually named according to the colour they give with iodine, e.g. erythro-dextrine, etc. When heated with dilute acids they are transformed into glucose. The composition is the same as that of starch. They are white, insipid, without smell, and are good substitutes for gum-arabic. Research Dextrine
Vinegar is a four percent solution of acetic acid also containing small amounts of phosphates and other extractive matters. It is generally made by fermenting decoctions of malt, first with yeast, and then converting the alcohol into acetic acid by means of micro-organisms. Research Vinegar
Coal is a solid, opaque, inflammable substance, mainly consisting of carbon, found in the earth, largely employed as fuel, and formed from vast masses of vegetable matter deposited through the luxuriant growth of plants in former epochs of the earth's history. In the varieties of coal in common use the combined effects of pressure, heat, and chemical action upon the substance have left few traces of its vegetable origin; but in the sandstones, clays, and shales accompanying the coal, the plants to which it principally owes its origin are presented in a fossil state in great profusion, and frequently with their structure so distinctly retained, although replaced by mineral substances, as to enable the microscopist to determine their botanical affinities with existing species.
The sigillaria and stigmaria, the lepidodendron, the calamite, and tree-ferns are amongst the commoner forms of vegetable life in the rocks of the coal formation. Trees of considerable magnitude have also been brought to light, having a recognizable relation to the modern araucaria. The animal remains found in the coal-measures indicate that some of the rocks have been deposited in fresh water, probably in lakes, whilst others are obviously of estuarine origin, or have been deposited at the mouths of rivers alternately occupied by fresh and salt-water. The great system of strata in which coal is chiefly found is known as the Carboniferous. There are many varieties of coal, varying considerably in their composition, as anthracite, nearly pure carbon, and burning with little flame, much used for furnaces and malt kilns; bituminous (popularly so called) or 'household coal'; and cannel or 'gas-coal,' which burns readily like a candle, and was much used in gas-making. The terms semi-anthracitic, semi-bituminous, caking-coal, splint coal, etc, are also applied according to peculiarities. All varieties agree in containing from. 60 to over 90 per cent of carbon, the other elements being chiefly oxygen and hydrogen, and frequently a small portion of nitrogen.
Lignite or brown coal may contain only 50 per cent of carbon or less. For manufacturing purposes coals are generally considered to consist of two parts, the volatile or bituminous portion, which yields the gas used for lighting, and the substance comparatively fixed, usually known as coke, which is obtained by heating the coal in ovens or other close arrangements, and thus removing the volatile or smoke-yielding matter, while the full heating power of the coal still remains in the coke. Coal was the most valuable of all the minerals which contributed to the former wealth of Great Britain, and it has been mined there for many centuries. The first charter giving liberty to the town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne to dig coal was granted by Henry III in 1239; in Scotland a charter was granted to the abbot and convent of Dunfermline in 1291 for the same purpose. The working of coal gradually but slowly increased, until towards the end of the 18th century, when the development of the steam-engine by James Watt enormously increased the use of coal, and made it the basis of Great Britain's industrial importance. Towards the end of the 20th century political disputes between the miners and the government led to the closure of most of Britain's coal mines, with coal being imported instead. Research Coal
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Research Butler
