John Montgomerie

MR. JOHN MONTGOMERIE, Family Baker and Confectioner, 361, Dumbarton Road, Partick, Glasgow.

    The business of bread baking has of late years been revolutionised, and the baker is expected not only to supply an article which is pure and wholesome, but one which shall be a distinct advance, in every respect, upon what people were accustomed to in the past. Establishments which do not conform to these very exacting demands — demands which would have been deemed preposterous by the tradesmen of former times — are liable to go to the wall and to be superseded by others managed upon what may be regarded as nothing short of scientific principles. After all, this is only right and proper, for, surely, if there is one business more than another which should be efficiently and intelligently conducted, one in which the greatest degree of perfection should be attained, one in which educated skill should be exercised, it is in the production of the people’s principal food. Instead of the heavy, indigestible bread with which, a generation ago, people were fain to be content, we have now a choice of many varieties, some of them excellent, whether as regards wholesomeness, palatableness, or nutritive value. In these high pressure days, however, there are many persons who cannot assimilate with comfort even the best kinds of ordinary bread, and, for their benefit, the most progressive bakers have, with the aid of the best chemical skill, essayed fresh combinations calculated to afford the maximum of nutriment and the minimum of digestive effort.

    Most notable amongst these modern products are the Malt Bread, Biscuits, and Rusks made by Mr. John Montgomerie, of 361, Dumbarton Road, Partick, Glasgow. Malt, as most people are aware, has now become the fashionable remedy for various forms of dyspepsia, but, as prescribed and dispensed, it does not suit everybody. Possessed, as it undoubtedly is, of valuable digestive properties, by reason of its chemical action upon farinaceous food, the problem arises, how can it be most conveniently administered, and how can its specific action be made most potent ? This difficulty has been most ingeniously solved by Mr. John Montgomerie. For instead of the malt being a medicinal adjunct to breadstuff's, it is combined with these in the process of manufacture. Of course it is no easy matter to effect that combination in the best possible way, but Mr. Montgomerie has done it. In the manufacture of his Malt Digestive Bread, Biscuits, and Rusks he uses Paterson’s Extract of Malt, which, being
allowed to work upon the starchy ingredients of the wheat flour before the bread is fired, results in the formation of a considerable quantity of dextrine.

    Here, then, we have what is indeed a boon and a blessing to dyspeptics, and which, moreover, cannot but be of great benefit to persons who are lucky enough to boast that they have never had a day’s illness or incurred a doctor’s bill in the whole course of their lives. Mr. Montgomerie’s invention has become famous. From the Princess Christian he, four years ago, received a testimonial speaking in the highest terms of his Digestive Malt Bread, etc., and at the great Industrial Exhibitions he has been remarkably successful. At the Edinburgh Exhibition of 1886, for example, he was awarded a prize medal. In the same year he obtained the highest awaid at the York Health Exhibition — a certificate of merit by the Sanitary and Health Institute of Great Britain — for Infants’ Rusks and Nursery Biscuits, after a practical test by the judges. At the Exhibition held in his own city in 1886-7, he had a gold medal conferred upon him in recognition of the great merit attaching to his invention. This is a remarkable record of success achieved, and it indicates that Mr. Montgomerie has admittedly solved one of the greatest problems of the age. Another speciality is his Wheaten Bread, made on the best hygienic principles and approved, therefore, by all food reformers to whom it has been submitted.

    A man who displays such enterprise, skill, and intelligence, a man who has transformed what was formerly a very common-place industry into one conducted on the best scientific principles, is bound to come to the front, and during the six years Mr. Montgomerie has been established at Dumbarton Road, Partick, his business has developed at a remarkable rate. His premises there consist of a large double shop, in all respects very attractive, extending a long way to the rear and backed by the bakehouse, which is a model for imitation as regards its appointments, roominess, and cleanliness. The bakehouse and ovens are built and fitted up in the most modern styles for the baking of all plain and fancy breads. Already, Mr. Montgomerie’s business is one of the most thriving in the western district of Glasgow, and there seems no likelihood of its persistent expansion being checked, so long as he continues not only to keep abreast of the times, but to lead as he has done so far.

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