MAKING TEA

" Polly put the kettle on, and we'll all take tea." Of all the "cups that cheer" there is nothing like the smoking-hot cup of tea made with boiling water in a thor- oughly scalded tea-pot. If it is the good old fashioned green tea of " ye ancient, time," you must put it to draw and not to boil. If it is genuine "English Breakfast," or best black tea, the water must not only be boiling hot at the very moment of pouring it on, but the tea must actually boil for at least five or ten minutes. To insure keeping hot while serving, make the simple contrivance known as a " bonnet," which is warranted a sure preventative against that most insipid of all drinks — a warmish cup of tea. It is merely a sack, with a loose elastic in the bottom, large enough to cover and encircle the entire tea-pot. Make it with odd pieces of silk, satin, or cashmere, lined, quilted or embroidered ; draw this over the tea-pot as soon as the tea is poured into it, and it will remain piping hot for half an hour. One tea-spoon of tea and one tea-cup of hot c water is the usual allowance for each person. Freshly boiled soft water is the best for either tea or coffee. Always have a water-pot of hot water on the waiter with which to weaken

each cup if desired. Serve both tea and coffee with the best and richest cream, but in the absence of this luxury, a toler- able substitute is prepared as follows : Take fresh, new milk, set in a pan or pail where it will slowly simmer but not boil or reach the boiling point, stir frequently to keep the cream from separating and rising to the top, and allow to simmer until it is rich, thick and creamy. In absence of both cream and milk, the white of an egg beaten to a froth, with a small bit of butter well mixed with it, may be used. In pouring coffee, it must be turned on gradually so as not to curdle it.