The household (of the Detroit free press)

In order to draw tea properly, be sure and have soft water ; in order to avoid the limy taste often in water boiled in tea kettle, put a clean oyster shell in the kettle, which will always keep it in good order by attracting all particles that may be impregnated in the water. If tea is infused in soft water it will be found to have the best color and to draw best. It is a mistake to make tea strong, if the full flavor is desired. Professional tea-tasters use but a single pinch to a cup of boiling water. In China and Russia, where tea is made to perfection, it is very weak, boiling water being poured upon a few leaves, the decoction covered a few minutes, and then drank hot and clear. Two minutes is long enough for tea to stand, and it should never be boiled, or the fine aroma will be thrown off by evaporation, leaving as flavor only the bitter tannic acid extracted by boiling. If hard water must be used in making tea, a little carbonate of soda put into the tea-pot, will both increase the strength of the tea and make it more nutritious, the alkali dissolving the gluten to some extent. A silver tea-urn is a matter of economy, for it may be kept boiling with a much smaller quantity of spirits of wine than when a varnished or bronzed urn is used. A good cup of tea is made by putting the tea in the tea-pot and then put in the oven or near the fire where it can get very hot, and the pot then filled with boiling-hot water. The result will be a delicious cup of tea much superior to that drawn in the ordinary way. Never make tea in any other way than a highly-polished urn, for it is a chemical fact that metal retains the heat longer than earthenware, and the better it is polished, the more complete will the liquid be kept hot and the essence of the tea be extracted. See that the water is really boiling. Tea retains its flavor better if kept in little tin canisters instead of a caddy. A French chemist asserts that if tea be ground like coffee, immediately before hot water is poured upon it, it will yield nearly double the amount of its exhilarating qualities. Tastes differ regarding the flavor of teas. A good mixture in point of flavor (and what we use ourselves) is two-fifths black, two-fifths green and one-fifth gunpowder, all being, of course, of superior quality. ICED TEA. The tea should be made in the morning, very strong, and not allowed to steep long. Keep in the ice-box till the meal is ready and then put in a small quantity of cracked ice. Very few understand the art of making iced tea, but pour the scalding hot tea on a goblet of ice lumped in, and as the ice melts the tea is weak, insipid, and a libel on its name. Iced coffee is very nice made in the same way. Too much ice is detrimental to health and often causes gastric fever ; so beware of it when in a heated state, or do not drink of it in large quantities. OATMEAL DRINK. Take four tablespoonfuls of Scotch oatmeal, put into a small jug and fill up with clear, cool water; shake well and allow it to settle. This makes a most refreshing drink in hot weather and quenches thirst more than any other liquid. SARSAPARILLA MEAD.