HINTS TO TEA-MAKERS.

Westport Times, Volume V, Issue 835, 11 July 1871, Page 3

HINTS TO TEA-MAKERS.

It is said that half the human race drink tea of some sort or another. The Chinaman puts his tea in a cup, pours hot water upon it, and drinks the infusion off the leaves; he never dreams of sugar or cream. The Japanese triturates the leaves before putting them into the pot. In Morocco they put green tea, a little tansy, and a great deal of sugar, into a teapot, and fill up with boiling water. In Bokhara every man carries a small bag of tea about him, a certain quantity of which he hands over to the booth keeper he patronises, who concocts the beverage for him. The Bokhariot finds it as difficult to pass a tea booth as our own dram drinker does to go by a gin palace. His breakfast beverage is tea flavoured with milk cream, or mutton fat, in which bread is soaked. During the daytime sugarless green tea is drunk, with the accompaniment of cakes of flour and mutton suet. It is considered an inexcusable breach of manners to cool the hot cup of tea with the breath ; but the difficulty is overcome by supporting the right elbow in the left hand and giving a circular movement to the cup. How long each kind of tea takes to draw is calculated to the second, and when the can is emptied it is passed round the company for each tea-drinker to take up as many leaves as he can hold between his thumb and finger—the leaves being esteemed an especial dainty. When Mr Bell was travelling m Asiatic Bussia he had to claim the hospitality of the Buratsky Arabs. The mistress of the tent, placing a large kettle on the fire, wiped it carefully with a horse's tail, filled it with water, and threw in some coarse tea and a little salt. When this was near the boiling point she tossed the tea about with a brass ladle until the liquor becomes very brown, and then it was poured off into another vessel. Cleansing the kettle as before, the woman set it again on the fire, in order to fry a paste of meal and fresh butter. Upon this the tea and some thick cream were poured, the ladle was put into requisition, and after a time the whole taken off the fire and set aside to cool. Half-pint wooden mugs were handed round and the tea ladled into them, a tea forming meat and drink, and satisfying both hunger and thirst.—" Chambers' Journal."

At the Victoria Discussion Society, London, a paper was recently read entitled •' The Cold Mutton and Buttons Argument." Its object was to prove that those who oppose " women's rights," on the ground that their proper sphere of duty is their homes are selfish fellows who will by-and-bye be discomfited. In a certain district in the Highlands the bellman one day made the following proclamation : —" 0 yes, O yes, and O yes; and that's three times! You'll all pe toke notice, that there will pe no Lord's day here next Sabbath pecanse the laird's wife wants the kirk to dry her clothes in J" —" Liverpool Mercury." The New Free Press learns from Florence that Garabaldi intends to establish agricultural colonies in Sardinia, and asked for a grant of 100,000 acres of laud from the Government. A Commission has been appointed to report on the subject. The United States army, on the Ist July, will be reduced to 30,000 enlisted men only.