stir in order to prevent lumps. As soon as it thickens,
which will be in half a minute, remove from the fire. Mix in a quarter
cup of syrup, some figs which have been soaked, a spoonful of egg
powder, milk if you have it, and the flavoring--if you happen to have
tucked in a can of ginger, that is the best. The mixture should be thin.
Bake before moderate fire.

I am not going on to elaborate a number of puddings by name; that is
where the cook-books make their mistake. But with this logical basis,
you will soon invent all sorts of delicious combinations. Some will be
failures, no doubt; but after you get the knack you will be able to
improvise on the least promising materials.

[Sidenote: Experiment Freely in Cooking]

Do not forget that mixing ingredients is always worth trying. A
combination of rice and oatmeal boiled together does not sound very
good, but it is delicious, and quite unlike either of its component
parts. I instance it merely as an example of a dozen similar.

[Sidenote: How to Make Tea]

_Tea._--The usual way of cooking tea is to pour the hot water on the
leaves. If used immediately this is the proper way. When, however, as
almost invariably happens about camp, the water is left standing on the
leaves for some time, the tannin is extracted. This makes a sort of tea
soup, at once bitter and unwholesome. A simple and easy way is to
provide yourself with a piece of cheesecloth about six inches square. On
the center drop your dose of dry tea leaves. Gather up the corners, and
tie into a sort of loose bag. Pour the hot water over this, and at the
end of five minutes fish out the bag. Untie it, shake loose the tea
leaves, and tuck away until next time. The tea in the pot can then be
saved for the late fisherman without fear of lining his stomach with
leather. Also it is no trouble.

[Sidenote: On Coffee]

Coffee, too, is more often bad than good in the field. The usual method
is to put a couple of handfuls in cold water, bring it to a boil, and
then set it aside to settle. Sometimes it is good that way, and
sometimes it isn't. A method that will always succeed, however, is as
follows: Bend an ordinary piece of hay wire into the shape of a hoop,
slightly larger than the mouth of your pot. On it sew a shallow
cheesecloth bag. Put your ground coffee in the bag, suspend in the
coffee pot, and pour the hot water through. If you like it extra strong,
pour it through twice. The result is drip coffee, delici