The principal charm of a fruit drink lies in the smooth blending of the various flavors. Unless the fruit juices have been well sweetened before bottling (page 619),-the needed sugar should be supplied in the form of a sugar sirup; otherwise the juices and the sugar must be mixed and allowed to stand together for several hours before being served. For the sirup, 1 cupful of sugar should be allowed for each cupful of water, and the mixture boiled for about 10 minutes. It saves time and fuel to make a quart or so of this sirup at a time and bottle it boiling hot in sterilized pint jars for subsequent use.

A small amount of some strongly acid juice should always be added to the fruit drink to give it the proper degree of acidity. The juice of rhubarb or barberries is sufficiently sour to take the place of lemon juice for this purpose. Orange juice may be substituted for lemon juice by adding to it a small quantity of cider vinegar.

Enough of the sugar sirup should be added to the fruit juices to sweeten them, enough acid juice to contribute the desired zest, and the whole diluted to taste with shaved ice or with ice water.

Green tea makes a good foundation for a fruit punch.

Well-scrubbed skins of pineapples, oranges, and lemons may be covered with water, a little sugar added, and the mixture allowed to stand for several hours to draw out the flavoring matter. This thin juice may be used immediately to make fruit drinks.