What is termed "galvanized iron" is unsuitable for cooking utensils, it being simply sheet iron coated with zinc, an exceedingly unsafe metal to be used for cooking purposes. Tin, which is simply thin sheet iron coated with tin by dipping several times into vats of the melted metal, is largely employed in the manufacture of cooking utensils. Tinware is acted upon by acids, and when used for holding or cooking any acid foods, like sour milk, sour fruits, tomatoes, etc., harmful substances are liable to be formed, varying in quantity and harmfulness with the nature of the acid contained in the food. In these days of fraud and adulteration, nearly all the cheaper grades of tinware contain a greater or less amount of lead in their composition, which owing to its greater abundance and less price, is used as an adulterant of tin. Lead is also used in the solder with which the parts of tinware are united. The action of acids upon lead form very poisonous compounds, and all lead-adulterated utensils should be wholly discarded for cooking purposes. _Test for Lead-Adulterated Tin._--Place upon the metal a small drop of nitric acid, spreading it to the size of a dime, dry with gentle heat, apply a drop of water, then add a small crystal of iodide of potash. If lead is present, a yellowish color will be seen very soon after the addition of the iodide. Lead glazing, which is frequently employed on crockery and ironware in the manufacture of cooking utensils, may also be detected in the same manner. Cooking utensils made of copper are not to be recommended from the point of healthfulness, although many cooks esteem them because copper is a better conductor of heat than iron or tin. The acids of many fruits combine with copper to form extremely poisonous substances. Fatty substances, as well as salt and sugar, act upon copper to a greater or less degree, also vegetables containing sulfur in their composition and produce harmful compounds. Utensils made of brass, which is a compound of copper and zinc, are not safe to use for cooking purposes. TABLE TOPICS. Bad cooking diminishes happiness and shortens life.--_Wisdom of Ages._ Says Mrs. Partington: "Many a fair home has been desiccated by poor cooking, and a man's table has been the rock on which his happiness has split." SIGNIFICANT FACT.--_Lady_--"Have you had much experience as a cook?" _Applicant_--"Oh, indeed I have. I was the cook of Mr. and Mrs. Peterby for three years." _L._--"Why did you leave them?" _A._--"I didn't leave them. They left me. They both died." _L._--"What of?" _A._--"Dyspepsia." Cooking is generally bad because people falling to routine; habit dulls their appreciation, and they do not think about what they are eating.--_Didsbury._ _Lilly_ (Secretary of the cooking class)--"Now girls, we've learned nine cakes, two kinds of angel food, and seven pies. What next?"