PHILOSOPHICAL AND STATISTICAL HISTORY

O F TH E

IN V E N T I O N S AN D C U ST O M S

ANC IENT AND M O DERN NATIONS

I N TH E M A NUFA C TURE A ND USE O F

I NE B R IATING L IQUOR S;W I TH TH E

tarmac of mimiuatiou in all ins batietiw

TOG ETH ER W I TH A N EX TENSI VE I LLUSTR A TI ON O F TH E

C ONSUM PTIO N AND EFFECTS O F OP IUM ;

A ND O THE R STI M UL ANT S U SED IN THE E AST, A S SUB STI TUTE S

F O R WINE AND SP I RI TS .

SAM UE L E W O O D , E SQ .

C OL LEC TOR O F E X C I SE .

DUB LIN

WILLIAM C URRY, JUN. AND C OM PANY,AND WILL IAM CARSON .

L O NG M AN , O RM E , B RO WN , GREEN, A ND L O NG M A NS, L O ND O N .

FRASER A ND C O M P ANY, ED I N B URGH .

1838.

D UB L I NP RI NTED B Y W I L L I AM WARREN ,

140, CAP EL -STREET .

TO TH E

R IGHT HONO RA B LE THE EARL OF RIPON,

TH IS WORK

M OST RE SP E C TFULLY, DED IC ATED,

H IS LORDSH IP,

S O B L IG ED AND V ERY O B ED IENT,

HUM B LE SE RVANT,

THE AUTHO R .

P R E F A C E .

FOURTEEN years hav ing elapsed sin ce the firstpublica

tion of this work, and the design hav ing metthe appro

bation of many respectable writers, the A uthor is

indu ced to offer to the public an improv ed edition ,

amplified, e x tended, and rendered more w orthy of atten

tion by the addition of new , original, and v alu able

matter. H opes“

w ere indeed entertain ed that, as this

was the firstpublication on a subjecthitherto u ntou ched

by any writer in the B ritish empire , itwould hav e e x cited

the curiosity. and employed the talents and research o f

other in dividu als more at leisure ; n othing, how ev er,

du ring su ch a lapse of time , has been offered to the

public e x actly on the plan of this u ndertaking.

In the L ondon Dispen satory, qu otation s hav e been

made from this work , and the Author was a little

flattered to find his labours v alu ed, an d a portion ofthem

ingen iou sly conden sed into the compass of a Table ,

ex hibiting, aton e View , the numerou s description s o f

inebriating drinks, with the countries~ where , and the

P R E F A C E .

materials whereof they w ere made ; and which Table

has been sin ce tran scribed into otherbooks . The design

and plan , as well as the ex ecution of this work , hav e

been approv ed of by the late respected D r. D un can , of

E dinburgh, who, in his D ispen satory, was pleased to

rank itamongst the best publi cation s on the subject,whether foreign or domestic . Immediately after its

appearan ce , a H istory ofWin es w as published by D r.

H enderson , founded on that of Sir Edward B arry (a

work of great research, labour, and indu stry, alike

creditable to his taste and talents) ; but thatv olum e ,

beiiigs olely"

. confin ed to’

the subjectof .

"

win es, no

means, include the'

ex tensiv e'

v ie'

ws'

embodied within the

compass'

of this w ork ; Since the appe arance of. D r.

Henderson’

s «book r and‘

fthat ::of the -A uthor, .asev eral

publication'

s hav e issu ed fromthe 7modelled

our

their plan , oi dériv ed i’

rom theirmatter and so’

urceS;

yetn on e . ,emb'

racingthe . wi de range taken ifi'

this .publi .

cation .

“

:;Whatev er m ay hav e :the

limits or defects ofthe firstediti0n ; .the'

Authorpresumes

that,while itsoriginalmatterhas be en carefu lly'

preserv ed,

ithas also been greatly i ncreased from'

m ore Ex ten siv e

arid { laboriou s researches,«

supplying every thing that

may render itu seful torthemerchant; interestingto the

spec'

ulatist, r'entertain ingf

zto reader, Rand

calculated 'to be a‘

safe guidé'to the

. practiéalbrefiverjamd

distiller.

" To avoid interrupting almost

the.

whole of the Tables hav'

e'

beem'

. throwfi du’

to : an

A ddenda; and in the body of the Work those {only hays

-3

be en r etained,; which a re either'

ab solutely'

noce'

ssary to

P' R E F A C E .

'

illu strate. the subject, or'

whichv -afi'

ord to .the man of

bu siné’

ss’

a clear. vi ew of the v arious branches of com

mé‘

rce Icohnected trades . For

the Same thework has'

no'

tbeen div ided into

Chapters, a copiou’

S,‘

introductory Table’ of"

C ontents is

given , -by which mean s the readeris atonce ‘

gu ided to

thepartwanted“

,twhile ’

the'

Index affords amore

.

minute

reference te'

~details.

The ‘proces'

ses'

of B rewing-and D istilling, according

to'

the'

mos'

t approv ed modern methods, '

are, itispre-i

smiled, so Camply and intelligibly detailed, that by a

careful observance of the instru ction s giv en , any man

may becom e h is own brew er or distiller, and may also

with confidence calculate -0n the probabilities of the

successful; or u nsucoeSSful, . resultof his f‘Speculation s.

Te th’

e'

se importantmatters are‘

added epitomesgof the

whi ch tthose trade s have l b'

een h nd“

are still

govern ed, w ith the estimated advantagesfandf disadvan

- D escriptions of.

the several in struments u sed"

byB rewers, D istillers, M erchants, and Ofiicers of the

R ev enu e; are given , with a statementof the prin cipleson-which they are con structed, r enderingtheir applica

tioneasy . and familiar to'

ev'

ery. capacity . The nature

and properties of alcohol ared etailed, and the iv arious

substances from which itmay be obtaine d are minutelyde scribed,w ith

rtlie relativ e

n

iialueofthe severalVegetables

In the article on Opium and other vegetable in ebriants;

great carehas been taken j o bring under rev iew their

P R E F A C E .

effects and properties, ,whether resorted to as stimulants

to sen su ality, or for medicinal u ses, alik e illu strativ e of

the gen eral subject, and affording information to the

practical chemist, the botan ical student, and the curiou s

observ er of nature . While the evil consequ ences of

undu e or irregular indulgen ces hav e been carefully

depicted and illu strated by appropriate an ecdotes, strict

regard has been paid to their conn ex ion with rev ealed

religion , and the law s that oughtto regulate society,

whether in the Pagan , M ahometan , Jewish, or Christian

world . The efforts of Temperan ce Societies to prev ent

the progressof immorality, arising from the frequ entand

e x cessiv e u se of intox icating liqu ors, hav e been'

inci

dentally n oticed, and although the detail may appear

to some irrelev ant, itcann otfail to prov e acceptable to

ev ery person who has the w ell-being of his fellow-crea

tures at’heart. Reference has also been made to the

policy adopted in variou s countries of deriv ing a rev enu e

from intox icating liqu ors, the means employed in raising

that"

rev en u e are ex plained, while their cfi'

ects, as regards

the commun ity‘

atlarge , are freely discu ssed .

O n peru sal of the B ook, the learn ed reader will per

ce ive the difficulties, which the A uthor has had to

en counter in collecting materials for so n ovel a publica

tion . E v ery quarter of the globe, itmay be said, has

been laid under contribution to aid the undertaking ; and

the patient‘

labours of scientific research hav e been pur

su ed with indefatigable activ ity (during the scanty leisure

afforded by ardu ou s official busin ess), to render as com

plete and comprehensiv e as possible a subject, which, in

P R E F A C E .

the collection and arrangementof the materials, might

hav e w earied or discouraged more enterprisingwriters .

Having, howev er, brought the matter to a close , he

tru sts the public w ill do him the ju stice to believ e

thatutility rather than pecun iary interestwas the chief

object of his researches, Sin ce the v olume has far

e x ceeded the bounds originally intended and, should he

prov e so fortunate as to meetthe approbation of the

learn ed and curiou s, he will feel, in a greatmeasure ,

repaid for the many difficulties he has had to en counter

in the composition of a work , by which he has begu iled

many a tediou s hour, and sweeten ed many a solitary

ev ening.

Itmay be well to observ e , thatthe desire to compress

the matter within the limits of a single v olume , pre

v ented the in sertion of some practical calcu lations and

observations conn ected with brewing and di stilling,which

w ill, howev er, be brought forward ata future period,should the success ofthe presentwork warrantit.

8, Peter-Place , Dublin,M ay, 1838.

C O N TENT S.

Early cu ltivation of the grapeUse of w ine

.

among the Hebrew s

the Egyptiansthe Greeks and Romans

Disquisition on the repu ted knowledge of the Arabs and Saracens inthe practice o f distillation

Prohibition ofw ine , and anecdotes respecting its use , amongthe MahometansL iquors u sed by the Syrians

the”

Nubian s.

the Abyssiniansother African nationsthe Persian s

O bse rvations on Opium and other e x hilaratmg substance sL iquors u sed by the

.

Tartarsthe

.people of India

Thibet

the Birman empireSiamNicobar Islands

o

C eylon

MadagascarSumatra

Phillippme IslandsCochin China andTonqu inChinaJapanLoo-Choo IslandsPolynesian IslandsAu stralasia, embracing New Zealand

Sou th Wale s, Sec. ac .

Eastern AfricaCape of G ood Hope

St. HelenaWest Indian IslandsMe x ico and P eru

ChiliParagu ay

Brazilthe Floridas

C O NTE NTS

L iqu ors of the Un ited State sCanada

the Indian tribe sCanary IslesMade iraSpainP ortugal

FranceItalyIsles of the Mediterranean

Ionian I slands

Cypru sHu ngary

Provinces bordering on the RhineG ermany

SwitzerlandHollandHanoverPru ssia

Poland

Denmark

Iceland

Finland

ERRATA.

Page 5 2, line 27, formines, read wines.

307 , 10, for mac, read wme .

5 341, 2 , for cm rt, read impost.

5 41, 3, for W ate/wad , read Whitbread.

660, 6, forprogress , read produ ce .

632 31, for read34, for chargers, read charges36, for charger, read charge

663, 40, for rage, read range .

689, 14, for look read lock .

THE

INVENTIONS AND CUSTOMS

O I‘TH E

‘ ANC IE NTS A ND M O DE RNS

I N TH E

USE AND MANUFAC TURE

I N‘

E B R I A TI N G L I QU O R S.

WH EN man w as driven from that peacefu l asylum originally assignedto him by his Creator, and condemned to earn his bread by the labourofhis hands,”

6 his attention w as, n o dou bt, powerfully exerted in proCUring the necessaries of life su ch as food, clothing, and habitation .

A s a cultivator of the earth, he mu st have been constantly employed,and, as his o ccu pation varied with the varying seasons, his mind

,

w as

continu ally exercised in contrivances to dimini sh and swe eten his to il.

His activity, when thu s excited, soon extended its influ ence to every

department of life , and having procu red its ne cessaries, he w as no

dou bt e arly led to the exercise of his ingenu ity in the attainment of

its luxu ries . Am ong these , the preservation of fru it and the ir ju ices ,however ru de ly practised, might have led to the u se of inebriating

drink ; a beverage which, as wi ll hereafteri

be shewn , has been discovered by some of the most savage nations, and deemed a luxu ry by

the almost un iversal testimony of mankind .

Whether the u se or knowledge of fermenting the grape wasknown

before the flood, is now u ncertain . We are informed, that a city w as

G en e sis iii. 23.

2

bu ilt by Cain, which was named E noch, after his and tha t Jubal,on e of his early descendants, invented the harp and organ,while ano

ther, Tubal Ca in, w as an instru ctor of every artificer in brass and iron .

From thi s it is evident, that the working of me tals and the construo

tion of variou s sorts of implements had, at this early period of the

world, arrived ata considerable degree of perfe ction : and it has been

conje ctu red, with great probability, that as Adam and Cain were

tillers of the grou nd,” they cou ld not have cu ltivated it withou t

instruments of hu sbandry made from metals, hence the plaus ibility of

the conclu sion, that God in his goodness gave to our first parent the

principles of every branch of knowledge suited to his condition and

tha t of his posterity.—There is nothing however to gu ide u s, even at

this advanced state of the arts, in the supposition that mank ind had

then any knowledge of inebriating liqu ors. At what period therefore ,and in what manner, wine w as first made and u sed, is now unknown .

Noah, it appears from Gene sis ix . 21, became dru nk with the produ ce

of his ow n vineyard and, as it is reasonable to siippose , he w as we llacqu ainted with all the discoveries of his progenitors, and their diffe

rent methods of cultivating the grou nd, w e may infer from this

circumstance, that the cu ltivation of the vine w as practised in the

antedilu vian world, and the intoxicating qu ality of the grape fullyexperienced. In the 20th verse of the chapter of Genesis, abovequ oted, it is said, N oah began to be a hu sbandman, and he planteda vineyard,

” from which it is notto be inferred that this w as the firsttime he had done so, or that he w as the first hu sbandman . As the

words to be are notin ‘

the origin al, the learned Doctor Kennicott saystha t the translation ought to be , N oah contin u ed to be a hu sbandman , implying that this w as a recommencement of an occupationwhich had only been interrupted by the flood . Whether, however,the drink, which had the effect of intoxicating him, w as the simpleexpressed ju ice of the grape , or had u ndergone any fermenting process, w e are nottold . It is adm itted that the mere ju ice

‘

ofthe grapehas n o inebriating quality and that to produ ce intoxication it mu stundergo a certain degre e of fermentation ; butas the ripe ju ice possesses in itse lf all the principles essential to su ch a change , it wouldvery soon ferment, particu larly in warm climates, so that the periodwou ld be butshort between itsmild and intoxicatingstate: The ju iceof the grape , which is u su ally called mu st, is known to ferment of itselfat a heat of abou t and hence wine mu st have been early known ,particu larly in hotclimate s where drink is so mu ch requ ired to allay

G enesis iv. 17.

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4

=o n this subject, seemed to indicate the Prom ised Land as the native

c ou ntry of the vine and even the Greeks themselves, in their mytho~

logy, place the inventors'

of w ine as inhabitants of Syria and the

adjacent countries —Atthe present “

day, a Spot n ear mou nt Ararat

is still shewn as the place where N oah IS said to have planted the first

v ine ; and the wine , yetmanu factured there , 15 of superior excellence .

It 18 therefore more than probable that Assyria w as the native region

o f the vine , and there is no stre tchh

of fancy in conce iving how it made

its w ay into other cou ntries. If, as some conjectu re , in relation towhat is stated in Matthew xxiv.

'

38, that an indulgence in inebrietyformed a large portion of those vices, for which God destroyed theworld by a deluge , it is a singu lar coincidence that the same crime

w as the first instance of human weakness, after the infliction of thatpunishment ; and that God , through the spirit of prophecy giv en toN oah, shou ld pronou nce a cu rse on those who treated the indiscretion

with le i 1ty“Cursed be Canaan,

”said Noah ; “a servant of ser

vants shall he be u nto his brethren an anathema which tothis dayrests on his posterity. The devoted nations which God de stroyed,before Israe l, were the de scendants of Canaan, as were also the

Phoenicians and Carthaginians, finally subj ected and annihilated by

the Gre eks and Romans . H am , the meaning of which is.

burn‘t, or

black,was the father of Canaan; and the Africans, who are‘

sa id to behis offspring , bear e vident marksp f Go d

’

s d ispleasure , since theyscarcely treated

-

as human be ings, butbought and sold like beasts'

of

bu rden. The Mahometan negro‘

es have a tradition, that as Japhetw as the mo st active in covering the nakedness of his father, which H am

discove red, the ir su bj e ction to E u ropeans, the descendants of Japhet,is the

.

consequ ence of the indiscre tionof H am .

In following the course of Scripture narrative , it appears that , asthe descendants of N oah incre ased, the vine , as supplying the means

'

of a mo1e comfortable subsistence , w as cu ltivated to con siderableextent, and that pe 1sons were pu rposely setapart forthemanufactureof wine , as presses were ere cted and the ju ice squ eezed from the grape ,as soon as the fru itw asri

pe . Palestine , it is said, early abounded m

excellent vineyards. So greatwas the ir number, that ofinheritance belonging to the tribe of Ju dah alone , 1n order to denotethe superabu ndant produ ce , itwas metaphorically said, that he washedhis garments in wine , and his clothes 1n the blood of the grape ; an d

in 2 Kings xviii . 39, the land of Canaan IS said to be a land of wineand i iueyards, and of the oil of the olive .

~

So many and so variou s

Kotzebu e’

s Narrative of a Jou rney through Persia, p . 94—7.

are the notices

tedious and mm

u perior descri ption ;namely, the wine The wine of E ldon

to Tyre and to morealu able merchandize

describedthe time , it was eagerlypu rchased . This wine w as said to be we llknown to the ancients, and, u nder the name of Chalibon ian Wine, w as

noted for its pecu liar exce llence . It w as made atDamascu s, wherethe Persians planted vineyards in order to obta in it in greater perfection and m larger qu antities . Its qu ality i s said to have be en that ofa lu xu riou s and generou s wine . The wine of L ebanon i s described asswee t scented , and said to havebee n mu ch adm ired , its excellence w as

ascribed to the gre at r1ehn ess of the vines which grew on the sides of

Mou nt Lebanon, where they had a good aspe ct or favourable exposu re to the su n s—The wines of Ascalon, Gaza, and Sarepta were heldin high estimation in distant cou ntries.

“ From the testimony of ancient writers, w e find that it early be camethe practice to mix certain perfume s or swee t-scented herbs in the

wine to improve its flavou r . With these odoriferou s wines the

Hebrews are said to have'

been well acqu ainted;‘

Of the composition of these , and the preparation of the different ingredients, w e are

notinformed ; there can , however, be butlittle doubt that by meansof these mixtures there wou ld be a mu ch greater variety of winesformerly than atpresent Having buton e kind of liqu or, they wou ld

no dou bt modify and 1mprov e it as mu ch as possible ; accordingly, w e

find particula r mention mad e of vinegar w ine , medicated w ine , spice d

Wine , and wine mixed with perfumes butWhat particu lar kinds or

varie ty of spicery orperfumes were infus ed, can only be conj ectni ed .

The Scriptures also inform u s, that strong drink w as administeredto criminals before execu tion, with a view to render them less sen

sible of pain ; and the Talmu d says, that it consisted of a cup of

wine mingled with frankincense , the latter rende i ing the draught

more sacred on ac coun t of be ingu sed at the sacrifices. This bitterand intoxicating cup Was u su ally prepared by wome n in Jeru salem ,

through compassionatemotives, in order to inspire u nfortu nate cul

prite in the ir last moments W ith false courage , and to enable them to

mee t the ir fate With fortitu de . Pennant, in his History of London ,relate s, that a similar practice formerly prevailed in E ngland, i t

be ing cu stomary to present a great bowl of ale to malefactors, on

the ir way.

to the place of e xecu tion, as the last refreshm ent they were

6

to rece ive in this life . The same ceremony i s still kept up atH am

burgh by a religiou s society.

of females, called the’

Blu e Sisters. In

the case of a capital condemnation , the cu lprit, w ho is obliged to passthe ir convent, while going to the fatal spot, is presented by those

piou s ladies with a glass of white w ine , which, when he has drank,i s dashed on the grou nd by the exe cu tioner, tha t no one may

.

u se

it ever after ; and also to signify regret on the occasion which brought

the u nhappy mortal to dr ink of the accu rsed beverage .

”~The foun

dation of this cu stom may have been laid in the injun ction of

Solomon , as delivered in Proverbs xxxi . 6,f‘Give strong drink to

him tha t is ready to perish, and wine to those that be of heavyheart.” In Jeremiah xxv . 16, allu sion seems to be made to thispractice where the prophet foretels the destru ction of Babylon inthese words : “And they sha ll drink, and be moved, and

'

he mad,

becau se of the sword that I will send among them,” perhaps

'

of a

similar nature , w as the bowl of wine , called n ep enthe, which,‘ Homer

te lls us , Helen presented to the gu ests of Menelau s, when oppressedwith grief, to raise their spirits and banish care . The composition

of this, it is said, she had learned from the Egyp tians, and is thu sbeau tifu lly described by the poe t

Meanwhile , w ith genial j oy to warm the sou l,

Bright Helen m ix ed a m irth-inspiring bow lTempered w ith dru gs of sov ereign u se t

”assu age

The bo iling bosom o f tumu ltu ou s rageCharm

’

d w ith thatv irtu ou s draughtthe e x alted m indAll sen se of w oe delivers to the w ind.

”

The practice , so prevalent among the Hebrews of mixing their

wm e with a portion of drugs or bitter herbs, w as always with a view

to make it stronger and more inebriating, by the addition of more

powerful ingredients. The prophets have , in n inn erou s instance s,reprobated this practice ; but, the Jews, lik e the tipplers of moderndays, appre ciated the pleasures of the bottle by the strength of itscontents . In

‘

Habakku k ii. 15 , it is written, “w oe to him who

maketh his ne ighbou r dru nk, who pu tte th his flaggon to him and

maketh him drunken .

” In this the prophet is supposed to allu de tothe condu ct of Pharaoh towards king Zedekiah, Who made himdru nk that he might insult over his weakness. The Rabbins relatethat one day N ebu chadn ezzar, atan entertainment, sent for Zedekiah,and gave him an intoxi cating liqu or to drink, purposely to exposehim to ridicule.

Wilson '

s Tray . in Ru ssia,&c. vol. i. p. 23.—Neal’s Trav. in G ermany, &c . p . 25 .

Some have asserted that: the strong drink, so often mentioned in

Scriptu re , means palm or date wine . Theodoretand Chrysostom wereof this opinion , and be ing both Syrians, the ir au thority is u nqu e stionable . Ju dea,‘ it is ‘

w ell known,w as noted for the abu ndance and e x

cellence of its palm-tre es, of which Fleury, in his hIann ers and C u s

toms of the Ancient Israe lites, says those abou t Jericho yielded a.

considerable profit and Pliny calls thi s region “p almz'

tz'

bu s znclyta ,"

ze nbwned for p a lms . Jericho w as style d the city of palms, by 'way

of eminence and Palmyra, said to have been bu ilt by Solomon, re

ceiv ed its .name from the same cau se . That the Jew s j were

acqua inted with the making of palm W ine , there is l ittle , reason

to‘

doiibt butwhether it w as of a stronger body than that madefrom the grape w e

'

are notinformed, as w e have sben that the latter

un derwent many change s by infusions and mixtures.

The wine mentioned in E x odusxxix . 40, an d Numbers xxviii . 7 ,as a drink offering,

”is considered to have be en made from the date

or fru it of the palm tree , the j u ice of whi ch, from containing a great

qu an tity of saccharine matter, be ing as Doctor Shaw expre sses it,of a more lu sciou s swee tness than honey, could notfa il of produ cing

drink of a v ery inebriating qu ality . In Hebrew it is called Sifterthe word shecer from shake r, to inebriate , signifies in that langu ageany kind of fermented liqu ors, or strong drink . An y intoxicating

liqu or,”says St. Jerom e ,

“is called s ikera , from the Greek wordwhe ther made of corn, apples, honey, dates or any other

fru its.1'

O ne of the fou r prohibited liqu ors among the Mahome tansin India, is called sabe r, whi ch signifies inebriating

.

drink in general,but especially date wine . From the

’

original word, Doctor AdamClarke observes, w e have probably borrowed our term cider, whichamong u s exclu sively implies the fermented ju ice of apples— Thus ,from a review of the sacred writers, it does notappear that the peoplein the ir day had any knowledgeofthe artof extracting spirit by avapo

ration . Had that discov ery been known, it is like ly they wou ld havenoticed it, as we ll as the other arts of whi ch they have given u s an

accou nt . —Inde ed, the free us e of wine , which was then gen ei allypractised, may be said to have prevented a search after any other kindc f liqu or for

p

it i s only in those places where the vine is notcu ltivated

that the ,first notice of any o ther beverage is fou nd.

Among the E gyptians, whose coun try was famous for its corn,H erodotu s tells u s , that beer, or a wine drawn from barley, was:the

Clarke ’

s Edition,L ondon , 1821, p . 39.

T E pist. ad Nepotianum de Vita C le ricorum ; etin Isai . x x w . 1.

8

liqu'

or principally describes the clergy as feasting on the

sacrifices an d quaffing the sacred'

wine ; and relates that in the

time of, Cambyses, 5 29 years before the

: Christian ‘

era, the Sfyr'

fan s

werewell skilled in the manu facture of palm wine ; and that'

among

the presents sent by that monarch to the E thiopians w as a

'

vessel full

of that liqu or. The same write r infornis u s , tha t the'

L ot‘

ophagi, apeople of Africa, who chiefly su bsisted on the produ ce of the lotos

plant, made a spe cies of wine frém its berries. Accordingto Scylax ,the geographer, who flou rished before Christ 5 22 years, the lotos

served the se people both for meat and drink , and from thatcircum

stance they derived the ir name . Strabo says, they were nots e nsi

ble of the want of water in the burning and sandy region f theyi

inha

bited, as the roo t:stalks, & c . of the lotos, supplied them with rich

liqu or, as well as de liciou s food . Ulysse s and his companions are

said to have been enchanted with it, as it made those who eat of itforge t their cou ntry and re lations .

w e tou ched, by v ariou s errors toss'

d,

The land of Lotos,and the flowery coast.

We climb'

d the beach,and springs o f w ater fou nd ,

Then spread ou r ha sty banqu eton the grou nd .

Thre e m en w ere sent, deputed from the crew ,

(An herald on e) the du biou s coastto v iew ,

And learn whathabitants posse ssed the place .

They w entand fou nd a. hosp itable race,

Notpron e to ill, n or strange to fore ign gu e st,

They eat,they drink ,

.

and n atu re giv e s the feastThe trees arou nd them all their food produ ce ,Lotos the nam e

,divin e

,n ectareo u s ju ice !

(Thence called lotophagi) which whoso tastesInsatiate riots in the sw e etrepasts ,Nor other hom e

,n or other care intends

,

B utqu its his hou se , his cou ntry and his

Of the lotos there are variou s species that, referred to by ‘Herodotu s, is said -to be the E gyptian lotos, a sort

'

of lily, growing on

the banks of the N ilef The inhabitants make bread of the seed,and eat the root, which has mu ch the size and appearance of an

apple of potato. Savary saw the people , who live on the bor

ders of the Menze l lake , feed on it. 'Another description of the

lotos is highly esteemed in ‘China, where it is called L ien-hoa ,it

anciently formed a portion of the materials u sed ln making the liqu orof immortality, a th ink mentioned in a subsequ ent part of this

Herodotu s, book 11. s . 77. j

’ Vide O dyssey, 1. ix . v. 95 .

9

Work.

" iAs ' itis u ncertain from iwhat . spe cies of the} lotos, fwinr‘

e

w as'

tmade} it is probable that it w as from ?the lotos or N ebek tree ,

nien'

tiofied‘byB ui‘ckliardt,which he

'

fou nd in greatplenty in Arab ia.

*

Thi'

s fru it ripens in M arch,b

whenit‘becomeSf

a p rime article of food,

or d i stilled into a strong diqu or.

‘Xenophon relates; i n his history of the retreat of the'

ten thousandGreeks, after the battle of Cu naxa, that m that part of Armenia next

to'

C urdistan , the‘ inhabitants had a method -of preparing a po tent

liqu or fromwhat appears to have be en barley. The so il,”says he ,

is’

good for arable and pasture , and the produ ce -abu ndant ; yetthepeople inhabit caves with the ir -cattle , poultry, & c .

- they fill open

vessels with barley and water up to the -brim .

”The time for the

fermentation and other parts of the process is notto ld, butthe liqu or

is described as very strong, if notmixed with water, and pleasant tothose w ho are

raccu stom ed to the ve sse ls in which it w as

kept, lay hollow canes or reeds of various sizesy othrough whi ch the

people drank by su ction ; but, in token of thespitality, they allowed

the ir Grecian gu ests to drink outof -the vessels, 1“after the manner of

oxen .

”T Notwithstanding this ‘ drink made from d

grain , there w as

abu ndance of palm wine , as well as vinegar, fo u nd by the 'Greeks i n

the villages, du ring this memorable retreat ; and so num erou s were the

palm trees, that theyWe re cutdown to con stru ct bridges o ver the canals

and di tches which they had to passfl: probably the l iqu ormade frombarley w as the same as that called zythem, made1n * some of the pro

vinces of Asia Minor, mentioned‘by Diodoru s Siculu s u pwards of

800 years afterwards. Dio scorides, as also Galen ,~ de scribes the ale

of the ir time as affecting the nervou s system powerfully,~

and the hea d

in particu lar, with very painfu l efi'

ect,‘

so that-ithaslbeen conjectu red

that the ale allu ded to , w as n otonly the produ ce'ofb ad f ermentation,

butu npreserved by any antisepti c “

aroma like the hop .

The invention of these beverages is attribu ted to Isis, '

or toOsiris,who are said to have re igned j ointly in E gypt, and are de ified in

ancient mythology . Some writers maintain that‘

Osiris is'

the sameas M israim , the son of Cha in , to whom the invention of ale is solelyascribable butto whom these luxuries ow e the ir origin, it wou ld nowbe

’

impo ssible to determine . The E gyptians ~and Hebrews, as w e

find from Moses, who w as' versed in all their learning,§ u nderstood

i B urckhardt’

s Travels in Arabia, v ol. ii . p . 25 2 .

‘

1‘ Ken:Ahab . p . 332 . I Ibid. b. IL Acts vu . 22 .

10

the art of dyeing, smelting, and working in me tals,‘

archite cture,scu lpture , and engraving on preciou s stone s, besides the preservation

of the dead by antiseptic substances . These , with many other inv entions,were

"commu nicated to the E gyptians by the H ebrews long

before they were known in Gree ce . Though the making of glass of

variou s colours may be added, as a discovery known to the Egyp

tians, from a very remote antiqui ty, as well as the artof rendering goldpotable , as appears from E xodu s xxxii . 20 ; _ yetw e no where read

that they ever attained a higher knowledge i n the se crets of chemistry.In the practice ofthe medi cal art, the most ancient physicians appear

ignorant of the mode of extracting any of the essential o ils by steam

or vapou rs . H ippocrates, ju stly called the father of physio, who

flourished between the 80th and 88th Olympiad, or abou t 400 yearsbefore Christ, is the oldest au thor, whose writings, expressly on the

medical art, are preserved ; and in the Wholel

of his works, there is not

a single expression which cou ld warrant the idea of a retort or alembic,having ever been u sed by him .

Some have maintained, from a passage in the Gospe l of St.Matthew

v i. 30, that the us e of the still w as partially known in'

our Lord’s time ,as they intimate that he alluded to the distillation of herbs for medicinal purposes, when he us ed the word x N fiacvov, (klibanon ) where hesaid, speaking of the grass of the field, whichto day is, and to-morrow

is cast into the oven, e is ton kliba non ,”“into the oven’ into the

still,”accordin g to others. B ut, as there does not

'

appear a vestige of

e vidence in an y ancient author, or writer on the Scriptu res, that theartof di stillation w as then known, su ch a translation may be said tohave more of fancy than learning in it. Pliny the e lder, who w as

nearly contemporary with our Savmur, and who, in hi s natu ral history,has shew n himself so curiou s and so ju diciou s amaster in the compilation of facts and observations, appears to be altoge ther ignorant ofan y stronger liqu or, than that produ ced by fermentation . H e noticed

the variou s drinks of the E gyptians, in u se in his day, which weremanufactu red from gra in steeped in water an d assu res us , that they

.were very strong, and dru nk withou t any mixture whateve r . Thesebeverages were distingui shed by variou s names, su ch as zythum,

coelia, ceria, Ceris vinum, or wine of Ceres, curmi, cervisia, & c . eachliterally meaning ale , or beer. The making of them, he says, was

known to the several nations, who inhabited the'

w estofE urope . T he

mode of manufacture , however, w as somewhat different in different

cou ntries ; but the nature and properties of the liquor were every

where the same. The people of Spain, in particu lar, he informs u s,

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12

It was in these times of simplicity that women Were forbidden todrink wine ; and for that reason the ir near relations were permitte dto salu te them when they came to the ir hou ses, in order to sih ell

whether theyv had tasted any Temetum , for so they termed wine , which

if discovered, gave the ir hu sbands a right to puni sh them . According‘

to D ionysiu s ofHalicarnassu s,Romu lu sw as the au thor ofthe law which

permitted a hu sband to kill his wife for drinking wine , as well as for'

the crime of adu ltery . It is related tha t Ignatiu s M ecenn iu s, having

killed his wife with a cu dgel, be cau se he fou nd her drinking wine out

of a cask,w as acqu itted of the mu rder by Romu lu sfi“ FabiusPictor,in his annals, says that a Roman lady w as starved to death by

.

her own

relations for having picked the lock of a chest in which were the keysof thewine cellar .1

' We are assu red by P liny, that C n eiu s Domitiu s,’

a judge in Rome , -in the like ca se pronou nced sentence j u diciallyagainst a womanwho w as defendant, in this form, that it seemed she

'

had ~ drunk more wine withou t her hu sband’s knowledge than w as

needfu l for the preservation of her health, and therefore that sheshould lose the benefit of her dowry.

We read that L u ciu s P apyriu s, general of the Roman armies, whenatthe po int of engaging the Samn ites, made no other vbw than thathe would offer to Ju piter a little cup or goble t of wine , in case hegained the victory . M en in those days were also forbiddento drink

the age of thirty.Towards the decline of the Roman commonwealth; and

'

u nder the

first empe rors, the women we re n otonly accu stomed to drink wine ,but carried the excess of it as far as the men , which, if w e credit

Pliny, exceeded any thing of the kind i n modern times . To preventfemales from committing e x ce ssw e crimes, the lawgivers 1n ancienttime s prohibited the free u se of wine . Seneca complains bitterly that;in his day, the custom of prohibition w as almost u niversally violated.

The w eak and deli cate complexion of the women , says he , is notchanged, butthe ir manners are changed and no longer the same .

They valu e themselve s u pon carrying excess of wine to as great a

he ight as the most robu st m en ; like them they pass whole nights attable , and with a fu ll glass of u nmixed wine in the ir hands, they gloryin v ie irig with them ; and if they can , in overcoming them. Theoph

rastu s says that great dru nkards, when they drank for a wager, u sed

to take the powder of p1un ice stone before setting to .i This pro

bably gave ri se to the inv ention rof “dev ils,”those cho ice and whettirig

titbits , so mu ch resorted to after dinner bythe topers of the pre sentday, Some of the Roman s even went so far as to take hemlock in

Pliny, book x iv . chap. 13. i Pliny, b . x x x v i . chap . 2 1.

13

order to mak‘

e'

them'

drink . Tiberiu s Clau dius, who was fond of a

goblet himself, knighte d Nov elliu s Torquatus, by the title of Tricongiu s, or the three -gallon 'kn ight, for» drink ing ; aton e drau ght, :threecongii of wine

'

, equal to nine qu arts;r thre e three-eighth a

pints,E nglish

win e measure , w ithou t takin g breath. ‘

It was generally ,sbelie v'

ed at Rome, that Cains Piso owed hisadvancement atthe ecurtof Tiberiu s '

to his extraordinary powers inthat way, a s it is said he wou ld sitfortw o days and tw o nights drinkingwithou t intermission, or even st irring from the table . Tergilla, who

challenged Marcu sCicero , son of the famous orator, to a drinking-bou t,boasted that he u sually drank tw o -gallons ata draught. In late rtimes w e read, that the emperor Maximin , .who w as n o less remarkable for his gigantic stature , than for-his great strength, would drinksix gallons of Wine withou t getting

'drunk . Maximin is said to havebe en e ight and a half fee t high, made in proportion ; and if, agreeably

to the old adage , good eating requ ires good nee d notbe su rprised athis '

pow ers in tha t w ay, when it is assert-edythatfhe

ate forty"

poun ds of flesh every day, Sinclair, in his code of health,tells 'ii s that a Mr. Vanhorn, of modern notorie ty, drank in the cou rseof thre e and twenty years, 35 ,688 bottles , or

~5 9 pipes of red porta qu ant1ty, pe rhaps , n otexceeded by any ofthe dru nkards of antiqu ity.What a prodigi ous stomach and constitu tion this man /musthave had !

Pliny. e x hibitsv a stro'

ng proof ,of the great fondness

,

which .

the

Romans, as well as ; other nations, had for this liqu or, in stating thatnot le ss than 19 5 sorts were in general use ; but of the wines most

esteemed, the re du ces the number to e ighty, tw o-thirds o f which hereckons the produ ce r

of Italy. Those wines whi ch took theirfrom ‘Opimius,

’ in whose consulate the y weremade , some of whi ch

were p reserv ed to' Pliny

’s time, that is, nearly 200 years, were not,

from the ir great excellence , to'

be purchased for money . If a small

qu antity of any of them w ere mixed with others, it is said they communi cated

'

a‘

su rprising'rstrength andflavou r . The empress Julia

“Augusta often said, tthat she w as indebted to »the goodness of the

Pu cine wine for ‘ living to the age of e ighty-tw o . This wine w as the

produ ce of the grape planted along the Adriati c sea, 1or gu lf of V en ice; upon

aa steep an d rugged hill, notfar from . the sour ce . of the

river Timavus , and '

w as thou ght to have re ce ived“

some of its v alu a

ble qualities from the vapou rs of the sea, butmore from the natu reof the soil ' and -the favorable ‘

situ ation of the ' vineyards. The wine-C oecuban f ‘manu factu red from the

,grape of the poplar ma rshes of

Am yclae, w as mu ch sought after before the time of Au gustus Caesar ;but from the preference given to Setine , a wine produ ced in the

14

vineyards above the forum Appi i , C oecubau fell into dis'

repu te , and

Setine w as preferred for its various medi cinal virtu es. Amongst all.

the wines of Italy, the Falernian, so mu ch celebrated by Horace , w as

in the greatest repu te , and by Martial prono'

u nce d immortal,.

and

jus tly so, whenwe consider that its praises have been su ng by im

mortal bards. Itw as so very strong and rough, that Horace calledit a fiery wine , and it w as notdrank till it had been kept ten years.

Galen.

says it w as iii its best condition betwe en the tenth and twen

tieth. To correcti

its roughness, it w as e ither mixed with honey or

Wi ne of a weaker natu re , by which it was rendered delicious—sometim es itw as dilu ted with water to moderate its strength. Faler

may be said to have beenamongst the ancients what Tokay is

getthe modern s. The Fau stian wine , a species of the Falérnian, w as of so spiritu ou s a nature , tha t it would bu rn with apu re and light flame . The

’

Alban , or wines of Alba, made nearthe City of Rome , are ranked by Pliny as only a third rate wine,butpraised by both Horace and Ju v enal—whe n new it w as lu sciou sand of a thick consistency ; and in abou t fifteen years considered in

its best state . The Surrentin e wines, the produ ce of Aminean

grapes, said by Tiberius Caesarto be so mu ch recommended by physician s, were , from the ir acidity, galled by him gen erous v in egar—buttho se wines were lik ed by Caligula . The Massie is a wine describedby Martial . The Fu ndanian , or wine of Signia, was so rough and

astringent as to be mostly u sed for medicine . The Mamertine w as alight wine from abou t Messina m Sicily, and that which was orderedby Julius Caesar to be used in the feasts of the city ; and the Potulan e

wines were so called, from the first planters of the vine from whichthey were produ ced: The wines of Tu scany, the Praetutian , theAncona, the P almesian , from the vines growing u p the palm or datetree ; C esenation and M ecaenatian wines ; the

'

Rhaetian , within the

territory,of Verona, spoken of by Virgil, and ranked by him next toFale rnian ; the Latenien sian , the Grav iscan , and Statonian wines ;the wines made between the Pyren ean hills and the Alps, were withvariou s others, ce lebrated, and many of them in

'

great demand inPliny’s day. From the forego ing particu lars, it may be in ferred, thatthe abu ndance of wines amongst the Romans, rendered every otherdescription of intoxicating drink u nnecessary ; and that the distillation of spiritu ou s liqu ors w as wholly u nknown to them .

‘

N e ither theru ins of H erculaneum

‘

nor Pompe ii, afford any vestige of the knowledgeof su ch an art, while

.

the Amphorae, which held the Wine , are yet

fou nd in the cellars of. several of the houses, after a lapse of nearly twothou sand years.

5

Am ong the Greeks, wi ne was alsothe favourite bev erage . Homer

mentions a very famous W ine of M aron ea in Thrace , supposed to bethe same as that carried by Ulysses when he visited the Cyclopsthis wine , mu ch celebrated by Pliny, w as so strongas to bearmixingwith twenty times its qu antity of water ; butit w as common for thenatives to drink it u nmixed .

-The wines of Cypru s, L esbos, (nowM ytelen e) and Chios, were mu ch celebrated . Those of L esbos, Chios,and Thasos have respectively claimed superiority. Corcyra, C rete ,Cnidus , and Rhodes, yie lded win es of the richest body, and most delicate flavou r, with which a great

‘

portion of E urope w as su pplied.Those of Cypru s, as we ll as the wines of many o ther Greek islands,are , as will be noticed hereafter, in great esteem to this day. Horaceoften mentions the wines of L esbos, and represents them as

fiverywholesome and agreeable ; they were said to have been less odorousthan some other wines, but having so deliciou s a flavour as to

deserve the name of ambrosia rather than wine ; and when old,w ere

‘

denominated ne ctar, from their comparative excellence . Notwithstanding this character of the L esbian wines, Pliny ranks them

inferior to Chios or Thasos ; and Strabo re ckons the Chian the bestof Greek Win es,while Virgil calls the Phanaean ,tlze l ung of a ll w ines

so inu ch did the wines of Chios surpass those of every other coun try,

that the inhabitants of that island are thought to be the first whoplanted the vine , and taught the u se of it to other nations. The

desert wi nes among the Greeks were the Thasian '

and Lesbian, and

whe n the Romans be came acqu ainted with the excellence of the Greek

wines, the Chian and Lesbian were the ir favou rite desert wines.

Virgi l praises the Argitis, a white wine , as capable of be ing preserved

for“

an extraordin ary length'

of years ; besides which, w e read -of

lighter kinds of wines, su ch as those of’

N axos ; the M endean , a

Thracian wine , and the Omphacite s, procured from L e sbos and Thasos.

The frequ ent mention of wine , the praises bestowed on it, the flowinggoble ts, and lu xu riou s banqu e ts, as described by Homer 1000 yearsbefore the Christian era , shew its valu e and the attachment of that

great poe t to the comforts of' the table and to jovial society'

. Horacewas of this opinion when he says,

Hom er, in prai se of the profu se ,

No doubt loved w ell the balmy

All the wines already enumerated were in su ch esteem at.Rome ,

according to Marcus Varro; qu oted by Pliny, that in the year 67 5

Rollin . 1‘ Horace , Epist. 19. b. i .

16

after the fou ndation of that city, Publius Lu cinius Crassu s and Lu cius

Ju liu s then censors, . published an edict,"

and proclaimed,that noman shou ld .se ll any,,Greek wine or Arminean , butafter e ight

asses the amphoraflfior abouta penny a gallonfl‘ Thus _

itwou ld appear

that a d uty was levied on qw ine amongst.the Romans ; ,and this is con

firmed ,by. Cicero, in his «defence of M. Fonteius , as well as , ,

by other

historical records still ex tanta { I’

he Rhodian wine w as frequ ently u sed

by the Romans in the ir libations, as is evide nt from V irgil

The Rhodian,sacred to the solemn day,

In secon d service s is pou red to Jov e ,A nd bestaccepted hy

'the gods above fl‘

From the great price and e stimation of Chios wine, no person ‘wasin dulged with more than on e draught of it ata meal ; a proof of thisis given by Varro in the instance of L ucius Lu cullu sh who, when a boy,never saw more than a cu p served u p athis father’s table after

ldinn era

After the re tu rn of this same Lu cu llu s from As ia, in an ente rtainment,which he gave to the jcitizens of Rome , he distribu ted among

,the

people5more than31,00,000’

gallons of wine .1 Of Caius ~Sentius, the

praetor, it is said that he never . u sed Chian W ine on accou ntof itsdearn ess, bu t be cau se it w as prescribed to him by the physicians as

useful for the ca rd ia ca p a ss io, or palpitation of the heart, to which hew as su bje ct ; on the contrary, su ch w as the love of

famou s orator,r for it, that when he di ed, he left to his heir abou t

barrels, which had been stored in his ce llar . The prevailing

quality Lof this ,as well as of the o ther wines alreadymention edh was

sweetness with delicacy of flavour .Among the Greeks, it appears, swee t and odorife rous wine s were

always in great estimation . In many instances,When the wine w as

deficient in saccharine matter, they swe etened it by pu ttingflou rkn eade d with honey into the vessels.

\Thi s practice , is said, to havebeen first introdu ced by Aristaeu s, and w as then denominated oin omelz

'

,

honied win e . Origanum, aromatics, fru its, and flowers, were also

infused. The wine of B yblos, ,in Phoenicia, w as mu ch esteemed for

the strength of the perfumes with which it w as impregnated. B utof

all the mixtures and infu sions,which were common among them, thatof pouring salt-water into wine was the most singu lar. It was done ,it wou ld seem, with a view to promote digestion and prevent the winefrom flying to the . head.

‘

O ne measu re of sea-water was considered0

The amphora contain ed som ething less than 26 qu arts .

1’ D ryden

’

s Virgil, G'

eorg. 11. I oP liny,~b . x iv . chap . 14 .

7

su fficient for fifty of wine .

* Thi s mixtu re , whi ch was called B ieeon ,w as accidentally discovered by a servant in Greece, who, to de ce ivehis master, pou red sea-water into a vesse l outof whi ch he had stolen

and drank some wine and it was thought to have improved the

flavou r of the liqu or. In Rhodes and Cos, a considerable qu antity ofthis wine w as mad e , which the Roma ns and others imitated and in

modern Gre e ce , salt-wate r is u sed in the preparation of wine , on the

grounds that Where the Saccharine principle is superabu nda nt in themust; the sea water assists fermentation, and improves the strengthandflavour of the produ ce .

If w e credit some au thors , wine w as notthe only beverage known

to the Greeks ; for, although Homer is silent on the matte r, they

knew, from a remote period, how to compose , with water and barley,a liquo r, which, for strength and goodne ss, approached near to wh atOvid, speak ing of the meeting tha t Ceres, exhaus ted with weariness,had with an old

,w oman , named Bau bo , says, that the godde ss,having

demanded some water, the old woman presented her with a liqu ormanufactured from dried grain. Thu s expressed in the translation :

The goddess knocking atthe little door,’

Tw as open’

d by a w om an old and poor,

Who,when she begg

’

d for w ater, gave her ale ,

Brew ed long, butw ell preserved from be ing stale . I

This w as their o inos krz'

stkz'

nos cerem'

sz’

a , or wine made from barley.They also u nderstood the making of palm wine , called o inos ep setos,

some tim es termed ox os ep seton , for oxe s w as a general name for all

made wines.§ The ease , howeve r, with which the ju ice of the vinew as obtained, rendered the u se of these wines less common, and

ahn ostu nne cessary.

The method of making wine among the Gre eks w as nearly as fol

lows -Abou t the end of September , or early in October , whenthe fru it w as deemed sufliciently ripe , the grapes were colle cted, andu sually exposed forten days to the su n

'

and the coolness of the night,in order that they might be come more lusciou s and ju icy. With many

it w as a practice to make three gatherings of the fru i t du ring the

vintage , forthe pu rpose of produ cing wines of different qu alitie s, While

other means were resorted to for improving the strength, taste , and

flavou r : a predominan t one was that of twisting the tendrils in orderto destroy vegetation, leaving the fru it, for abou t a month, exposed to

Vide Travels of Anacharsis the you nger, by the Abbe Barthelem i .

1“ Died. 1. iv . p . 248. I Vide Metam . l. v . v . 449 , &c . also Bayle , article

The smophoria . Archzrologia G raeca , vol. 11.

IS

the full influence ofthe atmosphere . After this exposure, the grapesw ere putinto the shade for fiv e days, and, on the sixth, stamped orbru ised in a v at; butas this process w as fou nd tediou s and troublesome , the ripe grapes immediately from the vine itse lf were put into

a cistern, in which w as a hole , or vent near the bottom, with a vessel

beneath to rece ive the liqu or. In this cistern, a man with his barefeet and legs pressed out the ju ice , butto relieve them from thislabour , a piece of machinery w as afterwards substitu ted. Thisw as simply a beam, ere cted p erpendicularly,

'

hav ing a cross acting asa lever, with a pressure of stones above , to give it greater we ight or

power, and which‘

w as worked by means of cordage .—The practice ,

however, of treading outthe ju ice with the feet, seems'

stillto prevail

in most eastern c'

ou ntries.

* The Greeks did n ot keep their'

w ine in

casks -as w e do , for the u se of vessels of that sort w as unknown to

them, as appears from He rodotu s, who informs u s, that wine w as'

e xported from different parts of Greece to Egypt, in earthen

j ars, which, when emptied, were afterwards sent into the Syriandeserts to preserve the water of the N ile .1

‘

The Athenians werefamou s for making these and other great vessels of earthenware ,of whi ch they claimed the invention ; but, according to Au lu s Gelliu s,the Samian s were the first potters. This seems more probable, as, in

the island of Samos, a fine spec ie s of red earth is found,‘ from which,with the assistance of linseed oil, iron m ay be extracted ; and from

this clay the ancient vases, so mu ch celebrated, are supposed to havebeen manu factu red. These va ses were tastefu lly formed, exceed

ingly light, and varnished with scented bitumen, re ce iving a polish

like our finest crockery ware , and imparting an aromatic flavou r toWhatever they contained. Some times they were coated on the insidewith pitch, mastic, and oil, incorporated with variou s odoriferou s in

gredients. Many of these vessels were of enormou s size , particu larlythose u sed by the Romans, and they Were commonly hooped

‘

to

prevent them from bu rsting. O ne is.

said to have contained one

hu ndred and twenty amphorae, or 810 gallons of wine, and another isknown to have held 210 gallons : butthe Greeks preferred jars orvases of mu ch smaller magnitude . The skins of beasts were also usedfor the same purpose , a custom which continu es to this day, wherewood is n otplenty. The leathern bags,or bom clzz

'

os, thu s u sed, weregenerally made outof the skins of goats, stripped off withou t be ingcut, the place s from whi ch the legs, 810. had been extracted, sewed up ,and the top e ither tied or sealed. The Arabians of the present day

Chandlers’ Travels, p . 2 . f Herodotu s, b . 111. chap . i . 6 .

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20

Dioscorides, who was physician to Cleopatra, and contemporary wi th

Pliny, w as obliged to collect essential oil on the fleece of a sheep , a

proof that he knew no other mode of distillation . O ne hundred and

thirty one years subsequ ent to this, Galen, a celebrated physician ofPergamu s, who wrote many books notonly u pon medical, butphiloso phical subjects, speaksof distillationp er descensum, butit is conce ived

he meant nothing more by this than what regarded the melting of

metals .

Faberf a write r in alchymy of some eminence , states thatthe art

of distillation w as known to‘

D emocritu s, who w as contemporary with

Hippocrate s, “primu s enim inter Graecos distillandi peritu s fu it De

mocritu s distillationis au tem peritiam didicit in E gypto,”

and that

alchymy flourished in the time of Hermes Trismegistu s, in E gypt;abou t A. M. 2484 . H e admits that ne ither Hippocrates n or Galenknew any thing of distillation yet it appe ars extraordinary, that the

most enlightened people on the earth should have remained ignorant

of this art, 5 61 years after Democritu s, u nless it w as kept a secret by

him as well as bythe E gyp tians— In the 12th chapter and 20th

verse of St . Pau l ’s epistle to the Romans, there is a metephorical

allu sion to the same practice , whi ch is thu s beau tifu lly expressed by

So artists m eltthe su llen ore of lead ,B y heaping coals of fire u pon its head

In the kind w armth the m etals learn to glow ,

And fre e from dross the silver ru ns below .

In'

like'

mann er, Caligula, according to Plin y, endeavoured to collect,by su blimation, gold from orpiment, a mineral substance fou nd in different parts of the world.1

' Theophrastu s and Dioscorides also describethe extraction of tar as effe cted by a similar process and it is strange ,that the same mode of obtaining it is still followed by the people of

the northern provinces of Sweden.

During the reign of Dioclesian , who su cceded Marcu s Au re liu sNum erianu s, in the year 284, w e find the E gyptians had carried the irsp e cu lations in chemistry so far as to indu ce that emperor to publishan edict for the suppression of all the ancient books that treated of

the artof making gold and silver, and which he wantonly committedto the flam es, be ing fearfu l, tha t if they be cam e wealthy, they wou ld beindu ced to resist the Roman yoke , and set him at defian ced: B ut

Fab er wrote in 162 7, and his w orks w ere printed atStrasbu rg in 1632 .

1' Pliny, b . x x x iii. cap . 4 .

I Vide Su idas in voce a u st'

a,G ibbon

,V Ol ii. p . 137.

2 1

although this branch of spe cu lative knowledge ga ve rise to many u sefu l

experiments, and w as carried to a great he ight, w e learn from the

commentary on the second book of Aristotle ’s Meteors, written by

O lympiodoru s, a peripate tic philosopher, who flourished u nder thesecond Theodosius , that distillation w as notthen known, atleast in a

more improved state , than it w as 400 years before ; for he says, that

Sailors, when they labou r u nder a scarcity of fresh water atsea, bo ilthe sea-water, and su spend large sponges from the mou th of a brazen

vessel, to imbibe what is evaporated, and in drawing this off from the

sponges, they find it to be swe et water .It is said that Zosimu s, the P anopolite , who lived atthe close ofthe

4th or beginning ofthe 5 th century,has giv en some figu res ofa distilling

apparatu s, which Olaus B orrichiu s, the learned Danish professor, hasexhibited in hisH ermetis etE gyp tiorum ChemicorumSap ientia , p . 15 6 .

This Zosimu s w as the first who u sed the word c/zemia , which, in the

Arabic language , signifies concealment, and from whi ch Boerhaave and

o thers derive the term chemistry, implying the hidden or occu lt science s

Zosimu s w as a man of considerable attainments, he wrote twenty-fou r

books of Imouth, or chem istrygaddressed to his sister Theosebia. Mostif notall, of these treatises are preserved in the king

’

s library atParis,buthave not yetbeen translated. From the spe cimen and accou nt,however, whi ch B orrichiu s gives of them they se em to be mystical and

enthu siastic .* Zosimus is of Opinion, that both the name and science

of chemistry existed before the flood : and there is certainly reason to

believe , that as the arts had been cu ltivated by the antedi lu vians, thatthe ancient Chaldeans and E gyp tians preserved traces of them, which

were noto bliterated when the philosophers and historians of Gree ce

visited Africa and As ia ; they are even discernible amidst the confusionof names, dates, and lapse of time , in spite of the clou ds of fables with

which they are enve loped. Hence itis notu nlikely, tha t Vu lcan and

Tubal Cain are the same person, since both were skilled in su ch works

as requ ired the operations of fire , an d that V al-can i s buta con uption

or contraction of Tu ba l Ca in , appears highly probable .

In tracing the e tymology of the word chemistry, it seems to be

derived from the name of the country in'

which it first had existence .

E gypt is frequ ently denominated by the Hebrew writers the land of

C bam and Chami , or Chemi, w as the name by which it wasmost gene

rally known to the aborigines. Plu tarch says, that E gypt w as called

Chemia , from the blackness of the soil . Cham in Hebrew signifies bot,01mm also signifies bla ck and butwith an a in for the fina l

Boerhaa v e 's Elements Chem ise .

T V alpy’

s Classical Jou rnal, v ol. x v iii. p. 229, Sm.

22

radical, sign ifies, in Chaldaic, fermentation . From this reasoning,it

is no stretch of inference to assum e , as before hinted at, that thedo ctrine of fermentation w as known even before the deluge , and there

is therefore nothing extraordinary in N oah’s having m ade wine , and

subj e cting himself to its influ ence .

Sometime previous to the pe riod in which Zosimus lived, and for

a series of years afterwards, chemistry w as cu ltivated with great

earn e stnes s by several Grecian ecclesiastics, but the ir efforts and

attentions were principally directed to the artof making gold and

silver . In the meantime , medi cine re ce ived considerable improve

ments from the labours of Oribasius, Actins, Alexan der, Pau lu s, andothers.

Distillation, it°

m re lated , was discovered in the Augustine age by a

Gre cian physician, who, while sitting atdinner, w as su ddenly calledaway to visit a patient, and fou nd, on his return, tha t the cover whichhad been placed over a dish of vegetables w as dripping with mo istu reevaporated from them . Perce iving that the moisture was an extract

from the materials in the dish occasioned by hea t, he is said to havedirected his stu dies to the consequ ences that might resu lt from ex pe

rim ents made on this principle, and u ltimately arrived atthe artof

distillation butthis story rests on su ch slender testimony, that it isnotentitled to more than this incidental notice s—Some will have it,tha t the invention of distillation is mu ch older, and grou nd the ir opi

nions on the‘

circum stan ce of a chest having been fou nd in the Alestine

field, n ear Padu a, in which, it is said, anu rn w as enclosed by Maxi

mu s O lybius; devoted as an offering or present to Plu to , containing

tw o phials, most curiou sly wrought, the one of gold and the other of

silver, both fu ll of an exqu isite liqu or, which fed a burning lamp for

many ages. Upon the chest w as inscribed

This sacred giftto Pluto I forbidA thief to tou ch, (for

’

tis a secrethid) ,With artand pain s hath greatO lyb ius pentIn this small chestthe u nruly element.

On the urn were the following cou plets

Begone , ye thieves, Why dare you here to pry,Departfrom hence to you r god Mercury ;

D ev oted to greatPluto , in this pitcherL ie s a grand gift, the w orld scarce know s a richer.

"l

This legend, like the other respecting the origin of distillation, rests

on authority equ ally trifling, and is one of those fanciful conceptions

Taylor’

s Antiqu itates Curiosw.

23

of the alchymists, as preposterous as the tou ch of the philosopher’sstone is extravagant . This reminds me of the allegory of the cup of

Jemshe ed, the supposed inventor of wine , which, the Persians say,.w as cut outof a ruby or carbu ncle, and contains the e lixir of lifeburied u nder the ru ins of Istakhar.

While the Gre cian physicians and ’

ecclesiastics were bu sied in thepursu it of chemical knowledge , the Saracens, then an ignorant and

barbarous race , heade d by the Caliph Omar-’

s general,Amru , possessed

themselves of Alexandria, and, in the madness of the ir zeal,‘destroyed

the famous library in that city ; the Caliph assigning to his general

as a reason, that if the books it conta ined agreed with the Koran, they

were useless, and if they differed from it, they were pern iciou s, and

o u ght to be de stroyed — The loss of so vast an accum ulation of human

knowledge , not less than volume s, which the Ptolomies

labou red so long in collecting, must eve r be lamented, as it deprived

the world, in a great measu re , of the dis coveries and learning of

the ancients, whi ch wou ld have served posterity in the paths of

literature and the pu rsu its of science . The traveller, Ali B ey,fe lt this so sensibly, that, on vis iting Alexandria, particu larly thebaths of Cleopatra, in that city, in the he ating of which the

library is said .to have been consumed, excla imed, Nothing,abso lute ly nothing, conce rning those distant periods, is handed downfor our instru ction. - Oh library ofAlexandria why artthou wanted'What an irreparable loss l— B utI respect the de cision of the

A s the progress of the ir arms introdu ced the Saracens to a moregeneral kn owledge of other nations, a taste for civ ili zation and the

cu ltivation of literature , gradu ally, gained grou nd . Colleges and semi

naries of edu cation were'

ere cted and endowed, while learned and

i ngemou sm en were encouraged and sought after . Some ofthe Caliphsthemselves excelled in the

“ learning of the day. Almamun, in parti

onlar,who ascended the Moslem throne , in the 198th year ofthe Hegira,

(813th of the Christian era,) had attained to great perfe ction in variou s

branches of science . H e notonly employed learned men to translate

the books he had purchased, atan enormou s expense , from the Chris

tians of variou s nations, butlikewise promoted, by all possible means,the stu dy of every branch of li terature on which they were written,and even read them himself with an almost u nparalleled ardou r .

A s might be expected, from the nature and pu rsui ts of the na tionsfrom which the Saracens imbibed the ir taste for literatu re , alchymy

and medicine became the ir favou rite studies. The works on those

Travels of Ali B ey, 4to . vol. i. p. 322.

24

subjects are so variousand abu ndant, that the enumeration of them;if practicable , wou ld be both u nne cessary and fore ign to the design of

this treatise .

Underthe Caliph,AlmoktaderBillah,whogotpossession ofthe caliph

ate in the 908thyear ofthe Christian era, flou rished the celebrated physi

cian Rhazes, whom Abu’lpharagiu s styles the phoenix of his age . H e

excelled in every branch of knowledge then extant, butprincipally in

physic, in which he be came so bo ld and su ccessfu l a practitioner, tha t

he w as called the E xperimenter, and the Arabian Galen .

"e H e is said

to have first introdu ced chemical preparations into medicine ; for, n ot

to men tion mercu ry ex tinct and sublimate , he notices the oil of eggs,a chemical medicine ; besides, he gives u s the first accoun t of the

oleum benedictum p hilosp horum (philosophers’ blessed oil), and is very

particu lar in explaining the manner of making it in a glass retort,well lu ted, (lu to sapienter, says the interpreter,) su ch as will bear thefire ; the heat be ing increased by gentle degrees, till a red oil come so ff by distillation .Whether the re tort , alembic, or any regu lar distilling apparatu s

w as earlier employed amongst the Arab ians, there is no exact accou ntfor what w e find from the old Greek chemists, as they are called,relates only to the fu sion or transmu tation of me tals .

It is sa id, that Al-M okanna, the Ve iled P rophet, whose life and

actions are so beau tifully detailed by Moore , in his Lalla Rookh; when

likely to be taken by the troops u nder the command of Almohdis’

general, in the year of the Hegira 163, or 780 of our era, to avo id

falling into the hands of his enemies, after poisoning his whole familyand followers, threw himself into a vessel of aqu a-fortis a preparation which, it is well known, could notbe otherwise obtained than bydistillation .

In the works of Geber, commonly called the Arab, there are someu seful directions concerning the manner of condu cting the process ofdistillation, an d in one of hi s tracts, in particu lar, he has given mu chcuriou s matter relative , notonly to the natu re and formation of aqu afortis, but of salts and acids in general. Geber had distingu ished

himse lf in alchymy, and, from the ambiguity of his writings on this

su bj e ct, our eminent lexicographer, ‘ Doctor Johnson, derives the word

gibberish, or geberish. At what period Geber lived, au thors are not

agree d. According to L eo Africanu s, he was a Greek, and flour ishedin the 7th ce ntury.1

' Others say, that he w as bo rn at Seville , in

H istoria Crit. Philosphiac , dc Herbelot. Leo Africanu s, &c .

1Leo Africanu s, 1. iii . p . 186.

2 5

Spain, butof Saracen origin, and place him in the 8th century whilesome state , that he w as a Sabaean, of Harran, in Mesopo tamia .

Blan

canns mainta ins, that he wrote in the 9th centu ry, and that hi s real

name w as Abou -M oussah-D s-Chafar-A l—Solz’

.— Itis to be regretted,

that the history of this patriarch of chemistry is so obscu re .In a

copy of his works, printed at Dantzic, in 1682, he is styled R ex

Ara bum, and I ndia? R ex but for what reason seems difficu lt toaccou nt : that he w as e ithe r a prince or a king, there is no written

testimony. If Geber lived in the 7th centu ry, which is generally

su pposed to be the tru e period of his existence , w e may the morereadily give credit to the cu riou s means employed by the Ve iled

Prophe t to e lu de the vigilance of his enemies.

The following is a translation of the twelfth chapter of the se cond

book of Geber ’s L iber Investigation is M agisterii. The peru sal of itwill afford the reader an idea of the corre ct views enterta ined by thatau thor concerning the natu re of distillation . H is observations ru nthu s;

Distillation is the raising of aqu eou s vapour in any vessel in

which it is placed . There are variou s modes of distillation . Sometimes it is performed by means of fire , sometimes withou t it . By

means of fire , the vapour e ither ascends into a ve sse l, or descends ;su ch as when oil is extracted from vegetables. The object of dis

tillation is to free liqu ors from dregs and to preserve them fresh ;since every thing distilled, possesses greater pu rity and is less liableto pu trescency. The obj ect of distillation by a still is to getwater

fre e from earthy substances, by which both medicines and spirits areinjured . The motive for condu cting di stillation by descent is to

obtain pu re oil, as i t cannot be raised by heat into a still . The

motive for distilling by a filtre is to obtain pure water. There are

two modes of distilling by fire ; the on e is performed in an earthen

vessel full of coals or embers ; the other with water in a vessel, with

herbs on wood, arranged in order, lest the cu curbit, or still, be bu rs t

before it is completed . The first is condu cted by a strong, the latter

by a gentle and equ al fire . Thu s it happen s, that the heavy and

grosser parts are raised by the first means, whilst by the latter, w e

obtain a more subtile spirit, approaching nearly to the nature of com

mon water. It is well known, that when w e distil oil by embers,w e obtain oil withou t any alteration ; but when w e di stil oil by

means of water, w e obtain'

fair and clean oil from what appeared

excessively red atfirst . By means of water, then , w e mu st proceed

with every vegetable , and things of the same nature , to as certain the ir

elementary parts. By the descensive mode mu st we proceed with

26

every kind of oil. The arrangement of that which is performed by

embers, is this : take a strong earthen pot, and fit it to a fu rnace of

the same shape , as that which is u sed for {sublimatiom arou nd its

bottom letsifted embers be placed, and covered with them up to the

neck _then putin the substance to be di stilled : finally, letthe cu cu r

bit, or rece iving vessel, be

'

attached and lu ted to the ne ck of the still,

that nothing may escape . L etthe still and rece iver be of glass, andincrease the fire as circumstances may requ ire , u ntil the whole is di stilled . The second mode is like the first, both in vesse l and still, butdiffers in requ iring an iron, or brazen pot, fitted to the furnace as the

former, and then u pon the bottom of the potmu st be placed tw o'

or

three inches,

of herbs on wool, to prevent the rece iver from beingbroken, and letthe re ce iver be covered with the same herbs in something sim ilar, up to the ne ck of the still, and upon these herbs letflexible tw igs be strewed, and on them letheavy stones be placed tha t

may compass the still, re ce iver, and herbs, to prevent the contentsfrom rising, which wou ld break the vessel and destroy the distillation . Fill the potwith water, and apply the fire u ntil the operation

is completed. The arrangement of that which is performed bydescent, is this : take a glass vessel, having a proper descent, with a lidwhich mu st be lu ted to the descending vessel, put in what is to bedistilled, and place the fire u pon the lid. The arrangement of thatwhich is to be peformed by a filtre is this : place what is to be distilled in a hollow stone , and let the broad part of the filtre be well

washed, and water he placed in the hollow part ; letthe slender part

project over the edge of the stone , u nder which leta vessel be placed

to rece ive the filtred substance . If notpu re atfirst, putit back, u ntilit becomes su fficiently pure .

”

“N . B . -Atfirst it will send over only the water with which it wasmo istened, then the liqu or to be distilled .

”

The better to illu strate the foregoing observations, a representation

of the vessels u sed by him is su bjoined, be ing curiou s when comparedwith those of the present day.

0

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28

From the rem arks of Ge ber, and his variou s experiments in chemical

science , it is clear that distillation w as well u nderstood in his tim e ,

and that the mode of condu cting pharmaceu tical preparations, bothvege table and mineral , had attained considerable perfection . Avicenna,who flourished after Geber, describes the method of distillation, and

particu larly mentions distilled water of roses. A vicenna is also repu ted

as the person who discovered the artof making sugar, till then unknown

amongst his cou ntrymen . Abou t this period, a knowledge of the

arts and sciences w as greatly cu ltivated, and continu ed to extend in

proportion to the conqu ests of the caliphs the example and influ ence

of whom diffu sed a love of literatu re over an empire , that spread in

Asia from the Gulf of P ersia, and the confines of Tartary to the

Mediterranean and Indian Seas , and comprised all the habitable parts

of Africa , from the Isthmu s of Su ez to the Atlantic ocean .

Du ring the re ign of the Abasside s, atBagdad, the mass of humanknowledge collected within the walls of that city w as astonishing .

The shelves of its schools and colleges were bent u nder the we ightof Gre cian, P ersian , Roman and Arabian literature , and the taste forcollections of that nature w as carried to su ch a he ight, even by private individu als, that w e are told of a doctor who refus ed the inv i

tation of the Su ltan of Bochara to reside athis court, becau se thecarriage of his books wou ld have requ ired fou r hu ndred camels . At

Cairo , in E gypt, the Caliph’s library consisted of volumes,

which were elegantly transcribed and bou nd ; these were cheerq y

lent, withou t any pecu niary consideration , to the stu dents of the city.In Spain , the Caliphs had formed a library of volumes, forty

fou r of which were employed in the mere catalogu e . Cordova, the

capital of the Spanish Caliphs, with the adjacent towns of Malaga ,Almeria, and Mu rcia, gave birth to more than three hu ndred writers,and above seventy public libraries were opened in the Andalu siankingdom. Amidst su ch a profu sion of information, w e need notbe

surprised at the acqu irements of the Saracens. In chemistry, theycertainly excelled all the nations which had gone before them ; thatcomprehensive branch of human research w as greatly illu stratedand enlarged by the ir discoveries and, although it may be lamented,that a great portion of the ir knowledge lay concealed u nder the occu ltmysterie s of alchymy, yet, according to Gibbon, the real science of

chemistry owes its origin and improvement to that people . Thate legant writer says, that they first invented and n amed the alembicfor the pu rpose of distillation ; analized the su bstances of the thre ekingdoms of nature ; tried the distinctions and affinities of alkalis andacids, and converted the poisonou s minerals into soft and salutary

29

med icines.

” Their speculative and visionary hepe'

of finding an

elixir of immortal health, is sa id to have led them to the discovery of

whi ch, u nder the more modern name .of aqua s ite , has since proved

to many“

a blessing, butto millions a curse .

Although these are the op in ions generally recorded and handed tous, respecting the arts, indu stry, and knowledge of the Saracens, yet;I am far from ‘ believing, that they are entitled to be accoun ted theinventors of almost any of tho se discoveries, which '

are attribu ted tothem . The E ast, be ing the cradle of the human race , and of all thearts, it is clear that the Arabians mu st have rece ived the ir kn owledgefrom that quarter. With the E gyptians and Indians, ’they had e arly

intercou rse, and these nations, itis we ll known, were far advanced in

civilization long before , and in the practice of most of the arts, in

which the Saracens, afterwards, be came famou s. The ve ry style of

archi te cture followed in the E astern cormtries, w as the mode l of the

West, as is confirmed by the excavations of Pompe ii, whi ch hadbe en bu ried nearly twenty centuries in the bowe ls of the earth . So

skilled were the inhabitants, of that u nfortun ate city, in every thing

that related to the comforts, and even the lu xu ries of life , that a hou sew as foun d

'

with windows of glass, as fine and transparent, as that

made in mode rn t imes ; besides ornaments of gold and spe cimens ofart, of exqu isite workmanship . The Arabs, it cannot be denied,we re ignorant '

and barbarou s, whe n variou s othe r portions of As ia,as well as some pa rts of the North of Africa, more particu larly

E gypt, were highly po lished and from those sou rces they mu st have

acqu ired, in a great measu re , the whole extent of the ir knowledge , in

ev ery departme nt of lite ratu re . Strabo informs u s, that the Arabiansbu ilt the ir hou ses and temples after the model ofthe E gyptians ; and

that the E gyptians kn ew distillation, at a more remote period , than

the Arabs, can scarcely be qu estione d, since Pliny has nearly des

cribed the process . If, as has been said, that this art w as invented

by a Grecian physician, and thatthe vessel first u sed in the practicew as called embic, to whi ch the Arabians afterwards prefixed the irdefinite article a l, why attribu te the invention to them Since thevery derivation of the term is purely Greek, and as the Arabians were ,for the most part, indebted to the Gre cians for the ir proficiency inmedicine and chemistry—From these cons iderations, and the known

acqu irements of the Syrians, E gyptians, Persians, Chinese , and other

Oriental nations with whom the Arabians had intercourse , and among

G ibbon ’

s Decline and Fall of.the Roman Empire .

30

whom'

a knowledge of distillation appears to have previou sly existed;it is evident that this artw as handed to them by others, and that they

were only pupils, n ot teachers in geography, astronomy, algebra,chemistry, and archite ctu re , as is generally maintained.

In speaking of the Arabians ,in this manner,

’

I do notwish to be

u nderstood as depriving them of merits to which they are confessedly

entitled, and of whi ch so extensive a view has been ju st taken but

the discovery of the art u nder consideration, having been u su ally

attribu ted to them, I w as indu ced to examine minu tely the grounds

on which this assumption w as fou nded ; and although it cannot be

decisively ascertained who were really the inventors of distillation ,

yet I am led to conclude, tha t the Arabians were the mere improvers,and notthose to

‘

Whom the artowed its origi n and from an attentiveperu sal of the variou s articles in this volume bearing on this point, butmore particu larly the observations on India and China, it is very

probable the reader will come to the same conclu sion . In addi tion tothese remarks, it may be observed, that while we love alterations

and changes, the orienta ls preserve u niformity ; among u s, a , dresswhich w as in fashion thirty years ago, is now ridicu lou s ; .

among them,

the same dress, manners, and cus toms prevail, that were in use a

thou sand years since ; the arts which are progressive with u s, are,

with them, stationary. The physical and moral characte r of the

orientals reposes on principles like those that existed thou sands of

years past, making a powerful contrast with those now in the west ,O ur mode of life is refined and changeable , theirs simple and permanent ; with u s there is a constant incitement to civilization, with themrather an inclination to barbarism . M an exists in the east, as it were ,among the shades of antedilu v ian devices ; in the west, amidst the

glare of modern improvements—hence the Chinese , Persians, and

H indoos are entitled to be considered the inventors of the arts andsciences, and the teachers of them to those who visited them in theremoter ages of antiqu ity, notthe scholars of a few itinerants, nor fromhaving acquired the ir knowledge from other nations then in a compaz

rativ e state of barbarism .

All the works of the Saracens appear to be translations or compilation s from the Gre ek, Roman, Pe rsian, and other oriental writings,little originality existing in any of them.—A late publication , at

Madrid, of an Arabian Treatise on Agricultu re ,‘ from an old manna

script in the E scu rial, by Ibn’E l Awam, in whi ch on e hu ndred and

twenty au thors are cited as the sou rces of his information, is a proofof thi s assertion . Among those au thorities, he draws largely from M.

Cato, Varro , Colume lla, Palladiu s, and addu ces the variou s practices

1

of Egyptians, Persians, and other E astern s, in agricu ltu re, from writ

ings long since lost.* Mr. Mills says, that as discoverers and in

ventors, the Saracens hav e'

few cla ims to praise ; a gratefu l respect

for antiqu ity w as corrupted by them into a su perstitiou s reverence,which che cked all originality of ideas and freedom of thought . B ut

they formed the link which u ni tes ancient and modern letters and as

their relative situ ation with E u rope somewhat resembles the relative

situation be twe en E u rope and Greece , they are entitled to'

a portion .

of our respect and gratitude .1’ The silence of the Greek writers is

no proof that distillation w as notknown in the east before their time .

It is not likely that a people , whose beverage w as wine , in every

variety, wou ld think of submitting itto the alembic, in order to pro cu re

another kind of liqu or, when they considered and accounted wine a

drink worthy of the gods .

From the preceding re capitulation, and a consideration of the

sources from whence the Saracens drew the ir stores of knowledge

in Pharmacy, Chemistry, Mathematics, and the other arts and sciences,the dedu ction is natu ral, that the distillation of spirits is notthe ir in

v ention and that the term a lcohol is but another name for arrach,

or rather for the improvement of that spirit by a higher re ctification

for alcohol with us , is always u nderstood to signify spirit of wine , of

the highest degree of, volatilization, the particle a l (the) be ing pre

fixed to express something grand or superlative : thu s, a lcoholmeansthe p ure sp irit a lchym ist, a chemist of the first order ; a lchymy ,the highest degre e of chem istry. Again, a lcohol is compou nded ofthe Arab ic article c l and the Hebrew word, K aa l, or Chaldaic, ocha l,Signifying to subtilize , make light or thin . A lembic is a

'

compou nd :

of a l with the Greek, x yfiiz, an earthen vessel, or j ar, called from itsshape the cu curbit, or, body. Alchymy is a compou nd of a land x nfm i

denoting the more sublime or o ccu lt part of chemistry. Hence the

inference is pla in, that as the Saracens borrowed those technical terms

from fore ign languages, they also derived from other nations aknow ledge

ofthe arts to which those appellations belonged . The word a l—ha— hol,or alcohol , w as origi nally applied to the powder, with which the Jewish, Syrian, and other E astern ladies tinged their hair , and the edgesof their eyelids, in order to he ighten the ir beau ty ; and the name w as ,in consequ ence , subsequ ently transferred to spirits of wine rectified

L ibro de Agricultu ra, su Autor el Doctor E x celente Abu Zacaria,Ebu E l

Aw am Se v illan o , tradu cido ai Castellan o y an otrado porD on JosefAnton io B angu eri.D e O rden Su perior y aE x penses de la Real Bibliotheca.

'

f History of Mahometanism , 8vo. p. 402 .

32

to' the highest perfection, intimating its improved state and fasci

Itis a well known historical fact, as given by Ebn Chalican, one

of the ir write rs, that at the time of the publication of the Koran,there was notto

‘

be fou nd in the whole district bf Yemen, a single

person who cou ld read or write Arabic, and the'

prcphethimse lf,called the illiterate , w as indebted to Warakan, his wife

’

skinsman,an d a Christian , for the compilation of the Alcdran ; atleast so far as

regards penmanship. In a country so unedu cated, no artn or science

of any importance cou ld have flou rished ; and w e find, even afte r the

Saracenshad'

arriv ed at considerable eminence as a nation, that on e

of the ir mo st; enlightened'

caliphs, Al-Mamon, when

.

reproved by hisfathe r for selecting M e ssu e , a Christian physician , to condu ct the pu r

suits of the learned men he had collected, with great frankness“

ob;

served, I have made choice of M es

-

su e , as an able preceptor in u se

ful sciences and arts and my father well knows that the most learne d

men, and the most skilfu l artists in his dominions, are Jews and Christians.

” Thu s ackn owledging the we ight of obligation’

du e to thoseforeign preceptors. The zeal of Al-Mamon, in colle cting information, led Takiddin , a bigoted Mahometan , to say,

'

that God wouldpu nish the caliph for darin g by su ch studies to distu rb the d evotionsof the Prophe t ’s followers. Avicenna, one of the ir most eminentphysicians, is said to have been indebted to Greek writers for the

medi cal works for which he has been celebrated . Averroes is likewise u nde r obligations to Aristotle , for his celebrity as a philosopher,though it is well known that he w as u nacqu ainted with the original,and pe ruse d the writings of that great man , by means of wre tchedArabic translations . Galen and Hippocrates were the great guidesin medicine ; Dioscorides the director in botany . Under the withering influ ence of the Koran, it is su rprising how any progress whate ver cou ld be made in the acqu isition of knowledge . Divided bypolitical dissensions, as we ll as heretical opinions, an d engaged inalmost continu al warfare , the Sarac ens had not that independentspirit of research to think and spe cu late boldly for themselves, nortorise superior to the trammels imposed on them by others : hence itmay be asserted with tru th, that the moderns ow e little to the ir discov eries ; and that the arts an d sciences of the present day haverece ived almost nothing from their indu stry, so that, in the languageof an intelligent writer, it may be said, Science wou ld su ffer n o

material loss, if the w ritings of the Saracens be permitted qu ietly to'

repose in that oblivion to which time has consigned them .

” Posterity,however, cannot butcast a gratefu l recollection to the period when,

3

butfor their fostering"

prote ction , learning would have been overwhe lmed in

'

intellectu al darkn ess , and a vast portion of mental riches,'

and valuable materials lost for ever to the world .

I shall now proceed to consider the cau se of the prohibition of

wine and intoxicating liqu ors among the followers of Mahome t, illu s.trating the remarks with su ch ane cdotes as shew that the prophet'could not entire ly eradicate that part of human imbe cili ty, whichren de rs the ir u se or p leasing qu alities in some shape or other desirable . According '

to a writer in the Universal History, Spanhe im and

iReland have asserted that the ancient Arabs abstained from wine.long before the birth of Mahome t ; butit appears from Strabo , thatin Arabia Felix, be sides the husban dmen , there were many who

made palm wine , which, he'

says, w as mu ch u sed by the i nhabitants of

tha t cou ntry, proving that intoxicating liqu ors were not generallyforbidde n before the time of that prophet.

The causes which induced M ahometto prohibit the u se of inebri atingdrink, have be en stated as various . The Sieu r de Ryer, in his life of

the prophet, atta ched to his translation of the Koran , page 39, says,that in the fou rth year of the Hegira, while his army were engage din expeditions againstthe ne ighbou ring tribes, some of his principal

m en betaking themse lves to play and drink, in the heat of their cups

qu arrelled, and raised su ch disturbances among his followers, that theyn early came to

'

blows, and to the overthrow of all his designs. To

prevent su ch mischief in . fu tu re , he forbade the use of wine and all

games of haz ard for ever ; and to render the prohibition ofmore influe nce , he su pported it by a fable of tw o angels, called Arutand Maru t,who , in ancient times, were sent from heaven to administer and teachmen righteo

'

usness in the districts of Babylon , when a certa in woman

coming to them for ju stice , invited them to dine with her, on whi ch

o ccasion she placed wine before them , which God had forbidden them

to drink ; butthe agre eable nature of the liqu or tempting them to

transgress the divine command, they drank to intoxication, and

tempted the woman to lewdness ; butthis w as on co ndition that on e

of them shou ld carry her to heaven and the other bring her back. A s

the fable ru ns, when the woman gotto heaven , she wou ld n otre tu rn ,butdeclared to the Alm ighty the whole matter, who , to reward her

chastity,made her the morning star, and the angels ge tting their cho ice

whe ther they would be punished for their wickedness atthat time , or

ata fu tu re pe riod, chose the former, in consequ ence of which they

were su spended by the fee t,with an iron chain , in a pit near Babylon ,where they are doomed to continu e to the day of ju dgment . For

34

this reason'

God forbade the u se of wine to his servants ever after .*

The prophet seems to assign the reason ofthe prohibition in the Koran

altogether to the quarre ls which wine and games of chance had cau sed

amongst his followers ; for in the 5 th chapter of that book he says,

The devil desires to sow dissensions and hatred among you throu gh

wine and games of chance ; be obedient to God, and -the prophet ,

his apostle , and take heed to you rselves.

”The learned Mr . Sale

s eems to agree with the Sieu r de Ryer, that it w as the divisions and

distu rbances in company, and the negle ct, or at least inde cencies

in the performance of religiou s du ties, o ccasioned by inebrie ty, which

indu ced the prophe t to pass so strict a prohibition j’ In this restriction ,

itis probable that Mahomet was gu ide d by the Mosaic law , u nde r

which the priests were forbidden to drink wine or any intoxicating

liqu ors, when they were abou t to enter on , or execu te , any sacred or

religiou s du ty. Do notdrink wine ,”says the inspired writer, “nor

‘

strong drink, thou , nor thy sons with thee , w hen ye go into the taber

naele of the congregation , lest ye d ie ; it shall be a statu te for ever

throughou t you r gen eration s.

”i TheNazarites§ and Re chabites, aswell

as many piou s persons among the Jews and primitive Christians, ah

s tained altogether from wine , and w e find inju nctions of a prohibitory«natu re observe d a mong the E gyptians, C arthagen ian s and Greeks : so

tha t the mandate ofthe p rophet in thisrespect is notwithou t a pre cedent ."The C arthagen ian soldiers were forbidden wine while in the

fi eld, u nder the severest penalty and the ir magistrate s were also

o bliged to absta in from wine during the exercise of the ir power, though

~Prideau x’

s L ife of Mahomet,8vc . p . ll 1.

1’ Sale

'

s Koran,chap . ii . p . 39 ; chap . iv .

and v. I L ev it. x . 9 .

Doctor L ightfoot, in his w ork already qu ote d , thu g comm ents on the

«row of the Nazarite s , as spoke n of in the six th chapter o f Numbers : WhilstI a. little m ore n arrow ly consider, that sev ere interdiction by which the Naza

rite s w ere forb idden the total u se of the V i ne , n ot only that he sho uld n otdrink

b f‘

the wine , but not so much as taste of the grape , n or the pulp , nor stone

of the grape , n o , nor the bark ofthe v in e,I can notbutcallto m ind

,- l st. W hether

the v in e mightnotbe the tre e in paradise thathad been forb idden to Adam ,by the

tasting of which he sinn ed ; the Jew ish doctors positiv ely.

afli rm this w itho ut anyscru ple . 2dly—Whether thatlaw about the Nazarite s had notsom e re fe rence to

Adam,while he was u nder thatprohibition ,

in the state of innocency. For if thebodily an d legal u ncleann e ss abou twhich there are su ch strictprecepts (Numb

‘

. v. )e specially the leprosy, the greate stof all u n clean n e sses, did e x cellently decipher thestate and natu re of sin m ightn otthe law s aboutthe Nazarites, which concern ed

the greate stpu ritie s in a m ost p u re religion (Lam iv . be something in comm e

moration of the state of man be fore his fall Jerm . x x x v . 5 . 6.

fElian ,b . I I . H ist. vn . Sap . Plato de Legibu s.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

36

‘

enjoinedby an Aga'

to be cau tiou s in abstaining from wine in theroomwhere he lodged ; lest the carpets or mats, on which the Mu ssu lmans‘

said the ir prayers, might be pollu ted .

ale

We have an early and striking instance ofthe strenu ous observance

of the prophet’s interdictory decree , in the treatment of the soldiers

u nder Abu O beidah, in the reign of the Caliph Omar,who , on hearingfrom that general , that the

’ Mu ssu lmans had learned to drink wine

during their invasionof Syria, ordered, that whoever w as gu ilty of this

practice shou ld have fou rscore stripes u pon the soles of his feet ; thepu nishment w as accordingly inflicted, and many were so infatu ated,although they had no accu sers butthe ir consciences, as volu ntarily to

confess their crimes and u ndergo the same

That the drinking of wine w as notso obnoxiou sto some ofthe su c

cessors of Mahomet, there are several examples among the Caliphs‘

.

Yezid, who commenced his reign in the 60th year of the H egira, isthe first of them who made no scruple of the practice . The followingstory is related of Alm ohdi, father of H arou nAlraschid, the hero ofthe‘Arabian N ights’ E ntertainments. That mona rch, be ing on e day on a

hu nting excu rsion, strayed from his attendants ; when be ing pressed

with hunger and thirst, he w as obliged to repair to an Arab’s tent toprocure some refreshment . The poor man immediate ly brou ght to theCaliph some brown bread and a potof milk. Almohdi asked him ifhe had nothing else to give him ; u pon which the Arab presented himwith a j ug of wine . After the Caliph had drank a good draught, heenquired ofthe Arab whether he did notknow him P The otherhaving

answered that he did not, I wou ld have you know then,” replied

Almohdi ,“that I am on e of the principal lords of the Caliph’s cou rt.”

After he had taken another draught, he putthe same qu estion to theArab , as before , who answering, “Have not I already told you that I

’know you n ot Almohdi returned, I am a mu ch greater personthan I have made you believe .

” Then he drank again, and asked hishost the third time , whe ther he did notknow him ? to which the otherreplied, that he might depend u pon the tru th of the answer he hadalready given him.

” I am then,”said Almohdi, no less a personage

than the Caliph, before whom all the world prostrate themse lves.

”

The Arab no sooner heard the words, than he tremblingly carriedaway the pitcher, and wou ld not su ffer his gu est to drink any more .

Almohdi be ing su rprised athis behaviou r, asked him, why he removedthe wine . The Arab replied, Be cau se I am afraid that if you take

Walpole’

s Memoirs relating to E uropean and Asiatic Turkey, 4to.

‘

I’ O ckley

’

s History of the Saracen s, v ol. i. p . 171, 324.

37

a fourth draught you will tell me you are the prophet Mahomet and

if by chance a fifth, that you are God Ahn ighty himself. This gentlerebuke so pleased the Caliph, that he cou ld notforbear laughing ; andbe ing soon rejoined by his people , he ordered a pu rse of silver, and a

fine vest to be gi ven to the poor man , who had entertained him so

hospitably. The Arab, in a transport of j oy for the good fortu ne heha d experienced, exclai med, I shall henceforth take you for what

you pretend to be , even though you shou ld make yourself three timesmore considerable than in thi s instance .

” Time , which u nhappily toooften destroys the best resolutions and propensities of our nature , has

rend ered the crime of inebriety less u ncommon among the Mahometansof the present day than formerly ; butsince their intemperance cannot

be indu ced by social hilarity, it is always with them a soli tary vice ,and consequ ently, to us e the langu age of a late writer, though not

more ha teful, ismu ch more odiou s than when it arises from the desireof promoting the exercise of the social fe e lings. There is an ane cdote

told by Russell, in his History of Aleppo , which, as,corroborative of

what is here advanced, an apology for its insertion is scarcely neces

sary. It re lates to a Sirdar of high rank atAleppo , who was fond ofindu lging in the pleasu res of the bottle . This man , says the au thor,w as in the habit of re tiring to one of the gardens near the town, to

enjoy his wine more lu xu ri ou sly in a kiosk . Re tu rnin g one summer’s

evening from a debau ch of this kind, he observed, as he passed nearthe Christian bu rial-grou nd, a Maronite sitting on a grave stone and

smoking his pipe, who , on seeing him approach atsome distance , roseup, laid down his pipe , and atthe same time attempted hastily toconceal something in his po cket . This the Sirdar su spe cted, and ju stly,to be arrack ; therefore , stopping his horse , he despatched one of his

attendan ts to bring the cu lprit before him . The Christian was not

on ly reproached for drinking thus publicly, butthreatened with instant

pu nishm ent, for having aggravated the crime by drinking on a tomb

stone . Upon his swearing, by the Gospel, that he had tasted no strong

liqu or for a we ek, orders were given to search hi s po ckets ; buthehad taken care that

’

no te stimony should appear against him from thatquarter, by dropping the empty bottle before he w as seized. The

Sirdar the n commanded anothe r of his attendants to try whether thecharge might n otbe proved from the criminal’s breath. Breathe ye,Giao ur,

”exclaims the Janizary, breathe full in my face .

”The

trembling cu lprit atfirst hesitated, but knowing the‘

consequ ence of

refusal, w as atlast obliged to comply. I knew very well,”said the

Sirdar, I shou ld dete ct this Jew of a damned Christian . Doeshe not s mell abominably, Mu stafa ? bring him nearerme, don

’t you

38

perceive his breath?” Why, really,”replies the halfdrunkenJanizai'y,

that there is'

a strong smell of arrack among u s cannot be dou bted,but whether it proce eds from yourself, Sir, from me, or from thisdamned infidel, may I perish if I can justly determine .

”

If Madden, a late writer, may be credited,“

intoxication is mu ch

more prevalent with the Mahometans than is generally believed. H e

states that hospitality among the Tu rks is notsurpassed even by theIrish. The excellence of their cooking, the number of the ir dishe s,and the profus ion of the ir sweetmeats, gave him an exalted Opinion of

the ir luxu riou s living. At dinner, he observed u pwards of forty dishesfurnished in su ccession, and, contrary to our practice , the desert w as

the first, consisting of sweetmeats and preserves. After the desert,the appe tite w as whetted with an abu ndance of raw spirits, the veryhighest class drinking rum and raki, with the same familiarity

that w e drink beer, ale , or porter . H e says the most exalted char

acters in the empire are addicted to drink , and that the Su ltan daily

rece ives, from his apothecary, a bottle of Rhenish wine , with the word“p hysic

”on the label. An other traveller as sures u s that drinking is

common among the most respe ctable , and mentions a Sirdar of high

rank,who openly braved, by this practice , the commands ofthe prophe t,and confessed tha t he could not live withou t the aid of spiritu ou sliqu ors . E ven in Me cca, it is said, that there are tw o shops in which

intoxicating liqu ors are pu blicly sold, during the night, butnot in theday time . O ne description of liquor thu s sold ismade from fermentedraisins imported from Tayf, and, although dilu ted with water, a fewglasses of it produ ces intox i cation ; the other is a sort of bouza mixedwith spices and called Sou by e, a beverage well known atCairo . N e itherthe sanctity of the Holy City, nor the solemn injunctions of the Koran,are able to deter the inhabitants from the e x cessiv e x u se of spiritu ousliqu ors. Large quantities of Raky are imported from India, which,when mixed with an extract of cinnamon swe etened with sugar, is

sold u nder the plau sible name of cinnamon -water. This liqu or isdru nk by the highest characters, u nder the impression that it is ne ither

wine nor brandy, and therefore not prohibited by the law . Burckhardt saw atTayf, a Turk, in the su ite of Mahomet Ali Pasha, whodistilled brandy from grapes, and sold it publicly at40 piasters thebottle . Intoxicating liqu ors are vended atthe very gates ofthe mosq‘

u e ,

which, although prohibited in every part of theMahometan states , is stillmore so in a city, the approach to which is forbidden to any butthe

faithful. This impropriety has given rise to the Tu rkish saying, that“the citie s forbidden to infidels abou nd with forbidden things.

” Dr.Madden is of opinion that a moderate use of spirits would be a pre

39

v entiv e to the plagu e , and grou nds his notion of its value on observ e

ing, that those who were in the habit of attending persons infe cted,and who habituated themse lves to inebriety, never caught the contagion .

These considerations led him to administer wine and brandy to his

own patients, which treatment w as almost invariably attended with

su ccess. A similar practice for the cu re of diseases w as long previ

ou sly observed by an empiric with su ccess . This qu ack, who w as

to tally ignorant of medicine , made u se of warm pu nch in the cure of

e very disorde r. When asked by an old acqu aintance how he cou ldpresume to be come a physician and expose his life , shou ld one of the

fai thful fall a victim to his ignorance , he replied, that he su fficientlylearned the artfrom the practice of the physician who had attendedhis late master, whose chi efprescription w as pu nch, ofwhich the doctor

himse lf partook . This gave him a high opinion of its virtu es. H e

tried it on himse lf, and fou nd it so agre eable and salu tary that he w asled to limit his prescriptions to it and as it m etwith general appro-l

bation from his patients, he was amply rewarded, notonly on thataccou nt, butfor the numerou s cu res which its u se had effe cted . The

Sultan , Soliman the first, w as su ch an enemy to intoxication, that hehad re course to the most rigorou s penalties to che ck the progress ofthis irregu larity. H e even cau sed me lted lead to be poured down

the throats of the obstinate transgressors of the precepts ofthe Koran .

Soliman the second, his son and su cce ssor, w as the reverse ofhis father’scharacter he went by the nickname ofmest, orthe dru nkard,but, amidst

all hi s intemperance , he never negle cted his daily prayers, though hesedu ced the nation

’

by hi s example into the most u nblushing debau chery. L etothers putthe ir tru st in man ,

”said this jovial Su ltan, “I

throw myself into the arms of the Almighty, and resign myself to his'

immu table de cree s I think only of the pleasures of the day and

have no care for futurity . Mu radthe fou rth, sedu ced by the exampleof Bem i Mu stafa, not only drank wine in pu blic, but permitted hissubje cts to u se it withou t restraint, and even compelled the Mufti andCazy-askers to drink it . B u sbequ is saw an old man atConstantinople ,who , when he took the glass in his hand, summoned his own sou l totake refuge in some corner of his body, or to quit it altogether, toavo id participating in the crime , or be ing pollu ted by su ch indu lgence }

Thornton te lls u s tha t he saw a habitual drunkard carefu lly removehis mustaches to preserve them from defilementbefore he took hisdraught, and immediately after swallowing it, he distorted the mu s

cles of his face , as if he had been taking nothing buta bitter or disa

gre eable medicin e .

’le Slade re lates,1’ that when the Ali E fi

'

endi,

PresentState of Turkey, 2 vols. Svo .

1Records of Travels in Turkey, Gre ece , 8m. 2 vols. 8vc .

40

governor of a'province, rece ived a copy of

'

a Hatti Scherifl", or order

of the Porte , to enforce the prohibition of wine and spirits he and

the Cadi be ing half tipsy atthe time , putoff its reading to the next

day ; ,buthaving cast their eyes over it, they exclaimed, “Here is an

order against drinking, and w e are drunk .when it arrives they who

sent it mu st surely have been drunk also , for not knowing that we

wou ld disregard it .”

In further illus tration of the propensity ofthe followers ofMahomet

towards the u se of inebriating liqu ors, it is re lated of A chmetCachef,

the pre sent governor of one of the provinces in Upper E gypt, that he

w as fond of the bottle . When visited by some E nglish gentlemen,who were requ ested to partak e of some refreshment, that Pacha

directed his attendant to bring him a bo ttle ofthe water of which the

Franks were so fond . Accordingly, a bottle of a strong spirit, made

from dates, w as produ ced . The gu ests were pressed to partake of it,‘

but declined . The Pacha then sa id, tha t although the prophet had

forbidden raki, he w ou ld himself take some , to convince his fri ends

that he had no intention of po isoning them . H e then took off his

glass, and repeated the example seventeen times, by w ay of encon

ragementfor his gu ests to drink du ring the fou r hou rs they remained

with him . In the course of the interview, he observed that,“notw ith

standing they seemed shy in drinking with him, he wou ld stake any

money tha t the ir baggage w as well stored with all sorts of wine and

liqu ors. This be ing constru ed into a civil hint to obtain a present of

that description, theinterpreter w as directed to say they had a supply,and to know what so rt he wou ld choose, whether brandy, gin, or r um ,

‘

Oh replied he , I like them all thre e” -which expre ssion cau seda hearty laugh, and indu ced his friends to present himwith a bottle

‘

of each . It w as not long after when the corks were drawn, and

pledging them in a bumper, A chmet observed , that if Mahome tshou ld ask him . why he drank, he wou ld throw the whole blame on

his friends, as the liqu or was so exce llent .ale A late trave ller states,that when he had retired to rest atthe hou se of Ali B ey in Damanhur ,he heard a gentle knock athis door, and, on Opening it, fou nd that the

intruder w as the Governor’

s treasurer, a strict Mahometan, who had

availed himself o f the solitu de of the night to communicate a se cret

which w as n o less ! than a requ est tha t he might be favou red with abottle of rum . Having had a trial of its good qualitie s before , he w as

in su ch raptu res with it, that he w as impelled to mak e this requ est.

Itwas atfirst refused, butthe Mu ssu lman pressed so hard, and that

lVebstcr’

s

'

Travels, vol. ii. p. 8.

41

.w ith an assurance tha t he wou ld drink it"w ith great moderation , his

requ est was granted . On be ing presented with the bottle , he se ized

it with great eagerness, and placing it u nder his cloak, with mu ch pre

cau tion , he disappeared amidst the windin gs of the bu ilding, in an

instant, highly delighted, and mu ttering thanks as he retired .

“s

Some of the principal ofiicers of state are so fond of spirits, that

they procu re it at any expense , and convey it home , withou t theknowledge of their servants, carrying itin small leathern bottles, or

in tubes of the same material twisted rou nd the body . In this manner

it is brought into the most secret re cesses of the Seraglio , even attherisk of life ; and w e are assured by Madden, who had access to theharems of many of the Tu rkish nobles, that the ladies consume con si

derable quantities of wine u nder the name of an Italian cordial, called

R osalia whereas, if the wine were offered u nder its tru e denomina

tion , it wou ld be rej e cted with scorn . Carne saw thi s exemplified in

a rich Islam itic m erchant, ,who , when asked to drink w ine , expressed

high indignation, butwhen the same liqu orwas presented to him u nder

the name of R osalia, he took off a large bumper with great che erful

ness .1'—E xcu ses of a very trivial nature are taken advantage of.

Some affirm, that becau se the term rum is not in the Koran, the u se

of it w as notforbidden by the Prophe t. Captain Trant, in his Jou rneythrough Gre e ce , relates, that while on a visit with the B ey, h e gotapeep into one of his store -rooms, in which he saw a number of bottles,labe lled with the word Rhum, to which the proprietor had frequ ent

re coursei—The .Greeks su bj e ct to the Turkish yoke , are often as

mu ch afraid of be ing seen by the ir masters when taking wine , as one

Mussu lman is afraid of being observed us ing it by another. Carnew as witne ss to a

,circumstance of this kind, in the vicini ty of Con stan

tinople . When ata meal with some Gre cian s, who were regaling

themselves with white wine , the approach of a bo dy of Tu rkish cavalry

so affrighted the poor fellows, tha t they immediate ly concealed the

wine , and substituted water . In a private visit which Do ctor Clarkew as permitted to make atthe Su ltan’s Seraglio , he observed, in the

secret chambers, labe ls, bearing Turkish inscriptions , with the word

Rosalia, golden water, an d water of lg'

fe ,—a proof that ne ither the

Su ltan nor his ladie s were insensible to the pleasures of intoxica tion.

The same traveller te lls u s, tha t throu ghou t Turkey, the derv ise s,during the Ramadan , wou ld, when alone , e atpork and drink wine ,and laugh atthe absurdity of considering su ch things as forbidden .§

0 Or

L etters of a Pru ssxan Traveller, 2 vols. 8v c . vol. 1. p . 206 .

"

l Carne’

s L etters from the East, 8vo . p . 203. 1: Journey, 1830, 8vo . p . 277.

Clarke '

s Travels, v ol. v iii . p . 86,

42

Some of our Christian teachers are notmore particu lar in tirn es of asgreat strictness. Since a du ty was laid on wine atConstantinople, it

has proved a more produ ctive sou rce of revenu e than that arising from

any other article in demand. The annu al consumption of the city iscalculated at of okes.

* B utwhen w e consider that there

are several thou sand taverns licensed, in variou s parts of this immense

capital (whi ch comprises a popu lation of from 4 to it need

scarcely be a matter of su rprise .-The Grand Vizier deriv es a cou si

derable emolument from these hou ses, which, u nder variou s pretences,he often cau ses to be shu t in order that he may geta present by

allowing them to be re-opened . This is a practice of long standing,taverns be ing very ancient in this capital . Those establishments forpublic accommodation are not, however, of Tu rkish origin, butareattribu ted to the Lydians, they be ing accounte d the first who sold

wine by retail, and kept eatin g-hou ses for public convenience . The

Jews, u nder the sanction of the Grand Vizier, make a good winefrom the grape , called A ltgntaclz, (golden ston e, which is sold so low

as ,a penny and three half-pence per quart- All the necessary appa

ratu s for di stilling has notonly been fou nd here , butalso in the possession of rich individuals, in various parts of the Tu rkish empire .

Arrack, distilled atConstan tinople from the skins of the grapes, isrendered aromatic by the infusion of angelica and gum mastic. It isa clear and transparent spirit when u nmixed butwhen water is‘ added,it be comes, first azure ; afterwards opaqu e and milk y. It is a fragrantpleasant liqu or, and is sold very cheap .

-An inferior kind of R ec/aki is

made from pru nes .

In many of the provinces, a preparation of mint and pimento , dissolved and digested in water, is a favourite drink . This liqu or isremarkably strong : the person who drinks it, for the first time , supposes that he has swallowed the most ardent alcohol Sherbet is, forthe most part, a common drink with the Tu rks, and is u su ally prepared from a confe ction of raspberries, strawberries, or apricots dilu tedin water . L arge qu antities of conse rves made from different fru its,are sold in solid lozenges, and in the hotseasons are considered delicions when dissolved in mou ntain snow. Cherries, gooseberries,cu rrants, & c . steeped in rose water, with a slight infusion of musk oraromatics, form a beverage in great consum ption. At the grandbazaar of Ali Pasha in Adrianople , sherbets are carried about;in longbottles, and sold as refreshmcnts : a similar practice prevails in manyparts of the E as t. In some places, cakes made of tamarinds are use d

An oke is 2glbs. weight.

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44

tation may he reckon his advantage , that I can experimentally assurehim he might sell it (and be never thought too dear,) atfu ll the priceit bears in L ondon nor wou ld the Tu rks think more too mu ch, or if

they shou ld, the very factory itself, exclu ding all the other Christians

there residing, wou ld enrich him speedily, provided he took care to

manage well the brewing of all his liqu ors.

If any timorous man ,” continu es our au thor, obj e cts to the incon

v en ien ce of so long a voyage , his be ing altogether un acqu ainted with

the cou ntry and its langu age , and'

his want of friends to help on his

design, those difficulties will soon vanish, when I tell him that he may,

bargain for his passage in an E nglish ship, and be supplied with all

provisions, e ven to Constantinople , for cons iderably le ss than £20

that he will land within a few stones’ throw of the ambassador ’s house ,to whom the captain mu st, of cou rse , present him, if designed to se ttlethere ; that he is bound to grant him his prote ction and encou ragement that he m ay have a dragoman , or an interpre ter, to wait upon

him for a little charge , and still conversing with his cou ntrymen,maintain a trade almost as fre e and u ncontrolled as if in E ngland .

”ale

Do ctor Clarke w as witness to the partiality which the Tu rks shewedtowards our porter, as he saw them give thirty shillings for a dozen

of it ; and it w as purchased with the greatest avidity, as they seemedquite satisfied that it did notcome within the forbidding mandates of

the Koran . A late trave ller observes, tha t it has often been matter

of surpriseto him, that among the trading spe cu lations of his cou ntry

men , n o man has ever thought of trying a proje ct of this nature . I

have attimes, says he , qu estioned merchants on the subj ect, who haveurged, as

l

an obj e ction, the diffi cu lty of preserving it in su ch a climate

yet be er is made in E ngland for exportation to the E ast Indies .TThe on ly plau sible obje ction which appears to su ch a specu lation , is

certainly the heat of the climate . It is, however, probable , that by

brewing at particula r seasons of the year, or condu cting the processin cool cellars,

'

or by means of good coolers exposed to the bre ezesof

the night, or by approved refrigerators, beer or porter might be madeof tolerably good qua lity, atany season or in any climate .

Certainly a liqu or of this kind would notonly be vastly superior in

point of flavou r, butmore wholesome than bou za, a description ofdrink very common in the Turkish empire , and in great estimation .

Bouz a is generally made from barley, mu ch after the manner of brew-L

ing beer, but it is of too inspissated a nature , and so badly fermented

rSee Aaron Hill’s Accou ntof the Ottoman Empire , 4to . 91

b

.

1Turn er’

s Jou rnal of a Tour in the Levant, 3vols.,v ol, iii . p . 488.

“

45

as to‘

render it unpalatable to E uropeans. Wine circulates morefreely through the

'

dominions of the Grand Se ignior, than is publiclyknown . That of the Dardanelles is sent to Constantinople , to Smyrna,Aleppo, and e v en to E ngland. This wine will keep to a great age ,and, if the vintage be favourable , is preferable to that of Tenedos .

Both sorts are of a red colou r that of the Dardanelles, after being

kept for 20or 30 years, loses its colou r, butnotits strength. Jews arethe chief manufactu rers of .thiswi ne , which is called in Italian , (thelangu age principally spoken throu ghou t the L evant,) v ino della L egge,

be cau se it is pretended that the Jews, by their law , are prohibited theadulteration of wine . Its price , when of a prime qu ali ty; brings e ightparas* the oke , or abou t fou r-pen ce zthe

'

bottle . Do ctor Clarke tellsus , that the Pacha of the Dardanelles w as mu ch addicted to this wine

and when he wished to indu lge free ly, he retired to his v illa in theumbrageou s re cessesof Mou nt Ida, where he gave f ull scope to his

love of inebriating pleasu res, amidst his concubines, mus icians, and

dancers.

In m any parts of As ia Minor, the farmers, although Mahometans,.plant vineyards, and cu ltivate the grape , butdo n otmake wine . The

grapes are consumed as ripe fru it, or made u p by drying into

F rom these ,'

a siru p , called petm ez, is preserved, and used in thei r sher

bets as sugar. In other places, particu la rly in Mesopotamia and theadjo ining provinces, this siru p is employed as an indispensable ingredient in all their beverages.

In the capital of Syr ia, the distillation of an ardent spirit from raisins,with a mixture of aniseed is carried on extensive ly. The privilege of

this manufacture , on payment of a certain du ty, is alone granted to the

Christian and Jewish su bj e cts of the Grand.

Se ignior . According toBaumgarten an d others,Tlarge qu antities of beer, or zythum, are

brewed by'

the Syrians from the grain of the cou ntry ; and w e have the

testimony of Brown, a late traveller, that wine is produ ced in great

abu ndance throughou t Syria ; a revenu e is raised from it, the vineyardsbe ing charged according to the number of vines they contain. E ach

vine , if of good qu ality , is considered worth one piastre -the ma'

rz'

, or

land tax , of every hu ndred vines, is tenparas . On the mou ntains, thevine is now cu ltivated to some extent, and it is pleasing to see withWhat neatness and indu stry its growth is e ffected, where it might bethought impossible to preserve it from the torrents. The wine , toimprove its qu ality, is prepared by boiling it immediately after the ju ice

A para is abou t the valu e of an English half-penny.

1‘ In Churchill’s Collection .

46

zis expressed from the grape ; and to preserve itfor u se, it is put into'jars or large glass bottles. This mode of boiling wine is notpe culiar to

the inhabitants of that cou ntry ; it w as in general u se among the

ancients. The L acedaemonians were famou s for it,* and it is still.practised in some parts of Provence , in France , where it is called the

v ia cu it, or cooked wine ; butthere the me thod is to lodge the wine in‘

a large room ,rece iving all the smoke arising from several fires on the

’

grou nd floors ; an Operation’

m ore slow, but answering the'

same

p u rpose . The Spanish Vino Tinto, or tent wine , is prepared in the‘

same The mostvalu ed wine , in this qu arter, is the Vin o de O ro,’

o r golden wine of Mou nt L ibanu s ; this, how ever, is not boiled, but

left to pu rify itse lf by keepingfii The wines of L ebanon (of whichthere are u pwards of a dozen spe cies) are equally lu sciou s with those

of Cypru s, they are very cheap, and might be worth exportation to

other parts of the world .§ Jerus alem draws its supplies from the

n e ighbou ring villages: In the valleys that lie adjacent to that city;there are good crops of different kinds of grain and fru it . The vine isi n a thriving state , and its produ ce has a rich flavou r, notunlike that of'M u scadell—itsstrength is considerable , as w as evident from the effe ct

itprodu ced on some of the su perstitiou s devotees who shew the holyp laces in and abou t the city."Chateaubriand says, the wine of Jeru

s alem is excellent, it has the colou r and taste of the win es of Rou ss illon, and is still fu rnished by the hills of E ngaddi.

In Damascu s, wine is scarcely to be fou nd. The monks in the

convent there have good white wine , and to them a traveller mu st bei ndebted for a supply. The sherbet shops are numerous , clean, and‘neat, each having tw o or three large vessels constantly fu ll of thisbeverage , with ice to cool it the retailers fill a vase with the sherbe t,colour it with some fru it, cast a piece of ice or snow into it, and

‘d ire ctly pre sent it to you r lips -this is a gratefu l draught in su ltry

weather .“'

Nearchu s relates that Damascu s rece ived the richestmanu factures of Tyre in exchange for wi ne of Helbon, which w as thesame as the Chalybon of the Greeks, formerly so highly prized thatthe ancient Persian monarchs drank no other. At Smyrna , a commoncoarse wine , called Crassa

’

, is in current u se , which at first is rather

Archaeologi a G raaca,v ol. 11. p . 366 .

1’ The Roman s, as appears from Colum ella. w ere in the hab itof giv ing to som e

oftheir w ines a rich and precociou s matu rity by a particu lar e ffectof sm oke . Vide

I Brown'

s Travels in Africa, Syria, &c. p assim.

L ight'

s Trav els, 8vo . p . 2 14.

B ram sen'

s L etters of

.

a P ru ssian Traveller.1TCarne

’

s L etters from the E ast. p . 379.

47

disagreeable from its having a strong pitchy or resinou s flavou r . The

higher classes in Syria often indu lge in the lux ury of w ines, parti

cularly the Jews and the Christians and, according to Ru ssel, it is apractice to drink a small cup of brandy before sitting down to dinner.

The wandering hordes of Tu rcoman s, C urdes, and Bedou ins, who

o ccupy the mountainous tracts of Syria, are too poor to merit attention ;'

and since natu re is easily satisfied whe re temptations to enjoyment are

few ,what cou ld be expe cted from those who shelter themselves u nder

the fra il tent, in the cavities of rocks , or beneath the shade of trees,delighting only in the simple repast which the ir flocks afford . The

Dru zes, or D erou z, another of the tribes that inhabit this part of.Asiati c Turkey and profess Islamism, cu ltivate vineyards, and free ly

us e wine withou t regard to the dictates of the Koran . Their man

ners in this respe ct are very loose , they cu rse Mahomet, eatfood tha t

he has forbidden, and break the fast of the Ramadan . Warm-hearted

and philan thropic amids t the ir u nfrequ ented mou ntains and valleys,they share the ir humble fare with the suppliant or distressed passenger,ente rta in ing him with lodging and every o ther comfort they can afford,in the most unaffe cted manner ; bestowing the reviving j u ice of the

vine with the same generosity that they part with the least morse l ofthe ir bread, in conformity with the ir own sublime adage , God is

libe ral and great, and all men are brethren.” At a remote period, andlong before Islamism w as known in that region, Syria w as remark

able for its wine and the size of its grapes. Pau l Lu cas speaks of

bu nches that we ighed 4 5 l . and the grapes of Hebron, (mentionedin Numbers xiii . 23) were so large that one bu nch had to be borne ona staff by tw o men . It w as with a grape grown in this region, that

a favou rite lady of the Caliph Jezid w as choked ; he having presented

her with a spe cimen of the fru it, she letit slip down her throat,and, from its great size , itstopped her breath and stifled her in an

instant .

In different parts of Syria, as well as among the Dru zes, it is a

practice to extract from grapes a saccharine su bstance , called debs,‘which is u sed as a substitu te for sugar. It is manufactured in themanner of wine , with the exception of be ing bo iled and cooled twice

in su ccession . When the grapes are trodden on , a white earth-lik e

gypsum is thrown on them, from time to time , to make them adhere

together ; the j uice is then cau sed toflow into a stone re ce iver, from

whence it is carried to a bo ile r and from that to a se cond vessel, whereitis cooled and skimmed . After thi s it again u ndergoes the same

process, and is then putinto large earthen jars, in which itbecomes asiru p . Perhaps this is the deba s/t of Scriptu re, which our translators

48

'render honey, 2 Chronicles xx xi . 15 . It is brought into'

Aleppo m

goats’ skins, where it is publicly sold in the bazaars . M ichae lis con

j ectures, that the honey mentioned as a portion of the present sent by

Jacob to his son Joseph, atthe cou rt of Pharaoh, in E gypt, G en . xli ii. 2 ,w as notthe comm on honey of the bee , buta mass of bru ised grapes, of

the consistency of j elly and itmay probably have been the same as the

sirup ju st mentioned. Shaw speaks of the great trafli c, carried'

ori by'the Syrians, in this article and says, that from H ebron, ‘

alone , 300

camels, laden wi th it, are annu ally despatched to E gypt, besides'

What

are sent to other coun tries. Debs,when dilu ted and fermented , fo1ms

the bas is of some of the be st brandy, distilled ln this cou ntry ; andvast qu antities of the most valuable grapes are converted into this

lu sciou s material . The Syrian Mahometans take advantage of its

saccharine qu alities to make an intoxicating beverage butthis they

do in se cret . Franklin give s an amu sing accou nt of a party that he

fou nd making it, amongst a number of tombs, between Herou t andjMountL ebanon, where they converted on e of the stone sarcophagi

into a cooler for the liqu or :.

a miserable shift, as he j ustly'

observ es,

to evade the prohibition of the prophet, and su bstitu te Bacchus for

In various parts of Syria . honey 1s largely collected, and the hivesa1e formed of the same materials as tho se of E gypt, n amely, of clay,be ing abou t fou r feet long and six inches 1n diameter. They are placedon e above another to the amou nt of ten or twelve , presenting each anapertu re , for the admission of the insects, and bearing a pyramidal

appearance , protected by an awn ing, or roof. From the flowersandaromatics, so plentiful in Palestine and Syria, the bees collect the mostdeli ciou s

_and abu ndant qu antities of honey ; hence the appropriate

language ofthe Scriptu res, a land flowing with milk and honey .

”The

Syrians consume great qu antities of it in sherbe ts and other refresh

ing liqu ors an d of the advantages of honey to the inhabitants of thisregion, H as elqu istbears strong testimony.

In all the cou ntries labouring u nder the delu sion of M ahométan ism,

there is little variety, so far as regards the manners and cu stoms of

the people . The Arabians, therefore , may be said to diffe r slightlyfrom the ir neighbou rs the Syrians . N iebuhr te lls u s,

~that in many

parts of Arabia, the Jews make wine and distill brandy to considerable extent, and that at Sana, in the district of Yemen,1large qu antities of these articles are manu factured ; while in other place s a sort

Vide Harm er’

s O bservation s on variou s pa ssages of Scriptu re , vol. 11. p. 6 .

T Fraklin’

s Trav els, vol. i. p . 371. I Niebuhr

’

s Trav els, Svo . v ol. i . p . 2 5 0.

o f beer, something like the E gyptian éu rin i,'

was brewed, whi chre ce ived an agreeable taste from an infusion of a grey

that serv ed as leaVen in‘

the fermentation:'

From the berryo f the cebatha shru b,1

'

a very strong kind of sp irit w as extracted, thea cid taste of which, he thought, w as mu ch improved by sugar: Arracliis Sometimes

'

im'

ported'

into Mocha, from India ; as well'

as into many'

of the other parts of the Arabian Gu lf. From the K isgm’

s

'

orK a‘

schz

m isc/a grape , which, like the'

arts'

and sciences’

of the Arabs, is an.exotic from India, dz

'

bs‘ or dz'

bz'

s is made,in the’

same manner as by

.the Syrians, "

and’

great advantages are derived'

from it,‘

both in

d omestic and commercial intercou rse .— Wine ; for 'w lfich

‘

the Arabian

poets, have notlessthan on e hu ndred and fifty appellations, is seldommade except by the Jews and Christians An excellent sort ismann a

factu red, atthe convent of Mou nt S inai, from the superior grapes

grown in the gardens of that e stablishment, and from the‘ date s cul=

‘tivated in the vicinity ; and good brandy is made by a distiller kept inthe convent fortha t pu rpose . Grape s are there preserved, byhangingthem

’

up in prove very refreshing throughou t the whole

year. The vineyards atTaroot are good and extensive , but are

sometimes ov erflowéd by the tides. Malte Bru n is of'

opinion, thatit is here sho u ld be p laced the R egio M a rcina of Strabb,

’

where thevi nes, reared in baske ts of ru shes, were sometimes raised outof the irsitu ation by

'

the waters of the sea, and afterwards repla ced by means

of oarsq‘

, Although the Arabians condemn the E u ropean practice ofdrinking to excess, yetthey do notdisapprove of it, when u sed withmoderation, or as a

'

remedy in'

dise'

asesz°

itis even considered '

an

absurdity to refrain altoge ther,“

from what a gracious providence hasso liberally be stowed. Su ch, however, is the spe ciou s enforcementof

the'

law , tha t if a.

Jewbe convicted of conveying wine into the'

house

of an Arab,'

he is severely pu nished, atthe same time that'

the Arab

will regale hiiznself with impunity, within“

his ow n apartments. At

Suez, the inhabitants make no scru ple of taking amoderate quantityof brandy, experience having taught them that it is ne cessary to do

so , in order to.

correct the bad efl'e‘

cts of the stagnantand brackish

waters, arising from the saline qualities of the earth. According to

Do ctorDwight, a similar practice prevails'

in N ew E ngland and N ew

York, in the vicinity of the salt lakes in both cases, it may, however,be qu estioned, whe ther itis not the love of the liqu or, rather

’

than

Niebuhr’s Travels, 8v c . v ol. 11. p . 347. The lichen of the plum-tree , a natiy

o f the Isle s.

of the Archipelago .

T Ibid . p . 35 5 . I Malte Brun ’

s G eo . vol. 11 p . 2 10

'

5 0

the ex pediencyfi which is the real cau se for what is accounted indis

pensable .

The distillation of spirits, in this region, never forme d a favou rite

pu rsu it the knowledge of the Arabians in this respectw as always

limited, and even when the arts, u nder the Saracens, were at'

the ir

a cme , they had little to boast of, beyond the analysis of simples,w ith the ir application to medicinal p urposes. In the practice of

alchymy a lmost all other considerations were forgotten , and,’

as

fo rmerly observed, although the honour of the invention of d istilla

tion has been attribu ted to these people , yetthey have not, atpresen t,the remnant of an artto shew, that they ever had a pretension to

tha t discovery. N iebuhr metwith one of their alchymists, who hadspent a long life in search of the phi losopher’s stone , arid he had on ly

then arrived at that po int of his e x périn ients, in which he found itn ece ssary to pro cu re an herb, that

'

grew on the mou ntains of Yemen,fancying, that becau se the teeth o f the sheep, which fed on it, were

yellow , it mu st have the virtu e of tu rning whatever it wou ld tou ch

into gold. Thu s, it w as,'

thatthe Arabian alchymists condu cted the iroperations u nder the expe ctancy of changing the coarse r metals into

gold, and this be ing the cynosu re of all their labou rs, mystery and

e nigmatical jargon be came incorporated with all the ir writings, andthey carried their specu lations so far, as to suppose , that the verye lements were u nder the superintendence of spiritu al be ings ; and

’

that those b e ings had an influ ence over human power and humanaction . B utthat the idea of Fairies, Genii, Genls, & c . mentioned inthe splendid machine ry of the ArabianN ights’ E ntertainments, cou ldhave originated in this science , as has been supposed by Sir Humphry

'Davy and Doctor Paris,* there is nota shadow of foundation, un lessthat 0f ~mere conje ctu re . From the manners and habits ofthe Orientalists ; the grandeu r of the ir imagery

’

; the lu xu riance of the ir'

fancythe sublimity of their c onceptions, and the metaphysical manner of

clothing the ir ideas, together with the no tions they have of mu ltifariou s agents of de ity, w e need notwonder at the extravagance of

their descriptions, and the familiarity with which they introdu ce ds upernatu ral agents on

'

e ven the most trivial occasions, to all which,the Arabian, as we ll as other O i iental tales, tha t have been handed

down to u s, ow e the ir celebrity and fascination.

The Arabians have been so long degraded, that they now afford

little interest, e ither m arts, science , or literature . The E gyptians,whose country is contigu ou s, are nearly in the same state , though,

Pharmacologia,‘

vol. i . p. 88.

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5 2

So celebrated is this produ ctiv e'

tree , that w riters, bo th in prose and

verse , have made it the theme of the ir praises, and enumerated not

less than three hu ndred'

and sixty u ses to which the tru nk, the

branches, the leaves, the‘ ju i ce , an d the fru it, are skilfully applied .

D u fard E l Haddad , an Arabian bard, thu s allu des to it, when describ

ing the great canal of Alexandria, The woods,”says he , “which

shade this canal, give to the sailors, w ho row along its su rface , a

spreading mantle of green . Thecool north wind refreshes the su rface

of the waves the superb date tree , with its high-moving and majes

tic-tu fted top , crowned with its clu ster of yellow red fr'

u it, leans gentlyover its banks likethe head of a beau tifu l virgin asleep .

”—Su ch is theattachment of the people of the E ast to this tree , that an Arabian ,having retu rn ed home after a visit to Great Britain, said, tha t E nglandw anted buton e thing to make it beautifu l “it has nota date tre e init; I never ceased to look for on e all the time I w as there , but Ilooked in vain .

”-The date tree can he as easily ascended as a ladder,

be ing indented, as if constru cted for the admission of the humanLhandsand feet, and notby excrescences , as is generally u nderstood it hasno branches, the leaves, which

'

are from six to e ight feet long, servingfor that pu rpose . In the Oases, thatregion so insulated

'

from the restof the world, and su rrou nded by the trackless deserts , the date growsto great perfe ction . V an sleb says the best fru it is brought from E lWah, which lies, three days

’ jou rney, inland above Siout. There;dried dates are so fleshy and sweet, that othe rs wou ld be consideredsou r or bitter after them . From E l Wah, observes the same writer,come raisins and good dates, common wine , dried cherries, and

'

tlie

like . Strabo speaksof the mines of the G ases, and bo th Abulfedaand E drissi notice the luxuriance of its palm trees. The common

wine , allu ded to by V ansleb, is thought to be rakz'

, or date brandy,which is in mu ch requ est by the people of the

’

Oase s, who ,’ tho u'

gh

M ahometans, contrive to persu ade themse lve s that this drink is ‘

not

forbidden by the prophet Of the fertility of this poirtion o f . Egypt;w e have the te stimony of O lympiodoru s, who wrote in the re ign ofthe second Theodosiu s, and also of the extraordinary fru itfu lness ofthe trees. Corn there , according to him , w as whitergthan snow;barley w as produ ced twice a-year, and mille t three Su ch isthe fertility of E gypt, that Doctor Clarke m etwith heaps of cornextending n early

'

a mile in length along the banks of the N ile . No

distillationof spirits from grain has, however, been attempted in E gypt;'

Jou rn ey to Tw o of the C ases of Upper Egyptby;Sir'

Arch . Edmon stone , Bart.8v0. p . 36.

5 3

notwithstanding its great abu ndance . Bouza, an inferior sort of beer ,“

is the only liqu or made from it, of which the Arabs throughou t Upper

E gypt are very fond. They often expose it for sale in a common'

w icker basket, made so close as to be imperviou s to this and other

flu ids . Sometime s a sherbe t is made from oatmeal, bo iled with su gar

mixed w ith rose water, which is esteemed a cool refre shing beverage ;but Bou za is the common article of consumption among the lower

orders. The grain.

u sed in the manufactu re of this drink is never

malted ; it is mixed wi th ingredients to render it more intoxicating

and palatable yetfrom its thick and glu tinou s natu re, it grows sou r

in a few days. Palm, or date wine , is also in u se , and from the in spis-i

sated j uice of the palm tree , d ip se, or a kind of honey, little inferior

to that of bee s, is extracted, whi ch, afterbe ing dilu ted and fermented,makes an agreeable wine . When dipse is intended to be distille d,the fermentation is checked before it becomes entirely ace tou s, and

from this, as well as dates, arrack is manu factu red mu ch in the sameway as brandy in E urope . It is remarkable , that the spirit made from

dates, in most parts of E gypt, has a smoky taste or flavour like Scotch

and Innishow en whiskey, yetme llow as if tinctured with honey .—The

native E gyptians are' '

now’

so debased, that they have no taste for

improvement or e legant refinement, e ither in the arts or comforts of

life , which so eminently di stingu ished the ir ancestors . Still, however,they contrive to gratify the ir appetites with whatever intoxicatingbeverage they can procu re , and even though u nder the

,strictness of

the Mahometan discipline , defend the practice of drinking, in variou s

Ways, some of which are very ingeniou sly and artfu lly contrived.

Bru ce , when travelling up the N ile, had with him a Mu ssu lman ,named Hassan , addicted to drink, w ho , on on e o ccasion, w as des ired

to procure some aqu a mm, if his conscience wou ld permit him . To

which Hassan replied, “the Prophet never forbade aqu a v itae, butthe

drinking of wine only ; and.

even the prohibition of w ine cou ld n ot

have bee n intended for E gypt, for there w as n o wine in it, exceptI

bou za, -and bo u za, said'

he , I shall drink as long as I can walk from

the stem to the stern of a vesse l.”—Belzoni fou nd that the scruples of

the E gyptians were easily overcome , even for drinking wine , whi ch

he exemplifies by an anecdote of a C achefl', who, on observing that

traveller drink a cup of red liqu or, which he had poured outof a

bottle , enqu ired wha t kind of beverage it w as . On be ing informed itw as Nabet, (w ine,) he said, that having heard the E nglish wine w as

so superior to the date-wine of his ow n country, he w as anxiou s to

have some to drink in se cret. When presented with a cup fu ll, (andhi s interpreter having first dru nk some of itto convince him of

'

its

5 41

pu rity,) he sw allm‘

v ed the contents with avidity, and became so

attached to this beverage , that, in three days, he nearly e x hau sted

the scanty stock of poor B elzonifi" Under the intelligence ofmodern

ru lers, this cou ntry, it is to be hoped, will emerge from its darkne ss.

At present, the sugar cane is cu ltivated in Upper E gypt, the produ ce

and qu ality of which are good, and, according to Fitzclarence , in the

years 1817 and 1818, the Pacha Mahome t Ali w as making rapid

advances towards bringing the manu facture of this article and of r um

to great perfe ction . A Mr. Brine , who had been a trad er to theWest

Indies, condu cted the operations, which were on a very extensive

scale . Hopes were entertained that the qu ality of the rum di stilledhere wou ld soon compete with the West Indian article in the Medi

terranean markets, where it has been sent in considerable qu antities.

Thu s it appears that the Pacha, though a Mahome tan, felt no scruple

to compou nd liqu ors forthe infide l Christians, provided he profited by

the tran saction F —H is intelligence and enterprise have enabled him to

see beyond the bou ndaries of su perstition and folly, and to shew in

this, as he has done in many other instances, that the real interests of

a nation are best studied in the pursu it of legitimate gain, and are not

incompatible with the du ties of tru e and genuine religion .

Captain H enry L ight,1’ tells u s that he fou nd many su gar planta

tions along the N ile , and that the mode of planting w as that of put

ting the jo ints of the cane into furrows fiv e or six inches deep, which,after covering with earth, were watered copiou sly by channels filled

with water from the river raised by mean s ofwheels or bu cke ts . Anacre and a half thu s cultivated, yield abou t on e cwt . of sugar . The

ju ice is pressed from the cane by a mill composed of tw o rollers

wrought by a horizontal wheel tu rned by bu ffaloes.

Mead is seldom to be met with in E gypt, although honey is plena

tiful, and this is somewhat remarkable , as there are few Countries

Where bees are more attended to . The honey, instead of be ing

employed in the manu factu re of mead, is u sed for variou s other

domestic pu rpose s ; and transported -to different place s in the L evant.M aillets ays, that in E gypt the bees are fed chi efly on Sainfo in, andgives a curiou s accoun t of the manner in which this is practised — The

hives are made _of clay in the same w ay as in Syria . As soon as the

Sainfo in ripens in the fields, on the banks of the N ile , in Upper E gypt,the inhabita nts, from all qu arters of the cou ntry, collect the ir hives,and place them on board of boats prepared, or hired for the purpose .

Travels, p . 98.

”

f Light’

s Trav els in Egypt, Nubia,and Ab) ssin ia, and the Holy Land, 41.

5 5

In these they are conveyed along the N ile , resting occasionally~

to

allow the inse cts to colle ct the honey in the adjoining districts, and

move along the river, stopping atintervals u ntil the whole of the w ax

and honey is collected. Having finally arrived atthe sea, the res‘

pectiv e owners takeaway the hives which the y know by the nuniber

of the register in which they were setd ow n p re viou s to go ing out.

It is an astonishing fact, that notwithstanding the moving habitsof those. inse cts, they have never been kn own tomistake the ir respective hives, each instinct ively flying to its. little cell with u ndeviating

The N ubians make bou za in abu ndance , in drinking which theyindu lge to excess. It is extracted from dhou rra , or barley is of a

pale , muddy colou r, and very into x icatingfi‘ Although the Nubians

profess the Mahome tan faith, they are characterised as great dru nkards .

Burckhardt, who visited Nubia in 1816, remarked, that du ring the

fo rtnight he remained atBerber, he heard of half-a-dozen qu arrels

occasioned by drinking, all of which ended in knife or sword-wou nds.

In the larger villages of Nubia, palm wine is common ; it is notu nplea~

sant to the ta ste , thou gh too swe e t to be taken in'

any conside rable

quantity : it is u su ally carried in large goat-skins and drunk out of

small cups made from calabashes. Palm wine is generally obtained,by the fo llowing pro ce ss -As soon as the da tes have come to maturity,they are thrown into large earthen bo ilers with water, and the wholeis boiled fortw o days withou t intermission ; the liqu or is then strained,and the clear ju i ce is pou red into earthen jars, which, after be ing well;

closed, are bu ried u nder ground. Here they are allowed to rema in

for ten or twelve days, during whi ch the liqu or ferments ; the jars are

then taken up, and their contents are fit to be drunk butthis wine’

will notkeep longer than a year, or beyond the n ext date harvest , ifkept longer it tu rns sou r. The Nubians are indu striou s, and in some

pa rts of Uppe r E gyp t keep the shops for the sale of bou za . Great

quantities"

of the wine and the spiri ts distilled from dates are consumedatDerr, and sold in hou ses kept for the pu rpose , to which many oftheu ppe r classe s resort in the evening to get themselves intoxicated.

He re Maddox fou nd tha t the Arabs were the chief distillers ofArrack,and which the Mussu lmans drunk with satisfaction, and generallyu ndilu ted it is inferior to the Arrack of Cairo , which is flavoured.with an iseedj

Bu rckhardt’s Tra i els in Nubia,4to . p. 143

,144.

1“ E x cursions in Nubia, vol. 1. p . 68.

5 G

’Burckhardt observed that from Sioutsou thward, through the who le

of Upper E gypt, date spirits were made and publicly sold, and that

the Pasha levied a tax u pon the venders . A revenu e is also'

raised

by takingf rom every date tree two clu sters of fru it, whatever may .

be the qu antity produ ced, and laying a du ty on all vesse ls that load

dates atDerr. The qu antities of dates sent from Nu bia to Upper

Egypt vary according to the harvest from 15 00 to 2000'

erdebs annu

ally, each erdeb we ighing abou t tw o cwt . The date trade ,'

whi ch is

extreme ly profitable , is now for the most. part in the hands of the

government . In Nubia, as well as in E gypt, a kind of j elly or honeyis extracted from the date , which serves the rich as a sweetmeat.

E xcept date trees and a few vines, there are no fru it tre es in Nubia .

*

Bou za'

is ma de by the Nubians in the'

following manner z— Strongly

leavened bread made from dhou rra is broken into crumbs and mixed

with water, and the mixtu re is kept for several hou rs over a slow fire .

B e ing then removed, wate r is pou red'

over it, and it is kept for tw o

n ights to ferment ; This liquor; accbrding'

to its'

greater or smallerdegree of fermentation, takes the name of merin , bou za ,

'

or onibelbel,

the mother of m’

ghtingales , so called becau se it'

makes the dru nkardssing. Unlike the other tw o , which be ing fermented together withthe crumbs of bread,are n ev er

’

free fromthem, the omb’

elbel is drainedthrough a cloth and is consequ ently. pu re and limp id. The ombelbel

has a pleasant prickly taste , something like champagne tu rned sou rit is served up in large gourds openatthe top , upon whi ch are engrav edw ith a knife agreat varie ty of ornaments A gourd (bou rma) conta insabou t fou r pints, and whenever a party meet over

-

the gou rd, it isreckoned that each person will drink

—

atleast one bourma. The gou rdbe ing placed in the grou nd, a small -gou rd, cut

' ir'

i tw o and of the siz e

of a tea cup. is placed near it, and in this the liquor'

is served rou nd toeach in ‘tu rn, an interval of six or eight minutes be ing left betwee neach revolution .of the little gourd .

' Atthe -commencement of thesitting, some roasted meat, strongly peppered, is generally circulated ;butthe bou za i tself is esteemed sufficiently nou rishing, and indeedthe common bou za looks more like sou p or porridge than a liqu or to

be taken ata draught. The Fakirs,. or'

religiou s men , are the only

pe rsons who do not indu lge , pu blicly atleast, in -this luxu ry. The

women are as fond of it, and as mu ch in the habit of drinking it, as the

men . A bou rma of bou za is given for one measure of dhou rra, three

fourths of the measure of dhourra be ing requ ired to make the bourma,and the remainder paying for the labou r . Crumbs of the dhou rra

Vide Bu rckhardt, p . 132, 133.

72

bread are often soaked in water, and after giving ita'

sourish taste , it

is drunk'

off and'

called by the trade rs'

the caravan beverage , sherbetel

j ollabé. Parties are formed to drink bou za in the same manner astea ahd coffe e parties are in E ngland . AtBerbe r, females prepare thebou za, du d,

"

whe“

n the'

drinkers of it wish not ‘to beinterrupted, they

gene rally retire to the'

hpartments of the ladies, where the re is no

intru sion . Nobody goes‘

to a. bou za hut withou t his sword, and the

girls are ofte n the first sufl'erers in an afl°ray arising from drunkenness.

At Shendy, bou za ' is drunk to great e x cess,'

and as tobacco is smokedto a degre e of extravagance , it is a maxim tha t he who doeS ‘

not

smoke largely will neve r be a hardy bou za drinker . Here also a sortof sherbet, made from tamarind cak es di ssolved in water, is taken as arefreshing , cooling, and wholesome potation . To this place honey isbrought in great qu antities from Sennaar,

'

which i s colle cted by theArabs from wild bees, and it is often conve rted into hydromel. Thisdrink is u sually made by dilu ting honey with water, boiling it, and then

fermenting it u nder the influ ence of the su n , as is the common practicein Abyssinia, Lithu ania, Poland, and Ru ssia . The most simple beve

rage u sed by the Nubians is boar, a mixtu re of water and the j u ice of

At Sennaar, a liqu or, similar to date w ine ,° is manufactu red fron i

dhou rra it is however much less pala table to E u ropeans from its

thick and glu tinous quality, and from the burn ed flavou r contracted

in the dhourra, which is roasted previou s to the short fermentation it

u ndergoes.

Bou za is artfu lly u sed in this country'

to ensnare monkeys, as those creatu res, lik e man , seem inclined to partake ’

of the

pleasu res of intoxica tion .-For this pu rpose , a

‘ pan fu ll of the liqu or is

placed atthe foot of a tree and after remaining there 'for some time ,’

the wary monkey-catcher having retired to a distance and fe ign ing

him self asleep,the u nsu spiciou s animals come down fromthe tops of thetrees and regale themselves so largely with the liqu or, that they soon

be come an easy prey to the ir captors.

We need notbe su rprised at those irrational animals be ing captu redin this manner, when w e find man , even civilized man ! taken captiveby a like expedient . Captain Boteler relates tha t,While on the coast

of Zanzibar, two sailors dese rted, and the Arabs, who were employed

to arrest them,fearfu l of resistance , placed spirits in the w ay the

men drank it, were therefore easily apprehended, and brought to

prison in a state of intoxicat ion .

The love of strong drink, it is well known, be comes habitual with

O w en’

s Voyage ofDiscovery in Africa, Sac. vol. 11. p . 37.

5 8”

monkeys in a domesticated state an d the Ouran-‘

Ou tang in par‘

ticu c f

lar (which approaches nearer to man than any other animal,) evincestowards it the strongest propen sity. Doctor M ‘L eod, who .had a

good opportu nity of observ ing the habits of on e of these creatu res

during his voyage home from Borneo, assures u s that he wou ld drinkgrog and sometimes u nmixed spirits, and w as actu ally tu rned outof

the boatswain’s mess for taking more than hi s allowance . On his arrivalin E ngland, he be came very fond of porter.

we

On the Gold Coast is fou nd a small qu adru ped, in appearance like

a cat, which the N egroes call B erbe , and the E u ropeans Wine-bzhher,on accou nt of its great fondness for palm wine , of which it will drink

to intoxication .

According to Bru ce , the be er of the Abysinian s is of an inferiordescription , and is made chi efly from tocusso but some times it is

mixed with wheat or dora, atother times all three are mixed togetherin general, however, tocusso alone is preferred . The first operation is

to grind the tocu sso or mixed grain, a fourth part of which is kneaded

with leaven and water . Thi s is afterwards putinto a j ar where it issu ffered to remain for tw o days, and then baked into thin cakes,

'

which

are dried on the fire till they become qu ite hard . The cakes are then

broken into small particles, and put into a large vessel full of water

capable of holding six times the volume of the grain . Powderedleaves of the Ghesh tree , which have a harsh bitter taste , togetherwith other ingredients, are put in atthe same time . The remaining

three-fourths of the meal are placed in an oven over a fire with a littlewater, and kept constantly stirring u ntil it becomes a paste ; and as

the water is absorbed or evaporates, a fresh supply is added, and thestirring continu ed un til the entire qu antity becomes black lik e a coal .The whole thu s prepared, the crumbs, the mass, and the leaves, are

puttogether into a large j ar, and left to settle for a day, after whichit is pou red off and preserved in jars well stopped : atthe end of a

week,“

the liqu or becomes strong and tartish, and is what the Abyssi-j

n ian s call bou za .1‘ When only tw o or thee days old, it is sa id to

-drinkwell . This accou nt of the bou za is gathered from Bru ce , whose description of it is far from be ing clear or satisfactory

, acircumstancethe

more singu lar as coming from so intelligent and indefatigable atrav eller,and particularly when the subj ect affe cted the moral character of thepeople in no ordinary degree . Tefl' and Tocu sso are the grain from

which bou za is chiefly made , and tefl' is the principal article from whichphe bulk of the people make the ir bread .

M ‘L eod'

s Voyage to China, &c. 8v o . p . 317.

tB ruce’

s /Praw n to discover the So urce of the Nile , vol. v i. p . 94.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

60

magnitude are employed for conveying liqu ors from place to place .

Of this liquor , as well as hydromel, the natives drink largely whenthey visit on e another ; and if Lobo is to be credited,

‘

there cannotbe

a greater offence against good manners, than to letthe gu ests go away

sober. The liqu or, on su ch occasions, is always presented by a servant

who drinks first himself, and then gives the cup to the,company in

order, and agreeably to the ir rank and station . Hydromel , next to'

bouz a, is the most plentifu l drink . This is owing to the immensequantity of honey which the cou ntry affords, and which is so great

that the king derives from it a considerable revenu e . Honey is also

a principal article of food among all ranks of people , and the bees are

kept in large cages or baske ts hu ng u pon trees ; some attach,them

selves‘

to the branches, others bu ild in the soft wood of the bohabab,the large and fragrant flowers of which commu nicate to thehoney a

strong pe rfume . The honey in this cou ntry alw ays partakes of thecolour of the flower and shrubs from which it is gathered, and Bru ce

met with some of it like blood, while the honey of those-

be es tha t

bu ild in the earth is nearly black. Travellers have asserted that wine

is notto be had in Abyssinia, butBru ce says, this is a mistake , sincestrong wine is made atDreeda, a place abou t 30miles from Gondar,the capital ; and Salt informs u s, that wine is made from

'

a red grapewhich is common in some parts of the country. Poncet, who w as at

Emfras, within a leagu e of Gondar, atthe time of the vintage , whichis always in Febru ary and notin autum n as in E urope , saw bunches

of grapes, some of which w eighed upw ards of e ight pou nds ; these

grapes were of all colours, butthe white in particu lar were extremely‘

well tasted. Pearce says, that grapes are fou nd in almost all parts

of Abyssinia, butno cou ntry produ ces so mu ch as Emfras, ow ing to

an ancient cu stom of the inhabitants following the wine -bu siness.

Here tribu te is paid to the king and the Abu na . E very class of wine

pays a j ar yearly to the king, as they enter Gondar to the market.

It is .the same in all other capitals of Abyssinia, su ch as Adowa and

An talo .—T,he want of proper ve ssels to hold the wine is very inj u

rions to , its preservation, as they have nothing better than earthen jarsfor the pu rpose , and these are notglazed within .

—The attachment ofthe people to hydromel and bou za renders wine from the grape less

thought of, and, in consequ ence , the vine is notcu ltivated so generallyas it might be . In the province of Tigré, there is a small black grapeof exce llent flavour g rowing wild, from which good wine cou ld bemanufactu red . Brandy is in u se among the Abyssinians, and the irlove of strong liqu ors often hurries them into excesse s, which sometimes lead to fatal consequences, aswas experienced by B ru ce on many

1

o ccasions. The brandy nu de by them is very strong, and is distilledthrough a ho llow cane , called Shamba cco, from the hu sks and stones

of the grapes, after the liqu or is pre ssed from them . Great qu antities

are brought da ily to Gondar, du ring the vintage , from Corder Emfras,the grape cou ntry.

— O ne wou ld expect, from the contigu ity of this

nation " with E gypt and Arabia, to find in it some degree of

refinement or advancement in the ' arts and sciences on the con trary,Abyssinia is bu ried in the grossest ignorance and barbarism,u nacqu ainted with every sort of manufacture , and re ckless of every

spe cies of information, whi ch wou ld e ither expand the intellect orame liorate its condition. More ' intent on gratifying the passions

than in cu ltivating the social virtu es, the Abyssinians indu lge in actscontrary to the

,di ctates of human natu re among the ru dest savages,

eating raw flesh outfrom the living animal, drinking afterwards evento bestiality, and committing o ffen ces againstde licacy too obscene tobe narrated . E ating raw fle sh is n otaltogether confined to the Abyss inians, for the Thibetian s have a similar prac tice ; yetthe habits of

the tw o nations are very dissimilar, the latte r be ing a mild, affable and

gentle people .

Strange as this cu stom may appear, it is notless singular that, according to L obo, the Abyssinians esteem the gall ~

one of the most delicions parts of the animal, and drink glasses

'

of it with the same pleasurethat

'

epicures drink the . most de licate wines . Pearce says that he has‘

seen them drink blood warm from the animal with an extraordinary

degree of relish."

Notwithstanding these barbarous practices, the Abyssinians are a

hospitable people ; When a stranger enters a village , he is entertained

atthe expense of the inhabitants, for the master of the hou se , where

he stops, has only to proclaim tha t he has a gu e st, when food and liqu or

are furnished in abu ndance . Should the gu est complain of insuffi

ciency, the villagers wou ld be obliged to pay double the valu e of what

ough t to have been supplied . A traveller may go into any hou se

with ' the same assu rance of we lcome as into that of an intimate friend

or ne ar relation .

Poncet, who travelled throu gh variou s parts of E thiopia, fou nd

mead , called hydrome l by Bru ce , and maiz by L ord Valentia , to be

the principal beverage of the people ; and describes the mak ing of it

early as follows z— Several ingredients are employed, of which the‘basis is barley ; this is malted , dried, and pou nded fine like coffee , an

indigenou s root called tadda, or sadoo , is bru ised and mixed with it

Pearce'

s Adventu res in Abyssinia, 8vo . vol. i. p . 9 5 .

02

‘these areputwith water into a well-varnished v essel and mixed with-a fou rth part of honey to ten pou nds of this wate r are put tw o

o u nces of barley and two ou nce s of taddo the whole is mashed

.together and left in a warm place to ferment ; it is occasionally stirred,and in three or fou r days it becomes exce llent mead, pu re , clear, and

of the colour of Spanish white wine . It is considered a delightful

beverage , is sometimesmade of great strength, and brandy of a good

qu ality is distilled fi°

om it.*

Mu ssu lmen, as well as Christians, are fond of bou za, and some of

the former drink so deeply of it that they find it often ne cessary tosleep away its effects. On on e occasion, when Salt dined with the'Ras, he observed three large jars of maiz or hydrome l attable , each

c ontaining abou t half a hogshead, all of which were emptied du ringthe repast . At another entertainment, he saw abou t sixteen bra /ales

(a Venetian decanter holding abou t half a pint) drunk by each pe rsonpresent, ladies as well as gentlemen , a qu antity the qu afling of which

wou ld putmany of our E uropean dames to the blush.1' YetPonce t

assures u s, that if the king happens to commit any excess, and that it

ishintedto him he has done so, he instantly rises from table and retires

a condescension, and sensibility ofweakness, to which perhaps no other

monarch would submit .

The higher classes of Abyssinians mostly have pru dence enough'

n otto get over-intoxicated ; still there are numbers who drink to

su ch excess, that they fall off the ir mu les on their w ay home , and, if

no one is athand to look after~

them , they are left to the mercy of the

hyenas, which range all night through the towns and villages .

Clubs, called mow ers , are common, and consist of abou t twelve

pe rsons, who meet for friendly commu nication and afford opportu

n ities for drinking immoderately. They assemble once a-month, andwhen a married member happens to be absent, his wife often attendsin his stead and the same practice is observed in the mow ers of the

women, shou ld the wife be absent . E ach of these clubs have a priest,w ho drinks and eats atfree cost he Opens the meeting, when all are

assembled, by saying the Lord’

s Prayer, which they a ll repeat together ; and is too frequ ently, on these occasions, the most inebriated

of the party. It is to be lamented that, through all parts of thiscou ntry, the priests are great drinkers and Pearce states, that he hasknown instances of some of them being intoxicated when they had taadminister the sacrament .

L ockman’

s Trav els of the Jesu its, v ol. i. p . 2 18.

1‘ Valentia ’

s Tra vels, vol. iii. p . 71. Salt’s Abyssinia , 4to . p. 412 .

63

The vessels, generally employed amongst the . Abyssinians, ford rinking, are chiefly formed of bu llocks

’ horns, and are of variou s sorts“

and sizes, handsomely finished and'

ornam ented . Those , who'

servetout liqu or, taste it first, by pouring a little into the left hand, from“which they drink it, and then, wiping the bottle , or horn, with a cloth,present it to the master.

The Abyssinians donotmake beer from teff only, butalso from a

plant, called sellelz. Bru ce mentions different sorts of teff, of which

.perhaps selleh m ay be on e ofthe spe cies. They have likewise a good

agreeable liquor made from potatoes and honey, which is very into xicating. The honey ofAbyssinia is very plentiful, and is white , hard,and well flavou red :

The u se of this material in making an intoxicating beverage , is notonly extensive in this cou ntry, butalso in the adjo ining sta te s, and it

seems to be a staple commodity. When Alphonsu s Mendez passed

through Dancali, near the coast of Babel-Mande l, it w as with thisliquor he w as entertain ed by the monarch, who , on entering the hallof au dience, w as preceded by a domestic with an earthen pitcher full'

of hydromel, while another attendant carried a porcelain cup, out of

w hich, withou t ce remony, his Maj esty pledged his gu est in a flowing

bumper .

In Bou rnou , two kinds of fermented liquors are in u se ; the one

called Amdei'kz‘t is made from dates ' steeped in water, then meal isadded and the whole squ eezed through a cloth. This liqu or is used

afterit has stood three or four days . The o ther drink, calle d Sza , ismade from du rr

'

ah, or maiz , and is extremely intoxi cating .

The inebriating drinks us ed 'by the other ru de tribes of the Africancontinent; whethe r Mahometan or

'

Pagan , are so mu ch alike , that todescribe all wou ld be tediou s, and were it poss ible , useless : a few of

the most interesting may suffice—The beverages of the N egroes are ,according

'

to Park, beer and mead, sometimes called hydromel, thelatter is a Spe cie s of drink very common in Africa, owing to the great

abu ndance of honey, while the former is made wherever any farinae coa s grain is cultiv atedfi“ Rice and honey may be said to constitu tethe principal bas is of the N egroes’ su stenance . Honey is commonly

procu red throughou t the whole of Africa in a wild state . The Medina

goes, differing from most other tribe s, indu ce the be es to hive attheir

farms, in order to obta in a supply withou t the trou ble and fatigu e of

s earching the woods . For the accommodation of the bees, the Mad in

goes u se hollowed pie ces of bamboo closed atboth ends and placed

Park'

s Travels , 8v e . p. 2 48.

G4

horizontally on two'

forked poles. In one of the ends of the bamboois a small apertu re for'

the passage of the inse cts, and when the seasonfor. tala

'

ng the «honey a rriv es, the be es are expelled i nthe same manner

as in E u rope . The mead manu factured among many of the tribes islittle inferior .to that m ade in -ou r ow n . cou ntry. -I The beers on

' thecontrary, is notfor the most part good, becau se the pro cess is badlyfcondu cted, and the absence of hops renders it he avy and more liableto sou r . WliemDalzeL w as atthe court.of Dahomy, , he observed asort of liqu or called

'

P z'

tto , manufac tured by the ladies of the palace ,of an agreeable 'flavour and heady qu ality, which was prepared from

maiz or millet-regu larly fermented. Visitors are always honored

with a glas s of this beverage , or some other cordial, filled by the king’

s

own hand, which, if refused, gives offence . .Favou rs of this kind arere ce ived with avidity by his subjects as a great honou r on su ch

occasions, the individu al lies on his back while .the king holds thebottle to his mou th, in which postu re he must drink till the royal

hand be withdrawn, which sometimes does n othappen u ntil the whole'

contents are emptied, espe cially when he has a mind to sport with thedrinker : N 0 subj e ct can drink outof a glass in presence of the king

of Dahomy ; an d altho u gh that monarch does note at in'

public, hemakes n o scru ple to drink in pu blic . French brandy and other E u ropean liqu ors are plentiful, as we ll as palm wine and convivial salu ta

tions , in the .form of toasts, are common . On on e occas ion, when thekin g was going to battle , a warrior, who accompanied him, drank su c

cess to his arms , adding, that shou ld he be u nfortu nate , he hoped he

wou ld notsu rvivethe disgrace , butperish lik e the glass outof which

he drank, dashing it to pie ce s as he spoke - E ntertainments are fre

qu ently held in the marke t place of the capital ; and it has been known ,

that 130 of the king’s wives have been employed carrying provisions

for the accommodation of the partiesw—The drinking cups in generalu se are made of gou rds, or calabashes, from which are likewise formedvariou s u tensils, su ch as bo ttles, jars, and pitchers some , of thesegou rds are so large as to measu re a yard in diameter ; they are often

converted into washing tubs, or vessels for fermenting the materials

of p itta. The king of Dahomy, although atthe head of a ru de and

barbarou s people , displayed, according to Dalzel, sentiments worthy

of a civilized sovere ign . In a spee ch which he made on hearing what

had passe d in E ngland, on the subj e ct of .the slave trade , he u sed the

followi ng/

remarkable observation What hurts m e most,”said he ,

“is, that some of your people have , maliciou sly misrepresented us inbooks which never die , alleging tha t w e sell ou r wives and children

for the sake of procu ring a few kegs of brandy. No , w e are shame

6 5

fu lly belied, and I hope you‘

will contradict, from my mou th, the scandalou s falsehoods that have been propagated, and tell posterity thatw e have been abus ed . We do , indeed, sell to the white men a part

of our prisoners, and w e have a right so to do . Are notall prisonersatthe disposal of the ir captors, and are w e to blame if w e send de liu

qu ents to a far cou ntry : I have been told you do the same .

”ale

Of another Dahoman sovere ign, itis related, that he displayed greatingenu ity and cleverness in subdu ing a powerful ne ighbouring

monarch .

' Being opposedby agreat army, he saw that if he attacked itin an open manner, defeat mu st ensu e ; he therefore had recourse tothe following stratagem . Affe cting to retreat, he placed a large

magaz ine of spirituou s liquors un der a strong escort, with directions

to rest ata ne ighbour ing village . L eaving thi s in his rere , u nder theexpectation that his enemies would indu lge themselvesto excess,when

finding that his stratagem w as su ccessful,‘

he.

retu rned on the enemy,and rou ted them with M men se slaughter .

Captain Clapperton fou nd atWow -Wow ,the metropolis of B orghoo,a kind of ale , bearing the name ofP itta , obtained from the same grainas that u sed for a like purpose in Dahomy, and by a proce ss nearly

similar to the brewing of beer in E ngland from malt, only that no

hops were added, a defe ct which prevented it keeping for any length“

of time .1'

The people of the cou ntries from the Gambia to the Senegal u se

palm wine di lu ted w ith water, and a kind of beer called B a llo .

In the centre of Africa, the same propensity for ardent spirits

actuates the followers of the Prophet as strongly as in Turkey. T he

drinking of palm wine and bou za prevails to a great extent, partien

larly after the feast of the Ramadan . O n the day following, everydescription of persons, Pagan and Mahometan , forget all distinctions

of rank, sex , and age , and are to be seen reve lling toge ther in all the

wild extravagance of intoxication . In the records of Clapperton’

s

last expedition to Africa, w e are assured that inebriety, which w asprobably u nknown to the Aborigin es, or, if known, partially indu lgedin, is now familiar and carried to great excess and to this m ay be

attribu ted a great many irregu larit ies committed in that qu arter of the

globe . All persons, from the king to the beggar, evince an attachment to spirituou s liqu ors. When the king of Badagry,with his attendants , honoure d C lapperton with a visit, he drank rum till he forgot

what w as du e to Maj esty, and became as convivial as the meanest of

B elzel’

e History of D ahomy, 4to . passim .

1’ Records of Captain C lapperton

’

s lastE x pe dition to Africa, 2 vols . 8vo . v ol. i

p . 133and 187 .

66

his subjects. Seated with a large umbrella over his head and a

Britishflag, held by white men , floating in the air, his spirits ex hilarated by the soul-inspiring draught, and enchanted by the melodiou s

sou nds of deliciou s mu sic, he looked an d spoke as if he were the

happiestman in existence , While‘

the acclamations“

of the people , aecom

pan ied by snapping of fingers, clappingZofhands, singing, hallooing, anddancing, rendered the scene on e of more than ordinary bacchanaliancast . The same trave ller and his companions were obliged to pay a

tribu te of m in to the chief of a village near Humba, which, when,

re ce ived, w as taken by this personage in mouthfu ls, -and squirted so’

adro itly into the gaping jaws of his thirsty attendants, that each aspi

rant for this mark of distinction, rece ived a portion of the bewitchingflu id with pecu liar satisfaction . P alm wine forms, in Badagry, an

article of commerce , and is as regu larly exposed for sale in the markets

as any other commodity. At a village called Weza , Clapperton m et

with a beverage termed Otée , whi ch he describes as a kind of ale madefrom millet, and of a very enlivening natu re . Another sort of ale ,

styled gea r, draw n from Indian corn ,:w as fou nd atRagada, besides a

liqu or named bum of an intoxicating qu ality .

The practice of drinking bou za, as well as that of anotherbeverage called M arissa/z, prevails to a considerable e x tent_ in

Su dan orDar Fur . The Su ltan Abdelrahman, in 1795 , publishedanordinance prohibiting the u se of it altoge ther; u nder pain of death.

E ven the u nfortu nate women who made it had the ir heads shavedand were exposed to every poss ible degradation butas the habit ofu sing it w as of older standing than the profession of Islamismi

'

com-s

panies are yet known to sit from su n -rise to su n -set, drinking andconversing, till a single man will sometimes carry off with him two

gallons of this liqu or . Bou za having a diu retic and diaphoretic

tendency, preclude s the danger u su ally attendant on su ch excesses .

In D ar F u1, they have a species of bread called G in scia, prepared fromthe small kassob termed dokn , (millet)

'

The gr ain is coarsely grou nd,satu rated with water, and allowed to u ndergo a slight fermentation

This mixture is worked into paste calledK issery , and, when abou t tobe u sed, water 18 added, which renders it a palatable food, slightlyacid, and of aninebriating qu a lity, with a narcotic tendency.

Thispreparation is very convenient for travellers, and hence the caravanstake care to have a constant su pply. P erhaps this i s the desc11pt1on

of bread mentioned by L obo , which so intoxicated him ,that on e of his

friends considere d it to be the effects of wine . The Lybian s of the

Brown '

s Trav els,4to. pp . 2 22

,248

, 333.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

68

3d, Coccata ;i

4th, Congo ; 5 th, M accebecco, or M aonger ; but'

of all

these sorts the Congo is the best.i

In su ch partsof Congo as do notprodu ce palmwine , a substitute for itis pro cu red from Indian corn

“

or wheat soaked in water, pou nded andfermented in the u su alw ay : this is called G u a llo. In the entertainments

of the Congoese , the master of the ceremonies, after having served thecompany with meat in the most exact manner, holds

'

the moringo , or

flask, to the person’s mou th that drink s and when he thinks he has

gotsufficient, he pu ts it away, and observes the same prac tice with all

the other gu ests to the end of the feast for they, with the exception‘

ofthe monarch, never u se cups or glasse s.

”e Calabashes are the principal drinking vessels u sed by most ofthe tribes along thewestern coast

of Africa, and they are extremely u sefu l for all manner of domestic orhousehold purposes. Small ones are employed for holding snufl“, orliqu ids, and~they are generally orn amented with figures sometimes ’

cut

in high and sometimes in low relief. The ann ex ed’

draw ing is a

representation of the moringo, or flask, formed of the calabash ; and issimilar to thatattached to the branches of the palm tree to rece ive theju ice o r toddy .

Voyage to Co ngo, part i. p . 5 64, apu d Churchill.‘

9

The Portugu ese introdu ced the vine into Congo , but gave it no

encouragement lest it should hu rt the ir home trade , or indu ce the

natives to excessive indulgence ,'

who were ah°

eady too mu ch prone tointoxication from the ir native beverages— so mu ch so , that parents havebeen known to sell a child for a bottle of wine or brandy. Here is aprodigiou s qu antity ofhoney nota hollow tree , a clifi

'

of a rock, nor anycrevice in which bees have notcombs, the w ax ofwhich forms an extens ive article of commerce , butwhe ther the honey be converted into anykind of beverage is u ncertain. A portion of the royal revenu e is derived from fre e-Will offerings of palm wine , which n ot only supply

the consumption of the palac e , but enable the monarch to regale hissoldiers occas ionally. H e is not, howeve r, wholly dependent 011 thi sdescription of liqu or to gratify his appetite,his table be ing su pplied

by a varie ty of foreign wines and other liquors. It is a practice with

the Congo monarch to have his wine s tasted, lest they should contain

some deleteriou s orpo isonou sprinciple . H is cups and vessels’

are madeo f silver, gold, or other materials, conse crated solely to his own u se ,

as he always ea ts and drinks by himse lf, his nobles and cou rtiers all

the while standing . At'

marriage ceremonies amongst the Congoese ,the banqu ets are costly, the guests seldom come to the feasts butwith whetted appe tites, and they never re tire till all the victuals and

liqu ors are consumed, which, on some occasions, occupies two or three

In Angola , palm trees grow in great variety and perfection . The

o il palm (E lwin G u in eens is) is common to this cou ntry with allWes

ateru Africa, and its wine is exceedingly pleasant and re freshing ; butthe natives on the coast prefer

'

the E uropean liqu ors introdu ced by“

the Portugu ese and Du tch traders and settlers. At marriages and

funerals, there is a great consumption of native as well as foreign be ve

rages. At an interment, the blood of the victims offered to the manes

o f the deceased, together with palm wine , is plentiq y pou red over

the vau lt or grave in whi ch the body is deposite'

dx while quantities of

w ine are consumed by the mourners.

The drinks common to Congo and Angola are fam iliar in Loango .

The pe ople worship a male idol, called M arambas it is carried before

the chief ru ler wherever he goes, to whi ch, whenever he eats or drinks,the first bit or first cup of wine is offered . They have also a female

idol, named Gomberi, whose festivals are ce lebrated by mu sic and

excessive drinking ; the . priestess on this occasion so modu lates her

.voice , as to make the worshippers believe that it is the statu e . that

speaks. The practices of the king are equally singu lar ; he has two

halls in his palace , one for eating, another for drinking in , and itis

70

criminal to look atl1im while he is ate ither , in consequ ence ofwhich he

is shu t up du ring' that time , hisnobles waitingin an ante-chamber.

A s soon as dinner is finished, he re tires to his drinking hall, on e of

the grandest apartments in the place , accompanied by his nobles . It

is hu ng rou nd with costly tapestryy and aton e end stands the thronemade of fin e palmetto pillars, white and black, cu riou sly wrought, andinterwoven in the manner of basket ‘ work . in thefront of the hall, is kept the palm

'

wine from the view'

of the attendants. On each side of the monarch stand two cup

-bearers, on e of

whom hands him the cup when he'

signs for it, and the o ther strikes

tw o iron rods, notu nlike drumsticks,to give notic e that'

he is abou t todrink , uponwhich all the noble s

‘ fall on the ir faces, and the cup-bearer,after presenting him with the wine , tu rns his backy in which position

they all remain till notice is giv enthat the monarch has done drinking,when they rise qu ickly and clap the ir hands ’

in approbation . When

any on e is permitted to drink in the presence of the monarch, he turnshis back to him, through respect, and n o one is ev e1 allowed to drink

outof the same cup'with ln

'

m . In the neighbouri ng state of Ardrah,these Observances are kept up with great pre cision, and every violation .of them is pun ished lw ith the u tmost rigou r . A Of this there is a

me lancholy instance of a chi ld that, having fallen asle ep by the king’

s

s ide , and awaking atthe strikingofthe tw o rods, u ncon sciou sly cast itseyes on his majesty while he w as drinking, for whi ch the child w as

immolated on the '

spot, and the blood of the . innoce i1t was '

sprinkled

o v er'

his majesty, lest any harm shou ld befal him . u V ariou s ceremo

nie'

s connected with the superstitions of the ir religion give occasion torevelry and irregularity. When the ir ido ls are consulted, it

'

is u su al

for the priest to '

obtain a bu tt of .be er, .as his rew ard ‘ fin' the de livery

of the oracle s, and themto give a bumper in honou r of the idol, whilehe and his attendants seldom

'

separate ftill all the liqu or is consumed.

At the funerals of their kings,'

great qu antities of palm wine are

consumed, not'

only in offerings, butin regaling the mourners admitted

within the palisade of e lephants’ teeth by which the monarchs ’ graves

are surrounded. Palm wine is a us eful article in the manu facture of

the ir cloth, which is made from the young shoots or leaves ofthe palm,by soaking ‘

and i softe ning them in the wine , and afterwards rubbing

them with the hand u ntil they become so pliant, tha t they can manufacture them into a comfortable article of clothing, of variou s dyes

'

and

qu alities. From the M etamba tree a pleasant wine is obtained, littleinferior to that of the palm ,

while its leaves are so large as to afford acomplete shelter fromexcessive heat and heavy rains . The A licond z

'

,

a tree of large dimensions, is sometimes hollow, containing a large

7 1

quantity of’

water , whi ch often Lyields to the'

inhabitants'

a gratefii l

supply when . other sources fail. The shell of the fru it serves forholding wine , oil, and other liqu ors, and is

"

u su ally ornamented with

carved devices and grotesqu e figu res.

"

From the branches of these

trees are su spended hollow pieces of timber, that the bees, which arenumerou s in the cou ntry, may resort to them, and there deposit the ir

treasu res

With the C iegas, or mou ntaine ers of Congo, the palm wine is a

favourite drink , and none of the ir festivities are withou t it. Whenthe king goes abroad, it is customary for his wives to carry his drinkingu tensils , and when he takes a draught, they kneel, clap hands, and

s ing - atfuneral 'rites, they sprinkle palm wine over the grave , and ,among the rich, libations of this liquo r are offered for several dayssu ccessive ly .

The inhabitants of Cacongo , a small kingdom adjo ining Loango ,prepare a wine called E mbeth, an extract from the palm tree , as wellas another agreeable beverage from the juice of plum s .

*

In the island of Annabon , in the gulf pf Gu inea, the riv u lets are

covered with palms, from which the inhabitants draw, by incision,qu antities of palm wine . In the island

.of St . Thomas, the sugar-cane

o nce flou rished to su ch perfe ction ,” that seven ships were annu ally

.fre ighted with sugarfor Portugal, tw o for Madeira and the Canariesa nd one for

,E ngland. In 1645 , there were in this island u pwards of

5 4 sugar mills in constant employment, each furn ishing p

annu ally six

or seven hu ndred loads of coarse sugar , or rather of the u nprepared

j u i ce ; the ,

whole compu ted to amou nt to forty ship loads. Since thesugar plantations in the

‘West Indies‘ hav e become so ex tensive , the

trade of St . Thomas has fallen ofl“. Wines have been made in thisisland from the

_produ ce of the native vine , but not to any great

e xtent .

The kingdom of Benin has, in common with the other parts of

Africa, an abundance of palm wine , which is da ily exposed for sale in

the streets and places of public resort . There.are . also

,tw o other

sorts of wine , on e called P ath, and the other P a rdonlor B ordon , drawn

from a tree of the same name ; the former is drunk in the morning,andthe latte r in the evening . At marriage festivals and funerals, there

is a‘great consumption of these wines, as also atthe circumcision of

children . On the last occasion , qu antities of these wines, with provi

s ions, are pla ced in the avenu e s or entrances to the hou se of entertain

’ment, in order to appease the evil spirit, and to prevent its doing thechild any injury. On the demise of a monarch, a splendid banqu et is

B ambe rger'

s Travels.

7?

given, and on his tomb the most delicate wines and dainties, that canbe procu red , are placed , in order to regale the mou rners and visitants.

When they be come intoxicated, they ru sh into the street, ki ll all they

mee t withou t distinction, and throw the heads of those they have

slaughtered into the sepulchre , as a peace offering that the flight of

the monarch to etermty may notbe solitary . The anniversary ofthegreat coral feast is produ ctive of mu ch irregu larity . On this day themonarch makes his grandest appearance , and distribu tes immensequ antities of wine and provisions, while the day ends in riot and

drunkenness.

Along the slave coast, P itta , a refreshing beer, with palm wi ne andmost E u ropean liqu ors, is in consumption ; while pitchers and vesselsmade of gourds finely ornamented , are in common u se for holding

these liqu ors.

In Whidah an excellent beer is made from tw o sorts of maize , oneo f a large and another of a smaller description . In the artof brewing

the women are so we ll skilled, that they are said to make beer notinferior to any in E u rope . The ir skill, in this respect, is attri bu ted tothe

'

danger'

of drinking the water of the cou ntry, and hence even theslaves drink nothing butbeer.On the Gold Coast, the Du tch and Portuguese early established

settlements, and introdu ced E u ropean liqu ors. Of the ir native drinksthere isnothing differing from those ofthe states alreadymentioned . Palmwine is an article of great trade , and is sold extensively through thecountry . In the public marke ts the palm wine merchants commencesale atnoon, and there is scarcely any other commodity which has soqu ick a sale . In the evening, droves ofmen and women may be fou ndsinging and dancing with great happiness. When the palm wine is

brought into the market place , it is u su al amongst the negroes for

kings, masters, and slaves, to sit down promiscu ou sly and drink together, withou t distinction of rank or station, in the most familiar man

n er and with increasing good humou r ; they de light in full bumpers,and he who takes a pint ata draught is accou nted a clever fellow.

Of the palm wi ne u sed along the Gold Coast, there are four species.

1. That made from the palm tree properly so called, which is drawn'ofl’ by incision , after lopping away the branches, when the tree is fullgrown . For

’

this pu rpose a hole is bored in the thickest part of thetrunk, into which a small pipe or reed is introdu ced ; the sap con

tinnes ru nning for nearly a month, and when the tree is apparentlyexhau sted, a fire is kindled atthe bottom to force outthe whole ju ice .

2 . Thatcalled Qu aker, which is drawn from a sort of dwarf palm,

exceeds the other, not only in de licacy of flavo ur, but in strength.

3

8. P ardon ,the produ ce of a peculiar species of palm, which is very palatable , butweak in qu ality. 4 . The Krislza , or C rissz

‘

a , a wine of no

great strength, butwhich is said to beget a voraciou s appetite , a con

stant desire for eating, and an extraord inary love for sensual grati

fication s.

*

At Sierra L eone , although sugar is cu ltivated, no rum is manu

factured, so far as I can learn but amongst the N egroes a drink is

made from the manioc (iatroplza man ihot,) a plant of great importance

not only in thi s qu arter, but in most parts of the West Indies and in

Sou th America, as noticed in the articles relating to those cou ntries .

Bread, of a very palatable and nutritive kind, is made from the farinaor meal procured from the roots of the manioc, which constitu tes the

prin cipal food of the lower classes of the natives .

The oil of the palm trees is u sed as a su bstitu te for bu tter, and is

also employed with the alkaline lixivium of the plantain or bananatree , for making soap , and , by incision in the tru nk , a liqu or is drawn

from the treelike wine , but, from its proneness to the acetou s fermen

tation , it becomes u seless in thre e or fou r days. Were it distilled, it'might afford an exce llent Spirit, and come mu ch cheaper than what is

imported by E u ropean settlers. A s the method of procuring the~

liqu orof the palm is different here from that practised elsewhere , a short

description may be necessary. The trunk of the tree be ing too roughto permit a person to ascend by the hands and fee t alone , an elliptical

hoop of bamboo, open atone side , is made to pass rou nd both the bodyof the climber and the tree , and then knotted. With

'

the hands on

each side of the hoop, and the fee t pressing against the stemof the treehe raises himse lf by a spring, shifting the hoop behind his back eachtime , and then advancing a step with his feet ; and in this manner

gains the desired he ight, when with no other support buthis back to

the hoop, and his fee t firmly applied to the trun k, he makes a holewith an augu r abou t half an inch deep below the crow n of the tree,into which he inserts a leaf in the form of a tube through which the

liqu or ru ns into a calabash provided for the purpose , and capable of

holding several quarts. The liqu or flows more fre ely during the night

than in the heat of the day. Abou t ha lf a gallon may be pro cu red forthe space of a month from a single tree each day, withou t any inju ry toit, for several years. B ut if the drain ofthe ju ice continu e longer thana month, the tree e ither dies or requ ires a very long respite till it

re covers. After the wine has been draw n off, the auger-hole isse cured with some clay to prevent insects from leav ingtheir eggs in it,the larvae of which wou ld eventually ru in the tree .1

'

Ro sman’

s D escription of G u inea, p . 286.

1’ Winterbottom ’

s Accou ntof Sierra Leone , 2 v ols. 8vc .

74

'

There are three spe cies of the palm in this region yieldi ng wine .

The first, the swee t kind, is afforded by that named Maba , and the

s econd by the .M osombie , the third from the M asongoi of a su perior

quali ty. The sweet wine ,when properly fermented, produ ces a very

agreeable beverage . An inebriating drink is also produ ced from

maize;called baumboa.

‘From a spe cies of cream fru it found in the

settlement of Sierra L eon e ,'

the natives draw a pleasant saccharin e flu id‘

to qu ench thirst ; this, when fermented, quickly intoxicates. He re also

isa plant called the w ater-v in e, (Tetr’

acera potatoria) the stems of

which are a sort of vegetable fou ntain, discharging, when cutacross,a cool, limpid, and refreshing fluid . In the centre of each town, in“this se ttlement, stands a bui lding erected on wooden pillars, and calledby the native s a ka ldé, or conversation hall . The doors of it always

stand open for the free ingress and egre ss of visitors, and here n o one

can be ata loss for palm wine and cheerfu l company . The ka ldé is

s omething similar to a coffee -room in Great Britain .

»The vine w as introdu ced by the Portugu ese ’ into this colony, the

plants were brought from Candia, and they are said to yield,grapes

in some parts twice in the year, yet, no wine has been made , owing

perhaps to the fear of inju ring the home manu factu reAmong the v ariou s vege table p rodu ctions of Africa, there is none

more remarkable than the B oabab, or G anz'

, called also Adan sonia

d igitata‘

, from its discoverer, a tree of su ch stupendou s magnitu de , thatit measu res, according to Adanson, from 65 to 78 fe e t in circumfe

rence , ev ery branch be ing equ al to a moderate tree . When in full“

foliage ; it is-a forest in miniatu re stripped of its leaves it is like an

immense wooden'

to'

wer . The fru it, resembling a gourd, is made into”drinking bow lsianzd -vessels

'

for various purposes ; .the bark furnishes‘a coarse thread, whi ch ~is -conve rted into ropes and cloth -the small

leaves afford food in times of scarcity, and are commonly employed

as leaven for bread, and to . ferment beer brewed from millet, while

the larger leaves'

serve as coverings to the hu ts when bu rned, the ir

ashes form an ingredient in the composition of soap z— bees hive in thehollows of the tru nk— the pelican constru cts its nest between its mas ,

sive branches—_ monkie s be take themse lves to it for shelter and sub

sistence , hence .the name of be abah ormonkies’ bread— while the w an

dering negro finds refuge from the storm in its time-worn cavitie s ; Theleaves of this tree , dried and redu ced to powder, constitu te L a lo which

the Afri can s mix with the ir food, to dim inish the excessive perspi

ration to which they are subj ect, and E u ropeans find it serviceable in

diarrhoea and o ther maladies incidental to the climate . The pu lp of

the fru it is slightly acid, and so agreeable , that itis frequ ently eaten ;

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76

"

rites, the king’s cook is obliged to bear, amongst other u tensils, silver

pu nch bowls, waiters, and tankards, to accommodate the monarch andhis attendants ; while in sacrifices for de ceased relatives, qu antities

of those liqu ors are consum ed in drinking and sprinkling the ir graves.Before the committal of desperate acts, the Ashante es drink largely

of rum , to inspire courage . O ne of their monarchs , be ing u nsu ccessfu lin w ar, knew that he mus t eventu ally lose his head ; and to prevent

su ch disgrace , he summoned his ministers in order that he might sacri

fice his life for the qu iet of his people . They insisted on sharing his

fate , and a barrel of gu npowder be ing brought for each to siton , they

drank to excess, and blew themselves up, atthe same moment, with fire

from the ir pipes.

In paying interest on money, it is accompanied with what is called

a dash of liqu or and a port ion of the penalties for an intrigu e is a

potof palm wine , orp itta, which is here accou nted as good and pleasant as some of our brisk ales ; it is made from dried corn . It is cu s

tomary, when they drink , to spill a little of the liquor on the grou nd,as an offe ring to the fetish, somewhat similar to the practice of the

ancient Greeks, as referred to in H omer’s Odyssey. In drinkingpalm wine it is deemed a luxu ry to su ffer the liqu or to ru n over thebeard, and many pride themselves on the adroitne ss with which theycan draw this ornament of the chin throu gh the fingers while w et.The drops are u su ally caught by a boy with a bowl, which he holdskneeling, and these preciou s tricklings are swallowed with pleasurableavidity. Feasts are generally held in the market place , and it is

almost a daily ceremony with the king to drink there in state , seated in

an e levated chair . On immolating victims for su ccess in w ar, he holds

a silver goblet of palm wine in hi s hand, and when the head of a sub

j ect is cutoff, rising on tip-toe , he im itates a dancing motion, as hedrinks with j oy, inspired by expe ctations of conqu est . A man of con

sequ ence , in private circles, neve r drinks before his inferiors withou t

hiding his face from them, believing that atthis moment only his enem ies have the power of imposing a spell on his faculties in spite of his

fetish gu ardian. It is considered,whe ther ata public or private meet

ing, a proof of superior strength in those who can drink most withou tbe ing overcome . After marriage , it is u su al for the bridegroom to

present the bride ’s family with a flask of rum , the day following thenuptials and as it is pre sented full or partly so , it indicates e itherher purity or frailty before the marriage . In visiting, the chief giveshis principal slave a few sips of the liqu or offered to himself, not as a

matter of precau tion against poison, as in Abyssinia, butas a testimony of regard.

77

B osman , when he visited the coast of Gu inea, found the inhabitants

w illing to barter every thing for brandy. If any of them happened

to geta mou thfu l more than another, they began to fight withou trespe ct to king, prince , or priest . Some jo ined in the scuflie throughenvy, and lest they might be accu sed of be ing idle spectators. It is

said of on e of the chiefs of Bamba, that he refu sed the crow n in order

to be near the Portu gu ese , that through their means he might themore readily indu lge in wine and brandy .

ale The Negro women ofthe Slave Coast brew an exce llent description of beer from mil/d o , aspe cies of millet or maize . Water, be ing drawn from wells of from

twenty to thirty fathoms in depth, is so cold as to render the drinking

of it dangerou s : hence beer is in great consurfiption , be ing on e of the

safest beverages to allay thirst in tha t.

very warm climate .

Rene Caillé, on e of the latest travellers in Africa,1' has notadded

mu ch to our information respe cting that almost u nknown qu arter of

the globe . H e states, that he fou nd palm wine in u se, and , near the

settlemen t of St . Lou is, he observed that from a fru it called ca u ra , a

sort of plum , an agreeable beverage w as made , which mu ch resembled

cider : this fruit, when bru ised and fermented wi th water, produ ced a

liqu orhighly intoxicating. H e mentions another liqu or termed j in

j z’

n-di’

,made from the root of a plant of that name . This root is first

bu rned and then pounded with the bark of a certain tree , after which

it is immersed in water and kept constantly stirring for abou t the

space of'

two'

hou rs. It is then left for a few days to ferment, after

which it is drawn off and be comes a drink of a sweet and pleasant

flavou r . The Koorankos, a people living to the E ast of Sierra L eone ,mak e an exhilarating , efl‘erv escing drink, called singin , which they

extract from a root of the same name . Among the Bagos, an enterpris

ing tribe , palm W ine is plentiful, and as early matrimonial contracts

are made there , it is a cur iou s regu lation , that as soon as an engage-1

ment of this kind is entered into , the parties are compelled to live in

the same house , and are brought u p together with the knowledge that

they are designed for each other. From that time , when they are

generally abou t seven or e ight years of age , the male is enjoined to

bring each day to the relations of hi s intended partner, tw o calabashes

of palm wine , on e in the morning, and another in the evening. H is

parents su pply him with thi s, u ntil he is himself capable ofmaking the

wine . Major Laing, speak ing of another tribe ,1says, tha t the court

ship does n otemploy mu ch time for if’

a man form an attachment

B osm an'

s de scription of G u inea ,8vo . p . 403. Adan son’

s Voyage to Se negal.1’ Travels through Ce ntral Africa to Timbu ctoo , &c . 1824, 1828, 2 vols. 8vo

'

.

I Laing’

s Travels in We stern Africa, 8ve . p . 83.

78

for a female , he never considers whether the feeling is reciprocal , butimmediately carries to her parents a j ar of palm wine , and de clares tothem the object of his

.

visit. Should his su it be approved of, he is inv ited to re tu rn, when a se cond j ar of wine , with some other triflingpresent, terminate s, .

the courtship . A tribe called the Timannus , in

the vicin ity of,Sierra only ,emplo,y palrn w in e j n this h man

n er, but,use

, it as_ofl

'

erings to the dead ; fqr,w,hich purpose they

deposit not.only quantitiesofthis liqu or, butof provisions in the charnelhous es, particu larly of their 'kings and ,chiefs, under the impress ion that

they are necessary for, the de ceased, and consum ed by them“

as .a‘

support for theirfi piritual existence thu s shewing a belief in the immer ;tal ity of the soul . It is a prevailing practice , among many , of ,the

pagan nations of Africa, to -cons ign a portion of both food and, drinkto

,the dead, associating the pleasu res of the temporal with the.Spiri

tual world ..The ir attachment, to palm w ine is so strong, that , many

are so relaxed by its effects, that they become afflicted with diseasesnotu nlike those produ ced by . aw , in the Sandwich islands .

The Caffres and Tambookies prepare an intoxicating, drink frommillet, or Gu inea corn , .whieh they call p ambz

’

e . It is'

manufactu red

mu ch in the same way as the. liqu ors already described, and in largequ antities for the longer itremains so as to be come tart or sou r, the

better they, reckon itand the. more eagerly do they covet it, as posses

sing greatIn Moro cco , the Jews are extremely active in preparing i ntoxicating liqu ors, . and mak ing .wines both white and red and in the pro ;

vince of Su se and Tetu an, they notonly make wine , which, in .\Vind~

hu s’s opinion, is equ al to the sherry of Spain ,1' butdistill brandy from

the refuse of the grape as well as from raisinsi An ardent. spirit is

also extracte d from figs called mahayab , whi ch they drink alm ostimmediate ly from the alembic . When it is kept for a ye ar ortw o , itresembles Irish whiskey, and is preferred to E uropean brandy orrum ,

be cau se , as they pretend, it does n otheat the blood . A glass of it isgenerally taken before meals : cider is made in many parts of Barbary,and affords an e x cellent .dr ink . Usup lz is .common , but consists of

little more than the.water in which raisins have been -“steepe d: Sir

Capel D e Brooke , when i nMoro cco , fou nd tha t .the Moors were not

scru pu lou s in drinking wine, which they take after boiling, that proce ss, in their opinion, removing the obje ction made in the Koran, as itis the simple fermented ju ice of the grape which is forbidden z

,in this

I

Joano D o s Santos'

Hist. Patterson’

s Travels in C affraria, 4to .p . 92 .

1‘ Jou rn ey to M equ ine z .

I Jackson ‘s Accou nt of Morocco , 4to . p . 18.

9

state its tas te and appearance re semble sou r mead . Lempriereasserts , that there are very few of the inhabitants who do notj oyfuflyembrace every private opportu nity of drink ing wine and spirits toexcess. Several of the ir monarchs we

'

re gu ilty ofgreat extravaganciesin their drunkenness.

'Abdelmelech was odious to his subjects on this

accoun t, and was gu ilty of the greatest cru elties while un der its influ ,

ence. An other emperor, in an intemperate moment, cau sed the teethof a favorite mistre ss to be drawn out and to atone for his barbarity

,

he ordered the dentist to be served in the same manner, whose .teeth

he sent her by w ay of consolation . Mu ley D ehaby destroyed his COD -z

stitution and shortened his re ign throu gh an obstinate dropsy, ocea

sion ed by an inordinate devotion to wine .

The materials for which, and the proportion of brandy draw n

from those mate rials, as practised by the Jews in the ir manu factu re

of that spirit, are

From l 5 01bs. of pears, which, when in season , cost abou t ten pence,

they make abou t tw o gallons.

From l 5 01bs. of raisins, whi ch cost abou t ten pence , from e ight anda half to nine gallons. are extracted .

From l 5 01bs . offigs, which cost aboutSixp ence , theymake abou t e ight

From 15 01bs. of dates, costing from .twenty-fiv e to twenty-eight.

pence , abou t seven gallons are obta ined.

The brandy from dates is cons idered the best, an d is sold for3s . 6d.

The brandy from. raisins and figs sells for abou t 2s. 6d. per gallon .

The brandy from pears brings abou t 3s. 6d . per gallon .

From l 5 01bs . of grapes, abou t e ight gallons of very tolerable wineare obtained, and fou r gallons of brandy.

Were the Jews more careful in the sele ction of the ir grapes, and

the making of wine , it is considered it would be of good qua li ty. In

Au gu st, the wine is made , and the process of bo iling is u su ally con

du cted in the open stree ts. The white grapes are simply pressedu nder. foo t and then boiled the black grapes, or their refuse , u ndergothe pro ce ss of distilla tion . The brandy is of a white or clear colou r

,

and is generally flavoured with aniseed of which the Jews are very

fond a glass is u su ally taken the first thin g before breakfast, and is

considered very Wholesome . To the taking of spirits is attri bu ted the

freedom of the Jews from the elep ha ntz’

a sis, or swelling of the legs, adisease quite common amongst the Mahometans. Both Moors and

Jews make very good swee t-meats from the orange flower, whi ch the

rich boil in clarified sugar, and the poorer classes in honey : orange

80

peel is also made into a preserve with sugar and honey the sugared

almond cakes are very good. In Morocco , the oath of a principal

ail/ra id, or Ta lz'

b, is equ al to the oaths of six common persons,ale butthere are different offences, of which if he be proved gu ilty, detra ctfrom the validi ty of his oaths amongst these offences are those of

drinkingwine , smoking,& c.

The people of Tripoli make an excellent wine from the Lotu s .tree ,

(z izyp hus lotu s) the fruit of which is considered superiorto that of the

date from this tree , it is alleged, that the ancient E gyptians took

the name of lotophagi . The lotu s of the ancients appears to be the

same plant as the seedra of the .Arabs. It is very common in the

Jereede and other parts of Barbary it has the leaves, prickles, flowers,and fru it of the z izyp hus , or j uj eb. The fru it is lu sciou s and in great

repu te it tastes something like gingerbread, and is sold in the mar

kets through allthe sou thern districts of these kingdoms.1' The Lybian,

or Rhamnu s lotu s of L innaeu s; is a shrub of abou t fou r or five feethigh, bearing berries which are very nu tritive , and u sed in variou s

ways as food. Whether this be the same as the lotu s mentioned by

Xenophon, in his address to the Ten Thou sand, cannot be determin edd‘

,

Pliny alludes to_it, as fu rnishing subsistence to the Roman army

,

when passing through a portion of Africa.§ Mungo Park notices the

Rhamnu s lotu s, the berries of which are , by some of the negro nation s,termed Tomberongs, and converted into bread by pou nding them in amortar till

'

the farina is separated from the stones. This farina, ormeal, is then mixed with water, formed into cakes, and dried in thesu n . The

'

stones are put into a vessel of water, and well shaken toseparate the remaining particles of meal, whi ch commu nicate ‘

an

agreeable taste to the water, and be ing mixed with a little poundedmille t form a pleasant gru el, called fondi, the common breakfast inmany parts of L u damar.”In other places they ferment it, and thu smake an excellent beverage from it.The Jews at Taflilet u se beer of the ir own brewing, but, in thevintage season, make a little wine . Palm trees are very abu ndant in

Tripo li, and the inhabitants draw from them, by incision, a frothyliqu or termed laghz

’

bz’

,which,when dru nk immediately after being takenfrom the tree , is very palatable . It is also fermented, and produ ces astrong inebriating wine in great requ est among the people , notwiths

s tanding the prohibitions of the Koran . The laghibi is obtained fromthe annual bu ds atthe top of the tree , and the ju ice flowing from the

Sir Capel D e Brooke ’

s Sketches of Spain and Morocco , v ol. i . p . 14 5 .

1‘ Shaw

’

s Trav els . I An ab . lib . iii.

Pliny, lib . v . c. 4 ; lib . x iii. c . 17,18. HPark

’

s Trav els.

81

wounds is collected in vesse ls. Trees, having u ndergone this opera

tion; bearno fruit du ring the nextthre e years ; but, according to Paolo

.Della Ce lia,that which 1s tlien produced 13 of a more deliciou s kindIn some parts are excellent grapes, butno wine is made from them“

owing to the indolence and ignorance of the people .

* Wine and

“liqu or shops, as well as some tavern s are keptby the Mahometans of

.

‘

Tripoli , who, regardless of the prohibition by the law, drink win e

!withou t any restraint or lim itation so great is the consumption, thatit . is said to produ ce a , revenu e of on e hu ndred thou sand francs annually.1

' In the mau soleums have be en foun d variou s sorts of drinking

vessels : a proof that the ea1ly inhabitants were familiar with win e and

and other sedu ctive liqu ors.

The Deys of Algiers, though possessing one of the most fertileStates in Barbary, do notencou rage the manu facture of inebriating

liquors yetJamai ca rum , as .w ellasgoodwine , is among the merchani

dise always in demand . Grapes of a su perior qu ality grow in Algiera ; and, according to Shaw, some wine is made not inferior to the

;be st Hermitage , both in taste and flavour butthe locu sts are so des

tru ctiv e , that they frequ ently annihila te whole vineyards . Since the

conqu est of Algiers by the F rench, in 1881, it is to '

be presumed that

the ir ingenuity has notbeen slow in bringi ng to bear the resou rces of

that cou ntry to supply the wants of the army with su ch liqu ors as the

native fru its afford. In Tu nis, the taverns are 'keptby slaves, who

have cons iderable au thority, which they some times exercise with good

effect for if any one getdrunk or behave irregu larly, they have thepower of chastising him atthe instant by which means tavern s and

public-hou ses are protected from broils and di sturbances ;JWhite wine

made in the cou ntry is the common beverage , which is cheap and of

good quality, but, in order to render it more inebriating, it is mixe d

with qu ick-lim e . .

In Barca, great quantities of a liqu or made from the, date tree are

cons umed, and which is called date tree water : it inebriates when

taken to any excess. This cou ntry is remarkable for the superior

flavou r of its dates, which . are in su ch abu ndance , that they are frcc»

qu ently used in feeding cattle .

Along the Barbary coast, as well as in the L evant, sherbet isthe comm on drink . The term sherbe t 1s applied generally to everybeverage consisting ofwater holding, 1n solution, a swee t and an acidand is preferable to lemonad e in its extended acceptation . In Algiers

Narrative of an E x pedition from Tripoli to the Western Frontiers of Egypt, in

1817; SW . Lo ndon,1822 , p . 16.

1‘ Travels of Ali B ey, vol. i. p . 238.

82

itis made of sugar, ju ice of lemons, apricots, plums, viole ts, or other

fru its . Mead also abou nds, honey be ing gathered in large qu antities,n otonly in the Barbary States, but, as already observed, through

almostevery part of Africa . The wealth of many of the tribes, it is

well known, consists in nothing buthoney and w ax . The modes of

rearing bees are variou s the hives are generally shaped like ours, but

more of a cylindrical form , and placed lengthwise , and are commonly

su spended from the branches of trees : the entrance is atthe bottomwhich is furn ished ~w ith straw. This, however, is only the casewhere the bees are domesticated butwild honey is procu red from the

forests in large qu antities . Flowers be ing very scanty in many States,the bees collect the honey from trees, shrubs, and even u nderwoodhence African honey, in general, is coarse an d insipid to E u rope anpalates, and is full of particles of leaves that give it a blackish appearance some ingeniou s natives clarify it, and render it beau tifu l, rich

,

and agre eable . The art of making brandy from ferm ented honey is

said to be practised by some of the native tribes, a u se to which it has

n ever yet be en applied in E u rope . Me licu , in his Travels, informs

u s that the P oulas make brandy from honey after be ing fermented in

the u su al manner. The sugar obtained from honey is of two sorts,on e resembling that ofthe grape and the other like the granu lated produ ce of the sugar-cane . In some of the interior districts, a kind of

be er, called B a llo, is made from rice or millet .

I shall conclu de this circu it of Africa, by observing, that the knowledge of its most enlightened inhabitants in chemistry is not moresolid than their pretended acqu irements in alchymy ; since the boasteddiscoveries of the Saracens are to them wholly lost - even in the

most simple medicinal prescriptions, the Moors, from whom great infe r

mat ion might be expected, display the grossest ignorance . So limite dis the ir edu cation , that the only book in u se among them is the Koran

with its commentaries, to which may be added a few blundering tractson geography, with some historical memoirs—for su ch branches of

history, as are older than the Mahometan era, are a medley of romanceand confu sion . Thu s circumstanced, even did the ir laws permit, theycou ld notmanage any experiment in chemistry, mu ch less the process

“

of distillation : to the Jews and Christians re siding among them, theyare indebted altogether for the produ cts of the alembic .In the P ersian empire , as well as in the Tm'kish, the Mahometan

faith preclu des indu lgence in inebriating liqu ors ; butin few cou ntries,perhaps, is there less a ttention paid to the prohibitory mandate ofthe

prophe t. Sherbet is the fashionable dr ink atmeals, butwine is the

favou rite in private . The love of the Persians for this liquor is well

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84,

This flowery imagery of Hafiz, so descriptive of man’s attachment"

to Wine , brings to my re colle ction an epitaph on the tomb of a wine

bibber'

. Wine gives life 1itw as d eath to me. I never behe ld themo rning sun with sober eyes even my bones are thirsty. Strange r !sprinkle my grave with wine empty the cup .and d epart .

”

Travellers assure u s, tha t intoxication is ‘

common in Persia, and thatthe laws

'

of moderation are frequ ently as little regarded as those of re .

ligi on . It is related of a certain K han of that country, that lie w as s o

fond of spirituou s liquors, that the king had often reproved and even

chastised him for it butfinding those measu res of no effect, his M a

j esty ordered him to continu e drink ing, which order he so M y

fulfilled, that he lwas intoxicated during forty days, and, in. conse qu encebe came

‘

so disgu sted with the ’ practice , that he gave it up altogether,and solicited the king to revoke hi s command .

*1

At an entertainment, at which Mr . Morier was present, he describes very minu tely the variou s article s served u p to the gu estsAmongst these were trays, with fin e china bowls filled with sherbets,some of which contained sweet liqu ors, and others a mos t exqu isitekind of lemonade besides, small cups w ith deliciou s liqu eurs. Whilein vases of sherbet were spoons made of pear-tree , with de ep bowls,and made so fin e that the long handle gently vibrated, when carried tothe lips, as if to tantalize the desire of the gu est . Wine formed 110part of the banqu et, for the ‘

prohibition of the Prophet w as religi ous lyobserve d by the entertainer, who w as a rigid Mu ssu lman, and an

exception to the generality of his cou ntrymen.The Jews and Armenian Christians are , in Persia, the principal

manu facturers of wine , and though there is scarcely a province in theempire which does notafford it, yetthe wine of some is mu ch meree steemed than that of others. Shiraz 1s universally allowed to produ ce the best. Tavernier states, that

‘

tuns'

of this w ine wereannually made in his timesl

' It has so strong a body, that itwill keepfrom e ighty to one hun dred years withou t diminu tion of colou r orflav om . To eatthe bread of Yezd, and drink the wine of Shiraz

,is,

proverbially in Persia, to be happy. The name of Shiraz,or Sheraz,is said to be derived from Sherab, which, in the Persian language ,signifies a grape , becau se that fruit abou nds in this place and its

vicinity, where the finest.

orchards and v ineyards in thatempire arefou nd . Among the grapes most esteemed for wine, the R eesk B a lm,which is withou t seed, is lusciou s and agreeable to the taste the

Kotzebu e’

s Trav els, p . 207.

1“Tavern ier, p . 42 1. VV

aring’

s Tou r to Shiraz.

85

i

Askeri, also wanting seed, is as swee t as sugar ; the black fru it of thisspe cies produ ces the ce lebrated Shiraz wine and the Sahibi, thebunche s of which we igh from seven to e ight pou nds, is a red grape

o f a sharp rough taste that yie lds a good wine ,butis chiefly employed formaking v inegar . The ‘Kiskmz

'

sh is a small grape ,. and, like the Asleerz'

,

withou t any stone in the opin ion'

of Olivier, it is preferable to all

o thers, not on ly for e ating, but'

for wine . The angww'

agi, fromwhich is 'mannfactlu ed the mich red wine so n early resembling H en

AtShiraz, Ispahan, C asbin ; Teheran , and other places, the vineyardsare numerou s, and planted in the most advan tageou s situ ations, both

with respect to so il and e xposu re to the su n’s genial influ ence .

In makingwine in Pers ia, the frui t is trodde n in a‘

v at, or cisternformed of mason work, p lastered with a mate rial or stu cco like Roman cement. From this the ju ice is colle cted into an u nder vessel, or

rece iver, from whi ch it is'

ocOnv eyéd into immense jars, containingnearly

'lOO gallons, to u ndergo the process of fermentation. In theseitis left abou t three we eks, durmg which it is stirred daily by a person

appointed for the purpose . The wine is afte rwards stra ined and put

into othe r vesse ls, in which it remains nearly fiv e we eks, and u nder

goes another slight fe rmentation ; after this itis cons idered fitfor u se .

'

The brandy made fi'

om the lee s and we aker sort of wine , is'

ardent,harsh, and u npalatable , when compared with that made in Francebutwhat 1s drawn from the better de scriptio n of wine is of excellent

quality. Were the same measures pursu ed m Persia:m the manu fac

ture of win e as those observed 1n E urope , thérH

e 1s no dou bt that the

produce of that country, a lready so ce lebrated, wou ld fa1 exce l tha t

of any partof the world .

Both brandy and wine are put up} in thin flasks or bottle s, an d

pa cked m chests, to the amou nt of abou t twe lve E nglish gallons each,’

for transmission through the empire and to different parts of the east .

The character of the Ispahan wine is notless estimable than that of

Shiraz it is stronger, and 18 as clear and tran sparent as g lass, owing

to the white grape from which it is made . The red Wine of lTeheran

is preferable to that of C a'sbin , where it is manu factu re d sin conside

rable qu an tities . There the vine is notsupported by props, the stem

or trunk, rising to the height of five or. six fee t, 15 sufliciently strong to

support the' fru it . The Cashin w ine is lrepre sented as having a disa

greeable and bitter flavou r, supposed to be occas ioned by permitting

the stone of the grape to remain in it to the injury of' the f e rmenta'tion and the saccharine properties of the liquor. According to Sir

John C har din , the sfinest grape in Pe rsia is that at Casbin called

86

Shabom'

, orthe royal grape : itis of a transparent gold colou r, and is saidto produ ce the strongest and most lu sciou s wine in the world . Someof the grapes in this qu arter, as well as in other portions of the em

p ire, are so large , that a single bu nch is nearly the size of a man’s body,and one grape is a sufficient mou thful . In many places the grapes arekept fresh on the vines, during the w inter,by se cu ring them from birdsand the weather in li ttle bags thu s preserved, when brought totable , they display all the luxu riance and freshn ess of the ripe vin tage .

The Persian historians say, that to this cou ntry, wine owes its origin .—O n e of the ir earliest writers asserts that the monarch Jemsheed, famou sas the fou nder of Persepolis, w as the first who discovered the makingand u se of this liqu or. H e w as long anterior to Cyru s, mus t havelived shortly after the Flood, and is celebrated as the inventor of manyuseful arts, and the introdu cer of the solar year amongst his countrym en . On the day of the vernal equ inox, or when the su n entersAries,he is said to have institu ted on e ofthe greatest festivals ce lebrated in Persia, that called Nou roze, or n ew year ’s day ; and there is yet

observable, on the sculptu red ru ins of Persepolis, representations characteristic of this festival. It is obse rved with great rejo icing and

p ublic exu ltation . The afflu ent relieve the distressed, poverty is dis

carded, wineflow s in abun dance , while every species of amu sement isresorted to, in order to enliven the conviviality of the occas ion , and

render the whole a scen e of pleasu re and delight . E ven the deadand the ideal things of futu rity are not forgotten, since rich viandsare exposed on the hou se tops and towers, to gratify the palates oftheFeries and the spirits of departed friends.

"e Jemsheed, it is aflirmed, w as

passionately fond of eating grapes, ofwhich Persia w as the nursery, anddesirou s ofpreservinghis favou rite luxu ry,he deposited a large qu antityi11 a vessel carefully secu red in a v ault. On repairing to his treasuresome time afterwards, he w as su rprised to find that the

'

fru ithad burstand be come acid. Ignorant of the nature of fermentation, and u nac

qu ainted with the virtu es of the grape , in this n ew form, he consideredit to be deleteriou s and dangerou s and with this impression he gotsome vessels filled with the ju ice , on which he inscribed the word

p oison . To prevent bad consequ ences, he had those vessels placed inone of his own apartments . A favou rite concubine , then labouring nu

der pain and nervou s debility, sought death as a relief from her afllictions and observing the word poison on on e of the vessels in the

monarch’s room, she opened it, and swallowed the contentswith avidity. The draught overcame her, and she soon fell into a sound sleep,from which she awoke , to her great surprise , mu ch renovated..

D’

Hcrbelot. B ib . O 1ientale , art Ne urou z. Chardin . tome i . p . 178.

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88

me to drink, a crime of WlllCltI shall ever be afraid,”end retu rn’

ed thisgoblet. H ow great the contrast between tha t monarch and ShahAbbas , who died in 1628. This emperor w as mu ch addicted to Wine,and instead of t1eati11g his gu ests in the manner ofAbas Mi rza, he re

galed them with wine outof golden goblets filled fromflaggon s o f thesame metal . It is stated that he was accu stomed to drink goblets of

pure wine on every great o ccasion, and particu larly after a battle,when he wou ld sit to rece ive the heads of his enemies u ntil a latehou r atnight . On on e of these occasions, a captive Kurd, of giganticappearance , passed his tent, “ deliver that prisoner to Roostu mB eg,

”

said the king, who knew there Was an animosity between the friendsof that chief and the Kurd tribe . Pardon me ,

”said the noble mimle ‘d

R oostum, my honou r, it is tru e , calls for his blood,but I have'

niadea v ow never to take advantage of a distressed an d hand boun d enemy.”

Irritated by this reply, the monarch ordered the head of the prisonerto be sti u ck off,when on the instant, the athle tic Ku rd bu rst

'

the cords,by which he Was bo und, and; unsheathing his dagger, ru shed upon thesovere ign . All wasbu stle , and confu sion , and, in the hurry, the lights

were extingu ished. No onedared to st1ike lest the king might falla victim, but, du ring theawfu l su spense , Shah Abbas exclaimed, “Ihave se ized his hand !” In a moment, the u nfortu n ate Kurd perishedfrom the wounds of innumerable swords, and the king, resuming hisseat W ith the u tmost composu re , passed the goblet to the health of hisattendants ; and continu ed to re ce ive the heads of his enemies, which,the historian states, amou nted on this occasion to 205 45 . Among the

many anecdotes re la ted of the attachment of Shah Abbas to Wine,one states that he w as, on a certaiii occasio‘n, so intoxicated and out

rageou s that he stabbed his favourite qu een ; and when he recoveredfrom his dehri um , and u nderstood the dreadfu l act he had committed,u nder the influ ence of the deepest contrition, he issued orders to haveevery wine flask m the kingdom destroyed . The laxity of manners,so prevalent in this prince

’

s re ign, was su ppressed by his son and she

cessor, Abbas the I I ; buthe , however,'

soon neglected the W ise cou nsels of his ministers, and fell a victim to the same ex cesses as his fatherso great w as his love

'

of wine , that he spared expense in keeping a

constant supply of everydescription , which, notonly his own cou ntry,butforeign nations, cou ld afford and this stock he had stored m flasksofthe purest Venetian crystal. It 18 related of Soliman,the next sovere ign, that he w as actu ally addicted to intoxication and finding his

prime minister a censor of his irregularities, he w as determined to overcome , if possible , his extreme pru dence and sobrie ty, you mustrelax sometimes,

”said the monarch, to Ali Khan , amidst one of his

89

drinking parties, or w e never can agree . The ministe r observedthat he lived as became his age and character. Very tru e sa id

Soliman, “butyou r condu ct i s my reproach, and’

I'

can'

n o longe r

endure‘

it '

yOu must getdrunkWith u s immediate ly, e itherWith w ine,Or a preparation of opium, choose which you like best, butthe dose

mu st be swallow ed it is the command of your king, who mu st be

obeyed .

”The minister Was obliged to yie ld, and, prefe rring the

opium , soon fell senseless on the grou nd . In ’

this "state the v irtu ou sAli Khan, after having his beard shaven, w as sent home but,

'

on his

re covery , finding the indignity he had su stained, he refu sed to return

to court notwithstanding the repeated entreaties of the king, whosoon be came sens ible of the loss of so excellent an adviser . Soliman

continu ed to indu lge in the same loose habits, and abou t fou r months

after, in a dru nken frolic, he condemned to death four of his fav ou

rite s for a mere trifle ; butthe moment that the sentence w as abou t to

be‘

putin exe cu tion ,Ali Khan ru shed into the presence of the monarch,and begged for their pardon . You are ve ry bold,

”said Soliman,

you continu e 'to slight my earnest entre'

aties that you should again'

serve me , and yetyou intercede for others.

” I am you r slave ,”said

the minister, and ready to obey you r commands. Very well !”

said Soliman, I forgive them all on you r account, resume you r oflice ,and I W ill promise in futu re to respe ct both you and myself more than

I have done .

”

Sh'

ah H u sseyn , son and successor of Som an , published an edi ct

prohibiting the u se ofWine , as forbidden by the Koran, and orderedall wine -vessels, in his ow n cellars, to be publicly staved, and for

bade the Armenians to bring any more, u nder a heavy penalty. Thisgave great alarm to the grandees and eu nu chs of the palace , in con

sequ ence of which they applied to the king’s grandmother, who w asherself a lover of wine . Resolved to conqu er the monarch’s scru ples,she feigned sickness. The physicians prescribed her wine , but thisshe refu sed to take u nless the Shah himself, who had presented it toher, shou ld first

'

drink of it . This he w as u nwilling to do, throu gh

religiou s motives, but these she overcame , by qu oting the Persian

maxim, that kings are subj ect to n o law , and that whatever they do,they commit no sin . By this artifice the prince w as ensnared, hedrank a large cup of the liqu or, which he liked so well tha t he was

scarcely ever sober afterwards.

In several re igns, sincethe conqu est of P ersiaby theSaracens, in thefirst century of the Hegi ra, the prohibition of W ine and brandy hasbeen more or less observed but, as already noticed, the morality ofthe Persians has never been strictly regulated by the precepts of the

90

'Koran, and old habits in a great degre e still prevail .* After an evening ’s repast, supper be ing a favou rite meal, the night is often enlivened by mu sic and dancing. On the se occasions, they frequ entlydeviate from the ir sober habits by indu lging in the u se of wine and

spiritu ou s liqu ors, and particularly in the latter, as they more speedily

create a vivacity and cheerfu lness, nototherwise so easily excited ,This indu lgence has often been known to hu rry them into inordinateexcesses. Although the liqu or, of which they are so passionately fond,is, in many instances, a bad qu ality of spirits manu factu red in Ru ssia,and fit only for the palate of a Cossack yet they express surprise.when E u ropeans shew a dislike for it, and even laugh when they see

them pu tting water into the ir wine . The excuses which they form

for indu lging in drink are as ingeniou s as those resorted to by o therMahometan s . Kotzebu e tells u s that,when on his w ay to Ispahan ,he

observed that the people of E rivan took plenty of frozen pu nch in theform of ice-cream withou t any scruple of conscience , be cau se it w asgiven as an eatable , an d as a medi cine for strengthening the stomach .

In many re spe cts , the Persians di ffer from other Mahome tans and

although the religiou s, or those who have performed the pilgrimage«to Me cca , do nottak e wine , yettheir good sense often indu ces them

to overcome a preju dice imposed on them by the cu nning designs ofthe prophet . A pleasing instance of this kind is related of a M ussu l

man who had been employed, for forty or fifty years, abou t the E nglish factory atGombroon . B e ing on the po int of death , he w as

ordered a glas s of win e by a E u ropean physician, which he atfirst

refu sed, observing, I cannot take it— itis forbidden in the Koran .After a few minu tes’ pau se , he tu rned to the Doctor, saying, as

he raised himself on his bed, Although it is forbidden, give

m e the wine for it is written in the same volume , that all you u nbe

liev ers will be exclu ded from paradise and the experience of fifty

years has taught me to prefer you r society in the other world, to any

place to which I co uld be advanced with my own cou ntrymen .

”

H ow contrary is the condu ct of Al Male c Al Saleh, a rigid M ahome

tan , who, when on the po int of death, though ordered by on e of his

physican s to drink a little wine , as ne cessary for the cure of his dis

temper, chose , from a principle of religion, to die rather than to take it .

Since chemistry has notbee n cu ltivated by the Persians as amongE uropeans, the ir liqu ors ow e little to its aid and hence , from the ir

ignorance of the discoveries to which it has led, the ir arts also rema in

Timsome measu re stationary. They are yetinfatuated by the pursu it

Kru sinkis’ Memoirs, w ith D ucerceau

’

s Hist. of the Sophie s, 8ve . p . 5 4- 5 6.

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92

liquors, cultivated dates, notonly for their u se as food, "-but in orderto afl'ord them an exhilarating beverage . The dates of Persia are

esteem ed the riche st in the world, the ir siru p being sweeter and morepleasant than virgin honey.

~The palm, whi ch produces them, is the

highest'

of all fruit-bearing trees, and has -n o branches .butat

the very top it produ ces fru it atfifte en years’ growth, and continuesbearing till it is tw o hun dred years’ old . In sev eral places, the d ate

’

stones are grou nd, from which an oil is extracted , and the r esidu um ,

or paste , is given to cattle and sheep, and‘

is considered very nutritive . A drink, called Sheerabd s also m ad e from the in spissatedj uiceof the grape , and '

which is the same as that pro du ced from debs in'

Arabia. Chardin speaks of pomegranate‘wine be ing had in gre at

qu antities, and, in Canticles viii: l ., notice is taken of wine of pomegranates, which shews that it ; w as in very early u se . ThiS

'fru itis

frequ ently alluded to in Scriptu re the modern Turks about Aleppomake a description of drink from

'

it, as it ‘ is notforbidden by the'Koran . The fru it is as large as an apple , and is

'

u seful in warm

countries for allaying heat and qu enching thirst, as it’contains '

a finely

acidulated j u ice , which, as well as every other part of the fru it, ishighly

agreeable . Mr . Harmer, in his observations on variou s passages ofScripture,

’

has made some curiou s remarks on this description ofw me,buthe seems to be 1n doubt whether it w as pomegranate -w ine , that 18

to be u nderstood m the portion of Scriptu re, above q .u oted On thispo int there is no difliculty, as it has been made m su ch qu antities asto he sometimes experted . The Fen ians hav e several sorts of pomegranate , such as the sou r , the swee t, and a mixture partaking of bo th

qualities.

The m ild and tempe1ate heat of the climate of Persia has cov ered,as with a carpet, a great portion of the cou ntry with flowers of the

most gorgeou s and brilliant hue . N e ither those of E urope, nor those'

of India, can vie w ith them .

’The ir roses are celebrated for .u ncom

mon beau ty, the bu shes bearing often three different sorts on on e

branch, su ch as yellow, b lack, and red .

* From the neighbou rhood of Shiraz ‘

are yearly"e x ported 2000 chests of rose-wate r,

each ‘chest containing twelve “'

E nglish gallons putup in glass flasks,while ten times that qu antity is consumed in Pe rsia, Arabia, and

Hindostan .1' In ‘India, particu larly in the district of Ghazeepoor, are

extensive rose‘ fields,

'from which immense q u antitiesof rose -wate rare distilled, and the atten

'

or‘

otto, of roses is -made .,This valu able

perfume is obtained, after'

the rose-water is distilledy by exposing the

Un iv. H ist. v ol. iv . p . 5 39. M orier’

s Journ ey,1 H amilton ’

s Accou nt of the EastIndies. Bernier, 8m. Franklin ‘s Tour.

93

water to the atmospheric air, in large ope n vessels during the might,

and atsunrise skimming off the oil, which floats on its su rface. It is

said that it requ ires well-grownrose s to produ ce one rupee ’

s

worth of attwr. The'

love of the : Persians for the rose is so great,that Saadi, on e of the ir most eminent poe ts, has g iven the name of

G ulistan , or G arden of Roses,'

to one of his po ems, and the ir passion

for thisflow erhe thu s beautifully expresses: What,”says a friend ,

hast thou gathere d for u s in this garden of delights ?” “I fancied,”

replied the poet in an e cstacy, that I w as opposite a rose tree , and

tha t I fille d the skir t of my robe with flowe rs to present them to myfrien ds butwhe n I had nearly reached them, the perfume of the roses

so overpowered m e, thatmy ' garmen'

t'

slippe d from‘ my hands, and

thus gave to the envious w inds the tre asu res I w as abdutto bestow.

Various"

kinds of grain are cu ltiva ted in Pers ia, butfewundergo

the f ermenting process. Wheat, barley, rice , oats, rye , and millet ,are reared with mu ch care and su ccess . Wine and brandy are sold

by weight and notby measure , and at Shiraz, as we ll as in most other

cities ofthe empire, the se commodities are stored in large well-glazed

earthen jars, or in glass bottles, called K amabas , whi ch are a finger

breadth in thickness, and hold near thirty qu arts. These are arrangedin spaciou s well-built cellars, constru cte d for coolness with fou ntains,and provided with seats : in these re treats ofsilence and ofso litud e ,the

wearied vieitants are often .made to forget the ir cares, wi th cepiou s

drau ghts of those ex hilarating liqu ors.

About Derbent, and its vicinity, the Wine jars are bu ried u nder

ground ,'

for the sake of preserving the flavou r and strength of theliquor, for a longe r time than if exposed in the ce llars. The ju ice of

the grape is converted by the Turcomans, bordering on the Persianempire , into a thick jelly by bo iling and in that state it is carried by

them, in the ir warlike excursions, an d forms a nou rishing kind of food .

In Pe rsia, according to Sir John Malcolm , a tax is levied on vineyards and fruit tre es; atthe following rate s

B ech e rs.‘

Vineyards, faryab, or certain water, 6 per Vine .

If bakhs , or u n certain water,”

5 do .

Apple , pear, peach, & c . 20 per treeWalnu ts, 100 do .

Grapes are so cheap, tha t the finest are obtained in the markets of

Shiraz, atless than a half-penny the pou nd ; and in some parts, these ,as well as other frui t, have hardly any valu e , so that, with the cheap

ness of provisions, the lowest order of the people live comfortably

Accou nts in P ersia are kept in deen ars, a nominal coin , of which there are

1000 to the p iastre , or abou t 5 00 to the British shilling.

94

When Bell w as in that cou ntry, grapes were so abundant, that theywere left hanging in clusters on the vines, twisted rou ndthe trees inthewoods, as a prey to the fowls of the air. Though the vine flourishesluxu riantly, in the sou thern provinces, yet, in the north-western, they

are obliged to bu ry the shoots, to protect them from the winter frosts .

In the distillation of brandy and other liqu ors, the apparatu s

employed by the Persians is simple , and, for the most part, consists of

e arthen vesse ls, the still be ing merely a j ar, su fficiently strong to bear

the action of the fire . The condensation of the vapou r is effected by

the old and clum sy method of pouring cold water on the cu curbit, or

head, which presents a broad surface to the water, that su rrounds it

in the tub, an d when the still is to be charged, the lid is removed,and the liquid, to be distilled, is pou red in by an attendant . The '

time of charging is determined by the weakness of the spirit from the

condenser, and the whole operation is completed with little fatigu e ,expense , or trouble .

In the pre ceding survey of the principal nations, where the influence of Mahometans has rendered the u se of intoxicating liqu orsobje ctionable and penal, w e have seen that this prohibition has tended

to render men artfu l and hypocritical, and although abstinence frominebriation is at all times commendable , yet, when carried to a com

plete deprivation, it has a contrary effect . The Romans pru dentlyforbade the ir wives to drink wine , lest they shou ld fall into criminalintercourse through intemperance .

* The E gyptians, from temperate

motives, wou ld notallow the ir priests to indulge in wine , but this

abstinence wasnotalways observed. Their disliketo thi s liqu or is said bysome to have arisen from the circumstance of Noah’s inebriety,the recolle ction of which still excites great abhorrence among them,

and this is supposed to have been the real origin of the antipathy toW ine , shewn by many eastern nations. The Jewish L evites wereforbidden to drink wine , only before the ir entrance into the sanctuarybut there w as no perpetu al prohibition, as the great object w as toprevent the abu se , not the u se of a wholesome and exhilaratingbeverage . The Holy Scriptures have no absolu te command againstthe us e ofwine , norany other liqu or, u nless it shou ld amou nt to intem

perance , and against this the sacred volume is explicit and deter

mined. That an antipathy to wine , founded e ither on policy, de lus ion, or superstition, has influ enced certain portions ofmankind, fromthe earliest ages, is evident, and traces of it are found in the writings of

Moses , even so early as the time of Joseph. B utthe prohibition of

Valeriu s Max imu s, b . 11. ch . 1.

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96

periods, wine seemst have formed a portion of the entertainment,notonly atmarriage ceremon ies, butatthe most solemn sacrifices

where libatip ns w ere poured out; and it requ ires unlforce of argument

to shew. thatthe moderate u se of wine musthave been sanctioned by

the Alinightyh imself, when our blessed L ord had re course _

to a

miracle, to supplythe wants of the guestswhere he was present . St.

Pau l adv isedTin mthyto u se a little wine forhis stomach’

ssake ,andthe u se

of it, inthe institu tion ofthe Sacrament ofthe Lord’

s,Supperfisa further

u nquestionable proofof its valu e and excellence and that itisthe abuse

of it only that is, obj ectionable . To u se the langu age of Blair, it isthat thoughtle ss and intemperate enjoyment of it, which wholly absorbs

the time and attention of men which obli terates every seriou s thought

pf the proper bus iness of life ; and efi’aces the sense of religion and o f

God, that i s to be dreaded and avoided .

On what rational grou nds, Mahomet forbade the entireuse ofwine ,has nev er yetbe en determined, butthat the prohibition has notbeen

accou nted jus t, is proved both from its, direct and indirect violation,as well as from its having engendered more vicious habits, than.

itb

has

prevented evil consequences—facts that have be en buttoo well atte sted,and of which the following is a melancholy i llustration . A ureng

Z ébe in the frenzy of his zeal to su pport this Mahometan dogma,entered the ten t ofhis brotherwhen he knew he was in a state of intoxication , and, su rrou nded by soldiers, directed his head to be taken off,which cru el acthe justified by saying, that he deserved death for disobeying the laws of his religion, and rendering hims elf u nfit for the

du ties of life . This is butone of a thousand he inous acts that might

be produ ced to strengthen the ju stice o f the se observations but

enough has been said to prove that this extraordinary command of

the Prophet w as issued rather from a view to distingu ish his religion,

and render his,doctrine more imposing, than from a principle ofmoral

re ctitu de, or a wish to promote the happiness of mankind .

The general u se"

of opium and o the1 e x hilarating substances, with

all their concomitant evils, may, the refore, date its origin from thismandate of the Prophet, while the 1estriction shews to what subterfuges men have recourse , when inju diciou sly forbidden to exercisetheir discretion and common sense , in e ither the gratification of thepassions, the protection ofthe m01al virtu es, or the freedom of opinion ,whe ther m religion; politics, or philosophy. The properties and

consequ ences of -’these natu ral in ebriants I shall now proceed todescribe .

The. poppyp ap afver somng

'

f‘

erum in botany, is aplant remarkable for itspecu liar properties. It was so called, because itwas commonlymix ed

97

withthe p'

ap, (papa) given to children in order to easepain,and inducesle ep. The term p ap a is alsoapplied by the Peru vians to their chief

article of subsistence , the potato, which they mix'

w ith other ingredients in a very savoury and su bstantial manner. There are variousdescriptions of the poppy, one of them, pap aeer album, or whitegarden . poppy, is indigenou s to most countries, and is so

'

called, netfi‘

om the colour of its flowers, which is diversified, butfrom the white

ness of its se ed. Its juice is called by the Persians afioua, and by theArabians apkium, from which, says a learned writer,is derived our

word~

opium . Others think it comes fromthe Greek op os, succus in

Latin, implying any kind of vegetable ju ice butit has been subse

qu en tly confined to the jui ce of the poppy alone . At what time

Opium first came into u se is u ncertain , butHomer'

1s repu ted tohave

known of its virtu es, andtheNep ent/ze mentioned in the Odyssey, i sbysome supposedto have been apreparation of this drug, which w as originally brought from Thebes, and on that accou nt called the Thebaic tinc

tu re, and kn own by that name atthe present day. The compositionof the Nep entite is said to have been imparted to Helen by Polydamna,wife of Thonis, king of E gypt. No allu sion i s made to this drug i nScriptu re , and it may consequ ently be infe rred that it was u nknownto the Jews. Herodotu s asserts the M assagetee and allthe Scythians

had among them certain herbs, that they threw into the fire , the ascen s

ding fumes ofwhich they anxiou sly inhaled. With these they be cameas mu ch intoxicated as if theyhad tak en large portions of wine , andexhibited in their songs and dances

.

all the ridiculou s frolics and gesticulations which are the re sult of in ebrietynl

' Opium is notmentionedby Hippo crates, though it is

’

afiirm’

ed that itw as known to Diagoras,who was nearly his contemporary. Some writers consider the u se of

opium as very ancient, and it is asserted that the Pagan priests had

re course to a narcotic, previou sly to the delivery of the ir oracles, and

u nder the influ ence of whi ch they acted on su ch o ccasions.

Forthe sake ofthis dru g, the poppy is cu ltivatedto a great extent in

sev e ral parts of the E ast . In some of the Turkish provinces of Asia,part icu larly Natolia, it is reared toperfe ction , and opium of the best

description is obtained. The poppy of Persia, however, i s e steemed

the finest in the world, notonly i n respe ct to its beau ty, butbecause

its ju ice is mu ch stronger than the j ui ce“ of the same plant elsewhere ,yie lding a greater qu antity of opium, and therefore in the highest esti

mation.

It grows in some places to the he ight of fou r feet and upwards,with a beau tiful corolla of white leaves atthe vertex . In June , when

O dyssey, L . i v . v . 228. 1' He rodotu s, b . i . see . 36 .

H

98

itis ripe, the’ ju ice is extracted by incisions in the head, and gathered

e very morning before su n rise . The effect of collecting the Opium , in

this manner, is said to have su ch an influ ence on those employed for

that purpose, as to make them appear as if buried and again tak en up,

and the ir limbs tremble as ifthey were affe ctedwithpalsy. Amongstthe

P ersian bakers; it is a practice to strew poppy seed on the bread , with

a view to enhance its sale , and the common people eatthe seed atanytime with pleasu re , a practice comm on in

“

ou r own country.

This'plant

‘

is indigenou s to most countries, and the method'

em

ployed to procu re the drug is almost everywhere the same . In India,

opium isthe staple commodi ty ofmany of the provin ces ; the method ofcu ltivatingthe plant,whi chrequ ire s a dry soil prepared for the purpose ,and obtaining the opium, is nearly the same throughou t Hindostii n ,and is commonly as follows —The seed is generally sown in October

and November, when the periodical rains ceas e . The plants are kept

abou t e ight inches distant, and well watered by me ans of furrows, tillthey rise nearly six inches above the surfaca A fortnight or threeweeks after sowing, some of the seeds are dug u p, in order to see

whether they have germinated, and if so, the process is commen ced.If the plants happen to be too near each other, some of them are pulled

and u sed as potherbs butthey cannot serve for that pu rpose whenthey become more advanced ; be ing then of a strongly intoxicating

nature . At these early stages, a mixture of du ng, nitrou s earth, and

ashes, is strewed rou nd the plants, and a little before the flowers appear,they are again repeatedly watered, till the capsu les are half grown or

the petals ofthe flowers fall off ; the colle ction of the opium then commen

ces,bec‘

au sewhen fully ripe little ju ice is obtained . Thewhite kind yields‘

a larger qu antity than the red, butthe quality ofboth is the same , yet

the white is a ccou nted preferable . When the cap su les assume a

whitish appearance, incisions are made in them“with an instrument

having three tee th ata very small distance from each other, merely

to perforate the skin w ithouti

pen etrating the cavity .

These wou nds are made from the top to the bottom of the capsu le

so as n otto wou nd the inner membrane , for, shou ld that be the case ,the roo t wou ld instantly die . This operation is always pe rforme d atsu n -set, and repeated for three or four su ccessive days, and the j u ice ,which is of a milky appearance flowing therefrom, is collected the fol;

lowing morning, and permitted to pu rify itself by fermentation . In

.this manne r the whole crop of a field is wou nded, and the opium col

lected from it in abou t fifteen days, an incredible number of men ,

women, and children, be ing employed on the occasion . The ju i ce ,having exu ded and thickened by exposu re to the air, is scraped off

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100

was sold to a contractor. The British Company followed the same

practice till 1785 , when the sale of this article was exposed to publiccompe tition . At that time, regu lations were made notto compe lthe

cu ltivators to grow it atthe contractors’ price butas the government

still held the mo'nopoly, a price w asfix e

‘

d atwhich the ryots, orcu lti

vaters“

,were obliged to furnish the article , so that the Company were

both contractors and pu rchasers yetthey allowed the grower a fair

recompense for his labou r and industry .

“6

In the whole of British India, the estimated revenu e arising from

opium, atthe" commencement of the new E ast India Charter, in 1834,

was

The revenu e ari smg from the sale of opium to the government of

Bengal, in 1809 and 1810, amou nted to The export of this

article from Bombay, Fort St . George , and'

B engal, respectively, to

the eas tward islands, from 1814, to 1818 has been valu ed at

To China were sent by cou ntry ships from Patnaand Benares in 1817 and 1818, no less than 485 chests, valu ed at

dollars, besides 195 0 chests of Bengal opium , rated »at

dollars, imported into Matao . In 1818 and 1819, therewere 4978 chests, valu ed at dollars, sent to Macao from

Bengal, Malwa, Patna, and B enares i From 1804 and 1805 to 1817and 1818, there were carried 1780 peculs by Ame rican ships toCanton and the whole qu antity sent thither by the

'

same traders,from 1815 to 1819, appears to be 1834 peculs , which, at5 5 0 dollarsthe pecul, amou nts to dollars ."The opium , ex ported in1814 and 1815 to 1818 from the u nited kingdom to Bengal, Fort

St. George , and Bombay, exclu sive of the trade of the E ast IndiaCompany, has been valu ed at rupees, orA late writer informs u s, that the trade in this article ,with the ex

ception of what is imported into Macao for medicinal pu rposes, iscondu cted by smu gglers ; and so artfully is the practice carried on,

that abou t 4000 chests, we ighing 5 33,3331bs. are sent in this contraband w ay, notwiths tanding the frequ ent edicts of the emperoragainst it, and the u se of it be ing rendered a capital offence .

Fromten to twenty Portuguese , American, and British ships, of three and

fou r hu ndred tons bu rden, freighted with opium, are constantly an

chored atthe small island of L intin, in order to supply the demandfor this article .

M ills’

s H istory of British India,vol. v. p . 419.

T P arliam e ntary Reportof 7th M ay, 1821, p . 319.

1 Ibid . pp. Ibid. p . 44 . Ibid . p . 181. 11Ibid . p . 238.

101

O piiun brings su ch’

a price in China, varying according to its qua

llty from 1200 to 2000 Spanish dollars per chest, that merchants run

every risk to supply the market .'

The sale is chiefly condu cted by

means of the inferior Mandarins, as well as some of the higher ones,who receive considerable bribes for their connivance . Sixty dollarsatMacao , and the same atCanton, are the common fees . Armedboats, known by the name of opium boats, constantly sail betweenMacao and Canton with this dru g, sanctioned bythe oflicers of the

cu stoms, who likewise re ce ive a bribe for their indu lgence ; shewing

tha t in China, as in other cou ntries, every man has his pricefile The

ridicu lou s flou rish made by the Imperial fleet, to disperse or destroy

those smugglers, is a farce carried on once or twice a year, the com

mander, contented with having his coffers well filled, retu rns to Canton,boasting of services which he never inte nded to perform . The pro

hibition of opium shews bad policy, as the emperor by this means

loses, it is said, a revenu e of from fou r to fiv e millions of dollarsannually, since its u se through the empire is as common as tobacco inother cou ntries. Opium is prepared for smoking among the Chine sein the same way as it is to be fou nd in our apothecariesf shops for

sale .

'The preparation, ne cessary to be u sed at one smoking, is

we ighed and putinto a pipe mu ch resembling thatcommon with u s

for tobacco . A tincture, made from this dru g, is introdu ce d into a

tu be resembling a flu te in size and shape, and, when seton fire ,the ex halat

i

ons are inhaled, and the effects are ofthe most exhilarating

The Mandarins, besides smoking,u se italso in the form .of tinctu re ,

and usually carry a small bottle of it abou t them . The present

emperor of China has -been described as incapacitated for any bu si

ness, through the excess to which he has carried the debilitating

practice of smoking op ium . In the Chinese Register for Septembe r,1833, itis re lated, that aton e time , du ring a rebellion , the emperor ’s

troops were discou raged, and wou ld notproceed against the enemy,owing to the want of opium , their accustomed stimulant .

Besides the qu antity of opium .thatis pu rchased atthe E ast India

Company’s sales , and sent to China in British coun try ships, there is

also smuggled an immensity ofMalwa and Smyrna opium . The con

siimption of this article in 1819, was valu ed at dollars, and

in 1828, at making , in nine years, an increase of

dollars. Su ch is the extent of the opium trade , that from 15

to chests are considered as the nearest approximation to the

actual qu antity sent yearly into China ; and notwithstanding , this

Parliamentary Reportof 7th M ay, 1821, p. 181.

102

drug has been denou nced as a poison , and also prohibited throughreligiou s scruples, yetit is certain, that itnotonly makes its w ay intothe most remote parts of the Celestial Empire , but even within thewalls of the Imperial palace at P ekin. Though it is generally considered that trade is carried on through the ports of Canto n and

Macao only, yet it is known , that cargoes of opium have been landedat Chingchoo and Chus en , as well as atplaces more northerly, andalso in the islands of Formosa and Hainan.

The importation of opium is prohibite d in Cochin-China , but thesale of it is readily effe cted, through the dexterity of the Chine seIn 1822 , the importation w as re ckoned at 15 0 chests, 40 of whi chwere for Cambodia, 10 for the capital, and 100 for Tonqu in.M en and women of the better classes, in Cochin-China, always carryabou t with them a pair of silken bags or purses, e ither in the hand or

thrown over the shou lder. In these are kept the bete l box , tobacco ,and opium . Females, of the lower order, are denied this privilege ,while men ofthe same grade , when metby a person of condition, areobliged

“

to conceal those bags, as a token of respect.

The export of opium from’Tu rkey is extensive , butconfined to a

limited number of Jewish brokers. These are accu sed of adulteratingthe article , and it is done so artfully, that the secre t is kn own only to

themselves. The Americans are the most extensive purchasers, and

they carry it to China and other parts of the E ast. The Turksaccuse them of be ing slaves to the u se of it, and that they pu rchase itfor the ir own gratification butthe falla cy of this accusation is con-v

tradicte'

d by the fact,'

that the Am ericans are too fond of ardent

Spirits"

to become chewers of opium .

This dru g is taken in different ways, and its effects are foun d to

vary, according to the constitu tion and temperament of the indivi

du als by whom it is u sed . Some it inspires with grand and subbi ne

ideas. The ambitiou s man beholds athis feet monarchs and slaves

in chains “

; the biliou s man is se ized with visions of horror and

dismay ; the mild and benevolent man sees all the world applau d

him ; while the timid is endowed with cou rage , the lover with tende rness, and the vindictive with fero city. In some places it is taken in

pills, and in others smoked with tobacco . In the Ottoman dominions,travellers carry it in the form of lozenges,

’

or cake s, upon which is

stamped in Turkish character, as a legend, M ash A llah,”the gift

of God .

* The Persians take pills of opium, which some of themgradu ally increase to su ch a dose as wou ld destroy half a dozen

G riffith’

s Trav els i n E urope,Asia, 840. 4to . pp. 86, 87. Dalloway’

s Constan:

tinople .

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104

feeling nothing of the expected reverie , I took half a grain more ,making in all two grains, in the course of two hours. After two

hou rs and a half from the first dose , I'

took two grains more , and,shortly after this dose , my spirits became sensibly excited, the pleasure

of the sensation seemed to depend on a univ ersal expansion of mind

and “matter. My facu lties appeared enlarged every thing I looked

on seemed increased in volume , I had no longer'

the same pleasu re

when I closed my eyes, which I had when they w ere'

open. It

appeared to me as if they were only external objects, which'

w ere

acted on by the imagination, and magnified into images of pleasure ;in short, it w as the faint'

e x quisite music of a dream”in a waking

moment . I made my way hom e as fast as possible, dreading ateverystep, that I shou ld commit some extravagance . In walking I ‘

was

hardly sensible of my feet tou ching the grou nd ; it seemed as if I’

slid

along the street, impelled by some invisible agent, and that my bloodw as composed of some ethereal flu id, which rendered my body lighterthan air. I got to bed the moment I reached home . The mostextraordinary visions of delight filled my brain all night . In the

morning I arose, pale and dispirited, my head ached my bodyso debilitated, that I was obliged to remain on the sofa all the day,dearly paying for my first essay atopium -Opium is sold

at the public bazaars, . in the drug marke t atConstantinople , and is

exposed in large black balls , or cakes, which appear like Spanishlicorice . These balls are cut smoothly with knives, to shew the irinterior, and

'

half a dozen, or-more samples , atdifi

’erent

'

prices, are

placed together. The cheapest and_

worst'

sort, is of a brown colour,filled with stalks and leaves ; that of the ; highest, is almost j etblack,and is perfe ctly free from impu rities.

Rigid Mussulmans condemn'

the use of opium, and their .preachers

declaim against it from the pu lpit . O ne day, a very holy and zed ous

preacher, in holding forth with more than ordinary warmth againstthe pernicious qualities of this dru g, by great bad luck, 1a fall hisown opium -pou ch, among his auditory. Withou t be ing in the

least abashed, he , with the greatest presence ofmind, affected to have

premeditated what had happened so mu ch against'

his will, and

exclaimed. the enemy, the demon, the fie nd, I have beenspeaking of B e u pon your guard lest it springu pon s

‘

ome'

of you ,

and gain possession of you r souls !” By this d eli cate turn he escapedfrom public ridicu le or indignation .

From Salonichi and other parts, the French draw opium to the

valu e of £2 ,400, and the Italians, to tha t of £3,600. The Turks,

Madden ’

s Travels in Turkey, &c . 2 vols. 8vo. vol. i. p . 24.

105

a écording'

to’

B eauj ou r, reserve for'

the ir own use , that which' flows

naturally”

from the head of the'

poppy,'

and they dispose of the con

densed liquo r , which'

they‘

extract from the plant by incision, or

ex pression . This fascinating drug, which places its votary, as it were ,between life and

' death, or in that state of lethargy, w hich lulls allthoughts asleep wi

‘thou t excluding the'

sensations,‘

is sought after with

avidity, by “the volu'

ptuary‘

and‘

the'

E picu rean Theriaki . Many

persons are f ou nd to spend their whole lives in drinking coffee ,smoking tobacco , and swallowing opium . B eau j our gives an accou nt

of a Tu rkish who took every day'thirty “cu ps of coffee ,

smoked sixty pipes of tobacco, and swallowed three drachms of opium ,

while his solid food consisted of only fou r oun ce s of rice . The appear

ance of this singu lar charac ter was that of a species of mummy, withthe muscles apparently glu ed to the skin he adds that every opiume ater becomes in the cou rse of time extremely bent in the back bone ;and he tells us that

'

thé’ Jan issaries were'

in 'the habit,when going to

battle , of taking opium °

as an exciter of cou rage , as the Germanso ldiers take brandy for a

'

similar pu rpose . The Tu rkish opium issaid to soothe or

'

excite ' the senses , according to the preparation itu ndergoes. That, which is mixed with nu tmeg or '

salfron , becomesaphrodisiac, and inspires amorou s desires. -

'Itis made up in small'

pills, of whi ch the wealthy Tu rks know how‘ to take advantage , to

administer most to their'

own sensu alitiesfi‘ Many of the opu lent, at

Surat,’

indulge in this'

drug from the’

same'

motives fer which purpose ,Grose tells u s, it is u sually taken in milk, boiled

'

from a large to ‘

a

small qu antity, and when a check is de sired to be puton the effe ct, aspoonful or two of lime ju ice , or of any equ ivalent, is applied, which

instantly destroys .the influ ence the opium had previou sly excited.1'

Sir As tley Cooper, in hi s lectures on the principles and practice of

Su rgery, gives it as his opinion, tha t the u se of Opium diminishes the

virile powers and the disposition to sexual intercourse for notwith~

standing, it is’

asserted, that the Turks often take it for the pu rpose

of increasing amatory indulgence , he foun d it to produ ce an opposite

effe ct. This he corroborates, with several e x amplesi The jus ticeof the remark may perhaps be qu estioned, since almost every writer,who tou ches on the u se of opium, in eastern cou ntries, concurs in theOpinion, that its stimu lating . propensity is on e of the strongest

pleasu res it affords ; but to re concile these opin ions, it appears tooperate like the u se of ardent Spirits in this cou ntry, w hich; while . it

B eauj ou r’

s View of the Commerce of Greece , 8vo . p . 176 .

1“G ro se

’

s Voyage to the East Indies, v ol. i . p . 119.

I Sir Astley Cooper’

s Lectures on Surgery, 8vo . pp . 45 0- 1- 2 .

106

c ontribu tes to indulgence in this respect, eventually diminishes thepowers of its accomplishment . In Siam, the sale of opium is contraband, and many have suffered death for importing it, as its u se in thatempire has been produ ctive of the worst consequ ences. Mr . Abee lrelates that the king, on one occasion, finding tha t his son w as in thehabit of smoking opium, immediately commanded his property to besold, and himself to be arrested and imprisoned, for exe cu tion ; and it

.w as notwithou t the greatest exertions, by the mother and princes inau thority, that his doom w as The Chinese , however,

’

can

s ell it through the cou ntry, withou t inconvenient restriction . It hasbeen known , that a few of the ir junks have disposed of

Spanish dollars’ worth, in a few days. The Siamese u se it, first

beginn ing with a grain , and encreasing the number to half a dozen,or more . It is swallow ed ‘

and smoked indiscriminately, the u su al

effects of which are soon vi sible , by produ cing a sleepy drunkenness,

yet su ch is the ir fondness for it, that it se lls for its we ight in silver

but this is n ot su rprising among a people who believe that dreams

are books in which the fates areThe inhabitants of Borneo smoke opium with tobacco in the same

manner as the people of Sumatra . The mode of preparing it for u se

is as follows -The raw Opium is first boiled in a copper vessel, and

strained through a cloth, and then boiled a se cond time the leaf of

the tobacco is cut fine and mixed with it, in a qu antity su fficient to

absorb the whole , when it is made up into small pills, abou t the size

o f a pea, for smoking. At convivial parties, a dish of this is broughtin with a lamp, when the host, taking a large pipe , pu ts into it one

of those pellets, blowing the smoke thro ugh his nostrils, and , if he bean adept, through the passagesof the ears and eyes.

‘

H e seldom takes

m ore than three or fourwhiffs, ere he pas ses it'

rou nd to the rest of

the company, (on e pipe serving them all,) who act in the same manner,a nd so continu e smoking u ntil completely intoxicated . They are

sensible that it shortens life , butthat does notcau se them to abstain'from it ; and the ir women encourage the u se of it, be cau se they con

c e iv e that it he ightens the love of the ir hu sbands. Thisp reparation

o f the opium is called ma a , and it is often adulterated in the process,by mixing j aggory, or palm sugar, with it, as is the raw opium, byincorporating the fru it of the planta in .

On the western coast of Sumatra, abou t 15 0 chests, or 20,0001bs.

.w e ight of opium are consumed annu ally, where it is purchas ed on

an average at300,

dollarsthe chest, and sold again at5 00 or 600 but

Abe el’

s Residence in China, 8vo . p. 224.

'

l‘ Chamont

, Voy. dc Siam .

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108

The people of Java indulge to excess in the u se of this drug. Upon

su ch of them, as well natives as slaves, who have be come desperate

by the pressu re of misfortu ne or disappo intment, it operates in a

frightfu l manner, giving them an artificial courage , and rendering

them frantic, in which state they sally forth, in all the horrors of

despair, to attack the object of the ir hatred, crying amok amok

which signifies kill kill Thu s infuriated, they indiscriminatelys tab

every person they meet, till se lf-preservation at length renders it

necessary to destroy them . This is what is termed ru nn ing a muck.

Captain Beekman was told of a Javanese , who run a mu ck atBatavia,and had killed several, but being met by a soldier who ran him

through with his pike, su ch w as the desperation of the wre tch, thathe pressed forward on the instrument of death, u ntil he gotnearenough to stab his adversary with a dagger, when both expired onthe spot. It is common amongst the Indian soldiery, when abou t to

perform some daring act, to intoxicate themselves with opium, in su cha manner as to render them reckless of danger.It is a cu riou s law in Java, that any one crying amok may be

destroyed but, in the event of its being a false alarm, and an indiv i

dual be ing killed by the crowd, the person that exclaimed amok is onlyliable to be fined. At Batavia, if an officer take a person callingamok, his reward is very considerable but, if he kill him , nothing isawarded : su ch is the frenzy of those u nfortunate be ings, that generally,three outof fou r are destroyed in the attempt to se cu re them . Some

are of opinion, that the sangu inary achievements effected when

ru nning a mu ck, for which the Malays have been famou s, or ratherinfamou s,

‘

are~more ow ing . to the inherent ferocity of the ir nature ,

than '

to the influence of opium, or any other drug . B utit is to be

feared,'that tyranny and ’

oppression have too often driven them to

seek '

a fallacious consolation in the u se of this article , rendering themdesperate and re ckless of consequ ences. The Javanese governmentfarm the privilege of vending opium in a medicated or prepared state .

When the supplies were regu lar, the cost to the consum er w as abou tSpanish dollars per chest, or £787 10s ., being an advance on

the market price of 1337} per cent, upon the monopoly price of

Bengal, of 168% per cent . and upon the first cost, that of 302 5 percent. Were the du ties fairly collected m Java, it is compu ted, thatthe n etrevenu e wou ld be sterling. The Opium sent fromB engal, to the different Indian islands, Was, atone time, nearly 900chests annually, 5 5 0 of which we re consumed in Java butthe extentof the consumption, like other articles, greatly depends on the price .

When the retail price w as abou t 5 000 Spanish dollars a chest, the

109

consumption was only 30 chests per year when 4000 dollars, itw as

5 0 chests a year and when it increased to ' nearly 100 chests

annu ally. When the price was moderate, many used it who hadnever done so before ; when itwas extravagantly high, several, whohad used it moderately, desisted from it altogether, while those ,whose habits were confirmed, had recourse to other stimulants, as

substitu tes. The introdu ction of Turkish and other opium , into theIndies, has cau sed a great revolu tion in the sales of this drug ; and

the American and other fre e traders, it is thought, will eventually

put an end to the monopoly of the E as t India Company. This

opinion is confirmed by the fact, that a chest, which formerly sold atfrom to dollars, fell lately to 800, and since that, thesales, at Calcu tta, have fallen u pwards of 30 per cent . Be fore the

E ast India Company commenced dealing in opium wi th the inhabi

tan ts of Sumatra, Malay, and othe r places, Mr. Lu cas, a factor in the

service atJava, had monopoli ze d the whole trade , and se cu red to

himself a property of This .beneficial trafiic w as not

known to the Du tch before 1685 , when Lu cas disclosedv the se cret

Soon after, a society was formed atBa tavia, for the purpose of con

du cting the opium trade . The stock of the society was divided intoshares of 2000 rix dollars each. Su ch was the prosperou s state ofthe bu siness, that the shares were soon sold ata

'

high premium . The

affairs of this company were u nder the control of a director, twoacting proprietors, a cashier, and book-keeper. E very chest of opium

delivered to them, by the E ast India Company, stood the society 5 00rix dollars, or upwards ; and su ch were the regu lations, that they wereobliged not

'

to'

sell to any others who might come in compe tition with

them . The profits of the society, on every chest, were calculate d at

8 or 900 rix dollars. To prevent smuggling, the society took every

precau tion ; and in order to make the ir monoply more se cu re , they

inte rdicted the trade to their servants, and particularly to the seamen;who were prohibited from dealing in it, on pain of death ; besides ,ships and cargoes were confiscated, when opium was fou nd on board:Notwithstanding all these regu lations, the temptation was so great,tha t vast quantities were conveyed into variou s parts of the E ast, tothe injury of the monopolists. The sale of this dru g produ ces to theDu tch a revenu e of rix dollars butthe abu ses, which themonopo ly engendered, brought the trade u nder the review of the com

missioners, who, in 1803, satatthe Hagu e , to examine into the affairsof Java, and they found it necessary to limit the sale of itto

chests. Upwards of 100,0001bs. we ight of Opium were annually

imported into this island from India, whence it was transmitted to theMolu ccas, and the other eastern parts of As ia .

110

Vast quantities are consumed by the crews of the piratical vesse ls,in the Indian Ocean; whi ch

'

are principally. composed of Malays ,

When they are abou t to engage in any desperate enterprise , theyinfu riate themselves with Opium, in order to strengthen the ir cou rage

and inspire them with a determination’

to give no qu arter . Unfortu ~

nately, too many temptations, for acts of this description, present

themselves in those seas, which have been the means Of stampinga

character on’ these people, that will requ ire a long lapse of time to

e radicate .

zThe Rajpoots, Grac ias, and other Hindoo tribes, present opium“

at

the ir visits and entertainments, with the same familiarity as the smarbox in E urope .

* As they are strongly addicted to’

this drug, theyindu lge in it to great excess, butthey seem to be less affected by itthan E u ropeans which some attribu te to the simplicity of their food,and the use Of no other stimu lant . Their women are also in thehabit of us ing it, and even administering it to the ir n ew -born children ;and it is deemed by both sexes, as constitu ting on e of

'

the chi efpleasu res Of existence . Many of these poor creatu res, who u ndergovoluntary tortu res from religiou s motives, use opium in order to allay

the poignancy of the ir feelings. Heber saw a man having a small

spear through his tongu e , who w as so stupified w ith opium, that heappeared insensible to pain. The parts through which the spear wasthru st, are saidto have been rubbed till numbness ensu ed, and rendered

them callous j‘

The Rajpoot princes seldom hold a Du rbar, withou t

presenting a mixtu re Of liqu id opium te rmed kusoombak, to all present .The minister washes his hands, after which some Of this liqu id

is poured into the palm of his right hand, from which it is drank, by

the highest in rank present. H e washes his hand again , and pou rsmore liquid into the palm for the second in rank, and so on till all thecompany are served. In settling qu arre ls, the parties drink thisliquid from the palms of each others’ hands , as a pledge of the most

sacred friendshipgt The Rajpoots are remarkable for taking Opium

on a day of battle ; at this time they dou ble the dose , which, saysBernier, makes them insensible to danger, and to fight with the

ferocity Of tigers. They never yield, but front the enemy like a

wall of brass ; and before entering on the contest, embrace One

another like brothers, resolving to conqu er or die .§ TO all classe s in

those regions, Opium , whether smoked, eaten, or dru nk, affords recrea

Forbe s ’s O riental Memoirs .

'

I’ Heber

’

s Journal, &c.

I Malcolm’

s Central India,

'

v ol. 11. p . 146.

Bern ier‘s Voyage to the East Indies.

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112

produ ced loss Of appetite; weakn ess, and insensibility,till, becoming

debilitated.

both imbody~

aud mind, they gradually grew torpid, andpassed into the un consciou s ofs ickne ss, care , or the fearswhich approaching fi issolution usually inspire : throughu

this means,many, of the native p

'

rinces of India . perished ingloriously.

* In thesame

,way,. it, is said, that Shah Abbas g av e .

a pill of Opium, everymorning, ,

to Sain M irza, his grand-son , in order to stupify Min, andrender him less agreeable to his subjects , he being j ealou s, and

fearing that he might have too mu ch influence with his cou rtiers.

To cou nteract this, the mother ofthe young prince made him take

treads , and other, antidote s.

Doctor Poqu ev ille , in his. Travelsthrough theMorea, gives a.minu teaccount. Of the Opium eaters termed Theriakis, an appellation.

b ywhich they are designated, in consequ ence Of the ir being extravagantand irregu lar characters. They begin,

”says he , with only half a

grain, and increase the dose , as they may find it to produ ce the desired

effect. They take care not to ,drink water after it, as that would

bring on violent colics, butthe man who, attwenty, takes to Opium,

seldom lives beyond ,the age of thirty or thirty-six . In the course ofa few years, the _

dose is increased to u pwards of a drachm , or sixty

grains. At this time , a pallid,

countenance and extreme leanness

announce a state of cachexia, which is only a prelu de to a generalmarasmus , or consumption of flesh. The infatuation is so great, that

the certainty Of death . and Of all the infirmities whi ch lead to it, isincapable Of correcting a theriaki, or a person addicted to the use of

Opium he coldly answers, any one who apprizes him of his danger,that his happiness is incomparable, when he has absorbed his pill Ofopium.

.If he be asked to define this supernatu ral felicity, he only

says that it is impossible to describe it, as it is a pleasure notto be

explained . These miserable be ings, however, towards the close ZOfthe ir , life , or rather Of that state of stupefaction, into which they areplunged, e xperience the most severe pains, and a continu ed hungerthey are tormented by a desperate satym

'

a sz’

s, withou t the capabilityof satisfying the ir desires in short, they experience pains which eventhe de liciou s paregoric cannot assu age and having become hideous ,deformed by numerou s periostoses, deprived Oftheir teeth, their eyessu nk into their head, and afllicted with an incessant trembling, theycease to exist a long time before the ir life is atan end.T The BaronD e Tott, writing on the same su bj ect, gives a miserable pictu re of

those who frequ ent the Opium market, at Constantinople , describing

1Berm e r’

s E astIndi e s.

Dr. P oqu e v ille’

s Travels through the Morea,Albania

,8vo . p . 132 .

113

them‘ “

as having paleandme lancholy cou ntenances; with meagre necks,

head'

s tw’

isted to one side, backbones distorted, shou lders drawn u pt

tothe

'

ears, and other extraordinary appearances. Seated in thetwilightOf the evening, or recliningon sofas in the little shops, ranged alongthe

,

walls,

Of the mosqu e of Solynmn , may be seen the infatuatedtheriakis swallowingtheir opium pills, in proportion to the degree Ofwant, which habit has rendered necessary. E ach poo r votary anxi

ously awaits the agreeable reverie that 1s to follow, as the effect Of

this indu lgence . H e soon re tires to his home , full of an 1mag1nary

happiness which neither reason nor the realities Of life can procu re ;and in thismanner, each su cceeding day witnesses a repe tition Of thesame irregu larity, till, worn outwith debility and intemp eranc e , he , atlast, sinks like a shadow into the grave . In addition to these Observa s

tions, the following an ecdote w ill be read with 1nterest: -An E nglishambassador, late ly sent to a Mahometan prince , w as condu cted,upon

,

his.

arrival atthe palace , through several richly de corated andspacious apartments, crowded with Officers arrayed in superb dresses

,

to a room , small m diinensions, butornamented with the most splendidand costly furniture . The attendants withdrew . After a short

interv al,two persons, of superior mien, entered the saloon, followed byState-bearers , carrying u nder a lofty canopy a litter covered with deli

cate silks, and the richest Cashmere shawls, u pon which lay a humanform to all appearance dead, except that its head w as dangling loose ly

from side to side , as the bearers moved into the room. Two Officers,holding rich fillagree salvers, carried each a chalice , and a vial contain

ing a blackfluid . The ambassador, considering the spe ctacle to be

conn ected wi th some cou rt ceremony of mourning, e ndeavoured to

retire ; buthe was soon un dece ived by see ing the Officers holding upthe

head Of the apparent corpse , and, after gently chafing the throat and re

turning the tongu e , which hu ng from a mou th relaxed and gaping,pou ring some of the black liqu or into the throat, and closing the jawsun til it sank down the passage . After six or seven times repeatingthe ceremony, the figure Opened its '

eyes, and shu t its mouth iv oluntarily it then swallowed a large portion of the black fluid, and,

within the hour, an animated be ing sat on the cou ch, with bloodretu rning into his lips, and a feeble power of articulation. In

the Persian language he addresse d his visite r, and inqu ire d the particulars of his mission . Within two hou rs this extraordinary personbecauie alert, and his mind capab le of ardu ous bu siness. The ambassador, after apologizing for the liberty, ventu red to inqu ire into thecau se of the scene which he had just witnessed .

Sir,”said he , I am an inveterate opium-taker I hav c by slow

114

degrees fallen into this melancholy excess. O utofthe diurnal twenty;fou r periods of time, I continu ally pass eighteen in this reverie ,

Unable to move , or to speak , I am yetconsciou s, and the time passes

away amid pleasing phantasies ; nor shou ld I ever awake from

the wanderings of this state , had I notthe most faithful and attachedservants,whose regard and religiou s du ty impel them to watch mypu lse. A s soon as my heart begins to falter, and my breathing isimperceptible , except on a mirror, they immediately pou r the 80111-1

tion of Opium into my throat, and restore me as you have seen

Within fou r hou rs I shall have swallowed many ou nces, and mu ch

time wi ll notpass away, ere I relapse into my ordinary torpor .”

W hen Macfarlane * w as trave lling in Turkey, he entered into a

bazaar at Gallipoli, the proprietor Of which he fou nd labouringu nder the influ ence of the madj oom , or opium . H e is described

as an Old man with a white beard, sitting on a table with his

arms crossed over his knees, his head su nk beneath his shou lders, and his eyes fixed in a vacant, immoveable stare . To a.

demand for an okka Of tobacco he made n o reply the words seemed

to have stru ck the ear of a statu e ; his eyes remained fixed and,

motionless ; nor cou ld any Object be procu red to attract his attentionExcept the white wall Opposite , on which hung a pisgillak, the nameof God in Arabic characters. Conce iving that he w as praying, he w as

pulled by the sleeve in order to rou se his attention, which having no

e ffect, it w as bawled into his ear that an okka Of latakz’

a w as wanted .

By this means, his attention seemed awakened for a moment, a wildi mmean ing smile stole across his countenance , an u ninte lligible wordOr tw o escaped his lips—_ and in an instant he became fixed and ah

istracted as before . E very fu tu re effort to arou se him proved u nsa cc essful, and he remained wrapped up in the enjoyment of the visionsthat his intoxicated fancy had created . It is thu s that in many parts:o f the E ast, the Old men and derv ises who have, by irregu larities inearly life , blunted and enervated the finer feelings, endeavou r to revivethem by the u se of Opium, a _dru g which, sooner or later, annihilatesall the facu lties Of the rational

'

man , leaving nothing behind but amou ldering temple , and a loathsome ru in .The sedative influe nce of Opium is less observable among the Turks,than it wou ld he were the people more active , and had less leisure toindu lge in habits of idleness. E ven during the time they devote to

smoking tobacco , they seldom open the ir lips except to exhale the fumesof the ir pipes. A striking proofof the ir perseverance in this lethargicand stupifying cu stom is related by a gentleman, who was eye

-wit s

Constantinople in 1828.

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116

surviving stronger-headed companionsfi“ It is .related

“

of gLord

Tyrawly, that during his residence in India, in order to pu nish inc-i

briety among the . troops u nder his command, he invented a ma chine

similar to that ofthe Tartars, having a rotary motion , and which served

to sober su ch drunkards as were subj ected to its rapid evolu tions.

This effect was cau sed, it is supposed, by the ‘violentshock sustained,by su ddenly stopping the machine atintervals, that be ing the inv ao

riable practice , u ntil the individu al appeared to be in the full exercise

of hisreason .

That the juice of the poppy in its natural sta te has any inebriatingqu ality, has been qu estioned butGrose relate s a circumstance , which,if tru e, wou ld lead to the conclu sion that it possesses powers . highlynarcotic, delete riou s, and dangerou s. A you ng gentleman b e longingto an E nglish factory, while amu sing himself in the garden of a.

Nabob with whom he w as spending the day, thoughtlessly pu lled a

poppy and su cked the head of it, not apprehensive that it possessedgreater power than those plants u su ally have in E ngland; The cone

sequ ence w as, he fell immediately into a profou nd sleep, with which ,when the nabob be came acqu ainted, he eagerly i nqu ired from whatbed the poppy had been tak en that produ ced this

'

effe ct. On . thisbeing po inted out, he said, he thought the nature

‘

ofthe poppy in Indiaw as too we ll known to have requ ired from him any caution againstit, particularly as the taste w as by no means tempting, and lamentedthat the you ng gentleman w as so u nfortunate as to pitch on this

'

des

cription of poppy, it be ing of so deadly a natu re as to admit.of no

human remedy or antidote , as nothing cou ld awake him from thatsleep, which u nhappily proved his last .

The Lion, it is said, is sometimes taken in India, after having satis“

fied his hu ngry appe tite on the flesh of an ass : surcharged a w ith maquantity ofpoppies, and previou sly putin his w ay, that by feeding on it;the narcotic power of the plant might overcome him , and render. hintan easy prey to the hunter. The tru th of this has been qu estioned,

“

butthere can be scarcely a doubt that the poppy, if taken internally,would have a deleteriou s or overpowering effe ct, and it is c ertain thatthe leaves, which are used inPersia as pot-herbs,will

‘

notbe employed:

for that pu rpose, after a certain stage of growth. The effe cts of the:

poppy on the lion will not appear so incredible, when it is knownthat hyenas are destroyed, in the settlement of the Cape of Good'

Hope , by feeding on lambs poisoned by the fru it of a small tree calledbya enanche, which grows in C afi

'

raria, and different parts abou t the

Cape : . In order to kill those animals which are so destru ctive to the

Tou r in the Crimea,

Letter '

x viii. p . 6 5 .

117

flocks of the se ttlers, the fru it of the hyaenanc/ze is pounded and

mixed with the food given'

to lambs, after which it is placed 111

the paths of the hyenas ; and these‘ ferociou s beasts, fasten ing on it

with insatiable appetite , soon fall victims to the insidiou s venom of

the plants o craftily administered for that purpose .

Medi cal men assert that opium has a greate r effe ct on carn ivo

rous than on graminivorou s animals, since a rabbit can take a conside

rable portion of opium withou t “any fatal conse qu ence , when half the

quant ity wou ld destroy a dog. The j ockies of India have recou rse :

in :the sale of horses, to tricks with opium , u nkn own in E u rope»

Captain Skinn er, in “his E xcursions in India, relates, that a pony w as

brou ght into the :camp near Cawnpore , for sale , and it appeared so

gentle . that it was eagerly pu rchased, be ing pronou nced the most

tractable of its race . Two days after its pu rchase , there was not a‘

rumi to be found that cou ld ride it . The reason w as, it had been

drugged with opium , and though a most wicked and obstinate creature,“

its vi ces were perfectly subdu ed during the time it was u nder the

influ ence of this opia te.

How this inebriant afi'

ects the animal system is a matte r yetnu del

termin ed ; whether it is by action on the nerves, or by absorption

in to the blood : butthe recent and generally-re ce ived opinion is, that'

mente rs the blood-vesse ls, and produ ces on the ir inner coat an impres

sio n which is conveyed along the nerves to the brain and experiments

have proved that, when directly introdu ce d into the blood, its effectsare most energetic as a poison. Vinegar, lemonade , and other acids,have bee n admin iste red to cou nteract the effe cts of Opium; but anti c

dates of this kind ‘

are

'

little to be depended on , un less in certain cases,and shou ld alwaysbe u sed in conj u ction with an emetic . The appli

cation of the stomach-pump is, perhaps , the‘most effe ctual means of

removing this banefu l material.

The leaves of the hemp plant, (cannabis sativa ,) known in'India

by the name of bang or ba ngu e , are often substitu ted for opium with

the same familiarity and effe ct . Ray says that beng is the produ ce

of a different plant which grows in Hindostan and the n e ighbou ring

coun tries : .perhaps he allu des to the datu ra stramom’

um. B ut as the

native s in those pa rts are we ll acqu a inted with its inebriating powers,and as in some . places hemp is alike

“

known by the name of datu ra

and cann abis sativa, the botanist may have fallen into a mistake . The

people of the E ast us e it differently ; some take it as an electu ary,while others e ither smoke or chew it. B eng, by man y of the sectsin India, is u sed, as opium is by the Turks, to produ ce inebriation, as

Christison on Poisons, p. 6 13.

118

they cannot legally, orwithou t the risk of losing caste , drink spirituousliqu ors and hence they are even permitted to take ganj a , bang, or

’

hemp leaves, with impu nity. The Sikhs of India do notsmoke tobacco,butthey are allowed to chew beng and drink spirimous liqu ocs. The

li fe] ;which includes the flower and seeds of the plant, is the strongest ;and a pipe of it, half the size of a common E nglish tobacco-pipe , issuflicentto intoxicate . Among the Moors, it is usu ally pou nded andmixed with el mogz

'

n , an invigorating confection which is sold at an

enormou s price a piece of this, as big as a walnu t, will, for a time ,entirely deprive a man of all reason and intelle ct .ale Thi s, which thetrave ller Ali B ey calls kg

’fl, is commonly made u se of by boiling,having been previou sly dried and nearly redu ced to powder. It isoften mixed with sweetmeats, or swallowed in the form of pills . The

plant is sometimes boiled with bu tter in an earthen pot for abou t

twe lve hours it is then strained, and afterwards serves to season

the ir victuals .1‘

B rook has fallen into an error in be lieving that thekeef is the common hemlock the flower, he says, is called el [tee/é ,and the leaves hascz

'

sc/za . In Morocco, he adds, the plant is redu cedto powder, and the qu antity oftwo or three spoonfuls generally taken

with the addition of sugar and water. It is also prepared with bu tter;honey, and sugar, made into a sweetmeat, most of whi ch the Moorishladies sometimes eat. Those who indu lge in the u se of keefiea redistingu ished by the ir sallow-jau ndiced complexion, and its efl’ectsare u su ally those of a slow po ison . Many of the Indian nobles randmilitary officers take it in the powdered state, and add to it an areca

or green hazel-nutwith a little opium and su gar ;1and, to make thevisions it occasions the more lively, they mix with it some camphire ,cloves, nu tmegs, and mace , and notu nfrequ ently ambergris

'

and mu sk.

Rhumpiu s says, that it is some times taken in a liqu id form mixed

w ith areca and p inanga . This plant is very aptly called by the

Malays, j ingz'

, or the herb offools .

” Another description of‘

bangu e

is made from the leaves of the hibiscus sabdm ifia and also u sed inIndia . The cannabis sativa is u sed in Egypt as an aphrodisiac andnarcotic the ’Arabs u se a preparation of its gre en leaves for . thepu rpose of exhilaration. General Menou , when in Egypt, was obliged

to prohibit the u se of its seed among the French soldiery, and w e find

that, in the tirn e of Galen, cakes were made , infused with this seed,and served up after supper to encourage dri nking ; but, when eate n

too fre ely, they afl'ected the head . In the Barbary states, it is preferred to opium from the vo luptuou s sensations which it never fails

Jackson ’

s Accou ntof B lorocco , p . 78, 79

1“ Trave ls of Ali B ey, v ol. i . p . 81. I Vide Acosta. p. 290, c. 5 4.

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120

the hold,and found that the accident was o ccasioned by smoking thisplant . On examining the chest of the individu al, a large parcel ofthis deleteriou s plant w as di scovered and thrown overboard, to the

great vexation of the voluptuous Lascar, Who had secreted the articleas a solace for his care and anxie ty on the v oyage .

‘le To a very intoxicating dru g called bung, the Persians are said .to have been earlyattached , even so far back as the

'

first centu ry of the Hegira, and itsstrength is re presente d as be ing so

'

great, that it was‘

nev er taken in a

qu antity larger than a pistachio nut. It w as employed to banishlownessof spiri ts, excite cheerfulness, and renovate the mind ; butwhat this drug really w as , there is no certain information : it is gene-grally be lieved to have be en datu ra or charas. In many places, thepreparation of bu ng or beng goes u nder the name of majoon and in

the Persian empire a confe ction of this natu re is so denominated , as

it produ ces the same effects as opium . Am ong the hills atthe footof the H imaleh mou nta ins, the herb bhang or beng grows spontane:p u sly, and inits prepared state it meets with a ready sale . Fraser,in his tour, says that when tobacco cannot be procu red for smoking,its place is supplied with bhang and other su bstitu tes of an intox is

eating nature , and a number of expedients are made u se of when abubble-bubble, or a machine for

‘ inhaling its fumes, cannot be had . He

observ ed that a refreshment of this nature is indispensable for the

cooleys on the march ; and when allowed to smoke a chillum, and

take a draught of cold water, they were enabled to proceed w ithvigou r ; butwhenever they were deprived of the means of inhalingthe smoke of this stimulant, and qu enching their thirst, they were _

at

times u nable to pu rsu e the ir jou rney from exhaustion ; the force of

habit having rendered su ch renovation absolu te ly necessarysl'

During the severe campaigns of the late war, the French surgeonswere in the practice of adm inistering Opium and Cayenne peppe r tothe fatigu ed soldiers,w ith a view of re cru iting the ir strength, and e x hi s

larating their spirits, and they fou nd them to have the most salutary

Burckhardt saw in Syria the hemp plan t cu ltivated for smoking, onaccou nt of its intoxicating qu alities. The small leaves, which su rroundthe seed, are laid u pon the tobac co in the pipe to produ ce a more inebriating effe ct . The same cu stom prevails in E gypt, where the hempleaves, as we ll as the plant itself, are called hashyslz and the E gypt

tians are even said to prepare from it an intoxicating liqu or ; andalso by pou nding the seeds a description o f paste is made to effectthe same obj ect . In India, a drink called ibrug is made from hemp»

Dillo n’

s Voyage to the.

south Seas. T Fraser'

s Journal,"

p . 217.

l

which is also partially used by the Circassians. To form jthisj be vec

rage , the hemp plant is taken while in seed, and , when dried and,

reduced to powde r, it is suspended in a Small bag in a ve sse l fu ll of

water, by which the strength is extracted. This water, when sweetened with honey, produ ce s intoxication.

The n atives of Madagascar chew the leaves of hemp, as we ll astobacco, which produ ce a narcotic effe ct, and they smoke anothen

plant resembling hemp , known by the name of Akets

causes dru nkenness approaching to madn ess, the eyes , assuming a

fierce , fiery look, and the cou ntenance be coming w ild .and ferociou s.Like the slaves to opium, those accu stomed to its baneful effects arestupid and inactive when its influ ence has cease d to operate ; and

hence they are obliged to have constan t recou rse to a repetition of

bearing a pod containing nearly a dozen of seeds, and carrying a long

slender leaf. The Jermaugkla , men tioned by Dru ry, appears to bethe same as the s hots-mange , since the description and ~their effe ctsare exactly alike .

“

T he seeds of the j ermaughla are exposed to the

sun , for three or fou r days, till quite dry, and in that state are u sed.

The pipes, employed in smok ing, are made of reeds or small canesbut sometim es a long shell is u sed as a su bstitu te . An E uropean ,who had the cu riosity to smoke a pipe of these seeds , w as so intox ig

os ted , tha t his head remained giddy for three days, and it caused su ch

a sickness, that he never , cou ld be indu ce d to do so a se cond time.

The na tives are so fond of it, that they smoke itwith the same plea

sure and avidity thatour countrymen smoke tobacco .

The drug called Chira,Tso mu ch u sed among the people of Caubul

to excite in tox ication, is made from the can nabis sativa ; and the

practice of chewing itis carried to some exten t in B eloochistan and

SindeJ]: The qu antity taken ata time varies in proportion to the

habits or constitu tion ofthe individual. A drachm is a moderate dose

but when w e consider that this qu antity is suflicient for twentypersons un accu stomed to its u se, w e may conclu de thatits effectsmu st

be powe rfu l. Garcias mentions a woman, who took ten dracM s

of Opium ,daily and although she appeared heavy and sleepy, she

cou ld dispute learnedly on any subje ct. It i s a remarkable propertyboth of opium and bangue, tha t while they give a heaviness to the

looks, they are produ ctive of great watchfulness . Doctor E dward

Smith, while atSmyrna , took pains to observe ,the doses of opium

Dru ry’

8 Accou n t of Madagascar, Svc . p . 2 16.

f Elph in stone 5 Accou nt of the Kingdom of Cau bu l, “0 . p . 263.

I Pottinger s Travels, 4to . p. 63.

122

taken by the Turks in general, and he fou nd that three drachmswerea common qu antity amongthe larger takers of it, butthat they could

take six drachms a day withou t danger . A Turk ate this qu antity in

his presence , three drachm s i n the morning and three in the evening,which had no other effect than that of produ cing greatcheerfuln ess.At Dj idda, in the Hedjaz, Bu rckhardt fou nd amongst the shops

one frequ ented by the smokers of hashysh, a preparation of hempflowers mixed with tobacco , whi ch produ ced intoxication . The

be tter classes, he says, e at it in a kind of jelly or paste prepared inthe following manner a quantity of the leaves of the hemp, afterbe ing sufliciently boiled with bu tter, is putu nder a press the ju ice

is then expressed, mixed with honey, and sold publicly in the shopsheld for that pu rpose . The hashysh paste is termed bast, and the

sellers basty , (i . e . cheerfulness.) Persons of the first rank u se bast,

in some form or another, to exhilarate the spirits, as it produ ces all

the efl'ects of opium . E ven in the Holy City, Me cca, there is a coffeehou se , in which are sold preparations of hashysh and bendj , andwhich is frequ ented by an inferior description of people . On thesearticles, a heavy tax has been imposed in order to discou rage their

sale , butwith very little efl'

ect.*

The Tu rks, besides opium and bangu e , u se p eganum barma la , ortheseeds of Syrian m e , with which, as B elonius relates, the emperorSolyman kept himself intoxicated . The seed of the datura stramog

n ium, or thorn apple , is also mu ch employed by them, as well as by

the mo untain villagers, in the province of Sirinagur and other partsof India, who u se it to increase the intoxicating powers of the ircommon spirituou s liqu ors. The datu ra ferox , so common in Chinaand Thibet, is employed in B ootan as a powerfu l stimu lant, and its

narcotic virtu es are we ll .kn own to the inhabitants of all those

countries.

P enang, or betel, is in grea t demand all ove r the Ea st. The

Indians chew itatall times of the day and n ight ; like tobac co , ithasrather an enlivening qu ality though natu rally of a bitter taste , yetwhen wrapped roun d an are ca-nut, or mixed with chinam, a spe cies ofbu rn ed lime made of shells , the flavou r is not so disagreeable . The

rich and‘

sensu al frequ ently add perfum es, conce iving it a powerfulincentive to love . The betel, it is said, is used for preserving thegums from becoming fou l, gi ving a sweet breath, fastening the tee th,

.but more frequ ently for reviving the spirits. It cau ses an excess ofsaliva , and,to preserve cleanliness, a spitting-box is always kept in theapartments of those who chew it. These boxes are frequently richly

Burckhardt’s Trav els in Arabia, v ol. i . p . 288.

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124!

year, and, after being carefully dried, are packed'

in small - baskets.

Many chew those leaves as others do tobacco, and su ch is the sus

tenance derived from them, that they frequ ently take no food for

four or fiv e days, though constantly working and, while they have agood .supply, they feel ne ithe r hunger, thirst, nor fatigu e , and,withou t

injury .to health; they can . remain u pwards of a week withou t therefreshment of sleep . Coca proves to the Peru vian the highest

sou rce ofgratification, for u nder its influ ence his imagination presentsthe most pleasing and fascinating scenes of voluptuou sness. Many, toindulge in its u se , forsake the . rational asso ciations of civilized life ;and retire in the evening to

'

the woods to revel i n the u ninterru ptedenj oyment of its magic qu alities. Prostrate d under e tree , its votary;heedless of the storm, the darkness of n ight, or the attacks of wildbeasts, reposes happy and contented,u ntil themorning awakes himto a .sense of his own degradation, and indu ces him to retu rn home ;a frightful pictu re of u nnatural indu lgence . W a Peru vian starts ona jou rney,he carries with him a small leather pou ch, forholding coca , anda calabash for lime, or ashes of the molle to mix w ith

’ the coca : thu sequipped a man will u ndertake to convey intelligence , or letters;upwards of one hu ndred leagu es, withou t any o ther provision . Thesepersons are termed ckasgu is, or cbasgueros, a name given to the coni

du ctors of the mails . M en of this description we re employed for the

transmission of intelligence by the Incas , long prior to the invas ionof the Spaniards, and some of these couriers have be en known toconvey news a distance of six hu ndred leagu es in the cou rse of six

daysfi‘ What a similarity exists betwe en the practice here and that

observed hy . the messengers in I ndia and Tu rkey

The roo ts of black henbane , or hyoscyamu s, are employed as a

strong inebriant. Three grains of the extract are considered equ al to

one of_

opium , .withou t its evil consequ ence it'

is thought howeve r n otso certain in its . opera tion -as that drug, but there are many well

atte ste d instan ces on record c f its amazing efl'ectssl‘ Dioscorides

notices its intoxicating powers ; and the anodyne -necklaces, still in

superstitious u se to allay the i rritation of teething, are made of the

roo ts of this plant. Wilner, on vegetable po isons, relates the his toryof six persons, of the same family, who were destroyed by eating atdinn er the roots of the hyoscyamu s by mistake, instead of parsnipsseveral .were deliriou s

,and danced abou t the room like maniacs ; on e

appeared as if he had got drunk, and a woman became profou ndlyand irrecoverably comatose . With this narcotic, f it is stated tha tl

5

Steven son ’

s Narrative , vol. 11. p . 64.

1 Christison on Poisons, p. 486.

12 5

~Hassan Subah, or, as he was called, The Old man' Ofthe mountains,”

institu tor Of the celebrated heretical'

sect of the Assassins,'

continuedto se cu re the devotion Of his disciples—H e adm inisteredto them dos

'

es‘

Of this drug, which produ ced sleep, and , while in that state , had themconveyed into a splendid palace surrou nded by beau tifu l gardens, wherethey were regaled with whatever could delight the eye , or gratify theappetite . The delu sion w as continu ed by a

'

repetition Of the dose ,u ntil the victims were restored to their home s, u nder the impressionthat Hassan had the power Of making them partake of the joys Of

paradise: Of what this intoxicating potion was‘

compo’

sed seemsdoubtfu l. Marco Polo says the matter was accomplished by a sleepingpotion . V on Hammer, in his history Of the Asiatics, attribu tes it tohyoscyamu s, others to opium , while Sir John Malco lm thinks thewhole an invention Of the 'Mahometans to bring '

the sect Of Hassan

Subah into abhorrence . The last opinion seems the more probable ,fi‘

om the circumstance that Hassan enjoined the strictest abstin encefrom wine, and two of his sons fe ll victims to the pu nishment inflicte d

on them for a breach of the inju nction. N or is it likely, tha t on the

summit Ofthe elevated Allahamout, appropriately termed the E agle ’sNest,

” there ‘ cou ld be enchanting gardens, murmu ring streams,roseate bowers, or condu its flowing with milk and honey, where thevine, the pomegrana te , the orange , and the nectarine , intermingled

their attraction s,'

as if the Whole formed that sensual paradise pro~

mised by Mahome t to his followers. Neumann says he knew a

preparatio n Of opium, by which a whole room-fu ll Of men may be

presently. stupified,‘ deprived Of their senses, and even of the ir lives,

withou t swallowing a single grain ; and he thinks opium Operates mu ch

in the’

sam e manner as bu rning charcoal, or as the exhalations Of fera

menting liqu ors . By means of soporific exhalations, thieves in Chinacommit grea t depreda tions. The hou ses, seldom exceeding one story;are fumigated with narcotics and charcoal when the inmate s areovercome by the ir influ ence , the robbers easily de scend through thetiled roofs, and convey away whatever property comes in the ir reach;withou t de te ction. It is re lated Of a person Of considerable wealth:whose premises had been en tered in this manner, tha t he lay as if i n

a trance , clearly observing the robbers effecting their pu rpose , yetunable; from the lassitu de to whi ch he w as redu ced, to Offer anyresistance . Hyoscyamus is to be fou nd in“ alm ost every country,growing spontaneou sly on road-sides and among ru bbishu

'

In many

bo tani cal gardens, itis cu ltivated on account of its medi cinal prOperties, and every where gathered by the misgu ided s laves to Opium,when a su pply of that drug is scarce, or difficultof procurement.

126

‘

The berries and leaves'

Of the'

atroj iba belladonna , or“

deadly night'

shade , hold, ifpossible , a more intense control over the xmind Of the irvictim

,produ cing symptoms of the most sottish dru nkenness, and, if

taken too largely, occasion death. TO this Shakspeare allu des in his~Macbeth, when he says,

O r have we eaten O f the insan e root,

That takes the reason prison er.

A dose of the dried leaves Of this plant, redu ced to powder, is u su allylimited to a few grains ; butif taken u nder the form of an infus ion in aconsiderable qu antity of water, a scruple has been swallowed in

'

thecou rse Of the day. Ray relates, that a mendicant friar, having dru nk

‘

a glass Of wine in which some Of this herb w as infu sed, was seized

with a delirium and grinning laughter, accompanied by wild and

irregu lar movements, which wou ld have ended in death, had notan

immediate and cou nteracting remedy been applied . The bad effe ctsOf the belladonna are said to be most powerfully prevented by a‘

glass of warm vinegar. It is stated on the au thority Of Bu chanan,’

the historian, that the de stru ction Of the Dani sh army, commanded by'

Sw enO , king Of Norway, when he invaded Scotland,w as owingto theintoxicating qu ality of the berries Of ‘ this plant, which the Scotsmixed wi th the drink that they were obliged to furnish the ir invadersfor while the Danish soldiers lay u nder its soporific influ ence, theScotch fell upon them and slaughtered so many, that there werescarcely men suflicientleft to carry the king on board the only shipthat re tu rnedtoNorw ay.—Another species Of the night-shade , atropka

ndragora , abu ndant in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and the islands

of the Levant, has wonderful soporific virtu es, and is supposed to‘

bethe mandrakes, mentioned by Moses, whi ch were brought by Reubento L eah, and obtained from her by Rachae l, under the impressionthat they

'

wou ld render her prolific . It is also recorded, that the

emperor Ju lian u sed an infu sion Of this plant to excite amorou spassions. The Turks, in many instances, have yetrecou rse to it for

a similar pu rpose , as well as for the visionary pleasure it occasions.

The leaves and flowers Of milfo il, or yarrow (a ckz'

llea) inebriate,and are u sed by the Dalecarlian s to render the ir beer intox icating,Several medi cal practitioners in Ireland have u sed them with greatsu ccess, in the cu re Of many di seases. Some Of the patients inhospitals, who had been addicted to the u se of ardent spirits, andafllicted with the d elirium tremens, or disease of drunkards, when in

course of recovery, were so fond ofthe yarrow tea, that they preferred

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128

effect, and operates on the system, by loweringthe pu lse , restraining the? circulation, and

'

sensibly affecting the vision while itsapplication in

"

epileptic‘

attacks has often’

been attended with fatalconsequences.

“

M.

’ Richard, in his Dictionary,

of Drugs,“ gives an

accou nt '

of the’attempts

'

'

of the chemists, Who have endeavoured toisolate the ' narcotic,

'

or

i

in ebriating principle of foxglove, of which itpossesse s

°

a“

considerab le portion. This is a vegetable to‘which

recourse is seldom had except as a medicine . L eOpard’si bané,

(arm ea montana), aplant chiefly found on the Alps,'

and other moun

tains of E u rope , possesses properties nearly the same as hemlock,Some ofthe common people of Germany smoke it, and make snuff ofit like tobacco , as it po ssesses an acid taste , and when bru ised, emitsapungent efflu v ium , which, while Itcauses sneezing,

‘ gives'

a sensationof giddiness bordering on dru nkenness. Betony (betom

'

ca ofiicz'

;

n alz’

s,) produ ces the'

same effects as L eopard’s-ban e , wheir powderedand snu ffed, or smoked ; and, according to B artholinu

'

s and‘

SinioxiPau li, physician to Christian

‘

V ., k ing of Denmark, it affe cts thosewho gather it, as

‘

they would have been‘

if e x posed'

to the ex hala‘

é

tions attendant on the mix ing, or tu nning'

of spirits . Wolf’s-bane,(aco

’

m'

tuin likewise of an ' intoxicating and deadly nature;and has the pecu liar quality, when applied to the head, of occasioninga lightness

'

or giddiness, mu ch resembling tha t produ ced from spirituou s liqu ors.

’

1The plant'

ep ilobz’

um angu stg’

folium, when infused inWater, is a

’

pow erful narcotic, and from the pith an‘

agreeable ale is

manu factu red. This is a ccomplished by drying it first, and then boiling

it,in order to collect the saccharine matter, which, when du ly

fermented, yields a: very inebriating beverage . The fru it, or berries,

of the men isp ermum coccu lus, or, as it is called, coccu lus I nd ians,

have considerable intoxicating properties and are too frequ ently

employed bybrewers as a substitu te for hops, and to bring up weak

ales or porter to the desired strength. These berries are sometimes

u sed to catch fish, by throwi ng them into ponds, or reservoirs, and asthey eagerly feed on them, they soon be come intoxicated, and fall an

easy prey to the ir captors. The H op (humu lus lup u lus) is soporific,

and pillows have been'

filled with it, to procu re sleep . During theillness of George I II ., in 1787, he rece ived great relief from a prefscriptionof

'

this natu re, and Doctor Thompson te lls u s of a ladywhowas attacked with fever, and remained perfe ctly sleepless and deliria

ou s for fou r we eks, but on recourse being bad to a hop pillow, sheenjoyed an uninterru pted sleep of-l4 hours, from which she recoveredrefreshed, invigorated, and free from delirium. In spring,the youngshoots of this plant are eaten as asparagus, and these flop -top s are

129

considered a de licacy, while a decoction of the roots is accou nted agood su dorific . In Siberia, the leaves of the Rhododendron chmsa ntkum are infu sed in water, and denominated intoxicating tea, fromthe ir inebriating e ffe cts : a w eak infusion of it is in daily u se among

the native s, as a substitu te for the tea of China ; butits strength is

sometime s tried beyond the limits of pru dence , or discretion .

The effe cts of the Amanita M u scarz’

a , a species of reddish fu ngi,or mu shroom, plentiful in different parts of the Russian empire , and

in Kamstchatka , where it is called moucho-more , are familiar . The

acco un t of it given by Dr . L angsdorfl'

, a Ru ssian physician, is

worthy of recital. The Amanita Mus caria, so called from its power

of kill ing flies, when steeped in milk, though of the most po isonou s of

ou r fungi, is u sed by the inhabitants of the north eastern parts of

Asia, in the same manner as wine , brandy, arrack, opium, & c . are

u sed by other nations.

‘ It is colle cted in the hottest months, and

dried by be ing su spended in the open air ; some fou nd on the grou nd,natu rally dry, is esteemed as the most powerfully narcotic . The

common mode of u sing it is, to roll it into the form of a bolu s or pill,and swallow it withou t chewing . It is frequ ently eaten dry, butoftener taken when infu sed in a liqu or made with ep ilobz

’

um . It is

sometime s eaten fre sh in sou ps and sau ces, and in this state loses

mu ch of its intoxicating property. When steeped in the ju ice of the

berries of the va ccz’

nz’

um u lz'

gz'

nosum, its e ffe cts are similar to those of

strong wine . O n e large fungu s, or two small fungi, is a commondose , to produ ce a pleasant intoxication for a whole day, particu larly

if water be dru nk after it, which au gments the narcotic principle .

From one to tw o hou rs, afte r taking the dose , giddiness and dru nken

ness ensu e , chee rfu l emotions of the mind are the first symptoms, the

cou ntenance be comes flu shed, incoherent words and actions follow,

and some times a total want of consciou sness . It renders some very

active , and proves highly stimu lant to mu scu lar exertion. Too large

a dose brings on violent spasmodi c affections, and su ch are its excite

ments on the nervous system, that it renders many very s illy and

ludi cro us. If a person , u nder its influence , wish to step ove r astraw, or small stick, he takes a stride or jump su fficient to clear thetru nk of a tree ; a talk ative person can ne ither ke ep secre cy nor

s ilence , and one fond of mu sic is perpe tu ally singing. The mostex traordinary effe ct of the amani ta, is the change it makes in theu rine , by impregnating it with an intoxicating quality, which con

tinnes to operate for a considerable time . A man moderately intox icated to -day, will, by the next morning, have slept himself sobe r bu t,

as is the cu stom , by drinking .a cup of his own u rine , he will becomex

130

more pow erfully intoxicated, than he w as the day preceding . It is

therefore not u ncommon for confirmed dru nkards to preserve the ir

u rine as‘

a preciou s liqu or, le st a scarcity in the fungi shou ld occur .

This inebriating property of the urine is capable of be ing imparted

to others, for every one , who partakes of it, has his u rine similarly“

affected. Thu s with a very few aman itae, a party of drunkards may

keep up their debau ch for a week. Dr . L angsdorfl'

states, that bymeans of the second person taking the u rine of the first, the third

that of. the second, the intoxication may be propagated through fiv eindividu als. The re lation of Strahlenberg, that the rich lay u p greatstores of the aman itee, and that the poor, who cannot bu y it, watchthe ir banqu ets with wo oden bowls, in order to procu re the liqu or after

a second process, i s f ully confirmed by the statement of Langsdorfl'

,

an d gives a lamentable picture of the debasement of our species in tha t

qu arter of the world .

By experiments made on potatoes, du ring the manufacture of

starch, the water which w as drained from the pu lp, while in the keiv e ,o n being carefu lly evaporated to an extract, gave outa strong odou rof hemlock . Its narcotic powers were putto the test by tw o persons ,on e of whom , having swallowed three grain s ofthe re cently preparedextract, soon fell asleep , outofwhich stu por he had to be forc ibly awaken ed, after a repose of tw enty-on e hou rs.

'

1he other, who took thre e

grains and a half, fell asleep while u ndressing, and in that state hecontinu ed for eighteen hou rs, till arou sed by an accidental visiter .N o pecu liar consequ ence followed in e ither case .

The discovery of Sir Humphry Davy of « that species of Gas,

erm ed N itrous O x ide , which has the power of exhilarating the spiritsto an extraordinary degree , is notlikely ever to be r esorted to as an

inebriant, particularly in those co untries where chemistry is littlepractised, and it is therefore u nnecessary to enter into a description

of it.

In Great Britain, Opiu m has been more u sed as a medicine than asan exciter of the Spirits, although its infatu ating influ ence is notaltogether u nknown in those cou ntries, since the reveries of Asiaticluxu ry and e ffeminacy have in too many instances infe cted the man

ners and habits ofthe British people . To wha t extent an E nglishman

may be brought to take this opiate , is exemplifie d in the admirableand well-written Confe ssions of an Opium E ater,

”first published in

the London Magaz ine for October, 1821, and s ince in a separatevolume . In that work, the writer, speaking from the resu lt of a longand profou nd personal experience , assu re s us that he had by regu lar

gradation brough t himself to take no less a qu antity than 8000 drops

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132

that they cou ld hardly sleep atall, but that they qu ickly becam e worse

with respect to the ir pulse , re spiration , and heat ; they became more

breathless, and could notbe restoredby cordials,butgradu ally langu ishedtill they died . H e also te lls u s, that by means of opium , he knewseveral persons who contracted slowness of geniu s and stupidi ty, ando thers confirmed folly . And on e man in particu lar, who , by takinga large dose of laudanum when he w as feverish, lost his memorytotally.

Many of the middle and lower classes in E ngland are opium eaters ;and this taste has in a great measu re been diffu sed through the exampleof persons retired from the army . Of this class I w as acqu ainted withtwo persons whose devotedness to opium led them to spend largesums in its pu rchase . The inroad of its effe cts w as visible in both,sallow and su nken abou t the eyes, sometime s pensive , sometimes conv iv ial ; always in proportion to the time of its operation . N e ithercould assign a reason for his attachment, buteach fe lt u nhappy du ringits absence ; both admitted , but cou ld not describe , the pleasu rablesensations it created . O ne impu ted his attachment to it from habitsof association, the other to disappo intment in a love affair, which,having pressed u pon his spirits, led him to try this mighty assu ager ofcare and sorrow. N umbers u se it from a notion that it supportsnatu re u nder the privation of food longer than it cou ld otherwise besu stained, and therefore many are know n to be seldom withou t a

piece of it in the ir mou ths. The Turks have an ingeniou s method ofu sing it to prevent hu nger . When obliged by the ir religion toabstain long from eating, they tak e three pills of opium atthe sametime ; the first covered with tw o fo lds of paper, the second with one ,

and the third witho ut any by this pre cau tion the pills di ssolve su c

cessiv ely and re tard the cravings of appetite in proportion . DoctorJones, in his book entitled The Mysteries of Opium Revealed,

”

assu res u s that he knew several persons in E ngland, who were in thehabit of taking tw o , three , fou r, fiv e , and six drachms daily, and thathe heard o f one that cou ld take tw o ou nces in a day, a qu antity n otexceeded, perhaps, in the history of manfi" In the PhilosophicalTransactions,w e have an instance of a Mr . L ovelock, who , in a fever,in the space of three days, took one hu ndred and two grains . M us

tapha Shatoor, a celebrated opium eater at Smyrna, took only three

drachms of crude Opium daily, yet he w as so debilitated, that he

cou ld notrise in the morning withou t first swallowing half a drachm .

I‘knew something ofthe habits of a you ng lady, w ho be ing prevented

Vide , “Mysteri es of Opium Revealed, Svo . p . 308.

133

by her friends from an excessive indulgence in ardent spirits, had fora co ns iderable time su bstitu ted opium , and, from its constant u se ,cou ld swallow an ou nce of it in the cru de state , with as mu ch easeand indifference as a boy wou ld e at licorice-ball. A gentleman of

good fortu ne , in a provincial town in the north of Ireland, had likew ise allowed thi s propensity to gain upon him to su ch an extent, that be

regu larly re tired in the evening, to the solitude of his apartment, toenjoy the luxu ry and grandeu r of the visions which this favourite

paregoric occasions.

From what has been said re specting the infatuating u se of this

drug, it will appear evident, that it is n o easy matter to shake ofl' anattachrnentto it, when of any standing inde ed it is mu ch more dith

cu lt to do so , than for those in this cou ntry who have be come slaves

to spirituou s liqu ors, to div est themselves of the ir enjoymen ts. That

it has been condemned by its warmest votaries, there is su ffi cient

evidence , and that its consequ ences lead to pain, anxiety, and death,there is no doubt, yet to getrid of its magic influ ence requ ires the

u tmost exertion . Mr . Dobell, in his Travels, assu res u s, that be cu red

tw o or three of his acqu aintance of this mania , by the following

method. When the person , says he , who w as in the habit of smoking

it, wished for a pipe , I gave him a dose of lau danum , nearly equ al to

the qu antity of cru de opium that he w as accu stomed to smoke , which

cau sed him to sle ep and, immediate ly on his waking, he w as made to

swallow a glass or tw o of Made ira with some substantial food . As

the lau danum had a less stimulating effe ct than the opium, by a.

regu lar observance of this process, and by reducing the qu antity daily,the indiv idu al '

w as in a short time weaned from the u se of the opium

pipe , and readily substitu ted that of tobacco , so that by this regimen,he soon

'

re covered his wonted strength and constitu tion . That a

person , leaving off the u se of Opium,requ ires some substitu te , or

stimu lant, is further illu strated by the striking an ecdote related by

Acosta and transcribed by Doctor Aliston in the E dinburgh Medi cal

There were , says he , some Tu rkish prisoners and

Arabian captives in the ship in which I retu rned from the Indies to

Portugal,w ho had a small qu antity of opium concealed and u sed itonlyas a medicine . When they had consumed it all, on e of them , a Tu rkof Aden , said to m e , s ince you have the care of the sick , I mu st tell

you , that, u nless you give m e and my companions opium, w e cannot

live two days. I denied I had any the only remedy then, said the

Tu rk, whereby w e , who have been accu stomed to eatopium , can be

0Vide Vol. v . p . 1. art. 12 , 800. o .

134

recovered, is by a draught of pure wine every morning ; though thisis very hard and u neasy to u s, be ing contrary to our law , yet, s

inceo ur health depends u pon it, w e mu st submit. By his advice I gavethem all wine ; they recovered, and in a month

’

s time wou ld take no

more wine , and ne ither needed nor desired opium .

”Ahm ed Khan,

gove rnor of Tauris, in the Persian Empire , w as so great a slave toopium, that he wou ld be laid up for whole days, in a state of deliriumor stupefaction, which w as the cause Of his dismissal from office .

Be ing a sensible man , and see ing the disgrace this weakn ess broughtupon him , he so far conqu ered the propensity, that he w as restoredto his former rank and dignity

, and when the French embassy, u nder

General Gardane , w as passing through his governm ent, in 1807, heenterta ined them with a hospitality and splendour becoming an

oriental prince .

a|E

Although opium is so destru ctive to the human constitu tion, manyi nstances might be brought forward Of persons, addicted to the u se of

it, who lived to an advanced age . O ne of a cu rious natu re is re latedof Mahome t Riza Khan Byat, of Shiraz, who had been accu stomed toeatevery day a qu antity of this drug, su fficient, according to the calculations of an E nglish Doctor, to poison thirty persons unaccu stomedto it. H e w as atthe age of sixty-e ight, when first advised by thisDoctor to leave off the practice , or he wou ld destroy himse lf. Ten

years after, when he w as m et by the narrator of this anecdote , helooked you nger and brisker, than when he first saw him .

- H e

enqu ired for the Doctor, and on be ing informed that he.

w as in India,I am sorry,

”said he , that he is not here , I wou ld shew him that

Christian Doctors are notall tru e prophets. H e told me I should dieif I did n otdiminish my allowance of opium, I have increased it fou rfold, since he predicted my demise , and here I am , near four score ,as you ng and as active as any of you O n saying this, he puthis

horse to full gallop and fired his match-lock, with the ease and

premsron of a person in the full vigour of life .1'

Christison, in his treatise on po isons, re cords several case s of the

length Of time that some have taken Opium , withou t very materialinju ry . 1. A you ng lady, habitu ated to it from childhood, w as ingood health atthe age of twenty-fiv e . 2 . A lady di ed of consumption atthe age Of forty-two , though she had taken daily a drachm of

solid Opium, for ten years of her life . 3. A literary character Of abou t

forty-fiv e years Old took lau danum for twenty years, with o ccasional

Tangcoine'

s Narrative of the French Embassy to Persia .

i Skett‘hes Of P ersia, 2 vols. Svo. vol. i. p . 96, 97. London , 1827.

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136

matter with increased interest, se e ing the dangero us consequ encesre su lting from the general u se of Opium in the empire . Several proclamations have been issu ed, e x aanples made , and every means triedto prevent its importation, butto no pu rpose s—Where the infatu ation is so general, reform is almost hopeless. The following edict,issu ed by the Viceroy of Canton, in 1828, is a sample Of the variou sproclamations that have been published on the subject

The u se O f drink and food is to introdu ce harmony into the sys

tem : the gu lping Of lu sciou s things mu st be with a desire to Obta instrength but if there exist a drug , destru ctive Of life , incessante fforts shou ld be made to keep it ata distance . Having u sed the drugfor some time , the m en accu stomed to it can by no means relinqu ish

it, the ir faces become as sharp as sparrows, and the ir heads su nkbetwe en the shou lders, in the form of a dove , the poison flows into

the ir inmost Vitals, physic cannot cure the ir disease , repentance comestoo late for reform .

The number of chests imported into China , in the following years,will shew the extent Of this branch Of commerce , as condu cted byprivate ships from India

1832 Chests.

1833

1834

The imports Of opium into E ngland, from Bengal and other places,from 1786, to 1801, a period Of 15 years, amou nted to 286,2711bs.,

and the consumption to 247 ,619l . At the E ast India Company’ssales, in 1809, there were 19911bs. Of this dru g sold for the immense

sum of In 1831 and 1832 , the qu an tity entered for home

consumption in Great Britain averaged 28,097l . per year .

H aving thu s detailed the most important facts re lative to the

extent, u se , and effects Of some of the principal natu ral inebriants,I shall retu rn to the artificial or chemical part of the su bj ect, more

mediately the Obj ect Of consideration .

Am ong the inhabitants of that extensive region known bythe name

Of Tartary,a variety Of inebriating liqu ors is fou nd to prevail. TO

po int out the qu ality of each, with the ir shades of difference , wou ldbe extremely difficu lt, particu larly as the tribes are so thinly and

remotely scattered through a territory Of squ are miles ine x tentfi

"of which the greater part remains as yetbut imperfe ctly

known . Koumiss, or the vinou s liqu or, prepared by fermentation from

mares’ milk, se ems to be the great and leading beverage of the Tartar

Malte-Bron , v ol. 11. p . 36 .

137

hordes . Of its origin w e know little , but that it w as familiartomany of the nations of Asia , long before they had any intercou rsewith E u rope ans, is u nqu estionable . Caprini, a. friar, sent as an am

bas sador by Pope Innocent IV., to the Tartar, and othe r nations ofthe E ast, in 1245 , is the first who mentions this liqu or, and speaks ofale also as a common beverage . At the court Of the Khan Batou , he

m etwith great hospitality, and he informs u s, that a table w as per

manently placed before the door of the tent of the Khan, on which

stood many su pe rb cu ps of gold and silver, richly setwith preciou s

stones, full of cosmos or koumiss, for the accommodation of visiters

and strangers ; and that ne ither the B aton , nor any of the Tartar

princes, drank in pu blic, withou t having singers and harpers playing

before them.—D e R ubru qu is, a monk, who went as ambassador from

Lou is IX. of France , in 125 8, into different parts of the E ast,describes its preparation with tolerable accu racy ; and says, it w as so

plentifu l in his time , that he knew one person alon e , who w as served

daily from his farms with a su perior kind of it, made from the milk

of 100 mares, and that n u umber of his acqu a intance toge ther re ce ived

the produ ce of3000 mares . This is notto be wondered at, when w e

consider that the riches of a Tartar consists in the mu ltitu de of his

cattle , and that some individu als, according to Pallas, have been

known to possess horses, 300 camels, 4000 horned cattle ,sheep, and u pwards of 2000goats, and, in many instances, have

su ch a qu antity of sheep as to be wholly ignorant of the ir number.Marco Polo, w ho passed through a great part of Asia, in themiddle of the thirteenth centu ry, speaks Of koumiss as a common

drink, and tells us that the great Khan of Tartary had, in his time ,a herd of white horses and mares, to the amou nt of of the

milk of which none butthe royal family were permitted to partak eand so artful were some of the attendants atcourt, that they cou ld

draw koumiss from a secret reservo ir, withou t the appearance of any

agency . L ate writers describe it as a wholesome , nu tritiou s beverage ,and allow that it possesses important medicinal qu alities.

"6 Koumiss,is sa id to be so healthfu l and renovating, that the Bashkir Tartars,who , from the impoverished state of the ir living du ring winte r, areweak and emaciated, soon after retu rning to the u se of koumiss in

summer, be come fat and invigorated . Those w ho u se it say that

they have little desire for othe r su stenance , and that it renders the ir

ve ins reple te , infu ses animation , prevents langou r , withou t produ cing

E dinb . Phil. Trans . v ol. i. p . 17, Szc . G uthrie ’

s Tou r, 4to . pp . 2 77-8-9.

Whittington'

s Jo u rney, in 1816,through L ittle Tartar} , &c . in“’

alpole'

s Trav els,

pp . 463 22116. 168.

138

indigestion, nau sea , acidity, or any of those consequ ences which

u su ally follow excess in other beverages. It renders those who usei t extremely active . A Mongu l, w ho w as accu stomed to su bsist u ponit,w as able , atthe advan ced age of sixty,to ride 200 w orsts in a day,

withou t be ing fatigu ed—a proof of its salutary influ ence . This

liqu or is prepared in variou s ways, butall coming to the same issu e .

The most simple mode appears to be the following -To any qu antity

of mares’ milk , a sixth part of warm water is added, and as it is u su al

to make the liqu or in skins, the mixtu re is pou red into a bag of this

kind, in which had been left as mu ch of the old milk as wou ld render

the n ew sou r . In summer, fermentation spe edily takes place , the firstsigns of which are the appearance of a thick scum, or substance , on

the su rface . After this has gathered, the w hole mass is blended

together, mu ch in the manner of chu rning, butwhich proce ss lasts but

a few minu tes : it is then allowed to remain qu iescent for some hou rs,and again agitated in a similar manner . Thu s treated alternately, itsoon assumes that stage of vinou s fermentation necessary to effect its

completion . In summer, this is accomplished in 24 hou rs but,

according to Pallas, itcan be efi'

e cted in 12 hours by a forced process.

In winter, it requ ire s a longer time , say three or fou r days, with the

assistance of artificial heat and a greater frequ ency of agitation .

Very different from the effect produ ced by churning milk in this

cou ntry, this process of agitation affords ne ither cream nor cu rds ;butyields a beverage of a very agreeable vinou s flavou r, which in ebriates in proportion to the qu antity taken . To throw the milk into

fermentation, a little sou r cow’

s milk, koumiss, a pie ce of sour leaven

of rye bread , or a small portion of the stomach of a colt, a lamb, or a

calf, is indispensable , and indiscriminately u sed as renne t . In making

koumiss, Strahlenberg says, that the Calmu cks take off the thick

material atthe top of the m ilk, after it has be come sou r, and u se it in

the ir food, leaving the remaining liqu id for distillation . This is qu itee rroneou s, as a closer acqu aintance with the .Tartar practice has

proved ; for it is well known , that no perfe ct fermentation , even

though the u su al ferment be added, can be effe cted from any one

of the component parts of the milk alone , n or will it afford a spiritu nless the milk has all its parts in the ir natural proportion . Doctor

Clarke , in the observations which he make s on koumiss, seems tohave fallen into a similar error, when he says, that the milk collectedover night is chu rned in the morning into bu tter and the bu ttermilk

distilled . This it mu st appear, from the proceeding remarks, cannotbe the case , since no butter is obtained from the milk, as ko umisscannot be made at all, shou ld any of the constitu entsof the milk he

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140

ox hides filled with koumiss, toge ther with one hundred sheep and

ten mares, already prepared for a feast. The meeting w as apparentlyjoyful , while the prince and his attendants were closely plied with

liqu or u ntil they be came intoxicated , when, by a signal from the prin

cess, the vessels were opened, o utof which a number of armed m en

issu ed and cut N aw r , whom she had already stabbed, and his fol

lowers into pieces. The ancient Romans, it appears, u sed skin bags

of a large size for holding wine for in a pictu re fou nd in the ru ins of

a wine-shop in Pompe ii , there is the representation of an enormou s

bag placed on a wine cart, and occupying the whole of the machine ,which is in the shape of a boat . Tw e m en are seen as in the act of

drawing off the wine into amphorae, or ve ssels employed for that

purpose .

The well known hospitality of the Tartars renders the accumulation of these bags, particu larly among the chiefs, sometimes incredible ,s ince 5 00 ankers of koumiss is considered no u ncommon stock . At

marriage ceremonies, (a time of pecu liar rejo icing,) it is not u nu sua lto se e from two to fou r gallons of that liqu or swallowed atthreedraughts.

*

The Usbecks, M andshurs, M ougu ls, Calmu cks, are very

expert in making koumiss : that properly so called is from the milk

of mares . When a sufli cientsu pply of this milk cannot be obtained,recou rse is had to that of the cow , and, amongst the Mongols, to that

of the sheep and camel, from whi ch a wine is produ ced , u su ally called

koum iss, butby the Tartars termed a iren or a z’

ra’

k. The milk of themare is preferred, be ing more flu id, though imbu ed with a slightalkaline taste mu ch esteemed by all the nomade tribes .

In distillation, mare’

s milk yie lds nearly one -tenth of alcohol, morethan tha t of the cow . The spirit from both is indifl'ere ntly calleda rrack,Ta raka , or arika , and sometime s koumiss it is often presented u nder the title of v ino . The common people are generallycontent with the spirit obtained from the first distillation ; butthewealthy, to encrease its strength, have it di stilled a se cond time , whenit be comes highly intoxicating. The word arrack is de cided by

philologers to be of Indian origin and should the conjecture becorre ct, that it is derived from the areca - ,n ut or the a rra ck-trce , as

Koempfer calls it,i it is clear, that as a spirit w as extracted from thatfru it, the name w as given to all liquors having similar intoxicating

Sau er'

s Accou nto f Billing'

s E x pedition , 4to . p . 128.

T T imkow ski'

s Trav els,v ol. i . p .

.

5 3.

7°

1de Amemtatum E x oticarum Fascxcu h , 4to .

14 1

e ffects . The term arrack be ing common in eastern countries wherethe arts of civilized life have be en so early cu ltivated, it is morereasonable to suppose that the Tartars rece ived this word throu gh

the ir eastern connexions with the Chinese , or other oriental nations,than to attribu te it to a derivation fore ign to the ir langu age , or as a

generic term of the ir own . The great sou rce of all Indian literatu re ,and the parent - of ahnost every oriental diale ct, is the Sanscrit, alangu age of the most venerable and u nfathomable antiqu ity, though

now confined to the libraries of the Brahmins, and sole ly appropriated

to religiou s laws and re cords . Mr . H alhed, in the preface to his

Grammar of the Bengal langu age , says, that he w as astonished to find

a strong similitu de be tween the Persian , Arabian, and even the Latin

and Greek languages, notmerely in te chnical and me taphorical terms,which the mu tation of refined arts or improved manners might have

incidentally introdu ced, but in the very grou ndwork of langu age

in monosyllables—in the names of numbers, and the appellations

whi ch would be first employed on the immediate daw n of civilisation .

Telinga is a diale ct of the Sanscrit, in whi ch the word areca is fou nd,it is u sed by the Brahmins in w riting Sancrit, and since to the latter

all the other tongu es of India are more or le ss indebted, the term

a reca , or arra ck, may be fairly traced through the different langu ages of the E ast, so that the general u se and application of thisword in Asiatic cou ntries cannot appear strange .

*—To these con si

derations may be added, that in Malabar the tree which yields thematerial from which this oriental beverage is produ ced is termed

a reca , and, among the Tongu sian s, Cahn u cks, Kii ghi ses, and otherhordes, koumiss, in its ardent state , is known by the general term ,

“Arrack or Rak .

” Klaproth says, that the Ossetian s, (ancientlyAlans,) a Cau casian people , applied the word “A ra to denote all

distilled liqu orsT—a de cided confirmation of the forego ing observations and Opinions.

The distillation of koumiss is generally e ffe cted by means of twoearthen pots closely stopped, the u pper one of which is u su allycovered with w etclay, the condensed vapour ru nning slowly througha small wooden pipe into a rece iver . Some distil it in copper vesse lsafter the mann er of the Chinese . The spirit is atfirst very weak,but generally brought u p by a second operation , when greater

Vide the G ramm ar and Dictionary of the Mahratta L angu age by D r. Careyalso the tran slation of the Law s of Men u

,by Sir William Jone s .

1Asia Polyglotte , p . 89. Hist. Tatars, 8vo . vol. ii. p . 5 17.

2

strength is requ ired—Doctor Clarkef saw this process performed bya still constru cted of mud, or very coarse clay, having ,

for the ne ckof the re tort a piece of cane . The simplicity ofthe operation , theru deness of the machinery, and the material from which the spirit isdrawn, are highly characteristic of its great antiqu ity . The annexedis a view of a Calmu ck still at work, as above described

, w ith afemale carrying water to wetthe mud on the head of the still andreceiver.

In Iceland, several preparations of milk have been long incommon u se , su ch as strw

'

g or whey boiled to the consistence ofsou r milk, and gym , or sou r whey fermented in casks, kept and onlyde emed fit for drinking at the end of a B ut the Ice landerswere u nacqu ainted with the distillation of fermented milk, so thatthe Tartars appear to be the sole inventers of this art. Indeed from,

the ir pastoral habits and from subsisting chiefly on milk, its into x icating qu alities wou ld soon be developed ; for, as want and privationlead to many discoveries, and as ru ral life seeks with avidity whatever enlivens a solitary hou r or exhilarates the spirits, the Tartarswou ld natu rally se ize on those properties afforded by the milk of the irflocks and herds to tu rn them to that accou nt, which wou ld be st afford .

pleasu re or banish care . That the method of extracting an intox i

cating drink from milk was long practised by these people , before the

Trav els in Ru ssia,Tu rkey, and A sia.

'

l’ Mackenzie ’

s Iceland, 4to . p . 15 6 and £277.

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144

w here she is refractory . The animal is all the time fastened to a

long line be twe en tw o poles, and to which the foal is likewise secu red .

This singu larity of the mare , yielding her milk freely when the foal

is present, is notto be wondered atwhen it is asserted that the ass

gives her milk n o longer than the impression of the foal is on hermind : Doctor Hu nter proved this by an experiment which shewed

that even the skin of the foal thrown over the back of another w as

sufficient to indu ce the animal to give her milk withou t re lu ctance .

*

In Scotland, it was formerly a practice to place a Tu lchan , or calf’s

skin stu ffed, before a cow that had lost her calf, in order to indu ceher to part with her milk withou t opposition.1

'

A reason assignedby the E luths for preferring mare ’s milk to that of cow’

s, is n oton

accou nt, in the ir e stimation of its be ing better and richer, butthat thelatter cannot be so easily procured , becau se , after the calf is taken

away, the cow will n otsu ffer herself to’

be milked with the same ease

and familiarity : hence necessity indu ced them to employ mare’

s milk.

The horse ,’

which is always entire , is allowed to rove in common

with the herd, so that a constant su ccession of breed is kept up

and milk is in greater abu ndance —The facu lty in this cou ntry re commend the milk of the ass as beneficial in pu lmonary afl’ections, yetit is extraordinary that this milk has never been su bje cted

to the same pro ce ss as that of the mare amongst the Tartars, and

why the m ilk of the mare has not been tried with u s as a spe cificremedy, in the same manner as that of the ass, has n otbeen explained .

The scarcity of brood mares need notbe u rged as an obj ection, sincethe experiment might be made from a singe animal. It is worthy ofremark, that Sche ele , a Swedish chemist, although he made himselfearly acqu ainted with the fermenting powers of this liqu id, neverseemed to su spe ct the possibility of extracting a spirit from it. Newman , a German, V oltolin , a H ollander, and Macqu er, a Frenchm an,labou red u nder nearly similar mistaken notions, conce iving that n ospiritcou ld be obtained from milk withou t the addition of some v ege

table matter. Doctor Grieve w as among the first who de termined, by

experiment, that milk alone w as capable of affording spirits withou tthe admixture of any extraneou s or adventitiou s substance - a secretwhi ch, although u nknown to u s, w as familiar for age s to the u ncu lti

v ated wanderers in the Scythian de serts.

In alm ost every coun try, though milk is resorted to as a nu tritiou sand agreeable beverage , yet some portion s of mankind have be enfou nd to dislike it . The Cochin-Chinese have an antipathy against

Vide Jou rnal o f the Royal In stitution , No . 2 .

T Ivanhoe , chap . x x iii . p . 32 1.

145

it, amounting to loathing : they insist that the practice of u sing it islittle better than that of u sing the blood of the animal. Among someof the tribes on the Zaire , Captain Tu ckey observed,

ale that, althoughcows were numerou s, no u se w as made of their milk, from somesuperstitiou s aversion, arising, perhaps, from notions similar to thoseof the Co chin Chinese , or some o ther u naccou ntable preju dices . N ot

so in Abyssinia, where the wealth of an indivi

dual is estimated bythe number of his cattle ; for he is accou nted rich who bathes several

times a-year in milk, as every man possessing a thou sand cows appro

priates on e day’s m ilk annually to form a bath for his friends . In

Sou th America, where cattle are numerou s, w e do n otfind tha t they.are domesticated for the same pu rposes as those to which they areapplied by Tartars and E uropeans. Nature , however, has been bou n

tiful in giving to man in every part of the world, ne cessarie s to sup

po rt his wants and gratify his appetitesp—flWe have seen,

”says

Blumenbach, in his E lements of Physiology, the analogy betwe envegetables and animals in stru ctu re and fu nctions, as well as ine lementary and proximate principles. The secretions of both may.

be innocu ou s or deleteriou s. The most remarkable analogy in se cretion respects milk .

”1' In Sou th Am erica, Hu mboldt saw a tree that,

when wou nded, yields abu ndance of rich milk, whichthe negroes drink

and grow fatupon, and which affords a caseou s coagu lum . The tre egrows . on the barren rock, has coriaceou s dry leaves for severalmonths is not moistened by a shower, yetif an incision be mad e inits trunk, the m ilk pours forth. This sweet vegetable fou ntain ismost c0piou s atsu n

-rise , and the natives are then seen hastening fromall quarters with bowls to the cow -tree , or p a lo de vaca , to collectthis nom'ishing flu id.

The art of preparing koumiss seems to be familiar or common toall the tribes inhabiting the extensive regions of central Asia . The

yowrtof the Tu rks and the p e'

ma ofthe L aplanders are butmodifica

tions of this liqu or . That acidu lated material in India, called d/zy , isfou nd among all the Tartars. In the province s bordering on B ootan ,it is dried inmasses till it re sembles chalk, and is u sed mixed in water.as a pleasant beverage . The operation of drying the d/zg/ is sometimes performed by tie ing it tight in cloth bags and su spending itunder the bellie s of horses. Amongst the Calmu cks, Khirghises, andother Tartar tribes, the process . of distillation is carried on by meansof fu e l colle cted from the dry du ng of the ir camels, horses, and other

Tnckey’

s Narrative of a Voyage to E x plore the River Zaire , 4to p . 111.

’

f Elliotsou’

s Edit. 8vo ., p . 5 08.

146

animals, by slaves, whose province it isto gather it, and carry it home tothe ir tentswhere it is baked into cakes resembling peat or tu rf : it makes

a clear and exce llent fire , yielding great heat. A similar mode of

obtaining fu e l is practised in India. The women follow the herds of

horses, she ep and black cattle , and gather the dung, which they carryhome in baskets. The dung is formed into cakes of abou t half an

inch thick and nine inches in diameter. The walls of the ir best

hou ses are frequ ently stu ck rou nd w ith these cakes. At Seringapa

tam,num erou s females are to be fou nd carrying baskets of this dung

for sale . The horses are so numerou s in many parts of Tartary, that

they are fou nd in herds in a wild state , and some of the tribes procu re

supplies by means of hawks. These birds are taught to se ize u pon

the head or ne ck of the animal, and so tease and weary him, thatwhile endeavouring to getrid of his enemy, the hunter approaches

and captures him . In the same manner wild sheep are taken, many

of whose tails are said to we igh from 20 to 80 pou nds—The expertness of the Tartars in training falcons or hawks for the chase is su ch,that it is a standing law among the Mongols subj ect to China, to furnish the emperor with a number of these birds every year .The milk of the sheep affords a beverage to the Calmu cks, Kerghis,

and other horde s, to which is given the name of arj an it is more a

preparation of sou r milk than of real koumiss. Besides the drinksalready noticed amongst the Tartars, D e R ubruqu is met with a

variety of others, su ch as wine ; cara cz’

na or tera cz’

na , a very intox icating drink made from rice , very like white wine cam cosmu s, clear

cows’ milk or clarified whey ; and ba ll or mead drawn from honey.In the palace of Mangu Khan, he observed a cu riou s artificial treewith variou s devices, intermingled with branches and leaves, intertwined w ith golden serpents. This tree contained concealed pipesthrough which the fou r kinds of liqu or j u st mentioned flowed inabu ndance, and atthe roo t or base were fou r silver lions holding thedifferent liqu ors, which were supplied from reservo irs ou tside thepalace . On the top of this tree w as a figu re of an angel with atrumpe t sou nded by artificial bellows whenever a supply of drinkw as wanted. A s soon as the sound of this trum pet was hem d, aman appo inted for the pu rpose poured liqu or into the respectivepipes, from whi ch it w as handed to the gu ests in waiting . -Thise legant piece of mechanism shews to what degree of taste and politeness the Tartar princes had arrived and the lu xu ry which su rrou ndedthe ir tables they still keep u p considerable state, and by those tribessubje ct to China, the refinements and cu stoms of that cou ntry areu ndeviatingly maintained. The ir hospitality, however, is more

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148.

In summ er, the men and women of Turkestan assemble under

trees to drink, dance , ride on horseback, and play on variou s mu sicalinstruments : atthese , and the ir other festive meetings, wine , arrack ,and koumiss, are consumed in abu ndance . These meetings generallytake place after the ir lent, and when the sacrifices, called oshou r, havebe en offered for the souls of their relations : the fetes, on these o ccasions, are termed Nou rou z , and are times of great rejo icing. The

Jakuti Tartars have many ceremonies and festivals, at which theyu se a great deal of liquor. At one of these , where animals are sacrificedto idols, they sit in a circle and consume immense qu antities of

koum iss, and become so intoxicated that they are u nable to stirfrom their positions for a length of time . Qu antities of drinkare thrown into the air with an u nsparing hand, which, they conce ive ,allay the angry fe eling of the offended de ity and those spirits whichgovern the elements.

Su ch of the tribes as profess the Mahometan faith, particu larlythose of Great and L ittle B u charia , are forbidden the u se of in ebriat

ing drinks butwith them , as with the ir more enlightened ne ighbou rs,a want of attachm ent to the Prophet’s precept occasions excesses, ren

dered contemptible by the hypocritical arts employed to conceal them .

When E versmann and Jakovlew visited B u charia in the train of the

Ru ssian Embassy in 1821, wine and brandy were consumed in great,

qu antities, chi efly manu factu red by the Jews . These people , as wellas the Armenians, are permitted to make as mu ch as they please, an dto u se it in the ir hou ses where they may getintoxicated, buttheydare notgo abroad in that state , lest the Khan wou ld punish them,

which he sometimes does w ith great severity. An instance of his

cru elty in this respect occu rred some years ago, in the treatment of aJewish physician who had got dru nk on the occasion of his son’smarriage . This gave the Khan su ch offence that he ordered him to

be immediately execu ted . The Khan is very capriciou s in his observance of this law : some times he orders the hou ses to be searched ,and where any liqu or is fou nd he cau ses the owners to be beaten , yethe himself often drinks to excess. The po lice never ventu re to

examine the hou ses of the Usbeck officers, though many of them are

dru nkards, butthe poorer sort are strictly w atched,~

and if any of

them are de tected in the streets of the capital w ith a bottle , or intox icated, they are severely pu nished, and even sometimes put to deathif they had ever before been gu ilty of a similar offence . The wineof B u charia is of strong qu ality, and of greater body than mostE u ropean wines, be ing the produ ce of the richest grapes. The irbrandy is made of the lees of the wine or from raisins, is always

rectified, and of a strength equ al to West India rum ; it is colourless,and has an empyreumatic taste and flavour . The stills employed aremu ch the same as those u sed by the Jews in Turkey.It w as in this part of Asia, that Tamerlane , or Timour the Tartar,

gave, on the marriage of his six grandsons, the celebrated feast'

of

which so many thou sands were partakers, and which conveys to u s a

knowledge ofthe liqu ors then in u se . The scene was tru ly magnifi cent: a plain , stu dded with ten ts and pavilions, d isplayed all the

grandeu r of oriental pomp and magnificence forests were cut down'for the supply of fue l, pyramids of meat and vases filled with every

description of liqu or, su ch as koumiss, oxyme l, hippo cras, brandy,sirma, sherbe t, and wines of variou s countries, attracted the attention

of the voluptu ary, and were presented to the gu ests, on salvers ofgold and silver, in cups of agate , crystal and gold, adorned with pearlsand jewels . At this banqu et, all the subordinate rulers and chiefs ofTartary, together with ambassadors from E u ropean cou rts and

envoys from the conqu ered countries, were assembled ; and the public

j oy was testified by iiium inations and masqu erades, a general indul

gence w as proclaimed, every law w as re laxed, every pleasu re was

allowed, the people were fre e , and the sovere ign presided, a de lighted

s pecta tor. Pearls and rubies were showered on the heads of the

brides and bridegrooms, and left to be colle cted by their attendants.

ale

‘At another feast given by a Khan of Tartary, which lasted for seven

days, there were consumed daily e ight waggon loads of wine , two of

bran dy, and twenty of koumis, while , du ring each day, there w as a

slaughter of three hu ndred horses, as many cows, and a thou sand“

sheep . B ut, how are the mighty fallen l those states which were once

governed by the gigantic powers of a Tamerlane , are now dw indled

into insignificance , and the inte llect of the ir ru lers, narrowed by the

barbarism which surrou nds them , is u nable or u nwilling to encou rage

the growth of science , or the progress of arts.

Wherever rice or any other kind of grain is cu ltivated in Tartai'

y,

the fermenting process is n ot u nknown in the same manner,thevirtu es of the grape are notallowed to remain u nnoticed by the most

ignorant ofthe hordes, since wine is familiar throughou t a large portion

of thi s extensive regio n. The beer to be metwith is, for the mostpart, of indifferent quality that brewed from barley and millet by theTurke stans, termed baksoum, more resembles water boiled with rice

than beer . They admire it , and aflirm that it is an invaluable remedyfor dysentery : it is of an acid taste withou t smell, has little of an

Vide G ibbon '

s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire .

intoxicating qu ality, and keeps buta short th e w—Su ch of the grain as

they distil, is put into a vessel carefully covered, and , after be ing

allowed to ru n into a slight state of acetou s fermentation, it is putinto

the still and drawn off ata good strength, u nder the u su al name of

arrack .

The Tu rkestans have variou s be verages, among which is an excel

lent cooling drink obta ined from melons. This fru it is of the fine st

description , and so large as to be from three to four fee t in circumference every part of it, except the rind and seed, is equ ally good

for eating and of a most agreeable flavour . The melons are ftc

qu ently sent to a great distance , even so far as St . Petersburg : those

of Khorassan are sent to Ispahan , the capital of Persia, for the use of

the monarch, a jou rney of thirty days and melons are conveyed

from Agra to Su rat, a distance of nearly 700 mile s, by pedestrians, inbaskets hu ng atthe extremities of a pole carried on the shoulders, at

the rate of seven or e ight leagu es a day . The emperor Babas says,that he shed tears over a me lon of Tu rkestan , which he cutup inIndia, after his co nqu est, its flavou r having brought his native cou ntry

and other tender associations to his recolle ction . The valu e of this

fru it w as in su ch high estimation, that it is related of Aly Su ltan , that

b e cau sed a so ldi er, who had tak en tw o melons from the field of a

planter, to be hanged on the spot where he committed the theft.

Before qu itting the su bject of Tartary, it may be proper to observethat the M antchoos who conqu ered China, and whose descendants stillhold the sovere ignty of that empire , prepare a wine of a very peculiar

n ature from'

the flesh of lambs, e ither by fermenting it, redu ced to a

kind of paste , with the milk of the ir domestic animals, or bru ising it

to a pu lpy substance with rice . When properly matured, it is putinto jars, and then drawn off as occasion requ ires. It has thecharacter of be ing strong and nou rishing, and it is said that the irmost voluptuou s orgi es consist in getting drunk with it. Whateverremains, after the su pply of domestic wants, is exported into China or

Corea, u nder the name of lamb w ined‘ G erbillon says,thatthe rich

Mongols leave mu tton to ferment with the ir sou r milk before they

distil it . This explains the mystery of the spirit said to be madefrom the flesh of sheep by the Tartars in China, of which it has beensaid the emperors have been so fond .

During the sojourn of M ichailow among the Kiw enses, he saw

them prepare a drink called bu rsa from a description of berriestermed p sak, which mu ch resembled dates. This liquor w as mad e

The Natural and Civil H ist. of Tonquin, by the Abbe Rickard .

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is butanother version of the relation eo ntained in'

the'

9th"

chap . of Genesis respecting Noah and his three sons?“

According to the mythology of the Hindo os, the ir de ities are said

to have dru nk at the ir feasts a liquor terme d amral a’

, in the same

manner as the Grecian de ities drank their ambrosia ; so that by_ attri

‘bu ting to the ir gods a passion for e x hilarating drink, they'

alluded to

an origin anterior to any human record .

What the e arly drinks of the people of India were , there is no

correct accou nt, but, as sugar w as in extensive u se , it is likely that itformed a principal ingredient of their liqu ors . The raw ju ice of the

cane from its palatable natu re , w as first made u se of ; afterwards itw as boiled, and, in process of time, its inebriating properties were

developed by fermentation .

Sugar is su ppo sed to have been one of the articles forming the pre

sents made by the qu een of Sheba to king Solomon ; as fine sugar is

to this day sent as a prese nt to the Grand Seign ior by the Egyptians, in the same manner as Jacob sent honey to a Vi ceroy of

Pharaoh. »N earchu s, the admiral of Alexander, is said to have been

the first who brought any information respecting sugar into E u rope

and although the Arabians cultivated the sugar-cane and supplied

the city of Rome with its produ ce , yet it is well known that theywere indebted to the orientals for it, as well as for the knowledge of

its manufactu re . Sou /tar, or, Su b/12°

7 3 the Arabic term for sugar,e tymologists say, comes from the Hebrew word s iker, which signifies

an intoxicating liqu or and it is remarkable that this H ebrew term istran slated in nineteen instances in our Scriptures as implying strongdrink. Some philologists say, that gur, both in the ancient andmodern langu ages of India, signifies raw sugar, and that Sarcara is

the term applied to it in its manu factured state .

From the middle syllable of the Sanscrit word z'

ck-sucasa , it is

alleged that the Arabic name for sugar is derived, and there seems

tobe good grou nds for this inference , as the Sanscrit su ca , the Hebrew

sz’

ker, the Greek sikera , the P ersian shukker, the Indian subu r, theGerman sucker, the Dutch su iker, the Danish sn icker, the Swedish

see ker, the French su cre , and the E nglish sugar, appear to have one

common origin, if w e ju dge from orthography, pronou nciation , andacceptation .

B ut although the Arabians were the first who wrote of sugarextracted from the sugar-cane , which they called honey of can e yet

i t is notto be inferred, that to them other nations were indebted for a

Vide SirWilliam Jone s ’s Works.

15 3

knowledge of its uses, or the conversion of itintoan intoxicatingliquor. L u can mentions an E astern nation, in alliance with Pompey,that used this liquor as a common drink. Qu intu s Curtius, in his lifeof Alexander the ‘ Great, states, that atthe time of the invas ion of

India by that monarch, the nativesmade u se of a sort of wine which

is supposed to have bee n no other than toddy, or the u nfermented

ju ice of co coa-nut. Nearchu s in his P eriplu s"E mention s an island

called O igana or Wroot, now K ismz'

s, which w as abundant in vinesand palm-trees . The latter name it obtained from a grape , called

kismz'

s, peculiarto it to this day. Doctor Vincent, the translator o f

the Periplu s, says, that atthat tim e , a great trade .w as carried on in

Arabian and Syrian wines ; but the former, he thinks, w as palm or

toddy wine : of this there can be little doubt , from the great abu n

dance of that w ine in u se amongst the Arabians, it be ing an article of

commerce with them fi om a remote period, previou sto the era of the

Hegira. The people of Hindostan dealt largely in the importations,and their acquaintance with a varie ty of native drinks shews theextent to which they had arrived in the ir manu facture. -From the

Institu tes of M enu ,Tw e learn that the inebriating liquors of the'Hindoos may be cons idered as of three principal sorts one extracted

from dregs of sugar, another from bru ised rice , and a third from the

flowers of the Madhu ca tree . The latter, which is be tter known bythe name of M ahwah, has afforded materials for distillation from timeimmemorial and in India , when first visited by Europeans , theinhabitants were fou nd in possession of the art of extracting a spirit

from its flowers. Now , it may be asked, how could they haveacquired this artfrom the Arabians, a people prohibited, even be forethe name of the Saracens be came so eminent, from u sing the mildestintoxicating liqu ors ? Some , however, think that distillation was not

known to the inhabitants of India before the ir inte rcou rse with theSaracens, and tha t the ir drinks were mere extracts procu red by compression and fermentation ; but why the era of the introdu ction of

distillation into India shou ld be settled atthe commencement of the'Saracen ascendancy, is not only u naccountable , butatvariance with

the historic records respe cting the knowledge and acqu irements ofthe E astern nations ; and is pu rely attribu table to that prejudice which

gives the invention to the Saracens . The trade of the E ast, which

had continu ed long in the hands of the E gyptians, was, in 640, transferred to the Saracens by the

'

Caliph Omar . It is therefore morenatural to infer that the Saracens had re ce ived , throughthe Egyptians,

Periplus, part i. p . 5 8. 1’ Chap x i. Inst. 95 .

15 4

a knowledge of the u se of the still from the inhabitants of India ;than that they, themselves, had been in possession of the artto which

the genius of the ir religion w as so directly opposed, be caus e it iscertain from the rese arches of Sir William Jones, that the Hindooswere acqu ainted with all the chemical arts whi ch were said to have

been invented by the E gyptians, apparently before the latter had even

acqu ired the rank or title of a civilized people . The exped ition of

Osiris to India, where it is sa id he re igned 5 2 years, and establishedmany E gyptian colonies, jo ined to the conqu ests of Sesostris, furnishes

proofs that the E gyptians had an early intercou rse with India .

When Cambyses invaded E gypt, it is well known that many of the

inhabitantsfled to India, as a country with which they were familiar.It is also asserted, that in the time of Solomon and du ring the Trojanw ar, the E gyp tian and Phoenician fleets, as well as those of the

Hebrews, visited India and traded thi ther ; so that there mu st havebeen a re ciprocal interchange of su ch arts, sciences, and manufactu resas were attha t time kn own to the world . T0 u se the expressivelan guage of Doctor Robertson, “what now is in India always w as

there and is likely still to continu e—ne ither the ferociou s violenceand illiberal fanatacism of its Mahometan conqu erors, nor the powerof its E uropean masters, have efl'ected any considerable alteration. The same distinctions of condition take plac e ; the same arrange

ments in civil and domestic society remain the same maxims of re li

gion are he ld in veneration, and the same science s and arts are

cu ltivated .

”

Wine be ing, among the Mu ssu lmans, a prohibited article , n o com

merce cou ld be carried on by them in that commodity. The Indians,however, continu ed to manufactu re wine s from variou s substancesand u nder difl'erentnames. The chief of these w as the Tdrz

‘

, or the

fermented jui ce of the palm yra tree , procu red from the B orassus

flabellzformz’s of L innaeus , the Ta ] or Tar of Bengal, and the P an ama

maram of the Tamnls . In some parts of India, this tree growsspontaneously ; in others, it is cultivated with great care . When

planted in a fertile so il, and of thirty years growth, it yields, accordingto Bu channan, ca lla or palm wine , from the 11th of January to the

11th of June . O ne active man is considered competent to manageforty trees. Previou s to the bu rsting of the membrane which coversthe flowering branch, called by botanists the spatha or spadix, the

workman mou nts the tree by means of a strap p assed round his back ,and a rope rou nd his fee t, and bru ises the part betw een twoflat

Robertson’

s AncientIndia, Appendix , p . 15 2.

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15 6

was.

formerly very abundant in the dominions of the late TippedSu ltan, who, observing that his subjects frequ ently debased them

selves with tari, commanded all the trees to be cutdown, and in

places near the capital the order w as stri ctly execu ted.* H e even

attempted the absolu te prohibition of spirituous liqu ors.

The order of Tippoo to destroy the palm tree is very extraordinary,‘

as this tree has been held in great estimation, from the most remoteperiod, both in Asia and Africa ; while the followers of Mahomet

believe it to be pecuhar to those favoured cou ntries in which his

religion is professed, notwiths tanding the prohibition in the Alcoran

of the u se of intoxicating drinks. Honou r the p alm tree,”says a

Mahome tan writer, for she is you r father’s au nt,” be cau se , says he ,

this tree was formed from the remainder of the clay from whichAdam was create —Thu s it wou ld seem to have been considered

a distingu ished inhabitant of paradise, and a rival of the vine in its

u se and excellence .

Heber tells u s that the vine seemed to thrive well in some of thoseparts of India which he visited, and that the plants looked beau tiful,butwere notsufliciently trimmed, atleast so close as to render them

produ ctive .1'

When Fitch, a London merchant, was in India, in 15 83, he fou nd

the people well versed in the making of palm wine and its distillation. In 1644, Bennin m et with arrack as a drink very fam iliar ;and mentions a liqu or called bou lep onge, made of arrack, black sugar,

j u ice of lemon, water, and a little mu scadine . Sir Thomas Roe, who

visited the Great Mogul, from the court of James the I ., foun d p al

mt’

so w ine and cocoa milk in cu rrent u se ; and at that time , the

people appeared to be well acqu ainted with W ine and variou s other

sorts of drink . The cups, then in u se , were of massive gold setwiththe most brilliant gems. These were u su ally han ded to the visiteron a plate of the same metal : the one presented to Sir Thomas w asadorned with abou t 2000 preciou s stones, and the gold of it we ighedabou t twenty ou nces. It w as cu stomary in those times tomix pearlsand prec iou s gems with wine and other strong drink. A present of

this kind was offered to M r. . Burnes, during his late tour throughIndia, by Runj eetSing, a nativ e prince .

In India, the sugar-can e is cu ltivated to a great extent. In thewhole range from Decca to Delhi, says Heber, and thence through

Bu chan an '

s Jou rn ey through the Mysore , v ol. i . p . 5 6.

j Heber'

s Narrative of a Journ ey thro’

the UpperProvinces of India, 2 vols. 4to .

15 7

the greater part of Raj pootana and Malwah, the raising of sugar isas u su al a part of husbandry as that of tu rnips or potatoes in Englandand sugar is prepared in every form except the loaf.

It was a practice among the Mogul monarchs, when in the splen

dou r of power, to have their e lephants, usu ally amou nting to 5 000,fed on sugar and arrack. The Pu nj abe e chiefs still feed the ir horseson sugar, and these animals are very spirited, and do notagree with

any other food .

*

The j aggory, which is extracted from the sugar-cane , and from

which the greater part of the native rum is manu factu red, is thu s

procu red. The canes are cutinto pieces six inches long, and bru isedin a mill ; the ju ice which flows from them is strained through a

cotton cloth into a boiler, to which is added a certa in qu antity oflime water . When the evaporation has redu ced it to a proper con~

sistence , itis put into a large potto cool, then pou red into a mou ld

having a hu ndred holes, each in shape of a qu adrilateral inverted

pyram id . The fram e be ing turn ed over, the balls fall out, and afterbe ing placed on leaves for a day, are exposed for sale , ata price

varying from six to twelve shillings the hu ndred we ight . Thus

j aggory appears to contain both sugar and molasse s, and resembles .

the produ ct, which in Jamaica comes outof the cooler before it-is

taken to the cu ring house , being a little more inspissated, and requir

ing abou t 37 gallons to the hu ndred we ight. Heber, du ring his

perigrination through the u pper provinces, observed a very simple

description of a machine for extracting sugar from the cane . It con

sisted of a large v atu nder grou nd, covered with a stou t platform, in

the centre of which w as a wooden cylinder, apparently the hollowed

stump of a tree . In thi s w as a strong piece of timber fixed as in a

socket, tu rned rou nd by a beam, to which two oxen were fastened .

Behind the oxen, a man satthrusting in pie ces of cane , abou t a footlong, between the u pright timber and its socket. These be ingcru shed by the action of the timbers, the ju ice ran down into a v at

below j’ Stones wou ld be preferable to this mode of grinding, on

the principle of a common mill ; butthey cannot be procu red thereof

a durable and proper qu ality : hence the article produ ced in the

remote provinces is of a coarse de scription . The profit of j aggorye ither from the cane or the palm is equ ally divided be tween the farmer

and the goverment. From palms alone , a considerable revenu e is

raised, the regu lations for which differ in different districts. In one

Jacqu emont’

s L etters from India, vol. 11. p. 2 15 .

f Heber’

s Narrative v ol. 11. p 2 5 2 .

15 8

place,when a person plants a garden , the tre es are considered as his

property, be paying one half of the produ ce to the state in anothe r;they are let in lots atthe rate of £40 per annum .

farmed to some of the inferior villagers, who extract and distil the

ju ices.Cou ld the j aggory from the sugar cane , observes Bu chanan,

be generally converted e ither into a palatable spiritu ou s liqu or or

into sugar, the barren plains of the Carnatic might be rendered pro

du ctiv e . The former suggestion appears to be notimpracti cable , and

de serves attention in the w ay of experiment. If it shou ld answer,the whole of the gra in distilled in E urope might be saved for food .

*

On the same principle , Heber is of opinion that almost the whole of

the Deccanfmightbe cultivated with vines and that it wou ld be wise

i n the British government to encou rage a Spe cu lation of that kind,were it only for the pu rpose of obtaining a better beverage for the

troops than the brandy now in u se .1’

The grapes of Nu sseerahad

are said to equ al those of Shiraz, and the vineyards there are becomefamou s all over India a suflicient encou ragement to make the plan

tation of the vine more general in that qu arter. Su ch specu lations

wou ld be well repaid by the employment of so vast a popu lation as

occu py those regions:

Throughou t the Carnatic, the distillation of rum or brandy is carried on by a particu lar caste ; and the proce ss observ ed in some of

the provinces is described as follow sa—From the Topa la , (M imosaleu cop lzleag a tree common in the cou ntry, the bark is taken and cut

into chips, of whi ch abou t fou r pou nds are added to the twenty-fou r

po unds and qu arte r of sugar-cane j aggory, with a qu antity of w ater

equ al to tw ice the bu lk of this swee t su bstance . The mixture is madein an earthen j ar kept in the shade the fermentation, commencing inabou t twenty-fou r hours, is completed on the twelfth day, when theliqu or is distilled by means of the following apparatu s - The body ofthe still (a a a) is a strong earthen j ar, capable of containing threetimes the bulk of the materials. On this is lu ted with cow -dung a

copper head (6b 6) having on the inside a gu tter (c c) for colle ctingthe vapou r that has been condensed into spirit by a constant smallstream of w ater,which falls on the head at (f) . This water is conveyedaway by the pipe while the spirit is condu cted into a jar hythe pipe(d) . The mode ofcondensingthe Spirit is v eryru de and the liqu or,whichisnever rectifiedby a second distillation , is execrable . The natives allege

that the bark of the Top a la , which is very insipid to the taste, is

B u chanan, vol. i. p . 6 .

‘

l’ Heber

,vol. 111. p . 123.

T Bu chanan , v ol. i. p . 39.

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160

no heat can escape . When the j ar begins to bo il, and the steam to

ascend, an Indian with a potor kettle pou rs a gentle stream of water

u pon the head of the still already described, or on the broad and thin

su rface of a plate of tin or copper (with a gu tter for the water to ru n

ofl“, represented above) , whi ch is fixed on a pan , with a hole in the

bottom,lu ted to the neck of the still, and serving as a condenser.

The extreme co ld excited by the . evaporation of the water on so

broad a surface , occasions the vapou r from the still to be immediatelycondensed, and to ru n in a trickling stream into the rece iver.

p

M aria Graham,in her Jou rnal of a residence in India, thu s des

cribes the working of a native still, which she had an opportunity of

observing. The still, says she , w as simply constru cted. Rou nd a

hole in the earth, a ledge of clay, fou r inches high, w as raised with an

Opening abou t half a foot wide , for the purpose of feeding the_

fire .

Upon the clay a large earthen potwas lu ted to its mou th w as lu ted

the mou th of a se cond pot; and where they jo ined, an earthen spou t,a few inches long, was inserted, which served to letoff the spiritcondensed in the u pper j ar, which w as kept cool by a person pou ring

water constantly over it. When she went into the cottage , or still

hou se , she found a woman sitting with a child on one arm , and with

the other she w as cooling the still, by pou ring water on it from‘

a

cocoa-n utshell ladle . The woman informed her that she satat her

o ccupation from sunrise to su nset withou t ”

scarcely a change of posi

tion and while they were talk ing, her hu sband entered the cottageladen with toddy for distilling. H e w as a ba ndari, or toddy-gatherer.On his head w as the common gardener’s bonnet, resembling in shapethe cap seen on the statu es and gems of Paris, and from his girdlewere su spended the implements of his tradefi"

In 1782 , two gentlemen, named Crofts and Lennox, constru cted a

distillery atSooksagur, n ear Calcu tta, atwhich spirituou s liqu ors weredistilled in the E u ropean manner, and with all the improvements of

the day. A s these spirits were applied to all the pu rposes of Bataviaarrack,

'

the establishment w as fou nd to be of mu ch benefit to the

province of Bengal i If su ch u ndertakings were encou raged by the

E ast India Company, they wou ld not only be a mean s of enrich;

ing individu als, but a sou rce of considerable revenu e , particu larlyin a cou ntry where there are su ch abu ndance of fru its .and grainof every description, and where the popu lation, exclu sive of E u ropeans, is estimated at only ten millions of which

Foster’s Jou rn ey from Bengal to E ngland .

1“Journal of a Re sidence in India

,4to p . 2 5 and 26 .

”161

ta'

re

'

M ahOmetans,’

who are notmore strict in the observance of

the ir'

religiou s du ties than'

their brethren of the Ottoman empire .

'

The Hindoos, it is well known, although forbidden to us e ardent

spirits, are not more abstemious in that respect than the nativesof . other cou ntries. They accou nt brandy an infallible medicine ,

‘

and, u nder that impression, frequ ently rub the ir joints with this

panacea . E ve n the Brahmins , whose ordinary drink shou ld be watersometimes run the risk of a

' loss of' caste for an indulgen ce in

the use of intoxicating liqu ors. Like the Turks, they drink in

s ecret, and like them take every pre caution to avo id de tection ; but

their hypocrisy i s sometimes disco vered, to the no small amu sement of

their neighbou rs . From Heber, w e learn that, in opposition to the irrespective religiou s creeds, both the Hindoos and the Indian Mallo

metans are great-

'

drun kards though, according to H amilton, the

civil as we ll as the e cclesiastical law forbids the u se of wine and all

distilled liqu ors. D uboisj‘ relates an ane cdote of a Brahmin

in the village of Tanjore , whose house took fire, and he be ing the

only perso n of tha t caste in the place , the inhabitants flocked from all

quarters to assist in ,the removal of his effects ; but what w as their

astonishment, when, among other things, they discovered a large j arhalf full of arrack, with which this luxu riou s disciple of Vishnu hadbeen in the habit of regaling. Tennant says that he , himself heard

a Hindoo confess that he w as drunk, who did notseemto be desertedby his companions on accou nt of that misdemeanou r . N otw ith

standing the weakness of some , the Brahm ins of high caste are very

scrupulou s in taking wine . Heber fou nd mu ch difficu lty in con

qu ering the doubts of tw o of them who refuse d taking physi c when

dangerously ill, for fear of its be ing mixed with wine , declaring they

wou ld rather di e than taste it. Intoxication amongst the natives is notcommon, butatthe tim e of the H oolee , orHindoo carnival, the peopleof central India indu lge in all kinds of riot and festivity, and men

may be there seen inebriated, as in other parts of the world, on similaro ccasions.

0

For what obje ct laws were enacted in the E ast prohibitory '

of the

u se of all kinds of spirituous or intoxicating liqu ors, has not beenexplained on any civil or re ligiou s principle , whether for the sake of

health, temperance , or morality. It is,however, a cu riou s fact, that

amidst the numerou s class of gods in the Indian mythology, thereis none to correspond with Bacchu s, except Suradéri, the goddess of

wine , who arose , say the Hindoos, from the ocean when i t was

Narrative,v ol. i ii. p . 267.

T Manners and Customs of the People of India, 4m.

162

chu rned with the moun tain Mandar ; a notion which seems to indicatethat the Indians came from a cou ntry in which wine was anciently

made , and considered as a blessing though the dangerou s effects of

intemperance indu ced the ir early legislators to prohibit the u se of all

spirituou s liqu ors .

* Picart says, the most probable reason that can

be given for the prohibition of wine is the high sense entertained for

virtu e by some ancient Brahmins, who had the greatest aversion to

any thing that might contribu te to plunge them into irregu larities, or

disorder the senses . They considered that drink as highly perniciou s

which wou ld extingu ish a man’s reason, and therefore found them

selves obliged to inspire the people whom they governed with similar

sentimentsj'

The manu factu re of arrack in India is carried on extensively ; a

fine description is distilled atGoa, from'

the Toddy of the cocoa-nuttrees which grow abu ndantly in the ne ighbou rhood . It is sold in

casks of 21 gallons each, and the price differs according to its qu ality ;butit is for the most part cheap . An idea of the importance of the

arrack trade may be formed from the following accou nt of the importsand exports of this article from part of the territory of Tippoo

Su ltan and other districtsIn 1797. In 1798. In 1799.

L eagers. G allons. L eagers. G allons. Leagers. G allons.Imported from

Columbo 16 2 10

Batavia 73 32

Cochin 42 97 2 5

Anjengo 2 5 1l 23

Canara 2 3

E x ported in l 797, 20 18 2 5 28 12

Imported by sea, from 1stJanu ary to 3lstDecember, 1799, intothe P ye Nada District, v izArrack, 485 canad . Cochin arrack

,4 le agers . Cou ntry arrack

96 § leagers , 4 p ipe s ,31 casks

, 2 casks,

15 kegs , 92 bottles,

17gcases,C olumbo arrack 16§ leage rs,5 jars

,5 casks,

2 1 pipe s, 4 kegs,Brandy, 14 dozen , 7 pipes ,

2 casks,

bottles,2 9 case s,

E xported in 1799 and 1800, from the above districtArrack, 365 leagers, Rum ,

4 p ipe s, 4 casks Arrack.

16 kegs , l che st, 2 chestsbrandy.15 0 bottles, Rum

,shrub

, 2 box e s, C ol. Arrack,15 leagers.

7 che sts, 30 gallon s.

5 3 case s, G in , 10 chests

Vide An E ssay on the gods of G reece,Italy, and India

,in the Asiatic

Researche s, vol. 1. p . 2 5 0.

f Pioart’

s R'

eligiou s Ceremon ies, vol, iii. p . 274.

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164

verycheap, that upwards of an E nglish pintmaybe purchased for Onehalf-penny, and the most seasoned dru nkard can intoxicate himself for

that The tree is nearly the size of an oak , whi ch it stronglyresembles its flowers fall towards the end of Febru ary, the ju ice of

which is fermented and u sed in variou s ways. The partchosen fromwhich to collect the j u ice , is the calix or bu lb that supports the petals,whi ch are of a pale pink colour . When dried, it resembles a smallraisin both in appearance and flavou r, and tastes like that of Malaga.

.The flowers of the Mahwah differ considerably from those of every

other tree , bearing a striking likeness to berries,‘

and falling spontane

ou sly as they ripen . They are then gathered and dried in the su n .

Vast quantities of those flowers are consumed during the H oolee , or

great Indian carnival, and are conveyed in common with grain and

other commodities, and sold in variou s parts of India. Besides the irinebriating qualities, they form a considerable portion ofthe sustenance

o f the wilder tribes of the B heels, who, as well as the low castes of

Rajpoots, distil them into arrack. The Bengalese also manufactu re

from them a good spirit. The flowers, whether eaten dressed or raw ,

are good nu tritive food ; and from them is expressed a kind of oil

re sembling ghee, or clarified bu tter, with whi ch it is often mixed .

This oil is frequ ently burned in lamps, and applied as a salve in cu ta

n eou s diseases. A more extensive cultivation of the Mahwah cou ld

notfail of being attended with many advantages in difl'erentparts of‘central India, and might be equ ally as profitable to the natives, as the

Agave to the Mexicans, even were it merely forthe pu rpose of distil;

lation, i ndependent of its other valu able properties'

f A s it is, the

government raises a considerable revenu e from it, retaining a right to

the frui t and timber . In the opinion of Sir William Jones, were the

sale of the liqu or which it affords duly restrained by law , it might be

applied to sundry serviceable pu rposes. The same observation is

applicable to the drink made from toddy, the vending of which, fromwant of be ing properly regulated, renders it so common and 'cheapthat it has been contemptu ou sly called pariah arrack, on accoun t '

of

its be ing a favou rite with the lowest order, orp arialzs, w ho rank

among the meanest caste s of India . It is not, however, determined,.whether the term p ariah arrack be u sed generally to imply an iafa

rior and adu lterated spirit, or is only applicable to that liqu or withwhich G anga , (cannabis sativa) and a species of D atum have been

compou nded . At Lahore , drink is tak en by weight, and B arnes

Asiatic Researches, v ol. i . p . 303. O rientalMemoirs

, vol. 11. p . 45 2

'

l‘ Malcolm

’

s Memoirs of Central India, vol. ii. p. 47.

16 5

relates that the prince R unj eetSing usu ally tbok a bou t eight pice'

;

at one enterta inment, he saw'

him quafl‘

the measu re of e ighte en

pice .

"E Of this chief it is said that he felt greatly annoyed that he

could notdrink like a fish withou t be ing drunk, nor eat like an ele

phant and e scape a surfe it.1' H is favourite beverage w as a spirit

dis tilled from Cabu l grapes, whi ch is very fiery, and stronger than

brandy. It is told of one of the Mogu l monarchs that he was accu s

tomed to drink upwards of twenty cups a day—a qu antity equal‘

to

fiv e wine-bottles of our measure .

Some of the tribes call spiritsfi re water, probably from the circum:

stance of the ir be ing easily ignited. Jacqu emontfiwhen in the Thibetian mountains, w as su rrou nded with a number of the natives, 'who ,

on se eing him burn a little brandy on a lump of sugar and afterwards

drink it, exclaimed thathe was drinking fire, and must therefore be

The difl’erent kinds of grain cu ltivated in the N epaul territory,afi’ord ample materials for making intox icating drink ; and hence w e

find the variou s tribes, occupying that region, are mu ch addictedto inebrie ty. So strong are their propensities in this respect, tha t

they make offerings in some of their temple s to the prie sts, who repre ~

sentthe ir de ities, of a portion of their favou rite drinks , which they'

qu afi'

outof human scu lls, and so largely, as to cause them to dancefuriou sly an extravagance often attribu ted to inspiration . A beverage termedphau r,made from rice or wheat, is brewed mu ch in thesame manne r as our ale which it strongly resembles, and is in cou siderable repute ; and, according to Hamilton, the wheat and barleyare reared fer the express pu rpose of making spiritu ou s liqu ors. At

some of the marts Where rice or mumma, salt, extract of. sugar-cane ;hogs,

'

dried fish, tobacco ,'cloths, bang, opium, and other articles are

sold, inebriating beverages form no inconsiderable portion of the

As bees are numerou s in the north of India, vast quantities of

honey are collected, and the mode of do ing so is withou t that .cru elty

towards the inse ct which is the practice in o ther cou ntriesF —Theco ttages have eithe r hollow trunks of trees or cylindrical earthen pots

bu ilt into the walls in su ch'

a _ _mann er, that while the insects have

access through perforations on the ou tside to constru ct their ce lls, and

A small copper coin . Burnes’ Trav els,vol. i. p . 30.

f Jacqu emont’

s Letters from India,voi. ii. p . 22 .

I Ibid. vol. i . p . 2 71.

Hamilton’s Account of Nepaul, 4to.

166

deposit the ir stores, the co‘ttagers within can Open and sh u t the hive

atpleasu re , by different simple contrivances, su ch as a lifting shutter

or sliding door . When the hive has arriv ed'

atmatu rity, the bees

are expe lled by a great noise made atthe inner extremity whichdrives them out, and by means of a secret

”

valve they are prevented

returning u ntil the whole ofthe hon ey has been remov ed . jM aterials

are thu s easily procu red for domestic purposes, as well as for various

drinks, both cooling and nu tritive .

Fraser, in his tou r, informs u s, that the people residing among the

hills atthe foot of the H imaleh mou ntains, make intoxicating liquors

from grain and other materials, and that they procu re from the

grapes common to the cou ntry two sorts of strong drink, one of

a superior kind u sed by the higher c lasses and called sikec’

, fermented

in the u su al manner the other is prepared by pou ring hotwater on

the residue of the fruit, fermented and distilled by means of an

apparatu s of a very ru de constru ctionfi‘ At C u rsalee, on the Jumna,he . observed that they intoxicated themselves with a sort of beer

brewed from grain and particular roots whi ch they sharpened withpepper. During his stay there , he witnessed the ceremony attendant

on the bathing of the images of their gods in the waters of the Jumna .

The concou rse of people was immense ; they danced in the mostgrotesqu e and savage manner, to the sou nd of strange mu sic under

the influ ence of the ir liqu ors, a mu ltitu de of men taking hands, some s

times in a circle , sometimes in a line , heating time with their feet,bending and d istorting the ir bodies in variou s ways . The men keptdancing all the day, and in the evening were joined indiscriminatelyby the women, who supported the dancing and reve lry till the nightwas far advanced. This frantic kind of worship was continu ed forseveral su ccessive days, and mostly ended with the

'

ex haustion of

their liqu ors.1'

The people inhabiting the Garrow hills, north east of Bengal,though ex tremely rude and u ncu ltivated, have , according to Mr .E lliott, variou s sorts of drinks ; but that most in u se is drawn fromrice soaked in water three or fou r days. From the kebu l, a treeresembling the palmira, a fin e spirit might be made , as it possessesmu ch saccharine matter but the inhabitants are too ignorant toappreciate its valu e and turn it to good accou nti

Tour to the Sources of the Riv ers Jumna and Gange s.

1“Tou r to the Jum na and G ange s, p . 492

I Asiatic Researches, vol. iii. p . 22 .

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168

In Cabu l, the Armenians are the p rincipal dealers and manufac

turers of intoxicating drink s; butthe present governor, with the bestF

intentions, has putan end to the Armenian influ ence by a strict pro

hibition of wine an d spirits. Hence the Armenians, togetherwith

the Jews, havefled to other cou ntries, as they had no means of sup

port butthat of distilling spirits and manu factu ring wine . Previous

to this edict, 40 bottles of wine or 10 of brandy might have been

pu rchased for a rupee .

Among the fru its of Bokhara, melons are in the highest estimationwater-meions in particular have a superior flavour, and grow to such

an enormou s size , that twenty people may feast on one , and two off

them are said to form a load for a donkey : they afford a delicious .

cooling beverage . In that cou ntry, there is a cu rious and common c

substitu te for sugar, called Turu nj ubeen . It is a saccharine gum ?

which exu des from the well-known shrub called camel’s-thorn , or the .

Khari—Slzootur. Towards the en d of Augu st, when this shrub is in!

flower, it may be seen in the morning covered with drops like dew,which, when shaken into a cloth placed beneath the bu sh, isthe Tu r

u nj ubeen . Some hu ndred mau nds of it are collected annu ally, and

the whole sweet-meats ofthe coun try are prepared with it. From its

n atu re and properties, it strongly reminds u s of the manna given to’

the Israelites.

From grape jelly, or sirup mixed with chopped ice , the Bokha-t

rians draw what they term m Izutz’

j an , or the delight of life . Hereice is an indispensable article in winter, it is stored in pits, and sold '

in warm weather at a very low price . No one drinks water inBokhara withou t icing it, and a beggar may be seen purchasing it,while he proclaims his poverty and implores the charitable bounty ofthe passengers. The water, which the king drinks, is brought inskins u nder the charge and seals of two oflicers. It is opened by thevizier, first tasted by the people, and then by himself, when it isonce more sealed and despatched to the king. The daily meals of

his majesty u ndergo a like scru tiny the minister eats, he gives tothose arou nd him ; they wait the lapse of an hour to j udge of the

effect, when they are locked up and despatched . H is majesty hasone key and his ministers another. Fru it, sweet-meats, drinks, andevery eatable , undergo the same examination .

In Bokhara, there is a disease called the M akkam or Kolee, a kindof leprosy that renders the skin dry and shrivelled, the hair of thebody falls off, the nails and teeth drop out, and the whole frame

'

assumes a horrible appearance . This disease is prevalent in the ricedistricts, and is said to be cau sed by the u se of bouza , a strong drinkdistilled from black barley.

169

Honey'

is abundant inBokhara and'

the adjacent countries ; butitisnotmu ch

'

employed as an i ngredient in the beverages.

’ CaptainBu rn es states that he observed bees feed on mu tton, that in winte r

they are often supported with flesh instead of su gar ; that which hesaw given

.

to them was fresh and he adds, that'

they sometimesattacked dried fish.

1

Throughou t the whole continent of India, the people are well

acqu ainted with the different virtues of all.the spec ies of palm. Of

these , the cocoa-nuttree (cocoa nucg’

fe m is the rimstvalu able , as itnot

only afl’ords food buta large supply of toddy, though notin'

so greata qu antity as the palmira. The date tree

'

(pk’

wn ix ductylzfi m ) , theTamar of the Hebrews, yie lds toddy also, butne ither so mu ch nor of

so good a qu ality as that which 1s produ ced by the other species of

palm . This tree , as we ll as those of the same genu s, has been the

su bj ect of great research and investigation with many eminent

writers, of whom Larcher, in his learned notes on Herodotu s,hasbeen e laborate ; after him Pontedora, Tou rnefort

’

, and Kaempfer maybe consulte d ; the latter, in his Amoenitates E x oticae, has been happilyminu te in illustrating this portion of natu ral history.

The skill and ingenu ity which the inhabitants of India gene

rally display in making intox icating beverages from the produ ceo f their trees, as well as from other portions of the vegetable '

kingdom, have been clearly exemplified ; and the ease with which

they are procu red, and the habits, therefore , whi ch their u se

has engendered, have tended mu ch to the inju ry of E uropeansand natives, bo th in a moral and physical po int of view. Dr . B u cha

nan, however, has qu estionedthis, particu larly as repects health ; and

o bserves, that intoxication is less frequ ently a cau se of disease , than is

u sually alleged ; itchiefly, he says, proves injuriou s to the health of

our seamen and soldiers in warm climates, by making them impru ;

dently expose themselves to other causes of sickness. The two

persons in my service ,"continu es the Doctor, that are mostsubj ect

to fev ers are my interpreter and painter, although from the ir situ

ation in life , they are exempted from all hardships ; but from theircaste , they ought notto taste

‘

spiritu ous liqu ors, and are really sober

men . At the same time , a man w ho takes care of my tents, although

he is exposed to all weathe rs , and at times to mu ch fatigu e , enjoys

perfect health, probably'

keeps off the fever by copiously drinkingspirituou s liqu ors, to the u se of which he is exceedingly addicted.”

B utwith alldu e respect for the Doctor’

5 opinion, this example shou ld

notbe re ce ived as a precedent, be cau se it is well known, thatthose

who are addicted to a slavish use of ardent spirits, are more subjectto

170

disease , than those who u se them with moderation . In India, as in

E urope, where the cholera morbu s has been so fatal in its effe cts, it

has been proved that drunken and dissipated characters were the first

and most numerou s victims of that terrible disease .

Drinking spirituous liqu ors,”says Heber, “is highly inju riou s to

ou r soldiery in India. Nothing can be more foolish,’

or in its effects

more perniciou s, than the manner in which spirits are distributed

among the troops. E arly every morning a pintof fiery, coarse , u ndi

lu ted rum is given to every man ; and half that qu antity to everywoman ; this the greater part of the n ew comers abhor in the fi rst

instance or wou ld, at all events, if left to themselves, mix withwater. The ridicule of their seasoned companion s, however, de ters

them from do ing so, and a habit of the 'worst kind of intemperance is

acqu ired in a few we eks, more,fatal to the army than the swords of

the'Jats, or the climate of the Bu rmese . If half the qu antity of

spirits, well watered, were given ata more seasonable hour , and, to

c ompensate for the loss of the re st, a cup of strong coffee were allowed

to each man every morning, the men'

w ould be qu ite as well pleased,andboth the ir bodies and sou ls preserved from many dreadful evils .

”

Captain Mundy, who had a good opportu n ity of forming a correct

opinion of the matter, says, that many a liver complaint, laid to the

charge of an Indian climate , owes its origin to this lava-like potation ;allu ding to the general u se of arrack, and its cheapness u nfortunately

adds to its fascinating qu alities, which are further he ightened by an

infus ion of chillies, to render it the more intoxicating.1' Speaking

on this subject, Hamilton observes, that one cau se of the prevention

of the spread of Christianity in India, may have been occasioned bythe dissolu te lives of some of the early Christians and the clergy notonly indulging in the u se , butactu ally trafficking in the sale of arracka practice equ ally obnoxiou s to the Brahmins and M ahometansJI:The kingdom of Thibe t, although notso early known to E u ropeans

as some other eastern cou ntries, yetw e were partially acqu ainte d withitfrom the visit of Marco P olo . H e observed that the Thibetianshad no wine , but an excellent drink made from corn or rice , flavouredwith variou s spices. O deric, in 1318, fou nd bread and rice-wine in

that coun try in abu ndance . Tu rner, in the accou nt of his embassyto the Teshoo Lama, makes u s more familiar with the arts, manners,and cu stoms of the Thibetians. They cu ltivate wheat, barley, and

Heber’

s Narrative , vol. iii . p. 201.

1’ P en and Pencil Sketche s in India

,vol. 11. p . 2 15 .

I Vide Hamilton ’

s Account of the EastIndi es.

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172

withou t regard to the hou r,

'

and,’ contrary to the practice of Japan and

China, it is nev e’

r'

dru nk warm.

’t

STILL USE D I N TH I B ET AND B O O TAN .

’

A . An earthen vessel, in which the chong is placed, immediately o v er the fire .

B. Another wi thouta bottom.

,0. A smaller earthen vessel, which is the recipient.3,

D. An iron basin fille d w ith cold water, renewed occasionally as itgrows warm ,

and may he termed the condenser.

e e e . Three cross staves of wood on which the recipient is placed .

The ju nction of three vessels, A ,B

,and D , bei ng secu red with cotton bandages

and clay lu te , a fire is lighted u nder A,which contains the chong. The sp irit

rises through B,-is condensed upon the conve x b ottom of the basin D ,

and .the

sp irit a rm is rece ived into the smaller v essel C.

j : The fire-place—ggg. ope nings o ver the fire for the reception of a similar‘

Apparatus.

Turner’

s Embassy, 4to. p . 343.

173

The religion of the country confines the consumption of ebony and

a rm tothe laity, asas those who assume the robe of Gylong, or priest,are bound to abstain from every sort of inebriating drink, as well asfrom animal food, lest they shou ld be the indirect cause of pu tting an

end to the existen ce of any creature . This privation seems to havebeen felt by Gyeung, the mother of the infant Lama, who, whenen tertaining Mr”Turner, atthe monastery. of Terpaling, complainedthat while nu rsing the young pontiff, she was notallowed to use anykind offleshmeat, or e x hilrating liqu or.

In B ootan , Turner observed thriving crops of wheat and barley,and a sma ll grain which he does not designate by any name, fromwhich a fermente d liqu or is _made .

_ In _this cou ntry, the traveller isalways fou ndwith a bu ffalo’s horn slung across his shou lders filled with

a rm to regale himself, .whilst struggling among the acclivities of thismountainou s region. The

’

Rajah of B ootan , the high priest, or popeof the cou ntry, when he invited Mr. Tu rne r to an entertainment atthe palace of Tassisudon, de clined tasting wine , be ing contrary to

the rules of his sacred order ; ,buthere , as e lsewhere , human weak

ness is observable ; for claret and raspberry j am, having bee n left by-Mr . Tu rner as

'

a trial of the Lama’s virtu e , it soon disappeared, andappli cation w as made a few days after for a fresh supply of the wine ;certainly, as the writer observes, with no intention that it should bereserved among the relics. Before a battle, the soldiers of Booten.take copious

“

draughts of chon'

g or arra, having previou sly charged

the ir stomachs with an ample meal of substantial food . This drink ishere usually taken warm, a practice re commended for imitation ,whenever heat and fatigu e lead to intemperate thirst. In B ootan ,.the people seem u nacqu ainted with mead, although be es and honey

abou nd . So domesticated are these insects, that the honeycombs hang

from the balconies of the hou ses clear of the walls , seldom exceed

ing six inches in thickness and sometimes three or fou r fee t long.

The bees are n otsufl'ered to be disturbed, the Rajah conce iving thattheir labou r is employed for the benefit of the commu nity, in laying

up a stock which serves to rear the ir young, and as a resou rce..when they cease to find food abroad . Were I,

”said he, avail

ing myse lf of superior power, to deprive them of this store, accumu

lated for their fu tu re support, how could I expect to enjoy unmolested, tha t of which I am myself possessed i‘

” —Hence the religiou s_prote ction they experience .

Although the vine , it may be generally observed, forms no part of.the common agricu ltu re of the E ast Indies, yet deliciou s grapes are

found to grow lux uriantly in many of the provinces ; those of M alwa

1741

have be en long celebrated, and the wine’

made atNishapore is con

sidered ex cellent. The grape s of Oahu ] yield a liquorno w ay infe a

rior to many of the wines of E u rope . E ven on the northe rn slope of

the'

H imaleh mou ntains, reaching towards Thibe t, grapes are indi .

genou s, and’growin‘

the open fie lds without any care , save that ofprese rving them from the depredations of the b ears . In flavou r '

and

delicacy, they v ie with anyh ot-hou se grape s of E ngland ; and are of

two sorts, white and red .

In the Birman empire are several kinds of palm s ; wheat is common, and of goo d qu ality,

‘ in diffe rent districts of the cou ntry ; the

cocoa-nutand sage-palm grow wild ; rice and sugar—canes are to'

be

metw e ev ery where ; vines are found in the fore sts, and thoughthey are atpresent inferior to those of Italy, Spain , or Portugal, yetit is asserted, that the inferiority is owing to want of proper cu ltivation . No wheat is reared in Pegu ; butbread made from rice is acommon article of food : wine from the latter grain, su ch as is fou nd

in many other parts of the East, is here familiar, and from whi ch themonarch draws a portion of his re‘

venu e . S ugar, although it might‘ be

plentifu l in Pegu , and a spirit made from it, yet the e lephan ts are

permitted‘

to consume the canes with so little restraint, as to renderits produce unavailable . Here , and in other parts of India, the els:

phant makesnightly e xcu rsions into the plantations and when on ceallowed to do so with impunity, he constantly repeats his destru ctivevisits . In some places, when the marks of the animal’s feet are discovere d, in order to prevent a repetition of these predatory incursions,sugar-can es filled with bru ised fru it, of which this animal is fond, areplaced in his w ay ;

’a quantity of poison is infused in the pu lpy matter

the ou tside of the canes is m arked with salt, to which the elephant isvery partial, and having gratified himse lf by feeding on these materials, he e ither dies from the ir effe cts, or is so intoxica te d that hebecomes an easy prey to

,the people . A s the Pegu ese profess the

worship of crocodiles, the ir common drink is the waters of the ditchesin which those rapaciou s animals live , though they are often devouredby them . A liqu or di stilled from the cocoa-nutis u sed in some partsof Pegu which differs little from common arrack : this d rink is ferm ented and prese rved in 7well-glazed earthen jars, some of which,acco rding to Ha milton , are so capaciou s as to contain two hogsheads.Ano ther description of liqu or, very agreeable to the palate , is madefrom ju ice drawn by incision from a tree called A nm

’

p a or M'

p er, and

he nce termed Nip er wine . From Syrian, the Pegu ese export rice-wineof the ir own manu factu re . The city ofPegu receives mu ch of its ornament from -

the numerou s cocoa trees with which the sreets are tastefu lly

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176

improvements'

in other parts of the fworld—a proofj that, while wehave be en advancing through their discoveri es , they

“

have been'

retro;

Arrack 1s drunk1n Siam ; but1ts consumption, as well as itsmanu ,facture , 1s confined to the Chinese resident m that cou ntry . The pri

v ilege for its distillation brings to the government a sum of 460,000

ticals, or £5 7,5 00 per annum, for the whole kingdom. The greater

portion of arrack 1s distilled atBankok, the capital ; and the rest at

thirteen o ther principal towns ofthe kingdom . The tax on arrack isfarmed ; hence its amoun t has been ascertained with a considerable

degree of accu racy . The following detail will shew the relative nnpor

_tance of some of the towns atwhich it is distilled :Tica ls .

Bankok, or Bangkok .

Yuthia, (the old capital)Sohair,

g,

L an ceang, (capitalofLaos)Korat in Lao,Kanburi,C hampon ,Patyn ,Chaia, 640

Talung

Besides this, there is likeW1se a tax on fru it trees.

among the du ties levied are those on Opium, spirits, and hemp u sed

as an intoxicating drug. Here the distillation of arrack from rice iscondu cted, butnot to any great extent. Tannasserim is celebrated

for its N a'

p er wine , or rather for the spirits distilled from it, and

which is considered the best in the E ast . The Siamese, be ing strict

followers of Buddha , like the Mahometans do not indu lge in thepleasures of intoxication, strictly fulfilling the fifth commandment ofthe ir religion, which is, you shall notdrink intoxicating liqu or, norany substance calcu lated to intoxi cate . Still, however, there are

amongst them many w ho , like the ir fellow-mortals in other partsof the world, forget, notonly the principles of the ir religion, butthatrespect which they ow e to themselves and to society. Mr. Finlayson , when there in 1822 , remarked, that ardent spirits were fro

qu ently taken atmeals u ndilu ted, butnotto su ch extent as to cau seinebriety. Most of the ir liqu ors are taken warm and they assign asa reason for u sing it in that state

,that cooling remedies are deadly,

177

from a be lief that heatis a principle of life, Mr. Crawford is of

opinion, that a stro ng passion for arrack , no twithstanding the prohi

bition against it and vinou s liqu ors, appears nowhere more general,than amongst the lay Siamese ; and although then Talapoins or

priests, are enjoined to abstain from the u se of wine , or, intox icating

drugs, yethe suspe cts the y are subject to a similar infirmity. The yfie ely partake of tobacco and the preparation of betel and a reca ,

from which he conc ludes that the y secre tly indulge in all these forbiddenW es. The gove rnment fe igns to take cons iderable caretoW oe the observ ance .of the prohibitory law ; but it is certainthat they wink at its infringement, in a manner very discreditable ,Slime they rece ive the du ty notonly on its manufacture buton its

sales. NO present is mo re a ccep table to the lower classes than a

su pply of ardent spirits ; yetu pon the whole , the Siamese are a moderate andtemperate The u se ofthe are ca and be te l-nutis moreextensiv e he re than in any o ther part of the east, exceeding e venin this re spect the consumption in Malay. Rich in all the valu ableproductions of nature , Siam has vast advantages ; rice is cu ltivatedto greate x tent, and the sugar-cane affords employmentto an immense

portion ofthe popu lation. The strength of the so il may be conce ived

from the enormous size of its yams , one of which was fou nd to weigh

474lbs . and to measure nine and a half feet in circumference . The

sugar-cane in Siam has been know n from the earliest period ; butitsculture , in reference to u sefu l and extens ive pu rposes, w as little

attende d to before 1810. This favorable change w as wholly owingto the industry and enterprise of the Chinese se ttlers, resu lting from

various con cessions yie lded to them . In 1822 , they exported to the

extent of picu ls, or abou t 8,000,0001bs. of sugar, e steemed ,5 mm its whiteness and flavou r, the best in India : this article now

mee ts a ready sale in China, the western parts of Hindostan, Persia,Arabia, and even in E urope . The canes planted in Ju ne are cutin

De cember, and the sugar brought to marke t atBankok, in January

The _cultivators of the cane are always Siame se ; butthe manufac

turers of the sugar are invariably Chinese . From some districts , palm

sugar is largely e x ported, and su ch is the abu ndance of grain , that a

farme r expects forty-fold for the seed which he sows, and he would

consider thirty-fold but an indifferent crop . Some of the rigid

Siamese priests consider that the pu nishment in the other world, for

the crime of drinking, shall he to hav e a stre am of me lted copper

penned pe rpe tually down the throat. From the flourishing state of

Crawford'

s Embassy.

178

the sugar plantations, the ingeniou s C hine se will, n o do ubt , manu fac

tu re rum from the molasses and render it a staple commodity . The

c hief food in u se with the Siamese is rice , and of this, there are several

kinds, su ch as white , red, coarse , and fin e . Countrymen alone eat

red rice the black is only u sed mixed with sugar, and the pu lp of

the cocoa n utscraped over it . Fine rice is seldom thicker than a

n eedle and is as transparent as crystal ; but it is u sed only in feasts

and atfestivals ; a certain qu antity of it is some times dressed with a

fe w ] , a qu arter of a goat, or a pie ce of fresh pork. This ragou t iscalled p ou lo, and in colou r is as whi te as snow ; butthis description isseldom o r never employed in distillation . The king derives an

immense revenu e from rice ; those dealing in it pay a sort of licenseto the amou nt of £35 annu ally ; and of these there is an incrediblenumber . This, as well as most other branches of indu stry , is principally carried on by the Chinese , whose labours are as conspicuou sabroad as athome ; they, with a pe cu liar e co nomy, seldom let anything go to loss, and as the distilleries are in the ir hands, they employ

the feculence of the stills in feeding pigs, as the sale of all otherbu tchers’ meat is prohibited on the principle of the metempsychosisanimals be ing considered the sanctu ary of the ir de ities. What a ridi

culou s anomaly as if pigs w ere n otto be ranked amongst the animal

creation ! By them, swine’

s flesh is deemed a great luxury, be ing, asthey think, more delicate and easy o f dige stion than any other food ;hence it is pre scribed by their Doctors to convalescents, in preferenceto pou ltry orbo iledmeats, asthe best renovater ofthe constitu tion. The

Chinese are very particular in the feeding of swine , as they study toimpart a sweetness and tenderness to the flesh seldom obse rved by

others. The apparatu s employed in the distillerie s is on the'

sameprinciple as that genera lly u se d by the Chinese e lsewhere . The

Siam ese fall short of them even in this respect, as they u n derstand

nothing of chemistry, altho ugh they affe ct it and boast of profound

se cre ts in the art. The mania of discovering the philosopher ’s stoneprevaile d here , as well as in China ; and on e of the Siamese monarchsis sa id to have spent tw o m illions of money in search of this v isionarytalisman. T he Siamese have also been long occu pied in the foolishin qu iry after an u niversal elixir to render them immortal. In u singbrandy, they have it served up for the most part in a largebowl, on a wooden plate suffi ciently capacious to admit a number . of

small p ots, in which are commonly e ither dried or roasted fish,fru its both pickle d and salted, with baked or hatched eggs ; the latterof which are considered a great treat . On such o ccasions, each helpshimself to whatever is most gratefu l to his palate, and takes from the

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180

with cold or bo iling water, it forms a white ish jelley very palatable ;and , if fermented, produ ces an agreeable beverage . The Malaychiefs rear considerable plantations of the sago tree , as it forms oneof their principal sources of subsistence . There are several descriptions of palm in the country, yielding toddy, some of which are

largely drawn on by the natives.

In the Nicobar islands, the use of inebriating beverages is very

prevalent . The inhabitan ts, be ing unaccu stomed to wine , do not

like it ; yetthey are said to drink bumpers of arrack atthe ir feasts,till they can no longe r see . The ir principal and common beverage isthe milk of the co coa-nut, and a liqu or called soura , ( in some of the

islands, te a ry/Q which is no thing more than the fermented j u iceof the palm : this, they render highly intoxicating by the method theyemploy of su cking i t throu gh a tube made e ither of a reed or qu ill .

These people are so very ingeniou s, that, according to Forbesfi‘ they

convert the cocoa tree to almost every possible u seful pu rpose . The ir

vessels are bu ilt of it, the cordage , rigging, and sails are made of it,

and it fu rnishes even the cargoes of arrack, vinegar, oil, sugar,cocoa-nu ts , black paint, and o ther infe rior articles, exported to

the neighbou ring islands. They are so remarkably honest and

u nsu spiciou s of fraud , that the crime of robbery is so little knownas notto be dreaded . Theirhou ses are left constantly open, so thatany one that pleases may enter ; and, when go ing to a distance , the

travelle r is atliberty, when he fin ds himself e ither tired, hungry, or

thirsty,to go into any hou se , and help himselfto bothmeat and drink,which he frequ ently doe s, withou t be ing qu estioned, or even interchanging a word with any ofthe family. H ow happy wou ld it be for

mankind, were su ch hospitable practices more common in the world !

The islan d of C eylon, be ing on e of the most remarkable in the

Indian.

o cean, de serves particular notice , notonly from its so il and

produ ce , butfrom its be ing the early re sort of E uropeans trading to

the E astern continen t. Some assert, that it w as peopled by a colony

o f Singhs , or Raj hpoots, 5 00 years before Christ ; and the people of

Malabar are sa id to have invaded it abou t 300years after that period.

The Macedonians, who accompanied Ale x ander on his Indian e x pe

di tion, were thezfirstwho brought to E u rope an accou nt of this island,

u nder the title of Taprobane . Dionysius, the geographer, whoflourished u nder Augu stus , Speaks ,

of its e lephants—Ovid and P liny men

tion it; and it has been allu ded to by several early writers as be ingwell peopled , and in a high state of civilisation . With the manners

and customs o f its ancient inhabitants, w e have not been made

O riental Memoirs.

181

acquainted ; nor with the natu re of their beverages but it is

unqu estionable that they w ere the same , with, perhaps, some local

variations, as those of their continental neighbou rs . At mar

riages, immense qu antities of meat and drink are consume d the sameprac tice is prevalent at funerals ; but the indulgences on all occa

sions of death are confined to hou ses adjo ining that of the deceased ;and where the male sex

‘

are accustomed to assemble and partakelargely of Scum . On the anniversary of a de ceased friend,men and

women indiscriminately assemble . Scum is consumed in abundance ;and when the mind is in a high state of intoxication, the women, at a

certain hou r of the night, when the commencement of the ceremonyis annou nced by the striking of gongs, set up the most dismal howls

and lamentations . The party then walk in procession to the grave

of the deceased . There , a woman, nearest akin to the inma te of the

tomb, steps out of the crowd, and, tearing up the “sku ll, she

screams mostpi teously ; then washing it with the cocoa j u ice , orsomeother liqu or, rubs it with an infu sion of safl’ron ; rolls it carefully u pin new cloth and replaces it in its mansion of rest . Thus the night is

spent go ing from grave to grave , repeating the same ceremonies, and

the morning sun is welcomed in with copiou s potations of Scum . The

modern inhabitants are rather a temperate people ; but, u nhappily.they have had a bad example set them by E uropeans, and many of

them atpresent are not exempt from the charge of excessive indu l

gence in the sen su al gratification of drinking. At the tim e the island

was first visited by the Du tch, intoxication w as cons idered a hei

nous offence ; and great astonishment w as expressed at the attachment which the Christians evinced for strong liqu ors. The king of

Candy, on on e occasion, having called a Du tch merchant into his pre

sence , in whom he pla ced great confidence butwho was in the habit of.

indulging in this propens ity to excess, exclaimed, Why do you thu s

disorder you rself—se that when I send for you on bu siness, you are

notin a capac ity to serve me The other, who w as notaltogetheroverpowered by his glass, ingeniou sly e x cused himself by replying,thatas soon as his mo the r had deprived him of her milk , she sup

phed the wantof itwith wine and that ever after he had accustomed

himse lf to it .” Hence the Cingale se adage Wine is as na tural towhite men as milk to children !

Among the variou s kinds of trees fou nd in this de lightfu l island isthe kettu le, which seems to be the same as the kebul already

Knox '

s Ceylon.

182

mentioned . It yields a very sweet sap ofwholesome quality : one of theordinary size will afford several qu arts of ju i ce in a day. From ’thisj u ice , a sweet spirit is made , similar to that drawn from the palm tre e .

When the buds on the top of , the kettu le become ripe , and wither

away, they are annu ally su cceeded by o thers still we aring year

after year down the branches, u ntil they reach the tru nk , and in thisstage the tree m ay be said to be w orn out. The wood is so hard,that it is frequ ently u sed for pestles in pou nding rice . This islandbears the sugar-cane , as well as all the fru its of the Indie s ; and the

canes produ ce every month of the year, except the three rainy ones.

Rice is abu ndant, of which there are fiv e different spe cie s ; and

from this grain , for many years back, large qnantities of arrack havebeen manufactu red. The average annu al export may be estimated at.

5 600 leagers of 15 0gallons each . The great marts for this articlehave hitherto been Madras and Bombay, with the Malabar and Corem ande l coasts ; here , it is sold for abou t on e shilling and thre e pence

per gallon ; the prime cost varying from e ight to ten pence p er

gallon— a du ty of ten per cent . is levied on the exports . During theyears 1815 , 16, and 17 , some hu ndreds of leagers were brought toE ngland, and sold atfrom fiv e shillings and six -pence , to six and six

pence per gallon . The revenu e arising,from arrack, in Ceylon, is very

’

consid erable ; in the land rents are inclu ded the du ties on cocoa-nuttrees, which exce ed that on rice by annu ally ; the chargeon the former be ing 3, an d that on the latter, —_ Thefollow ing are the particu lars of the du ties levied on the cocoa-nutplantations of 1831

Distillation of arrack,Retail of do . 5

E xport of do .

E xport of rope made from the tree , 15 3

E xport of jagge ry, 162

There are a few E uropeans who distil arrack and rum from sugar,and which to them is a sou rce of great profit .

This island is remarkable for its woods of palm trees ; and so

e arly as the time of Marco Polo, palm W ine was the current beverage yetso cau tio u s were the natives of its effe cts, that those , whowere addicted to it, were he ld as disrepu table W itnesse s in a court ofj u stice . From the B ora ssu s

oflabelliform '

s , sugar is extracted, as lnIndia, and the persons employed to manufacture it are denominatedhakooroo ; the ir bu siness, a ccording to Davy,* is to prepare it from the

Davy’

s Accou nt of Ceylon , 4to.

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184

vi ntage, itmu st be re lieved by frequ ent incisions for the discharge of

itsprecious liqu or . The Cingalese strip of a species of net-Work fromthis tree , and u se it as a strainer for the ir toddy , to free it fromimpu rities and the innumerable insects which its sweetne ss attractsThe Otahe itans u se this bark net-Work as a siev e for straining arrowroot, cocoa-nutoil, 85 0. they often join pieces of ittogether, and use

it as a Covering to save the ir more valu able hark elbthing : it is als0 '

remarkable , that to the Water of the green cocoa-nu t is ascribed theproperty of clean ng the face of all wrinkles and imperfections, andimparting to it the rosy tints of you thful days . B es ides the copiou s

stream of toddy which itaffords, by a similar precess another flu id of

a more pure and limpid qu ality, called mz’

r m, is obtain ed, fi‘omwhich

jaggery is manufactured. Cordiner and others asse rt, tha t the toddydrawn from the palmira. tree is con sidered to make better arraek

than that procured from the cocoa, and both the toddy and pu lp of

the fru it yield a sugar which is highly e steemed in the neighbou ringparts of India . This sugar is of a dark colour, an imperfection which

fn ight be easily remedi ed by a proper process of refining whenexported, it is packed in the leaves of the tree to

‘ which it owes its

orig'

m, and in that state is delivered to the pu rchasers. Percival callsthe

‘

palm from which this sugar is obtained, the suga r tree, and he

is of Opinion that, if properly attended to , the natives might ob ta infrom it such large qu antities of sugar as to ren der it a substitu te forthe cane , and afford sufficient material for the distilla tion of rum .

There is nota province in Hindostan in which this tree grows to so

great a he ight as in Ceylon . its umbrageou s top gives sple ndour tothe humblest hamlet rou nd which it is planted, but, as itis here u suallyto be metwith in groves, it is cu rious to behold with what dexteritythe natives climb its straight and siender trun k in order to suspen dthe chatty or earthen poton the branches, for the pu rpose of pro curingthe jui ce . Having gained the summ it of one tree , their irigenu ity issu ch that they have no o ccasion to renew the toil of climbing, for, bymeans of the branches and some ropes fastened atdifi

'

erentplaces,they pass from tree to tree with the greatest ease and facihty. Inthis manner they colle ct the toddy from a whole ' plantation withou teven once descending and their feats of agility, on these occas ions ,are seldom ou tdone by the most expert sailors

'

m the rigging of a ship,or the gambols of the monkeym its native forests It i s net unwor

thy of obse rvation, that the u sual, duration of the cocoa tree is fi'om

sixty to seven ty years, and that, abou t the fifth year, it is capable of

producing fru it, as if its existence had been measured by providence

85

to answer the Limited life of man . Its he ight is from sixty to nine ty

fee t, and from on e to two fee t in thicknes s. At the’ top , are about

twelve or fifteen leaves, each twelve or fou rteen fee t long, resemblingan immense ostrich feather. The terminal leaf bud is o ccasionally

eaten, when bo iled ; it is a su bstitu te for cabbage , an d is frequ ently

preserved as a pickle on the removal of these terminal bu ds, the treedies. The leaves are employed for thatching hou ses, constru cting

fences, ceiling rooms, and making baskets, some of which are so closely

worked as to serve for water-bu ckets, while others are employ ed for

catching fish ; the ligneous fibres are u sed as pins, toothp ick s, brooms,and several cu linary pu rpose s . The young leaves be ing translucent,lanterns are made of them , bonnets for females , hats for so ld iers and

sailors to prote ct them from the rays ofthe su n . The leaves are likewise used to write on , in the same manner as the w as of Egyp t.E lephants are fed on them, and temporary huts constructed through

the ir means, as they resist all kinds of weather. Travelling atnight

be ing customary, in order to avo id the intolerable heat of the day,torche sare made of these le aves, and, when bu rned,the ashes se rve all

the purposes of soap . The cordage that is formed from the fibres isequ al to that from the best hemp . The root is sometimes chewed

instead of the areca nut, the hard bark of the stem is converted in to

drums, and the mid rib of the leaf serves for lancets and for oars .

The daily produ ce of sweet jui ce drawn from a tree is abou t three or

fou r‘

gallons, and it continu es toflow for fom*or five We eks together .

To prepare the bud forthe run of the juice, they check its expansionby

’

laying on it a mixture of pepper, leinons, garlic, and salt ; this theycover with leaves to preserve it from the sun

’s influ ence , and, after

treating it in this manner, a thi n piece is daily cutfrom its vertex, bywhich means the jui ce trickles copiously in preportion to the healthystate of the tree and the co‘ngeniality of the atmosphere .

The indigenou s grow th of the palm seems to be circum scribed byparalle ls of latitu de , twenty fiv e degre es equidistan t from the equ atorhence this zone exclu des all E urope , an d many portions of Asia,Africa, and America. B ut while providence has bestowed thisinvaluable production on the inhabitants within those boun daries , ithas compensated other cou ntries lying beyond themwith the lu xuryof the v ine, so n icely balanced are the gifts of our impartial andmun ificentCreator.

Though arraek, among the Cingalese , has , from time immemorial,been a common drink of the country, yet their method of manufac

turing itis rude , and indicates an ignorance of chemical knowledge.

186

The still employed for this purpose is of earthenware and of the sim

plast constru ction : the subjo ined is a tru e representation of the on e ingeneral u se .

A. b . is the alembic and capital lu ted together . D . e . a refrigera

tory and re ce iver of one pie ce , and the latter connected with the headby a bamboo , c .

The British settled at Columbo , as we ll as in other parts of the

island, have introdu ced the modern E u ropean improvements in this

branch of bu siness, but the natives , tenaciou s of the ir old arts, seeminsensible of su ch advantages and continu e to u se the ir ow n ru de

apparatu s . In this, however, they are notmore singular than in the

exercise of other arts, which continu e to be practised by them as theyhave existed from the most remote antiqu ity. They cann ot even be

prevailed on to give up some of the most absu rd cu stoms. Theydrink water o ut of a vessel having a tube like a tea-pot, and rece ivethe contents in the ir months withou t su ffering the pipe to tou ch the irlips. In sharing with a strange r, rather than su ffer him to tou ch thesacred tube , they pou r the liqu or into his hands. Other habits,equ ally superstitiou s, preva il, and a slavish reliance on old cu stoms

renders the progress of knowledge slow and difficu lt . The ir weakness is su ch, that they be come dupes of jugglers, pretending soothsayers, an d conju rers. In crossmg r1v ers, they endeavou r to avertthe dangers apprehended from crocodiles, by charms which they call

p ilisu n z’

am, butne ither these , nor the ir numerou s magical spells , pre

vent them from be ing frequ ently devou red by those ravenou s mon

sters . P ercival informs u s, that the conj urers employed atthe bay of

C ondatchy to charm or keep away the sharks from divers in the

pearl fishery, are enjo ined ne ither to eatnor drink during the day, lest

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188

drawn off, the hole fills aga in the same day, and thus continues to

yield a snipply for six or seven days before the tree is exhau sted .

This liqu id is notlike a sn u p , butis very sweet, cooling, and refreshing

-f If fermented, it intoxicates like other liquors drawn from the

palm tree .

From the cane another'

wine is procured,termed tougoa re , signifyingwine from sugar . Thi s is obta ined by boiling the canes in water tillthey are redu cedto two-thirds of the origina l qu antity, after which the

liqu id is putlinto calabashes, and, in three days , it becomes so strong

mid corrosive as to dissolve or penetrate an egg-shell in the cou rse

of e ight or ten hours. The toup are has a pu ngent, bitte rish taste ,mu ch resembling beer highly hopped. In this island are fou rteenspe cies of the cane mu ch larger and produ cing more sugar than thoseof the West Indies ; they are u sed mere ly for making toup are , thenatives notknowing the valu e of them for any othe r profitable purpos e :they are as thick as a man’s wrist, and a foo t of them in length willwe igh two pou nds. The third description of wine is derived fromthe banana fru it (musd-p am dz

’

s iacag by bo iling it four or fiv e hours,and, after a short fermentation, it be comes in taste and flavou r verylike cider. From the contact; (cydonz

'

um B engalense ,j a fruit, thesize of a qu ince , a fourth sort of wine , notun like beer, is manu factured.

When the v ontaca, or B engal qu ince , as it is calle d, is ripe , . the juic eand pu lp have the most delightful flavou r, and , when open ed, difl’usea most agreeable odour. This frui t is highly nu tritive , and is therefore mu ch used in fatten ing swine .

With their drinks the M adagasse s mix the red fru itof the aughz’

oe

in the same way, and for the same purpose, that w e use lemon andlini es, to impart a palatable tartn ess. Vines, bear

'

mg’

grapes of a goodquality,grow spontaneou s ly in som e parts ofthe island ; butpreviou sto the settlementof the B ench, un der Flacourt, in 165 6 , they werenot considered by the natives as eatable . Here also is a curious sortof vine which bears a fru it very mu ch admired by E u ropeans, andhaving a roo t said to be a species of yam ; it is called the Madagascar

grape , but, whether the root is u sed for food or to wha t pu rpose it is

converted, w e are nottold. In most of the villages of Madagas car,it is a prevailing cu stom to keep an open house for the entertainmentand accommodation of travellers, and, as indi cative of its use , it isopen on all side s, as if to

‘

invite persons from every quarter, and toafliord shelter indis criminately to every individual Although ho s

pitable in the extreme , the Abbé Rochon assures u s , that in all the ir

Drury’

s Fifteen Years’ Captivity in the Island of Madagascar, 8vo .

189

entertainme nts they nev er fall into those excesses , which are buttoo

common amongst more polished nations yet, like other mortals, they

are subje ct to occas ional aberations from rectitude of condu ct andsobriety. In the account given of the loss of the Winterten , EastIndiaman, on the coast of Madagascar, the benevolenc e and kindness of the king towards the su ffere rs are spoken of in high terms ;but it is said, that although he had on e fau ltin common with many ofhissu bj ects, that of be ing addictedto spiritu ous liquors ,he never seemed toforget his digni ty. Like the M acedonian monarch, he gave frequ entoccas ion to appeal from Philip dru nk to Philip sober ; and though

the idea w as notclothed in the garb of classic taste , it w as perfectlyintelligible , when he u sed to say To day, brandy speak, to mo rrow,king speak !”

Bo tanists have enume rate d eleven kinds of rice in this island, allcu ltivated to considerable extent, besides the several spe cie s of yams

(igna names) , some of which are as large as a man’s body. Fruit isabu ndant and of vario us d escriptions. Water melons are of two

kinds, one black, and the other with red seeds : both cooling and

much used in the hotseasons . The go urds are of two sorts, one long,the o the r globular ; the former dressed with milk , affords a goodnu tritive dish, and, after be ing scoope d, the rinds are converted intobottles for wine and other liquo rs. Thou gh they have other vessels,the king drinks outof an earthen cup which none is permitted to u se

buthimse lf, not e ven his wives or children . Taake is mos t com .

monly drunk outof bowls, and on occas ions of rejoicing, the women

as well as the men indulge in the sympathe tic pleas ures of quafi j lgthis favou rite beverage.

The inhabitants ofMadagas car , when first visited by E u ropeans, hadno notion of letters, of a ho rse , nor of any kin d of wheel machine or

carriage ; and to the Mahometans, who first traded with them,they

are sa id to be indebted for most of the ir arts yetthat of distillation

seems to have been wholly u nknown — To this day, they may be sa id

to be in a state of barbarism, and , overwhelmed by superstitiou sno ti ons, they yield to the most absurd practices. Infants are sacri

ficed because they are brought forth on unlu cky days, fathe rs and

mothers even assisting in the destru ction of the ir innocent offspring .

The island of B ourbon , when discovered in the sixteenth century,

presented nothing in the vegetable kingdom of any importance forfood , the palm tree excepted but, since that time, it has been plantedwith variou s E u ropean productions, as well as those of the neighbom

ing islands. The narrow valleys, the sides of the hills, and the plains,the island be ing chiefly mountainou s, are the only parts cu lt ivated ,

190'

andalthough these amply compensate the labour of the tille r, the prod u ce is

'

principally taken u p in cotton and cofi‘

ee . Partial attention ispaid to the sugar-cane , rice , maize , and potatoe s, butmore particu larly

to the cu ltu re of yams, cassava (j atrop lza ,) as they form the chief support of the slaves. From the cassava, is manu factu red a d1ink cem

mon amongst the lower order, the same as that in the We st“

Indie s,and, as the cocoa-nutis abu ndant, arrack is also made : the hou ses,in which this liqu or is sold, yield a considerable item of revenue .

The cr0ps of rice , wheat, andmaize , produ ce sufiicient surplu s forexportation to the Mau ritiu s, while oranges, plantains, pomegranates,bananas, melons, raspberries, citrons, tamarinds, and a variety of otherfru its, may be had almost for nothing .

The Mauritiu s, or Isle of France , famed as the scene of'

the interesting tale of Pau l and Virginia, is little distingu ished from Bourbonin its produ ctions. The great commodity in consumption amongstthe slaves is the j atrop ha or ca ssa da , of which there

‘

are tw o spe cies,the j atropha j an z

'

p lza , and the j atrop lza ma n ihot, both indigenou s toSou th Am erica and first brought to thi s island by M.

'

de la Bourdonnois, on e of its early governors. The cassada is a strong v ege

table po ison before itu ndergoe s the process of bo iling the manihot' is

a kind'

of narcotic ; both sorts are easily converted into wholesomefood by a process described in treating of the West Indies and the

Brazils. The Mau ritians form it into cakes resembling oaten or

barley bread, and in this state it is called man iac . By a differentmanagement, the maniho t is tu rned into a pu lpy consistence , knownby the name of tap ioca , and some believe that the farinaceou s powder,I ndian arrow -roof, is buta more delicate preparation of this substance .

Tapioca, while it thu s serves for food, is also a pleasing anodyne . In

the Mau ritiu s, sugar is re ared nearly equ al in quality to that Of anyo ther cou ntry a considerable qu antity of it is consumed in the

island, some of which is refined, buta great deal is u sed in its crystallized state , and prepared by many, particularly for tea .

-The

planters distil a considerable portion, as the consumption of spiritu o usliqu ors is carried to some extent,and the blacks, w ho are passionatelyfond of tippling, inj ure themselve s by too free an indulgence in thisand other beverages o f the ir own making ; hence the cau se of the

early de crepitude so common amongst them .

Ofthe minor islands ly'

i ng in this di1ection , thei c i s n othing remarkable , except the coco de m er, an indigenou s produ ction of Praslin, on eo f the Se chelles adjacent to M ali e e . This fru it, fou nd 1n no otherpax t of the habitable globe , w as first discovered on the '

shores ‘

of

India, whither it had been '

carried by the gales and cu rrents from

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192

supply-him with those beverage s, in which he indulged to excess, in

company with his women, banqueting from morning till night .

M e chanics and trade sme n , of various descriptions, were then nume

rous, among whom be particularly mentions distillers of aque vitw

(arrack) from rice ; as being Mahometans, drink from the grape was

prohibite d.* A ru de spe cies of d istillation w as known to the Sum

trans from a more remo te per iod, and is supposed to be of the ir owninvention . It w as practise d only in the preparation of the oil of

Benjamin, with which they perfumed their hair. The still consistedof a p ree oo, o r earthen rice-pot, covered close ly ; in the side, w as

inserted a small bamboo, well lu ted with clay and ashes, throughwhich the oil dropped into a re ce iver. What w as brought over inthis way was empyreumatic ; and value d by them atso high a price ,that itcould only be procured by the afluent. This mode of distil

lation still continu es in some parts of Sumatra,1'

The inhabitants import imme n se quantities of sugar and arrack fromJava ; but as this island produ ce s sugarr canes in abiutdance , and is

stocked with greatplenty of the a nou , an excellent spe cies of palm,

together with rice and other grain, it w as . expected, in Marsden’

s

time , to rival Java in the manufactu re of tho se articles oftrade . The

ex pe nse of employing slaves in the labours of the field w as fou nd atone time to exce ed the advantages butitw as se en while the manage

ment of the plantations and works were u nder the care of an E ng

l ish gentleman of the name of B otham , that the end w as to be

obtained, by employing the resident Chinese , and allowing them a

proportion ofthe produ ce . From the ju ice of the anou , called neero,

or toddy, a description of drink is made , termed brum, which, fromthe process, similarity of taste , and name , with the brom of Java, seemsto indicate a common origin . The late discovery of coal mines in thisisland, may lead to improvements in all the arts of civilized life, andtend mu ch to give an imp etu s to the physical as well as the inte llect

tual energies of the people while it may lead adventu rers and

capitalists to take advantage of the immense resources of the country ; and whe n coupled with steam n avigation , it opens a prospect ofincalculable benefit to ou r connexions and se ttlements in the East .

Ardent spirits are manu factured in larger qu antities in Java thanin any other island in the Indian ocean ; this may be accounted forby the gr eat industry of the Dutch, and the celebrity which the w eek

of Batavia so early acqu ired under the ir au spices . According to Sir

Voyage of Captain Davis, in 15 98.

1Marsde n'

s History o f Sumatra,4to . p. 146.

193

Thomas Rallies, the manner ofmaking it is as follows z—Abou t 701bs .

o f ketan , or glu tinou s rice , are filled up in a small vat; round thisheap, a hu ndred cans of water are pou red, and on the top, twenty cansof molasses ; after remaining two days in this v at, the ingredients areremoved to a larger v atadjo ining, when they rece ive the addition offou r hu ndred cans of water and a hundred cans of molasses. Thu sfar the process is carried on in the open air. In a separate v atwithindoors , forty cans of palm wine , or toddy, are immediately mixed withnine hu ndred cans of water and on e hu ndred and fifty cans of molasses,both preparations being allowed to _ remain in this state for two days.

The first of these preparations is, carried to a still larger v at withindoors ; and the latter, being contained in a v atplaced above , is poure dupon it through a hole bored for the pu rposejnear the bottom . In thisstate , the entire preparation is allowed to fe rment for two days, whenit is pou red into small earthen jars

,containing abou t twenty cans

e ach, in which it remains forthe further period of two days, and is

then distilled. The proof of a sufiicient fermentation isl

obtained byplacing a lighte d candle or taper abou t six inches above the su rface ofthe liqu or in the fermenting v at; if the process be properly advanced,the fixed air rises and extinguishes the light . Another mode of

apportioning the materials for the making of arrack is,62 parts molasses,8 do . toddy (or palm wine).35 do . rice .

O ne hundred parts of these yield, on distillation, tw enty-thre e and

a-half parts of proof arrack. The stills are made of copper, and are

much like those u sed in the West Indies the worms consist of abou t

nine tu rns of Banca tin. The spirit ru ns into a vessel u nder grou nd ,from whence it is pou red into rece iving vessels, and is called the third,or common sort of arrack, which by a second distillation in a smaller

still, with the addition of some water, becomes the second sort and

by a third operation is what is called the first sort . To ascertain thestrength of the spirit, a small qu antity of it is burned in a sau cer, and

the residutun measured ; the difference betwe en the original qu antity

and the residu um gi ves the measu re of the alcohol lost . The com

pletion of the first sort does n otrequ ire more than ten days, six hou rs

being sufiicient for the original preparation to pass through the first

still. The Chinese residents who condu ct the whole of this process ,call the third, or common sort, szckew , the se cond, tanp o , and the first,Ii i/z. The two latter are distinguished as arrack apt. t en cooled,it is pou red into large vats in the store -house s, where it remains u ntil

putinto casks. The making of ti i e is distinct f1omthat of sugar,0

194

which is manufactu red to a considerable extent in Java. The arrackdistillers purchase the molasses from '

the su gar m anufactu rers attherate of abou t a dollar and a-half a picu l, delivered atthe distillery:

The best arrack is made for seven Spanish dollars the picu l ; or2 7

7

556 dollars the cubic footfi" In 1795 , the rece ipts on arrack athome

and in -India, exclu sively of the trade to China, be ing 140 1eagers ,amou nted to florins. The export du ty on arrack from Bata

v ia rates as follows -ou the leager (of 388 jugs) of first qu ality, at110i

”

; on the second, at 8f ; and on the third, or lowest qu ality, at 6

florims rice and maize are the chiefarticles of home consumption, and

therefore cultivated to very great extent : some wheat is likewiseraised, butthe staple article is rice . Two kinds of fermented liqu oris prepared from the latter grain by the natives. In m aking the first,called badek, the rice is first boiled and stewed W ith a ferm ent calledf az i, consisting of onions, black pepper, and capsicum, mixed u p intosmall cakes, an d daily sold in the markets. After frequent stirring,

’

the compou nd is rolled into balls, which are piled u pon each other ina high earthen vessel ; and when fermentation has commenced, thebédek exu des and is collected atthe "bottom . The remainder, afterfermentation is completed, has a sweet taste ; and is sold as a daintyin the marketsx

‘

u nder the 'name of tépé. B ram is the se cond kind ofliqu or, and it is made from ketan . This glu tinou s substance is bo iledin large qu antities, and;

‘

being stirred with razz‘

, rem ains exposed inopen tubs, till fermentation take s place , when the liqu or is pou red offinto close earthen vessels. It is generally buried for ‘

several monthsin the earth, by which means the fermentation is checked, and the

strength of the liqu or increased— itis sometimes made strong bybo iling. The colou r varies from brown to red and yellow , accordingto the keta n employed . Brom,

kept for several years, is consideredexcellent by the

'n ativ es, and is very intoxicating. It is, however,

ardent and aptto give a head-ache .T The white arrack, called kn ezp,is generally bo iled strong, and sent to India ; the brown arrackrece ives that tinge from the cask, and it is that description of this

liqu or which is sold in E u rope . The ca sks are made fromthe teak tree , which imparts to the liqu or a particu lar flavo ur;‘

mu ch'

relished, and which is su pposed to arise from an e ssen~

tial o il'

pecu liar to this wood. The Chinese drink the weakersort warm,

'

as is the practice in the ir own cou ntry}: The Batavia

C rawfu rd'

s Hist. of the Indian Archipelago , vol. i. p. 478.

1Raffle s’ H ist. of Java, vol. i. pp . 176, 177.

i Thunbcrg’

s T ravels, v

’

ol. ii. p . 283.

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196

frau dulent and exorbitant exactions . A leager of arrack, of the highestproof, including du ties,

'

sells atthe merchants’ stores atfrom 60to 7 5dollars ; or 4 5 cents of a Spanish dollar per gallon ; .and a leage r of

the second quality at from 4 5 to 5 5 dollars, or 83 cents per gallon.

Sometimes the best sort may be had for 20 pence ; and the o rdinary

kind for about 15 pence a-gallon .

At a remote period, the proprietors of inns and taverns were obliged

to pay two rials permonth for the ir license besides, 70 rials excise on

e very pipe of Spanishwine which they sold ; while the distillersofarrack

paid 5 0rials for every chaldron, or gosper , whi ch they manu factu red .

A s the great portion o f the popu lation of Java, compu ted at

are Mahometans, an indulgence in intoxicating liqu ors isnotprevalent, though the people often barter the ir credit and character in private for the produ ce of the still. Crawfurd says, thatnotwithstanding the professors of the Mahometan faith, in this islandare no drunkards,c lasses partake of wine , or spirituou s liqu ors, withoutreserve . Among the native chiefs of highest rank , he fou nd but

three examples of“ persons refraining from the open use of these

bev eragesfi‘

Many of them, during their convivial moments, when excited bybacchanalian frenzy, often commit the most extravagant acts. Onon e of these occasions, the son of a chief, professed with a belief ofhis own invu lnerabili ty, putthe matter to the test, by drawing his krissand killing himself on the spot.

To the widows, who immolate themselves on the fun eral piles oftheir hu sbands, it is cu stomary to give , the night before the ceremony,whatever tends to the gratification of the senses and among these ,wines and spirits form no inconsiderable share . They are given in su chqu antities that few obj e cts appear terrific hence the horrors of the

burning sacrifice are met in a state of excitement or stupefaction,whi ch deprives death of all its terrors.

At feasts and entertainments, there is mu ch conviviality, with great

i ndu lgence in the pleasu res of the table . The cups u sed by theprinces, chiefs, and most of the higher orders, are costly and splendid,be ing stu dded with pre ciou s stones and otherwise highly ornamented .

Batavia, the capital, from be ing situ ated in a low , swampy ground,intersected with foetid canals, and surrou nded by stagnant marshes,is so u nhealthy, that few E u ropeans, who can avo id it, even sleep in

the city. Soldiers an d seamen have often negle cte d this precaution ;hence a night or two spen t there has proved fatal. Mu ch of this is

Hist. of the Indian Archipelago, vol. 11. p. 270.

197”

to be attributed to excess in eating, buta grea t deal more to vex ceSs

in drinking arrack ; a liqu or so cheap that a man may getdru nk for a.

half-penny. Hence , it has been observed, that a person fou nd

drunk atBatavia is a fit subje ct for a doctor’s care ; and this remark,which is there prevalent—or, rather a common adage , has often had

the good efi’ect‘ of preventing repetitions of inebriety ; as a regimen

su ited to the nature of the indiscretion, added to a fear of death ,carries with i t a cure for the most de termined dru nkard. Su ch is the

mortality which sometimes prevails among n ew -comers an d se ttlers,that when a lady, who kept lodgings, w as applied to for accommoda

tions, she regre tted her inability to comply, butexclaimed, withflippant earnestness, Do notbe impatient ; my lodgers are foreigners

or strangers, and you know .w e are certain of death-vacancies in a

short time !” As a provision for contingencies, in cofisequ en ce of the

mortality that prevails, itis common to have graves ready made for

the first that may offer, as it too u nhappily occu rs, that the influx

of strangers is a constant sou rce of su pport for the speculation of

the '

u ndertakers. It has been remarked, that E uropeans are here theprincipal sufferers ; next the Creoles, andhalf castes ; then the Chinese ,Javanese , Malays, B aliers, B uggese , Amboyn ese ,

~Negroes, & c.

The next island that claims attention is Borneo , a place , which from

its be ing, with the exception of N ew Holland, the largest island in theworld, oughtto afford ample materials for an extended art icle but,

like many other portions of the globe , it is yet little known . The

coasts are possessed by the Malays and other settlers, while the abo

rigin es occu py the inland parts, and are styled B eaj us, a term, which,in the Malay . language , signifies a w ild man . Some accounts say,

they are little better than men in a wild state , and if Comma-3dore Roggew ein relate facts, w e ought to consider them among thebasest, most cru el, and perfidiou s people in the world.

’le.Perhaps the

most au thentic accou nt of this island is that given by Antonio Ventimiglia , an Italian missionary, sent from Macao , in order to convertthe natives to Christianity—he died there in 1691. His account ismore favourable to the ir moral habits, as he represents them, par

ticularly the B eaj us, as honest and industriou s, hav ing a strong afl'ection for eac h other sowing and reaping for mu tual benefit ; eachtaking what serves his family, and leaving the remainder to the tribesin common . By this means, bo th scarcity and dispu te s are prevented ,and general harmony prevails .

The Chinese early traded to this island, and many of thembecoming settlers, instru cted the natives in those arts with which

f Voyage round the World by Roggewein , in 1721- 1723.

198 .

they were themselves familiar. Magellan found arrack 111 abundantu se among them, and Captain Beckman* w as

' regaled With the

beverages peculiar .to other equ inoctial regions. .A s Borneo fu rnishesmost of the trees and fru its common to the E ast, hen ce the samedescription of liqu ors are prevalent—toddy and arrack from thepalm ;sugar and rice ; with cooling draughts from melons, oranges, citrons,bananas, pomegranates a variety of other fru its and honey. The irPagan practices ha ve many offerings and ceremonies connected withthe worship of their idols, which, with the ir feasts and su perstitiou sobservances, give occas ion to the consum ption of a vast qu antity of

the ir intoxicating beverages. Beside s the native supply, a largeproportion is imported from Java, for which gold and diamonds, so

abu ndant in the island, are bartered. The am , or intoxicatingpepper plant (p ip er methysticum) , is mu ch cu ltivated by the B eaj u s,and affords them equ al pleasu re 'with the be tel and are ca , of whichthey chew immense qu antities. The am is a shrub with th ick roots,forked branches, long leaves, and bearing a clump or spike of berries .

The root be ing chewed, a little water or milk from the cocoa-nut~ is

pou red upon the masticated pu lp, and from the fermentation whi che nsu es, a strong inebriating drink is produ ced, in which the nativesdelight, and indu lge often to excess. Their - physicians, as among

o ther rude nations, have recourse in the cu re of diseases, to charmsand necromancy ; and mo st of the ir incantations and mummerie s arethe e ffects of intoxication. The p iedro d i p orco, or pork stone ,which is so highly esteemed among them, that it some times brings300 crowns, is exhibited with the liqu or in which itis steeped beforethe draught is administered, in order that the doctor may infallibly

as certain whether his patient is to live or die .

Throu ghou t the whole of the Sunda islands, a vast number of

the Chinese are scattered ; and the ir affairs are managed for the mostpart agreeably to the ir ow n national Observances. Those in the island

of Timor have a code of laws by which they are governed ; and

amongst other regulations, they have secured to themselves an exclu

sive right to manu factu re a spiritu ou s liqu or called amis, a description

of arrack highly e steemed. The natives extract from the fan -palm,

a beverage termed bacanassi this is fermented in baske ts made of

the leaves of the p andcm u s, and su spended from the branches of the

tre e for a few days till it be comes fit for u se .

111 examining the group of islands classed '

u nder the name

of Celebes, or Macassar, I find that naturalists are very little

C dPt B ech nan'

s V0} age to B orneo, 1718, Evo.

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200

obtained from a fly (a ’species '

of be e) , scarcely the size of an‘

ant.

The rapacity of the Du tch and the ir fear of invasion have inducedthem to discourage the cu ltivation of the variou s escu lent commoditieswhich the natu re of the climate and the richness of the soil wou ld

warrant .Amboyna is noted for an excellent description of Sagw ire ; the

tree from which it is extracted, is of the same genus as the cocoa-n ut,sago , siri, and date-tree from sago and siri, it appears to derive itsname , as if the liqu or were indiscriminately made from each. Tokeepthis beverage for any length of time , the roots of a tree called the

Sasoot, or O ubat, are infused, which occasion fermentation, and theprocess is u su ally completed in e ight hours. It is generally bo ttled

for convenience and safety, and is con sidered wholesome , refreshing,and strongly inebriating. The ju i ce or toddy is collected in thesame manner as elsewhere described, and is here called tyfi é ring

fi

F rom the Sagwire , an arrack is distilled , and sold so cheap as a

fa’rthing a glas s . When Arago tou ched atthe island of Rawaek, one

of the Mo lu ccas , he observed, that both before and after a repast, a

libationwas made, in honou r, as he supposed, of some de ity—the milkof the cocoa-nutappeared to be the prin cipal bev erage .

’

r

In the Manillas or Phillippine islands, the sugar-cane is su ccess;

fu lly cu ltivated ; the valleys are fertile in Sago and many kinds offru its, and the bread-fru it has lately be come an article of importance .

The aborigines are called Negrellos, and, it may be presumed, they

are mu ch attached to inebriety, as they make drinking vessels of

the sku lls of su ch u nfortunate Spaniards as fall into the ir hands, owingto the gross treatment they rece ived from the first invaders.

At Manilla, the largest ‘ of these islands, palm trees grow in great

perfection, and there is notless than forty species : su ch is the magn i g

tude of some of them, that a Jesu it missionary having tou ched there,had, through the kindness of a friend, a place prepared for him so

capaciou s, that u nder tw o leaves of one of those trees, he was enabledto say mass and to sleep secu rely from the most violent rain. The

palm to which these leaves belong, is somewhat similar to the talipot

of Ceylon (licu a la ap inosa) ; -the leaves lie in folds like a fan , and

are so large , when expanded, that they measu re fiv e feet every w ay.

Here they are used as umbrellas, and are su fficient to protect fiv e or

six persons from the heavi est rain . This tree rises to a great height,and never blossoms butonce, and that is said to be in the year in

Stavorinu s’

s Voyage to the'

EastIndie s, vol, 11. p . 349.

T Arago’

s Voyage , 4to. p. 234.

201

which itdies, when some beau tiful yellow flowers appear at the top

ornamenting the wide spreading branches, and these are surrounded

by a’ fruitas large as a

'cherry, of which no u se is made , except that

Of preserv ing it for seed . Thunberg, speaking of the talipot, says;that when the sheath, which env elopes the flower on its lofty sum

mit, comes to matu rity, it bu rsts with an explosion like vthe report of

a cannon, and after that it shoots forth branches on every sida te.the

su rprising he ight of thirty or forty fe et . When cut down for the

sake of 1ts seed, the pith, like the sago -tree , yields a sort of meal which

is made into cakes, and tastes like fine .bread, forming a good substi

tu te for rice . Davy, in his accou nt of Ceylon, qu estions the realityof what is re lated respe cting the talipot, and says that a go od deal ofitis fabu lou s, butthat the leaves are from twenty to thirty fee t in.

circumference . Here, as well as in M indora, another of these islands,a liquor called tuba is drawn from a palm mu ch like the cocoa : large

quantities of itare consumed in the cou ntry, and produ ce a consider

able revenu e . This beverage obtains the name of_

tu ba , in conse

qu ence of the liqu or being infused with calinga , the bark of a treelike cinnamon, which i s putinto it, in order to give it a colou r and

a more pu ngent taste . Large qu antities of cocoa-n ut wine are.

consumed in that cou ntry,.produ cing a considerable revenu e . The

rich distil this ju ice e ither once or twice , as , .they wish it stronger or

weaker ; it is a clear spirit of an astringent qu ality.

The liquor called Chilang is a'

simple beverage , -made by first

bo iling the j uice of the sugar-cane , and then allowingj tto ferment,after which it assumes the colour of wine . Another drink, termed

P angatz'

, is made by first pu tting some herbs with leaven into a pot,

then covering them with rice till the vesse l is half full and afterwards

pouring water on the entire mass. When fermentation has subsided,wate r is again added, and the liqu or thu s dilu ted is usually consfiihed

by su cking it through a cane tube . A substance, not-u nlike marma

lade , is made from toddy, enclosed in se ctions ofthe cocoasnut shell,and e xposed in that state in the public bazaars for .sale . Sugar,however, is so abu ndant, that the manufactu re of :this . article is ren

dered less necessary. Rice is reared with . -little labou r , and'

ev en

grows on the tops of the mou ntains withou t being watered ; itafl'

ords

the Chin ese , who live on and frequ ent the i slands, an Opportuni ty for

the exercise of the ir ingenu ity in all the . v arieties of the brewing pro

cess.

“Abundantmaterials for the making of an excellent brandy are

obtained fromthe cocoa, n z’

p e , and cabenegro trees the m’

p e or n z’

p a /o

is’

chiefly c u ltivated for its j uice ; it is a low description of palm ,

se ldom exceeding the heig ht of a man ; the .fr11itafiords an excellent

sweet-meat, and the leaves, called atop by the Malays, are employed

in'

cov ering cottages and constru cting mats.

A s Manilla is the great mart and centre of all the Spanish traders

in the E ast, and the several nations with whom they deal, mu ch of

the lu xu ries and comforts of other cou ntries are brought thi ther . The

viceroy lives in great splendou r, and at his table , as well as at the

tables of the higher order of merchants, may ,be found most of the

wines , spirits, and liquors of E u rope , Asia, Africa, and America .

The imports are chiefly brandy, gin, and W ine :'

sugar is exported to

the amou nt of picu ls annually, which, at1422l . the picu l, is

equ al to 10,65 0,0001bs. The sugar is equ ally packed in earthenvessels, called p elons , three of whi ch containtw o picu ls ; the export

du ties are 12 cents . the picu l. In 1817, the revenu e on cocoa-nut

wine , w as dollars, and on rum 483dollars.In Mindanao , another of the Phillippine islands, among the variou s

fru its, plants, and grain which it produ ces, there is a tree , called libbgjby the natives, yielding a kind of sago , and of which there are groves ;

and plantations several miles in length. It resembles the cabbagetree , or rather the bread-palm of Malacca, having a strong bark and

hard wood, the heart of which is full of a Whi te pith like tha t of thee lder . When the tree is cutdown , the pith is extracte d and beaten '

in a mortar u ntil it becomes a complete pulp ; in this state it is laid ou'

a cloth, or sieve , water is pou red on it and kept stirring u ntil all thefarinaceous, or mealy substance , is strained into a rece iver. When

settled, the water is drained off, and the residu um or sago baked intocakes and u se d as bread. Considerable qu antities of this valuablearticle are exported to different parts of the E ast and eaten with milkof almonds, be ing deemed, from its astringent natu re , an excellentremedy in diarrhoea .

The interior and mountainou s parts of Mindanao produ ce honey insu ch abu ndance, that bees

’w ax is an article of export, and the inhabi

tants are notignorant of the u se s to whichthe honey may be convertedin administering to the comforts of life . The Phillipine islan ds are

also no ted for a water drawn from a tree ju stly termed thefou nta intree,

”and for a kin d of cane called by the Spaniards vax uco, each jo int

o f which yields suflicientfor an ordinary draught and it is singular

that the vax u co abou nds in the mou ntainou s and barren parts, wherea cooling beverage is most requ ired.L eaving the extensive range of islands connected .with the two greatIndian P eninsu las, the first kingdom on the As iatic continent that

.claims notice , is Cochin-China, in which the manu facture of rice-wineand distillation from that grain are carried 011 to great ex tent .

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204

called Ca lamba . This wood is so celebrated -for its perfume and

virtu e, that itbe longs only to the king ; and it is said of it that, even;

thou gh buried fou r fee t u nder groun d, it is discovered by'

its‘

fragrance . Lord Macartney and the gentlemen of his su ite wereregaled with a portion of thi s spirit atan entertainment given by thegovernor of the town of Ta rm , while the ships were ancho red in thebay. It was served in small cu ps, and re sembled, in Staunton

’s opin ion,

Irish whiskey. The host on tha t occasion , by w ay of se tting a good

example to his gu ests, filled his cup to the brim, in a tru e E uropeanstyle ofjoviality, and after drinking, turned it-up, to shew that he had

emptied it to the bottom .

* The Cochin-Chinese are a kind-heartedpeople , and do notbear the character of intemperance .

.Hospitalityis common amongst them , and as practised in the Nicobar islands, a

trave ller in want of money is always su re to obtain subsistence atanyhou se he may choose to enter, partaking, in

'

common with the family;e very thing at table , and retiring withou t any body inqu iring

‘his

bu siness,—whence he came , or whi ther he goeth, it be ing enough forthem to know

'

that he is a fellow-mortal in distress.1' Various descrip

tions of dr ink are made fromthe fruits and vegetables with which the

cou ntry abou nds. The areca-nutand betel are in mu ch ’requ est, and,before they are u sed, are formed into a

'

paste with lime and wate r.

For the pu rpose of carrying this material abou t them, the inhabitants

go to great expense in making pou ches and boxes, which both sexeswear indiscriminately. The men carry the ir’s su spended by a ribandfrom the shou lders in the form of a belt,

’

while . the women atc

the ir’s to 'a girdle rou nd the waist . To the practice of chewing bete lan d sin oking tobacco may be

'

attribute d the chief cau se of the great

consummion‘

of rice-win es,'

in'

order to supply the constant drain on

the animal j u ices.

Bete l is a favourite over all the E ast, and its ogeneral use is su ch

thatno feast or o ccasion of ceremony is o bse rved withou t it and to

partake'

o f it in company with persons of high rank . is accou nted an

honou r. ~ Itfis related of the king of Qu eda h, that in ord er to expre ss

a high mark of his respe ct for any of his cou rtiers or visiters, he made

him sitnear his throne, and having chewe d a little be tel, sent it fre shfrom the royal mouth ‘ on a go ld sau cer to the distinguished eindivi d

dual, who 'was ~obliged, as a matter of courtesy, to ~chew it after him

w ith every apparent mark of satisfaction .The highest affront one can offer to an Oriental is to refu se his

betel. Bernier tells a story of a young nobleman, who, to prove his

Stau nton’

s Embassy, v ol. i . p . 25 5 .

1’ Le Poirre

’

s O bservations on Various Nations, 121110.

205

loyalty, took and swallowed the bete l from Shah Jehan, though heknew itto be po isoned.

A s the kingdoms of Tonqu in and Chochin-China were at one

p eriod governed by the same laws, there still exis ts an aflinity in themanners, customs, arts, and sciences ofthe inhabitants. A reciprocity of,habit prevails, and w e do notfind that the Tonqu ine se are acqu ainted

with the making of any beverage with which their neighbou rs are notfamiliar. The fertility of the cou ntry and temp erate natu re of the

climate are sa id to enable them to cu lt ivate a great variety of grain .

Besides the rice common to the rest of India, they rear fiv e other.kinds peculiar to the so il. The first is the small r ice, the grain of

which is . long, thin, and transparent it is accou nted the most delicate ,and is generally the only kind which the physicians allow the ir patients.

The second is the long thick rice , the form of which is rou nd . The

third is the red rice, it is so called be cau se its grain is covered with areddish coloured pellicle . These three kinds of rice requ ire mu ch

water, and never grow buton lands tha t are frequ ently ov erflow ed .

The dry rice , which is oftwo kinds, grows in a dry so il, and has no

o ccasion for any water, but what falls from the heavens . Thesetwo last kinds produ ce a grain as white as snow, and are the principalarticles of the ir trade with China. They are never cu ltivated buton

the hills and mou ntains, where they are sown in the same manner asour wheat, abou t the end of De cember, _

or beginning of January, atwhich time the rainy season ends. The dry rice is generally three

months in the ground and is very produ ctiv e .

"E The wine from theseappears to be exce llent and the arrack, of which large qu antities aredistilled, is mu ch esteemed throughou t the E ast . In Tonqu in, thereis also an odoriferous kind of rice , which is said to intoxicate by

merely eating itwithou t its u ndergoing any process of fermentation

butas this is contrary to the quality of any other grain, the tru th of

the statement is qu estionable— this rice , however, yields by distillation

a strong kind of arrack. From the palm , which is abundant, toddy

is extracted, butitis reckoned by Barron to be bad for the nerves ;1'

notfrom any pe cu liar quality in the ju ice , as obtained from the tree ,but from the mode in which the fermentation is condu cted. The

sugar-cane abou nds , be ing indigeno u s to the country. Two kinds are

common, the one is large and exceedingly high, with long joints,appearing always green, and is very fu ll of ju ice the other is smaller,of a yellow colour, and although itaffords less liquor, itfurnishes more

Grosier'

s China, vol. i. p . 292 .

1 B arron'

s Description of the Kingdom of Tonqu in.

206

sugar . Until lately, the Tonqu in ese were ignorant of the mode of

refining it, contenting themselves with bru ising the can es, bo iling thej u ice twice , and allowing it to settle into a thick sirup called hon ey ofs ugar perhaps it is well for the peace and happiness of the inhabitants that the artof making spirits from molasse s or sugar is to them

still a secret . E ven the vine , the natu ral produ ction of the climate ,is neglected, and the artof making wine from the grapes unknown .

Rice -wine , the common liqu or, is dru nk warm, and mu ch of it is u sed

atreligiou s sacrifices. On those o ccasions, a strange cu stom prevails,of trying the animals intended as offerings, by pou ring ’ warm wine

into the ir ears if they shake their heads, they are ju dged proper to

be sacrificed ; butif they make no motion, they are rejected. In thecourse of the ceremony, the flesh of the victim sacrificed is u ncovered,and the priest, raising a vessel filled with spiritu ou s liqu or , (arrack),Sprinkles it over a human figu re made of straw, invoking the spirit ofConfuciu s to be their tu telary gu ardian and benefactor . After . a

lengthened orison, the priest regales himself with the remains of theliqu or, which he cau tiou sly secu res for that pu rpose . A cu stom

equ ally ridicu lou s, as the on e of choosing the animals for sacrifice;prevails amongst the people of Laos—that of rubbing the head of an

e lephant with wine , enriched with a drop or two of human gall, u nder

the impression that the beast will thereby become more robu st, and

the owner more cou rageou s.

The mou ntaineers of Tonqu in, denominatedM ia o-tsé, have devised

a pe cu liar system of religion and rites, of which the ir priests are at

the head . It is generally in the hou se of one‘

of those spiritu al fathersthat the ir gods are consulted and deliver oracles. On su ch occasions,a great no ise annou nces, as is supposed, the arrival of the ir de ities.

Previou s to this, the time is passed in drinking and dancing, but, onthis annou ncement, all diversions cease , and the mu ltitude send forthlou d shou ts of j oy, crying as they address themselves to the ir princi

pal god , Father ! artthou already come ?” A vo ice answers, B e

ofgood cheer, my children ; eat, drink, and rejo ice ; it is I who procure

you all those'

adv antages which you enjoy !” Having listened to thesewords with profou nd silence , they again re tu rn to their pleasu res and

revelry. The gods, be coming thirsty in tu rn, ask for some thing todrink, when vases ornamented with flowers and fu ll '

of liqu or are

immediately pre sented; which the crafty priest insidi ou sly carries tothe gods, he be ing the only person permi tted to approach or conversewith them .

TheM iao-tsé collect large qu antities '

of honey from the bees, which

fe ed on the w ild flowers that everywhere adornthe -sides and valleys

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208

'

and on all occasions of ceremony, the people indu lge“

freely,though

‘they seldomgo to excess, in dri nking strong liquors, except persons“abou t the cou rt and the military, of whom it is said “that the greate stdrinker isthe bravest man .

”

Here also is a singu lar mode of se ttling quarre ls when the partiesare obliged to appear before a magistrate , the u sua l adjudication

being that of ordering the offender to treat the inju red person with

arrack, fow1, and pork , so that, by th is fe asting together, theymayforget the -injury and puta stop to fu tu re animosity. Notless remarkable is the annu al renewal of allegiance to the Chou’a , which ispe rformed by cu tting the throat of a fowl, and re ce iving the blood ina basin filled with arrack after which, each in his turn drinks a glass

of the mixture , repeating alou d his professions of loyalty—this isaccounted one of the most solem

’

n and binding obligations , and is fre e'qu ently had recou rse to on various occasions. The ar

'

rack and rice‘wines are sold ‘

ev ery ‘where throughou t Tonquin and in the'

publi c

markets,held every fifth day, they are expo sed forsale like any other

article of traffic. A very nice description of cider is made from the

m ie‘

ngou , a fru it resembling the pomegranate, the tree producing it is

somewhat like the fig ; its branches are pliant and delicate , the wood

s oft and porou s, its leaves nearly circu lar and of a pale green colou r.In w et weather, a tart milky sugar runs from it, which the peasants

colle ct in small porcelain vessels, it soon hardens, and is said to bevery efficaciou s in cu ring head-aches, fevers, and dysenteries. Various

other beverages are prepared from the different fruits of the country,consisting of pine -apples, oranges, bananas, pomegranate s, and a red

speciesof fig, which, in taste and smell, resembles those of Tu rkey or

Prov encefi‘

When going to ‘

any distance , they bring with thema supply of theseliquors to allay the ir thirst and recru it the ir strength. Throughbutthe whole of T onqu in, du ring the different festivals, some of whichlast ten or twelve days, there is a great consumption of arrack and

o ther exhilarating beverages, and, on these occasions, recours'

e is had

to every of kind amusement resu lting from intemperance .

In China, a country which has preserved its civ il'

polity for so manythou sand years, the artof distillation w as known far beyond the date

of any of its au thentic records . The period of its introdu ction into

that cou ntry,in common with the rise and progress of othe r chemicalarts, is, however, concealed amidst the darkness of ages. B uttaking

L es Voyage s etMissions de P . Ale x . de Rhodes, 4to .—Relation Nouvelle et

Curieu se du Royaume de Tonqu in, etde Laos. Traduite de l’

Italien da P. de‘Marin i, 4to.

1

209

date'

sa s we find them , sanctioned by respectable au thority, and leav

ing the assumed antiqu ity of the nation as a point for the discu ssion

of chronologists I am led to attribu te to the people of this empire

the merit of an invention which seems to have elu ded the grasp ofthe

human intellect in the rest of Asia, Africa, and E urope, u ntil a more

advanced pe riod in the history of the world.

There is no doubt whatever,that from the earliest ages the Chinese

w ere acqu ainted with many of those u sefu l and ingeniou s preparations

which are still considered indispensable in the practice of the arts and

manufactu res of every civili zed cou ntry . The ir knowledge of gu n

powder, before itw as discovered in E u rope , seems to be a fact undis

pa ted, and appears coeval with that of the ir most distant historic

events. An intelligent Chin e se writer states, that it w as used by them

in fire-works u pwards of .2000 years ago butits application to the

purposes of .w ar'

was of a late introdu ction . Shu t up within the

bosom of a coun try yielding in abu ndance all the ne cessaries and even

luxuries of life , and satisfied with the articles which it afforded, they

felt no desire'

to seek or encou rage an intercou rse with fore ign nations .

516

The first missionaries, who visited China , also assu re u s that the pro

perties of .the load stone were early known to the inhabitants, and the

compass u sed as a gu ide in their j ou rn ies through the empire .

Marco P010 is sa id to have brought the invention with him in 1260

and it is even affirmed, that the emperor Chin ingu s, a famou s astro

loger, had .a knowledge of it, 1120 years before Christ. The ir inv en

tions, therefore , appear to be entire ly the ir ow n ; the annals of the

empire , in the language of Stau nton, bear testimony to the fact, and

it is confirmed bythe consideration of the natu ral progress of thoseinventions and of the state of the Chinese arts atthis time .T E stab

lished au thority in China is decisive of public opinion, and abridges

the liberty of private j udgment, -error is consecrated by antiqu ity,and the free excursions of geniu s are u nknown . Further advances,therefore , are not

'

likely to be made u ntil the preju dices of habit and

the clou ds of ignorance shall have been dispelled by the diffusion of

scientific kn owledge on sound philosophical principles.

That‘

the Chinese were versed in all the se cre ts of alchymy ; or

rather in that branch of it which had for its obje ct a u niversal p anacea ,

long before this fancy engaged the specu lations of E uropean practi

tioners , there is abu ndant proofii since some of the ir empirics have ,

Barrow '

s Trav els in China, 4to . p . 2 76 and 434

,&c.

T Embassy to China , v ol. ii. p . 160 and 162 .

I Du Halde , L e Compte , Martini, O sbeck, Grosier, Scc

2 10

from an early period,‘

boasted of a specific among ' the ir drugs, which

ensures an immortality like that conferred on Godwin’s St . L eon .

The search after this elix ir v itae originated, it appears, among thedisciples of the philosopher L ao-kiu n, who flou rished six hu ndred

years be fore Christ . N otcontent with the tranqu illity of mind whichthat teacher of wisdom e ndeavou red to incu lcate , and c onsideringdeath as too great a barrier to its attainment, they be took themselvesto chemistry, and after the labou r of ages in a .va in endeavou r to prevent the dissolu tion of ou r species, and after the destru ction of thre eof the ir emperors who fe ll victims to the immortalizing draught, they,like the alchymists of E u rope , ended the ir researches u nder the pretence of discoveries which were never made , and of remedies thatcou ld only be administered u nder all the extravagancies of magic.The emperor Hy en -Tsong, in the year 820 of the Christian era, procu red some of this liqu or, with which it is thought his eu nu chsmixed

poison, as he died immediately after drinking it, atthe age of fortythreefi" Swen Tsong, it appears, had no sooner taken it in the year85 9, than he becam e a prey to worms and died in a few daysj

‘ ShiTsong, or Kya-Tsing, also died of the effects of thi s liqu or in 15 5 6;This monarch bu ilt a place called Va n X eutz

’

en , or the palace of ten

thou sand lives, for the express pu rpose of distilling these waters .of

immortality. It w as su rrou nded by a high wall and battlements per

fectly rou nd, as were also the halls and chambers, presenting in theinterior, hexagons or octagons. The architectu re w as beau tifu llymagnificent, and very romanticly situ ated on the great artificial lake

within the enclosures of the monarch’s re sidence in P ekind:The emperor Vu -Ta

'

, who reigned in the year 177 before Christ,when abou t to puton e of his ministers to death for drinking a cu p of

this liqu or which had been prepared for himself, w as convinced of hisweakness and folly by the following wise and sensible remonstrance

of his minister If this drink, Sire , hath made me immortal,how can

you putme to death ? butif you can , how does su ch a frivolous theft

deserve itIn any cou ntry, where medicine has n ot been e stablished as a

regular stu dy, it can scarcely be expected that the profession of a

chemist cou ld be supported with dignity or respectability. B ut,

whether to this search, or to other circum stances, the early knowledge

of the Chinese in distillation is to be ascribed, it wou ld be no easymatter to determine . The ir acqu irements in medicine are so limited,

D u H alde , Annals of the Monarchs,v ol i . p . 200. 1

“ Ibid. 202 .

I M aga illan’

s China, p . 317, and 32 7.

D uv

Haldc , p. 177.

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212

du ty of three and a-half per cent . to the governmen t, and he observ ed

shops for the express purpose of se lling rice -wine .

The Chinese annals trace a commu nication with other cou ntries2000 years before Christ and the ir intercourse with H indostan a ndPersia is familiar in their records 1000 years previou s to the Chris

tian era . Doctor Morrison, who has thrown cons iderable light on the

history and antiquities of this interesting portion of the globe ,‘

states

i n the Chinese Repository for Janu ary, 1833, that the people of India, “E gypt ,Arabia , and other cou ntries, came by the sou thern sea to Cantonwith tribu te (gifts) and for trade . Besides, it is certain, that in theseventh centu ry, the Chinese monarch sent ambassadors to the sur

rounding nations for social and commercial purposes. Silk and manyether commodi ties Were , it is well known, originally brought fromIndia and China and w e havethetestimony of Ptolemy, that M aeses, a

ItIacedonian merchant, sent an agent to China, a distance of

iniles, for the purpose of procuring this and other commodities, thelu xuries of the times)“ In the re ign of Au gustus Caesar, among

other eastern nations that sent embass ies to Rome to court the em

peror’s friendship , are mentioned the Seres, now the Chinese , who ,

after a journey which occupied fou r years, presented him with pearls, .

preciou s stones, and e lephants .

A s learning leads to the highest posts of honou r, the love of litera~

tu re has long prevailed among this people and their progress in moral

philosophy and the belles-lettres has been by no means inconsiderable . T0 this advancement the knowledge of printing has greatly

contribu ted ; butalthough that art, according to Trigau ciu s and others,has been known to them above 1776 years, or as some amrm, beyond

the date of the re cords respecting gunpowder, it has remainedcomparatively stationary, dou btless from the nature of the language ,which renders the printing of books troublesome and tedious . It issaid to consist of characters and u pwards : those employed

for the ordinary pu rposes of life do not, however, amount to any con

siderable number. H e who is acqu ainted with from 15 to

characters, is esteemed very learned, and he may well be accou ntedso, since it takes nearly half his life to acqu ire them. People in tradeare conversant with su ch of the characters only as answer the despatchof bu siness, depending on the more inte lligent when any d ifficultyarises. The printer, or rather the engraver of a book, has

“

to tracethe characters of each leafon a piece of plank, or a block of hard wood

Ptolem . G eogr. L ib . V I . c . x i. x v iii. V ide M. de G u ignes’ Memoirs of the

Commerce of the Romans w ith the Tartars and Chinese.

2 13

and’

Abel says, thatnothing could be more simple than the method ofprinting which he saw . On a piece of wood, mostly pear-tree , abou ttwo feet square , carved into the ne cessary characters, and covered

with ink, a thin paper was laid, which, being pressed down by thehand, received the desired impression . The u se of moveable typesin wood is confined to the printing of the Pekin Gazette and a few

other -periodical works. All o thers are printed in stereo type . The

u se of moveable metallic types may, perhaps, atno distant period,

become general in the empire , as a manu factory of them in blo ck tinis already established at Macao for the u se of the British factory.The fou nders and cu tters are Chinese , who execu te -the ir work withgrea t pre cis ion and despatch.

* For printing a work of any extent,a store of some magnitu de is requ ired . What mu st have been theroom requ isite for the materials of on e of the ir dictionaries, consisting

of 120 large volumes ; or for the ancient and mbdern laws of the

country which the emperor Tay-tsu i

‘

ordered to be printed in 1880

in three hu ndred volumes 1 It w as a whole age after. its commencement be fore this work w as completed.B ut, notwithstanding this apparent difliculty, books are said to be

numerou s ; they are printed on on e side only, and stitched in thin

white pape r, the ir size answering generally to that of our royal

octav ogt The emperor Tay-Tsong is represented to have had a

library of volumes, the composition of native au thors, which

were neatly distribu ted in three large rooms , richly adorned ; and

that monarch was'

so fond of reading; that he daily tu rned over on e or

two volumes and the famous library of Ywen-ti, whi ch w as bu rned

in 5 5 2, consisted of volumes,The who le nation, says a Jesu it missionary, who had a good oppe r

tu n ity of observation, is mu ch addicted to stu dy and learning . In one

province, w e are .told, there are sometimes u pwards of lleen

tiates and bachelors, and the numberof candidate s for degre es, at a

moderate computation, amou nts to In the Sou thern pro

vinces of the empire , there is scarcely a Chinese that canno t read and

write . I have met,”says Navarette , men on the road in sedans and

palanqu ins on men’s shou lders, with a book in the ir hands . In cities,I have often seen Mandarins occupied in the same manner ; and to

indu ce the ir children to learn , the tradesmen and shopkeepers might

be seen sitting behind the ir cou nters with books before them .

”For

Abel’s Narrative o f a Jou rney in China, 4to. p . 229.

j D u Halde,v ol. i. p . 2 18.

I O sbeck ’

s Voy. to China, 8ve . vol i. p . 277.

214

the encouragement of students, says the same writer, the examplerelated of a poor young man who herded cows and rode upon on e of

them, as is u su al in the country, keeping a book on her horns in su cha manner that it served as a desk, and enabled him to read all theday ; by which mean s he attained to a high station in the state .

Another instance is mentioned of a you th, who being so poor that hecou ld notbuy oil for his lamp, studying at night by the light of themoon and the stars ; his erudition procu red him equ ally honorableadvancement . B ut, although the application of the Chinese has beensu fficiently laboriou s, w e have n o accou nt of any of the ir publi cationson the u sefu l or spe cu lative arts. To this circumstance , combined

with a constan t j ealousy and fear of imparting to others a knowledgeof the ir inventions, which they consider pu rely their ow n , is, perhapsto be attribu ted the very brief and u nsatisfactory accou nts, which

writers have been able to collect, of the natu re and extent of the irinebriating beverages. We read that, u nder the government of theemperor Yu or Ta -yu , before Christ the making of ale , or

wine from rice , w as invented by an ingeniou s agricultu rist name dI -ty e ; and that as the u se of this liqu or w as like ly to be attendedwith evil consequ ences, the emperor expressly forbade the manu fac

tu re or drinking of it under the severest penalties. H e even re

n ounced it himself, and dismissed his cup-bearer, lest, as he said, the

princes, his su ccessors, might su ffer the ir hearts to be efl‘eminatedwith so deliciou s a This, however, had notthe desiredeffect, for having once tasted it, the people cou ld never afterwards

entirely abstain from the bewitching draught. Some have conje e

tured, with seeming plau sibility, that I { ye w as a near descendantfrom N oah . This is supported by the Opinion of Doctor H ales, givenin hi s Analysis of Chronology, who thinks that it w as the family of

Shem that peopled China. B utthe writers of the Universal H istory

allege , that Noah himself be ing discontented with the party that had

been formed to bu ild the tow er of Babel, separated from the mainbody

, and with some followers, travelling eastwards, atlast enteredChina, and laid the foundation of that vast empire . B e that as it may,

a love for rice -wines w as, ata very early date , carried to such excess

and consumed in su ch abu ndance , that the emperor Kya , the N ero of

China, in 1836 before Christ, ordered 3000 of his subj e cts to j umpinto a large lake which he had prepared and filled with it ; while C in n

v ang, in 1120, thought it pru dent to assemble the princes to suppress

D u Halde, vol. i . p . 145 .

1' Ibid. p . 433.

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216

preceding emperors to Kim -long, with that monarch himself, who

w as on the throne when Lord Macartney visited the cou ntry, cau sed

a number of n ew plants to be brought from fore ign parts, and thatthree of the provinces in particu lar, v iz . H anan , Shem-tong, and

Shan -sz'

,repaired the ir former losses by the cu ltivation of them?“

Barrow remarked, that in his time no wine w as made from the ju iceof the grape , except by the missionaries near the capital.T Bell, speaking of this wine , of which he partook atan en terta inment

'

given by theJesu its, says it w as notof the best qu ali ty, althou gh the grapes of thecou ntry were excellent . According to E lli s, who left China in 1817,the vine is cu ltivated to considerable extent in different parts of theempire , and the Chinese having an abu ndance of grapes, he was gm;prised that they shou ld n othave wines of the choicest qu ality. O ur

wines, liqu eu rs, and cordials are , if possible, more relished by themthan by ou rselves, from which, and the ir general attachmm t to the

richest andmost expensive sorts ofdrink, it is singular that they have nothad recourse to the manu facture of those beverages common in othercou ntries. This, however, lik e the ir other pe culiarities, may chiefly beaccou nted for by the ir j ealou s policy of notimitating foreign nations.

B utit mightbe attribu ted to another caus e, namely, the quan tity of

rain,which, atthe time ofthe ripening of the grape , falls for a period offive or six weeks, to the great inj u ry of its vinou s qu ality.

,B esides,the

people look more to the size of the fru it than to its produ ce in wi ne,and for that pu rpose , as if notcontent w ith the qu antity of rain which

falls in this season, they cuttrenches for the conveyance of water tothe roots of the vine, in order to increase the size of the fru it. To

cultivate the vine su ccessfu lly in any cou ntry requ ires heat, a goodsoil, with little humidity. At Pekin, during the winter, the vine mu stbe buried in the same manner as practised by the Cossacks of theDon , and put into training in summer . Dried grapes are in greatdemand . The finest description is brought from the H a -mz

’

cou ntry.Lord Macartney w as presented byrthe emperor with grapes of an nu

common form, be ing more oblong than olives and abo u t the same size .

The people of Turkestan pay to the Chinese court a part of the irtaxes in grapes ; from which, and the considerations ju st enumerated,itis man ifestthatthe Chinese only partially cu ltivate the vine , and

even that for the mere sake of the fru it as a table luxu ry. Su ch isthe ir frugality, that they consider it a sin against humanity to cul

tivate fru it on accou nt of its liqu or ; Whilst the ground, that its growth

Grosier’

s Description of China,v ol. i. chap v.

1 B arrow’

s Travels in Chi na,4to . p . 304.

217

wou ld occupy, cou ld produ ce sustenance formany individuals who

might otherwise perish from hunger .

Of rice-wines there are different sorts, butnone of them have any

resemblance to the Wines of E urope , e ither as to taste or qu ality ;be ing variou sly compounded, and never allowed 'in the manufacture

to preserve the ‘

mere flavou r of ‘

the original material . That called

mandarin , be ing considered of a su perior class, is drawn from rice of

a particula r description, d ifferent from that which is‘

eatenfi’ The

grain is '

steeped for twenty or thirty days in water, and then gently

bo iled . :When it is qu ite soft and pu lpy , and completely dilu ted and

dissolved by the heat, it is allowed a considerable time to ferment in

proper vat'

s prepared for the pu rpose , generally of glazed'

earthen:

ware . The yeast employe d is made from wheat, in 'which several

wholesome ingredients are added during the pro ce ss-of fermentation"

.

.These consist of su ch fru its and flowers as impart an agreeable flavou r

and pleasing colou r: At the end of several days; when the motion; or

agitation ‘occasioned by the fermenting process, has subsided,

‘

and

when“

the ‘liqu or has thrown up allthe scum or dross, itis draw n off

into glazed‘

vessels, where , by a second Species of fermentation, it

clears‘

itself and developes, by the taste and smell, its’

good -or bad

qu alities . When sufliciently fined, so asto show by standing for sometime , its body

‘

and '

colou r, it is put into small jars, in which way it iscommonly sold and sent through the empire , or to Tonqu in and Corea.

This wine is usu ally so strong, that it will keep for a great many

years; or, as some say, for age s. Within the empire itis prin cipally

consumed among the higher orders, who can afford to buy it ; and

when exported it sells very 'dear. The lees are distilled, and yield astrong agreeable kind of spirit, like brandy. This is called show , choc,

sau -tckoo, sam-tclzoo, (literally bu rnt) or hotwine . The town ofCha-tching, north-west of Pekin, near the great wall, is celebrated forsam-tchoo . The city of Kyenchang, in the province of Kyang-li, isalso noted for a fine ‘

species of this wine , while that of Vsi-si-hy en in

Kyang-nan , is in great esteem, owing its excellence to the goodness ofthe water fou nd there .1

‘

The city of Ta-chew is a great mart of thisspirit, from which it is exported to all parts of China . Nav arette , inhis jou rney to the imperial residence ,

‘ remarks, that in the district ofthe city of Kian-hoa, the liqu or of this class was made so good, thathe felt no regret for the wines of E urope . H e represents it as exceedingly wholesome , and gives a proof of it in the instance of a person ofrank, above seventy years of age , with whom he was acquainted, and

D u Halde, vol. i. p . 303. 1’ Ibid.

2 18

who had been in the habit of drinking at breakfast; for the greaterpart of his life , a pint and half of this wine . Some of the rice-wines

are so highly perfumed, and so odoriferou s, that on opening a bottle

the air of the apartment assumes an agreeable fragrancy ; su ch is the

state of perfe ction to which these people have arrived in the making

of this luxu ry. Captain Hall, when in Chili, metwith a kind of lemon

ade , the fragrance of which filled the whole house .

* A description

of liquor termed Sew -heflg-tsow is distilled in China from millet, or

ka o-laz'

ng, (the holcu s sorghum of naturalists) which is very palatable , and, from its mildness, gently excites the an imal spirits withou t

produ cing intoxication, or any other bad effects, u nless immoderately

taken. This is a favou rite beverage u sed even at the breakfast table

of every man of qu ality, where it is always dru nk hot, and se ldom inless qu antity than two cups ata time by any individual.

The denominations of the wines made from rice and other grain

are distingu ished by the ir respective colours, which are generallyyellow, red, white , or pale hence if the wine be yellow , it is called

hoang-tsz

’

eou , koumg signifying yellow , and tsz'

eou fermented liqu or .

B utit has different names, and is differently e stimated from the res

.

pectiv e places of manufactu re as before stated. A bottle of Kian

nan wine , there called s i-ku en from the name of a fou ntain, is sold

for abou t e ight pence . A whole some and mu ch esteemed liqu or,

termed Chao -tsing-tsieou is so called from a town in the provincewhere it is made , and is sold ata moderate price , be ing from fou rpence to six pence the bottle . Tse-kiang, another fermented beverage ,has an agreeable tartish flavou r, with strong intoxicating qu alities, andis in high repu te . To te ll a man that he drinks C lza o-tsz

’

ng-tsz

’

eou , or

Tse-kz'

ang, is the same as to say, he lives too voluptu ou sly, or drinks

too deeply.In many o f the provinces, an excellent description of wi ne is made

from the palm—tree , and is called C /za , a term which, in the amplitu deof the Chinese langu age , is also given to tea ; but the process of

making it differs little from that as practised in India, and already

described. Navarette says that a most superior and delicate .spe ciesof W ine is prepared from the qu ince . B utin a country so extensiveas China, abounding in every variety of frui t that grows in otherparts of the world, as well as some peculiar to the soil, with grain

‘

and

e sculent substance that contain saccharine matter, what, it may be

asked, in the hands of so ingeniou s a people , mu st be the number of

wines or vinou s liqu ors that daily sparkle on the tablesofthe lux uriou s

Capt. Hall’

s Journal, v ol. i. p . 31.

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220

that nota drop has been left , after which they retreat in the sameceremoniou s order to the ir seats. E very movement from the begining to the end of the entertainment is equ ally formal. Instead of graceor a prayer before dinner, as is the cu stom in Christian countries, themaster of the hou se , when his gu ests are assembled, takes a cup of

wine, and after bowing to the company, solemnly advances to the

court-yard and raising his eyes and the ;cup to heaven, pours outthem ntents on the grou nd as an offering of respect and satisfaction tothe de ity, to whom he thu s e xpresses gratitu de ,

‘

for the ; pleasure of

see ing his friends. E ach gu est atthese entertainments has a table tohimse lf, and the on e for the master is always below the rest to shew

his regard for the company. It is cu stomary on those occas ions tocall in strolling comedians to add, by the ir performance , to the pleasu res of the social circle , which are seldom considered complete withoutthem . When the gu ests are a bou t to sitdown to dinner, fou r orfiv e actors richly dressed enter the room, and, as amark of reverenceto the assembly,

‘

j_bow solow that the ir foreheads tou ch the ground,which ceremony they repeat fou r times. .Then on e of them presents

a book in which are written , in letters of gold the titles of a numbe r

of comedies :that they can p erform . O ne be ing chosen, the acting

commences to the mu sic flu tes, fifes, and trumpets. Alarge vacant space left between the tables, which , are placed in tworows, serves for the stage ; and instead of side-scene s, the actors makeu se of the adjo ining rooms, from which they come to perform theirparts. A number of persons are frequ ently admitted into the court

yard to enjoy the performance, butthey form no part of the guests.

The women are also pre sent withou t be ing seen, having accomoda

tions behind a lattice , through which. they can behold all that passes.

Jugglers andmou ntebanks are often engaged to enliven the entertainment, and their pranks and deceptions are wonderfu l. O n e of themwill desire a gu est to choose a glass of some favou rite liqu or when,by boring a hole with a gimlet in any of the pillars by which the roof

of the apartme nt is supported, he will draw through a qu ill the liqu or

requ ired . In a similar »w ay, other extraordinary feats of leger

demain, with o

pantomim ic tricks, are exhibited. A dessert, or supper,follows the dinner, When the same ceremonious condu ct is observed .

Larger cups; however, are then u sed, and '

the maste r of the hou se

drinks with less reserve in order to encou rage the company to followhis example , which they generally do pretty freely . All is overabou t midnight

,when the party repair to the ir respective homes,

carried in chairs, preceded by domestics who have large lanterns of

oiled pape r, on which the name and rank of their master aré u sually

221

inscribed . Withoutthese precau tions they .wou ld be stopped‘by thewatchmen, to whose oflicer acard of thanks is u su ally presented then ext morning . On the day after the dinner, the host sends a largered paper to each of the gu ests apologizing for the badness of the

dinner (which, by the bye , always consists of the greate st de licacies),and an immediate reply is returned on the same sort of paper, praising,in the like bombastic style , the u nbou nded gratification hi s feast hadafforded, and complimenting him on the polite manner with which hecondu cted him self towards all his gu ests .

Dinners , when given to E u ropeans, are sometimes served in the

E nglish fashion , with su ch meat and wines as they have been accu stemed to athome ; and on these occasions the u su al ceremonies are

dispensedw ith. In Pekin, it is common for some ofthe higher orders toresort to hotels or taverns for the pu rpose of entertain ing their friends,where a dinner of twenty different dishes may be had atfrom n ine toten francs for each perso n .* The Tartars have a good deal altered

the ancient ceremonial of the Chinese repasts, but there is still toomu ch form observed to render the ir entertainments pleasing, particularly to strangers.

The following mode of making beer is observed in China. The

liqu or is called tar-aw n , and is extracted from . barley or wheat .The grain from which it is produ ced u ndergoes a certain degree of

malting, and after which it is coarsely grou nd and put,into a keiv e ,

where it is moistened slightly with warm water, and clo‘

sely covered.After it ha s stood for some time , boiling water is again poured uponit, and the whole is stirred u ntil it appears completely wetted and

mixed . This operation be ing performed, the ke iv e is covered athirdtime, and permitted to stand as before . It is then opened again,stirring the whole contents and pou ring in boiling water, u ntil thelight material . rise to the top, and the liquor assumes the strong

flavou r of the grain, which is known by its having gained a deepcolour , and an adhesive or glu tinou s consistency. When the liqu idhas become lukewarm , it is poured into a narrower vessel than theke ive and after be ing mixed with a small portion of Chinese h0ps,the vessel contain ing the liqu or is put down into the earth for thepurpose of fermentation. The Chinese hop is a prepared one which

bears its'

leaven within itself, and excites fermentation, though thehumu lus lup u lus, orcommon hop, is fou nd climbing through the hedges.1

'

A s soon as the working has cease d, and the liqu or has begu n to sub

side, large bags are filled with it, or rather coarse sacks made of a

Timkow ski'

s Travels, v ol. ii. p . 173.

f Osbeck’

s China, vol. i. p. 336.

thi ckness su itable for the purpose, after which they are putinto a

press . The liqu or extracted is pou red into barrels, bunged u p withcare , and immediately after placed in a cellar, as withou t this precaution it wou ld soon become sou r . In the distilleries, the same processis observed for the preparation of ,the wort, or wash, from wheat, rye ,or millet, except that no hops are u sed when the liqu or from the grainis intended to be distilled. Before this extract is submitted to anykind of fermen tation, it is mixed with a preparation called p c-ka , consisting of rice-flou r, licorice-root, aniseed, and garli c this, it appears,n otonly accelerates fermentation

,butis supposed to impart a pecu liar

flavour . The whole of the mixture be ing duly fermented, u ndergoesdistillation, and the Sa u -tclzoo thu s prepared, may,

'

as Barrow remarks,be considered as the basis of the best arrack, which in Java, as alreadynoticed, is exclu sively the manu facture of the Chin ese , an d is nothingmore than a re ctification of the above spirit, with the addition of mo

lasses and ju ice of the cocoa-nuttreefi" Before distillation, the liqu or

is simply called tolaca or wine ; after that, the word show, sa u , or ram,

is added, to express its hot, bu rning, or fiery natu re . The tar-aw n

is a sweet liqu or, sometimes equ al in strength and pu rity to Canarywine; 'but to strangers it has a disagreeable flavou r. Bell, whoaccompanied the Ru ssian ambassador to Pekin, in the year 1720,observed, that the emperor Kamhi and his courtiers were very fond

of this liqu or, and a good cup of it warm,w as presented to him of a

cold morning by the emperor’s own hands, whi ch he found very

refreshing.1‘

The great materials of distillation throughou t allChina are rice andmillet, the forme r of which, acbording to Sir George Stau nton, isprodu ced in great abu ndance in the middle and sou thern province s of

the empire ; while the latter supplie s its place in the northern . The

mille t of the northern province s is the Iaclcu s sorghum, or Barbadoes

m illet : the Chinese call it kow -leang, or lofty corn . It is worthy of

remark, that as the barley-corn w as made a standard of measu re by

E uropeans, so the Chinese formed the ir measu res of capacity by thenumbe r of grains of millet which they contained . M ay it not, therefore , from the antiqu ity of this nation , be inferred, that the practiceof measu ring by grain w as borrowed from them, when it appearsfrom the ir most ancient records to have been in u se from the earliestperiod . An idea can scarce ly be formed of the immense cu ltu re of

rice and millet, even on learning that the mere tribu te , paid from the

Barrow ’

s Trav. p . 304.

1' Bell's Trav els

, vol. ii. p . 9 .

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224

inclined to think that the prices are still the s ame . When B arrow.

w as atPekin, rice sold from three-halfpence to two-pence per lh.

,

bread fou r pence , and wheat-flour from two-pence halfpenny to threepence . Dobe ll, ~ a ,late writer,* makes the price of rice cheaper, i tgenerally. selling from three qu arters of a dollar ,

to one and a quarter

dollars the picu l of E nglish pou nds.

A s there does not,appear any regu lation confining distillation to

particu lar individu als, allthe makers of wine distil from the lees, ,while

o ther persons manu facture from the grain direct . The“produ ce is

distingu ished in E u rope u nder the general appellation of ra ck, rakz’

, or

arrack, a term in u se from the earliest dawn of - civilisation . The

manufacture of this liqu or, Grosier tells u s, is carried on to a great

extent through the whole of the Chinese dominions. Its strengthgenerally exceeds the common proof, and is fre e from that empyre umatic odou r so often perceptible in E u ropean spirits. Numbers of

carts laden with it enter Pekin daily. The du ty is paid atthe gates,which are nias in number, three on the sou th fron t, and two

,on the

other three sides, and the liqu or is sold publi cly in more than a thousand shops that are dispersed through the city and subu rbs. The

,

sale of this attractive article is condu cted in the same way through thewhole of the cities, towns, and villages in the fifteen provinces and

it is nota little su rprising that , amidst a popu lation ofthe consumption of so dangerou s a beverage shou ld be attended .

withso few fatal consequ ences, since w e are assured on the testimony of

the most respectable tha t a qu arrel or mu rder occas ioned by

intoxication is rarely or ever heard of. B ut, I apprehend, that to thestrictness of the police , and to a regu lation rendering eve ry tenthhou sekeeper accou ntable for the condu ct of the nine n e ighbouring

families,i more than to the steadiness of the Chinese , mu st be attri

bu ted this forbearance , since human n ature is mu ch the same’in every

region of the world . A s to the popu lation of thi s empire , writersdisagre e . Lord Macartney and Stau nton rate it as just stated ; theAbbe C rosier makes it and Father Allerstain ,

others limit it to Most writers, however, agree with Stau nton , and from the opportunity he had of

obtaining accu rate information, it m ay be pre sumed his estimate ismore to be relied on than any other . The popu lation , as given byorder of the emperor Kea-king, in 1812, appeared to be

Trav els, vol. ii . p. 192 .

1' D e G u igne s, Barrow , O sbe ck, Vim B ream , Si] . de Sacy, &c.

I Stau nton’

s Embassy, vol. ii. p. 5 6.

22 5

The censu s of this vast empire is taken annu ally, and therefore ought

to be more accu rate than tha t of any other nation, as officers appointed

for the purpose visit every village , town , and city, to collect theretu rns of the hou seholders, who are obliged to attach, on the ou tsideof their doors, the number of the inmates, male and female , attestedby the ir signatu re . These returns are made up and forwarded to thegovernment . No kind of imposition can be practised, as the reporteris held accou ntable for the tru th of his statement ; and any deviation

from accuracy is most severely punished . Were su ch a practice

adopted in this cou n try, parliament cou ld never be ata loss to ascertainthe physical and disposable strength ofthe empire atany time , and thu smake a considerable saving in the expense of obtaining su ch returns .

~

In so dense and popu lou s a co untry, hou ses for general accommo

dation are very numerou s . Abel gives the following pictu re of the

public hou ses he had an opportunity of visiting, while the embassy

stopped atthe city of Tong-chow, on its retu rn from Pekin - These ,says he , were large open sheds, fitted up with tables and benches, andaffording means of gambling and drinking to the lower orders of the

people . They were generally filled with players atdominos or cards,who se emed to enter with intense earnestness into the ir game . The

cards were small pie ces of pasteboard, abou t tw o inches long, andhalf an inch wide , having black and red characters painted on them .

The beverages most largely partaken of in the se hou ses were tea,

wine , and Sam-su . All the gu ests were smoking from pipes of

variou s lengths, from two to fiv e fee t, formed of the youn g and tendertwigs of bamboo , fitted with bowls of white copper abou t the size of

a thimble .

* E very person smokes to exce ss, and shou ld any one in

company refu se to smoke, he is accu sed of afl’e ctation , as it is de emednecessary that every man should make a chimney of his The

Chinese , in their cheerfu l and idle moments, amu se themselves at a

game on the fingers to procure drink and enjoyment, called hou athsz

'

onan , or tsoey-macy . It is thu s described by Dobellz—Thewine

cu ps be ing filled, the two persons engaged stretch forth the ir right

hands towards the centre ofthe table , with their fingers closed . Whenthe hands come alm ost in contact, they open as many fingers as theyplease, and each person cries outthe number he opens, as one , three ,fiv e , & c . Whoever hits on the exact number of fingers presented by

both persons, obliges his adversary to drink.

“I have seen ,”

sayshe , this game continu ed for an hou r, until on e of the parties, findinghimself the loser, and his head affected, is forced to retire . It is an

Abel's Narrative, p . 117. 1

‘ Dobell, vol. 11. p . 264.

Q

2 26

extremely noisy amu sement when any number of gu ests engage in it.

In passing up and down C anton river on a holyday, one’

s ears are

assailed on all sides with this bo isterou s merrimen t . Another festive

trick,which they practise, is that of rapidly passing a bu nch of flowers

from hand to hand, during whi ch a kettle -drum is kept beating and

whoever holds the flowers, the instant the drum is stopped, is'

obliged to drink a'

cup of wine as a forfe it. The publi c inns

and victu alling hou ses have the ir fiddlers an d comedians to entertain

the ir guests at meals, and other occasions of refreshment.ale Su chhou ses, however, are seldom frequ ented for the mere love of drinking

, and although intoxication is notu nu su al, that vice forms n o part

of the general character of the .people . Mr.'

Dobe ll says, that theChinese are in gene ral sober, and that habitu al intoxication is very

rarest E llis is of a contrary opinion, for he says, that whatever may

have been the assertion of trave llers, his experience led him to con

sider the Chinese scarcely less addicted to the u se of spiritu ou s liqu ors

than E u ropeans and that it is only the ir superior sense of de corum

that prevents them from exhibiting themselves as often in public

u nder the influence of spirits. There are likewise laws to regu late

the sale of spiritu ou s liqu ors and to guard against irregu larities. O ne

of these enactments says, A man , who, intoxicated «with liqu or,“commits ou trages against the laws, shall be exiled to a desert cou ntry

,

there to remain in a state of servitu de .

” This ju dicious ordinancecan scarcely fail in produ cingthe desired effe ct, as the dread of pu nish

ment ought to counterbalance every indu cement to criminal indu lgence .

Martini an d N avarette have stated, that the Chinese sometimesdrink to excess, althou gh they are the reverse of a dru nken people .

C ecasional intoxication is not considered shameful, but treated with

ridicu le or pity and the enactment here cited is only to restrainhabitu al and egregiou s offenders .

The rice-wines are all dru nk warm, as indeed is almost every

bther kind of fluid . Whe ther this practice is owing to national habit,Or that it is more salu tary to the people , who are of weak constitu

tions and subject to pulmonary and bowel complaints, it is notsoeasyto determine ; buta generaLopinion prevails that fermented and spiritu ou s liqu ors made hot, are accou n ted notonlyagreeable, butprév én-Ztiy es of disease , and hence on e reason why the cu stom is so prev a

lent . In warm climates, it is considered that heated beverages m e the

most wholesome, and cont1ibute to alleviate the sensations of fatigue :E ven in the parchingclimate of Hindostan, weak butwarm liquors

Nieuhofl"s Travelsin‘

China. 1“Trav els, vol. 11. p . 239.

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228

far su rpasses this for its temperance . L et the first glass be formyself, the second for my friends, the third for good humour, and thefou rth for min e enemies .

” After dinner, in order to promote a relishfor a cup, some highly seasoned or salt meat is u sed, which they terma gu ide , and among friends when the liqu or begins to exhilarate , or

the party are desirou s of retiring, the same enticing indu cements tode tain them are practised as in E u rope so that social moments, wemay see , gre atly assimilates man in every cou ntry.A s distillation occupies the attention of mu ltitu des in China, it isgenerally condu cted on a limited scale by each individu al. The

machinery of a still-hou se mu ch resembles that in u se on the continentof E urope , or what is employed in this cou ntry by illi cit distillers,with the exception that the head and condenser of the still are of a

different constru ction, having no worm-tub.The condensation is effe ctedby a cylinder full of water surrou nding the head, and kept fu ll e itherby a small stream or be ing pou red in by the hand . The head is, forthe most part, globu lar, with a neck to fit into the breast or body ofthe still. N ear the ne ck, inside the head, is a gu tter from which a

tube proj ects through the cylinder o f water to convey the condensed

vapou r into a rece iver. as shewn in the annexed drawing.

Spe ctator, vol. iii. No . 195 .

'

229

The process of distillation is laborious, but, as ah'

eady observed,the mechanical arts in this cou ntry are n ot progr essive ly advancing,and, therefore , the Chinese are regardless of the to il. which a little

exertion and ingenu ity might obviate . The still is placed in a furnaceof brick work, and the fire so di re cted that the whole force of the

flame may bear on the central parts of the bottom . By this means

mu ch sav ing of fuel is effe cted, and the e conomy of the people isshewn here as in the other pu rsu its of life , it be ing a maxim among

them to letnothing go to loss that can be tu rned to advantage .

Although coal is plentifulr in some of the prov inces, yeta great deal

of it is deficient in that gaseou s qu ality whi ch renders it valu able .

Hence wood becomes expensive , and is for the most part sold bywe ight, bringing a price in preportion to its goodness for fu e l. Soft

pine is the cheapest, becau se it is easily consumed . Charcoal is adm

mon , butvery expensive . Under these circumstances, great cau tionis displayed in every instance in which fu el is requ isite .

When scarcity or~fam in e is dreaded, distillation is prohibited, as inGreat Britain, by proclamation . Where stills are fou nd afterwards

atwork, the still-hou ses are destroye d , the workmen thrown into

prison, whipped, and condemned to carry the ca ngu e or kid , a degrad

ing frame of wood placed rou nd the ne ck, we ighing from one to tw o

hu ndred pou nds, which renders the cu lprit u nable to do ‘ any thingforhimself so long as he is obliged to wear it.* The ~facility with which

fu el is conveyed by canals through the r

provinces, and the ease of pro

curing grain in every town and village , tend greatly to 'the enconragem entof distillation .

The skill of the Chinese in distillation is notconfined to the manufactu re ’ of brandy from rice or mille t alone . Besides the quantitiesthat are distilled from the produ ce of the palm and othe r fru its, a veryardent spirit, said notto be u nworthy of the emperors, is produ cedfrom the flesh of sheep .1

'

The natu re of the process seems to be as yeta secre t to E uropeans ;some indeed have stated, that several vege table substances are em ,

ployed, butthis assertion appears to rest on mere conj ecture . The

u se of this liqu or w as first introdu ced by the Tartars, whose fondnessfor the repastswhich the flocks and herds of the ir native wilds afforded ,indu ced them to subj e ct to the action of the still, the flesh of an

animal that had long formed the basis of a more simple , though perhaps n ot less intoxicating beverage . I allude to their lamb wine .

Stau nton ’

s Translation of the Pen al Code of China,4to . p . 12

1“D u Ilalde

, vol. i. p . 303. Davis's China, vol. i. p . 330.

230

The Chinese term for this liquor is Kau -yaug-tsyew . It is

’

said to

be a very strong, nu tritiou s beverage, and the Tartars delight to getdru nk with Kang-hi, who w as of Tartar origip and wielded theChinese sceptre for sixty years, encouraged the manufacture of thisspirit by the u se he made of it himself. It has, however, never beena favou rite in ' China, and w e have little reason to expect that itsadmirers, shou ld any of them visitE u rope , will ever be regaled witha cup of this exhilarating draught: Of a. similar description is, perhaps, the spirits made at Su rat, denominatd sp irit of mutton , sp irit

of deer, sp iritof goat, which derive the ir names from the practice of

throwing into the still a jo int of mu tton, a haun ch of venison ; or a

qu arter of goat, with a view, as is conce ived, to add a mellownessand softness to the spiritsfThe inhabitants of the province of Qu ang-tong distil a very plea

sant liqu or from the flowers of a species of lemon tree , which are saidto possess an exqu isite odour, and like those of the Mahwah or M ad

hu ca of Bahar, in India, have a strong saccharine quality. The fru itof the tree is almost as big as a man’s head its rind resembles thatofthe orange ,butthe substance wi thin is e ither

,white or reddish, andhas a taste between sweet and The spirit is perfectly clearand transparent and is

'

held in high e stimation.

From the refu se of the ir sugar plantations, in which the cane growsto great perfe ction , particu larly m the sou thern provinces, mu ch rummight be manufactured, but no attempt has yetbe en made to distilthat article . So .

great is the trade 1n suga1, that 10,000,0001bs. wereexported from the coun try in 1806. The sugar exported from CantonforAmerican consumption in fou r years, from 1815 to 1819, amou ntedto picu ls and from that port, in the same period, were e x ~

ported for E uropean u se , picu ls.§ The entire qu antity car

ried from Canton by the American traders,“

from 1804 to 5 th Janu ary,1819, appears to be piculs and the qu antity imported intoGreat Britain , the produ ce of the E ast Indies and China, for seven

years from 5 th Janu ary, 1815 , to 5 th Janu ary, 1821, amounts tocwt ., which, at£2 . 2s. per cwt ., gives a sum of

be ing at the rate of 4éd . per lb. The Chinese are expert in the

manufacture of sugar and sugar-candy the latter has been celebratedt

G rosier,v ol. ii . p. 319 .

1 Grose'

s Voyage to the E ast Indies,v ol. i. p. 112 .

I D u Halde , v ol. 1. p . 109.

Parliamentary Report, 7th May, p. 183.

I] Ibid. p. 315 .

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2

Spirits of the cou ntry by the British sailors W110 frequ ent this port,and of whose habits the Chinese take advantage by mixing the irliqu ors with ingredients of an irritating and maddening effect . It

superindu ces a state of inebriety more ferociou s than that o ccas ionedby any other spirit, and leading the men into the most riotou s e x

cesses, tends to establish in the minds of the peaceable inhabitants

the most u nfavou rable opinion of the E nglish character: When a

E u ropean vessel tou ches atCanton, it is common for the natives tocome on board and barter whatever articles may mu tu ally answer theparties. Among these, sam-su is not the least in requ est . Thisliqu or is generally carried in small pots and is so cheap, that nearly

three pints may some times be purchased for abou t three pence halfpenny ; and for a small coin called j oss, valu e abou t on e-tenth of a

penny, a very strong dram of sam-su may be obtained . The gentleman who assured me of this, w as some time in China, and w as often

su rprised when his vessel lay in the roads ofi'

Whampoa, to see withwhat despatch a qu antity of sam-su , when ordered, w as brought onboard from the shore . H e was informed by the inhabitants that therew as no restriction on the making of it by any enactment of the state .

The sam-su brought to the vessel w as generally of a yellowish colour,and to his taste rather di sagreeable ; butcu stom rendered it palatable .

H e also added that he had dru nk arrack distilled from rice , notinfe

rior e ither in strength or qu ality to any of our best whiskey. Two

boats, called lwpp oo-boats, are u su ally fastened to the stern of everyship anchoring atWhampoa. These are supplied w ith every necossary that the sailors stand in need of, and among the re st w ith a largestore of sam-su . N otw ithstanding thi s convenience , adventu rersthrong from the shore carrying qu antities of drink and other articles ;an intercou rse often attended with u npleasant consequences. The

liqu or now distilled at Canton is of a superior description to thatformerly manu factu red, owing to a Chinese from Penang having

lately introdu ced the making of rum, since which that spirit can be

pu rchased ata cheap rate .

In contrasting the habits of the Chinese with those of othern ations, w e cannot

\

but admire the general regu larity and temperance of this people , and the wisdom of the government by which theyare held in su ch moderation . Montesqu ieu has asserted, that dru nkenn ess increases in proportion as w e recede from the equ ator to thepoles.

"6 Thi s assumption is highly qu estionable , particularly as

regards China, for, if su ch were the fact, the Chinese in the northern

Spiritof Laws, vol. i. b. 14, chap. 10.

233

provinces wou ld be greater dru nkards than those of. the southern ;although the contrary is the case . For it does notappear that inebrie typrevails more atPekin than atCanton, and still mu ch less in many

parts of E u rope , than in several port ions of the torrid zone . To

other circumstances, therefore , rather than to approaches towards

the poles, shou ld the love of strong dr ink be attribu ted . We findthat man in every clime has recourse to inebriants, e ither in a liquid or

in a vege table form, and that more is to be impu ted to the geniu s of

the religion than to e ither the climate or the want of inclina

tion for indulgence in intoxication .

'

I he Mahometans, the B u dhi sts,or L amaics, the Brahmins, and o ther sectarians of the E ast, although

prohibited the pu blic use of wine , often indulge in it to excess ; and

when it cannot be procu red, they pu rchase enjoyment of a similar

nature , n ot so favourable to the prolongation of animal exi stence .

The sobriety and moral re ctitu de of the Chinese have been se cured,through a long su ccession of ages, by a systematic combination of

laws which have so blended the wisdom of the governmentwith the

virtu e of the people , that the stabili ty ofthe empire has be en preservedu nshaken from all external force and internal commotion, since the

days of Confu ciu s to the present time .

In the tribu tary state of H a-mi, which, though su rrou nded by

deserts, is accou nted one of the most delightfu l cou ntries in the world,pomegranates, oranges, peaches, raisins, and pru nes are of the mostexqu isite taste and the j uj u bes, or dates, are so ju icy, and of su ch

deliciou s flavou r, that the Chinese call them perfumed j ujubes. The

melons are brought to Pekin for the emperor’s u se , and have the

s ingu lar property of keeping fresh during the greater part of the

winter. Raisins are a most important produ ction, and are of. two

kinds ; one like the Corinthian, and the other like those of Malaga.

They are said to possess high medicinal virtu es, and are mu ch extolledfor the ir e fficacy in many obstinate diseases . Wine is made , and of

su ch excellent quality, that it is transported in sk ins by means of

came ls into variou s parts of China . It w as from this regi on, thatTai-song cau sed the vine plants of the spe cies called maj ou to be

brought and planted in the imperial gardens at Pekin , and it isasserted by some , that the artof making wine w as first learned hereby the Chinese . The climate of H a-mi, it is thought, is more favou rable to the cu ltu re of the vine than that of France ; and the qu alityof the grapes far exceeds that of most E u ropean states. The country is embosomed in mou ntains, which protect it from the north ande ast winds, and as it seldom or never rains, the vineyards are wateredfromreservoirs constru cted atthe foot of the mountains, from which

234

they are supplied by copious streams that trickle from the melting

snows on the ir lofty summits. Vast qu antities of the grapes are

preserved, and form a valu able branch of commerce . They are not

pu lled u ntil qu ite ripe , and be ing carefu lly picked and dried in the

su n , are packed in mats, in which they be come shr ivelled, butw ithou tlosing mu ch of the richness and flavou r forwhich they are so remark

able .,L arge packages of these grapes form a portion of the annu al

tribu te sent to the government stores atPekin. After su pplying theimperial tables, they are sold to the Mandarins and su ch of the inhabitants as can afford to buy them . A most excellent description ,of

brandy is distilled at H a-mi ; and drinks of variou s kinds are madefrom the fru its which '

so plentifu lly abou nd . Many of the nomadetribes of E astern Tartary consume a good deal of the liqu ors of thisoas is of the wilderness, for which they barter a variety of articles.

The island of Hainan, although betwe en fou r and fiv e hundredmiles in circumference , has n otbeen described by modern geogre :

phers with that accuracy of delineation which an island of su ch mag

n itu de merits, owing to the pau city of information arising from the

want of that intercou rse which the extent of E u ropean enterprisehas enabled u s to obtain concerning other portions of the globe . The

defect, however, is in a g'reat degree supplied by the late jou rney of

a gentleman from M an chao, in the sou th coast of Hainan, to Canton, in

the years 1819 and 1820. H e describes‘

the inhabitantsto be in a high

state of civilisation the town s and villages“numerous ,-and some of thecities so popu lou s as to contain inhabitan ts.

1 The agriculturalprodu cts of the island are mu ch the same as those

‘

on the contin entand levery portion of it is we ll cu ltivated . Rice is the principalgrain raised for food, and from whi ch the wine us ed in '

the island isprincipally -made : The palm fabou nds, and cocoa-nu ts form an articleof e x pert. The . cane is . cultivated so extensive ly as to afford a

considerable supply of su gar for China. In the towns and cities, theshops are represented as highly respectable , while the artisans havearrived atan astonishing degree of perfe ction in the mechan ic arts.

In carv ing, polishing, and mounting cocoa-n utshells, they di splay great

ingenuity, form inga outo f this material variou s domestic articles of

a. beautifu l j etblack, e legantly ornamented with silver.The

"liqu ors of Hainan‘are mu ch the same as those u sed in theChinese empire , and are all drunk warm . An anecdote is related bythe traveller j u st mention ed,-who , , having called on the governor ‘

of

Keun'

g-chowlfoo, the'

capital; was treated with wine : but the servantwho attended himp in his ofliciou sness to fulfil his master’s orders,poured the hot liquor down the traveller

’

s throat, cup .after cup, in

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236

becomes ; and, as is said, will keep good for many years. It is an

agreeable liquor, as clear as pu re water atthe top, butvery muddyand thick towards the bottom . Though this residu um cannot be usedas a beverage , it is too preciou s to be thrown away or lost ; hence , tomake it potable , it is sometimes d ilu ted with water, butmore froqu ently supped with a spoon, as a ragou t or exhilarating pulp .

When the labourers go to work in the fields, they bring w ith 'them

some of this thick or mu ddy substance in cane -vessels, which theyblend with fresh water, and after the mixtu re has stood a little timefor clarification, it is taken as a refreshment during the heat andlabou r of the day .

”6 The Formosans have another liqu or, calledM asakka uw , orM a cfiiko ,made from rice . A vessel, abou t the si ze of

a hogshead, is nearly two-thirds filled with rice , chewed, and bo iled ;and then filled to the top with water. It is then lu ted and -buriedseven feet u nder grou nd, where it is su ffered to remain for a year,when it is taken up and the liqu or pressed from the grain by thebands. In abou t e ight days, during whi ch it works and settles, itbecomes a clear, wholesome beverage , equ al to the strongest wine ,and will keep good for twenty or thirty years. Some of the wealthyinhabitants have 200 or 300 vessels of it at on e time store d in the ircellars. At the birth of a child, the parents prepare some vesse ls

of this liqu or, and preserve it till the time of marriage . They have

another sort of drink called C ut/my , whi ch is nothing more than these cond washings of the pressed rice , made by pu tting _

a small qu an

tity of it into a calabash containing abou t two gallons of water . Itmak es a cool, refreshing drink, having a slight flavou r of the Masakhauw, bearing the same proportion to it in strength as small beer does

to strong. In the northern parts, between Keylang and Tamsay and

between Tamsay and Mou nt G edu lt, a drink is made fromw ood ashes,of considerable strength, butinju riou sto E u ropeans, from its excoriating

effects on thebowels, which u su ally lead to dangerou s hemorrhage . Al

though these liqu ors are common as well asmany others from China, yet

the natives seldom indu lge in them to any degree of e x cess .T The palmgrows luxu riantly. Toddy is drawn from it, and the u ses of the tree

for the variou s pu rposes of -life are known to many of the inhabi

tants. The leaves are some times formed into cylindrical caps withcrowns, on e above another, and su rmou nted with waving plumes,which give them a majestic appearance .

C andidiu s'

s Accou nt of the Island of Formosa,apud Churchill, vol. i . p . 405 .

Ogilby’

s Atlas Chin ensis,Fol. L ond. 1671, p. 10.

1Ogilby’

s Atlas Chinensis, p . 22 .

237

The produ cts of this island are sugar, corn, rice , with most other

grains, fru its, and vegetables, common to the continent of China. B ut,

though fert ilized and intersected by a great number of rivu lets from

the mou ntains, it is very extraordinary that every kind of water in

the island is said to be a deadly po ison to strangers, for which noremedy has hitherto been foun d .

* This, however, can only apply to

the water in its simple state , as by boiling, filtration, and other precau

tions, it may be rendered sufficiently safe for every pu rpose of life .

N e ither is it n atu ral to suppose , that a place of su ch magnitu de as

Formosa wou ld be u nprovided by Providence in so e ssential an article

as that of good water, withou t which ne ither man nor beast can exist.

The climate is represented to be salubriou s, the so il fertile , the an i

mals vigorou s an d numerou s and the o x , a creatu re greatly dependant upon water, capable of exerting a strength and speed u nknownin any other part of the world. This assertion, respecting the deleterions qu ality of the water, seems to be as preposterou s as the story ofJohn Stru ys, w ho wou ld make u s believe that he saw a man with a.tail more than a foot in length, covered with red ha ir, and greatly

resembling that of an o x ; and tha t this deformi ty proceeded from

the climate , and w as pecu liar to all the inhabitants of the sou thern

parts of the island— a re lation too extravagant and incredible to

require refu tation . Stripped of the marvellou s, Formosa is a valuable acquisition to China ; and were it n otfor the exac tions of the

Mandarins from those who emigrate to it, numerou s manu factorieswou ld be established, and that island wou ld rank high in commercial

importance ; since it is known , that immense qu antities of rice are

raised in the plains, and that to the amou nt of bu she ls are

annu ally exporte d from its harbou rs. The tribu te. imposed by theChinese on the inhabitants is paid in grain, and the contribu tions of

this article to the government stores are as re spectable as many ofthose from the most fertile parts of the empire .

The C oreans, an ingeniou s and enterprising people who inhabitthat extensive peninsula washed by the sea of Japan , and lying to '

the north-east of the Chinese territory, manu factu re a spe cies of wine ,or v inous liqu or, from a grain called pan iz , (panicum or millet), or

from a coarse kin d of rice .T They distil arrack in the same m an

n er as the Chinese . In this cou ntry there are numerou s taverns, butno regular inns for the accommodation of travellers. In these hou ses,

G rosier, v ol. i. p . 227.

1‘ M od . Un iv . Hist. v ol. v 11. p . 329. Malte-B ru n, vol. 11. p. 498. P.

Regis’

G eog. Observ. in Du Ilalde, vol. ii. p. 376, &c.

238

mu sic and dancing are kept up with the u se of betel, tobacco, anddrink in the style and manner of the Chinese , whose habits and

customs they'

greatly imitate . The ir subjection to the Chinese , ,and

the ir consequ ent intercourse with that people have given to x the

C orean s‘

a knowledge of'

almost all the liqu ors to be metwith inChina. The sou thern districts are very produ ctive in wheat, millet,barley, rice, and a variety of fru its. The mountains are cultivatedin many instances by terraces to the tops, and the hand of indu stry i s

visible in almost every part of the cou ntry. Traders from’

Core’

a go

every year to Pekinwiththe ambassadors, and carry with themwhate ver

articles of rarity they consider acceptable to the ir ne ighbou rs; arid in“

return, bring home a su pply of all the produ ctions of the capital ,among which the cho icest wines form no inconsiderable portion.

Of this cou ntry it is to be regretted that so little i s known. The

voyage lately u ndertaken by Captain Lindsay, in the Amherst, atthe

instance of the president and committee of super-cargoes at Canton;

gives u s little more than a glimpse of the cou ntry, as the jealou sy of

the people prevents foreigners of free intercou rse or even entranceinto the ir town s and villages. Captain Lindsay was accompaniedby the -

'

R e M r. Gutzlafi", a zealou s and piou s missionary, and after

several vain attempts to procu re an interview with the king,’

for

whom theyhad a letter with some presents, all they could effect was

a’ meeting with some of the chiefs, who entertained them in a temporary shed, where they were served with some wine , or rather witha spirit resembling once-distilled whiskey. Of this the chiefs partook first, notthrough any incivility to the strangers, butasa nationalcu stomfi"

Of Japan, as of the other distant and oriental nations, the earlyhistory

'

is but little kn own . Marco P 010, in the third book of his

accou nt -of eastern countries, imperfe ctly describes it u nder the nameof Z ipangri. The Portugu ese , abou t the year 15 42 , were the firstwho laid open to E u ropeans a knowledge of

‘

those islands.1' The

inhabitants; though far advanced in civilisation, appeared altogetheru nacqu ainted with chemistry as a science . In the practice of severalof the u seful and ingeniou s arts they had made astonishing proficiency,and i n the manufactu re of Sa ckz

'

, a strong and wholesome beerprocured from rice, they were notexcelled by any other peeple . j: This

0 1

D ocuments of a voyage to the North-E ast coastof China,in the Amherst,

printed by order of Parliam ent,1833.

'

tV

Koempfer’

s Introd. H ist. Japan , vol. i p . 32. Thunberg,

ItKoempfer, v ol. i . p . 12 1.

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240

is u sed by the wealthy atthe ir ordinary meals .

* The common mode

of u sing it is by heating it in a kettle, and then pou ring it into tea

cups made of lackered wood .

’

At Batavia, saeki is dru nk outof

wine glasses before meals to excite an appetite , the white or pu restkind be ing preferred on su ch occasions. Although Saeki is dru nk

freely by all descriptions of persons, from the emperor to the meanest

subject, its immoderate u se is seldom produ ctive of mu ch mischief.

Some , indeed, of the lower orders have been know n to be beheaded

for being drunk and qu arrelsome rl' but this is of rare occurrence .

The beer of Japan, as already remarked, is considered wholesome

and pleasant to the taste , butit is of su ch a natu re, that it shou ld be

taken notcold butmoderately warm ; for when it is not heated, itfrequ ently occasions that dreadful and endemial species of colic,which the Japanese call senka

'

, a disease which has proved fatal to

many, as we ll fore igners as natives. To cu re this di stemper variou s

means are u sed, butthe principal is the a cup u nctu ra , or pricking of

the abdomen with a needle , so as to letoutthe hidden, or morbific

vapours. I have been myself,”says Koempfer, several times an

eye-witness, that in consequ ence of these three rows of holes, (for

su ch are the number of punctu res) made according to the ru les of art,and to a reasonable depth, the pains of the colic have ceased almostin an instant, as if they had been charmed aw ay.

”j: Su rgeons are

u su ally furnished with drawings of the parts wher e it is proper to‘

apply the needle . This instrument is generally made of gold or silver,and the operation seems to be a species of cupping as practised bythe faculty in E u rope .

—Caron informs u s that the higher orders arealways entertained atvisits wit-h wine served out in varnished cupscalled beakers, and when a person happens to be overcome by drinkhe retires to sleep off his intoxication . L ike wine and spirits in ourow n cou ntry, saeki is made a medium of social intercou rse , an d introdu ced not on ly on joyou s buton solemn occasions, su ch as holydays,festivals, marriages, and funerals. The holydays are numerou s,be ing two in every month, besides fiv e great annu al festivals whichsome devote to pie ty, butthe greater number to amu sement. Theseafford opportu nities of great indu lgence in the u se of national beverages, and those daysbe ing considered u nlucky and all bu siness stopped,great liberty is taken, and few restraints are imposed e ither on the

passions or the appe tites. Drinking parties are n ever held in public

Thu nberg’

s Travels, v ol. iv . p . 39, 40, 41.

f Koempfer, v ol. ii . p . 5 67.

I Koempfer, v ol. if. b. v. p . 426, 469, and 477.

241

taverns in Japan, but always in private hou ses. The inns and

taverns are numerous , butthey are chiefly appropriated to travellersand strangers : hence there is se ldom any public exhibition of intem

perance or irregu larity. To be drunk in the day time , is, accordingto Golow nin , considered disgraceful ; hence the lovers of drinkingdo not indulge their propensity u ntil evening, after the terminatio nof all labour and bu siness. The Japanese are said to exceed mosto ther nations in the magnificence of the ir entertainments and fes

tivals . To the se they invite not only the ir living butthe ir deadrelations and friends the latter, by go ing in tr00ps to the ir graves with

burning lamps in the ir hands, calling them . by the ir names, andentreating them to favou r them with the ir presence . This is a

superstitio us but innocent weakness, whi ch influ ences many of theoriental nations to pay re spe ct to the memory of the departed b y;frequ ent and ceremoniou s visits to the city of the silent.The following anecdote related by Titsingh, while it shews the

partiality of the Japanese for the ir Saeki, gives an interesting specimen of their capabilities of sincere friendship , somewhat similar to thewell-known affecting story of Damon and Pythias -A certain

prince , named Tchouya, having conspired against the ru ling y

monarch,

w as condemned to death with some of his accomplices. At themoment of exe cu tion, a man carrying tw o gold-hilted sabres and

cove red with a flowing mantle , ru shed through the crowd , and

addressing himse lf to the commandant , said, My name is Sibata

Z abrobe ; I am the friend of Tchou ya, and am come to embracehim, and to suffer with him . You are a worthy man ,

” replied thecommandant, it were to be wished that all the world were like .

I give you permission to speak to Tchou ya . The two friends con

versed together for some time . Sibata expressed the extreme pain

he fe lt athis condemnation, and that he had come to Yeddo to share

his fate , as he would be ashamed to sm ’

v iv e him. . H e then took from

the sle eve of his robe a small potof saeki, and, after drinking it, the

two friends bade farewell to each othe r. Tchouya w as me lted into

tears he thanked Sibata for his kind and cou rageou s resolu tion, anddeclare d tha t he was most happy in the opportunity of once more

embracing him before he died . Sibata we eping, replied, “our bodyin this world resembles the flower Asa -gawa , which before su n -rise

is beau tiful and magnificent, butimmediately after fades and dies ;or like the koyero inse ct, that exists only for a day : butafter death

w e shall be in a better world, where w e shall enj oy e ach other’s

socie ty witho u t interruption .

” With these words he rose , tha nked

the commanda nt, and retired. The exe cu tioner had done his office ,R

2 42

and Tchouya with his fe llow-su fferers lay prostrate on the scaffo ld.

Sibata approached, and offering the commandant his tw o sabres , said ,To you I am indebted for the consolation of having conversedwith my friend, taking a. cup of Sa eki, and bidding adieu to him

before his removal to a better world ; I entreat you to denou nce me

to the governor of Yeddo , that he m ay order m e to suffer like my

friend . The gods forbid ,” replied the commandant, were I to

do what you de sire , you wou ld die like Tchouya ; your cou ragedeserves a better fate . While all his other friends are hiding themselves in dens and caverns, you have braved death to embrace himsu ch men as you are rare , and I cou ld notbe tray them .

”The drink

ing of Saeki forms the last ceremony of those condemn ed to commit

su icide , which is an established pu nishment for all ofl'enders again st

the state . When the cu lprit re ce ives the order for se lf-destru ction

he invites his friends to meet him on the day appo inted, and regalesthem with saeki . Having dru nk together for some time , till, perhaps,the spirits have be come exhilarated, the victim takes leave of them ,

and the order of the cou rt be ing read, he addresses the company in

a farewe ll complimentary speech then bending his head towards the

mat, he draws his sabre , cu ts himself across the belly, pene trating to

the bowels, when one of his confidential servants, placed behind for

the pu rpose , instantly strikes off his head . N o disgrace is attached

to this u nnatural mode of punishment on the contrary, the son

inherits all the father’s property and honou rs, and none butpersons of

the higher grade are privileged to be the ir own execu tioners.

Independent ofSaeki, the Japanese have a variety of exhilarating

liqu ors made from wheat, rice , and other grain, and from these they

distil spirits to some extent . From the fru its of the cou ntry a very

n ice description of wine is produ ced. Koempfer, during his stay atJeddo , tasted an excellent sort made from plumbs. They tap the

palm,birch, and other trees, from the ju ice of which they manu fac

ture variou s beverages w ith n o inconsiderable skill.—The vine is

planted merely as a curosity in the manner that w e plant oranges and

lemons be cau se the grape s do notreadily ripen, an d the people are

so attached to saeki, that they rarely think of any more agreeable

substitu te . Grap es, however, according to Thu nberg, are reared in

su ch qu antities as to form a portion of the dessert at the dinners of

persons of rank.

Saeki, distilled from the flowers of mot/rem ort, (a splendid odoriferou s plan t, supposed to be the bkrysa nthemum I nd icum, or the

kz’

ou -lzoa of the Chinese , and celebrated by all the poe ts of that

cou ntry ,) is a favou rite drink at the court of the Dairi, being

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244

wou ld open the parasol, and follow his mistress, who always tookprecedence .

The brewing vessels and stills in Japan are mad e of copper, a

metal very abu ndant in the cou ntry. Those u sed in the making of

sacki atthe cou rt of the Dairi, or spiritual prince , are only onceemployed for that pu rpose , so that on all o ccasions of brewing and

distilling a new apparatus mu st be procu red . In like manner, thecu linary u tensils, in which hi s meat is prepared, are changed, an d theplates, di shes, bowls, an d other table appo intments, are broken after ,

each repast .

Rice is the principal food, tea is the common beverage , and as all

liqu ors are dru nk warm , the kettle is seldom or never off the fire .

There are no casks for liqu ids ; but tu bs that hold ten or twelvegallons. These are broader above than below, and are boun d with

wooden hoops, and have a small squ are hole atthe top . The bestsacki, as well as sotsclzz

'

o is kept in large glazed earthen jars, or

lacqu ere d and gilt flasks.

The early missionaries aflirm that wine w as common in Jesse and

in the vicinity of M atsmai, and that it w as drunk freely, yet, as beforeobserved, grapes do notflourish in the country those which are found

are wild and tart, but are salted and eaten as a salad by the commonpeople . The su gar-cane is reared, butnotto any extent, and its produ ce is of a black colou r. The principal supply is imported, and the

n eglect of its cu ltu re is owing to the scarcity of land and the ease

with which it can be procured from the ne ighbou ring cou ntries.

Thunberg says that no canes have been imported for cu ltivation ;and that the Japanese shewed him the j ui ce of a tree tha t grows on

the adjoining islands, from which sugar w as manufactu red . Thisju ice had a disagreeable appearance , and w as of a brown ish hu e .

According to this writer, the sugar-maple does notgrow in Japan ; it

is, therefore , probable , that the ju ice alluded to w as obta ined fromthe birch, which abou nds in variou s parts of the empireHoney, though frequ ently found in Japan, is confined to medicinalpurposes, mead be ing u nknown. Many of the n ative fru its are pre

served in sa eki, the acid of the liqu or imparting to them an agreeableflavou r, highly prized by the people . It is common to see firkins of

cu cumbers, immersed in sa eki, exposed for sale in the public markets,and to give a zest for drinking this favourite beverage , dlmlz

'

slz,‘

from

which sloak is made , is frequ ently eaten before and after meals .1‘

Cordials of the nicest qu ality are prepared by the Japanese , and

Thunberg vol. iv . p. 93. 1’ Golownin

’

s Recollections of Japan , passirn.

245

what are prized as luxuries in many places are with them'

qu ite famie

liar . Bu ck-wheat (p olygonumfagomrumg is reared to great extent,and forms a portion of the food of the inhabitants. It is to be fou ndat the inns and places of refreshment on the roads, in the form of

cakes, and a pleasant beverage is brewed from it . B utalthou gh thehop (humu lu s lup u lus ,) w as observed by Thunberg to grow wild inthe cou ntry, the people seemed altogether ignorant of its applicationto the purpo ses of brew ing.

’le In the ceremonies of drink ing, in pre s

senting a cup to a friend, it is u sual to make a slight bend ofthe body,and lifting the left hand to the forehead, first taste the spirits to show

there is nothing in it inju riou s, and then hand it to the gu est .

The passion for strong liquors among the Japanese is mu ch thesame as that of other orientalists and it is held by them as a maximthat to drink seldom butheartily when atit, is be tter than to tipplefrequ ently and in small qu antities, an adage , however, little attendedto, as many of them take it as often as they can conveniently procureit, and that withou t any restraint . It is a cu stom before dinner todrink to the health of the gu ests, which actis a lways accompaniedwith a profou nd bow . The women cat by themselves during the

courses ,they drink a glass of saeki, and repeat the draught occasionally.

It has, notwithstanding, been said, that spirituou s liqu ors are notu sed

by the women, except on some extraordinary occasions, or on pu blicfestivals ;Tbut from the picture which Koempfer gives of a largeportion of the Japanese females, I am disposed to think that they arenot qu ite so abstemiou s. Thunberg asserts that sanctu aries . for

Women of pleasu re are very numerou s, and commonly the handsomesthou se s, frequ ently situated in the vicinity of the ir idol temples . Su chis the want of de cency, that the se places are indiscriminately re sortedto by male parties as taverns for drinking sa eki. Many of the Chineserepairto Japan to mingle in its debau cheries ; hence it has been deno~l

m inated the brothe l of China, though at home , frailties of a similar

description are notwanting to stigmatize the character of the Celestial

Empire .

The trade with Japan has, for a series of ye ars, been confined to

the Du tch, who are allowed to send thithe r only two ships annu ally,so that w e know little of the inte rnal policy or commerce of this

interesting empire , but what has been comm unicated through the

medium of writers , who , it may be feared , wo u ld n ot disclose what

might be prej udicial to the monopo ly of the ir co untrymen . Sincethe year 1601, when the Du tch were first permitted to trade there ,

Thunberg, vol. iv. p. 85 . 1‘ M od. Univ. Hist. v ol. v u . p . 376.

2 46

those islands may be said to be shu t up from every other nation ;and w e are taught to believe that every pre cau tion is observed, withwhich jealou sy can inspire ingenu ity, to keep fore igners from their

shores, and to prevent them from acqu iring the ir language . Werean embassy sent from Great Britain to Japan , it is not improbablebutthat it wou ld be follow ed by favourable resu lts, and an immensetrade opened for the enterprise of E nglish spe cu lators . That theJapanese are n ot averse to an intercou rse with British merchants, isevident from the circumstance that during the late w ar several of ourvesse ls were re ce ived at N angasaki as Du tch ships, although the

people were we ll aware that they were E nglish, but they cou ld not

acknowledge them u nder any otherflag than that of the Du tch. This

opinion of the ir favou rable disposition towards the British is confirmedby the fact of a ship from Bengal having goton the ir coast, to whichthe natives repaired in great numbers to pu rchase su ch articles of

British manu facture as they cou ld procu re . E ven the government

officers, who had boarded the vessel for the purpose of directing the

captain to leave the cou ntry, shewed an anxiety to pu rchase clothsu ch as that worn by him . When he said he had none , they desired

him to be su re to bring articles of that kind on his re tu rn ; adding

ironically, B uton no account w as he to come back .

”

WVhen the Portugu ese were in possession of the trade of thiscou ntry, the export in gold alone , according to Koempfer, amou nted

to 300 tons annu ally, making the enormou s sum of sterling . In exchange for this, the articles were variou s, and amo ngthese , wines formed n o inconsiderable share .

There can be no doubt that were j udiciou s efforts made to promul

gate a tru e knowledge of Christian principles among a people so

shrewd and intelligent as the Japanese , free intercou rse would be the

resu lt, and the prejudice s of paganism wou ld fade away before the

su perior light of the gospel .

Be tween the island of Kinsire , the most sou therly of that groupwhich forms the empire of Japan, and Formosa, are situ ate d the L oo

Choo islands, which have late ly attracted con siderable attention from

the intere sting accou nts given of them by Dr . M ‘L eod and Captain

H all of the Alceste and Lyra . The inhabitants are represented bythese gentlemen as possessing most amiable dispositions, and enjoyingall the comforts of a land rich in every beau ty which natu re can

bestow. The orange , the lime , the tea-plant, and sugar-cane abou nd,.while rice , wheat, peas, me lons, pine -apples, Sac. are reared in greatplenty. Samtchoo is distilled by them to considerable perfe ction, and

is made mu ch in the same manner as in China. B eechey speaks of a

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248

b eyond the state of hunters and fishers, theymake a kind of wine

resembling sa eki, which is very strong . This they drink in greatqu antities, althou gh they are seldom intoxicated a circumstance

ascribed by Father de Ange les, a Jesu it, to the ir u se of the toda

n aovo, a kind of oil drawn from a fish of the same name , with which

they season the ir rice , and alm ost all eatables.

* This fish, sometimes

spelt todo-nocca, a spe cies of seal, is described as a small fish coveredwith hair, having fou r feet like a hog’s its oil is said to be an infal

lible preventive of inebriety. There seems nothing extraordinaryin the effect attribu ted to this oil, since it is common in ou r own

cou ntry to have re course to melted bu tter to recover persons labou ring u nder exce ssive intoxication . Ovalle , in his History of Chili ,mentions a similar effe ct to that produ ced by the todo-noona, from

the u se of certain star-fish caught on the coasts. These , whenredu ced to a powder and mixed with wine , have the effe ct of making

the individu al w ho drinks it abhor wine as mu ch as he before lovedit . Another singu lar remedy for dru nkenness mentioned by Ovalle ,is that of drinking the sw eat of a horse infu sed in wine , which ever

after cau ses an u tter dislike for that liqu or . In many parts of Jesso,wild grapes are abundant, while mille t and other grain are plentiful,butthe chief beverages drawn from these are manufactu red by theJapanese settlers, who have imparted to the Aborigines a taste forthose luxuries.

The islands lying near Jesso and Kamtschatka are commonly calledthe K uriles ; several of these , su ch as Kunashir, E x etooroop, and

Saghalien may be considered Japanese colon ies, and have the ir chiefsupplies of rice , tobacco , saeki, and other luxurie s, from the mothercountry. The Ku rilians are warmly attached to tobacco and strongliquors the former, often mo istened by saeki, is sold by them withou trestriction, butthe latter on ly to a limited extent, lest exce ss in theiru se might lead to the dangerou s consequ ences of sickness, discord, orcriminal indiscretions .

In casting ou r eyes over the broad expanse of the P acific Ocean ,w e are presented with so many states and islands, that to describe all

wo uld be superflu ou s ; and as they gre atly resemble each other inthe produ ctions of the soil, it may be suffic ient to give a general ideaof the most considerable . The Mariana isles, abou t twelve in number,were first discovered by Magellan, who had reason to form so unfa

v ou rable an opinion of the inhabitants, that he bestow ed on them the

name of L adrones, or island of thieves, in memory of the repeated

De Angeles apu d Charlevoix . Hist. Japan . M od. Univ . Hist. vol. v ii . p . 442.

249

thefts which he experienced . The people we re fo und to be.

extreme lyru de an d

‘

ignorant, butsubsequ ent navigators have represented themin a more favou rable po int. of view . Wallis, in 1767, remained u ponTinian a month, and seemed pleased with the refreshm ent he pro

cu red . The people speak a langu age hearing so close a resemblance

to that ofthe Philippine islanders that they are supposedto have spru ng

from one common stock the produ ctions are mu ch the same , and they

closely resemble each other in many respects. Since the establish

ment of the Du tch in Gu am, one of the principal settlements of this

grou p , the inhabitants have become better acqu ainted with the enli

y eming qu alities of the cocoa-nut tree , and of the rice cultivated at

Rota . In the island of Gu am, a liqu or called Touba is in u se , of

which the natives seem to be extremely fond . D e Pages represents

the brandy made from the fermented j u ice of the cocoa-tree as excel

lentfi‘ The Manilla ships u su ally tou ch atthese islands for refresh

ments in the ir voyage from Acapu lco . The Carolines, a clu ster of

islands whi ch lie to the sou th of the L adrones, are but little known .They are said to resemble the latter, both as to the natu ral produ c

tions and the manners ofthe people . Captain Wilson, whose ship was

wre cked in 1783u pon the coast of Pe lew, on e of the prin cipal of the

group of islands of that name , gives a pleasing pictu re of the inhabi

tants. The island is stocked w ith a great variety of plants and withtre es of variou s kinds ; among these may be re ckoned the cabbagetree , the bread-fru it, and a tree produ cing a fru i t like an almond .

Plaintain s, bananas, oranges, and lemons are fou nd. The leaves ofthe palm serve as thatch for the ir hou ses, the milk of the cocoa sup

plies them with drink . A kind of sherbet is made , to which theju ice of the orange is added . It is remarkable that the crews of thes hips which we re sent from Bombay to these islands, in 1790, amongthe other supplies, introdu ced liqu ors to the notice of the inhabitants,w ho thu s acqu ired a taste for the luxu riou s drinks of their moree nlightened visitants . Captain M ‘Clu re , w ho commanded the ships,remained on this island, resolved to pass the remainder of his life

among the se ingeniou s and virtu ou s people .- O f N ew Britain and

N ew Ire land w e know little , but su ch parts of them as have been

explored are considered abundantly fertile . The cocoa and different

kinds of palm trees flourish in the forests, while numbers of e scu lent

roots and vegetables are m etwith in the plains and valleys. The

. natives are said to be u nacquainted with the ju ice of the palm . The

Solomon islands seem to be as little known as the two j u st mentioned,

Travels round the World, vol. i. p . 171.

2 5 0

w riters be ing divided as to the ir number and extent . Al varo deMendana, the Spanish navigator who discovered them in 15 67, givesa description of the ir inhabitants, little different from that applicableto other islanders in the Pacific, their arts and habits be ing mu ch thesame . When Cook visited the islands of the N ew H ebrides in 1773,abou t sixteen in number, he fou nd them well wooded and sto ckedin abu ndance with sugar-canes and yams. The plantain, cocoa,banana, bread-fru it, figs, oranges, and other fru its, appeared, though

n otso abu ndant as in some of the other islands of this occean , butfrom the fertility of the so il, they might be augmented w ith very

little labour to a supply sufli cientfor any exigence . Vegetables growin great profus ion, and where the hills are covered with tre es to the

top, the ju ice and intoxicating effects of the palm , or other material,w e may reasonably conclude , are notu nknown .

Am ong the Friendly, Society, Fe ej ee , Sandwich, and Navigators’

islands, the C am is in general u sed as a bev erage . The best description that has been given of it is by M arin er,who resided in the Friendly

Islands for many years, and w as familiar with all the ir manners and

cu stoms.

ale The cava plant, partly described u nder the appellation ofam in the article on Borneo, is a spe cies of pepper cu ltivated solely

for the pu rpose to whi ch it is applied . It seldom exceeds fiv e feet,and has large leaves shape d like a heart with jo inted stalks . The

root is carefu lly dug up, scraped clean w ith mu scle-shells, and split

into small pie ce s. It is then distribu ted among the people , seated in

two circles, to be chewed . The deadly silence which had previou sly

prevailed is then broken by the cry of my ma ca va my ma ca va

my be cava ,”give m e some ca va , give me ca va , some ca va , by each

of those who intend to chew it . N o on e attempts to chew it butyoung persons with good tee th, clean mou ths , and free from di sease .

Women often assist, and i t is curiou s that in the pro cess of chewing,the root is kept wonderfully dry. In some place s, says Kotzebu e ,the old women only chew the root, and the young women merelyspit on it to thin the paste . The chewing of each mou thful occupies

abou t tw o minu tes, and when thu s masticated, it is pla ced on a piece

of plantain or banan a leaf, and handed to persons appo inted to collect

and place it in a wooden bowl of abou t three feet in diameter and

on e foot in depth. In this vessel it is arranged in distinct .and

separate portions, in order to give an idea of the qu antity of drinkthat it will make , to ascertain which it is shewn to the chief,

H e w as one of the crew o f a ve ssel that was seized by the natives in the

year 1806.

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2 5 2

cup kneeling, butto every other person it is presented standing. O n

one occasion, where Cook w as present ata fu neral ceremony, a bowl

of this drink, containing abou t a gallon , w as prepared ; the first cup ,

(which w as formed of a plantain leaf, ) being presented to the king, heo rdered it to be given to another person , the second he drank himself,and the third w as handed to Captain Cook ; cups were then given tothe othe r persons present, u ntil the liqu or w as exhau sted . E ach cup ,as it was emptied, was thrown u pon the grou nd, whence it w as takenup and carried to be filled again. Scarcely a word w as u ttered du ringthe whole of this drinking bou t ; butthe u tmost gravity w as observedby all, from the king to the meanest person present. On those habituated to the u se of ca va , it has n o great effect, buton strangers itOperates like spirits, occasioning intoxication, or a stupefaction like

opium,that deprives its votary of appetite, and renders him averse to

e very kind of noise . From the ease with which it is procu red, it may

be considered as a common beverage ; and there is no feast, nor ceremony, however trifling, withou t cava . The term ca va , or am , is

applied to every thing of a heating or pu ngent nature , whether relat

ing to ardent liqu ors or spices . At Otahe ite, the ca va root is for themost part bru ised, instead of be ing chewed before the infusion ; and

the leaves are also u sed in the same manner. This root, or dr ink, isknown in the Fe ej e e islands by the name of An goua, and in most ofthe ne ighbou ring islands it is denominated am , or mm . The com

mon drink among the Sou th-Sea islanders is water, or the milk of thecocoa-nut; cava be ing only the ir morning beverage , or that which isu sed atfeasts, or on occasions of ceremony. It is taken to excess inmany places ; and its perniciou s effects have been observed by several

navigators. Captain King saw a man who had dru nk of it to su chexcess, that he be came delir iou s and convu lsed . While in this situation, he w as held by two men , who bu sied themselves in plu cking outhis hair by the roots as a sovere ign re storativ e .

9K Its frequ ent u sehas a tendency to emaciate the body, as testified by Captain King

,

w ho , after an absence of some time , w as su rprised to find , on his

re turn, many of those who had been corpu lent, in a short periodredu ced to mere ske letons by the inordinate u se of this liquor. Whena man first give s himself up to drinking a va , he breaks out in scales

abo u t the head, whilethe eye s become sore and red . The infe ctionspreads gradu ally downwards over the body, till it is entirely coveredwith a scale , or scu rf, re sembling a scu rvy. These scales gradually'drop off, leaving the skin beau tifully clear and smooth, and the body

Cook’

s Voyage, vol. i . p . 35 0.

2 5 3

free of all disease . It is said to be a cure for the venereal ; b utfromthe women notbe ing permittedto u se it, the banefu l infection brou ghtto those islands by Captain Cook’s vesse l still remains to po llu te and

pu nish the inhabitants. The latest accounts re specting this drink are

given by Captain Beechy, in his voyage to the Pacific and B eering’

s

Strai ts , w ho re lates, that a cou rse of it is most beneficial in reno vating constitutions worn outby hard living and long residence in warm

climates . H e gives an instance of a gentleman who had u ndergone a

cou rse of it to cu re a cutaneou s disease , similar to St .Anthony’

s fire

he took twice a day, half-a-pint, one before breakfast, and the other

before dinner, and atthe end of six weeks there w as a visible amend

ment ; the skin w as freed of scrofula, and the whole system w as

improved .

age Spirituou s liqu ors are in great repu te amongst the chiefs,one of whom thinks nothing of swallowing a tumbler of rum at a

draught. Women of the higher classes are , if possible , the greate st

dru nkards . Dillon, in his narrative of a voyage for the discove ry

of the fate of La Perou se , confirms this by a circumstance which

o ccurred at N ew Zealand ; proving, that no rank nor condition

amongst them is free from its influ ence . The high priestess, a

woman regarded by her cou ntry as more than mortal , came on board

the vesse l to make some inqu iries, and be ing invited into the cabin,she seated herse lf withou t embarrassment, and after remarking that

the day w as cold, demanded if there were any rum on board, and if

so , requ ested that some might be given to her. A full decan ter be ing

placed before her, she filled a tumbler nearly to the brim, and qu aifed

itto the bottom withou t The missionaries have su cceeded,in a great measure , in pu tting down the u se of am , this drink benig

no longer allowed to be prepared, nor the root allowed to be culti

v ated butu nfortunately, its place has be en partially supplied by theintrodu ction of wine and brandy. Kotzebu e , however, who latelyvisited these islands, says he never saw a drunken person during hisstay.

The intercou rse, which these children of natu re have lately hadwith the civilized world, has putthem in possession of different arts,of which they were before ignorant, amongst the rest, distillation to

a ce rtain extent .

In the Marquesas Islands, the aborigines use not only am , but

procure a strong liqu or from the root of ginger, for the pu rpose of

enjoyment, forgetting care , and sinking into profou nd sleep . In

B eechy’

s Voyage to the Pacific and B e ering'

s Straits, vol. 11. p . 434.

1‘ Dillon ’

s Voyage , v ol. i. p . 228.

2 5 4

Santa Christina, one of the se islands, the sugar-cane was observed to

grow spontaneou sly to the he ight of six or seven fee t, butthe nativeswere u nacqu ainted with its properties and the u ses to which it cou ld

be converted . The cocoas, with the bread-frui t, are the chief food

of the inhabitants . H ere also is fou nd a kind of n ut, called aki, as

well as the Ti roo t , which, when baked u nder ashes, is an agreeableand wholesome article of su bsistencefi" The inhabitants are so hospitable , that they not only fre ely share their liqu ors with their gu es ts,but they consider it an actof kindne ss to give the ir friends food

already chewed, that they may have only the trouble of swallowing

it.In the Sandwich I slands, an excellent spirit is distilled from the

Te e root, D ra ccena , resembling the D ra cwna termina lz'

s, somethinglike the beet of this cou ntry, and which is fou nd growing wild abou t

the mounta ins and valleys. The leaves of this plant, which are broad

and oblong, are woven into a sort of cloak by the mou ntain inhabitants, resembling that made from the palm leaves as u sed in variou sparts of the E ast . The stalk is u sed like the olive as a symbol of

peace , and of this plant the Otahe itans re ckon six spe cies ; three with

red and three with white flowers. In the Pitcairn and the othe r

adjacent islands, the Te e plant is extensively cu ltivated . Its leavesare the common food of hogs and goats, and serve the natives forwrappers in the ir cooking. The roo t affords a very saccharine ju icere sembling molasses, which is obtained by baking it in the ground.The plant requ ires two or three years to arrive atmaturity. It isthen abou t 2% inches in diameter . It is long, fu siform, and bese twith fibres. From the root a tea is made , which,when flavou red withginger, is notu npleasant. The root of the plant is larger and mu ch

swe eter than that of the be et ; it is of a brownish appearance ,and is in perfe ction all the year rou nd. When the natives colle ct aquantity of this root, they bake it well u nder groun d ; when sufliciently baked, they pound it u p in an old canoe kept for that pu rpose ,mixing water with it, and leaving it to ferment for several days.

Their stills are formed outof iron pots, which they pro cu re from shipsthat call there . These they can enlarge to any size , by fixing calabashes or gou rds with the bottom outOH, and made to fit close on the

pot, cemented well with a sort of clay called p eroo, a copper cone is

also affixed, with which an old gun-barrel is connected, and passes

throu gh a calabash of cold water which condense s the spirit. The

stills are commonly placed by a stream of water ; they take the water

Roqu e feuil’

s Voyage Round the World.

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25 6

At'

E imeo, one of the Georgian Islands, a group to the east of theFriendly Islands, when visited by Mr . E lli s, intemperance prevailed

to a great extent ; and he fou nd that they w ere in possession of the

artof distillation from the Ti orTee root (dra caena termina lis), which

arthad been introdu ced some years previou s to the Sandwich island

ers. H ere as in other of the Polynesian islands, whole districts con

gregate to ere ct a public still, the apparatu s of which, though ru de ,answers the purpose intended. The body of this still consists of a

large stone , hollowed in the form of a pot, and placed on stoneswith

space beneath for a fire ; and'

on thetop of this potis placed a hollow ed

trunk of a tree by w ay of a head, in which is inserted a long cane of

bamboo ,condu cted through a trough filled with cold water serving

as a condenser. Into this still the fermented Ti root, previous lymacerated in water, is thrown, and the spirit runs into a calabash,cocoa-nut, or o ther vesse l u sed forthe pu rpose . Annexed is a repre

sentation of a still of this description u sed in Tahite , the largest of the

Georgian Islands.

The process is condu cted in a temporary shed erected on the occasion ; and here the men and boys of the di stri ct . are anxiou sly awaitingthe produ ce . The first draught of the spirits, or m m, is given tothechief, and which is denominated a o, the remainder is di stribu tedamong the people who continu e at the still for several days, or tillall the materials are exhau sted, during which horrible excesses are

committed . At the preparation and work of these stills, the peopleare insensible to every other pursu it , and often app ear, in the cou rseof the reveh'

y, more like demons than human be ings. Some timesin

5 7

a deserted still-house'

mightbe seen the fragments of the rude boiler,and the other appendages of the still, scattered in confu sion on the

ground, and among the dead and mangled bodies of those who hadbeen mu rdered with axes or billets of wood in the qu arrels that hadterminated the ir dissipationfi

“

It is consoling to the friends of humanity to find, that -since the

introdu ction of Christianity intothe Sou th Sea islands, intoxication

has become less frequ ent, and the stills have shared the fate . of many'

of the ir idols, having been e ither broken or hidden‘

u nder grou nd. A s

the su gar-cane abou nds in most of the islands in the Pacific Ocean,thedistillation of rum might be come an article of traflic ; butto the u se

of this liquor the chiefs of the Society Islands are opposed and the ir

attachment to Christianity has led them to consider the u se of spiria

tu cu s liqu ors as the greatest cu rse with which they cou ld be i nfl icted .

So destru ctive were the effe cts of intoxication i n the G e orgian ando ther islands, that in many places the cou nt1y w as nearly depopu lated ;for people living on su ch low vegetable diet cou ld notbea1 the stimu

lus and v iolence 'which ardent spirits give to the constitu tion . E venso prevalent was its baneful influ ence , that the p11ests, before go ing to

the temples to sacrifice to their gods, among which sacrifices infantie ide formed no small portion, intoxicated themse lves to render theirfe elings callou s.

Of late , dru nkenness has become so hateful, that in a code of . lawse stablishe d at

' Hu ahine , one of .the Society Islands, the fo llowinge nactment forms the twentieth article , the bearing of which wou lddo

’

honou r to any n ation If'

a man dr ink spirits till he -be comesintoxicated . (the literal rendering wou ld be po isoned), and is then

troublesome or mischie vou s,'

the magistrates shall cau se him to be

bou nd or confined and, when the effe cts of the drink have subsided,shall admonish himnot to offend again . B ut if he be obstinate in

'

drinking spirits, and when intoxicated be come mischievou s, lethimbe brought before the magistrates and sentenced to labou r, su ch asroad-making,

'

fiv e fathoms'

ih length , and tw o in breadth . If notpu n ished by this, a plantation fence , fifty fathoms long . If it be

'

a woman that is gu ilty of the crime , she shall plait tw o large mats,one for the king, and the o ther for the gove rnor of the

'

district, ormake fou r kibiscu s mats, tw o for the 'king and two for the gove rnor,o r forty fathoms of native cloth, twenty for the king and twenty for.

the go vernor.

”T

Ellis's Polyne sian Researches , vol. i. p . 231.

f ibid . vol. ii . 433.

2 5 8

Many islands in the Pacific Ocean produ ce wheat, rice , Indian com ,

and every description of fru it peculiar to the West Indie s . In

O tahe ite , the sugar-cane grows so luxu riantly, that from two small

enclosu res fiv e tons ofwhite sugar are annually manu factu red.

With a great number ofthe islands classed by modern geographersu nder the head of P olynesia and Au stralasia, ou r acqu aintance is verylimited and comparatively superficial . Previou s to the residence of

the missionaries in N ew Zealand, the inhabitants are said to have been

so ignoran t as n ot to know the simple process of preparing food byboiling and that differing from the tastes of men in other regions,they abhorred all kinds of intoxicating liqu ors. Unfortunately, how

e ver , the ' crews of the Sou thern whalers have made these peoplefamiliar with the u se of rum, brandy, and other inebriating bev erages,and the pumpkin is now cultivated for drinking vessels.

The natives of N ew'

H olland were represented as equ ally u naccu stomed to the u se of any kind of spirits butthe colonization ofthat cou ntry and the number transported thither, have completely

altered the ir habits, and given them a thirst for the vice of intox ication. Re id, who some. time since vis ited the colony, remarked that

on e cou ld scarcely pass through the streets of Sydney withou t meeting them in a state of inebriety.

ale This indiscriminate censure is,however, really applicable to su ch alone as were permitted to amu sethemselves for a certain time in the week, a liberty that w as found

to be grossly abu sed, and which is now mostly restricted, if notaltogether abolished, by the

The policy o f licensing stills has hitherto been discou ntenanced by

the government butfrom the rapid progress of agricu lture, nothing,i t is conce ived, wou ld tend more to the relief of the indu striou s .than

the adoption of su ch a measu re . It has been strongly urged by thelandholders, merchants, and other respe ctable inhabitants of the .

colony, in a petition to the British cabinet, dated the 11th February,1819.

The advantages attendant on a permission to distil are forciblyillu strated byWentworth, in a short review of the actual loss which

the colonists have su stained from the want of it during the last fifteenyears. Thi s loss he calcu lates to be notless than sum

which, ha d it been applied to the immediate encou ragement of agricultu re , wou ld have imparted life and vigou r into the whole comm itya

Allowing the colony, says that writer, to requ ire gallons of

Reid’

s Voyage to New South Wale s an d Van D iem en’

s Land, 8v o . p'

. 266 .

1“Parliamentary Reporton the State of the Colony ofNew South

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260

tru nk . Mead, however, has n ot been manufactu red, as the nativesare ignorant of this beverage , but, as E nglish bees have been latelyintrodu ced, this liqu or may soon be come familiar .*

The spirits with which the colony is su pplied are principally furn ished by merchants in India. At first, no person cou ld trad e in thisarticle to the settlem ent withou t a license ; but the restriction w as

abolished a few years ago, and permission given for any, on e ,to ; su p

ply it with this commodity, in consequ ence of whi ch a considerablequ antity w as sent thither in 1822 . The spirits imported from 1831“to 1832 amou nted to gallons, and the imports of wine for thesame period to gallons.

_The qu antity of spirits exported

w as and of wine gallons. Du ring this time ,

gallons of gin were distilled in the colony of which none wereexported. There consequ ently remained gallons of spirits,and gallons of wine .

By an actof 3d G eo . IV. c . 96, distillation w as perm itted in thiscolony, and regu lations for condu cting it issu ed by the governor, andpu blished in the Sydney Gazette on the 3d of Febru ary, 1821;Liberty w as given to commence on the lstAugu st, 1822 .

'

B y theseregulations, it appears that no still of less c apacity than forty-fou r

gallons is to be licensed, and that no grain whatever shall be dis tilledbut that grown in the colony . The governor has the power ofsu spending distillation, when the price of wheat in the Sydney marketshall exceed 10s. per bu she l for two su ccessive days butin that casedistillation from fruit will be permitted. The spirit is requ ired to beof a strength of atleast seven per cent . above hydrometer proof, and .

a du ty of 2s. 6d . per gallon is to be paid for as mu ch spirit of thatstrength as every still shall be fou nd capable of produ cing from the

number of charges tha t can be worked off in the space of 28 days.

The system of charging the du ty on working against time ,‘ aspractised in Ireland , w as adopted as better calcu lated for the se curityof the revenu e , in a colony possessing su ch imperfect means for itscollection, than any mode o f survey by oflicers. The form and

dimensions of stills were fixed in proportion to the diame ter and

altitu de ;Tbut whether the extension of the plan u nder which thedistilleries of the u nited kingdom are condu cted at present, namely,that of working according to the gravity of the worts and the spiritsdrawn the refrom , u nder the regulations of the 4th G eo . IV. c

“

. 81,

should be extended to this se ttlement, is a matter of seriou s considera «tion for

_the legislature , inasmu ch as they are better calculated than

B reton’

s E x cu rsion s in New‘

South'

TVale s , 8ve . p . 2 77.

‘

I’ See the description of these proportions in the article on Ireland .

- l

261

any other to preven t frau d and'

dereliction‘

of principle , on the part ‘

of

those engaged in so important a branch of trade .

To prevent the sale of spirits in small qu antities from the distilleries,itis provided that no person who shall be a partner, or have an

interest in a licensed distillery, shall have a license to retail spirits,and no licensed distiller is permitted to sell at any time a smallerqu antity of spirits than 100 gallons .

Great care has been taken to prevent a monopoly, and, to avoid theexpense and inconvenience of carrying grain to p articu lar markets,

stills are allowed to be set u p in any part of the colony. By recent

accounts from this settlement, it appears that atSydney there is nowa number of breweries dispersed abou t the town , and atabou t a miledistant an extensive n ew distillery, named the B risban e, which pro-n

du ces a good spirit from native grain , and also cordials of excellent

qu ality. In a different dire ction of the town , there is another estab

lishm ent of the'

same kind , not less respectable . Those concerns

fu rn ish annu ally several hundred thou sand gallons of a pure spiritfrom barley and maize , while hogsheads are the yearly averageof ale and beer su pplied to the colony by thirteen breweries, the pro

du ce of various descriptions of native grain . In the Sydney Monitor

of the 27th April, 1833, a gentleman who opened an extensive malt

hou se and brewery atWinds or, proposed to su pply the ne ighbou r

hood with be er and ale equ al to those of E dinbu rgh, while otheraccou nts shew the increase and efliciency of similar concerns. Itis a great encouragement to brewers, that the hop-plant thrives wellthere .

It may be worth recording, that a Mr. Squ ires w as the first brewerin N ew Sou th Wales, and his beer w as of so good a qu ality, that to

commemorate its worth and the valu e of the manufactu re r,the following doggere l cou plet w as placed on the tomb of on e of its votaries

buried in the church-yard of Paramatta, now called Rosehill

Ye who w ish to be hereDrink Squ ires

’

s b e er.

The duty on spirits distilled in the colony, as before stated, is 23.

6d . per ga llon from grain, and 4s . 2d . from sugar and molasses, whileWest India rum pays 65 . and all other imported spirits a du ty of 7s .

6d . per gallon . These prote cting du ties se cure a ready marke t tothe di stillerwhen grain is low ; butwhen it is high, the fore ign article

‘

is perhaps too nearly on a par with the colonial .The du ty is levied on the strength of all spirits imported in

"

pro

portion to the degree in which they may exceed hydrome ter proof.3

262

The rum sent from B engal to the colony has been e stimated as highas thirty and forty per cent. above proof, while that brought fromother places seldom exceeded from twenty to thirty. In 1819, thequ antity of spirits issu ed from the bonded store to dealers, amountedto gallons, and in 1820, to gallons. To which if w e

add in the first year and in the se co nd , gallons, givenouton accou nt of government, the annu al consumption of the colony,making some allowance for the strength, and for what is sold directlyfrom the importer, may be estimated at ga llons. This is a

prodigiou s qu antity, when w e consider the popu lation, which, in 1820,did not exceed persons, and of these there were children. Making no allowance for the latter, the qu antity of spiritsswallowed by each individual, yearly, comes to somewhat better thanfiv e gallons and three pints, which exce eds the consumption of theproportion for the popu lation of Ireland by fou r gallons, and of thatof Scotland by more than three . If to this consumption of ardentspirits there be superadded the same qu antity ofwine and malt liqu ors,the amou nt will vastly exceed that u sed by the same number of inhabitants in any part of the world. This statement may be illu stratedby the following ane cdote told by an Irishm an, located there withmany of his coun trymen , as characteristic of the habits of these people,some of whom are seldom sober during the whole year Why,Denis,

”says an observer to one who w as a great votary of St.

Patrick, su rely the saint could notbe born on every day in the last

week ?” Och ! replies Denis, it is only my own bad memory thatmakes me so particu lar, for having a mighty love for St. Patrick, Ialways

.

begin keeping his birth a fortnight before hand, lest I shou ldforget the day ; and after itis over, why the devil burn me but Ialways forget to leaveMasters are allowed, by an actof cou ncil, to pay servants part of

the ir wages in spirits, as they are fou nd to be the best stimu lants toexertion ; and in order to prevent them from repairing to publichou ses to spend the ir earnings, which, before this regulation, was a

common practice, and produ ctive of bad consequ ences. Servants

have been known to travel u pwards of thirty mile s to a pu blic-hou seto spend the few dollars whi ch they had earned by hard labou r . Thisspe cies of payment is a melancholy proof of the fondness of the inhabitants for spiritu ou s liqu ors. Breton states that a party of six

emancipated convicts drank, atone sitting, six bottles of sherry and

forty-on e of porter . From this w e need scarcely wonder at the

enormou s consumption of the co lony.

After the first settlement of N ew Sou th Wales, it was a practice

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264i

generally sacrificed at the' instance of the u nnatural hu sband fl

Scarcely, says a voyager, do the intoxicating fumes, get into fi

the ir

heads, when they breathe nothing butbattle , and shou t forth the ir

w ar-cries . Impatient for mu rder, they seek antagonists”, provoke

them by ferociou s songs, and demand .death in the hope iof inflictingit. They find buttoo readily

‘

the opportunity they desire and the ir

w ar-hoop is answered by whooping n otless terrible . Then ,the com

batants, drawn up in two lines, perhaps twenty steps from each other,threaten mu tu ally with their long-pointed spears, launch them attheir

adversaries with wonderfu l strength and dexterity, a nd finally attack

e ach other with ponderou s and formidable clu bs, called waddies.

Limbs are fractured, bones smashed, sku lls laid open ; no exclamation of pain escapes from these ferociou s savages, the , air

‘ resou ndsonly with frightful vociferations. H e who falls withou t having foun da victim , dies rather of despair than from the hurts he has rece ived

and the warrior, who has laid low a few enemies, soon expires, with

e utregretting the loss of In those ,confl icts, it is common to

see the combatants alternately stooping the head to re ce ive the blow

of an antagonist, it be ing deemed cowardice to avo id a stroke .

Many of these rencou nters are occasioned bythe want of pru dence inE u ropeans, who exchange with them spirits for the skins of serpentsand other animals, instead of giving them su ch matters as wou ldadminister to the comforts, ease , and civilisation of life . Fortu natelyfor the peaceable portion of society in that quarter, these scenes arenotof frequ ent occu rrence , ,and the exertions of government are notwanting to check them altogether. The settlers have su cceeded to '

engage many of the natives in the labours of the field ; ,and these poor .

creatures ask n o other reward for the ir to il than a good feast ofboiled .

pumpkin and sugar. Care is taken notto give them ,any . drink till

the ir day’s work is ov er, .for, were the ir appetites satisfied, they wou lddo nothing after, hu nger alone having the power of compelling themto work. A draught of the washings of a. sugar bag, which is calledbu ll, or a drink of grog, atthe conclus ion of the harvest, sends those .

simple mortals happy and delighted to rove again among the ir nativewilds. Dawson, a late visitant, speaking of the Aborigines, says thatthey are inordinately fond of bu ll ; whi ch they sometimes prepare bycu tting up a sugar bag and boiling it in water. This they reckonon e of the greatesttreats, and dr ink it till they are blown outlike .

an ox swelled with cle v er and can ta ke no mora l They have an

Cu nn ingham’

s Residence , vol. 11. p . 20.

'

l' Arago

’

s Voyage , 4to . p . 172 .

I D aw son’

s P rese nt State of Au stralia, 8vc . p . 60. Breton ’

s E x cursions inNew Sou th Wale s

, 8ve . p . 195 .

265

ingehious modeofmaking drinking vessels of the bark of the tea-tree,a spe cies of myrtle , and which display more ability than is u su allyattribu ted to these savages . They strip the trunk of its bark, and

afte r 'neatly rolling it u p , tie it at on e extremity, and thu s furnish a

goblet suflicient for the pu rpose . Of this bark they also makebaskets, and u se its broad lamina as a shelter from rain it isofte n spre ad as a carpet to keep out damp, and is as soft as velve t .

It grows in lairs , and is taken ofl'

the tree withou t a hatchet ; the

nearer the wood, the softer the coating, sometimes scarcely exceeding.

brown paper in thickn ess .

Dawson assures u s that‘

the colony of N ew Sou th Wales is in a

prosperou s condition, and’

that at.

Sydney, hou ses are ere cting on

every side , while distilleries are atwork and steam-engines are com

mon . Grapes are fou nd to su cceed in every favorable situationthroughou t the cou ntry. N otonly does every establishment prosper,butthe vine is likely to afford a supply of wine . The sugar-cane issaid to thrive in many places, and fa ir samples of rum have been produ ced . A plantation at Port Macqu arie contains u pwards of nine tyacres. A s almost every species of fru i t known to other cou ntries

grows here , materials are afforded for the manufactu re of all kinds of

drinks fou nd els ewhere“ In 1826, M r.

.

Town son , the au thor of

Trave ls in Hungary , with other enterprising gentlemen, w as actively

engaged in the manufacture of Au stralian wine , and one of them, M r.

George Blaxland, had su cceeded sowe ll as to have six pipes and a halfofit in his cellar . At present there are many acres of vineyards in thecolony ; those of the

-more wealthy proprietors be ing, for the mostpart, u nder the management of scientific and practi cal vine -dressersfrom the sou th of E u rope . Wine and brandy have been manu fac

tared to a considerable extent from the grapes of the vineyards of

the Messrs. Macarthu r atCamden, on the Cow-pastu re river. The

quality hitherto produ ced had a strong resemblance to Sau terne , intaste , strength, and appearance . The latest accou nts say, that the,wine -crops afforded the best promise of a plentiful supply, and gaveevery hope that this portion of the globe may yetbe come a flourishing

wine coun try. The wine made in 1834, by Sir John Jameson , at

Regentv ille , w as of a superior qu ality, and the saccharinepropertyof the grapes w as su ch, that scarcely any brandy

'

was deemednecessary.

Cu ttings of E uropean and African vines have.

frequently beenimported into this settlement . Mr . Redfern , a respe ctable colonist ,brought with him from Made ira a number of cu ttings, and encouragedsome Portugu ese families acquainted with the cultlu '

e of the v ine, ,

to

266

emigrate to New Sou th Wales, for the pu rpose of training the plantsand laying down vineyards. Mr. James Bu sby, British resident in.

N ew Zealand, brought to N ew Sou th Wales upwards of a hu ndredvarieties which he procured in France , and gave them for generalcu ltivation. On the policy of cu ltivating the vine in thi s colony, Dr.Lang has made some ju dicious remarks tending to show, that if wineswere manu factu red to any considerable extent, it might be the means

of advancing the cause of temperance , by placing within the reach of

the people a cheap and wholesome beverage , to the exclu sion of those

inflammatory, dele teriou s, and exp ensive liqu ors so preju dicial to

health and morality.

*

Temperance Socie ties are now established in this settlement,which originated in V an Diemen

’s land through the instrumentality

of Mr . Backhou se , a member of the Society of Friends, and salu tarye ffe cts may be anticipated. Few places, perhaps, on the face of the

globe requ ire the exertions of su ch institu tions more .

The only drawback on distilleries and breweries is the scarcity ofbarley, butthis grain is likely to be come more extensively cu ltivated,be ing so essential to distillation and brewing. Manufactories of thisdescription have every facili ty for promoting the interests of the pro

prietors. Though wood is the chief material for fu e l in the countryportions of the colony, native coal is u sed in great abundance , and

may be had atthe N ewcastle pits for fiv e shillings the ten , and at

Sydney for twenty shillings ; the freight be ing fifteen shillings of the

In 1833, the following beverages rated at1.3 s . s . d . 3.

E nglish Ale perhhd. 6 O to 6 5 Brand’

y per gal. 12 6 to 14

D o . per doz .0 11to 0 13 G i'

n do . do . 12 6 to 14

Colonial do . per hhd . 0 60to 0 80 Colonial do . do . 7 6 to 0

D o . do . per doz . 0 6 to 0 8 Wine (port)per doz . 35 0 to 40

E nglishbeerperhhd . 5 0to 5 3 Made ira do . do . 35 0 to 40

D o . do . per doz . 0 11to O 13 Sherry do . do . 35 0 to 40

Colonial do . per hhd 0 4 5 to 0 5 5 Claret'

do . do . 5 0 0 to 60

Do . do . per gal. O 2 to 0 0 Cape per gal. 3 6 to 4

R um per gallon 0 9 to 0 10 E lder per dozen 5 6 to 0

The imports into N ew Sou th Wales for 1833, wereGa] . Ga] .

Beer and Ale Geneva 17,368gCider and Perry Whiskey 112

R um Other Spirits 86

Brandy Wine

A n H istorical an d Statistical Accou nt of New South Wale s, by the Rev . Dr.

Lang, 2 v ols. 8v o . Lon don ,1834 , v ol. i. pp . 363to 369.

1’ Cu nn ingham

’

s New South Wales, v ol. ii . p . 3.

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268

clothed in the most luxuriant herbage , and disclosing regions fit to beinhabited by civilized man . In those cou ntries, the arts an d manufactu res are progressing, and promise in a reasonable proce ss of time

to emu late those in many parts of E u rope .

Coasting along the east of Africa, little interest or information hasbeen obtained respecting the variou s nations extending from

'

Abys

sin ia to the se ttlements bordering on the Cape of Good Hepe . In

the,kingdoms of Ade l and Ajan, the inhabitants are generally Maho

metan s and though they pre tend to comply with the restrictions of

the Koran, yetthey indu lge in the u se of bou sa and other intoxicating beverages. In Ajan , a spe cies of brandy is made from datesand raisins fu rnished by the Arabians, with whom the inhabitantscarry on a considerable intercou rse . In M on emu gi, which lieswest of Z angu ebar , abu ndance of palm-wine is manufactured, andhoney is so plentifu l that above the on e-half of it is lost, the nativesnot be ing able to consume it ; and therefore it might be to them a

valuable article , had they a regu lar intercourse with civilized

countries.

In Mozambiqu e , the chief article of cu ltivation is the man ioca or

mandioca root . The principal trees are the cocoa-nut, cachew ,

mango , papaw, and orange . The natives are skilled in making beve

rages from the cocoa in the manner practised by the other nations;'

1hey deal m palm-wine , and the Portugu ese settlers have made them

acqu ainted with those liqu ors which they import from E u rope .

The Zoola nation, which lies ln the inte1i01, between D elagoa bay

and the bay of Natal,'

has a description of beer with whi ch the nativesregale and intoxicate themselves. This beer they make from a se edtermed loop oco : it is somewhat like rape in size and colou r. It contains very powerfu l fermenting properties ; and when drawn off from

the vesse ls ini

which it has.

been prepared, it forms a n excellent beverage, both potent and stimu lating, and has a red or light brown tinge .

Mr. Isaacs, a late sojou rner in this cou nt1y, often partook of thisliqu or, and acknowledges its enlivening and refreshing v i1tu es. H e

u su ally rece ived it from the king, or as a present from some of hi s

chiefs. They likewise make several sorts of drinks from the ir fru it;butthe most common liqu or u sed 1n the cou ntry is made from millet,and i s termed kayemba orp u embo.

The D elagoa territory produ ces rice and maize to a great extent,and from the latter grain are made variou s beverages. The sugar

Isaacs’

Travels and Adventure s in Africa, de scriptive of the Z oolas, theirmanners and cu stoms

,Sec. 2 vols. 8vo . v ol, ii . p . 319 .

269

cane'

is also found in great abundance , but it is not turned to the

advantage it might afford. The P ersees onthe coast of Malabar send

spirits to this te rritory, with other articles in exchange for the teeth

of the elephant and hippopotamu s, ambe rgris, and gold du st . Besides,since D elagoa bay has become the resort of many Sou th-Seawhalers, different liqu ors are sent thither from the Cape ; and the

Portugu ese , carrying on a trade with the native s, introdu cewines, and other beverages. When

'

a vessel arrives, an officer,called the king of the waters, informs the chief, who immediately attends ; and after rece iving a present from the captain,makes a more than ample return in provisions. By se cu ring the

friendship of the king of tke waters, for a few empty bottles, or someold clothes, bu ttons, or iron hoops, a constant supply of animal andvegetable food may be obtained . The inhabitants of the interior have

two kinds of native spiritu ou s liqu ors pe cu liar to themselves ; one

termed Ep e’

dklc‘

i, and the other Wo‘

cdknyéyé. The first is pre

pared in the following mann er -A large qu antity of maize , with acertain proportion of water, is put into a wooden mortar, and poundedfor half an hou r, after which it is placed in the shade to ferment.At the end of tw o days, it is taken outand bo iled, and , when cold, asmallqu antity of grain called A ndrea lo, a sort of mille t well pou nded

,

is added to it, and the whole , after standing a few hou rs, is strained

through a mat bag, from whi ch the Ep Eé/cld’

oozes outperfe ctly pureand of a milk-whi te colour. In on e day it is drinkable , and

i

on thenext it is sour , and less than two bottles will occasion inebriation .

The Week/272376375 is obtained from the M iikkdknyéyé, a fru it resembling guava, and which grows on a lofty tree of a whi tish appearance ,called the d nyéye. When the requ isite qu antity of fru it is picked,a small hole is cutin each, through which the ju i ce is squ eezed into a

large bo iler, where , after having stood for some time over the fire , it

remains to ferment u ntil the next day . More ju ice is then added ,and the same operation 1s repeate d with the who le . At the close of

the se cond day it is dri nkable , and will continu e so for three days ;

yetits"

nature is nothalf so intoxicating as that of the Ep iékld'

. Itis almost colou rle ss, and has a sweet and pleasantflavourfi‘In Sofala is made a beer from rice and millet, as well as other

liqu ors drawn from honey, palm, and different sorts of fru it. Inthe ir feasts and funeral ceremonies , larger qu antities of these liqu orsare consumed . At stated periods of the moon, they pay an offering

Owen’s Voyage to Africa, &c. edited by Boteler, 2 vols. 8vo . vol. i . p . 91.

270

to the ir dead friends, particu larly to the ir parents, before whose. boneswhich they collect after the flesh has been consumed, they placevictuals and liqu ors, and ask requ ests of them as if they were still living.

Immediate ly after this, they eatand drink those offerings to the deadin social harmony.

In M onomotapa, the beverages are made from honey, millet, and

r ice . Palm-wine is e steemed a royal liqu or, becau se it is chi efly u sed.at cou rt. It is preserved in curiou s ve ssels made of horn, and is

c ommonly mixed with manna, ambergris, mu sk, and other highly

scented perfumes. At the cou rt of some of the monarchs of Monom otapa, it w as cu stomary for some of the mu sician s to be ve iledd u ring the time of the emperor’s repast to prevent them see ing him

eat or drink, while the cou rtiers cried alou d on the drinking of a

goblet,“Pray for the health and prosperity of the emperor .”

In Quiloa, it w as formerly a practice to dr ink human blood and

other liqu ors outof cups made of human sku lls ; but since’

the slavetrade has diminished and civilisation advanced, this barbarou s cu stomhas almost entirely disappeared .

At the Cape of Good Hope , since its colonization by the Du tchu nder V an Riebe ek, in 165 0, the vine has been cu ltivated with considerable su ccess. This w as owing to the encou ragement given to a

number of French families, w ho had emigrated from the ir nativecou ntry and settled in this colony, in consequ ence of the revocationof the E dict of Nantes. A place is still pointed out, within a moderate distance of Cape Town, which is named after the circumstanceF ransclze back, or French corner ; and here the vine w as first plan tedand the fou ndation of the wine trade of the colony originated .

The wine called Constantia, so mu ch prized in E urope , is the produ ce of tw o farms known by that name , and situ ated within eight orn ine miles of the Cape , close u nder the mou ntains on gently u ndulating grou nds be twe en Table B ay and False B ay. These farms, on

an average , yie ld abou t 7 5 leagers*

per year, which, at160gallons the

leager, gives a qu antity equ al to butD e la Caille and Barrowhave calculated the produ ce ata great deal more . A ccording to

Stav orinu s, these two farms cover abou t 40 acres , and the ir annu alprodu ce is abou t 60 pipe s of red and 90 of white wine ; the latter is

m ade on the farm called little Constantia . Besides this exce llent.w ine , many other sorts are made of different flavou rs. Among the se,

‘

A leager is n early fou r awms, and an awm contains about forty gallons,

English.

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272

the license on the privilege of retailing, it might have been obtainedfor three half-pence .

There is no du ty on wine in the colony except u pon what is broughtto the Cape market, and there it is subj e ct to a tax of three rix

dollars the leager. Brandy or B randew yn , as it is called atthe Cape ,is also exempt, except on passing the barrier, when it is charged at

the same rate of du ty as the wine .

With the manu factu re of this Spirit the vine-growers seem not to

be well acqu ainted, as,it has been hitherto considered of an indifferent

qu ality. The brandy of the Cape is principally ex tracted from the

hu sks and stalks of the grapes, mixed u p and fermented w ith the lees

of wine other ingredients are some times u sed of a less gratefu lnature hence it is so fiery and u nwholesome asto be rather a sou rce of

disease than Of assistance to the fu nctions of life . The whole of the

Operation is generally committed to the care of a slave , who‘

,having

ne ither knowledge of nor interest in the,process, pays no attention to

the qu ality of the spirit. Through this neglect it contracts a strongempyreumatic flavou r, which it never loses.

* This spirit has beenlong in u se atthe Cape , though the better sort of people among the

Du tch seldom drink of it, yetit is ,eagerly purchased by the H otten

tots and Caffre hordes, who barter the ir cattle and other commoditiesfor it. This branch Of indu stry, if well condu cted, offers a goodOpportunity to persons of capital and ingenu ity, and besides affording.

a lu crative article of commerce by which a fortu ne might be realized;it wou ld improve the qu ality as well as enhance the characte r of thewines. The stills are small, averaging from 40 to '80 gallons, they

are made for the most part atCape Town and are sometimes madewholly of copper, yetcommonly have only the bottom of that metal.

N o artis displayed'

in the ir ere ction , they be ing frequ ently worked‘

in the excavation of a bank, or in an open shed, withou t any me chan ical contrivance or convenience of bu ildings. Francis Collison, anE nglishman , in 1832 , ere cted a respe ctable distillery in Cape Town ,and made brandy from the wine pu rchased on his own accou nt; or

'

distilled for,the growers ata certain premium for his trou ble . Re eves

and Mills had a distillery at work in 1833, but, from . losses intrade , it

.

ceased in its Operations . At Stellenbosch, a village abou t.

fiv e hom‘

s’ ride from the Cape , the firm of M u ller and Company have

a good.

distillery, an exce llent supply of w ater, and facilities for car

rying on bu siness extensive ly. This concern is worked on the same

principle as that of Mr. Collison .

Barrow ’

s Travels in Southern Africa, 4to. vol. 11. p. 320.

2 73

The fo llowing qu antities of wine and brandy, stated by Barrow to

have pas sed the barrier, will shew the extent of the trade for a period

of fou r years

1799 leagers of wine and 5 98-12leagers of brandy.

1800 5 199% do . 4722 do .

1801 5 4635 do . 320-

5; do .

1802 4 031gE do . s7ag do .

This inclu des the consumption of the town, the army and navy, as

well as the exportation for that time, which is said to be from 400 to

800 leagers of wine , and from 30 to 100 of brandy annu ally, besides

the produ ce Of the Constantia farms . Since that se ttlement came

into the hands of the British, this trade has gradually increased ,owing in a great measu re to the salu tary enactments of the legislatu re .

The revenu e arising from spirits, beer, and brewing licenses, for the

year 1820, amou nted to 10s. 0d.

Great quantities of brandy are carried by means of waggons throughthe most remote parts of the co lony, and disposed of by persons deno

minated Smou ses. The Du tch settlers prefer drinking brandy raw

or u nmixed with water, and say of the E nglish that they all mu rder

good brandy by making grog of it, adding, that pu nch and wine

are but fou l water when compared to the pu re , u npollu ted , high

flav ou red brandy. A dram of thi s liqu or is termed soop z'

e, a wordsynonymou s with our glass. Drinking is Often carried to excess, and

here , as elsewhere , produ ctive of evil consequ ences, and sometime s

exciting to extraordinary feats. Itis related of an indi vidu al, thatin his cups he laid a wager, that he wou ld go into the forest and plu ck

three hairs outof an e lephant ’s tail , which he performed with great

e clat . Not satisfied with this chivalrou s act, he made another bet,that he wou ld return to the forest and shoo t the same animal. H is

aim proving u nsu ccessful, the provoked beast ru shed on him, forced

his tu sks through hi s body, and trampled him to a mummy in an

instant . The negroes atthe Cape , who some time s carry the ir baccha

nalian propensities to excess, expose themse lves to the damp of the

night. Qu arrelling, arising from. inebriety, is, however, rare nor

can it be said that the habitual dru nkard is a character to be m etwith

in common . Many Of the poor H ottento ts, led astray by the ir weak

nesses, and exposed to the influ ence of the moon , have paid dearlyfor the ir revels ; for strange as it m ay appear, it is u nqu estionable thatthe lunar beams have produ ced the same e ffe cts as the solar, cau singa mental derangement similar to that of a ve rtical su n . While meatexposed to the influence of the moon,

'

has been know n to be come

274

pu trid in the cou rse of a night, whereas, if se cu red from the lunar

influ ence , and exposed to that of the night air only, no bad conse

qu en ces have been Observed to follow.

The qu antity of wine imported from the Cape into Great Britain,the . will be fou nd in the Addenda .

The whole produ ce of the Cape is supposed atpresent to be abou tleagers, comprising only what crosses the barrier ; with the

waste it may be compu ted atabou t pipes. The consumption ofthe colony is calcu lated at the shipment to St. He lena abou t

and the remainder is for this cou ntry and its dependencies.

*

There are no breweries de serving of notice , though a kind Of be er issaid to be made by the Du tch, in which a spe cies of bitter herb isu sed instead of hops. The whole ofthe malt drink comes from E urope ,and is of c ou rse very dear.This colony is su sceptible of great improvement, andmight be made

Of essential benefit to the British empire . Were the vine plantationsproperly managed, and a du e regard paid to the selection of the

grapes, and the manufacture of wine , mu ch Of the money that is sent

to fore ign cou ntries for this article might be saved and tu rned to our

ow n advantage . The vines, according to L atrobe , are permitted togrow withou t espaliers, placed in rows like cu rran t-bu shes in our

gardens, in order to afl'ord room to the vine-dressers to go betweenthem to weed them withou t injury. When arrived at a certainhe ight, the u pper shoots are taken off to increase the qu antity ofgrapes, a method very different from that practised in E u rope .

According to Stav orinu s, a thou sand of them will produ ce a leager

of wine and sometimesmore . In the Constantia vineyards, few of the

planks exceed two feet in he ight, though some of them have be en in

the ground for on e hu ndred y ears. This peculiarity is said to be very

advantageou s, for the fru it hangs so near the grou nd and is so she l

tered by a leafy screen of fin e tall oaks, that the reflection of the su n

from the white earth below is nearly as powerful as his rays fromabove .

The mode of pressing the grapes in this colony, w as formerly condu cted in the following simple manner -The fru it is thrown into a

vessel, the bottom and side s of which are perforated with holes ; and

this is placed upon a cross pie ce of wood within another larger vesselhaving a spigot and fau set through which the ju ice flows into a rece iveru nderneath. The grapes in the wine vessel are trodden by three Or

four slaves, who support themselves during the Operation by a rope

Parliamentary Report, No . 703, 1821, p . 5 6, &c.

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276

P ortugal, or Made ira . Strange as it may appear, it is a certain factnotyetaccounted for, that good grapes sometimes produ ce infer iorwine , w hile bad grapes on the other hand have be en known to yield

good wine . The grapes of Gascony, Bu rgundy, and Champagne , as

we ll as those of the many celebrated vineyards on the Rhine , are

rather insipid . Other circumstances, therefore , besides fine materials,seem to be requ ired for the produ ction of w ine ’

of a good qu ality.

A good deal mu st depend on the management of the fermentation,and the fining of the liqu or ; while the bad qu ality of the brandy madeatthe Cape and mixed with the wines mu st tend to inju re theminproportion to the u se made of that spirit .To whateve r cau se it may be attribu ted, the wines of the Cape do

n otrank in su ch high e stimation as those produ ced e lsewhere . Someendeavour to accou nt forthe earthy flavou r of the wine as to its slightlyacid taste , by the shortness Of the stems on which the grapes are

borne , as be ing consequ ently more exposed to the damps and vapou rsof the soil from the ir low situ ation ; others think that these pe cu liar

ities are the consequ ence of the destru ctive effects Of the east windsbending the bu she s to the grou nd, and cau sing the fru it to imbibe that

earthy flavour ju st allu ded to . Perhaps a good deal is owing to the

soil, as well as to the salt-petre with which, it is said, the sands Ofthe

cou ntry are impregnated. More , however, may be attribu ted to the

negligence Of the vine -growers themselves, than to any other cau se ,since the bu nches of grapes are permitted to re st on the grou nd and

become coated with clay, in which state they are thrown into the

wine -press, and consequ ently impart a disagreeable taste to the liqu or .

The casks too, are bad, anu Often so mu ch smoked with su lphur as toleave its e ffe cts perceptible in the wine for tw o or three ye ars

,and

Often cau sing it to sou r, espe cially if exported . The vines of different

countries o ught to be tried here, as there are some be tter adapted toparticu lar soils than others . The mu scadel grape is the one from

which the Constantia wine is principally made ; to this as well as tothe pre cau tion of the farmer in notu sing the fru it nor brui sing the

stalks until fu lly ripe , may be attribu ted the e stimable qu alities of

that wine . Were the grape s properly picked and assorted, previou sly

to be ing pressed, and strict cleanliness observed, there is nothing to

prevent the wines of the Cape from hearing a fair competition withthose of any other cou ntry . The earliest fru it of the season here is

the p u rp le grape , next the Ila nny pod, both of which are fleshy and

most u sed for the table or are made into raisins. The crysta l grape ,which comes in last, is sweet and lu sciou s, be ing all ju ice and qu ite

transparent .

277

The practice Of the government in farming the retail licenses, hastended to inju re the character of the Cape wines, as the pu rchaser,withthe view of making the most of his spe culation , employs ,

.the

re tailer to sell the very worst description Of the article hence thereis a continu al run on an inferior, cheap wine , to the total exclu sion of

useful compe tition . Thirty three rix-dollars have been given by on e

person for a year’s privilege Of licensing the retailers, and, like every

monopolist, the pu rchaser is always watchfu l Of his own interest .Wine , atthe Cape , generally sells atfrom 20 to 40 rix-dollars the

half awm , or 20 gallons. In the frontier settlemen ts, some thrivingvineyards are to be fou nd, and the wine , particularly that kept for

the u se of the owners, is of a superior qu ality. The vine-growershave mu ch to contend with from the nature of the seasons and the

rapid transitions which frequ ently o ccur in the state of the atmosphere ,while the labou r of some years is destroyed by a su dden deluge of rainor the sweeping blasts Of an u nexpe cted whirlwind . Many planters cando little more than support a respe ctable appearance ; and although theBritish government gave great encou ragement to the cultivation ofthe vine , yetthe trade has notbeen su ccessful in proportion to the

capital invested in it. Mr . M ‘Kinnon , in his place in parliament inSeptember, 1830, stated that there were embarked in theCape wine trade by British merchants alone . E very indu cement was

held outto further the interests of the planters, and the consequ enceswere for some time vis ible ; butit is to be feared, as ah'

eady stated,that the qu antity w as the Obj ect of greater consideration than thequ ality, w hich, in a great measu re , has entailed upon it the characterof inferiority besides which, there is, no doubt, a preju dice aga inst it

,

through the influence of those whose inte rest it is to extol the virtu esof other wines . The wine districts do notexte nd farther than 30 or

40 miles from Cape Town, and from the sandy natu re of the roadsrtrequ ires 18 oxen to convey tw o leagers, or 304 gallons, from the most

remote Of these districts to that place but as conveyance of thisnature is easily procu red, it is attended with very little expense .

This co lony derive s mu ch advantage from the interchange of its winewith other article s, from the Mau ritiu s, Braz ils, V an D iemen

’

s Land,

and N ew Sou th Wales.

The scenery conne cted with the vineyards does n ot convey anything striking or su blime , and the bou ndarie s of many of them are

only distingu ished by small pillai s. The settlements of great andlittle Drakenste in, however, are singu larly beau tiful, and embrace a

tract Of cou ntry six or e ight miles in circu mference .They are

s ituated abou t seven hou rs’ ride from Cape Town . Here , both red

278

and white wine of excellent quality are made , and that'

called p ontac ,

(an imitation of port,) when of a proper age , is a superior article .

The Wagon-maker’s Valley, as itis termed, is three hours’ ride

from Drakenste in, and is one of the most enchanting.

places in theSo u th of Africa . It is embosomed in hills, clothed with groves Oforange an d citron, pomegranates and peaches, apples and sh

‘

addocks,and every species of delicious fru it, which, heightened by the radianceof a clou dless su n , and fanned by gently cooling breezes , render it

one of the most agreeable and fascinating retreats in nature .

The barley grown in the colony is of an inferior qu ality, resemblingbigg. Whether the process of malting is notthere properly u nder

stood, Or that there is a defe ct in the grain, is notwe ll known, butitdoes notgerminate like the same description Of grain in Great Britain.

For this reason, the breweries atCape Town have been suppliedw ith malt chiefly from E ngland, and the beer is of good quality andin general u se . The present brewing concerns are those of D e N eys

and Co ., V an R eenan , Letterstead, L e Britton and Co ., Lyngenfelter

and C o ., Whiskin and C o .—The beer and porter made by these

traders are chiefly from sugar ; butall of them u se grain in greater

or less qu antities ; and, latterly, they have got into the practice o fmelting the grain of the colony more extensive ly than formerfy. The

Du tch Company, atan early period of this settlement, introdu ced theDeventer method of brewing u nder the superintendence of Jacob

L onw en . Hops are brought from E urope for the u se of these estalishments, although it is thought that they might be cultivated in

some places of the settlement with su ccess.

* Maize is reared in

several varieties, particularly among the Caffres, one species of whichtastes like the sugar-cane , butis astringent and of a bitter flavou r.

This kind is cu ltivated solely ferthe purpose Ofmaking beer, which iscondu cted in the following manner -The grain is first malted,afterwards dried and grou nd, and then boiled to a thick con sistency

whi ch is subsequ ently mixed with two parts of water. Before it iscomple tely cooled, a portion of the malt finely powdered is thrown

into the mixture , fermentation speedily commences, and the liqu or isin a short time fit for u se . This beer is said notto be unpleasant,and that with a little care it might be rendered v alu ableq

‘

Amongst the tr ibes on the coast of Caifraria, grain is preserved in

small pits abou t a foot in width atthe surface , butgradually widening

Vide Note s on the Cape of G ood Hope , 8vo . passim .

’

l' Vide Appendix to 2d vol. p . 360, of Thompson

’

s Travels in South Africa,1827.

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280

During the stay of Damberger with the Jamatians, he Often drank of

this liquor, and warmly enjoyed its taste , flavou r, and influence .

The Koramas possess the method of making a very intoxicatingsort of mead or hydromel, by fermenting honey with the ju ice of a

certain root, and the colonial H ottentots, who are in possesion of the

secret, frequ ently sell portions of this fermenting substance for spiritsand tobacco . Of the latter article , the Bu shmen atthe Cape are so

excessively fond, that they smoke it with su ch adroitness as to diffusethe steam through both the mou th and nostrils ; the pipe u sed bythese people is the shank-bone of a sheep . O ne circumstanceattending the weddings Of the H ottentots is laudable , which is that,though atother times prone to dru nk enness, they never drink on theseo ccasions, ne ither do they dance n or play upon mu sical instruments.

Honey is plentifu l in variou s parts of the interior ; the bees generally constru ct the ir cells in the hollows of trees or cavities of rocks,w hich are frequ ently discovered by means Of a bird, known to natu

ralists by the name of the honey-bird . This creature serves as a

gu ide to the H ottentots for finding out the honey of the cou ntry.When the voice of the bird is heard, the Hottentot answers by awhistle and follows it, still whistling his response to every note , tillatlength the little warbler condu cts him to the lu sciou s treasu re from

whi ch ne ither returns withou t the obj ect of the pursu it. The honeyis, for the most part, mixed with an umbe lliferou s plant, termed G lz

'

,

first redu ced to powder and then blended with cold water ; afterletting it ferment for a n ight, a sort of metheglin is obtained, tw oglasses of whi ch are suffi cient to produ ce intoxication. Of the pu lv erized root of this plant, two handfu ls are considered qu ite enough tomake a few gallonsfi

‘

The sugar-cane might be cu ltivated to any extent, and rum an d

sugar manu factured Of a qu ality not inferior to any that are made

e lsewhere . H ow far it might be the interest Of government to givea preference to the plantations in this qu arter, I am notprepared tosay ; but, u nqu estionably, the cou ntry in the vi cinity of the Cape is

more congenial to health, and affords be tter promise of a redu ndantpopu lation than most of our other fore ign colonies. Forthe emigrant,itpossesses many advantages and indu cements, particu larly as thegovernment patronise colonization butthe prevalence and effects ofc ertain periodical winds render many parts of the country notso

healthy to E uropeans as cou ld he wished : still, however, from the

Thunberg’

s Travels, vol. 11. p . 31.

281

productive nature of the soil, it seems to offer a sufficient remuneration for the to il of the agricu lturist . t eat, Indian corn, and othergrain thrive well, and tobacco cou ld be made a most produ ctive and

valuable sou rce of commerce : hitherto the colonists have notcu ltivated

more than what serves domestic consumption but what has be enraised is notinferior to the best tobacco of Virginia growth . Of thevine enough has been said to show how far a person might embark

with safe ty in its cu ltivation and from'

the local position of the Capeand its facilities for trade , an adventu rer cou ld scarcely fail of su ccess

in embarking a capital in specu lations in this colony in preference to

many others.

The island of St. He lena has little to attract '

attention butas itis a sort of rendezvou s for ve ssels passing to and from India, it merits

some notice here notfrom anything indigenou s, butfrom its locality

and its having been the residence of N apoleon Bu onaparte . In

Brooke ’s History of this island, are fou nd some cu riou s and qu aintregu lations of its early governors. From 1673to 1687, a tax of 105 .

w as imposed on every hogshead of wine and arrack that w as landedon the island, and to prevent a scarcity of timber, which w as mu ch

consumed in the distillation of spirits from potatoesf an impost of 12d .

w as levied for every hu ndred we ight of wood appropriated to tha t

purpose , besides 4d. for every gallon of liqu or so manu factu red. Netwithstanding this restriction , the number of stills in the island becameatlength su ch a nu isance , that it w as foun d necessary to suppressthem entirely, which was effected by an order from E ngland in 1700.

By an edi ct of one of the governors, in 1709, to regu late the sales ofthe public hou ses, it was ordered that a bowl of pun ch, made with

one pint of arrack and having a du e proportion of sugar and lemon,shou ld be so ld for two shillings and no more , while arrack rated atsix shillings per gallon and a violation of this order w as followed bythe forfe iture of the license and double the valu e of the liqu or. If

any person considered this a grievance , he was at liberty to give up

his license for any u nexpired portion of the year, and be refunded

for that time atthe rate of £4 per annum . In 17 5 4, the E ast India

Cornpany issu ed laws to prevent intemperance in drinking for the

first offence , admonition only w as resorted to for the second a fine

of five shillings w as to be exacted ; and persons of rank were to payin proportion to the ir station , as it was expe cted that they shou ld bean example to others.

Ih'

om a species of the gum-tree , which grows from 20 to 30 feet

in he ight, a kind of toddy is extracted by the inhabitants butit is

notcollected nor u sed to any extent . Almost every valley in the

282

island produ ces vines butin too scanty a portion to afford wine ; thesupply of this and other liqu ors be ing brought from other parts oftheworld . The only revenu e accru ing to the E ast India Company,according to Lord Valentia, w as that derivable from the rents of thelands and the monopoly of the arrack imported into the island, which

..annu ally ne ttedP assing to the islands in the Mexican gu lf, known by the generalname of the West Indies, w e find the di stillation of ardent spiritscarried on there to an extent notsu rpas sed within the same limits ofterritory in any other qu arter of the world . The time atwhich

'

the

manu factu re commenced there is notexactly ascertained, butthe firstplantation of sugar-canes was established, according to Ove ido Valdes,in Hispaniola or St .Domingo, by the Spaniards, in 15 203“The rapi ‘

d ity of the cu lture was su ch, that, in 15 35 , there were not less thanthirty plantations on the island and, according to B ingo , there werein 15 44, thirty fou r sugar-mills established . A s the u se of the still

w as then known, it may be conj ectured that n otlong after this period

the distillation of rum su ggested itself, as the only means to compen

sate the planter for the loss incu rred in disposing of the skimmingsand molasses, after the ir separation from the sugar .

A s to the name given to this spirit, writers are atvariance , someattribu ting its derivation to one thing and some to another. In theGerman langu age , it is simply termed rum in the Du tch rum, and

keeldu z'

vel — in the Danish, ram, and geldyvel -in the Swedish, ram,

rum —in the French, rum, gue ldive - in the Italian, ram, tafi a

in the Spanish 7 072, ram, tqfia —i nthe Portugu ese , ran -and in theRussian, ram. The word rum seems to have be en formerly u sed inGreat Britain to convey the idea of any thingfine, rick, best, or ex cellent thu s to express a superiorbrandy, it was common to say rum

Nantz , becau se the best description of that liqu or w as dis tilled at

N antz ; and as spirits extracted from molasses cou ld not well beclassed u nder the terms of whiskey, brandy, arrack, & c . it was called

rum, to denote its exce llence or superior qu ality. This term is probably taken from the last syllable of the Latin word saccharum (sugar)and it is nota little singu lar, that the liqu or itself has been always

known among the native Americans by the name of m m.

The process of manufacturing sugar from the cane , is too wellknown to requ ire a description here , and the molasses, from whichthe rum is principally made, is the siru p of the sugar (or the drainings after it is put into the hogshead) , which no course of boiling can

H istoria Natu ral. de las Indias. Poyer’

s Hist. Barbadoes, 4to. p . 40. Alceda’

D ictionary.

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284

withou t it .’ie It serves the same pu rposeas jalap mixed ivithmolasses,whi ch has been sometimes employed in Great Britain for cu tting down

the frothy head atthe close of the fermentation ; and it is usu allypreserved from on e year to another for this pu rpose ; and in su chlarge qu antities as to fill most of the backs or fermenting tuns.

Du nder soon becomes covered with so thick a film as to exclu de the

air, and the sediment leaves the intermediate flu id pu re and of a

bright amber colou r, which, when carefu lly drawn off, is employed as

already described, in proportions su ited to the nature of the fermen

tation , and to this dunder many attribu te the best flavou r of the

rum . Besides this very e ssential ingredient, variou s mixtu res are

u sed in the fermenting process, su ch as tartar, nitre , sea-water, or

common salt . In some of the islands, a still u su ally makes abou t

220 gallons of rum in the day. These are produ ced from abou t 5 30

gallons of low wines ; or 113 of rum from 1200 gallons of wash ;this liqu or is of su ch a strength that olive oilwill sink in it, and se ldom

exceeds proof, tho ugh, sometimes, by dou ble distillation, it is made toapproach the strength of alcohol. The process of distilling is ingeneral slow, and mu ch cau tion is observed in the condensation ofthespirit . To provide against a scarcity of water, which often occu rs in

the islands , they preserve, in large tuns or tanks, a sufli cien cy of rainwater to enable them to mix the molasses, & c . and to co ol the worm

of the still. A s the water be co mes heated in the worm-tub, it is carried to coolers or cisterns, and, when cold, is ru n again upon the

worm . In most of the islands, the cu ring-hou ses for sugar and the

distilleries for rum are constru cted on the sides of canals, and the

canes are carried e ither in bo ats or by negroes from,

the plantationsto these ho u ses. From fiv e to six immense copper boilers are keptin each of the se hou se s, while the greatest cleanliness is prese rved inthe distillery, a pre cau tion highly ne cessary in every concern of thiskind, and which mu st contribu te large ly to the strength and purity

of the rum .T In Jamaica , the operations go on withou t intermissionthe n egroes be ing formed into what are called sp ells or divisions, twoor three occasionally re lieving each other atstate d intervals.

The richne ss of flavour pe cu liar to this spirit, which has rendered

it famou s in almost all parts of the world, is suppo sed to be de rivedfrom the raw j u ice and the fragments of the sugar-cane , which aremashed and fermente d with the o ther materials in the tu n . The

e sse ntial oil of the cane is thu s imparted to the wash, and carried

E dw ards’

H istory of the We stIndies, v ol. ii. p . 232, 233.

f Williams’

s To ur through Jamaica, 8ve . p . 6 .

285

over in the distillation ; for su gar, when distilled by itself, has nope culiar flavou r different from other spirits. Time adds mu ch to themildness and valu e of rum , w hich the planters often improve by theaddition of pine-apple j u ice .

To calcu late the cost of rum to the -

sugar planter is difficu lt ; ingeneral, it is estimated that on e -fou rth of the entire produ ce of a plantation may in point of valu e consist of rum , and accordingly onefou rth of the expenditu re may

'

be taken as the first cost of the rum ,

and the remaining thre e -fou rths as that of the sugar . Some say that

the charge of making rum bears a similar proportion to that of homemade spirits, butthis is an erroneou s assumption . R um is made from

the molasses or tha t part of the cane -j u ice which will n otcrystallizeinto sugar as also from the scum which is taken off du ring the

saccharific process, and which in sweetness is equ al to on e-fifth of

molasses . L et u s take , as a standard, a distillery on a plantation

produ cing 25 0 hogsheads of sugar yielding gallons of molassesand scum equ al to gallons, netting in all gallons of

molasses. These wou ld produ ce abou t gallons of proof rum ,

which, when brought to the British marke t, wou ld be redu ced by

the voyage to abou t gallon s, the average loss be ing ten percent . These wou ld cost the manu facturer throu ghou t the islandsfrom ls. 4d . to 1s. 1d . per gallon, independent of all charges forpu ncheons, freight, commission , and other u navo idable expenses.

From this statement, it mu st appear that the distiller of rum has

little or no profit, but be ing the grower of the material, and having

his capital embarked in the trade , he is compe lled to manu factu re it

from necessity, and the sooner he can tu rn the article to account thebetter he is enabled to bear loss and meet his engagements.

The average exports of rum from the principal islands, in 1787 ,amounted to gallons. From Barbadoes, in the medium of

e ight years, from 1740 to 1748, the export amou nted to

p uncheons of 100 gallons each. In 1810, as appears from the Parlia

mentary reports, gallons were exported to Great Britain

from Jamaica alone , and in 1813, not less than gallons.

In the island of St . Domingo, the j u ice of the cane is chiefly con

verted into sirup and afterwards distilled into tafiia or rum , of w hich

there is a very large consumption ; it be ing the favou rite liqu or of

the natives. In'

the ne ighbou rhood of Cayes, on this island, there are

e ighty-one small distilleries, or, as they are termed by the inhabitants,

gu eldz'

verz’

es, which consume abou t tw o millions of pou nds of sirup,annually affording abou t one hu ndred and e ighty thou sand gallons oftafi a , an inferior kind of spirit. Fou r thousand fiv e hundred

286

hogsheads of this liquor, with six hundred hogsheads of rum

of sixty. gallons each, were made in 1826, most of the molasses having been pu rchased for the distillers ; the proprie tors of

the plantations be ing gen erally too poor to erect distilleries. Whenthis islandwas in possession of the Fren ch, the manufacture of sugar,both clayed and raw , was carried on to considerable extent : molasseswas then a limited export . In 1789, there were 2 5 ,7491bs. of itshipped ; in 1801, the qu antity w as 99,419lhs., while for the nineyears previou s to 1826, only once , (in 1822) were 211,927l .

exported ; the whole of the sirup be ing u sed in the manu factu re of

tafi afi" The qu antity of rum sent outof this island has always beenlimited ; all that is now made is requ ired for home consumption ; butconsiderable qu antities of wines, brandies, and beer, are imported fromFrance — H ock, Rhenish wine s, and gin from Holland, with porter

and cider from the Un ited States. In order to form a correct ideaof the extent of the rum trade of the West Indies, it may be sufficientto state that from the 5 th of Janu ary,

"1829, to the 5 th Janu ary, 1830,there were exported to Great Britain and Ireland alone ,proof gallons, and in 1832 , gallons, a detail of which, as

sent from each ofthe islands, will be fou nd in a Table of the Addenda .

It has been calcu lated that the qu antity of rum consumed'

ia the

United Kingdom amounted in 1800, to imperial gallons,while the consumption of 1829 w as shewing an increasein the u se of this spirit of upwards of ten per cent. N otwithstandingthis increase , the planters complained of the distressed and almostru inou s state of the trade , alleging, that althou gh they contributedconsiderably towards the revenu es of the empire , and had importantclaims on the government, yetthe consumption of home-made spiritsw as encou raged to a degree highly injuriou s to their intere sts. In1829, there were imperial gallons of British spirits con

sumed, while in 1800, there were only u sed, thu s showingin that period a preference to the u se of the home-manu factu re of

420 per cent ., a measu re calcu lated to bring destru ctive consequ ences

on the We st India planter .

The superior qu ality of the rum manu factu red in the colony of

D em erary has, it is thought, inj ured the demand for the r um of the

islands . Its distillation , as appears from Bolingbroke , has beencarried to a high state of perfe ction by the perseverance and skill of

several sc ientific men , who have su cceeded in cau sing the rum of

E sse qu ibo and D emerary to be as mu ch in requ est in the American

market as that of Jamaica is in E ngland.

M ‘Kenzie’s Notes on Ilayti, v ol. ii. p . 160.

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288

instances of a similar fatality cau sed by even a smaller portion of

ardent spirits. Moderation in all situ ations is condu cive to health,but in the warm regions of the tropics, where there are so many

sou rces of disease , forbearance and cau tion are especially n eces

sary.

The cu ltivation of sugar has been lately introdu ced into the island

of Cuba but, from the indolence of the inhabitants, it is very u npro

du ctiv e . In 1763, bees were introdu ced by emigrants from Florida,and they mu ltiplied so mu ch

’

in the hollows of the trees that they

soon obtained honey enough for the ir annu al consum ption. In 1777,

they exported honey to the amou nt of 715 ,0001bs.

Made ira, claret, pu nch, porter, and cider, are favou rite liqu ors mmany of the islands, as alsoa drink, termed Sangaree, which consistsof half Made ira and half water, acidulated with lime ju ice and sweet

ened with sugar . This drink is also in mu ch requ est in N ew Galli“

cia , and other ports of Sou th America . The ingredients in its com

position are a mixture of wine , sugar,lemon-juice , and spi ces. The

practice of partaking of these at all hou rs pretty generally prevailseven in the senate hou se atBarbadoes, the members drink pu nch .

On one occasion, when Pinckard w as there , two persons su ddenlyappeared with a large bowl and a tw o-qu art glass filled with pu nchand sangaree . These were first presented to the speaker, who , afterdipping deep into the bowl, passed it among the members. N or werethe au dience forgotten, as it w as considered to be correctly in orderfor strangers to jo in in this part of the debate .

* The practice of latebreakfasts in different parts of the West Indies, particu larly in St.Domingo, has given rise to the introdu ction of wine and spirits atthose meals, and a su ccession of excess in the ir u se through the dayhas often be en the consequ ence . Pers ons have be en known to drinkso deeply on those o ccasions as to be carried off wholely senseless,while the ne cessaries of life be ing procu rable for a mere trifle , thelower orders are thereby enabled to indu lge more freely in the luxury

of the ir favorite drink, rum or tafi a .

It is a cu stom in most of the West India islands to place on the

side-board a capaciou s bowl of cold pu nch, to allay thirst during theheat of the day. To this a pe cu liar flavou r is u su ally imparted by aninfus ion of the ju ice of the a caj ou apple .

In thehisland of St . Kitts, a di ink called Sw izzle i s mu ch u sed itis a mix tu re of rum with abou t six times the qu antity of water

,

rende i ed palatable by the infusion of some aromatic ingredients.

P inckard’

s Notes on the W'

e stIndie s, vol. i. p . 469.

2 89

T his beverage is often ex pensive ; becau se water has‘

frequ ently to be

brought from the ne ighbou ring islands, and sometimes ru m and wineare given in exchange .

From the fru it of a tree calledM amme, orM amme-Sap ota (Achras)is made the highly e steemed cordial, L

’ea u des n o ia u x . This fru it

the French term L’ap ricot de Sa intD omin iqu e it contains two

large stones, which are employed in giving Spirits a ratafia flavour.The M amme is a splendid tree , lofty, shady, and gre en, shooting upinto a pyramidal figu re , and produ cing only one large fru it in theyear. If eaten raw , it is indigestible , yet it makes an exqu isite'conserve .

*

When the negroes cannot procu re rum , they make a fermentedliquor from cassada , resembling beer, which in Barbadoes is termed

p iworreeff and in other places ouycou . This plant, the man iac or

mand ioc of America, grows to the size of a large shrub, or small tre e ,and produ ces roots somewhat resembling parsn ipsj : From both thebitter and sweet cassada a nu tritiou s bread is made , which is thu s

prepared by the natives -VVhen the roots are washed and scraped

clean, they are grated very fin e and squ e ezed through a coarse bagor sieve , e ither of hair or hemp, into potor stone vessel, and dried by

a gentle heat, u ntil the mixtu re becomes farinaceou s or mealy. In

this state it is fit for u se , and is frequ ently made into excellent pu d

dings ; previou sly it is a deadly po ison . From the roots a starch

called tap ioca is prepared, which is a profitable export to the Brazi

lians. In some of the islands, the ju ice expressed from the cassada

is made into starch by the simple process of letting it stand u ntil theheavier parts collect at the bottom of the vessel . The water be ing

draw n off and the residu e dried in the sun , the tap ioca of commerce

is produ ced .

The oug/cou is sometimes brewed very strong, and itis considered

both nourishing and refreshing . Molasses and yams are u sed in thepreparation , and the liqu or , after fermentation , is of a reddish

'

colou r.

Great qu antities of this beverage are consumed atfeasts, of which w e

shall have o ccasion to speak hereafter . Anciently they had a liqu orl ike the Mexican Atolle , which w as of thick consistence , and compose d

of maize and flou r seasoned with sugar and spices. The cap eou was

made thu s z— A n e arthen ve ssel, containing abou t sixty qu arts, w as

nearly filled with water, into which were thrown two pou nded roots

West India Sketch Book.

'

1‘ Vide P inckard '

s Note s , p . 42 9.

I Robertson'

s llist. America, vol. 11. p . 7.

290

of cassada with twelve sweet potatoes, a gallon of j u ice of sugar ;

cane , and a dozen of ripe bananas . The vessel be ing closed, the mix

ture w as left to ferment for two or three days, and when completelyattenuated, the scum was removed from the su rface , and the liqu orw as then fit to be u sed . Though the material of this drink was saidto be strong and exhilarating, yetit w as considered inferior to M abg/

or M obby , which is said to resemble French wine . The M oby is

made by mixing abou t half a gallon of clarified siru p with abou t 30

qu arts of wate r, twelve oranges cut into qu arters, with a like numberof red swee t potato es. In abou t thirty hou rs after, during which ithas u ndergone the operation of fermentation, it is ready forthe goblet .This drink, as the name imports, is probably an imitation of the fer

mented j u ice of the M aba l palm fou nd in the districts lying alongthe Congo, from which many of the n egroes in these settlements

have been carried as slaves, and no dou bt brought the term withthem .

The bitte r cassada is poisonou s when raw , butheat deprives it of

that quality. Raynal asserts, that the cassada or manioc plant was

originally introdu ced into the West Indies from Africa, and that the

Indians were first instru cted by the negroes in the artof convertingthe poisonou s root into wholesome food . E dwards contradicts this,and shews from the first de cad of P. Martyr, which bears date November, 1493, that the cassada furnished the islanders wi th the principal

part of the ir food at the tim e when they were visited by Columbu s,and long before any of the negro tribes were brought thitherfi

“

The attachment of the aborigines to the pleasures of intox ication iswell illustrated in the following circumstance , and shews that whendrink could notbe obtained to effect this delightfu l sensation, theyhad re cou rse to many subterfuges to supply the defe ct . Amongo thers, the fumes of tobacco were a favourite su bstitu te . These theyexhaled through a tube formed like a Y, the tw o branches of whi chwere inserted into each nostril, while the stem was embedded in a

vesse l of bu rning leaves. The vapou r thu s commu nicated soon

affected the brain of the inhaler, and produ ced all the stupifying

resu lts and visionary pleasu res u su ally ascribed to opium . This mode

of intoxicating was often preferred to that excited by drinking, and

so su dden were its consequ ences, that the stou test individu al has beenprostrated in a few minu tes. B ut since the introdu ction of distilla

tion into these islands, forced methods of inebriation are seldom

practised .

E dwards’

Hist. ofW. In dies .Also Robertson ’

sHist. of America, vol ii. note , p . 5 9.

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292

grou nd, which they are permitted to cu ltivate , or furnished with an

equ ivalent in money or food . They are also clothed, and when ill,have medical attendance and medicine . When old , the ir infirmities

are provided for by a sort of superannu ation allowance , averaging ten

pou nds per annum . These regu lations vary in different islands according to circumstance s and localities, but all tend to soften the aspe

ritie s of slavery . In many of the islands it is the practice'

to '

giv e

e ach slave , in the morning before go ing to work, a cup of cofl'eey a'

glass of rum , or some other w arm x be v erage , su ch as ginger tea ;besides which he gets, once or twice a day, w eak diversion , tha t is

rum and w ate r swe eten ed w ith molasses . That cru elties from harsh

and bru tal taskmasters have been inflicted on many of those u nfor

tunate be ings, there can be no doubt ; butto brand all the planters'

with a savage barbarity and want of fe eling, wou ld be w anton a nd

u nfou nded . M an here in a civilised state is not'

in sen sible to the fe el~

ings of humanity, nor does he actin i

opposition to those 'law s which

regu late society in other countries.Since writing the forego ing, slavery in the colonies .has, by an act

of the’

British legi slatu re , been abolished ; and it remains to be

seen whe ther, u nder a different system of treatment, the condition ofthe Africans in the West Indies will be more condu cive to the ir happin ess by pu tting them on an equ ality with the intelligent andpolished inhabitants of those regions .

The Chu rch of E ngland, the Wesleyan Me thodists, and other missionaries have been, for some time, engaged among them ln the incul

cation of sou nd religiou s principles, which have for their obj ect thefear of God , the love of their f ellow-m en , and a respe ct for the lawsand reg ulations of civilized society. These , with the influ ence of the

u sefu l arts of agricultu re , manu factu res, and trade , mu st prove of thehighest benefit n ot only to the we ll-be ing of the present generation ,butto the descendants of those who have been emancipated from thethraldom of slavery.

On dire cting our observations to the American continent , w e find

that when the Spaniards first visited Mexico and Pe ru , the inhabi

tants understoodthe preparation of several intoxicating drinks procuredfrommaize or Indian corn, from the ma n iac or roots of the y ueca , and

from the aga ve or magu ey , a species of aloes. The Indian corn;when bru ised and fermented into a kind of inspissated drink, w as

called chica ,

*and mu ch resembled beer in its qu alities. C /i ica is a

generic term for any sort of inspissated drink , su ch as the juice or

the grape simply boiled, or the liqu or of the sugar-cane . Acosta'

is

i

Skinner’

s Present State of Peru , 4to . p . 2 5 8.

293

of opinion thatthis word is of Haytian'

origin,as itdoes notbe lo ng'

to

any known langu age in the Indies the same observation'

applies tothe -word maize . Chico , denominated the ne ctar of the Peru vians,is made by pou nding the maize into a fine powder and placing it in aheap, arou nd whi ch a number of females place themselves, . and chewthe mate rial into a sort ofpas te . After chewing, it is taken from the

mou th and rolled between the hands into rou nd balls,which are placedin the form of a pyramid, like cannon shot in a fortification. Thisoperation be ing finished , they are then baked over a fire and

“

putinto

a certain qu antity of water where they ferment and form the flu id now

u nder consideration. ( Mica tastes like a mixtu re of table be er and

cider. It is considered as nu tritiou s as porter, and, notwiths tandingthe forbidding mode of preparation , is extremely gratefu l in hot

weather, and notby any means prej udi cial'

to health; During the

time of the carnival, great qu antities'

of Chica are consunied, as the

peop le , ~ on su ch occasions, are permitted to amuse themselves in

variou s indulgences. E v en females are often seen on horseback at

full gallop, contending for no more than a draught of Chica . In Peru,is anothe r kind of Chica , made from the

'

A lgaraba tree , accounted

very pleasing, and of which the people are extremely fond. When

taken’ moderate ly, it is considered wholesome , and ' condu cive not

only to exhilarate the spirits, butto strengthen the'

con stitu'

tion .

No Irishman shews greate r partiality for his native Whisk’

ey,’

nor

indu lges in it more freely, than the Peru vian does in his attachmentto

his be loved Chica . To make the drink from the man iac or yu cca , the

roots are boiled and . bru ised into a paste , which, as in the‘

case of

C hica from maize ,the women, by the application of the ir saliva, convert

into a flu id, called masata,9k in the manner practised for a similar

pu rpose by the inhabitants of Formosa, the So u th Sea islanders, and the

Braz ilians. This flu id is left for three days to ferment, which, by the

infusion of some water, becomes a very powerful, intoxicating liqu or .

When stra ined , i t is some times called K iebla , and the spirit distilled

from it p u ic/i iu . The P eruvians cu ltivate the yu cca , and, in clearing the

fore sts for that purpo se , they u se hatchets made of stone , resemblingo urs, buthaving, instead of a handle , two ears with a channe l to se cu rethe extremity by means of cords.T Temple mentions a singular supe rstition of the Peru vians, who , on one of their chiefs be ing slain, dipped

pieces of the clothes of the de ceased in his blood, and afterwards soldthem to the women employed in making Chica ,

in o rder that these

rags might be thrown into it 011 particular occasions to produce a

Skinner’s PresentState of Pe ru , p . 380.

1 B onnycastle’

s Accou nt of Span ish America , vol. 11. p. 189.

2 94

charm , when all the Indians in the ne ighbourhood, male and female ,assembled to drink of this horrible beverage . At dinner parties, it iscu stomary to have on a side -table several bottles of rum, spru ce beer,and other liquors, .with cakes an d confections, of whi ch the gu ests partake on ente ring the room . The same glass is u se d by the w holecompany, and it wou ld be deemed u ncou rteou s if any hesitated todrink afte r another. The more lips the glass has tou ched, the morefrien dship in the acceptance and should any ind ividu al from squ eamishness look for a place that had been u ntou ched, he wou ld be treatedwi th contempt by the rest of the company. When a lady honou rs a

gen tleman by drinking to him, he takes her glass and cau tiou slyobserves to place his lips on the very spot which she had tou chedwithhers, and then drains the contents to the last drop . It is u sual at

parties, when the gu ests be come mellow an d a favourite toast is dru nk,to shiver the glasses to atoms, implying that the subject is too goodever again to su ffer the same glasses to be defiled by be ing made toc ontain a bumper to any le ss exceptionable sentimentf The ju ice of

the Agav e is by the Peru vians fermented in the same way as in

M exico, where it is made into a kind of wine called p u lqu e orp ou ckra ,by others denominated octli . When Francis Pizarro had his first

interview with the In ca Atahu alpa, he w as presented with a goldengoblet of this wine . The Inca, holding a similar on e in his hand,pledged him on the occasion of his visit, which he hoped wou ld leadto the good of himself, his country, and his people. Pizarro observed

that the inhabitants, atthat time , u nderstood the brewing of be er fromoats, and fou nd ale -houses established for its sale . P u lqu e, orP ou chra ,

is atpresent in great demand all over the Sou th American con tinent,and the spirit extracted from it is known by the name of M ex ica l, or

agu a ardiente de M aguey , from the circumstance of its distillationhaving been first introdu ced atMexico by the Spaniards. The

m anu factu re of this liqu or w as prohibited by the Spanish government

as inju riou s to the trade of the ir brandies but as it w as a general

favourite among the inhabitants, and smuggled to a great extentthrough the cou ntry, its distillation was atlength pu blicly permitted

on the payment of a certain du ty.

In the Theatro Americana, published atMexico, in 1746, it appears

that peros were raised by the tax on p u lqu e .1‘ The consump

tion of this liqu or, in 1791, amou nted to cargoe s, tha t of

wine and vinegar to barrels of 41,arobas, and barrels

Temple’

s Travels, v ol. 11. p . 311.

1' Robertson

’

s Am erica , vol. iii. note , p . 196. B onnycastle'

s Account of Span ishAmerica, 8v o . vol. i. p . 63.

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96

A mistake prevails in E urope respecting the time which the aloeor agave takes , to flower, .which is said to be butonce in a century ;butw e find that on the American continent, it blossoms after the dateo f ,its be ing planted in a period varying from 8 to 18 years.

“The

plant is composed of a number of strong indented leaves atthe base ,o f from fiv e to e ight feet in length, with a stalk twenty-fiv e fee t high,having tw enty or thirty branches diminishing in proportion as theyare elevated from the base , and form a kind of pyramid bearing a

gree nish yellow flower, standing erect in thi ck clusters from everyj o int. Su ch is the maj estic appearance of this plant, if u ndistu rbed ,a nd it continu es to produ ce these flowers for upwards of three monthssu ccessive ly. B utit is at the critical moment that the central orflower stem is abou t to appear that the ingeniou s ‘planter extracts theheart or central portion of the stalk, when, instead of an immediateefllorescen ce , a flowing of ju ice commences and continu e s du ring theperiod that the plant itse lf wou ld have been ornamented with blossoms .

Annexed is a representation of the agave in the state atwhich thej u ice is collected, with the skin, scraper, and gou rd : the latter of

which has its smallerend terminated with a horn, and is u sed by theplanters in the same w ay as brewers in Eu rope take samples from thebungs of beer or porter barrels.

297

In the preparation of the p u lque from the j u ice thu s ob tained, noharm or yeast is employed to cause fermentation . A quantity of thesap is allowed to stand in a vessel for ten or fifteen days, in which

time it ferments and is termed madre p u lqu e , or the mother ofp u lgu e .

This is distribu ted in small portions into the trou ghs or skins alongwith the aga amz

’

el to excite fermentation, and in twenty-fou r hou rsafter, the p ulqae is finished and in the very best state for drinking.

The Mexicans attribu te to p u lque the same virtu es that the Irish doto whiskey. E uropeans dislike it atfirst from its heavy smell, somewhat like sou r milk or slightly tainted meat ; but in a little time , when

this disagreeable flavour has become familiar, it is esteemed both a

who lesome , cooling, and nu tritiou s beverage , be ing always dru nk in

a state of efi'

erv escence, and no bad effe cts arising from its slightly

intoxicating qu alities. Some plantations of aga ve have been known

to bring in u pwards of annu ally.

It is su rprising that in a country where heat is excessive and water.

scarce , that some better and speedier mode than that of conveying thisdrink to the great towns in skins on the backs of asses has not been

adopted . By this means mu ch time is lost and the liqu or suffers in .

flavour, be coming heavy in the sme ll, and its freshness and cooling

properties are in a great measure destroyed. Writers differ as to thecause of the

‘foetid odou r of the p algu e , some. attribu ting it, as already

stated, to the skins in which it is conveyed . Others say that it has

the same disagreeable flavour when preserved in vessels. Perhaps,”

says Humboldt, “the odou r proceeds from the de composition of a

vegeto -animal matter, analogou s to the glu ten contained in the ju ice

of the agav e.

” In some parts of Mexico , there i s a spe cies of the

magu ey which is inferior to that in the vicinity of the capital, as just

described. No pu lque is made from it, butitis distilled into a strong .

spirit called Chingu erz'

te .

The u tility of the agave or aloe plan t is,

not restricted to the produ ction of p u lgue , butits leaves an d fibres have been converted tomany u sefu l pu rposes. The Aborigine s u sed the leaves, after a cer

ta in preparation , as a su bstitu te for paper on which their hieroglyphicswere written ; and pie ces of it are still to be fou nd in the country

resembling pasteboard, and some like Chinese paper. A durable good .

sort of tw ine is manu factured from the fibres and twisted into ropes,which are in great demand in the

'

mining districts, and sometimes

employed as cordage for shipping . This is known in E u rope by thename ofp ite thread , and preferred by naturalists to every other, as it

is notliable to twist. The plantations of magu ey or agave are very,

profitable , and, as the plants are propagated with great,

ease and

facility, many are engaged in its cu ltivation, from which an income of

298’

from 10to dollars hasbeen annu ally derived by one individual .This plant requ ires little or no water, and, although the parent on ewithers as the sap is exhau sted, a mu ltitu de of n ew su ckers springfrom the root, and, when transplanted, more of them supply its place .

The'

length of time that mu st elapse from the first laying down of a

plantation till it begins to prove produ ctive , which, as already stated,is from e ight to e ighteen years, proves a great drawback and discou

ragementto agricu lturists. B ut, when once a good establishment hasbeen effected and matu red, the proprietor is soon amply repaid for

his toil, as, henceforward , there is an annual su ccession of plants to

afford a constan t supply for the market . A planter, who lays downfrom 30 to plants, is sure , according to Humboldt, to establish the fortune of his children . The same writer thinks that the

agave u sed for distillation is different from that u sed for pu lqu e ,although the produ ce of both I S o ccasionally subj ected to distillation,and the brandy made from them 15 very intoxicating. It is worthy

of remark, that the ju ice of the agave , before the period of its efilorescen ce , is very acrid, and is su ccessfully employed as a cau stic inthe cleansing of wou nds or, if the leaves are bru ised and bo iled, the y

produ ce abalsamic siru p u sed to cleanse and cu re ulcers. The prickleswhi ch terminate the leaves served formerly like those of the cactu s

for pins and nails to the Indians. The Mexican priests pierced the irarms and breasts with them in acts of expiation, analogou s to those ofthe B udhists of Hindostan .

If proper attention were bestowed on the distillation of pulqu e , i twou ld yield an excellent spirit butmany obstacles have been raised

against this measure by the rapacity of the Spanish merchants .

These gentlemen , aton e time, carried the ir efforts so far as to solicit

the government to extirpate the plant altogether, butas the cou ntry

has passed into more liberal hands, a better order of things may be

expected to arise, and in the course of some time , the spirit of themagu ey may be brought to rival the brandies of E urope . A s it is,pu lqu e -brandy forms a considerable branch of the trade of the pro

vinces, through which itis transported in leathern bags on the backs

of mu les . Whether, however, the u se of this liqu or, generally speak

ing, may notbe of more inju ry to the morals of the people than‘

the

good itwou ld produ ce e ither in an agricu ltu ral or a commercial view,is nothere a po int for discussion ; butthe ease with which intox icating

i

liqu ors are procu red by the Indians of N ew Spain tends mu chto shorten the ir lives and demoralize the ir characters. Rum , spirits frommaize , and the root of the j atrop ha man ihot, with pu lqu e , are the

favourites. Pulqu e , when notsubj e cted to distillation, is nu tritive onaccount of its saccharine nature, and hence those who are addicted to

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300

planted'

there by the first settlers. Under the old government, thev ine cou ld hardly be included among the territorial riches of Mexico ,the qu antity be ing so inconsiderable . B utthe political changes

'

which

have taken place in that country, have given encouragement to the

plantation of the vine and the consumption of native p rodu ce ,linshackled by the prohibitory and tyrann ical laws of the mothercountry. The inhabitan ts of Mexico and N ew Spainwill soon be

enabled to supply notonly their home con sumption, ,

‘

butthat perhaps

of the whole of North America and Mexico may yetserve to thatportion of the globe , what France , Spain, Portugal, and Italy, have

long proved to the'

rest‘

of E u rope .

In so extensive a region as that of New Spain, where the heat is

intense and drink in great demand, ice is considered indispensable and

an article of great luxury; The right to sell it w as a monopo ly of

the crown, and the poor Indian, who had sealed the summits of the

highest mou ntains to collect this important material, cou ld notdi spose

of it withou t paying a du ty to the government . Humboldt informsu s that a similar monopoly existed in France , to which a stop w as put,

as the magnitu de of the du ty produced a rapid diminu tion in the u se

of cooling liquors. The sale of snow in N ew Spain amou nted, in

1803, to piasters.

To enter upon a minu te detail of the vegetable produ ctions of

hi e x ico'

w’

ould be irrelevant to this work and extend beyond its limits.

It is su fficient to observe , that the gardens contain all the fru its ofE urope , and the fields are cu ltivated with variou s sorts of grain.The food of the people is chiefly composed of banana, manioc, maize ,wheat, potatoes, & c . The magu ey , oragave, may be considered as theIndian vine ,

'

which forms the basis of most of the ir beverages. Insome places

'

a'

drink is u sed called p inole, which is Indian corn baked,ground, and the flou r mixed with e ither milk or water, having a littlecinnamo

'

n or sugar superadded . Maize is cu ltivated to the u tmostextent, and with a su ccess hardly credible . Themajority of the population

‘

of N ew Spain su bsisted entirely on the flou r of the maize ; itis u sed in variou s ways, and is eaten boiled or roasted . When madeinto bread it is very nu tritive , and it is often u sed u nder the form of a

gru el, c alled by the natives atolle , with which are mix ed sugar, honey,and often ground potatoes . Hernandez describes sixteen differentsorts of atolle . Maize is sold cheap

'

; even in the capital it is boughtfor tw o dollars the fanega of l 5 01s At present, a very palatablekind of beer or fermented liqu or is made from this grain, as we ll as

from the stal ks denominated p u lqu e dema z’

ze (tlalli, tlaollz) , andwhich

30l

is‘

compo'

sed‘

of a su gary j u ice‘

or

'

siru p, ex tracted by pressure fromthe stalk. This compressed ju ice was formerly substituted forsugar}The Mexicans and Peru vians, previous to ,

the arrival of E u ropeansam ong them, were in the habit of pressing su gar from the stalks of

the maize , and were able to concentrate its jui ce by evaporation, as

we ll as to prepare the coarse sugar by conden sing the sirup . Cortez

described to the Emperor Charles V. the Mexican sugar which he‘

saw exposed in the markets for sale , as honey from the stalks of

maize an d honey from the shrub maguey. The stalks of the maizeare so ex ceedingly sugary, that Humboldt says the Indians su ck it asthe su gar-cane is

'

su cked by the negroes, and it appears that they

were u nacqu ainted with the sugar-cane previou s to the landing of the

Spaniards.

The Mexicans domesticate bees for the pu rpose of obtaining honey.A s the insects are natu rally prone to constru ct the ir cells in thehollows of trees, the inhabitants excavate the tru nks in portions of

from tw o to three fee t in length, which they close atboth ends with

clay, and bore a hole in the centre for the egress and ingress of the

bee s. These receptacles are then su spended on a tre e in a horizontalpo sition, and are soon occupied by an indu striou s colony. The honey

comb is so constru cted, that it is u nu sual to have recourse atany timeto the destru ction of the inmates ; all that is n ecessary be ing to

remove the stopper, introdu ce the hand and withdraw the honey

sacks, for the Mexican bee forms cells forthe re ception of the larvae,

distinct from the combs: The hive generally afl'ords two harvests inthe season. The honey is of good flavou r but thin ; it is inferior tothat of E u rope , an d noteasily fermented ; yet a good description ofhydromel is o ccas ionally made of it, and mu ch u sed in the countrysl

'

The magu ey is very common in Peru , a cou ntry su sceptible of cu lti vation in su ch parts only as lie adjacent to the rivers, or which can .

be conveniently irrigated. It makes a good hedge in consequ ence of.

the strong pri ckles'

ou the edge of its leaves, which prevent animals .

from’

passing. The Indians bu ild their hous es of its flowe r stalks andcover them

~

with the leaves ; the fibres are converted into thread and .

woven into clothing,while the prickles serve in the place of pins and

needles . The j u ice , when mixed with water, is allowed to ferment,and forms

'

a similar beverage to the Mexican p u lque . Its leaves .

supply the place of soap, for after the clothes are we tted , if they be

beate n with a bru ised leaf of mag u ey, a thick white froth is produced ,

Ward’

s Me x ico , 8vo . v ol. i . p . 41, passim.

1’ B eechy

’

s Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific O cean , vol. 11. p . 35 7.

302

o utofwhich , when the’

clothes are rinsed, they become perfectlyc lean

even the flower bu ds, when bo iled or pickled, are delicate eating . Ofthe two varie ties of magu ey fou nd in Peru , the leaves of the on e are

of a deep green, while those of the other are of a beau tiful pale green ;butthe latter is the most u sefu l.

The soil ofPeru , though u nfavou rable to the growth of vegetables,

yields crops of po tatoes, wheat, and rice , whi ch, with the sugar-cane

and vines, are reared chiefly on the banks of ravines where vegetation

is extremely rapid. The grapes are highly flavou red butafford indifferea t wine : notwithstanding, this article . as well as brandy, has been .

for many years of some commercial importance . Pisco has long been .

famous for its manu facture of brandy. Near the city of ConceptiondeMocha, the vine-yards are numerou s and fertile , produ cing a largesupply

'

of wine for home consumption, as well as for the L ima market,the cu ltivation of the vine notbe ing forbidden here , as it is in Mexico

and N ew Granada. For want of proper vessels a large qu antity is

e ither lost or injured ; and a wine is'

made called M usca del, su perior

to that of the same name in France , and not inferior to Frontigna c .

The simple vessels u sed at this place to ferment and preserve the

wine are made of baked clay, ha ving only a wooden cover, and hencethe ir brandy is greatly deteriorated. The vines grow chiefly on espaliers, and are noton de tached stems as are the generality of E u ropean vines. The wine and o ther liqu ors are carried in goats’ skinstanned for the purpose . These animals are carefu lly nurtured forthis obje ct, as well as for the ir fat and for cordwain . A palatablespecies of red wine with a flavou r pe cu liarly aromatic, and denomi q

nated M a lle , is here prepared from the berries of a tree of that name .

These berries are black and formed in clusters rou nd the slender .

branches, be ing abou t the size of peas. Another beverage called

The/lea , is made from the fru it of the magu e tree , and which somewhatre sembles a wild cherry. It grows in the woods in great abundance ,and the people make parties to gather it . From the city of Conception, there are exported, atan average , jars of wine containing18 gallons each, chiefly to L ima, where Chili brandy may be had ata

very reasonable rate . Abou t Lima, a great portion of the nativesugar is employed in making a drink called gu arap o, which is the

e xpress ed j u ice of the cane fermented it is the principal drink of thecolou red people , and of which the Indians of the interior -pu rchasegreat quantities, it be ing so ld very cheap . E u ropeans consider thisan agreeable beverage , and when thirsty or heated, it is preferred bymany to every other sort of liqu or. The Spanish monarchy, in conju nction with the Pope , prohibited the manufacture of rum among the

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804

the amount, sometimes du ring a feast , of jars, each containing18“'gallons. E ven on the tomb 01

' grave , liqu or is pou red bytherelatives of the deceased, as the last token of' respect atthe interment.At the anniversary of a Saint, an Indian gives an entertainment toall who choose to enjoy it ; when calabashes of chica , some holdingfi v e or six gallons, are placed before the gu ests, with a number ofsmaller ones, each containing abou t a pint . After the first cou rse ,the claica is circu lated freely, as well as during each su cce ssive‘

remove , and when abou t to depart , the stirrup cup is demanded,mu ch like the parting glass of the Irish, called deach-a -doras .

Another cu riou s practice among the Peru vians atthe ir festivals, is

when atthat stage of the repast where the women hand the small'

tutema shells fu ll ofmasato to the men ; all rise , and holding the cu p

to the n1outh,

.

turn the head to the right and squ irt the flu id throughthe teeth as an oflering to the ir departed friends, and afterwards

resume the ir seats . The same ceremony is again repeated as a pro

pitiatory offering to the aerial spirits, that they may protect the ir

property from the attack of wild beasts or the destru ctive influ ence

of the e lements. The palm in Peru , as in other cou ntries, adds alu xu ry to the table . The leaves and stem, to whi ch the nu ts are

attached, yield by bo iling an agreeable beverage , which, after fermentation, acqu ires a deliciou s flavou r and vinou s qu ality.L arge qu antities of maize are , in variou s parts of Peru , convertedinto cltz

'

ca , and it is remarkable that the grain u sed in all su ch cases

has been made to u ndergo the process of malting, a proof tha t the

making of malt mu st have been kn own to the P eruvians from the

most remote period. In making ckz’

ca ,no other ingredients are mixedwith the malted maize, called Jora when sufliciently -bo iled in

water, the flu id ferments like our ale or porter, and the produ ce is

very intoxicating. In some places, the natives believe that fermen

tatien will n otensu e if the malted grain be notpreviou sly subj e ctedto mastication . From this circumstance , many old men and

w omen assemble at the hou se where chica is to be made , and

are employed . in chewing the Jora or malt: Having masticated a

su fficient qu an tity; they lay the chewed su bstance in small balls on a

calabash. These are su ffered to dry, a little after which they are

mixed with newly made c/zz'

ca While it is warm . On accou nt of a pro

hibition , no distillation of this article is carried on . The consumptionof chz

'

ca in Peru is very considerable . In making on e sort of it fromthe grape , two or three hides are fastened toge ther in the formof a large sack, su spended by posts, and into this bag the grapes

are thrown. They are then trodden by a man , who is, during the

305

process, often immersedto his shou lders; and occasionally relieved byanother. All the time the juice is running through a small leathern

tube placed atthe bottom, and one is constantly employed carrying a

fresh supply of grapes which he throws into the sack till a su fficient

qu antity of chica is manu factured . Another kind of chica is made

from the pods of the A lgaroba , a sort of Acacia, by infusing them in

water, straining them, and allowing the residu e to ferment. At the'

end of three or fou r days it is palatable , and it is thoughtit wou ldprodu ce a de licate species of wine . Two kinds of chica are u su allymade from the same grain : one is called clu ro, the water in whichthe malt has been infused. This, when drawn off, is afterwards boiled,and has then some resemblance to cider. Another is made by boilingthe grain with water for several hours, after which it is strained, ferm ented, and te rmed n eto . The sediment is u sed as a kind of yeast

in making bread . The great antiqui ty of this beverage is proved ,beyond all doubt, to have been familiar among the aborigines before

they were visited by the Spaniards, as Mr . Stevenson affirms that he

drank chi ca that had been found in the hu a cas, or bu rying places,where it mus t have remained u pwards of three centur ies. This chica

mu st have been of a very strong qu alityto have preserved its strengthso long, particularly withou t hops or o ther antiseptic ingredients. In

some places, chica is made so strong, that from thre e bu shels of j oraonly 18 gallons are obtained.

The Peru vians are not habitual drunkards, although they some

times indulge themselves beyond Whatprudence wou ld dictate and

a late respectable writer assu res u s, that, during twenty years’ resi

dence amongst them, he neversaw a female intoxicated . In Qu ito ,rum and brandy are most in consumption . From the rum distilled

here , a varie ty of liqu eurs are made , butthe lower orders prefer

chica from the maize , and in order to excite thirst or increase appc

t ite , an Indian will some times swallow 20 or 30 pods of capsicum or

pepper, with some salt and bread, washing them down with two orthree quarts of his favou rite beverage . Here , in the manner of the

Mexicans, delicate ice s and ice beverages are made ; and at entertainm ents, ices are the greatest ornaments of the table , appearingu nde r every form and representing fru it of all descriptions so nicely

de lineated, that, when mixed with real fru it, they cannot be distin

gu ished from it.

The M asato :u sed by these people is a'

drink made by boiling aqu antity of ripe plantains, till they are qu ite soft, after which they are

redu ced to a pulp by beating them in a trough . The matter is then

put into a basket lined with leaves, where it is left to fe rment forx

me degree known in theN ew World before the interco urse with E u ropeans and w e are toldthat the Peru vians had discovered the art of malting before thatperiod, and the Sara , a kind of beer

, of a veryw as made from it and prohibited by the Incas,soone r than the o ther liqu ors of the cou nthat this Sara , as we ll as the Vz

'

n afer spoken

be cau se it intoxicated

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308

of grape s, he says, were enormou sly large ; and he mentions one that

filled a basket, and served as a meal for a numerou s convent of friars.

The branches of the vine he describes as very large , and the tru nks

of the trees as thick as a man’s body.Although the Chilian vines have been very produ ctive yet, from

some cause or other, they do n otrank very high. The v ino dep enco

made n ear Conception, on the banks of the Itali, is most in esteem,

and in taste and flavou r it resembles Malaga more than any other.When Cap tain B eechey, in 182 5 , tou ched atthis place , he foun d thewines greatly deteriorated, and the only palatable w ine which hecou ld procure was that made from the grapes on the estate ofGeneralFrierefi"

From the borders of Peru to the river Mau le, the mode of cul

tiv ating vines is by raising the sets to the height of three or fou r fee tby means of props or forked stakes. Beyond that river, they are

planted on the declivities of hills and re clined on the grou nd. The

vintage u su ally occu rs in the months of April and M ay.

The lower orders of the Chilian s have little inclination for wine,.the ir drink be ing chiefly water and C b ica made from the grapes,(which abou nd in the woods where the birds deposit the ir seed,) by

pressing outthe ju ice and bo iling it, wi thou t reference to fermentation. From the variety and luxuriance of the fru its su ch as qu incesa s large as a man’s head, peaches we ighing u pwards of a po und, withapple s, pears, oranges, lemons, and citrons of the finest description,valuable dome sti c wines might be procu red. E ven from the fru it ofthe myrtu s lama , a spe cies of myrtle which frequ ently grows to theheight of 40 fe et, a pleasant wine is made , which is a good stomachic,is held in high estimation, and by strangers is often preferred to M u s

cad el. From the fru it calle d que lu , which is very sweet, small, andof a co lou r between red and yellow, a very palatable drink is draw n :from M'

olle, another fru it of the shape and colou r of pepper, is madea drink te rmed H uiga n by the natives and M olle by the Spaniards.

This liqu or is very agreeable , and in great requ est by people of respectability . Of M olle there are tw o kinds, the common (schinu s mollz

'

s) is

u su ally fou nd in the marshe s, and the other is te rmed schin u s i migan .

From the berries of these , a kind of re d wine o f an agreeable flavou r,but very heating, is prepared. The Indians manu facture a beveragefrom those berries as strong and as pleasant as wine . Antonio de H er

rera descri bes a beverage o f a brightgolden colou r made from the frui tof the M urtilla-tree , which strongly resembles the grape . This liqu or is

B eechey’

s Voyage to the Pacific, 4to. vol. i.-p . 29.

09

warm, v'

ery agreeable to the taste , and highly salu tary, as itincreasestheappe tite , and never produ ces any painful consequ ences to the head,though it bears a greater proportion to water than wine does .

From the grain of ga z’

n au (a species of chenop odu im from three to

four feet high,) a very pleasant stomachic beverage is made . From

the berries of the maqu i (cornu s Ckilensz’

s) a species of wild grapes

which are very pleasant for eating, the Indians prepare a liquor,termed theca , which is held in considerable estimation and is common

in Peru .

The aboriginal Chilians, long before the landing of the Spaniards,employed leaven in making bread, and they .were , besides, acqua intedwith the process of fermentation , by which they obtained from the irgrain and fru its, several kinds of inebriating liqu ors which they kept

'

in jars after the manner of the Greeks and Romans. From the clayof the cou ntry they made every spe cies of vesse l su ited to ‘ domestic

pu rposes, well glazed, and polished by a mineral varnish called colo .

Wooden vesse ls were also common, and even vases of marble of

exce llent workmanship . According to Don Ulloa, the gu aqu eros, ordrinking vesse ls of the inhabitants of Qu ito, were of a very fine blackearth, and the place atwhich they were originally formed is unknown .

In shape they were rou nd, having a handle in the m iddle w ith the

mou th on one side ,‘

and a representa tion of an Indian’s head on theothe r, whose features were so naturally expre ssed, that few workmenof the present day could su rpass it . Be sides these , he adds, that

vario us size d vessels made of red and white earth were fou nd amongthe ceme teries of the aborigines, for the purpose of making and pre

serving the chz'

ca . Lane , in his accou nt of'

the modern 'E gyptians,says that he saw in the tombs atThebes, many similar jars containingthe dregs of B ou safi’ Some

’

of the native Chi lian earths have such

pe cu liar quality that the vessels made of them are said to communi

cate an'

agreeable flavou r and smell to the liquors they contain .

Some of these vessels are handsomely ornamented with plants andanimals , and bring a great price in Pe ru an d Spain .

At the interment of the dead, great qu antities of chica are

sumed, first in the entertainment of friends, and afterwards when theyarrive at the grave-yard . Here bo th provisions , and vessels filled

with chica and wine , are placed beside the corpse with a view of sus

taining itdu ring its passage to the other world . . Besides these, the.mou nd raised over the dead body is moistene d with a quantity of chica ,

as a libation to th e memory of the departed . The attachment of

the people to fermented liquors is su ch, that they consider every

Lane’

s Accou nt of the Modem Egyptians, &c. 2 vols. 8vo. vol. 11. p . 34.

810

entertainment a mockery unless they have abundance to drink yet,

generally speaking, the ir habits are temperate .

The aborigines u se beer and cider as the ir common beverages,which they make from Indian corn and apples yet they are

extreme ly fond of wine, whi ch they procu re from the Spaniards . At

the ir banqu ets, atwhich it is common for 300 persons to be present,more meat, grain, and liqu or are consumed than would be sufli cientto support a whole family for two years . These feasts are called

C ahu in , or circles, from the company seating themselves in a circle

arou nd a cinnamon tree .

’ No en tertainment, however, of any sort is

considered worthy of the name of a feast, u nle ss there is drink in

abu ndance .

At Potosi, wine is seldom u sed except atgreat dinners. Claretrates at12s. the bo ttle ; Champagne from 12s. to I 6s . ; E nglish ciderfrom 68. to B S. At Cinti, abou t 40 or 5 0 leagu es from Potosi, a

good wine is made whi ch is sold from abou t 2s. to 2s. 6d., the bottle ,

and whi ch is said to resemble Burgundy. Rum and brandy sell from85 . to 103. the bottle . The cu ltivation of the vine and wine-making

might be a Specu lation u sefu l in many parts of Sou th America . In

the provin ce of Tarija, good wine is produ ced little inferior to B ur

glmdy. In the Vicinity of San Lu cas, fine wine and brandy are made ,e ven to the ex tent of exportation, and after leaving this village and

entering the valley of Cinti, it is a continu ed vineyard for nearlytwen ty leagu es. This place is celebrated for ‘ its wines and brandiesw hich are in great demand and sent to all the upper parts of Peruwine is sold atls. 3d. per bottle .

The genial warmth of the climate and soil in the valleys and plainslmder the Andes, are particu larly favou rable to the growth of thev in e . Some of the vineyards, especially those in the vicinity of

M endoza, are said to contain plants. The grapes are large,black, and highly flavou red, resembling the Hambro species more than

any other. A du ty of one dollar is imposed on every cask of brandy,and four reals on every cask of wine . The wines and brandies ofM endoza, San Ju an, and Rioja, make the ir w ay to the Rio de. la

P lata to the extent of barrels annually, where they are

bartered for E nglish merchandise , besideswhich, large qu antities areSent to Potosi, Santa Fe, and other places . In transporting theseover the imme nse plains of the Pampas, oxen and mules are

employed ;Tthe former, to the number of six in a wagon, travellingabou t e ight leagu es in a day and the latter laden with skins in pack

Molina’s H istory of Chili.1‘ Vide Accou nt of the Uni ted Provinces of Rio de la

_Plata, from the Spanish,

SVO . 1825 .

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312

The greatest enemies to the vine in this country are the ants,which give the planters

.the greatest trouble to su bdu e them. Owing

to the sam e j ealou s principle ofthe Spaniards, j ust allu ded to , atBu enosAyres, grapes cou ld notbe cu ltivated butby spe cial appo intment, and

that only for the supply of the table . Grape-brandy w as, u ntil lately,chiefly furnished from E u rope , butatpresent it is principally distilledin the country.

”

The lower orders in Buenos Ayres are mu ch proneto irregu larities, many of whom,when inflamed by spirits, are hu rried

into the committal of very bru tal acts. To repress extravagancies ofthis nature , the government have putheavy licenses on the p u lp erz

’

aa

or spirit-shops, from which a considerable revenu e is obtained, while2 5 per cent. duty is levied on all vines and liquors imported . Tra

vellere say tha t the effects of drinking are more perceptible here than

in E ngland. In many it produ ces derangement, and others it incitesto the committal of sui cide . In some of the Sou th Ai nerican districts,the natives, in the ir drunken moments, carry gambling to su ch a

he ight, that even the ir wives are staked on the resultof a game , andthe forfe it given up in case of loss. To the ease with whi ch drink isprocu red, the heat of the climate , and the consequ ent lassitude , may

be attribu ted those fatal consequ ences. To the native tribes border~

ing on Paragu ay and Brazil, the mandioc affords a dr ink both coolingand renovating. The roots of this plan t are sliced and bo iled till theybecome soft , they are then '

allowed to cool, the yo ung women chew

them, and they are afterwards putinto the same vesse l which is filled

with water and again boiled, during which they are kept stirring all

the time . The u nstrained j u i ce is putinto large jars which are buriedin the floor of the hou se for abou t half the ir depth. They are then

close ly stopped and allowed to ferment for two or three days . A'

notion is prevalent that if the liqu Or be made by m en it is good fornothing hence the labour falls to the lotof the females. On a daySetapart for drink ing this beverage, the women kindle fires rou nd thejars, outof which they serve the men in half gou rds with the hot

liquor, whi ch they rece ive singing and dancing, and always empty atone draught. Here it may be remarked, that no man when single is

suffered to partake of the drinking feast . During this drinking bou t,they smoke an herb called p etun e ither in pipes of clay, the shells of

fru it, or in leaves rolled toge ther in the form of a tube, forcing the

smoke through the ir nostrils, mou ths, and artificial holes in the ircheeks. All this time the youngmarried men dance with rattles on

their legs, butnever eatanything during the interval, ner leave the

hou se u ntil , every drop is exhau sted . In this manner they removefrom house to hou se , till all in the place or v illage is finished. These

313

meetings are commonly held once a month, and have been known tocontinu e upwards of three days and nights. There are two kinds ofthis liqu or called C a ou -z

'

n or kaawy , red and white , and in tasteresemble milk. There is a great similarity in name ' between theka awy and the cava of Otahe ite , and, as they are both made by masti-s

cation, seem to be nearly the same liqu or, and produ ce nearly similar

e ffectsfi" Wherever the mandioc is cu ltivated, it is chiefly from it

that drink is manufactu red. Many of the Brazilian tribes prepare a

be tter liqu or from the a caj ee, the fru itof the a cayaba . The acaj eeis a kind of wild apple , and is in greatre qu e st among the people of

this cou ntry. It is he ld in su ch estimation, that the ages of persons

are numbered by it, becau se it bears fru it but once a year, which

ripens abou t the close of De cember or early in Janu ary. If the rains

be moderate in Brazil atthe time of the equ inoxes, they are hailed

by the people as a promise of plenty of the acaj ee , and hence they aresometimes called the rains of the a caj ee .

“The j u ice of this fru it fur

nishes an excellent cider. This liqu oris obtained by squeezing thefru it or bruising it in a wooden mortar . ‘ At first it is white butin a

few days itgets paler, having an astringent effect, and, afte r fermen

tation , becomes highly intoxicating. In abou t the cou rse of half a

year it gets like vinegar, but, with care in the pro ce ss of making, itmight keep mu ch longe r. Of the pu lp, a sort of flou r is made which

the natives valu e as the highest dainty. From the fermented ju ice ofthe C ashew-n ut, (anaca rd ium occidenta le,) a native of Brazil, isobtained a spirit which some account n ot inferior to the best arrack,rum, or brandy . N ine difl'erentkinds of liqu ors are said to be madeby the B raz ilians, each possessing pecu liar qu alities, and it is related

of these savages they are as cho ice in the se lection of the water as the

E uropeans are in the choice of wine . The reason assigned formakingthe women plant the

.maize , prepare the ir drinks, and attend to thelabours of the field, is, becau se ,

”say they, women know to bring

forth, which is a thing that w e do notknow -when they sow and

plant, the stalk of maize produ ces tw o or three heads ; the root ofmandioc two or three baske ts fu ll, and every thing mu ltiplies in like

manner from their hands. Why ? be cause women know to bring

forthand to make the'

seeds and roots bring forth also .

”A drinking

bou t is customary at sowing time and at harvest . When a gu est

arrives, this is his welcome when they rejoice, they getdru nk ; and

when sorrowfu l, they get‘dru nk likewise : thus making pretex ts for

indulging in intoxication atall times. The liquors are keptnotonly

Southey'

s History of B razil, vol. i. p. 65 .

3M

in large jars, as already stated, but in vessels hollowed in solid wood,and in large baskets so close in the ir textu re , that with a little gumand calking they are perfectly water-tight .In Braz il, the policy of the government had prevented the appli

cation of its native produ ce in the composition of liqu ors for thesake of encou raging the consumption of wines and brandy from Portugal . B ut since the removal of the Bra ganza family from the

mother country and the e stablishment of a regu lar government, themanu factu res ofthe Brazilians are better su pported and more extended .

Sugar plan tations are numerou s, and the exportation of that articlehas considerably increased, although the apparatu s of the sugar-hou seis very simple , withou t any of the large machines us ed by the WestIndia planters. R um is distilled, of which great qu antities are sentto variou s parts of the N ew World as well. as to E u rope . To almost

every sugar plantation a still is attached, but, in too many instances,of very ru de materials and awkward constru ction The still is amere earthen j ar with a

’ long narrow neck, on the top of which isplaced a head or cap having on on e side a pipe abou t six inches long,into whi ch is fixed a brass tu be four feet in length . This tube is putthrough an earthen vessel sufi ciently large to

-hold a qu antity of waterfor the condensation of the spirit, form ing a substitu te for.the wormand worm-tub . The liqu or, in many instance s, undergoes only one

d istillation ; but when a superior article is requ iredh itis distilled a

second time . The wash is fermented in large earthen jars, but no

ru les have been established for regu lating the qu antities of the materials employed for its preparation . A strong lee is said to be poured

on the sugar juice in order to thicken and purify it . This lee is

procu red by infu sing in water the ashes of a kind of p olygonum,

which, by the Indians, is called C ataya , by the Portugu ese [larva

debicku . This plant has a bitter pungent taste lik e pepper, and is,

considered of use in the making of rum . Many of the planters dispose

of the molasses to small distillers,who are generally of the lower class,and,with tw o or more of the se ru de stills, obtain a livelihood withou tmu ch trou ble ; for fu el be ing abu ndant, and the apparatus simple , the

men often leave the management of the still-hou se to women, whilethey are atother pu rsu its. Late ly, however, copper-stills have beenprocured from E u rope, the introdu ction of which among the more

w ealthy planters has produ ced a great reformation in this branch of

bus iness, and enabled them to manufacture the whole molasses on

the ir own plantations.

The sugar works in Braz il ' have become, in many parts, respe ct

able . These are usually erected near rivers,and some of thememploy

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316

he cou ld only have to make application to his saint to arrange all thatw as requ isite on that score .

A s Brazil is now u nder a monarchy friendly disposed towardsGreat Britain, and as vast advantages appear to offer to men of

capital and enterprise in the cu ltivation of the sugar-cane , it seems tohold outindu cements of no ordinary description to the adventu rou s.

The cou ntry is healthy, fruitful, and agreeable , and better adapted toE uropean constitu tions than any part of the West Indies . Fromthese conside rations it might be a good specu lation to make an e x pe

riment in that part of the American continent. Agriculture is almostu nknown there , mu ch less the improvements and machinery which

have advanced the arts and facilitated the labou rs of the i ndustriousartisans of this country. In Brazil, there is a species of myrtle called

p ita nga , (myrtu s p ita nga) which bears a fru it abou t the size of a smallplum, and is of a bright red colour, ribbed on the su rface . It is of apu ngent, harsh nature , in consequ ence ofwhich it is u sed as a conse rve ,and from it a very agreeable spirit is distilled . Port is n otso mu ch

in u se atR io Jane iro as the Catalonian wine , or Cachaca, which is aSpe cies of rum . When Dr. Walsh visited this cou ntry in 1829, hefound native C a x a s, clear and transparentlike water, mu ch resembling

Sco tch Whiskey. In consequ ence of its cheapness, it has many

votarie s, among whom sailors are not the least in number, as

it is fou nd a salu tary antidote against the efl'e cts of cold or darup.

The natives have a pe cu liar cu stom of bathing in a tub of pu nchmade of C a x as immediately before going to bed by w ay of refreshment, and as a preventive against cold. Servants have been known

to take a draught of it mixed with salt as if wate r, although it w as

nearly as strong and pungent as aquafortis . The blacks are fond of

taking it in this way ; butit has less intoxicating effects on ‘

them thanon white people ; which is no doubt attribu table to habit . Some of

the negroes in the vicin ity of R io Jane iro meet annually and drinkfor the space of sixteen days, during e ight of which a sort offlagellation is inflicted daily on each of the parties. This is effected by

means of a thong with a small stone atthe end. The tribe s of theG uaycu ans never permit females to drink intoxicating liquors. A

specie s of snufl' from the roasted fru it,of the p arz

'

ca tree is prepared

by the women, and in the u se of this powder a tube is applied alter

nately by one indiv idual to the nostril of another, which, with the

drink, effe cts intoxication to su ch an exte nt that some lose their sensesand many the ir lives.

In the various towns of this territory are houses for the sale of

wines, and such other liqu ors as the coun try affords. In R io Janeiro

'

317

alone, there were , according to Lu ccock . in 1821, on e hu ndred vint'ners, commonly called c inder-keep ers, besides a vast numbe r of other‘re tailers .

*

Brazil abou nds with a species of wild ananas,butthe edible‘

sortof

this fru it is cu ltivated in the plantations on accou ntof its be ing large ,ju icy, aromatic, and possessing great nu tritive properties. Brandy,

(sometimes called Nandi,) of good qu ali ty, is made fromit, as also fromthe fru it of the anaca rd ium and the caj u e iro, w hich is fou nd in allthe

brandy districts. Some of the savage tribes, according to M. de la

Condamine , have an intoxicating liqu or called bakou in , for which they

e vince a warm atta chment . From the alfarroba or algarroba tree thepeople of Santiago del E stero colle ct pods which they pou nd and press

into a mass, and mou ld into cakes or squ are boxes. This is called

p atay , and is mu ch u sed for feed ing horses. When infused in

water, it soon ferments and produ ces a wholesome intoxicating

beverage . The Jesu its, aware of its fascinating qu alities and the facility

with which it cou ld be”

converted to sensu al pu rposes, very prud ently

obstru cted the cultivation of the alf’

arroba in the settlements over which

they had control .1' The cakes made from the pods of the a lgarroba x

are sometM es called arepa s, and, though very coarse , are notu npaletableJl From the fru it of the B u ritz

'

, on e of the loftiest and most

beau tifu l of the palm tribe , is prepared a liqu or which is sa id to benu tritiou s and palatable , buthas the singu lar property of tinging theWhites of the eyes withou t inju ring the constitu tion . The fru it, whichis covered with red scales, is abou t the size and shape of a hen’s egg,

and u nder the se scales there is an oily pu lp of the same vermillion

colou r . From the fru it or nutof the pottree (lecytbz'

s allara’

a) be au ,

tiful dr inking cu ps are made . This tree , which rises to the he ight of100 fee t, bears atthe top a maj estic crown of rose-colou red le avesvau lted in the form of an umbrella . The n utis abou t the size of the

co coa, and is borne on a stem , which, as the fru it gets ripe , bends withthe pre ssu re , till atlength a sort of lid atthe top of the shell is obligedto give w ay and the kernel falls to the grou nd . In high winds, it isdangerou s to walk within the range of the se trees, on accou nt of thefall of the nuts from so great an elevation .

The ma nd ioc plant in B razil '

is of infinite importance , and is usedas food notonly in that cou ntry , butthrough all Sou th Am erica . The

flo ur made from the root is ca lle dfarz’

nha dc p a o, or stick~flour. Cattle

are fed on the roots and stems, after being outsmall and exposed for

Lu ccock'

s Note s on R io Jan eiro .

f Southey’

s History of Brazil,v ol. 111. p . 439.

I Ste v enson’

s Narrative,vol. ii. p. 186.

18

some time in the sun to take away their noxious qualities though

some oxen from habit have been known to eatthe roots qu ite freshwithou t the least inju ry . Koster re lates" that he had on e of theseanimals which w as so attached to the mandioc that he wou ld escape atn ight from his stall and tare up the plants with su ch dexterity that itw as only from the marks of the feet that the thief could be discovered .

Yetit is singu lar, that althou gh it has this attractive qu ality, its j u ice ,w hile pressing from the root in making the farinha , has produ ced fatalefl'ects. An ins tance of this given by the same traveller, in the caseof a sheep , which, in attempting to getsome ofthe roots, had taken avery small qu antity of the liquid, the deleteriou s qu alities of whichOperated m a few seconds. The animal tottered, fell, rose , an d fellaga in and, although oil w as administered, its body swelled to an

enormou s size , and it di ed in abou t ten minu tes afterwards. The

fa rinha of the mandioc is prepared mu ch in the same w ay as that of

the Cassada in the West Indies andMauritius . The roots are scrapedand then grou nd into a re ce iver, forming a pu lp, which is afterwardsenclosed in long bags made of bark or re eds, and then hu ng up to

permit the ju ice to ooze from the material . The pulp, when thu s

drained, is puton a pan e ither of copper or bu rned clay, to be dried,du ring which operation it is kept constantly stirred to prevent burn

ing and to detach the mass into mealy particles.The majority of the people u se the mandioca, n ot merely as a

substitu te for flou r, but even in preference . It yields tw o crops inthe year, and is prepared by boiling and expressing the ju ice , which is

poisonou s the sediment which remains after pouring ofl‘ the water, isthe tap ioca of the shops.Patagonia is a region cold and inhospitable , consisting for the mostpart of open deserts and savannas, yielding nothing buta few willowso n the rivers , withou t a single tree or shrub adapted for any mechan ical pu rposes. Cayenne or French Gu iana , celebrated for its pepper,( cap s icum armu um) affords little interest, though sugar, maize , cassia,Indian corn, and several kinds of fru its are there to be fou nd . Ama

zonia be ing little know n and still u ncivilized, nothing can be said ofit, except that it produ ces corn, grain, all kinds of tropical fru its, andgreat qu antities of wild honey, butto what purpose or advantage theseare converted remains yetto be ascertained.S urinam, though fertile ln gene1al, is interse cted by deep marshes,

or swamps, and extensive heaths, and the u ncu ltivated parts are coveredwith fore sts, rocks, and mountains. Sugar and other vegetable prod uctions are to be fou nd, among whi ch the qu assz

'

a tree, or bitter

Koster’s Travels in Brazil, vol. 11. p . 175 .

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320

sweet ju ice. The Indians gathe r them and prepare them forkeepingby first sweating them on hu rdles over a gentle fire , then drying themin the su n , and afterwards storing them for provisions. The se vinesare more of a creeping than of a climbing n atqre , ex tending theirbranches horizontally toa considerable fru italmost tou ching the ground.

When Ferdinand de Soto invaded the Floridas in the middle ofthe sixte enth centu ry, the inhabitants were familiar with the u se of

the magu ey , and had even converted it into conserves. Ponce de Leon ,an adventu rer of a romantic an d chivalrous Spirit, was the first of the

many enthu siasts led to this region u nder the imaginary delusion thatin Florida there existed a fountain which had the power of restoringyou th and giving immortality to those who shou ld drink of it —a

notion qu ite in accordance with the su perstition of the times and the

visionary pu rsu its of the alchymists of the age . N o su ch fountain,howeve r, was discovered, many of those who attempted to find it,never retu rned ; hence it was inferred by the votaries of the day, thatthose persons had drunk of the immortalizing liqu or, and had

discovered a spot too delightfu l 'to‘

be abandoned through any

worldly or human consideration. That they had inebriating drinks

is certain ; but it w as beyond the range of intellect of the poorIndian to ever think of a liqu or that co u ld render him immortal.

Their inventions never went fu rther than the making of liqu ors fromindigenous fru it and grain. An acqu aintance with the. Spaniards,however, soon familiarized them with ,

E u ropean luxuries, and imparted

a taste for all exhilarating drinks . In the cou rse of time , this incli.

nation became so insuperable that the Spanish government, always

having a V leW to its own aggrandisement, encouraged distillation, andin the Floridas as Well as in the ne ighbou ring districts,drew from it

a cons iderable revenu e . B ut the manufactu re atbe st w as incensiderable whe n compared with the ove rflowing fertility of the cou ntry”a country deriving its name from the very appearance of the efliorq

e scence of its groves, hills , and valleys. And whe re natu re , is thu sbou ntifu l, to what advantages, u nder a liberal government, might nother gifts be turned. Nothing remarkable is rec oun ted as pe cu liar tothe natives different from those of the surrounding na tions ; the irfeasts, entertainments, and ceremonies be ing characterized by the sameu niformity that marks other American tribes, in a similar state of

u ncu ltivated natu re . Bartram ,in his Travels,* describe s an assembly

of natives which he witnessed atAttasse , e x hibiting a striking pictu re

Trav els through North and SouthCarolina , G eorgia , Florida, Sec. Sve , pp . 449,

5 0, 5 1. Also Adair's History of .the American Indians.

321

of the aboriginal Floridans. During the ceremony, two slaves entered

the place of entertainment, carrying a couple of very large conch-shellsfu ll of a sort of black beer. After variou s evolu tions and movements, each presented his shell, one to the king, and the o ther to thenext in rank, u tteringtwo nbtes extended as long as he cou ld withou t

b reathing, du ring which time from the king to the meanest individual

atthe ceremony, each continu ed dr inking. These two notes are of

such long and solemn du ration that a Spectator is stru ck with the aw ewhich they insp ire , sounding somewhat like a -koo-ry

'

a/z and a -la j ak,and resembling the hallelujah of a Christian assembly. This ceremon iou s mode of drinkingis continu ed as long as any of the

'

liqu orremains.

‘ At the close of the au tumn, the savages hold a solemn fast

in honou r of the first fru its, or n ew crops having arrived atmaturity;To render this the more dignified, they renew the ir clothing, hou sehold furn itu re , and cast away notc nly the old materials of this description , buteven the remaining grain, as well as the old provisions.These are u su ally gathered into a heap and bu rned. To render theceremony still more imposing, they fast for three days, take medicine ,and putoutall the fires in the ir v illages, abstaining from the gratifi.

cation of every appet ite and passion . At this period, a general

amnesty is pro claimed, and even the captive is su ffered to retu rnu nmolested and rejo icing to his home . On the morning of the fourth

day,the su n illumines a scene of a very different description : Intox i

cating beverages flowing in torrents, are accompan ied for three daysby all the concomitant excesses which u ndu e indulgence in everygratification produ ces.

From a close observance of the manners and cu stoms of the inha

bitants of the N ew World, and contrasting them with those of the

Old, a striking similarity in some instances appears . An attempt to

account for this wou ld be fore ign to the design of this work ; but it

may n otbe irrelevant to observe , that many are of Opinion that theAmerican continent w as peopled by adventurers from Africa, Asia,or E u rope . A very plau sible conj e ctu re is, that the posterity ofJaphetdiverged eastward and westward throughou t the whole extent

of Asia, so that those who arrived at the Pacific Oce an may havepassed to America by the w ay of B e ering

’

s Straits . Those who

came to the Atlantic shores may have crossed to thi s continent in thedire ction of Newfou ndland ; and o thers coasting along Africa may

have be en driven to Brazil or the We st India islands by chance ,through se verity of weather or a deficiency in the knowledge of navi

gation . The description given by the Mexicans of the ir forefathers,is a proof of this hypothesis, since they are described as having come

Y

322

from the north-west , and agre e ing in the ir characteristics w ith the

A siatic wandering Tartars. This op i n1ou is strengthened by there cen t discoveries of Baron Humboldt and other scientific men and

it is almost certain that America w as known to the Phoenicians.

Count Rochen start, the Ru ssian trave ller, during ~his residence at

Mexico, writing to the Cou nt D e L egarde , says, that gu ided by thelearned observations of the Baron, he w as enabled to procu re sepu l

chral monuments of these people , which prove beyond a doubt thefact of this matter . It is, however, to be regre tted, tha t: when the

Cou nt w as on his passage to E u rope , these pre ciou s fragments of

antiqu ity, with a rare colle ction of n atu ral and artificial cu riosities,were thrown overboard by a band of pirates who attacked and

plundered the vessel.

Portu gu ese writers allege that when they discovered in Tercera,one of the Azore islands, an e qu estrian statue , made from a slabo f stone , w asfou nd, bearing an

'

inscription on a rock beneath. . The

head of the man . w as bare , his left hand rested on the mane of his

horse, and his right hand po inted towards'

the west, as indicating thesitu ation of another continent . If this be tru e , it evidently goe s toprove that the N ew World mu st have been known to the inhabitants

of:the Old.A s it is well au thenticated by Pliny* and others, that the Phoen i

e iau s frequ ently made voyage s through the R ed Sea, doubling theCape of Good H ope , and coming home by the Straits of Gibralter,'shere is no improbability of one of the se vessels having been driven

westward and having arrived at last in America . O ne of thesevessels , it is said, w as driven to an island very far west, (perhaps thesame asPlato ’

sAtlantis) larger than Asia and Africa toge ther, havinga fru itful soil and navigable rivers and that through the Phoenicians,the Carthaginians came to the knowledge of it, in which n ew region ,says D iodoru s Sicu lu s, the Carthaginians wou ld notpermit any o thernation to settle , but reserved it for themselves, that if ever they shou ld

be driven from the ir n ative soil, they might have an asyulm. Z E lian

says, Silenu s asserte d that there w as an extensive continent be yond

E u rope , Asia, and Africa, from which it ha s been inferred that the

inhabitants of the Old World had some faint knowledge of the N ew .

Another circumstance , which gives additional strength to this reason

ing, is, that Professor Seyfl'

arth, of L e ipsic, m 1827, fou nd among the

learned and cm iou s repositories atRome , a Mexican manu script in

hieroglyphics, marked with the Mexican zodiac, from which it was

Pliny’

s Nat. Hist. L . 11. s. 67.

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324

Humboldt observes, that the half civilized people metwith m 15 37,by the conqu eror Qu eseda , were clothed ln cotton garments, and had

the most intimate relation with the people of Japan . Colonel Galindois decidedly of opinion that the

‘

M ayscas or Maya langu age w as

derived.

from the Japanese , and that the bu ilders of the city of Palen-i

qu e mu st have dated the ir antiqu ity ata period long anterior to thatof Mexico , and their civilisation mu st have su rpassed that of the Pe ru

vians. In fact, Palenqu e i s, in its historical 1mp01tance, considered the“

Thebes of America.

A circu s and several stone pyramids in the valley of Copon , inHondu ras, are rather more celebrated than the ru ins of Palenqu e ,or those formed nearO cosmgo, in the same part of this continent,and

bespeak a high state of civilisation .

Other testimonials have been fou nd, intimating that the inhabitantsof the old world had early visited America . A circumstance related

i n the Universal Gazette of Bogota for 1832, is worthy of notice .

A planter discovered a tumu lary stone n ear the village of Dolores,abou t two leagu es from Monte Video , covered with un knowncharacters. O f. removing this stone , he fou nd a vau lt of brick-workcontaining antiqu e swords, a helmet, and buckler, m

”

u ch worn with .

l u st, and an e arthen amphora of large dimensions. The followingwords in G1e ek characters were deciphered : Alexander son of

Philip , w as king of Macedon, abou t the sixty-third Olympiad— In‘

these places P tolemy’— O u the hilt of the sword w as an engravedportrait, which appeared to be that ofAlexander ; and on the helme t,chased work representing Achilles dragging the dead body of He ctorround the walls of Troy . M om this it has been inferred that Braz ilw as explored by a con temporary of Aristotle , and that itis probablethat Ptolemy, the celebrated commander of

'

Alex ander’s fleet, driven

by tempests into what the ancients called the GreatO cean,w as caston the shore of the n ew continent, and hadmarked the event by theerection of this monument .During an expedition to the west of Montreal, u ndertaken by someFrench trave llers, pillars of stone were fou nd ata distance

'

of 900

miles from that capital, of great magnificence , and manifestly of

human stru ctu re , butof whi ch the natives had n o tradition n or didthey exhibit

"

any marks relative to the ir origin or pu rport. O ne

stone , however, w as discovered having another set in it bearing aninscription in u nknown characters, whi ch w as afterwards sent toFrance to be deposited in the Royal Mu seum. The country m

which thesepillars were discovered hadthe appearance of having been

32 5

once the seat of civilisation, still retaining the v est1ges of agricu ltu ral

labou r ."s'

From the preceding facts and observations, as well as the high

state of civilisation fou nd in Mexico and Peru , when first v isited bythe Spaniards, it is evident that the inhabitants were descended from

a superior race of people ; and that the knowledge ofmalting, brew

ing, and fermenting, so well known to those two nations in par

ticular, indicates an origin from a cou ntry in which these were

pe rfectly familiar.

In the Unite d States, the distillation of spirits is a manu factu re of

considerable importance . It was practised, though ru dely, by some

of the early settlers, and has continu ed to increase in proportion to

the progress of agriculture . The resou rces of the cou ntry are great,and, as fu e l is plen tiful, there is scarcely any che ck to the efforts of

the indu striou s in this branch of trade . In a table of the Addenda

will be fou nd a summary of the distilleries and breweries e x isting in

the United State s, the on ly colle cte d view that cou ld be obtain ed.

This return wasmade by the marshals ofthe di stricts, and bythe Se cre

taries of the territories but it is thought to fall considerably short ofthe actu al number of stills and gallons of sp rits ,

‘ The valu eo f the whole di stilled and fermented liquors of the States, in 1810,w as said to amount to dollars ; and if its increase havekept pace with the popu lation, the amou nt mu st now be prodigiou s.IVIr. Seybe rt, in his Statistical Annals of the States, published inP hiladelphia, in 1818, says tha t the number of .the distilleries wasabout To encou rage these and the brewing e stablishments,as well as the making of wine , government has made su ch salutary

regulations, as canno t fail to render them of great service to theagricu ltural interests ofthe coun try. The restriction on home-manufacture is comparatively trifling, and has been compu ted to amou nt

,to little more, throughou t all the States, than abou t one cent or

scarcely ap enny per gallon, while on allbeer, nle , ,and porter, importedin bottles, a du ty is imposed of fifteen cents, or if imported other,wise than in bottles , often ce nts per gallon and on spirits from gra in ,first proof, forty-two ; se con d , forty-fiv e ; third, forty-eight ; fou rth,fifty

-tw o fifth, sixty ; and on all above the fifth proof se venty-five cents

per gallon . If the Spirits shou ld be mad e from any other materialsthan grain, the du ty on the first and second proof is thirty-e ight

cents ; on the third, forty-two on the fo urth, forty-e ight on the fifth,

Vide Kalm and Carver’s Travels through North America.

326

fifty-s even ; and upon all above that number, seventy cents per gallon.

O n wines imported from Madeira, on Burgundy, Champagne ,R henish, and Tokay, one hundred cents ; and on She rry and St.

Lu car wines, sixty cents. On wines notenumerated abo ve , when

imported in bottles or cases, seventy cents. L isbon, Oporto , ando ther wines of Portugal and Sicily, fifty cents. O n the wines of

T en erifi’e , Fayal, and other western islands, forty cents ; and on

difl'erent kinds not imported in cases and bottles, twenty-fiv e cents

per gallon. The fore ign spirits imported into America are cou si

derable . It appears by the pu blic retu rn s, that in the year 1790,gallons were imported ; and in 1792 , gallons ;

while in the latter year, gallon s of spirits, the produ ce ofthe

United States, were exported . During the years 1806 and 1807,

gallons a year were imported. The imports"

from variou s

parts of the world were, at a medium, du ring the same years, for

Wine ga llons while those of rum from the United Kingdom

of Great Britain and Ireland, amounted to proofgallon s in the

period of fiv e years, from 1826 to 1830, both inclusive .

*

The Americans export Spirits to Manilla, the Philippine islands,and other parts of the E ast Indies to the Floridas, Honduras, C am

peachy, and the Mosqu ito shore also to the Spanish West Indies,to their colonies, and even to China. In 1812, gallons

of whiskey, besides wine and geneva, were sent to those places.

Large importations of w ine are made from M adeira'

in return forother merchandi se. The wine is pu rchased at about160 dollars a

pipe, and What. is notconsumed in the States is carried to the E astand West Indies.The immense number of navigable lakes an d rivers which interse ct

this vast continent, afi'

ords great facility for the transportation ofspirits, and the interchange of commodities between the different

States . In the course of e leven months, terminating on the lstJu ly,1811, among other articles , barre ls of whiskey were sent downthe Shenandoah and Potomac rivers ; whilst the spirits made at

Brownsville, near Pittsbu rg, are in su ch repu te that they are fre

qu ently sent to N ew Orleans, a distance of nearly miles. In

the year 1822, barrels of whiskey, value dollars,barrels of cider, valu e dollars, and barre ls of porter,value dollars, were sent from the Western States for consumPa

Vide Parliamentary Papers.

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328

as it is well known that to evade enactments of this nature, perj ury

is u nfortunately too seldom '

considered a crime and certainly a

low duty, su ch as that detailed, is less calculated to indu ce persons to

swerve from the strict path of rectitu de , than when the du ties are

high and oppressive .

‘

The distilleries, for the most part, are condu cted on a small scaleand, as might be expe cted when the trade is comm itted to a vastnumber of people of opposite interests, a great deal of competition

as well as of ignorance prevails . Breweries not be ing generally

established," '

the want of barm has not failed to produ ce great

inconvenience ; and the distillers in many of the principal towns,as well as in the most remote parts of the Union, are obliged tohave recou rse to variou s deleteriou s substitu tes, for the fermentationof the ir wash. Hence , combined with a want of du e attention

to the attenuation of the ir pot-ale , arises that ardent qu ality whichrenders the ir whiskey in many instances disagreeable to fore igners.Great improvements, however, are sa id to have taken place ; and

the ir peach-brandy, which is now made in abu ndance , is allowed,when matured by age , to be one of the most exqu isite spirits in theworld yet, in making it, the peaches are su ffered, in some instance s,to remain in the vat, till they are in su ch a state of pu trefaction as to

be offensive-

.T Fifteen bushels are allowed to yield abou t six gallons

of strong brandy. In preparing them for the fermenting tuns, theseeds are carefully taken out,

‘

and the'

su bstance of the peach 1s bru ised

to a pu lp and leftfor three weeks or amonth 111that state to ferment ;a proper allowance of water is then added, and the y are distilled.Peaches are abundant 1n most of the States ; atPhiladelphia, therew ere baskets of them '

at ' one market; and they sold for 12 cents

(6d .) per bu she l ! The price'

atthe same‘

time in N ew York, w as

abou t one dollar a bushel —a single orchard has' been known toprodu ce bushels.

Brandy is‘manufactu red in America from variou s fru its ; and from

the persimon apple a valuable spirit is made by pu tting a quantity ofthe fru it into a

.

vessel for a week u ntil it becomes qu ite soft . Water

is then poured.

m and left for ferme ntation, withou t the addition of

any other ingredi ent to promote it. The brandy is then made in thecommon way, and it is said tobe much improved When mix ed with

sweet grapes that are found wild 1n the w oods.

Cox ’

s View ofthe Un ited States , p . 176.

'

l' The peach tree on the river O hio comes tomaturity in three years. Mellish.

p . 343.

329

An other kind of palatable liquor is procu red from this apple . The

ripe fru i t is bruise d and mixed with wheat or o ther flou r, and formed

into cakes which are baked in an oven . These are afterwards placed'

over the fire in a potfull of wate r, and when they be come blendedwith the flu id, malt is added , and the brewing completed in the usual

,manner thu s is produ ced a beer preferable to most others.

In all the States, applesa re abu ndant, particularly'

in N ew E ngland

and New York, and therefore cider is the common drink of the inha

b itants. In a fru itfu l year, apples are so plentifu l as to be given towhoever will take the trou ble to gather them . Vast quantitiesare also consumed by cattle and swine . The cider, when well

made , is of exce llent qu ality, and the least ju icy apples afi'

ord the bestliqu or. A barre l of cider sells from abou t on e and a half to threedollars. A field conta ining a thousand trees is notu ncommon, and a

single tree has been known to prod uce six barrels of . cider in on e

season, -a circumstance the more extraordinary when it tak es,

thre ebarrels of apples to make on e of cider. Mr . Stu art, a late writer,says that mu ch cider is made from the crab-apple, which is worth

abou t six -pence per bu shel but that a considerable qu antity of

engrafted fru it is usu ally mixed with it. This-liqu or, he adds, is forthe most part generally in ferior to E nglish cider. The Shakers, a

re ligious se ct, have two establishments in the State of N ew .York, atwhich they manu facture cider of an excellent quality, ,

which sells so

high as ten dollars per barrel.

From the maple , which abou nds m Massachusetts, Vermont,Penn

sylvania, Rhode Island, Ohio, Tene ssee, North C arolina, and othe r

states, an'

ex tensive supply of sugar is ‘drawn . Of this tree, there arethree v arietiesf g hard, black, or,

rock maple ; white, silver, or middlemaple ; and soft, swamp, or red maple . Chemists have :prov ed that

the saccharine matter is abundantly diffused through the vege tablekingdom . Plants from which itis produ ce d are most numerou s inthe E ast and West Indies, and of these the maple

'

i s next in eminenceto the suga r-cane . Of the variou s kinds of this tree , the sugar-maple

and the silver maple (acer dasycarp um) , are themost produ ctive . To the Americans it has proved a source

‘

ofwealthand domestic luxu ry. : E ven in Germany, it is asserted that thosetree s will afford sugar equ al in quality to any Muscovado of our islands,and so cheap as 4d . or 5 d . per pound .1

'

The sugar-maple tre es grow to the he ight of from 80 to 120 fee t,and from 2 to 5 fee t in diameter. They putforth a beau tifu l white

Stuart’s T hree Years in the Un ited States , 2 vols. 8vo., vol. i.

“

p . 267.

1” Philosophical Magazine , vol. iii. p. 105 .

330

blossom in spring before they show a single leaf, and arrive at fullgrowth in abou t 20

‘

years . The wood is very strong and of a fin e

texture ; be ing very inflammable , it is n otemployed in bu ilding, butis u sed chiefly

-

for fu el . The mode of tapping the tree is by perforation withan ax e or auger. the latter

'

is the preferable instrument.

The incision be ing abou t three-fou rths of an inch in an ascendi ngd irection, isafterwards gradu ally deepened to two inches . A spou tmade of sumach or e lder is introdu ced abou t halfan inch into the hole ,and projects from 3to 12 inche s from the tree and 21

2» feet from the

ground. The sap flows from fourto six weeks, and in greater abu ndance where there is frost in the night and a thaw du ring the day, andin fact, does notflow atall withou t frost. There are three modes ofconverting the sap into sugar, v iz ., e vaporation , freezing, and boling,the last of whi ch is the most general and rapid . Farmers have no

betterapparatu s for condu cting the process, than on e or tw o small ironkettles , and with these they will make 200 or 3001bs. of su gar in thespace of a fortnight or three weeks. Others, however, carry on themanufactu re more scientifically, on an extensive scale . Forthe colle ctionof sugar from the maple tree atthe time when the frosts are breakingup in the Ohio and other States, whole families from ne ighbou ring

villages and towns resort to those woods where the trees abou nd . H ere

they pitch the ir tents, and the rende zvou s is called a sugar-camp . The reis no means employed butthat of redu cing down the sap,

by bo iling

from its limpid state to a pu lpy or inspissated consistence , and, whilecooling, it is stirred a little with astick in order to granu late morereadily until converted into sugar; There are several modes bywhich it is graned by the French se ttlers,who make

'

it‘ into a hard

substance s Those practised in the West Indies are probably the best.

The grane of this sugar is sometimes as large and as fine as tha t of

the best Mu scovado . The sap of this tree is a very pleasant drink ,and the siru p is by many preferred to honey . A single maple willprodu ce in the season from 8 to l4lbs. of sugar, and one family has

been known to colle ct from 9 to 20 cwt . in a good year . O n e hundredtrees tapped in April with the attention of one man for fifteen days,have been known to yield l l2lbs.

'

of sugar, 10 gallons of mo lasses,and 1 barre l of vinegar. The trees, when properly heated, do not

suffer by this exu dation, and when the sap has ceasedtoflow froin theincisions, plugs of wood are introdu ced into the au ger-hole s, which

in the cou rse of two or three years are covered with them . The

maple is a hardy tree , and found to grow well in the cold climate of

Canada. Ithas been suggested that it might thrive in GreatBrita in

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'

332

. rapidly ’

increasing, particularly in'

Lou isiana and'

Georgia'

. Caneplantations are extending as far as 15 0 miles north of N ew Orleans,along the banks of the Mississippi. Though the cane does notsu cce ed

every year, yetthe profit of one good season is a sufi cientremu n eration for several indifferent crops. The canes are generally cut in

N ovember and De cember, and the sugar is immediately pressed outby rollers.

The maple sugar has arrived to that importance that it forms an

article of export in on e year this export amounted to dollars.This article is in su ch demand athome, and so cheap', that

‘ it a lwaysmee ts a ready sale .

The sap ofthe hickory becomes a fine white sugar merely by drying,and is, in its native state , a very pu re and sweet sirup . The j u ice of

the beech and birch, when fermented, affords a good liqu or resemblingbeer . Indian corn, which is nearly the staple grain of allthe States,affords a never varying supply of material for distillation . This gra inrising to the he ight of from 7 to 12 fe et, i s well calculated for a climate

’Where there is little rain in the summer, as from the pe cu liar constru etion of its leaves it has the power of re taining in the interstices a qu antity of dew or rain for its nu rtu re . Although Indian corn (z ea M ays)is more produ ctive than any other kind of grain, yetit,

often su ffers incommon with other vegetable produ ctions from the variou s changes

'

of

the seasons ; but in particu lar from the ravages of squ irrels. Whenthe common food of the squ irrel, su ch as nuts, masts, & c .. fails in the irnative forests, those animals, congregated in legions, leave the ir

wonted hau nts, and spreading in every direction , devastate wholeplantations of Indian corn . So num erou s, destru ctive, and greedy,are those mischievou s little creatures, that sometimes three or four

of them have been seen on the same stalk contending for the ears.

The farmers u nite for their d estru ction and it is said tha t in one

week upwards of 20,000 have fa llen v ibtims to their vengeance .

The vine is fou nd in America both indigenous and exotic. Its

abundance in the wild state indu ced one of its earliest discoverers,according to Ice landic records, to give it the name of Vinland , in theyear 1001, after which dried grapes or raisins be came an article ofexport from that country to Norway. The frui t of the vine , in the

northern parts of America, is of a diminutive sizef In C anadafthegrapes are very small, and although E llis, in his voyage , tells u s thatgrapes grew . spontaneou sly abou t Hudson’s B ay, yet1 cannot agre ewith him, that the .fru it

_

was equ al to the currants of the'

L evant,owing to the coldness of the climate , and the stunted growth of theplant. The French settlers in the Illinois territory, have tu rned the

333

wild grape to some accou nt and finding itgrowing there in lux uri

antlywild abundance , have made from it considerable quantitie s of. .

excellent wine , which they dispose of to the ne ighbou ring settlers.

Hu nter, in his Memo irs, says, when speaking of the Missou ri and

Arkanzas country, that the grape vines produ cing black, red, flesh

and white-coloured fru it, are to be metwith in astonishing qu antitiesin the hollows of prairies, the natural resu lts when this plant is

exposed to a free circu lation of air and the dire ct rays of the sun ,

bo th of whi ch it enjoys in the open prairies. H e saw hundreds ,nay thou sands of acres, covered with the vines, and loaded with themost deliciou s grapes. And were it notfor the w ild an imals, whichmake paths in order to feed on the fruit, it would be impossible topass throu gh the thi ckly intertwined branches. In parts ofthe cou ntrybordering on the Osage river, the crab-apple , plum, and wild cherry

tree abou nd, which serve as supporters to the vine , whose branches

are so thi ckly interwoven asto exclude the su n’s rays from the ground

beneath.

The vine of late years has been mu ch cultivated among the

Americans. In 1805 , a company of emigrants, from the Pays ,de

Vau d, se ttled atN ew Switzerland, in Indiana, with a view of culti

v ating the vine an d formed an establishment there , extending about,

seven miles along the Ohio . The vineyards are now very extensive ,and the settlement is in a prosperou s state . In 1810, the crop of thatdistrict exceeded gallons and in 1811, u pwards of

gallons. The wine w as allowed by correct.

judges to be nowise inferior to the claret of Bou rdeau x. Vine s have be en also su ccessfullycu ltivated in some parts of Pennsylvania, and excellent wine made of

them .

"r Many sorts of fore ign grapes grow luxu riantly in N ew E ng-

b

land, and yie ld excellent fru it. The most delicate requ ire to be

covered du ring the winter -the pu rple Made ira grapes bear thewinter very well. The grapes that have su cceeded best are thosefrom the Cape of Good Hope and the Island of Madeira . Those of

the cou ntry yield wine of tolerably good qu ality, and from them, in

1810, there were produ ced 96 barrels, valu ed at dollars. These.

successe s joined to other considerations, have given rise to the be liefthat America , in a few years, will be completely independent of France,as well as of the other E uropean States, in the article of wine .

The severity of the winters in America, is, in Mr . Cooper’

s.

opinion, no obje ction to the su ccessful cu ltivation of the vine ; for, in

I

Neilson ’

s Recollections of six years’

Residence in the United‘ Statcs, 8ro .

‘

1830, p . 174.

334

a country which e x tends from the 27th to the 47th degree of latitude,i t is scarcely possible to suppose that the vine cannot flo urish The

grape thataffords good wine is rarely fit to be eaten hence Mr. Coopersays, that had the Americans patience to try the experiment,the com a

mon little fox a

grape wou ld in time afford a fine Wine . This grapegreatly resembles that of the be st vineyards of Switzerland, and the

fact of its not be ing a good eating grape is altogether in its favou r.This writer is of opinion, that to a fat

'

soil, shou ld be prefered agravelly hill side , well broken up with a good exposure to the su n ,

for the‘

site an d produ ce of a good vineyard, which might be easilyfound in any of the middle '

states of the Union.* The fo x -grape ,(v itis v ulp in um) is remarkable for the large size of its v ine , which,in many places, climbs to the tops of the highest trees, and takes su ch

fu ll possession of them , that , after the fall of the leaf, the tree to

which it is attached seems to be loaded with its fru it. The vine at

the bottom , is commonly six or e ight inches in diameter ; and instanceshave been fou nd of its measuring thirty-seven inches in circumferencenear the grou nd, The fru it is very good after the frosts havecommence d.

In some of the plantations, brandy is made from the lees of the

wine butthe apparatu s is often ill adapted to the pu rpose . It may

be observed,in general, tha t in the manu factu re of spirits, the

Americans seldom practise that cleanliness and cau tion in brewing,fermenting, and distilling, which, in other countries, are

'

so essential toflavou r and qu ality. They ferment the wash, in many instances, on

the grain, and putthe mixed mass into the still—a practice ca lculated

to give the Spirits a strong empyreumatical flavou r, as no machineryis u sed:

The error of mixing extraneou s ingredients with the proper mate »

rials is very prevalent ; among those is salt, whi ch in Indiana is u sed

in great qu antities. This cu stom prevailed a long time in Great

B ritain and Ireland ; and in the highlands of Scotland, it is.

in someplaces observed to this day. The affinity which salt possesses for the

watery particle s ofthe material in the still, may, perhaps, render itusefu l, butit is atpresent rej ected by the great body of the distillers

of E u rope .

The rums of N ew E ngland are considered of good qu ality, andsome de em them notinferior to the best that are produced in the WestInd ies. In 1810, they distilled in this State gallons of rum ;

from grain, gallons ; from cider, gallons, while the

Cooper’

s Residence in France .

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336"

which is one of the principal reasons why honey is notcollected to ]

any extent in that settlement . In many parts of the States, be es are .

partial to the rich low grou nds commonly called bottoms , from the irabou nding in a variety of plants , shrubs , an d flowers ; among whichthe P olygonum scandens (wild bu ck-whea t) is pe cu liarly attractive .

In the enumeration of the variou s kinds of drink common in .

M erica, it wou ld be u npardonable to omit noticing the BallstonWaters, in the State

'

of N ew York, whi ch possess qualities highlye xhilarating, sometimes producing vertigo , thathas been followed by

inebriety and drowsiness. These wate rs are considered by thefarmers of the ne ighbouring districts as an excellent beverage , andare sent for ata distance of from 6 to 10 miles for refreshmentto the

'

labourers du ring thehay-making and harvest ; thu s supersedirig, in a

grea t measu re, the use o f any kind of arden t spiritsfi‘ The prope r

ties of the Saratoga water, situ ated seven miles from,that of Ballston,

are of the most remarkable natu re , and the qu antity ofgas it containsis su ch, that a very nice sort of breakfast-bread is baked from it :

instead of yeast.To entitle pe rsons to retail wine and spiritu ou s liqu ors, they are

“

obliged to take ou t a license atthe following rates, v iz

Retailers of wine and spirits, inclu ding merchandise, 25 dollars.

Wines o o o o o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20

Spirits 20

D omeSt Spirits, o o o t o ."

Merchandise , other thanwine and 15

B utin all places in which the population does n otexceed one hu n-bdred families to the square mile

Retailers '

of wine ahd spirits, including merchandise , 15 dollars .

Wine and 15

Spirits 12

Domestic 10

Merchandise , o ther than wine and spirits, .'10

These licenses are generally obtained from the mayor or

‘

chief

magistrate of a city or town . In N ew York , both whole sale and

retail wine and spirit dealers are termed grocers, and the ir'premises are

labe lled with the words grocery stores . The small retail shops, commou ly called “grog shop s, are for the most part atcorners of streets,and the proprietors are chiefly Irishmen . The principal article forcon sumption

'

is Yankee , or N ew E ngland rum . The price variesaccording to the qu ality from 2d. to 6d. the glass ; and it is rarelydrunk othe rwise than with cold water. Any infringement on the

'.D wight

'

s Travels in New England and New Y01k, vol._ iii . p . 399.

337

regulations by which licenses are gov erned is v isited by difl'erentdegrees of punishment . All spirits brought into the city of N ew

York from the cou ntry are inspected on the ir arrival, as also the

spirits made in the city, by oflicers appointed for the pu rpose . O ne

is called Inspe ctor General of domestic spirits, with fiv e o thers whoactu nder him . In Connecticu t, persons selling spirits withou t licenseforfe it 10 dollars for the first ofl‘en ce , 20 for the se cond, 40 for thethird , and so on in proportion .

The following is a pretty corre ct view of the rates atwhich thedifferent kinds of liqu ors are 1

sold iii the United States

Brandy from l l dollars (5 s. 8d .) to 2 dollars (9s.) per gallon .

Ho lland Gin, I i do . 2 do . do .

Jamaica rum , 1 do . (4s. 6d .) 15. do . (5 s. 8d .) do .

N ew’

E ngland rum and whiskey, 33cents (1s . 3d . or l s.

6d .) to 5 0 cents (2 5 . 3d .) doMade ira wine , 12 to 18 dollars . dozen .Clare t, 3to 15 do do .

TableBottled beer, -d . do .

Common ale , 5 5 d. do .

Best ale , . .7d . do .

do .

Cider 11s . 3d. per bar.

From the cheapness with which spirits can be procured in theUnited States, averaging scarce ly more than 38 cents the gallon, the

people indulge themselvesto excess, and run into allthe extravagancies

o f in ebriety. Notwithstanding this rou nd charge against the Americans,it wou ld be do ing them inj u stice n otto state that the beastly slave tohabitu al intoxication is n ota common character among them , although it

is admitted that there is a greater consumption of liqu or in the States in

proportionto the popu lation ,than in any other qu arter ofthe knownworld.

H ow this happens it is d ifficu lt to de termine some attribu ting it to

one cau se an d some to another. That it is a great evil all admit, and

it can only be accou nted for from a combination of circumstances

whi ch rarely o ccu r in o ther places. The influx of em igrants, the ir .

lack of acqu aintance , want of employm ent, habits of former living,n ew associations, excessive heat in summer, and cold in winter, alike

conspire to work on the frailties of human nature , and to redu ce indi

v iduals to this debasement of character . Inde ed, when the moralhabits be come once depraved , i t is diflicultto restore the mind to thee xercise of religiou s pu rsu its .

338

From the reports of several societies to the government on thegrowing evils of intox ication , itwas fou nd necessary that some activeand de termined measu res shou ld be taken ; and in order to

'

che ck this

banefu l vice , the American legislatu re , in 182 1, wisely enacted a law

which places the concerns and property of habitu al drunkards in thehands of a committee appo inted by the Cou rt of Chancery, thu s e x

tending to them the j urisdiction exercised by the court with regard tothe estates of lunatics .

So great w as the consumption of spirits, that in New York, there

were notless than 1600 spirit se llers ; a nd throughou t the whole of

the Union , the number of dram-shops exceeded that among u s in a

tenfold proportion . O ne -te nth of the entire popu lation of the States

resides in that city, which, it is said, consumed spirits to the amoun tof three millions of dollars and allowing for the remaining nine -tenths

a consumption in the same ratio , the money squandered in this waywou ld amou nt to six millions of dollars.

.

B y a report of the trustees of the alm s-hou se for the city and

cou nty of Baltimore in 1827, it appears that of 623adults, admittedinto that asylum du ring the year ending April, 1826, it w as positivelyascertained that 5 5 4 of tha t number had been placed thereflom the

necessitou s circumstances to which they were redu ced by excessivedru nkenne ss. No wonder that so awful and calamitou s a state wou ldawait su ch a number of individua ls, when w e find that even boysacqu ire the habits of drinking mu ch earlier than they do in E u rope .

N otonly to the cau se s enumerated as laying the fou ndation of su chviciou s propensities, butto the practice of smoking may be attribu teda great deal of this weakness. It is no u ncommon thing to se e a boyof 12 or 14 years old, with a cigar in his mou th, walk into a tavern inthe forenoon to take a glass of brandy and bitters to qu ench thatthirst which the free u se of tobacco always occasions ; and it is wellknown that habits , when early contracted, become in some measureconstitu tional . A bad practice also prevails in America of breakfasting very early, which creates a desire for food in the middle of the day,atwhich time a glass or two of ardent spirits is taken, and hence theexcitement which this cu stom has e stablished, was kept up during theday. And w e find that at taverns it was common to see a tub of

water,with a ladle in it, pla ced constantly on the cou nter, from which

every man that comes in, helps himse lf, while a decanter of spirits is

given to take outof it wha t quantity he may think proper, it be ing

considered that water taken withou t su ch mixture was dangerou s.

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40"

of those societies, that in the close of 1829, there had been formed

more than Temperance Societies, upwards of 5 0 distilleriess topped, above 400 merchants re linqu ished the sale of spirits, and

u pwards of drunkards had been reformed. The crew of the

‘United States sloop of w ar (Falmou th) , w as amongst the first of theseamen that shewed an example of abstinence , 70 of them having

resolved to abstain from spirits, while be tween 40 and 5 0 of the crew

of the Brandywine frigate followed the example . In 1824, theimported spirits amou nted to gallons, while in 1830 they

amoun ted only to shewing a difference in the consumption’

of gallons in the cou rse of six years, which is mainly attri~

butable to the influ ence of these societies. Be tween the lstJanuary,1830, and 1stJanu ary, 1831, on e hu ndred an d fifty vessels sailed from

the port of Boston withou t carrying ardent spirits..O u the 1stM ay

1831, the number of Temperance Socie ties had increased toand that of the members to giving an addition ofmembers, being members, and socie ties increased in thespace of tw o years.

From the ir influence , and the state of public opinion , it w as com

puted that more had formed the resolu tion of n ot u sing

strong liqu ors, n or fu rnishing them for the u se of o thers . O n e thou

sand distillerieshad be en stopped, and the u se of ardent spirits excludedfrom more than on e hu ndred pu blic-hou ses. The following year theSocie ty extended its efforts by a promulgation of its principles throughall parts of the States, Canada, N ew Brunswick, and N ova Scotia,Mexico, all E urope , Palestine , an d the Sandwich I

Islands. In 1832 ,the clergy endeavou red to exclude dru nkards from the communiontable , and preached strongly against the u se of intoxi cating liqu ors,which w as a powerful au xiliary to this work of sobriety. In 1831,fifty thou sand members were added to the Temperance Society ofthe State of New York, and it w as compu ted that in tha t year,

people of the State s abstained from the u se of ardent spirits,and from furnishing them to others. There were then Tem

perance Societies, embracing members distilleries hadstopped, merchants gave up the spirit bu siness, and drunkards were reformed . To aid these moral efforts, the Adju dant Generalissu ed an order prohibiting the distribu tion of spirits amongst thearmy, and substitu ting 8lbs. of sugar, and 4lbs. of coffee for eve ry 100

rations as an equivalent for the spirits formerly in u se . The sameorder prohibited the introdu ction of spirits, into any fort, camp , or

garrison of the Union, and the selling of them to the troops . In 1833,

341

a C ongregational Temp erance meeting, was held atWashington , atwhich the Secretary atWar, Mr. L ew is Cass, presided, when it w asde clared that The liberty and we lfare of the nation are intimately

and indissolubly connected with the morals and virtu es of the people ;and that in the enactment of laws for the common benefit, it is equ ally

the du ty of the legislative body to gu ard and preserve the public

morals from corruption, as to advance the pe cu niary interest, or to

maintain the civil rights and freedom ofthe commu nity.”— In tha t year,the American Temperance Socie ty contained of members

out of a popu lation of of'

which were slaves,consequ ently every third man in the cou ntry w as engaged in the

suppression of intemperance . In 1834, the number of Temperance

Societies had increased to while the same number of me rchan tshad ceased to se ll ardent spirits, and vesse ls belonging to~ the

States were perf orming the ir voyages W ithou t them . Even on boardthe steamers, through the influ ence of these socie ties, the practice of

giving brandy to the passenge rs has been discontinu ed, and a regula

tion, somewhat similar, has been introdu ced into many .of the public

hou ses, now almost wholly frequ ented by travellers, notto sell wineor liqu or of any de scription except to boarders .

A s a further indu cement to Temperance , the Boston Insurance

Company agre ed to re tu rn 5 per cent . on the premium of every

vesse l navigated withou t spiritu ou s liqu ors, and su ch general encon

ragementto abstinence continu es to be gi ven, that the socie ties are

progre ssing with vigou r and efficiency .

It mu st be admitted that few cou ntries requ ired a greater regene

ration in po int of sobrie ty, and i t is mu ch to the ir credit that theyhave as yet surpassed all other nations, who have

‘ followed the irexample in this work of reformation .

The proximity of Canada to the United States, has rendered the

propensities of drinking famili ar and habitu al to many of the inhabi

tants, among whom the practice of manu factu ring liqu ors is pursu ed

nearly in the same manner, butthe trad e is n otequ ally extensive .

N umbers of distilleries are now to be fou nd bo th in Upper and L ower

Canada . The Canadian distilleries are mostly made of wood and

worked by steam . On the rive r Humber, seven miles from the cityof Toronto , a distillery has been e rected by Mr . Robson, w ith adescription and drawing o f which I have been favoured by a gentleman

lately resident in that country and the annexed engraving has beenexpressly exe cu ted for .this work.

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344

in a'

coun

'

try like Canada, ivhere wood is so plentiful, this inconvenienceis easily remedied.

The wash is u su ally made from rye , wheat, or Indian corn , with amixture of one -twentieth part of barley-malt, or one pound to the

bu she l of mixed grain : some u se more . This is gro und or cru shedin a mill, and then mashed with water ata heat from 15 8° toothers go so so high as 180° and 190° Fahrenhe it. The mashingcontinu es till the material is we llmixed , and the qu i cker the mashing,i t is considered the better. When mashed, a cover is immediately

puton the tub or tu bs, or kieves ; in order to preserve the heat asmu ch as possible . The mash is then allowed to remain, with an occasiou al stir of the rakes, for abou t two hou rs, u ntil the liqu id attainsits proper sweetness atthis stage , cold water is added to redu ce theheat to 60° or butmostly to 70° and when yeast is added.This yeast is home-made , in cou ntry pla ces in particular, but in thetowns it is u su ally procu red from brewers. The tubs or kieves are

aga in covered and allowed to stand u ntil comple tely fermented, whenthe operation of distilling commences. The grains and all are put

into the still .Brewing and distilling are generally carried on in the Canadas from

the beginning of October till M ay. E very person is atliberty to

distil as mu ch as he pleases on paying 3s . 9d . for the annu al registryor license of his still, besides 1s . 3d . per gallon on its contents ; yet

it is asserted that excess in the u se of spiritu ou s liqu ors is notcommon,particu larly in cou ntry places . Distillers are n otallowed to se ll in

qu antities less than three gallons withou t a license , which is obtainedfrom the clerk

'

of the cou rt of the district , and is termed “a store

license .

”For an offence against this regulation, a fine of from £ 5 to

15 2 5 , accordingto the cu lpability of the offender, is imposed, on thetestimony of a credible witness . The half of this fin e w as aton e time

given to the informer, butlatterly he ge ts nothing. Spirits thu smadeare commonly sold at from 1s . 8d . to 23. 6d ., H alifax cu rrency, or

abou t l s . 4d}? to s terling, per wine gallon. The spirits is

generally of an inferior strength .

N o du ty is charged on malt in the Can adas ; and the distillers have ,therefore , every encou ragement to make u se of it in what proportionthey may deem n ecessary for the produ ction of a good and palatable

spirit the ale made , from it is celebrated in the West. Indies .

H ops grow in abu ndance , but particu larly flour ish in the L ondonand We stern districts of Upper Canada . Besides this native su pply,quantities are brought from the States an d sold generally in bales at

from 11d . to 15 d . (H alifax currency)p er lb.

345’

‘

The Dutch settlers c ultivate apples to great extent, and makea corresponding qu antity of excellent cider, the climate be ingextremely favou rable to the growth of this fru it and that of melons.

Culinary vege tables arrive to great perfe ction, as we ll as most of theE u ropean fru its. Currants, gooseberries, and raspberries are veryfine ; the latter are indigenou s and fou nd every where . A sort of

native vine is also very common, bearing poor sour grapes n otmu ch

larger than currants. In almost every part of the cou ntry, are to befou nd tw o spe cies of the sugar-maple , on e is called the swamp-maple ,from its be ing fou nd in the savannahs or plains, the other is called

the mou ntain , or curled-maple , from its growing on hills or high drygrou nds and also from the grain of its wood be ing beau tifu lly variegated with stripes and cu rls. The swamp-maple yie lds more sap

than the mou ntain-maple , butaffords less sugar two or three gallons

of the on e produ cing as mu ch as six or seven gallons of the other. .

The maple jui ce is collected in the early part of the spring, which is

a laboriou s bus iness, as it is obtained from a vast number of trees

wide ly dispersed over a great space of grou nd, and the approach towhich is difficult in consequ ence of the snows. The process ofmaking

the sugar is nearly the same as in the States . The j u ice when boiled :

is thrown into vesse ls where it cools in the form and consistence of

cake s, and is sometimes mixed with flour, which renders it thick andheavy ; butthis is to augment the we ight and is considered ne cessary.It is seldom clarified , though in Upper Canada, it is often made verywhite and nearly equ al to le af sugar . These cakes of maple -sugarare so hard that they mu st be scraped down with a knife the better toenable them to dissolve in flu ids, and the flavou r strongly resemblesCanad ian horehou nd, besides which they are said to possess strongly

medicinal qualities.

"s A sampleofthe common maple-sugar given to me

by a settler, manu factured by himself, resembles the brown sugar of

Jamaica ; but is more strongly granulated, and witho u t any otherpe cu liar characteristic. A large qu antity of this sugar is annu ally

manu factured, but notto that extent which the cou ntry cou ld afford,owing to the

‘

cheapn ess of the article imported from the E ast and

West Indi es.

In the making of maple-sugar, in order to render it as white as

possible , it is cu stomary, after the molasse s has been partially dra ined

off from the tubs, to lay a piece of co tton cloth over the sugar and

apply a cake of rye dough, abou t one inch thick, which cau ses the

Lambert’

s Travels through Canada and the Un ited States, vol. i. p. 83.

346

dregs of the sugar to rise and adhere to'

the cloth, which mu st beo ccasionally removed and cleansed, u ntil the sugar has been fullypu rified .

R um might be manufactu red from the maple sugar, butthat liqu oris principally brou ght from the We st Indies. The great consumptiono f fore ign spirits lessens the demand for those d istilled in the

province , the French settlers preferring the imported article .

The following are the imports (in gallon s) of the different kindsof liqu ors atQu ebec, Montreal, Gaspe, and N ew Carlisle , for sevenyears

1832

44

66

17 99Y

86 ,60

In 1836, the_

follow ing were the prices of the several beveragesin consumption in the principal towns of Lower Canada

8. d . s. d.

Wine— Champagne per doz., from 0 65 O .to 0 72 0

Claret, do . 0 5 0 O'

0 66 0

Made ira, per 110 gallons, 5 0 O 0 80 0 0

Port, per 130 do . 40 0 0 70 O 0

Figu iera, per do . 2 5 O 0 O 0 0

Sicilian red, per 120gallons, 8 O O 10 O OShei i y, first qu ality, 130 25 0 0 60 0 0

Common , per gallon , O 3 6 0 3 6

Spanish l ed, first qu ality, 120 gals. 8 0 0 9 0 0

D o . common , do . 6‘

O 0 7 10 0

Te nerifi'

e , L . P. do 35 O 0 36 0 OCargo , do ; 12 10 O 15 O 0

Canadian strong beer per gallon, 0 l O O l 3‘

Table do . 0 9 6 0 O OBrandy— C ogn iac per gallon, 0 5

'

3 0 6 6

Bou rdeaux, do . 0 4 6 O 4 9

Spanish, do . 0 3 9 O 4 3

Canadian , do . 0 3 6 0 3 9

H ollands—Pale in casks, do . 0 4 6 0 O 0

NIontreal gin, do . 0 3 6 O 0 0

DO . Whiskey, do . 0 2 6 O 2

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348

Wines are manu factured fr0111the different fru its which are commonin the cou ntry. From frosted potatoes, the Canadians manu factm e

a good wine , especially if the potatoes are n otso mu ch frosted as tobecome soft and watery. They cru sh them to a pu lpy consistence ,and to each bu shel add ten gallons of water, which is first prepared bybo iling for on e half-hou r with é—lb. of heps and élb. of common gingThis mixture is thrown u pon the potatoes in a su itable vessel, and

allowed to stand for three days, after which a little yeast is added.

When the fermentation has ceased ,the liqu or is drawn off into a caskclear of the dregs, when inlb. of raw sugar is added to every gallonwhich the cask contains. H ere a partial fermentation takes place , andafter three months it is deemed fit for u se . Some add the sugar inthe first instance .

The distillers make whiskey from potatoes when inju red by frost,and allege that t hey produ ce a greater qu antity and a finer qu ality ofspirit than if they were u sed fresh the frost having more stronglydeve loped the saccharine principle . To promote the fermentation,abou t on e-fou rth of malt-wash is added ; care , however, should betaken to allow the malt-worts to ferment atleast six hou rs before thepotato-wash is added otherwise the potato -wash,which ru ns qu icklyinto fermentation, will be sooner ready for the still than the maltwash. H ence the effect wou ld be to gen erate an acid which wou ldrender the spirit coarse, and, when dilu ted with water, produ ce a

milky or blu ish colour , offensive both to the taste and to the eye .

The Canadas afford a su ffi cient supply of honey for the m anu fac

ture of mead, though W ild and notof first rate qu ality. In the hollows

of the trees in the woods, bees’ nests are abundant, butthese swee t

treasu res are u nsought for by any butthe bears. C hateau briand asserts,that bees are imports, n ot indigenou s, in the N ew World, and thatthey were emigrants with Columbu s. These pacific conqu erors,

”he

says, have robbed the flowers of the N ew World of su ch treasures

only as the natives knew notthe u se of, and these treasures they have

employed solely to enrich the so il f1om whence they derived them .

What a happy world if all invasions or conqu ests 1e sembled that ofthose children of the sky I

” On the contrary, Dr . Dwight affirms thatthe honey—bee is a native of America, since it w as fou nd in the forests

too early, and attoo great a distance from E uropean settlements, to

have been derived from importation .

Among the drinks of the Canadians, spru ce beer 15 in considerable1epute . The mode of making itis, by fi1stboiling the shoots, leaves,chips, and cones, of the black pine tree in water, to which highlydi 1cd rye , barley, 01 maize-meal is added. The mix tm e is then

349"

fermented by means of harm, but in order to overcome the resinou sflavou r of the fir, sugar, or molasses, is superadded . This liqu or, whichis fit for drinking on the second day, is of a fin e amber colou r it isdiure tic, wholesome , agreeable , and will ke ep for a length of timewithou t be coming acid, owing to the influ ence of the resinou s principle

of the fir . A more simple mode is practised in L ower Canada,namely,— The top branches of the spru ce tree are bo iled, and molasses

added to the liquid, and then fermented, after which it is commonly

bottled and fit for u se .

A s cou ntry taverns are numerou s, they are generally establishedon the public roads du ring the summer ; butin the winter, temporary

wooden establishments are ere cted on the rivers which are then frozen,and are the public thoro ughfare of travellers. Some times fatal acci

dents occu r by su dden thaws and' floods, b y which these floating

taverns are swept away with the ir inmates. The tru nks of trees are

sometime s scooped out and made convenient resting places, having

accommodations for trave llers ; they are so large as to admit of be ingmoulded into temporary dwellings. An inn of this kind w as made in

a sycamore growing on the banks of the Mohawk river, in One idaCounty. When cut down, it took 31 yoke of oxen to remove it,though denu ded of its branches. It formed a saloon, w as handsomely

furnished, and sufliciently capaciou s to contain upwards of forty

person s .

The num erou s hordes of savages who wander through the vastwoods and deserts of this great continent, u se , for the most part,beverages e ither made by themselves or fu rnished by their civilized

ne ighbou rs. The ir propensity to intoxication is in general very

strong, butthe ir poverty prevents them from indulging in it . Brandy,says Kalm, has killed more of them than any of the diseases with

which they have been infe cted . That liqu or w as u nknown to thembefore E u ropeans visited the cou ntry. T0 die by drinking brandy

w as considered a desirable and honou rable death . A savage be ing

asked by a French officer what he thought this drink w as made of,

gave for answer It is mad e of tongu es and hea rts ; for when Ihave dru nk of it, I fear n othing, and I talk like an angel.” Thesekind-hearted creatu res, when a stranger appears among them, condu ct

him to a butwhere he is presented with the calamutof peace , and a

bowl, sacred to friendship , filled with maple j u ice , when after having

taken his pleasure of the liqu or, the host qu atfs the residu e as a pledgeof fu ture confidence and alliance. When they assemble toge ther forany purpose, they never separate withou t a dru nken revel, which

often continu es for several days. Regardless of what may be the

fatal e ffects, they continu e till the last drop is exhau sted .

O ne very extraordinary meeting, at which a great deal of thenative and fore ign beverages is consumed , is termed the fea stof the

dead . It is pecu liar to all the American savages residing in the Gulf

of Mexico, the Mississippi, and the Ohio , and is strikingly worthy ofattention. During the feast, which is probably a remnant of Mexican

superstition , the bodies of all who have died since the last solemn

festival of the kind are taken outof the ir graves, though they may

have been interred atthe greate st distance , and brought to the carnival

or re ndezvou s of carcasses. It is notdifficu lt to conce ive the horror

that mu st be excited by this general disinterment, butthe enthu siasm

of the Indian mind renders it insensible to that feeling. When thefeast is over, the dead bodie s are again interred ; and some indiv idu als perform incredible jou rneys with the ir de ceased friends on the irbacks

'

to depos it them in the grave from which they had been raised .

*

This ceremony of respect, though so ru dely performed to the memory

of departed friends, is in co incidence with the annu al fe stival kept in

Bengal, Thibet, and other E astern nations, in honour of the dead ;and it corroborates the opinion that the Am ericans are descendantso f the great Asiatic family.The practice obse rve d by many members of the Gre ek Chu rch inAlbania, in E u rope , IS a fu rther illu stration of this fact. They holdfeasts atthe ir interments, and have commemorations on the 15 th, 2 lst,and 40th days after, with repetitions at the end of the third , sixth ,ninth, and twelfth months ; and atthe expiration of three years, whenthe bones are disinterred, washed with wine , tie d in a bag, and deposited in a church for three days before they are placed in the cemetery. E ven the relatives give entertainments on these occasions inin proportion to the ir circumstan ces fThe Braz ilian savages u sually meet, on the day appo inted for

a feast, early in the morning atthe first ho u se of the ,village , wherethey consume most of the liqu or, and make themse lves merry withdancing. They afterwards remove to the next hou se , and then prooecd Until nothing is left, or u ntil they can drink n o longer ; thescene that follows this general intoxication is disgu sting in the

extreme .

Some of the tribes, bordering on the United States sensible of the

dangers attendant on su ch exce sses, have wise ly de cre ed a prohibitionof spirituou s liqu ors, arid one infringing this law is deprived of the

Bolingbroke , Sec. 4m. 1‘

Hughe s’

s Travels, v ol. ii. p . 85

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35 2

plete the scene , the whole warrior was u ttering the most mou rnfu llamentations over the keg he had emptied ; inhaling itsflav our withhis lips, holding it outw ith his hands in a supplicating attitude , andvo ciferating to the bye standers, Scutmwawa /t Scuttawawah

More strong drink ! More strong drink !Am idst the weakness and depravity into which intoxication be traysthose u nedu cated be ings, some admirable spe cimens of presence of

mind and firmness of disposition are re lated, tha t wou ld do honou r toany cou ntry. An old warrior is said on on e occasion to have beenplaced in a very embarrassing situ ation, through the insu lting condu ctof a setof drunken fellows that he m etaccidentally in a dram-shop , onthe borders o f on e of the States. This chief, after

‘

taking some drinkby w ay of refre shment, w as so affe cted by it, that he seemed to forge this native dignity, and entered into very familiar conversation withthe whites. Advantage w as taken of this weakness, and the partyinsisted on his drinking more , threatening, in case he di d not, to drenchhim with Whiskey. The man , with a noble and fearless countenance ,tu rned u pon the company, and addressing himself, with a contemptu ou sand scowling aspect, to the landlord, who w as a highly re spectableperson, said N o blood ,

When mu ch talk—chattering belongs towomen and

' wild geese .

”-Then snatching a board on whi ch w as

pinned a piece of white paper,he placed it atthe distance of a hu ndredyards ; and, taking aimwith hi s mu ske t, shot a ball through the centre

re loaded, and repeated the actwith the same su ccess. Immediatelyafter he grasped his tomahawk and , nrew it against a tree , with su ch

force and pre cision as to cleave the part intended. Thu s,”said he ,

addressing the astonished beholders, “Indian man provide for his wife

and little ones in peace— thu s defend them in w ar.

”The effect w as

su ch as anticipated, and his ru de opponents retired withou t offeringhim further molestation. Another anecdote favou rable to the character of the American savages is related by Dr . Dwight. An Am e

rican called one evening at an inn in the town of L ichfield, and

requ ested of the landlady to fu rnish him with some drink and a supper,observing atthe same time , with great candou r, that he cou ld notthen

pay for e ither, as he had no su ccess that day in hunting. Both drinkand supper were refused , and he w as ordered to go abou t his bu siness

for a lazy, dru nken, good-for-nothing fellow. The Indian w as abou tto retire, when a man that w as present, observed that he appearedmu ch distressed, an d showed by his cou ntenance that he w as su fferingvery mu ch from want and weariness. H e directed the hostess tosupply him with what he desired and that he wou ld pay the expense .

Accordingly, drink and supper were served up, which, when the

35 3

'

Indian had finished, he turn ed with a gratefu l heart to his benefactor,'

and‘

assu red him that he should remember his kindness, and wheneve r

he w as able he wou ld re compense i t . For the present, he observed,he cou ld only reward him with a story, which he wou ld re late if thelandlady wou ld permit him . She having consented, and addressing

himself to his benefactor, he said, I suppose you read the Bible .

”

The man assented. Well,”said the Indian , “the Bible says, God

inade the world , and then he took him and looked on him, and says its

all very good. Then he made light, and took him, an d says its allvery

good . Then he made dry land and water, and su n and moon , and

grass and trees, and took him and looked on him, and say its all very

good . Then he made man and took him , and looked on him, and

say its all very good . Then he made woman, and took him and looked

on him, and he n o dare say on e su ch word after saying which, the

Indian withdrew . Some years after, the man who had thu s treated

the Indian w as captu red by a native tribe and carried into Canada,where he wou ld have su ffered death butfor the interference

'

of an old

Indian woman, who adopted him in the room of a son that she’

had

lost in the wars. There he lived for an entire w inter, and, in the

cou rse of the following summer, when on e day working alone in theforest, he w as accosted by an u nknown Indian , who desire d him to

m eet him on a given day, ata place which he pointed out.’

The fearof fatal consequ ences deterred him from fu lfilling his engagement ;but, soon after, he was again accosted by the same Indian, who chidedhim for notperforming

é his prom‘

iise . The man apologized, when the

'Indian to ld him he wou ld be satisfied if he wou ld meet him atthe

same place on a fu tu re day, which he name d . H e complied, and found

the Indian punctual to his appo intment , and provided with two mu s

kets , ammunition, and tw o knapsacks, which he divided betw een them.

'Bending the ir course towards the sou th, they travelled for several

days, shooting su ch game as came in their w ay, and sleeping by nightin the forest, ata fire kindled for the ir preservation, till atlength they

reached an eminence which presented a cu ltivated cou ntry intersperse dw ith hou ses, and bearing all the appearance of civilisation . The'Indian stopping short, tu rned to his companion , and asked him if heknew the grou nd .

“’Yes i” replied the man eagerly, there is L ich

field 1”

H is gu ide ,who had been mysteriou sly silent during the

cou rse of the jo u rney, then reminded him that many years before hehad relieved the wants of a famishing Indian in that town , and exclaimed,I that Indian , now I pay you Go home 1” Having said this, he

2 A

35 4

bade him adieu , and the man joyfully retu rned to his own home .

Dwight, in describing the savages of N ew E ngland, says, theirdevotion to strong drink is excessive , and that they will part with

every thing they possess for ardent spirits or cider. The pleasu reswhich intoxication excite s, vary the du ll cou rse of fe eling, and impart

visions of transport which nothing else seems so well calculated to

e licit. To this passion for drink, the poor Indian is chiefly dire cted

by the allu rements of the white traders, a great portion of whoseprofits is derived not on ly from the sale of the spirits, but from the

advantage obtained by them over the natives in the moments of into x ication . To encourage this vice among them seemed a part of theirtrade , and the Indians, be coming familiar with the li centiou sness of

these traders, imbibed a dislike and a distrust for all Christians ; and

hence the diffi cu lties which missionaries have had to encou nter

amongst them. The extravagance and folly which too often occur

among the whites, in their intercou rse with the natives, have beenproductiv e of great mischief to the ir moral habits —ever ready

to grasp at whatever wou ld afford immediate enjoyment, they heldstrong drink to be foremost in the comforts of life, calling it, in

the language of the Shakers, on e of God’s good creatu res .

” It w as

a maxim among the Iroquois,thata dru nken man ought notto be heldresponsible for his actions, nor be accou nted as a moral agent henceattimes they became intoxicated, that they might qu arre l w ithou tdisgrace , as they never dispu ted u nless when u nder the influ ence of

liqu or ; it be ing considered scandalou s for a man to fight when hew as sober. A n old chief of this nation, being in A lbany upon one

o ccasion, gotintoxicated to su ch excess, that in the morning he foundhimself lying in the streets naked, and, revolting athis self-degradation, he resolved never again to de liver himself over to the powerof strong w ater— a resolu tion he was never known to violate . The

fatal efiects of ardent spirits among the native Americans, are toowellknown to requ ire further illustration, indeed these liqu ors have don emore mischief than the ir diseases and wars combined. Humboldt,however, states, that in the fore sts of Gu iana, on ,

the banks of theOrinoco, the Indians shewed an aversion to brandy ; and he m etwithseveral tribes who were very sober, and whose fermented drinks weretoo weak to intoxicate . The missionaries have done a great dea ltowards the reformation of the natives of . North America. Some of

them are now preachers, and in many parts of Upper Canada,

Dw ight’

s Travels in New England and New York, vol. i . pp. 87, 88.

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into which is pou red a proportionable qu antity of water which produ ces fermentation . In the cou rse of six or e ight days, the liqu or isfitforthe still, and, after double di stillation , acqu ires great strength and isthen marketable . Thewild bears are so fond ofthe fermentedmezca l,that they often vis it a distillery to obtain a draught of it, on which a

watchman is ever on the look outto prevent the ir depradation s. The

vine yie lds excellent fru it, .producing wine resembling Canary. H erealso maize and -the j atrop ha man ihotflou rish luxuriantly. Requ e

feu il, in his Voyage rou nd the World, describes that portion of Californ ia along the San Sacramento river as very fertile , vines growingspontaneou sly, and maize so produ ctive , .as hardly to requ ire an y

attention .

'

Jewett, in his accountof the inhabitants of Nootha Sou nd ,says, that they. were u nacqu ainted "with ardent s pirits before the irintercou rse with the whites ; butthey soon became fond of rum , and

preferred it to any other liqu or . From a people so e xtremely rude ,that “the ir choicest -viands are eaten with a profu sion of train-oil forsau ce , n ote xcepting even the most delicate fru i t, strawberries and

raspberries, little can be expected, particularly as they knew no othermode of boiling them than that of throwing burning stones into the

water . The yama , a species of " berry that grows on bu shes, likeCu rran ts, of abou t two or three fe e t high, is black and abou t the sizeof a pistol-bu llet, of an oblong shape , and open attop like the blue

whortle-berifiy. The taste is sw eet, .mix ed with a little acidity . The

women gather ’them chiefly on the mou ntains : greatqu antities are

collected, and, to preserve them, they are pres sed, dried, and laid upin baskets for u se . Strawberrie s, raspberries, and blackberriesabound ; from all of which it is singu lar that the natives have never

discovered the artof e xtracting any inebriating liqu orf

L eaving the Western World, the first islands of any considerationin the wine and brandy trade in the Atlan tic Ocean, are the Azores

and the Canary Islands . The Azores are fru itful in'

grain, and the

vine is cultivated so extensively, that the island of Pico alone, according to Captain Mundy, produ ces pipes of wine annu ally}The chi ef vineyards in this island are plan ted on the sides and base

of the peak, which is a conical mou ntain, giving name to the island,and rising to the he ight of feet above the leve l of the

'

sea . A s

the peak was generated by the eruption of fire from the bottom of

the ocean, its soil is decomposed lava lying on a stratum of lavatic

Jew ett’s Adventu res and Su fferings am ong the Savag es ' of Nootka Sou n d,

Svo . 1824 .

f P en and Pencil Sketches of a Tour in India, vol.'

u . p. 371.

stone . Here the vines grow lu x uriantly, and nothing can ex fi ed the

grandeur of.the decorations onthe sides and base'

of this majestic con e ,consisting of gardens, vineyards, and corn-grou nds, with groups of

people perpetually occupied, exhibiting a wonderful contras t to the

ru de u ncu ltivated summit of its snow-toptapex. This extraordinary

volcan ic produ ction has the singular property, that when the peak

is stru ck accidentally, or intentionally, it reverberates sou nds cau sing

sensations as if the vibrations were issu ing from u nfathomable caverns

equally u nknown as the depths of the ocean that surrou nds it .

The wine is of the colou r and flavou r of Made ira , is cheaper by 5 0

per cent ., and he ld in great e stimation in the West Indies, from itssupe riority over the wines in a hot climatew On this acccount the

colonial merchants keep an agent atFayal, w ho contracts for the

principal portion of each vintage of the island some e of the se are so

fertile as to afford two crops in the year, and the export of grain and

provisionsis so considerable , as, in good seasons, to fre ight 70 vessels,e ach from 80 to 100 tons burden . For the preserva tion of corn, pitsare dug with an entrance large ' enoughto admit a man , and to rece iveabou t three lasts of corn , e ach containing 108 bu shels of 401bs . a

bu shel. Here the‘

grain is stored i n Ju ly, and secured by a stone -lid

with a lock, which is then carefu lly covered with earth tokeep’

itair

tight. In this manner it is preserved to su it the convenience a nd mee tthe wants of the inhabitants. A spurious spirit is frequ ently imported

into the se islands from the Brazils , which the common people u se in

preference to the ir own wine butthe consumption has be en nearlycounteracted by the pure -West India rum and the liqu ors of theirown distillation.ale

The Canaries, which atone time had large sugar plantations, and

were the only settlements likely to cope with ou r colonies 1n the West

Indies, have been long devoted to the cu ltivation of the vine The

brandies distilled in -those islands, particu larly in that of Grand Canary,are in great demand in the fore ign se ttlements of

'

the Spaniards and

in North America. The island of Ten erifl‘e alone , produ ces abou t

pipes of white wine annu ally, of which the greater portion isexpo rted, and the remainder is kept e ither for home consumption , orto be manu factured into brandyq

L M. Bory estimates the average prod uce of w ine in this island to be but p ipes, while the whole ofthe Canaries are said to yie ld pipes . Among the Teneriffewines is to be included the s in de ma lva sz

'

a , or malmsey, a very richand lu scious sack, which was, in the sevente enth century, a great

H istory of the Azores, 4to . p . 294 .

'

I’ Stau nton

’

s Embassy, vol. i . p . 88.

35 8

favourite in E ngland . Sac w as the beverage so highly prized byFals taff, and administered to the dying L efevre, by the philanthropic

and warm-hearted hero of Sterne in his Tristram Shandy. This w ine

was denominated Malvasia, or Malmsey, from the n ame of a town in

the Morea, and supposed to be a corruption from Malea, the ancient

name of a portion of L aconia, in the Gre cian P eleponnessu s. . Variou s

reasons have been assigned for the application of the term sac, somereferring it to on e origin , and some to another . Whether w e be a

corruption of the word scc(dry) , or is derived from Xequ e, a town ofMorocco, where this wine was produ ced in abundance , or else from

be ing made from half-dried grapes, as was frequ ently the practice , or

from the skins, sacks, or bags, in whi ch the Spaniards preserved theirwine ; or from sacco, (saccu s in Latin) the Spanish for a linen bag, orthat sa c signified a white wine as be ing clarified by filtration through

a linen bag, as w as the case with some of the wines of the ancients,mu st ever remain a matter ofmere conjecture, or of hypothetic assumption . For the probable derivation of the term (sack) , which hascau sed, perhaps, more research than the matte r deserves, the reader

is referred to page 239. Sweet woods are so plentiful, tha t thecommon u tensils of the vineyards, as well as the wine-casks, are madeof them, which are saidto impart to the liquor an odoriferou s flavou r.

A view of the qu antity of wine shipped from the Canaries to GreatBritain, for a series of years, will be fou nd in a Table of theAddenda .

The island of Made ira is remarkable for be ing the first place in the"

western hemisphere, in which the Arundo sa ccharifera , or sugarcane, was cultivated. Little sugar, however, is now raised in thisisland, the grapes engrossing the whole attention of the inhabitants.The little sugar that is made is u ncommonly fin e, and said to emi t anodour similar to that of the violet. It is a boas t of the inhabitantsthat they have the best Wheat, the finest sugar, and the finest w inesin the world, be sides the clearest water, the most salubrious air, and

a freedom from all noxiou s animals. The vine was introdu ced in toMadeira from Cypru s, by Prince Henry of Portugal, some time previons to the year 144 5 , or, as Chaptal has it, to 1420. The cu ltiva

tors say, that the varie ties of this plant in the island are u nlimited.

The best wine is that made in the sou th ; the wines of the no rth

are very inferior, and remarkable for the ir acidu lous qualities.

What is called Tz'

nta , or tent, resembles Bu rgundy, when‘

new , bothin colo ur and flavour . Age gives it the appearance of port it is theonly red wine made on the island, and, to fix its colour, it is allowedto ferment with the husks of the fru it ; buta great portion of it is

mixed with other wines. Here itmay he remarked, that in making

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360

in Madeira, to separate good grapes from those of an inferior quality

and hence the produ ce w as often of an indifferen t description . Oflate .years, however, the greatest possible care has been taken to

sele ct the best fru it for the w in e-press ; and to that is owing thecharacter of

.

the wi nes of this island . The general average growth

is from to pipes , the annu al exports of which are said

to be from to pipes ; of these are sent annu ally

to E ngland, to America, and to India.

Made ira wine will notbear the sea withou t a powerful admixtureof brandy ; and this is generally added, immediately , after the fer

mentation, ~ and before it is refined with isinglas s. B utthis ope ration is often performed in E ngland, after which it is termed L ondon

p articular, and the brandy is added more or less, according to theclimate for which it is designed .

In the making of the wines, gypsum is u sed to clarify and mellowthem, buthow far this practice is valuable, must be for the considera~

tion of those conversant with the manu factu re . When one or_

two of

the planters have taken in the ir vintage , which happens in Septem f

her, all mu st immediately follow the example ; otherwise the rats,the lizards, and the wasps, wou ld commit great ravages, be ing the

principal enemies to be encountered. Besides the se , the dogs have

to be chained, or mu zzled,to prevent them from devou ring the grapes,of which they are so excessively fond. The brandy u sed in thevineyards is made chiefly from the wines manufactu red in the north

of the island , and from the lees of the several vintages. The streets of

the' towns in Madeira, particu larly those of Funchal, the capital, are

exceedingly steep and paved with small stones, setedgewise , whichrender the w ay sharp an d slippery. To carry bu rdens up those

ascents, aa small breed of bullocks a1e trained for the pu rpose , and

yoked two a-breast In the removal of wine , as well as of other

articles, a slide capable of holding tw o casks, 1S attached by ropes tothe bu llocks, w hich are gu ide d by a peas ant with a prong, and having'

a cord ru nning thro ugh the tips of their horns, by which they are

managed . Another person keeps the slide constantly moistened with

a w etclo th, by which it glides along freely. The skins of goats and

calves are dressed whole and inflated, preserving the shape and size

of the animal, and employed for carrying water and wine occasionally.

Flowers and shru bs be ing abun dant, bees are numerous, and hon eyis to be had of the finest description . The people are so particu larlycareful in the ir treatment of those insects, that they extract the

honey from the hive withou t killing any of them . This is effected by

means of a tube filled with dry cow-dung, which being ignited, the

361

smoke is driven into the hive, and the bees forced ' from the ir cells,to which they retu rn the ir labou rs, after be ing deprived of the irformer treasure . Mead, however, forms n o part of the nativebeverages, though it might be manu factu red to an extent capable of

supplying a larger popu lation .

For an accou nt of the extent of the wine trade of Made ira forseveral years , see the table in the Addenda.

As there are not any other islands in the Atlantic, which afi'

ord

materials connected with this subj e ct, and a su rvey having been

taken of the various beverages, which fore ign nations have atdif

ferenttimes invented, E u rope is next to be considered, as be ing themost important portion of the civilized world, where the arts andsciences have made the greatest advances, and where luxury is

ried to a pitch of refinement hitherto u nknown . To the efforts of

the Greeks mu ch is to be attribu ted,and from them the Romans bor

rowed most of those inventions, the knowledge of which they disseminated wherever the ir conqu ests extended . The cru sades also laid

open to the observations of E uropeans, a state of existence superior

to the ir own , tha t seemed to e levate the human character beyond

that of which they . had any previou s conception . To acquire the‘

luxu ries of the E ast, a spirit of enterprise w as excited, and an

impuls e given to commerce that led men to the exercise of every

facu lty, which could tend to su rpass, enable them to imitate , or serve

to procu re , ,whatever w as considered in other cou ntries as valuable ,rare , or magnificent. To these purposes, the discovery of the artofprinting and the application of the mariner’s compass contribu tednota little .

Of the chemical attainments of the Saracens, a brief history hasalready been given ; but whether to them is to be attribu ted theintrodu ction of the -still into Spain, or to other factitious circumstance s, cannot be accurately determined . Anderson, in his Historyof Commerce , has placed the date of the introdu ction in the year115 0, but on what au thority he has not

‘

related . That this artwasknown at an early periodh there can be no qu estion, even sup

.

posing that the Saracens were the first who introdu ced it intoE urope . From the writings of Rhazes and

‘

Geber, the former ofwhom resided in Seville , atthe cou rt of Almanzor, in the ninth cen

tury, itappears tha t distillation w as practised w ith su ccess in the ir

time , proving that Anderson had not made himself su fficientlyacqua inted with its origin and progress. When, therefore , this art

w as so familiar in the ninth, why fix its introdu ction in the twe lfth

century, as has been done by the variou s compilers of almost all our

362

E ncyclopaedias ; thus resting on the solitary assertion of a writer ,who seems to have been little conversant with the subj ect, and whodisplays ne ither research nor accu racy in so important a matter. In

a forme r part of this work, it w as shown that the artof distillationw as practised by the people of the E ast, long before it was known tothe Arabs ; and this is fu rther confirmed by the au thority of an

ancient Hindu manu script, cited by the Asiatic Jou rnal, from which

it appears that a distilled liqu or, resembling brandy, was known ,u nder the name of K ea-Sum, from an early period of an tiqu ity.

M ongst the African Moors, it w as practised with a ru de apparatu sin the same way, as it is, atthe present day, in many parts of the

E ast.

The first spirit of whi ch there is any accoun t in E urope , w as madefrom the grape, and sold as a medicine both in Italy and Spain,u nder the Arabic term a lcohol. The Genoese , in the thirteenth

century, dealt largely in it, and are said to have acqu ired consider

able sums ia the sale of this article , named likewi se aqu a v itae. They

were the first E u ropeans who prepared this liqu or from grain, andthey sold it in small bottles ata very dear rate . In 1270, a Florentine physician recommended sp irit of w in e, as possessing grea tvirtu es and effe cting valuable medicinal pu rposes. Mariana tells u s,that the vine was among the first obj ects of the early hu sbandry of

the Spaniards ; and that although the primitive inhabitants com

mou ly drank water, yet they were no strangers to wine , henceaffording them, from the most remote antiquity, an article on which

to exercise the ir inventive powers. If, according to this writer,Tubal,the son of Japheth, were the first man that peopled Spain , after

the flood, no doubt the artof wi ne -making, as practised by N oah,was made familiar to the Span iards?

le Strabo states, that although

the making of beer was pecu liar to the E gyptians, yetit w as com

mon in other cou ntries, where different methods were employed in

manufactu ring that liqu or ; and that the ancient Lu sitan ian s (P or

tugu ese ,) before wine w as plentifu l among them,u sed zythum as a

substitu te , which, of course, mu st also have been familiar in Spain .

Polybiu s speaks of a Celtic king of part of Iberia, or Spain , who

affected great pomp , and had, in the middle of his hall, golden and

silver bowls full of barley-wine , of which every on e quafi'

ed at

pleasu re ; a cu stom that afterwards prevailed in different parts of

E urope . The E gyptians, no doubt, commu nicated the invention of

Mariana'

s History of Spain , folio , pp. 2 and 5 . Stephe n’

s Translation,1699.

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364

Galli'

cia . At Mataro, in Catalonia, there are six distilleries, and at

Villa Franca, twelve . In the entire province are made abou tpipes annu ally, and in Valencia from to cantaras of

.4 E nglish wine -gallons each . The taverns, in which wine , brandy,beer, and other liqu ors, are sold, pay a license for the privilege ,which, in Madrid alone , amount in on e ye ar to u pwards of

a It may be . here interesting to detail the process observed by theSpaniards in the distillation of brandy.

Wine to the amou nt of four-fifths ofthe content of the still, is thrown

in, the head is lu ted on , the fire kindled, and in abou t on e hou r and ahalf, the still begins to ru n , produ cing a spirit of fifteen per cent . abovehydrometer proof, and equ al in qu antity to on e-twentieth of thecharge .

Afterwards it declines to glass proof, and then to fe ints . The overproof and glass proof are drinkable immediately, and the fe ints are

e ither distilled again with the next charge of wine or rectified by them

selves. When wines u sed for distillation are old, _heavy, or ov erl

charged with thick substances, and when a very fine clear spirit isdesired a qu antity of pure spring-water is thrown intothe still along

with the wine butthis expedient is regu lated by the judgment of

the distiller, nor is it u niversally practised . N0 other ingredient is

employed in the distillation of brandy : but liqu eu rs are scented by

different aromatics, of which considerable qu antities of a very inferior

sort are distilled for cou ntry consumption .

Brandy of the firstdistillation, retains more vinou s flavou r than

when rectified . When the wine is good, and a high proof is not

requ ired, the first distillation is preferred . No brandy can be prod u ced fromunfermented liqu ors, nor are grap

’

es, in the ir natural state,ever thrown into the still . Abou t a gallon of the first ru n isput inwith the fe ints, rather for be ing of a low proof, than for any great

.qu antity of the essential oil that it contains, or for any bad taste that

it may have. All the artpractised for preventing any disagreeableflav ourh consists in the skill with which the fermentation of the ju iceof the grape is condu cted, and in a proper management of the fire,that the vegetable essential oil may notbe too mu ch raised, nor the

volatile salts forced over, in too great a qu antity. The spirit, as itcomes from

'

the still, is perfectly transparent ; butit frequ ently re ce ivesa change of colour from the wood of the cask, or the contrivance of

the dealer;

It has always been supposed by merchan ts and distillers, that arapid distillation produ ces a fiery brandy, of a bad, disagre eable ,empyreumatical taste nor, is there any practicable me thod for pre

365

venting the liqu id from boiling over, or remaining fou l, buta propermanagement of the fire .

I n Spain, stills are made of copper, as also are the heads and worms ;butfew of them are tinned . Those in general u se , with few e x cep

tions, difi'

er little from each other in shape , being cylindrical from the

bo ttom to the shou lder, commonly 33inches in diameter, and the samein altitude , butabou t tw o inches deeper in the cen tre than atthe side .

The breas t of the still is convex, the head is in the form of a'

com

pressed globe , and the pipe , which connects itwith the worm, is jo ined

to the lowest part of the circumference , where a kind of gu tter, or

canal, is formed in the inside , for the pu rpose of conveying the con

dou sed liqu or to the pipe . The worms are small, only two inchesand a half in diameter atthe mou th of the condenser, and fifteen feet

in length, making abo u t five circu lar tu rns. A corre ct representation

of the whole is given in the ann exed engraving .

The worm-tub is u su ally from five to seven feet high, and from fou r

to fiv e feet in diameter ; some of them are bu ilt rou nd with brick and

mortar . The furnaces are like ovens, the bottom of the still fallingabou t a foot u nder the line of the dome, or breast, and abou t tw o fe et

from the ground, on which the fue l is laid, withou t any grate, ash-pit,

or stopper to the entrance of the furnace . The still, when charged

with wine , is ru n o ff in abou t fou rteen hou rs but, when rectifying,in abou t e ighteen or twenty-two hou rs, wood be ing principally u sed

for fu el . Distillation from grain is notpractised .

The a loe, or p ita plant, is mu ch celebrated in Spain, and, possess

ing'

mu ch mu cilage , it yields, when fermented and distilled, a good

brandy ; and were notwine so plentifu l, itwou ld afford a supply of

366

this spirit, suflicient, perhaps, for the cou ntry. Sugar is made from the

fru it of the a rbutus , and an excellent spirit is distilled from it.

The excise on brandy w as first imposed in Spain un der Philip II.,in 15 90 ; but the administration and monopoly were given up byPhilip V. in 1717, when a du ty of three reals vellon

"for e very arroba

of brandy of all sorts w as laid bo th on the exports and imports, and six

reals vellon for every arroba of aniseed, cordial, and all other w ate rsj'

In 1747 , brandy again became a royal monopoly, at which period

public warehou ses were appropriated for its sale .

According to the statement of an early writer, quoted by Towns

end,1’

.three and on e-e ighth gallons of wine , (the amou nt of twice that

quantity of grapes,) as it comes from the press, co st one shilling and

two-pence for the labou r ; and it requ ires fou r hogsheads of ordinarywine to yield a hogshead of brandy, H olland’s proof ; hence it hasbeen inferred, that corn wou ld be a more profitable crop ; butthe

attachment of the Spaniards to the cu ltivation of the vine has been solong established, that, in many parts of the kingdom, they neglect

almost every other kind of agricu ltu ral pu rsu it.

Du ring the time that the Moors had possession of the sou thern

parts of Spain, the cu ltivation of many valuable plants w as intro

du ced ; and among the rest the sugar-cane , which has continu ed to

be an object of attention for nearly 800 years. Yet there is no

accou nt of distillation of any kind from it, —a circumstance much tobe wondered at, since it afforded a material for tha t purpose of the

most substantial nature and which, it might be thought,was'

as likely

to arou se the exertions of experimentalists, as it had done before inIndia and variou s parts of the E ast. The Sugar-canes ofA ndalusia,as Well as those near Granada, are as large and ju icy as those of any

other country, w hile between Malaga and Gibraltar there are no lessthan twelve sugar manu factories.

The Arabians were the first who introduced sugar into medicalpreparation, and it was then called Sa l I nd icum, or Indian salt,clearly indicating its origin ; and the Spaniards and Portugu eseafterwards commu n icated the secret of making it to the West Indies

and the American settlements, where the plant itse lf is said to havebeen indigenous .

The Moors, du ring their sojou rn in Spain, encouraged the cultiva !

tion of the vine, with as mu ch as siduity as they paid to other fru its

A real vellon is equal to 25 d. British.

1' The Theory and Practice of Commerce by Don G eronymo. D e . Uztariz.

I O sorio,w ho wrote in 1687.

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368

Madrid, ranks among the’highe st order, an d the Navarre w ine of

P eralta,'

as well as that sort named ra ncz’

a, is in considerable repu te .

The wines of Andalu sia , particu larly of the plantations of Xeres de

la Frontera, n ear Cadiz, with those of San L u car and Trabugena,areof the first character. Pax arete , a place e ight or ten leagu es from

X ercs, gives name to a lu sciou s, palatable , Malmsey wine , the produ ce of a vineyard belonging to the friars of the Convent of St .

H ieronomo . There is also a wine hearing this n ame atXer'

es, whichis of equ al qu ality, and in this vicinity the finest sherry is manufac-3

tared, a dry description of which,’

the Amontz’

llado, is made in imitatien ofthe wine ofMontilla near Cordova . The Amontillado, whichis little known in E ngland, is a very rare kind of win e of accidentalprodu ce, and may be said to be a phenomenon in w ine-making, as no

cu ltivator can be certain by what sort of grape it will be produ ced ,or from what treatment it may be obtained .

Of the light wines of Spain, the Valdepenas is, in the opinion of

Sir Arthu r D e Capell Brooke, the best .* The constitu tion of thiswine being remarkably delicate , renders the transport of it

'

a matte r

of risk and u ncertainty ;'

and this is the reason why it is notmorecommon in E ngland. It resembles a light Burgundy, but it is farmore delicate and smooth lu

'

its flavou r, and some think altogethersuperior . It is difficu lt to meet with this wine free of that strong andrancid taste imparted to it from the borraclza or skin in which it isconveyed. This flavour, denominated olar de bola , is esteemed bymany, who may be considered epicu res in wine , and arises from the

pitch or other resinou s matter with which the skins are secured.Some times the vintage of the Va ldep enas 1s so abu ndant, ; and casksor bottles so scarce, that wine-growers often spill the old wine whenit happens to be the produ ce of an inferi01 vintage , in order to make

room for that of an inferior qu ality. Mr. Swinburn informs u s, thatduring plentiful seasons, casks cannot be fou nd to contain the wine ,and large qu antities of grapes remain ungathered notwi

thstanding,pu blic notice be ing posted on the chu1ch doors, that by giving a smallacknowledgment, all who choose may gather . The wine s of L a

l\’Iancha and Manzanare z, though thinner, are next in estimation toVa ldqoenas . N e ither the wines of N ew or Old Castile , are in mu che stimation, except those made near V alladolid,which, though light, arevery pleasing. The wines of Mu rcia are heavy, rough, and lu sciou sthose made in the plains of Valencia are below mediocrity ; but. the

Brooke ’

s Travels in Spain and Morocco, vol. 11. p . 287-8.

369

vines on the hills which have had the benefit of a sou thern su n , afford

wine of a very good qu ality. The wine of La Torre is excellent ;the wine s made atM os du Marqu is 'de Peralez, are little inferior,yielding an excellent brandy. In the environs of Mu rviedro , theyare of a heavier and richer qu ality -in this province also , is manufactured the no ted wine called rancio.

The wines of Granada are aromatic, and preserve an agreeable

flavou r, withou t the r ichness pecu liar to some of the o ther Spanish

wines. The produ ce of the vineyards of Biscay is characterized as

sou r and harsh, destitu te of body, and of those pleasing qu alities

which render o ther wines agreeable . The defe cts of the wines of

Biscay have been attribu ted more to the mismanagement of the

manu facture,than to the inferiority of the grape .

Grapes reared on gravelly so ils, produ ce wines preferable to those .

reared on rich or heavy soils ; and the vines are differently treatedin their growth. Some are trained on tre llises, some on e spaliers,o thers, like currant or gooseberry~bu shes, are n otpermitted to grow

high, and, therefore , gradu ally form thick and strong stocks, capable of

supporting the fru it, poles neve r be ing employed for that pu rpose .

In some places, the stalks or cu ttings are plante d in small hil

locks, of abou t two feet and a half high, and three fee t in distan cef‘

The produ ce of the vines varie s ac cording to the soil and the care

taken in the cu ltivation and the size of the fru it is in the same pro

portion, so that in some plac es, a bunch of grapes may be fou nd to

we igh twelve or fou rte en pou nds, while , in others, it doe s notwe igh

one half as m uch.

In the districts of Malaga, three crops of grapes are obtained, one

in June , another in the beginning of September, and the last, fou r or

fiv e days after. The grapes of the first gathering called ca rle'

es, yielda w ine of the consistency of honey ; those of the se cond gathering

produ ce a clear wine , stronger and better than that produ ced by the

e arlier the third gathering, termed tardies, makes the real wine o f

Malaga.

The Xeres wine , ju st spoken of, comes from the vineyards in the

neighbou rhood of that city, called the Pu ebla. district, which extends

over a tract of cou ntry 4 5 miles in length, and 18 in breadth, having5 5 5 hou ses attached to the vineyards. This wine is called Sherry in

E ngland, which term is but a corruption of the word Xeres, to

render the pronu nciation more agreeable . The vines of this district,of which there are several sorts, are u su ally trained low and close to

2 11

Vide Laborde '

s View of Spain.

the‘

soi] , on account of the heat. The Sherry is made from a grapetinged with a brown ish red, of a dry flavour, and devoid of swee tness.

From the sweete ned j ui ce of the u nripe grape , an agreeable coolingdrink, called agras or agra ce , is in great requ est during the summer,and has a pleasing acidu lou s flavou r .The vintage commences towards the close of September, and is

finished abou t the first ofNovember. From the early gathering, or the

least ripe of the fru it, the inferior kinds of She rry, known by the

name of St. Lu car and Manzanilla, are produ ced , the consumption of

which is very great bo th athome and in E ngland. The real sherrywine is procured from the full ripe grapes of Xeres. Should the

grapes be gathered in a w etseason, particu larly from young vines,the qu ality of the mosto , or j u ice , is assisted with wine boiled downand mixed with it, previou s ! to the fermentation taking place , by

whi ch means the deficiency of saccharine matter, arising from w et

weather and want of su n , is made up-abou t tw o jars of this bo iled

wine is added to each bu tt of mosto . In makingjsherry wines, thereis an indiscriminate u se of red and white grapes, which are gathered,dried on mats, and, when freed from the stalks and bad fru it, are putinto vats, in which they are trampled on by the peasants, hav ing heavywooden clogs, or shoes with nails made for the occasion . After thisoperation , the entire mass

’

is su bmitted to the action of a screw-pre ss,t urned by the peasants. Pre v iou s to this, a qu antity

i

of bu rned gypsumis strewn over the surface the must is next colle cted into casks,in which it is allowed to remain n early tw o months in store , for

-

the

obj ect of fermentation . When the process has ceased , the wine isdraw n

’

from the lees, and then rece ives an addi tion of brandy, by w ay

of giving it body and ardou r . If the ripe bu nches of fru it atfirstselected, be notsu fficient to yield a bu tt or two of mosto, they are lefton mats exposed to the open air, u ntil enou gh is obtained by theripening of the remaining fru it. L ess wine is procu red from the

grapes thu s exposed, butthe qu ality is better ; while , from the samegathering, tw o descriptions of wine are obtained by two differentpre ssings. The j u ice of the first pressing is called y enas, or firstfru its,

'

thatof the se cond pressing, agu a p ies and when brandy is notto be made , there is sometimes a third pressing called esp erz

’

go, or

sp erego u , in order to augment the qu antity. In w et seasons, y esso,or qu ick-lime , is u sed for absorbing the superabu ndant moistu re .

Immediately when the pressing of the mosto is over, it is putinto

clean bu tts, and after the fermentation has ceased and‘

the liqu orappears clear, it is racked off into other casks w ell cleansed and

smoked with su lphur . In the following spring, when the second, or,

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372

keep qu alfing the nectar which'

is so liberally supplied to you , until yoursenses become not qu i te so cool and collected as when you first

entered, and youthink it high time to make you r re treat into the hot

and du sty streets of Xeres. E ach wine establishment is condu ctedby an overseer, who is called the capataz, and to whom is intru sted

the pu rchasing of the different wines from the grower, the selection,and the mixing of them, as also

'

the proving and tasting of the brandiesrequ ired ; in all of which, considerable j udgment, skill, and e x pe

ricu ce are evinced. The interior of on e of the se large bodegas may

be ' compared to an immense hospital filled with patients , and the

capataz or superintendent to the visiting physician. The former goes

his daily rou nd, accompanied by on e of the superintendents of the

bodega, whom w e will call apothecary. A s he passes each bu tt, he

begins his enqu iry into the state of his patient ; n otby feeling hispulse , butby tapping, whi ch is immediately performed by his attendant,who ru ns a spike into it, and presents him w ith a bumper. ofthecontents. On tasting it, he may probably find that the wine is sick,as it is called by merchants, be ing u su ally the case with young winesa j ar or two of brandy is, therefore ,prescribed for the invalid, and thedose is forthwith administered . A second bu tt may be

' fou nd to be

e qu ally qu almish, and is re lieved in the same mann er . The body, orconstitu tion of a third, may probably be natu rally we ak and delicate ;this is strengthened and improved by be ing m ixed with wine whichis sou nder and stronger while a fou rthmay be atthe last extremity,so as to requ ire the application of mu sk . Speaking, however,

'

morese riou sly, the bodega requ ires a great deal of skill, constant attention,a nice taste , and a discriminating ju dgment, in the selection notonlyof the wines, in improving the de licacy and flavou r of the former,increasing or dim inishing the body, dryne ss, and colou r, and finally

giving su ch a‘ varie ty of shades and difference in flavou r and price , asm ay best su it the particu lar market an d gratify the taste and caprice .

of John Bull .A -re cent visiter says, that the more respectable of the wine -men .

chants of Xeres never ship wine for E ngland, till it has attained theage of tw o years that is, till the bu lk of the wine has atta ined thatage . B ut, according to the price it is proposed to bring, it containsa larger or smaller mixtu re of a more or le ss expensive wine . The

higher qu alities of sherry are made up of wine , the bu lk of which is

from thre e to five years old, and this is also mixed in variou s proportions with older wines. Thu s, from the gradu al mixture of wines ofvariou s ages, no wine can be farther from what might be called a

natural w in e than sherry. Brandy is added in very small propor

373

tions to the good wine—never in greater qu antities than fouror fiv'

e

per cent. while they remain“ in the cellar and frequ ently notatall,

unless the wine should be come scuddg/ or motherg/ and thu s the

finest wi nes are frequ ently entirely free frem i t but, on the ir ship

ment, a small dose of brandy is considered absolu tely necessary, even

to fine wines to make them bear the voyage , as i t is said ; but, inreality, becau se strength is on e of the first qu alities looked for bythe

consumers. When wines become mothery in the'

London docks, they

send them back to be cured, and this cu ring consists of nothing mo re

than an addition of brandy ; perhaps, indeed, it is chi efly effe cted by

the motion of the voyage . The solera s, or store -casks, in which the

wine is kept, are left with a vo id of on e-fifteenth of the ir contents, and

the access of the_

air is adm itted through a loose wooden bung,'

which

merely covers withou t closing the aperture . The wine is pu rchased

by the exporters from the growers generally when it is’

one year old .

The whole extent of the Xeres vineyards, which su pply the'

gen uinesherry for the British market, amounting to bu tts, does not,

‘

it'

is said, exceed 700 acres. A great portion of the wines exported toE ngland u nder the name of sherry, and sold by retail u nder forty

shillings per dozen, is e ither that of Port St. Mary, Stc Lu car; or

Malaga .

In cleansing the wine-casks, a good deal of thyme is u sed as a

swee tener : a little of this plant m ixed with the liqu or is considered

to impart to it a more gratefu l savou r, besides rendering it su dorific,Healing, and restorative while red bee t is often infused into variou swines to improve the ir colou r and appearance .

Arou nd Alicant and the adjacent cou ntry, from which is obtained

th e v ino tinto, (tintilla) or tent'

wine , are reservo irs erected for h'

old

ing water for the refreshment of the vines, which mu st have cost

immense labou r and expense . O ne of these , E l Pontano , situate d

between two mou ntains, within fou r or fiv e leagu es of the town, holdswater sufii cientto supply the whole district for a year . The wallsof this reservo ir are tw o hu ndred fee t high, and atthe base u pwardsof forty fe et thick. Another in the canton called Hu erta de Alic

’

ante,is su rrou nded by a wall sixty fee t in he ight, and broad enough forthree waggons to go abreast . At one time , a stupendou s basin near

Lerca in Murcia bu rst, by which pe rsons perished, andother animals, while the loss was e stimated at In thev icinity of M urcia,two grand reservo irs still remain as monuments ofthe indu stry of the Moors, which have stood u pwards of 700 years

Phillips'

History of Cultivated Vegetables , vol. 11. p. 882 .

374.

u nimpaired . Within on e league of Merida, in E stremadu ra, are tw o

very large reservoirs resembling lakes. ,The cou ntry people call them

Albufera and Albu era. O ne of them is ninety fee t in length and

fifty-one in depth ; it is su rrou nded by thick walls ornamented with

two beau tifu l towers a fin e flight of steps leads to the bottom . The

other reservoir is two leagu es distant ; it is small, butthe walls which

encompass it, and the great tower w hich serves i t as an aperture for

air, are mu ch finer than those ofthe former. The basins are suppliedby rain-water and by springs, and have fish in abundance . The greatreservo irs atConstantinople resemble these more than any o thers of

which there is a description. The roof of one of them is sup

ported by six hu ndred and seventy-two marble columns, consisting of

three tiers standing on the top of each other, enclosing a space capable

of holding cubic fee t of water. Dr . Walsh, in his narrative , describes another magnificent cistern, scarcely know n to the inha

bitants of Constantinople , but which existed previou s to the Turkstaking posse ssion of that city, yetafi

’

ords the gre at supply of water to

the inhabitants, is called the subterranean palace , and resembles a

great lake extending u nder several streets.Among the many works of artin Spain, the subterraneou s re cepa

tacles for grain, called Siloes and Si l/zos, are remarkable . These

are eque’grcg

vation s which were constru cted by the Moors for the

p1e§ervatien~o f grain to provide against scarcity. They resemble

inverted cones, and are cased with freestone . They are dry, secu re

from damp and atmospheric air, and seem to have been made in

imitation of those constru cted in Bestia and other province s of Garthagena. The se public granaries and extensivemagazines are termed

p ositos, of which there are notless than in the country. They

are under the regu lations of government and when it is requ isite toestablish any of these granaries, every landed proprie tor is obliged todeposit a quantity of corn proportionable to the extent of his farm .

The following year he takes back the corn he had thu s deposited, and

replenishes the empty granary w ith a larger quantity ; and in this

manner he continu es to increase annually the stock till a ce rtain mea

su re of grain is deposited. Then every one rece ives back the whole

cornwhichhe has furnished, and replaces it by an equal qu antity of

new corn . Whenever a scarcity happens, these repositories are

opened, and the corn dealt outto the people ata moderate price . In,

someplaces, seed corn is also distribu ted to necessito u s hu sbandmen,who are bound to restore as mu ch in lieu of it during the ensu ing;harvest.

In a country where so much care is taken in the preservation of

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76

bottles of bee r, for the consumption of their fore ign s ettlements. Little of this liquor is consumed athome , wine be ing theprinciple beverage . Grapes pay a tithe or du ty, first as fru it, se cond

as wine , third when converted into brandy or vinegar ; hence the

importance of the ir cu ltivation to the farmer, the trader, the clergy,the government, and the bu lk of the people .

The Balearic islands, be ing contigu ou s to Spain, and forming as itwere a portion of the Spanish empire , may here be properly noticed

In Majorca , vineyards are so numerou s that they produ ce on an aver

age arrobas of wine , of which the natives consume

annu ally, and distil brandy to the amou nt of dollars, half ofwhich is exported . The quality of wine is excellent, of which thelightest and most delicate are Mu scadel, Malvo isie , P ampot, Reda,andMontona . It has been compu te d that the whole expor ts of thesearticles to Spain and America, are to the valu e of livres in

w ine , and to livres in brandy. The qu ality of the brandy,particu larly that distilled atPalma, is considered fine . Here is a dis

tillery for brange-flow er water . The vineyards are laid outwithgreat taste , while the rugged and almost inaccessible de clivities of

rocks and mou ntains are rendered subservient to the comfort and

indu stry of the inhabitants. The m ou ntain, on which is situated the

town of Banalbu far, is a striking instance of the care and enterprise

o f the natives. This lofty eminence , from top to bottom, is cutinto

steps, like a flight of stairs, and the earth is su pported by . little walls

of flint and stone, and by this means is entirely coveredwith beau tiful and luxu riant v ineyards. The town contains upwards of

inhabitants, most of whom are employed in making wines of variou s

descriptions.

In M inorca, the soil, though light and stony, is favou rable to the

v ine . R ed and white w ines are made , and some of bo th exported,which,with the home consumption, may be valu ed at annually.

The honey of this island is of prime qu ality, butno mead is manu fac

tured, hence the superflu ous qu antity is exported. Wheat and

barley are cu ltivated, the grain i s notthrashed, buttrodden outbyasses and oxen on the bare rocks, butthe supply is too scanty to

permit any distillation .The small butfertile island of Ivica, produ ces fine fru it and good

wine , butlittle more than what the wants of the inhabitants requ ire .

The Spaniards are notmore zealou s inthe cu ltivation of the vine thanthe people of Portugal. In many of the provinces of that kingdom, the

sides ofthe steepest hills an d mo untains are converted by means of ter

races into vineyards. In most places through the country,the vine grows

77

like . a gooseberry or currentbu sh, two or three feet high and abou t'

three yards asu nder. In pru ning, all the branches are cutoff in'

w inte r, leaving only the stump, with the remains of the stem, abou t

half an inch in length. These shoot again, and by the time‘

of

vintage are ten or twelve feet long. The best grapes grow abou t thestump , and so abu ndantly as to conceal it altogether. The fru itis gathered in August and September, and conveyed to a hou seprepared for the pu rpose, having a stone floor, with grooves to conveythe ju ice when pressed out through a tube into a ce llar adjo ining,where barrels are ready for its reception . The grape s are trampled

by human fe et and afterwards put u nder a press, wrought by

machinery, where they are again pressed, till all the j u ice is com

pletely colle cted, and the fru it be comes a solid mass . From thislatter,mixed with an infu sion of weak wines after a proper fermentation, spirits are distilled stronger than any brandy, and equ al, for the

most part, to spirits of wine . The cellars in which the wine is deposited for fermentation, are so very warm, and the inflammable gasevolved from the flu id so highly ignitible , tha t no candle can be introdu ced, lest it might take fire and blow up the concern . In 1681,although the

'

wines of the Portugu ese were of an inferior quality,large qu antities were exported from Lisbon . The E nglish, in particular, encouraged the manu factu re to su ch an extent

,that from

175 0 to 175 5 , a pipe of the best qu ality could be procured for tenmilreas, or £2 15 s. 6d . of our cu rrency.

Du ring that period, many of the proprietors of vineyards, rather

than sell their wines at redu ced prices, or ru n the risk of loss inkeeping them, converted the greater part of the poorer sort intobrandy. L arge portions of this were u sed to strengthen the winesintended for exportation, and the su rplus w as either sent to the

colonie s in America, or bartered for slaves on the coast of Africa .

The taste of the E nglish, says L ink , and the ir fondness for drink

ing, are evidently the causes that indu ce the Portugu ese to mix somu ch brandy with the wines. All that they manu factu re have nowsome brandy added, even before fermentation .

*

In 17 5 6, the board which w as appo inted to superintend the winetrade of Portugal, made a monopoly of the brandy distilleries fortheprovinces of Beira, Minho , and Tras os Montes, and after some time

su cce eded in procuring the entire management of them throu ghou t

the kingdom . This board had the power of regu lating and fixing

the prices of the different sorts of wines, and even of prescribing the

Link’

s Travels in Portugal, p . 371

378

limits within which they shou ld be manu factured, with the privilegeof selecting those proper for exportation, from those fitter for homeconsumption . This board, now better know n by the name oftheWine and Brandy Company, or the General Company for the Cu lti

vation of the Vineyards of the Alto Dou ro , hold the ir meetings atOporto, and are approached in all cases e ither by petition or memo

rial, the principles on which it w as founded be ing new greatly modi

fied and almost abandoned. N0 wine cou ld be sold or brandy distilled

butby the ir perm ission . All d u ties were laid on and levied by them ,

as well for what w as manufactured in the country as for the spirits

imported ; but it has n ow in a great measu re ceased to enforce its

right to this monopoly. E xperience has proved that chartered com

panics have , for the most part, been produ ctive-

of inj u ryto trade and

commerce , and have tended mu ch to the obstru ction of improvement

in manu factu res, enterprise , and general indu stry : of this the com

pany j u st spoken of is a striking e x emplification , as it fa iled in aecom

plishing any on e of its purposed obj e cts.

The chi ef wine districts of Portugal commence 5 0 miles fromOporto , clothing in picturesqu e beau ty the banks of the Dou ro . The

R e v . W. M. Kinsey, speaking of the cultivation of the vine in the

upper Douro, says the process is perfe ctly simple The vine plants

are pruned abou t December, when nothing is left but very smalltwigs, similar to those planted in other parts of the country . A s soon

as vegetation ha s commenced, the earth is loosened abou t the stems

and this process is frequ ently repeated till the blossoms appear . In

some places this practice is fou nd requ isite with the viewto an increaseof produ ce

,acting on the richness of the soil, by intermingling plants

more ' abu ndantin alkali ; but this is contrary to the,regu lations of

the Wine Company ; and indeed, although a larger stock of grapes is

produ ced by this system, they acqu ire a taste peculiar to the herb,which .has been sown for the pu rpose of serving as manure to the

vineyard . Skill and attention are requ ired on the part of the cu ltiv ator after the plant has blossomed, and even when the grapes are

approaching to a state of ripeness. E ither too much rain or too mu chheat may spoil the grape u nder the most flattering appearances. A

good vintage principally depends on du e proportions of heat andmoistu re , particu larly in the spring atthe cleansing of the flower, as

atan after period, when the grapes are more advanced, cold fogs inthe spring often destroy a great part of the growth, and again toomu ch sun frequ ently dries up the coat of the grape , wwhich does not

prove su fficiently su ccu lent for want of rain . Previou sly to‘

the

gathering, the farmers have recourse to water, whi ch they throw into

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380

or assorted wines . The lighter wines are i mproved by an admixture with the stronger ramo, a pu rpose for which the latter is com

mou ly purchased; Oe iras, C arcav ellos, and L avradio produ ce winesof a high repu tation, while the growth of Alenqu er, Torres Vedras,La'mego, and M ongaon , possess a high character . The wine of Barraa—Barra, near Lavadrio, is one of the best of Portu gal . The vineyardsof Co imbra are said to produ ce inferior grapes of a tart flavou r. The

Colares Port, a red wine of Colares near Cintra, the white wine of

Termo on the Douro, with the wines of Bu cellas in the vicinity of

L isbon, and of Setu val in E stremadura, are all in great ' estimationthe swe et wines of C arcav ellos, and the mu scadine of Setu v al are toofamiliar to requ ire description or panegyric.

The great exports ofwine are from Oporto , or Porto, on the Dou rofrom the name of which city is derived our term port . The vicinity

of Oporto is said to yield annu ally pipes of wine , of

which are exported, and the whole qu antity sent outof the kingdom

du ring the same period is compu ted at The exports toGreat Britain alone , are detailed in a Table of the Addenda .

The bad qu ality of the native brandy has, hitherto , made it of littlecommercial importance , but the late introdu ction of the s irup of thefig w ill, n o doubt, if j udiciou sly managed, improve its flavou r and

re trieve its character .

N o spirits are made from corn in Portugal, but some are occasionally made from damaged figs and raisins u nfit for other pu rposes.

In Algarve , the proj ect was once institu ted for making spirits fromthe carob, or locu stp od, butit w as notsu ccessfu l .

Many of the stills u sed in Portugal, particu larly those in the ne igh

bourhood of L isbon, are made in London . The size is arbitrary,varying generally from 140 to 4 or 5 00 gallons . The body and head

are of copper, butthe worms are mostly of pewter. The farmers u sesmall stills of a. bad constru ction ; a tube of copper, or a mu sketbarre l thru st through a cask, frequ ently performs the oflice ofthe wormand cooler, and the spirits, of cou rse , are bad. In charging the still,the Portugu ese fill it to ‘

w ithin 8 or 9 inches of the top with wine,which is slowly worked off, and, un less intended for exportation, it israrely distilled . In the se cond distillation, it is made of su ch a

strength, that oil wi ll sink in it. White wine yields more spirit than

red wine , and on the purity of both depends the goodness of thebrandy.

In no cou ntry with which w e are acqu ainted, has brandy been

Playfair’

s Translation of Boetticher, Table No . 11.

381

manu factured to su ch extent or perfection as in France . The distil

lation of it commenced there , according to L e Grand, in 1313, butasin the instance of Spain, little more w as manu factu red atfirst thanw ha t served the purpose ofthe vineyard . Its superior qu ality

, how

ever, soon re commended it to general notice , and atan early period,large qu antities of it are mentioned among other articles of E u ropean commerce .

It is strange , that although the Phocaean s are said to have cu ltivated

the vine in Gau l, 600 years before Christ, w e shou ld have no au thentic

notice of d istillation earlier than 1313. The first attempt atthe dis

tillation of wine is attribu ted to Arnau d de Villeneu ve , professor ofmedicine atMontpellier in the thirteenth centu ry.

According to Macrobiu s, the Gau ls had no knowledge of the cu ltivation of the vine till Rome had arrived ata high state of prosperity.Some Roman wine given by a He lvetian to the Gau ls so de lighted

them,that they were indu ced to attack the Roman capital with a viewto

obtain this beverage butthey were repelled by Camillu s, and obliged

to re tire . Abou t 270 years afterwards, Fabiu s Maximu s introdu ced

the us e , of the vine into Gau l, though some think it w as introdu ced

by the Gre eks when they were in possession of Marse illes, nearly 5 00years before Christ ; but,how ev er thismay have been, there were no ad

vances in its cu lture till after the arrival and conqu ests ofthe Romans.

Beer w as the common drink atParis till the time of the Go vernorJu lian , who, in a Greek epigram, ridicu led the people, be cau se Bacchu sdid n otsme ll of nectar, butlike a goat and w as only a god of oatsand barley. H e disliked beer, which no dou bt led to the introdu ctionof wine in its stead, and, of course , to the more extensive cu ltivationof the grape H is epigram has been thu s translated

Whence artthou,thou false Bacchu s, fierce and hot

B y the tru e Bacchu s , I do kn ow thee not1

H e smells of n e ctar —thy brain-bu rn ing smellI s n otof flow ers of heav ’

n, butw eeds of hell.

The lack-v in e Celts, impov erish’

d,breech

'

d,and ru de

,

From prickly barley-spike s thy beverage brew’

d

Whence I shou ld style thee , to approve thee right,Notthe rich blood of Bacchu s

,bou nd ing bright,

B utthe thin ichor of old Ceres’ v e insE x pre ss

’

d by flame s from hu ngrybarley grain s,Child-born of Vu lcan ’

s fire to bu rn u p human brains .

The liqu ors u sed atthe ancient feasts of the Gau ls were wine and

beer, the latter be ing the more common of the tw o . The beer w astermed zythu s, highly val u ed, and given atthe ir feasts to the warriors

382

.with the best portion of the ir meats. In the time of the'

Romans,there were merchants re sident in Gau l for the pu rpose of carrying

,wine from the sou thern provinces up the Rhine , and bartering it fors laves . D iodorus Siculu s says, that they be came so fond of wine ,particularly that manu factu red in Italy, before it began to abou nd in.their own country, that they have be en know n to give a slave for a.

gallon .

ale The ir love of this liqu or hu rried them into great excesses,a nd whole armies are sa id to have fallen victims to the ir enemiesthrough its direful effe cts . It appears that Charles the Great w as

forced to make some severe laws against it , on e of which obligedthej udges on the bench and the pleaders at the bar to continu e fasting.

Others forbade that an y one shou ld be forced to drink more than hewished, or that the soldiers in the field shou ld invite any man what

soever to drink u pon pain of excommu nication , or be ing condemned

to drink enormou s draughts of water by w ay of punishment. When-Winceslau s, king of Bohemia, came to treat with Charles V L , at

Rhe ims, in 1397 , he gotintoxicated every day wi th the wine of the

cou ntry, and chose rather to forego every thing than notindu lge inthis excess .

k In ancient times , according to Strabo , a whole vintage has been

exhau sted at one feast among the Lu sitanians. The coryphoeu s, or

chief gu e st atan enterta inment, who condu cted the eating as well asthe drinking, always began first, and then presented to his ne ighbourthe cup, rather pitcher, which thu s went ro und the circle,for it seemsthat all drank outof the same ve ssel, and n o man cou ld drink beforeit came to his tu rn, or refu se it when it did come : hence , in all

probability, is derived the cu stom of drinking to one another, which

w as, i t appears, common to the Scythians, Persians, Greeks , and

R omans, as well as to the Gauls and most of the northern nations.

At the ir feasts, the Gau ls, like the Persians, talked u pon affairs of

state as the cup went round and , as they generally sattill morning,the liqu or w as sometimes produ ctiv e of mu ch disorder, frequ entlyterminating . ih de sperate conflicts . These assemblies were u su ally

accompani ed with mu sic, songs, and dancing, and the dancers, whowere commonly armed cap

-a-pié, beat time with the ir swords u ponthe ir shie lds. Onsome occasions, the company dressed themse lves

in the skins of beasts, an d in masqu erading habits, many of whichwere very indecent ; but soon after the introdu ction of Christianity,these practices w ere abolished . The liqu ors u sed on those occas ions

were beer and wine, the beer be ing the more common of the two ,

D iodoru s Sicu lu s, Lib. v.

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the treatment of the vintage . At present,the Champagne , Burgundy,D auphiny, and Bordelais wines, are the best in France those of

L angu edoc, Rouss illon, and othe r sou thern districts, rank high as

sweet wines well adapted for distillation, butare more characterizedby strength than flavou r.

The Champagne wines are principally produ ced in the department

of Marne , and, following a distinction that originated in the n inthcentu ry, are divided into River wines (v ins de la R iv iere dc M arne)an d Mou ntain wines (v ins de la M ontagu e dc R e ims) , the former, awhite , the latter, a red wine . The red champagne is brisk and

sparkling, and distingu ished by an agreeable flavour and aroma ; butin the opinion of the first judges, the very effervescent wines are n ot

always the best, mu ch of the strength evaporating with the froth,carried off by the escape of the carbonic acid gas. On this account

the less sprightly frothing wines are by some conno isseu rs preferred.

The white Sillery Champagne wines bear the character of superiority,and the Ay wines are the most celebrated of the river wines ; of the

latter it is related that Charles V ., Francis I ., Henry VIII and L eo

X ., had each of them a commissioner, who resided atAy to procu reintelligence of the best growth, while those of Verzy, Verzenay,Mailly, Bou zy, and St. Basle , are the most esteemed of the Re imsmou ntain wines. The Clos St . Thiérry furnishes the only red winethat has the rich colour and agreeable aroma of Burgu ndy, combined

with the delicate lightness of Champagne . Those wines are placed in

cool cellars, and when well manu factured, will be in prime order fromten to twenty years. The vau lts in which they are stored“

are exonv ated in a rock to the depth of 30 or 40 fe et . The white wines of

Arbois and Papillon resemble ' those of Champagne and if w e'

believe the ane cdotes related by Su lly of Henry IV, the Arbo is wine

was a great favou rite with that monarch. Whether Champagne , or

Burgu ndy, were the better _

w ine , w as long a matter of dispu tation

among the faculty of medicine , till, in 1778, a decision was pro

nou nced in favou r of Champagne .

The repu tation in which Bu rgundy w as so long held, arose not

only from its intrinsic valu e , butfrom its be ing the favou rite of the

Duk es of Burgundy, who were , on that accou nt, styled P rinces des

bans wins .

"The vineyards of °Roman ee Conti, containing little more

than six E nglish acres, are said to yield some of the nicest qu alitythat of Chambertin, which is said to rival it, w as the wine preferred

both by L ou is XIV. and N apoleon B u onaparte . N ext to these inexcellence w as the wine of the Clos-Vou geot butsince it has ceasedto be chu rch property, it has considerably degenerated, and is now

385

supposed to be infefior:tb that of Romance de St . Vivant, Mu signy,Clos de Prémau , and several others. The vineyard of Clos-Vougeot,so long celebrated, is seated on the left side of the road between

N u is and Dijon , and contains abou t 180 E nglish‘

acres, enclosed by

an e ight fe et wall ; in the centre are a dwelling~hou se and press

hou se . This w ine will notkeep beyond twelve years, withou t losing

both its strength an d flavou r. The vineyard of Clos-Vougeot for

merly belonged to.

the Bernardine monastery of Citeau x, from which ‘

it was wrested atthe beginning of the Revolu tion . The Macon, or

red Burgundy, so familiar in'

E ngland, comprises both the produ ce of,

the M eieonnais and the chief w ines of'

the Beaujolais, forming part of

the department of the Rhone . B utthe white wines of Bu rgu ndy

are

'

considered amongst the best white wines in France , an d the MontRachet Bu rgun dy, of which there are three v arieties,A iné, Cheva lier,

and B eita rd Mont Rachet; are remarkable for the ir high perfume and

agreeable nutty flavou r .

The wines of Dauphinyare re ckoned among the finest in France;of which those of Vienne and V ivarois are alluded to by Pliny ; and

the‘

celebrity‘

of the Condrieu x , Cote Rotie , and‘

Hermitage winesis of long standing . The famou s vintages of the Hermitage , so demom inated fromthe ru ins of a hermitage on the rock on which the vineyard is situ ate d, are gathered immediate ly behind the tow n of Tain, onthe left bank of the Rhone , abou t twelve miles fromV alence . The CoteRetie and Hermitage have a strong

'

similarity in perfume , taste , andflavour , while the wines of Vau clu se , though resembling bo th, aremu ch inferior . ’

The plants cultivated for red wine are the great andsmall aim s, and for w hite , marsann

'

e and roussanne grapes. Theyhave no supporters, -and are

,

pru ned abou t e ighteen inches from the

ground. All the grapes are small, though the yearly produ ce is from

fifte en to e ighte en hu ndred hogsheads. The vineyards of Cote B otieare on the sou thern declivity of the hill, to the

'

west of Ampuj is, onthe right bank of the Rhone seven leagues from Lyons ; and the

wine s, while they resemble the Hermitage , are inferior in po int of

strength, ri chness of body, and powerfu l aroma . Dauphiny produ ces

likewise a wine resembling Constantia, butmuch more lu sciou s and

renovating . In the manufacture of this wine , the richest grapes are

selected, and hung up on poles or lines, or e lse spread on straw for

abou t two months , u ntil they are nearly half dried, from which pro

ce ss the liqu or which they produ ce is styled Vin de p h ille,” that is,

Straw W ine .

”

L angu edoc, Rou ssillon, and Provence produ ce w ines, particu larly

those denominated swe et, which are of a most delicate flavou r, butC)

c

386

noteQu al to the Hermitage or Cote d’

O r. The Beaucaire red w ines

of L angu edoc, (the cante-p erdrix of Rabelais,) have e bright rose-tint,and the Cornas is a stronger description of wine , having a flavou r of

ratafia , au d i twill keep and improve for twenty years.

‘ Of a similar

description are the red wine s of Tavel, Chu zclan , St . Genie z, L irac,and St.

'

L auren ce . The Ro u ssillon red wines, be ing strong in,body

and reckoned the most du rable in France , are u sed most for distilla

tion, an d for adding vigou r to the Bordelais and other weak winesthose of Bagnols, C osperon , and Collioure , are of the choice st de scription . The Frontignac wine is long celebrated, the aroma of which

is thought to resemble that of e lder flowers the mu scadel of Lu ne l

is a delicate wine , less cloying than the Frontignac,}while the vine

yard of Rive salte s, abou t tw o leagu es east of Perpignan, yie lds thebest mu scadine wine in ' the u niverse . At Salces, a white wi ne is

manu factured from the maccabec grape , b y w hich name it is dis.

tinguished, and is tho ught to resemble Tokay, butin richness it is

inferior to the Rivesaltes : the Provence wines, however, are of ordi

nary qu ality;The wines of Gascony and q ienn e are mu ch esteemed ; the vineyards ofLafitte , Graves, Chate au Margau x, and Hau t-Brion, produ

a ing some of the best red wines, while the vineyards of Sau terne and

Barsac are in considerable repu te . In Gascony, the‘

v ines are plantedin the qu incu n x torder, three fee t asunder, and supported by framesborne on props about , twelve inches high. The sort most cu ltivatedis the v erdot. Medoc, which is one of the most famou s vineyards ofthe Bordelais extending along the left bank of the rivers Gironde andGaro

‘

nne , within tw o and a-half leagu es of .Bourdeaux, comprehends,Lafitte , Latou r, and other fam ou s vineyards. The plants cu ltivatedfor the white wines are the ma lbec, sa um

’

gnon , rez z’

not, a nd sem illon ,

and are usu ally trained on poles fiv e or six fee t high, and are propa

gated e ither by qu icksets or layers. The Graves wine s were so

termed . from the natu re of the soil that prod uced them ‘

but‘they

now comprise both the white and red, which grow on the gravelly

lands near Bou rdeau x: The regu lation of the vintage varies in dif

ferentprovinces, according to the whim of the grow er, or the longestablished cu stom of the district . In the manu facture of -the be ttersort of wines, great care is taken in the sele ction of the grapes, andeven a different management is observed between those of the red

and white descriptions ; a singular distinction is, that all rotten or

u nripe red grapes are cast away, and the rotten or over ripe parts of

the white grapes are preserved . In some places, the vintage occupiese ight or ten weeks ; in making the best wines the stalks are rejected,

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388

N ormandy, and cider seems to be a staple article . The fields in this

province are filled with fru it of every description, among which are

pears of'

an'

enormous size, supposed to be the largest in E u rope , and

se em, according to Mr. Webster, as if they had been sent for antedi

lu vian giantsfi“ The cu ltivation of the vine in France , although ocen

pying so mu ch of the so il and the indu stry of its popu lation, is held

by some to be a national evil, by others a national benefit. That

both considerations may be tru e , is reconcileable on the grou nd that

one bad crop produ ces more absolute distress than can be alleviated

by a succession of several good ones, owing to the superabu ndantpopu lation and the minu te subdivisions of prope rty ; whi le , on the

other hand, the vine renders lands valuable, which, withou t it, wou ldbe of little or no valu e , and afford ne ither profit to the owner nor

employment to the peasantry. The extension, therefore , of v ines

yards in France has been considered inj uriou s more from the con se

qu ent diminu tion of the qu antity of corn land than from any inj tu'

y

arising from the ir produ ce . With this view, Charles IX, in 15 67,endeavou red to restrain the cultivation of the vine in order to favou rother branches of agricu lture , and his measu res were still more rigorou sly enforced by L ou is XV. u nder similar impressions and for similarpurposes. The variou s u ses to whi ch the v ine is applied are su rprise

ing, amongst others, its leaves, dried in the shade‘

and infused in a

tea-pot, produ ce an excellent su bstitu te for tea ; and the vine pru nings, cut small and mashed in bo iling water in the same manner asmalt, on be ing fermented, be come a good beverage if di stilled, theyprodu ce an excellent spirit of the nature of brandy. The fermentedliqu or extracted by mashing the tendrils, when allowed to pass thevinou s and ru n into the ace tou s fermentation, affords an u ncommonlyfine v inegar.T Wine , in a moral po int of view, has, perhaps, be en oflittle 1nj u ry to the French people ; butthat perfe ct sobriety i s characteristic of the nation has n ot be en asserted.The general impression respe cting the comparative propensities of

the different nations of the world to stimulating beverages, is, thatin wine cou ntries, drunkenness does not prevail to su ch a degree as

in those nations where the vine is notcu ltivated, which has inducedmany to assert that m France , Germany, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.the people are less prone to inebrie ty than the inhabitants of GreatBrita in, Sweden, Ru ssia, D enmai k, & c . Travellers of experienceinform u s that su ch is not the fact, one of whom, Mr .

’

C ooper, the‘

Webster’

s Trav els through the Crim ea, Tu rkey, and Egypt, vol. i . p . 49.

1Philosophical Magazine . No . 119.

389

distingu ished Ameri can writer, says that‘

a residence of six months inParis changed his views entirely.

“You will,”says he , “ju dge of

my surprise when first I saw a platoon of the Royal Guard— lite rally

a whole platoon, so far as numbers and the order of the ir promenade

were concerned—staggering drunk, within plain view of the palace of

their master . N ota day passed that I did not see men and women

in the same situ ation in the Open streets . To convince some persons

who doubted this, I took them into the streets and satisfied them of

the ir mistake , and on on e of these occasions, w e passed thirteen dru nken

men during the walk of an hou r, many of them so far gone as to be

u nable to walk? "6 The charge of dru nkenness against the ’

French

has been attempted to be palliated, by alleging that the practice w as

introdu ced by the army du ring the Revolu tionary wars,while others

assert tha t there never w as a time when dru nkards did notabou nd in

France and Cooper asserts that he saw more instances of inebriety

in the streets of Paris than in L ondon . An entire gu ard of soldiers

got intoxicated, and actually arrested innocent people in the streets,whom they confined in the gu ard-hou se . The oflicial reports show

ten thousand cases of females imprisoned for drunkenness in Paris,during one year;The du ties on wine are collected in the following manner : The far

mer, after the v intage , goes to the nearest city or town with sample s of

his wines, and as soon as he gets orders from a merchant or a private

person for a quantity, he accordingly brings it for delive ry, and at

the barrier, or gate , the du ty is paid e ither by the pu rchaser or the ,

farmer himself. It is scarcely possible to evade payment of this du ty,be cau se every one who intends to remove wine mu st first procure a.

permit from the R ece'v eu r p rincip a l of his department, which permit .

accompanies the wine , is shown to the collector who rece ives the

duty, and is then entered in his book, an d he initials the permit to

prove that it has been regu larly entered . If the win e be for a private

person, the permit is kept by him as a prote ction, to show'

that it has,been legally obtained. Colle ctors, or rece ivers of this du ty, are sta

tioned ateach entry of the town or city like toll-keepers in Great

Brita in ; and they accou nt to the chief collector for the rece ipts attheend of every week. The regulations for secu ring the du ty on brandyare the same as those for wine , but the rate is higher, and any per

son may make brandy of the produ ce of his own vintage , not, how

ever, withou t first specifying his intention to do so to the proper col

le ctor.,There is a distinction between su ch persons as these and the

professed distillers of brandy ; the latte r purchase the wine for that

Cooli cr’

s Residence in France , vol. 11.

390

pu rpose , and pay a license for permission-

to distil, while the form er

pay nothing for the ir privilege ; the licensed distiller, moreover, issubj e cted to the inspection of officers, who ke ep an accou nt ofhis stockof wine , so that he can ne itheradd to n or diminish it withou t detec-4

tion and risk of forfe itu reor a penalty, the whole bu siness be ing condu cted by permit . Frau ds are sometimes de tected, but from the

'

lightness of the du ty, there is little temptationto commit them ,while

a strict check is kept on all wine and brandy venders by the entriesof the visiting offi cers.

The manu factu re of beer has been long familiar in France , and isof su ch importance that so early as 1268, laws were draw n up and

approved of by the Mayor of Paris to regu late the trade . The brewers atthat time were calle d cervoz

’

sz’

ers from cerv oz’

se, the term givento beer. In 1489, the laws were revised on accou nt of the abu sesthat were practised inthe breweries ; and again in 1680, ten n ew

regulations were added to the code , and registered in parliament ' in

1714 . In there were sev entyle ightmast-er brewers in Parisbutit i s properto observe , that n o one can open or carry on a warehou se in that capital withouthaving regu larly served fiv e years of anapprenticeship, and three years as a foreman . The law wisely

enforces that some '

ofthose”

corporations shall examine the ingredientsused in brewing, le st any nox iou s or deleteriou s substance be employed ;and it likewise enjo ins that harm shall n otbe sold in any place withouta previou s inspection .

~N o o

'

xen or other animals are allowed tobe fed, or kept within the range of the brewery in

'

order to prevent ‘

the ir‘

filth and annoyan ce . Formerly, each brewer. cou ld have only

one pan , copper,'

or mash-kieve per day, containing fifteen septieresof malt . Three members of the corporation annu ally e le cted, are

obliged to inspect the breweries, all of which they may visit when

ever they please .While on the subj ect of French brew e1ies, 1tmay n otbe irrelevant todescribe the process commonly observed m preparing dry harm . Whena suflicientqu an tityof brewers’ barm 1s collected, it isputinto th1okbagsor sacks, a number of which are placed together ln apress and squ eezedfor some time . The first liqu or which rubs from them serves the work

men for'

drink"

; that which flows on a second pressu re is u sed by tanners

in the preparation of leather, which it is said to render more pliable .

When the liqu or is completely extracted from the bags, and there

remains nothing butthe spirit of malt and hops, the residu um is leftto dry in the bags u nder the we ight ofthe press, and only drawn outto be sold to bakers, or su ch as may requ ire it. O ne pou nd of this

barm will serve to leaven five hu ndred pounds of dough for the

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392

copper, when the ebu llition on its side determined the temperaturebutthis practice has been discontinu ed since the adoption of the thermometer. After the grain w as prope rly mashed, it w as su ffered toremain in the mash-tu n for one hou r ; and the liqu id was then permitted to run into a reservo ir bythe removal ofi a

'

. stopper in thecentre of the kieve . N ew liquor w as then poured

'

into the mash-tun ,and worked a second and a third time with the same malt, till it haddischarged all its remaining su bstance . The quantity of liquor u sedin the copper and mash-tun atthese difl’erent'

operations, w as properlyadj usted, and twelve bu shels of malt were allowed to on e hogsheadof water . The material of the reservoirw as

'

rem'

ov ed to the copperwhere it was bo iled with h0ps, in the proportionof e ight and one-ha lf

p ounds to each hogshead of liqu or: In order to deepen‘

the colou r‘ ofthe be er, it was boiled for the

'

space of fou r and twenty hours butifa pale colou r were desired, it w as merely allowed to begin to boil .

To ferment this liqu id when properly cooled, abou t a wine-gallon ofyeast w as allowed for every hogshead of the whole brewing, and itwas u sual to infuse a little coriander seed to" he ighten the flavou r of

the beer . The French government, during the present year,have , it is said, refu sed to license many of the gaming-hou ses in Paris,several of which have been converted into be er-hou ses:

The distillation of’

brandy'

and other strong .waters in France ,became an obje ctof su ch consideration, that in 1639, the publi c authorities made it subj e ct to the direction of the law . A s the regu lationsu nde1 which the brandy trade 1s governed, are in some degree s imilarto those established for breweries, a detail of them wou ld.afford littleinterest . In variou s parts of France , distillation 1s carried on fromboth white and red grapes the fermentation of the red

'

18 notgene

rally so perfect as that of the white , the spirit fromthe red be ingless palatable . N o reason, however, has been assigned for this diffe

rence , which may, perhaps, arise from a

'

w antof proper attention to

the fermentation several sorts of wine admitting of different degrees

of attenu ation . E xperiments have shewn thatlthedecomposition ofthe white exceeds that of the 1ed grape from 20 to 2 5 per cent . In

this cou ntry, as in many other parts of the continent, agreat mistake

has been committed in the 1mproper selection of the grapes intendedfor distillation . It mu st appear evident thatbad fruit cannot produ ce

good drink, and it may, therefore , be inferred, that it'

is, in'

a gre atmeasu re , owing to this want of discrimination that an inferior. liqu oris produ ced. The French are chargeable with notseparating, atthecommencement ’

of the vintage,the wines intended for drink from thoseto be converted into brandies ; hence it-frequently happens that gene‘

393

rous and good wines,which might be drunkwithou t any modification,are sacrificed to the still, while, on the contrary, the thin small/w ines,both red and white , are setapart for the table ,to the disadvantage of

the grower, seller, and consumer . To make a superior brandy, thefru it, or W ine , to be distilled, shou ld be of the best description .Formerly, aromatic seeds and juices were made u se of as ne cessary

ingredients, but that.

practice has been long abandoned, since it w asfou nd that a pure spirit w as more easily obtained from the simple

fermented j u ice cf the grape , than from any mixtu re to which re cou rse

had been made .

The general method now observed in the manufactu re of brandydiffers in nothing from that practised in the distillation of malt-wash,or molasses in Great Britain, except that a little of the natural lee isthrown into the still along with the wine to improve the flavou r .

The stills generally employed are made of copper, setin brick-work,with proper fines and dampers, and differ in the ir conformation accord

ing to the taste or caprice of the owners. In some of them the bot

toms are broad, in others, narrow. The most common and appropriste form is that of a frustrum of a cone , with a concave bottom,

having the greater base upwards. From its constru ction, the bottomrece ives the force of the flame with greater pre cision than if it were

flat; and from its convexity inside , the sediment falls on that part of

the bottom resting on the brick-work, and by this means saves bu rning, and the consequ ent empyreumatical flavou r which might begiven to the spirit . The stills are worked slowly and cau tiou sly, andthe flu id kept ata regular temperatu re, so that the spirit may be drawn

off as pu re as possible .

The ingenu ity of the French chemists and the u nlimited meanswhi ch they have had for the exercise of their talents, have enabledthem to e ffect improvements in the constru ction of stills and of distilling

machinery, which have considerably facilitated the progress of this

branch of bu siness ; and a still has been la tely employed by M. CharlesD erosne , so contrived that it has the advantage of continu ou s distillation,withou t be ing attended with extraordinary expense in fu el, or anyof the disadvantages of the ordinary stills. A description of thisapparatu s appeared of su ch importance , that I procu red, through afriend atParis, a copy of the original design as engraved by Bernard

and D elaru e . The conception of this still originated with M. Ce llierBlumenthal,who, in 1819, assigned it to M . D erosn e , by whom, in animproved state , it w as exhibited in October, 1827, atParis, before theSo cie ty for the promotion of French industry, when, from its superi

ority, he obtained the gold medal.

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396

worm into which the condensed vapou r passes through the pipe at4,having at bottom a cock p , for emptying the vesse l ; also a cock ato

for the pu rpose of letting off water when the work is finishing. H is

a hydrometer attached to the lower part of the refrigeratory E fw ith

a thermometer to ascertain the temperature and . strength of the

spirits which ru n into the re ce iver. On the top ofthe first bo iler, A ,

is a safe ty pipe, d . The figu res 1, 2 are the j u nction between A, B,and C . The pipe 11 and with a cock atg, is for the pu rpose

of re turning to the rectifier, C, the weaker spirit from the near coils of

the worm in D . The pipe 12 , brings by means of the two co cks

(h and the liqu or condensed in the posterior part of D into the

superior part of C . The figu re 13 shows a tu be that commu nicates

with B inside the boiler A”, but this is most frequ ently dispensedwith. The cock J is u sed for emptying into B the liqu id to be dis

tilled and contained in D, when the operation is finished . The letters

k, l, 771, mark the openings into the upper part of D, and are kept shut

and lu ted during the operation . In these openings, are small pipes,two at11, on e of whi ch is generally kept shu t, and the other goes down

a few inches into the liqu id in D, and remains chiefly open to pre vent

accidents.

Before commencing work, A mu st be filled with wine un til w ithintwo or three inches of the pipe 6. A” is also filled to the he ight of

six inches above the discharge pipe 5 . Before the fire is applied to

the boiler, all the other parts of the apparatu s must be filled 'with

wine . The tw o rece ivers, G and F, mu st be also fu ll, and when thecondenser, D, and the refrigeratory, E , are

,

full, the further admission of liqu or is prevented u ntil the w ine in the coppers has partedwi th its spirit, and the flu id in the condenser is of su ch a heat, as to beadmissible into the distilling column, B . When that part of the con

denser, D, which rests upon C, is so warm that the hand cannot bekept upon it, the cock, t, atthe rece iver F is opened. At this stage ,begins what is termed the contin ua l process, since the ' supply of the

vessels with wine, the evaporation, condensation, and cooling, go on

independently, attention to the fire be ing all tha t is necessary.The system practised by this apparatu s is fou nded on the action of

the vapou r produ ced in A, as compared‘

with the quantityof liquidwhich runs from F to D ; and to regu late this and ascertain wha tw as passing in the apparatu s, the indicators, e and j ; were contrived .

A damper, as shown atz , has also been made to moderate or accele

rate the action of the fire . When the distillation is rapid, and the

vapour is qu ickly condensed, the liqu id'

may rise in the column, and

when perceptible atthe middle of the indicator, atc, it may be con

397

eluded that there is too mu ch of the aqu eou s vapou r furnished by A .

The fire mu st then be decreased by pu shing the damper intothe

chimney . When the liqu or inf is seen colouredfitis then also n ecesa

sary to slacken the action of the fire , lest there might be an admixture

of the liqu id passing through D, with the spirit as conde nsed in the

worm du ring the progre ss to E ; or the same end may be aecom

plished by a prompt regu lation of the temperature of D .

When there is occasion to stop the working for fou r or fiv e days,the most simple method of leaving the apparatu s in su ch a stateas to

be readily resumed, is to extingu ish the fire as soon as the wine has

ceased to ru n from G ; by which means, a charge will remain in the

difl'e iient compartments, snfli cient for the re-commencement of

operations.

This very ingeniou s invention has notbe en appli ed in Great Britainso far as I can learn, be cau se it has been strongly urged as an obj ection, that the heavy and inspissated consistence of our malt-wash wou ldnotread ilyflow through the minu te perforations in the she lve s of thecylinders, while it wou ld subj ect the machinery to interru ptions and

acc idents, to which it wou ld notbe so liable in the distillation of

wines. If this obj ection could be overcome by any modification or

improvement the revenue might be readi ly secured, as there is no

part of this apparatu s which cou ld be converted to an improper purpose ; while, from the little expense attending the working of it,persons of limited capital might find it the ir interest to employ su cha machine .

It is common among provincial distillers in France , to ascertain thestrength of the spirits by pu tting a qu an tity of the brandy, as i t ru nsfrom the still, into a clear glass bottle of fou r or five inches in length,swo llen at the centre , whi ch, when we ll shaken, enables them to

determine by the size and stability of the head, the quality of theliqu or and the state of the still : althou gh this is an old and a common

practice , yetall the improvements in the u se of the hydrometer arefully known and

'

practised by the French distillers.

The stills are worked by small faggots , chiefly of ash the head ofthe still is taken off ateach time of charging, and the furnace filledw ith wood . The dampers are then closed and notOpened, u nless thefire is too dull, or in order to give it air. This requ ires cau tion, forif the fire getstrong, there is danger that the still may be burned orthe head blown off ; to prevent which, cold water is thrown on the

he ad and worm, an expedient that not only contribu tes to cool thestill , butto deprive the liqu or of its pu ngency. Great qu antities of

brandy are distilled atBou rdeaux, Rochelle, Cogn iac, and in the

department of Charente , the Isle of Rhe, Orleans, Bo is, Poictiers,Angers, Tou rs, Nantes, Bu rgu ndy, Champagne , and Montpe llier.In the time of Ambrose Pare , who w as physician to Charles IX.

and H enry [I .,I stills were made ln the country of glass and tin ; theformer were considered the best, but some were made of potter’searth shaped in variou s ways, some cylindrical, v iz . round and oblong,o thers twisted, & c.

* H e gives a rece ipt for the manu facture of pu reaqu a, v itae, which w as obtained by a sev en u fold ‘

rectification , and w as

Considered a very valu able medicine in the cu re of epilepsy, diseasespro ceeding from frigidity, wou nds and punctu res of the nerves, syncope , gangrene , and pu trescence . It w as u sed by itse lf, as we ll as toform a vehicle for o ther medicines. H e also mentions a liqu or siinilar

to that distilled in China from the flesh o f sheep . which,he says,w as arestorative . This liqu or w as extracted from the flesh of calves, kids,chickens, fat-hens, partridges, and cock-pheasan ts, pou nded small ;to which were added some barley, the j u ice of fresh roses,with a littlecitron and cinnamon-n ater ; the

_produ ce of these formed the liqu or.In the N orth of France , distillation"is carried on from rye and

barley malt, and atDu nkirk and other -places, cattle are fed on the

grains, wash, andrefuse of the distilleries, as i n Irelan d and Scotland.These distilleries are n otmore than

'

on e-tenth the size of our ow n

establishments ; and the old of s fe'

rmenting the wash on the

grain s j s practised there, as is common with the Flemish and’Dutch.

In the operation only o’

n e .

’

still islu sed ; butthe requ ired s trength isobtained by repeated distillations . In -N ormandy, a spirit { is madefrom sou r apples, which p

'

artakes mu ch of the flavou r of the fru it ; andanother spirit is manu factnred, termed E a u d

’

m’

e de ble. A great deal

of brandyismade from cider generally, also from sirup and molasses,particu larly whe re there are sugar-hou ses. A spirit resembling whis i

key'

i s also made from the fru it of the sloe tree . Some of this ismanufactured by the peasantry in the ne ighbou rhood of Thionville,and 1s preferred by many to real brandy. The fruit when qu ite ripe

is gathered, and with‘

the kernel bru ised to a pu lp, in which state it

ntation for some days, and.

is afterwards distilled .‘

'

of the N orth of France , the root of the Jeru salem

artichoke (H elianthua tu berosu s) , has been introdu ced for the pu rpose'

of distillation . The wash made from this vege table is found to yield

a very pu re , strong spirit, which resembles that obtained from the

grape more than any other substitu te that has hitherto been tried .

‘

A s the root grows readily in Great Britain and might be cu ltivated

abundantly, _it would be we llto try the e x per1menthere , as w e have

Pare 4Works,folio

,c . 3. p. 848.

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400

the pu lp affords little less nou ri shment for cattle , than the root in itsnatural state ; and the residu um of the distillery has latterly been converted into potash. A manu factory, exclu sively for this pu rpose ,has, it is stated, been erected in the vicinity of Valenciennes.

The works employed in the manufacture of bee t-root sugar, through

outFrance , amount to l

u pwards of four hundred, and the produ ce is

stated to be thirty millions of kilogrammes . Su ch is the ardou r withwhich the French are saidto pu rsu e the trade , that Ferney, once theresidence ofthe celebrated Voltaire , hasbeen tu rned into a manu factoryof this article . Chestnu ts have been latterly u sed for the extractionof sugar and, in many instances, they are said to yie ld a proportionabove that of the beet-root . B ut, withou t entering into further particulars; it may be generally observed that as France exceeds almostall other E u ropean countries of equ al extent in the variety and richness of its vege table treasu res, it wo uld be difficu lt to give a morecomprehensive view of the matters on which a people so spe cu lativeand ingenious might exercise the ir industry. It may therefore su fficeto say, that the spirits drawn from materials other than the grape ,have been estimated at hectolitres ata strength of 19° byCartier’s areometre .

A great qu antity of the brandy and spirits manufactured in Franceis u sed

'

in the making of liqu eu rs in whi ch the French have alwaysexcelled. The introdu ction of these beverages took place , accordingto Beckman, in the year 15 33, on the o ccasion of the marriage of

H enry II. when Duke of Orleans, with Catherine D e Medicis. The .

artof making them w as derived from the Italians, to whom the inv en

tion is attribu ted ; they were termed by them lz'

quorz'

, and vendedthrough fore ign countries u nder that appellation . The ir pleasingpalatable qu alities ensu red them a ready admission to the tables of the

great, while the ir seemingly mild and medicinal properties offered , a

temptation to the weak and delicate , whose constitu tional debilityrequ ired a su ccession of artificial stimulants. Lou is XIV. became so

addicted to them in his old age , that he cou ld scarcely endure e x is

tence withou t them . A li st of these compou nds, with the mode of

making them,wou ld occupy a small volume and it is to be feared

that advantage is too frequ ently taken of the innocency of the name ,to cover an indu lgence in stronger liquors.

In making brandy from the skins of the grape , it has ,be,en lately

discovered that the presence of the stones commu nicates an empyreu -smatical taste to the liqu or and hence it has been recomm ended to

separate them notonly on that accou nt, butas a profitable specula

tion, since an oil of a very superior description can be obtained from

401

the stones, that answers as a highly valu able lamp-oil, as we ll as beingpreferable to many other oils u sed for the pu rposes of the table . A s

a lamp-o il i t yie lds a brilliant flame withou t e ither smoke or sme ll, andis of so good a natu re that an ou nce of it, subjected for an hou r to a

heat of 176’ of Fahrenhe it, loses only forty grains.

The value of the brandy annu ally exported amou nted, atthe com

mencement of the last century, to livres in 1778, toin 1784, to in 1787 , to In the

year 1789, there were exported to the Baltic, hogsheads, and

in 1790, Townsend, when he visited Montpellier in 1787,pu rchased the best wine for on e half-penny per qu art . The abu n

dance at that time was so disproportioned to the demand, that theinhabitants dis tilled as mu ch as fre ighted 32 vesse ls, containing

gallons, the principal part of which, he says, w as smuggledinto E ngland .1

' Notwithstanding this vast manu facture , the impor

tation of foreign spirits into France is sometimes very considerable .

In 1787, the value of the corn spirits imported, amou nted to

livres, and that of wine-brandy toThe revenu e arising to the state , according to You ng , from the

du ties on wine and home-made Spirits, amou nted u nder the govern

ment of Lou is XVI, to livres, or sterling.

B utit w as not near so mu ch during the late revolu tionary wars ; ithas , however, since the general peace of E urope increased to a degreehighly beneficial to the French nation . In the beginning of the fou r

tee nth century, so great w as the export of this commodity, that theport of Bourdeaux alone , sent out in one year vessels ladenw ith wine to the amount of tu ns. In the time of M . Lavo i

sier, there were consumed in Paris mu ids of Wine , brandy,cider, and beer, amou nting to bottles. In 1822, France

exported to E ngland gallons of brandy . The annu al

e x ports of wine in France , are compu ted to be gallons,valu ed at sterling ; butthese form only g

ls part of the

whole produ ce of the vineyards of the cou ntry. The consumption in

Paris alone , amou nted, in 1834, to hectolitres of wine ;of brandy of cider and perry ; and of beer to hectolitres .

The wine-shops in the city, in 1833, were while through the

entire cou ntry, the wine -sellers numbered and the consump

t ion averaged e ighteen gallons for e ach individu al . The total sums

levied on the wine s amounted, in 1835 , to sterling.

O ddy on E uropean Commerce .

1Townsend’

s Travels, v ol. i. pp. 47, 48.

402

The market forwine in Paris is held in a large square called H a lle

a u x v in y, and covers a space of square yards. It is divided

into streets, with stores on each side , named afte r different kinds of

wines, or districts where the best descriptions are produ ced . O ne of

the large bu ildings is appropriated for brandy, and the‘

others are set

apart for wines while su itable accommodations are provided for themerchants and the officers, who su perintend the entrance and delivery

of the wines. Here the dealers resort to sele ct and make purchasesof su ch liqu ors as they requ ire . It w as computed that these bu ildingswo uld contain from 6 to casks, e ach of which pays a du ty ofte n-pence , and sometimes fifteen hu ndred are entered in a day the

quan tity be ing measured and certified by the officers. This marketplace forms a sort of promenade and is attractive from its appearance,having rows of trees planted, and some of the bu ildings su rroundedwith terraces. This commodiou s and extensiv e stru cture is a furtherillustration of the geniu s and enterprise of B uonaparte . The winessold outof this marke t to merchants and o thers, in on e year, haveamou nted to of hectolitres.

The rate of wine in Paris may be considered rather high, whencompared with the cou ntry prices, but this is owing to the du ty andthe variou s expense s attending its conveyance to the capital. The

Vin d e M (20072 varies from e le ven-pe nce to one shilling and tw o-pencethe bottle . Indifferent B ourdeax sells atsix -pence , while Champagneo f the best quality brings from fo ur to fi ve shillings the bottle and

o ther wines are sold, according to the ir qu ality, in similar proportions.

The env irons of the city are filled with little ale-hou ses, termed gu in

gu ettes, where the middling clases resort on Su ndays and holydays, toregale themse lves with wine and other beverages, which can be

obtained ata cheaper rate'

there , than in the city. The wine made in

the immediate vicinity of Paris is very inferior, and is termed Vin deSu renn e, from its indifferent character.

In concluding the subj e ct of French distilled an d fermented liqu ors,it is mu ch to be regretted, that in a country where the re is su ch a

re du ndance of valuable wines, the restrictions of commerce shou ldhave rendered access to these commodities so diffi cu lt, and the ir general u se so limited on accou nt of the heavy du ties imposed on them.

In many parts of France , (particu larly in the sou th-west,) as observedby Dr. Bowring, the wine-c e llars are glu tted, and people complain ofthe want of a ready sale , and ru in, in many cases, stares the nafe r

tu nate growers in the face since they have be en known in some

instances to sell the ir wine ata half-penny a bottle, While in the region

bordering cn the‘

M oselle , they have disposed of itatfrom three -half?

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404

E v ery vine plan tation contains a handsome cottage forthe vine-dresser ,and all has the appearance of active and animated indu stry.In so diversified and luxu rianta land as Italy, the wines mu st be in

proportion to the natu re of the so il and the management of the vineyards. At on e period, particu larly in the time of Theodoric, winew as so cheap, that a gallon of it w as sold for less than three-farthings,and a modern traveller says, that a goblet of the best sort can be purchased for the same money. For many years, however, the Italianshave paid little attention to the cultivation of the vine , no grou nd,generally speaking, be ing exclu sively appropriated to that pu rpose .

The vines are commonly planted withou t distinction of spe cies, on theedges of corn fields, trained upon trees, or fou nd spontaneously clambering on hedge rows, and shooting up trees to the he ight of fou rteenor fifteen fe et, affording the peasant withou t toil, a suflicientsupplyof wine for his own consumption. The vine be ing but an obj e ct ofminor

’

consideration, no pains are taken in the tillage of the vineyards, in gathering the grapes, in se le cting the good grapes from the

bad, n or in cleanliness during the op erations of treading, fermenta~

tion, or in casking and preserving the wine when manufactu red.The calcareou s hills in the centre of Tu scany are said to produ ce

the best wines in Italy, and the y are distingu ished by different appe llations from the names of v ariou s kinds of grapes from which theyare produ ced, as A leatico, C olumbano, Tr ibbiano, Vernaccia , (30 . all

red wines. Among the white wines formerly made in Tu scany, w asthe Verdea , a greenish colou red liqu or, the favourite of Frederick I I.of Pru ssia, and mu ch celebrated by travellers. The white mu scadelwines of Albano and Monte -Fiascone , and the red and white winesof Orvieto,are of an inferior description, though the p rodu ce of the

Chu rch territory.

In N aples, wines are abundant, both red and white : many of themrank high the best kind, termed L a cryma Christi, is produ ced fromthe v iheyards near Vesuviu s. A notion prevails that this wine oughtn otto be dru nk by any but those long accu stomed to the climate .

This, however, seems to be an erroneou s opinion , for, if n ottaken to

excess, there is n o more danger to be apprehended from it than fromany ofthe other wines of E u rope , the proximity to Vesu viu s having noinflu ence Whate ver on its valuable properties. The city of P ompe ii, so

long bu ried und er the eruptions of Vesu viu s, ismantled with vineyards

planted on the lava by which it was overwhelmed ; and until 1748,the wine-growers were ignorant that they were trampling on the ru insof a once popu lou s and magnificent city, within whose walls the

Falernian, the Coecuban , and the Rhaetican once flowed to the inspi

405

ration of some of the'

best bards that ever stru ck the lyre . The v alueof the wine and the extent to which it w as consumed may be inferred

from the number of public taverns discovered within the ru ins of

Hercu laneum be ing no less than 900, while in Pompe ii the cou ntersandflaggons that were chained to the posts, indicated the e stimationin which that beverage w as held . It is remarkable , that in the villasdiscovered atPompe ii, the wine cellars are placed, as Col

'

umella directs,

ata distance fromthe bath and bake -hou se .

In Calabria, vines produ ce after be ing two years planted, and bear

during sixty and sometimes on e hu ndred years. The wines are variou sin qu ality, ow ing to the goodness of the fru it and the process in themaking. The Palina and Nicostra are said to be good for e ight years,while others, particu larly the red wines of Monte L eone , do notkeepabove three years, and the white wines notmu ch beyond six months .

In the vicinity of G ierace is made the v ino Greco, a rich, swe et, whitewine , the produ ce of vines brought originally from Gree ce .

* Arou nd

Reggio, vineyards are numerou s and the wine is of good qu ality.Were proper encou ragement given to the rearing of vines, Calabriamight be made to yie ld a su perior class of wines, but u nfortunately

the poor peasantry have little intere st in this, or any other improve

ment of the so il, beyond what supports existence , as they have been

greatly oppressed by the heavy exactions of the ir ru lers.

N o cou ntry shou ld be supplied with a better wine than Italy, as

there is scarcely any other intoxicating beverage u sed, and as the

grapes form a great portion of the cu ltu re of the country ; yettravel

lers complain that very little good wine is to be found in the whole

peninsula. O ne great cau se of the Italian wine be ing of so inferior a

character, is, as already stated, owing to the negligent mode of its cu lti

vation, and the want of cleanliness and attention to the process in the

difl'erentstages of the manufacture . Grapes are often gathered before

be ing ripe , and the good and bad promiscu ou sly trodden in the same

trough hence the ‘ produ ce cannot be expected equ al to that arising

from fru it perfe ctly ripe , freed from stem, and of prime character .

To the bad mode of fermentation may be added another cau se , that

of constantly pu tting fresh mu stinto the v atu ntil the whole ceases to

fermen t u nder an exhaus tion of strength, and this is done from igno

rance of the real nature of fermentation ; besides, leaving the vats

open and exposed to the influence ofthe atm osphere ,which mu st gre atly

tend to injure the aroma and body of the liqu or. In short , to the

ignorance, obstinacy, and carelessness of the Italians, the inferiority of

E lmhirst'

s Calabria, 8vo.

406

their wines is wholly chargeable - E ven in the days of Pliny, nearly

years ago, the Italians were reproached with indifference in the

cu ltivation of the vine , the ir avarice indu cing them to sacrifice the

qu ality to the qu antity. It may be observed in general, that notw ith

standing the complaint lodged against the Italian w ines, excellentdescriptions of native produ ce are occasionally to be metwith in

almost every town of Italy. The common wine atFlorence and Rome

has little flavou r. The better kinds are the Monte Pu lciano, the

Orvieto, and the Aleatico , the first of which has not any pecu liarityand is comparable to weak claret. The Tuscan wines ne ither bear

carriage nor keep long, and are u su ally kept in chestnu t casks : when

sent to E ngland ,they are generally putup in thin glass flasks packedin chests, se cured by a plaiting of straw ingeniou sly worked rou ndthem and, before the wine is corked, a little o il is pou red in, perhaps

to prevent the air from escaping . In some of the large palaces,wine

lS sold by retail, that the proprietor may thu s turn into money the

produce of his estate . For this pu rpose , a little window or wicket is

opened in some convenient part of the wall, j u st large enough to

admit the flask which the pu rchaser intends to be filled . The nobility

of G reat Britain wou ld consider su ch a practice as highly derogatoryto the ir rank and character . N ear the town of C ome , the birth-place of

Pliny the younger, and lately celebrated as the residence of the consortof George the Fourth, vineyards are pretty numerou s, particu larly ou

'

the hills adjoining and atvariou s places in the rocks, which be come

ste ep atthe edge of the lake , there are wine-cellars in which the innkeepers and dealers of the place keep their wines : from these a supplyis forwarded in boats to Como as o ccasion requ i1es. N o distillationfrom grain is carried 011, although Indian corn is cu ltivated1n Carniola,Styria, and Italy, to considerable extent ; this grain w as introdu ced atVerona u pwards of 200 years ago . Here it is calledfermentone at

M ilan, melyane in Piedmont, granone in Tu scany, grantu rco in

Sou th America,ma iz e and by L innaeu s, zea mags . It is remarkablethat this grain doe s not thrive in a latitu de farther north than that

which is congenial to the growth of the vine , say, 5 0 degrees fromthe equ ator . It forms one of the chief articles of food in those coun:tries ; with the stalks cattle are fed, an d the fogolia , or chaff, is u sedfor mattresses .

In a cou ntry so particu larly gifted by nature , and abounding inflow ers, plants, and tre es of every sort, honey mus t be plentiful. The

bees, howe v e1, are not left to the ir own instinctive ope rations, butare reared in cylindrical hive s, hollowed from the trunks of trees commonly a foot in diameter and two feet in height. These hives are placed

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408

of its vineyards. To this place , Polis, tyrant of Syracu se , and an

Argive by birth, transplanted from Italy the grape which produ ced

the Vinum Pollium , an article held in the highest estimation .In the Lipari islands, some good wines are manufactu red : from

the largest island of this group, abou t two or three thousand barre lsare annu ally exported. Two sorts of grape , (termed P assole and

P assolina ) are dried ; the latter is more generally known as the

Corinthian grape, and affords from ten to twelve thou sand barrels of

wine for sale . Abou t two thou sand barrels of Malmsey wine are

made in the island, and which for its exce llence is mu ch e steemed .

Spirits of a good description are distilled in many of the islands of

the Mediterranean . In Corsica, excellent wines are made : thewhitewine produ ced abou t Capo Co rso is of two kinds, one resembles Xeres.so mu ch, that large quantities are sent yearly to Germany, and soldthere u nder that name ; it is also sent to E ngland and L eghorn , and

sold as Spanish wine : there are many other fin e wines produ ced inthis island, one spe cies of white resembling Frontignac, another kind

atFuriani might pass for Syracusan, while there are some very likeTokay and Burgu ndy. Indeed, in few islands are to be found so many

varieties of w ines, or grapes produ cing more rich or generou s liqu or,and the brandy distilled there is of superior quality.Of the wines of Sardinia little is said, butthere is suflicientmade

to enable the inhabitants to export to the north of E u rope , particu

larly to Ru ssia and the N etherlands ; brandy is also distilled in su chqu antitie s as to afford sufficient for exportation . In

‘

the small Islandof E lba, tw o kinds of wines are manufactured, red and white , thegrapes being of superior quality the wines are rich, strong, and wellflavou red, the Vermont and C leatico are highly esteemed .

’

In makingthem, the grapes are trodden u nder foot, as the inhabitants have not

hitherto u sed the'

press. Brandy of great purity and excellence isdistilled, and, were its valu e with those of the wines of this islandknown in E ngland, quantitie s might be imported mu ch to the adv an

tage of the British dealers.

Malta produ ces little or no wine , buta large portion of its revenu eis derived from a low du ty on spirits and wine imported, the former at15 d . per gallon, the latter, when of an inferior qu ality, at the samerate , butthe be tter kind of wine pays 2d. per bottle , and the tax

raised on this article amou nted annually to nearly

Among the Ionian islands, that of Cephalonia is the most respectable , and its wines have been celebrated from the earliest periods,e spe cially its red wines and it is also noted for the goodness of itsmuscadine raisins and currents, from which an advantageous commerce

409

is conducted . The native grapes are as large as plums and the wine .

made from them is strong and pleasant . Abu ndance of well flavouredhoney is produ ced there , butmead is notcommon .

The vine in this island is principally cu ltivated on stony groun d

hence the wines are called Vino di Sasso,”or wines of stone , from

the love of stony grou nd evinced by the plant. Muscadel makes a

sweet wine like Constantia thi s vine delights in a rich soil, buttheVino di 8115 80 is the best among the dry wines. Here there are a

great variety of grapes, and the M arsala of Sicily is not to be com

pared to that of C ephalon iafi" The whole produ ce of the Island

amou nts to from 30 to casks, the half of which is red and is

of a spirituous na tu re ; the remainder consists of white wine of an

agreeable taste , inclu ding casks of mu scade l, some of which isof inferior qu ality. From three to fou r thou sand casks of brandy aredistilled annually, which are sent to Trieste ,V enice ,Leghorn , E ngland,and Russia . And from the aromatic herbs and flowers, liqu eurs areprepared in two e stablishments erected for the pu rpose ; honey to theamount of 80 or 90,0001bs. is collected from the bees of the Island .

The island next in importance is Corfu ,the w ines of which, for the

most part, are also red butthough swee t, they are not considered

equ al in body to some produ ced in the neighbou ring islands. The bestdescription may be obtained for 4d . or 5 d . a bottle , atthe capital.The wines of Zante are accou nted excellent, and some of them

approach to Tokay, they have the appearance of claret, butare ratherswe et, and sell atfrom 6d . to 7d . the bottle : white wines are scarcein this island. Here are to be fou nd the finest mu scadine grapes,which are dried and exported to E ngland and other parts of E u rop e .

Walpole enumerates no less than forty different species of grape

cu lt ivated in this island, ofWhich the 'vz

'

tz'

s corint/ u'

aca is the principal.

The stem of the E ptakoilos, one of those spe cies, is selected for amatrimonial crown atnuptial ceremonies, and care is taken to se le cta branch that has forty knots, which being a proof of the prolific

qualities of the vines is so communicated to the bride .TAccording to Hughes, there are as many sorts of wine as grapes

some swee t lik e the mu scat, others lu sciou s like the Cyprus , a fewslightly acid like the Rhenish, but most are dry like the Sherry.

These last named wines bear the same comparative superiority in

po int of strength over those of the other islands as they seem to have

done in ancient tim es yetmany ages mu st elapse in the civilisation

Napier’

s Ionian Islands, sve . p . 263. 1833.

tMemoirs Relating to European and Asiatic Turkey, 4to. p. 293, 4, 5 , 6, 7.

4 10

o f the people and the cu ltivation of the ir vines, before the produ ce’

can rival that of ancient Gree ce , which w as held in'

su ch estimation

as to be dealt outin single portions atthe tables of the great, like

imperial Tokay atou r modern banqu etsfi‘

Zante is remarkable for its abu ndant produ ce of cu rrants, the proper

name of which is C orinths , from be ing originally cu ltivated abou tCorinth in Greece . From seven to e ightthou sand millions of poun ds

are the common annu al produ ce . .The price varies from 143. to 18s .

per cwt . The n ew cu rrants always form part of the dessert atthetables of the respectable inhabitants.

From the arbutus u n edo, the fru it of which is eaten and esteemed adelicacy, a spirit is drawn, as also a vinegar of a bright golden colou r.

The annu al produ ce of wine in Zante averages abou t Venetian barrels and ofthe honey ofthe island, of which there is a con si

derahle qu antity colle cted, the greater portion is sent to Venice .

The wine of Ithaca is e steemed the best in the Ionian islands i t

is like port in appearance , of a swee t flavou r, and,”

as has been remarkedby a re cent visiter, exce llent enough to ju stify the taste of Penelope

’

s,

su itors in draining large goble‘ts of it to the health of the ir fair mistress .

Here it may be noted that the modern Greeks, who are strongly

attached to wine, do notfollow the cu stom of pu tting a glass into thegoble t for each gu est ; butu se only a single goble t:outof which every,

individu al drink s in tu rn . Captain Jones, in his travels through

Sweden, relates that a similar practice is prevalent in that cou ntryxl'

Ithaca abou nds in currants, cwt . of which are annu ally exported .

A small qu antity of wine is also shipped from it, and reckoned

amongst the best in the Ionian isles the colou r and flavour are intermediate .between port and clare t and the liqu or is notspoiled by

impregnation with turpentine , as is commonlythe case with the winesof the Grecian continent .From the island of Santa Mau ra the annu al exportsare abou t

barrels, and the island of Z ea raises abou t 7 ,000barrels, and ships 3orbarrels of wine of an e x celleu tflav ou r while on the island, but

during the cou rse of a voyage , it generally becomes sou r and oftenpu trid, an effect produ ced by the want of bran dy to preserve it.i:The island of Cre te , now called Candia, is described ,

w ith -enthu

siasm by travellers, for the mildness of its climate , the fragranceof the air, the fertility of the soil, and the pictu resqu e beauty of its

Vide Hughe s’

Travels.

1“ Travels in Norw ay , Sw eden , Sec .

l2 v ols. 8v e . v ol. . i . p . 70.

I G alt'

s Letters from the L evant, 8vo. p . 262.

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4 12

the produ ce of a domain belonging to the knights of Malta, is he ld inthe greatest estimation amongstthe natives. The mu scadine is a richdessert wine ; the Commendaria is a sweet wine improving in delicacyand flavou r in proportion to its age . Perhaps there is no cou ntry onearth which yields su ch abundance of lu scious fru it . Theju ice of the

Cyprian grape resembles a concentrated essence . The wine of this

island is famou s alloverthe Levant, so that in the hyperbolical languageof the Greeks, itis said to possess the power of restoring you th toage and animation to those who are atthe po int of death . Cyprian

wine, however, is notmu ch relished by E nglishmen on accou nt of its

swee tness which renders it repugnant to the ir taste . Tho ugh a

powerfu l aperient, it sometimes disorders the bowels even after be ingkept a number of years. When bottled for 10 or 12 years, it moreresembles Tokay than any other wine, butthe Cyprians prefer keeping it in casks, where , although exposed to the air, it will ke ep forany number of years. After having thu s withstood the vicissitudesof the season for a single year, it is supposed to have passed therequ isite proof and it then sells for three Tu rkish piasters the gooze orabou t 21 pints for fiv e shillings, and afterwards the price augments in

proportion to 'the length of time it has be en kept . C ommendaria of

40 years’ standing in cask is considered a balm, and is preserved onaccou nt of its supposed restorative and healing quality for the sickand dying. T he casks are never filled, and the bung is merely coveredwith a bit of sheet lead, which is almost daily removed to letcu stomerstaste it. Upon these occasions a hollow cane or reed is immersed in

the liqu or, and by su ction a specimen is brought up and pou re d into

a glass. Both the C ommendaria and M u scad are whi te wines when

qu ite n ew they have a slight violet tinge which age soon removes

afterwards they retain the colou r of Made ira . Cypru s produ ces redwines also butthey are little esteemed and u sed only as weak liqu ors

for the table . It seems to be want of attention that prevents the red

wine being rendered as famou s as the white as it possesses all the

requ isites to make it excellent . The flowers of the smilax'

asp ara ,

called in Cypru s Z u lobatos, which are extremely fragrant,are immersed

in wine to give ita gratefu l odou r.* Cyprus and Candia, when

u nder the government of the Venetians, supplied the greater part of

E u rope with wines : Candia alone is said to have exported u pwards

oftw o hundred thou sand jars ofmalrnsey annu ally. L ate ly, the year] yprodu ce w as equ al to jars, or barrels, Italian measu re .

E ach of these jars holds abou t fiv e bottles of Florence measu re . The

Venetians carry off a great deal of it, and some is sentto Fra nce,

Dr. Clarke '

s Travels in Gre ece , Scc v ol. 4. p . 18, 19, 20.

413

E ngland, Holland, and to different parts of Italy. It is a cu stom inCypru s to bu ry large vessels of Wine on the birth of a child, which

are notraised u ntil the solemnization of its marriage , which is perhaps

u pwards of twenty years after . During this period, the wine is said

to acquire an exqu isite flavou r, and to become a real luxu ry to a deli

cate palate . The Cyprians, in making wine , carry the grapes from

the terraces with shove ls into limos or ce llars paved with marble or

covered with cement, and obliqu ely inclined. They are then squ eezed

as often as is ne cessary, in small presses called p atitz’

rz'

,the j u ice flowing

into a cistern placed atthe lowest part of the floor. It is afterwards

conveyed into large earthen conical pitchers, half immersed in earth,where itis allowed to ferment for 40 days, and then closed with a

clod of baked earth . From dried grapes an excellent spiritu ou s liqu or

is made , partly for home comsumption , and partly for exportation to

Syria.

Afte r the conqu est of Cypru s by the Tu rks, some of the wine fou ndthere w as e ighty years old it w as sent to the seraglio as a most

valuable rarity, and it kindled in the fire and burned lik e oil. It is

related of the E mperor Selim I I., that he conqu ered Cypru s on

a ccount of its deliciou s wines, remarking on that o ccasion to Mu stapha

his generalissimo , I pu rpose to co nqu er Cypru s, an island which

c ontains a treasu re that none butthe King of kings ought to possess

In Cypru s, bees are reare d and the honey colle cted in the following

manner —The people bu ild a wall formed entirely of earthen cylinders

e ach abou t three feet in length, place d on e above the o ther horizon

tally, and closed attheir e x tremeties with mortar. This wall is thencovered with a shed, and u pwards of may thu s be conta inedin a very small compass. The contrivance is simple , and w as dou bt

less suggested by the more ancient cu stom still existing in the Crimeao f harbouring bees in cylindrical hiv es made from the bark of tre es.

The hives of E gypt and Palestine are of the same form ; those of

E gypt are , according to Hasselqu ist, made of coal du st and clay,wellm ixed together. They are abou t a span in diame ter, an d from 6 to12 fee t long . They are dr ied in the sun and become very hard .Walpole , in his rou te from Smyrna to Halicarnassu s, passed hives ofthis description made of earthenware , and from 2§ to 8 fee t in length.Rhodes, the largest island of the Cyclades, is extremely fru itfnl,

and luxu riou s in grain, fru i ts, andflow ers but owing to the ignorance , despotism , superstition , and inju diciou s policy of the Turks,theinterests of agricu lture are entirely disregarded, and a great portiono f the land is wholly u nc u ltivated . Rhodes, so called from rhodon ,

a rose, w ith which this island very mu ch abou nds, was renowned for

4 144

the brazen Colossus,a‘

statu e of Apollo , placed ov e1 the harbou r,ho lding a ship i n the right hand, and m the left, a light-hou se for the

d ire ction of mariners. Some say it w as 120 feet, others 70 cubits 111he ight, so that ships passed i n full sail between its legs into the harbou r of the capital . After having stood 1360 years, it w as throwndown by an ‘

e arthqu ake , and it took n ine hu ndred camels to carry

away the’ fragments . The basis on

'

which it rested w as triangu lar,and its extremities were supported by sixty marble pillars. A wind

ing stair-caseled to its summit, from'

which, by the assistance of a

great looking-glass hu ng abou t its neck, on e cou ld perce ive Syria, andthe vessels Steering through the L evant and the Z Egean seas to

Gree ce , E gypt; Rome , and Carthage . The vine islittle attended toby the inhabitants, though Rodwell observed bu nches of Rhodiangrapes three-fou rths of an ell in length, and each grape as large as a

plum . Dandini saw others of the same size atMou nt L ibanu s, andPlinymentions bu nches of Afi

'ican grapes that were larger than an

infant . Wine has latterly be come an article of export .

The tyranny of the Tu rks over the inhabitants of the Greekislands, rendered the possession of property precariou s, an d indu cedmany of

’

the wealthy to appear as if they were really poor. An

anecdote is related by a late traveller in Candia, illu strative of thisfact, and which may n othere be considered irrelavant. H e w as inv i

ted to afriend’s hou se to dine , theapproach to which w as so wre tched,that he anticipated nothing butthe most humble fare . After

'

passingthrough several windingand dirtyalleys, he w as u shered into what

appeared to him a complete lumber-room, dark, smoky, and filthy, and

e venwithout a window to letin a single ray of light. The hostess,dressed like a cook, placed before the traveller and his companionssome three-legged stools, on which wood, meat, and tobacco appeared

to’ have been alternately chopped . The do or be ing barred

,

‘ in aninstant, as if by magic, the walls were cu rta ined with the most splendid P ersian tapestry, and the apartment lighted u p in the most brilliant manner . A service of the most beau tiful porcelain adorned thetable , as we ll as knives, forks , and spoons of silver; with elegantly giltde cante i s of polished glass, filled with the richest Cyprian winesThe dinn er w as sumptu ou s, the confectionary rich and v ai iou s

,and

the e ntertainment altogethe1 su ch as wou ld not disgrace a monarch .

Copiou s libations of wine terminate d the repast, and in a moment, the

whole disappeared as if by thewand of a necromancer, leaving theroom in the same disma l state as on the first entrance .

In all the islands of the Archipelago , wine is made in greater or

less quantitie s and from the abun dant saccharine matter of the

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4~l6

qu alities, and in su ch e stimation , as to be transmitted in largequ antities to Constantinople , for the u se of the Grand Se ignior‘sseraglio . A magnificent harbou r appears in front, cottages lurkamidst deliciou s gardens in the rere behind precipices of pu rplerocks, rising in their nakedness. Here the followers of the Pro

phet enjoy the coolness of the shade , smoking the ir pipe s, andperforming the ir ablu tions where Maeonides w as inspired; No

stronger proof can be given of the‘

celebrity of the wines of Scio, than

the ancient co ins of the island, which have in front a. sphinx, with abu nch of grapes ; for the reverse an amphora, with other symbols of

the island’s fertility.

Milo is fertile in fru it, and afl'ords wine of a respectable character.Paros, another of the Cyclades, is not less celebrated for its wine ,than for its marble . From this island were brou ght those remarkab lestones, known by the title of the Arnndelian Marbles, and which havebeen so interesting to antiqu arian s. The wine of L emnos, or Stalim ene , is cheap,rough, and badly made. The earth called term sigz

'

llata ,

once mu ch esteemed for its medicinal virtu es, and of which weremade the drinking-cups of the Grand Se ignior, be ing a te st of poison ,w as chiefly procu red from this island. The antiqu ities of Naxos, orNaxia, relate almost exclus ively, to the worship of Bacchu s. N axia,w as formerly renowned for a kind of marble termed Ophite s, whichw as speckled like the skin ofa serpent, and ofwhich drinking cupsweremade . It produ ces wine , oranges, and lemons the lemon-ju ice and

the distillation from the lemon-rind, are sent to Ru ssia.

In Syros or Syra, among the ancient cu stoms still ex isting, theceremonies of the vintage are particu larly conspicu ou s. Before su n

rise , a number of young women are seen coming towards the town,covered w ith the branches and leaves ofthe vine , where they are met,

or accompanied by the ir lovers singing, and jo ining in a circu lar

dance . Tenos produ ces a sufficiency of wine for its ow n consump

tion, of which there is a small qu antity of that denominated Malvasia .

In Andros, a good deal of wine is made , butvery little exported,be ing all consumed athome : the inhabitants are characterized as

great dru nkards.

Samos produ ces the rich mu scadine wine , formerly esteemed u nderthe name of Malmsey. Unlike eve ry other wine , the swee t mu scato

is best in the first year, as its fine perfume passes off in the cou rse of

the second ; and as it grows old it becomes strong and spiritu ou s,like the C ommendaria of Cypru s. Mead might be manufacturedhe re , as honey is very plentiful. The Carob-tree is reared in Samos,and a great qu antity of its fru it issent into Ru ssia, ‘where it is dis

417

tilled into a spirit, u sed by the common people . In Turkey, this fru it

is u sed chiefly‘

in fe eding horse s ; among the Romans, the carob w as

the standard of a we ight, as the barley-corn is with u s a standard of

measm '

e . M ycon e produ ces a red wine , of ;which:abou t fiv e thousand barrels are made annually the quality resembles that of clare t,but the inhabitants have a mode of making different kinds ; and as

the claret sort is the most expensive , they Will rather cheat than give

itgenuine . When the grapes are fresh pu lled, the claret flavou r of

the wine is best obtained by drying the grapes in the sun the othersorts, and which stand the most watering, ar

’

e p'

rodu cedj difl'

erently

when the grapes are too mu ch dried, the wm e be comes rather sweet .

Most of the wine made .on the island of Mytilene is sold to the

Greeks, who convert it into brandy. From Tenedos, u pwards of

okes of wine are annu ally exported. The Tu rkish govern

ment farmed the revenu e on this article , which commonlyv

amou nted

to piasters , or atfou r shillings each, to The wine of

Tenedos is sent in large qu antities to Constantinople , Smyrna, and

Ru ssia ; and although not celebrated by the ancients, like the winesof Scio and Lesbos, yetit is considered superior to that of the sur

rou nding islands. According to the writers ofthe Universal History,the mu scato wine of Tenedos is the most delicious of all ' in theLevant and it may be proved that this island has in all times prod u ce d great abu ndance of good wine , since on some of its ancien t

medals, is to be seen the branch of a vine , charged with grapes, a

plain indication, that it w as, ata remote period, famed for this article .

‘le

The brandy made from it is re ckoned very good, and the little thatis exported pays abou t fou r paras, or fou r-fifths of a penny per oke .

The wine of Tenedos w ill keep from 14 to 16 years ; after that it

loses its red co lou r and becomes white , butretains its strength andflavor to a mu ch longer period. Good wine of Tenedos notonly excelse very other wine of Gree ce , but, perhaps, cannot be equ alled inE urope . The red wine is strong, and as dark and rou gh as port a.

small qu antity of mu scadel is made and mu ch esteemed . The red

mu scade l sells at e ight paras, or fou r-pence the oke ; the white at

thirty . There is an export du ty on wine of two paras the oke , and

rakee , the common raw Spirits, pays fou r paras the oke a large tax islevied on the vineyards - f1°om the Greeks, e leven paras, or 5 5 d .

Hobhou se , in his accou nt of his Jou rn ey through Alban ia , &c w ith Lord

Byron in 1809-10,alluded to the se m edals

,and refers to a Catalogu e of Coirs

of the G recian Commonw e alth,chiefly outo f G oltziu s , in “

'

alker 011 coin s and

medals, p . 43

, London ,1692 . V id. Hobhou se

,v ol. ii. p. 674.

418

are taken for e very thou sand vines from the Turks only fiv e parasare taken . In 1829, the wine sold for li d . a quart.The Ru ssians draw a considerable supply of wines from Santorin,

(the ancient Thera ,) one of the most este emed ofwhich is v ino santo .

This is sold at the vintage for three or fou r paras the oke , or on e

penny per bottle , and ismade from white grapes. The vine -growersexpose the grapes to the su n for seven or e ight days, spread on the

terraces, orflatroofs of the hou ses theyare then pre ssed , or troddenin a v at, and the liqu or is putinto casks, and carefully bunged up till thefermentation ceases. It soon be come s a swee t and lu sciou s wine,and is exported from the island to the amou nt of of okes.Some brandy is made , ~butthe qu antity is in considerablef

“

The island of Skopelos, which lies.

sou th of Salonica, produ cesgrapes of good qu ality, and its wine has been long in repu te , and ispreferable to many contin e ntal w ineso f Gre ece . The inhabitantsmakea cake from the mu st ofwine ,boiled with a certa in proportion of flou r,which forms a paste o f an agreeableflav our. This cake , in its com

position, is said to resemble the mustaceum, or bride -cake of the

Romans. Dr.‘

H olland conj e ctures that this island is the ancient

P eparethos, the excellence of its wines be ing alluded to by variou swriters, and particu larly by Pliny, who maintains that the Physician

Apollodoru s recommended‘

its u se to Ptolemy, adding that it was notagreeable till it had be en kept six y ears.

Of all the grapes cultivated in Tu rkey ih E u rope , there are nonewhich excel that of Corinth ; it has fewer stones, is more j u icy than

the common grape , and isin great requ est. It is said to have beenbrought to the Morea, from Nax ia, abou t the year 15 80, although noplant of that kind is atpresent in that island . This species of vinenow abounds in Patras, along the coast of Achaia, as well as in theIonian islands. A dry, light, andflinty so il seems the best adapted

to its cultu re , while a thick, mo ist, and close earth seems u ncongenial

to its nature , whence it is alleged that a flinty soil, mixed with a

su ffi cient qu antity of clay, is best calcu lated to yield the best vineyards. French vines flou rish best in a sou thern or eastern aspect,and prefer the hills to the plains, while the Corinthian vines, on thecontrary, prefer the plains to the hills, and though they delight ia

'

be ing sheltered on the sou th, yet they regard a westerly situ ation,beyond every other, and the vicinity of the sea to mountains and

wild prospects .

The process observed in the cultivation of the Corinthian vine

O liv ier’s Travels through the O ttoman Empire , vol. 11. p . 2 5 9.

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420

the Turks themselves partake fre ely of these liqu ors. Spencer, one

o f the latest trave llers through Turkey, says, that every day du ring

his residence in Constantinople , he saw as many

‘

drunk'

ards, as he had

ever seen in any city of Christendom ; while atmarriages and fu ne

rals in the Morea, the social bowl is handed rou nd as in other parts

of E urope .

The medium annu al average of grapes in ~the Morea may

be estimated at and the sales may be reckoned at

atabou t Hi d. per pou nd . A descripfiion of the mode

o f drying and preserving the Corinthian grapes may notbe u ninter

e sting -Atone end of the vineyard is a floor in a sloping dire ction,to allow rain or moisture of any kind to ru n off. The bottom of the

floor is of earth, so well beaten as to present a glittering su rface , hardand smooth like marble . This is effe cted by a mixture of cow -dung,bu llocks’ blood, and straw tempered in water. This fin ely-polished

su rface preventsthe_earth from mixing with the grapes, and as it refle cts

the heat, dr ies the fru it the more speedily, which is spread on its surface bu nch by bu nch, care be ing taken to turn them every tw entyfou r hou rs. In a good season, ten or twelve days are the u su al period

o f drying, butin a rainy season, twenty or thirty days are requ ired .

The stones are taken from the dried grapes by means of small rakesmade of the stalks ofthe L ix iv ium Africanam ofLinnaeu s, and, whenproperly cleansed, and separated from every thing extraneou s, theyare conveyed to magazines called serails, which are bu ildings of apeculiar constru ction . They are sealed hermetically, having onlytwo entrances, on e above and another below, in the former of whichthe grapes are thrown, u ntil the magazine is completely filled. In ashort time , they become so compressed by the ir own weight, as wellas by other means, that a small viscous liquor is exuded, which u nitesthem so closely, that it afterwards requ ires a shovel with an ironpo int to detach pieces from the mass, when they want to pack themin casks for exportation. It is only atthe time of sale that the bottom door is opened. There is occasionally a pleasant wine extracted

from the Corinthian grape , which is as strong and sharp as brandy ;butthe

'

qu antity it yields is so small, that few vine-holders w ill~sacrifice their grapes, by submitting them to the press for so u nprofitableapurpose .

ale

Mount Parnassu s, in L ivadia, is,whenever practicable , planted withvines, and thewines of this district are of excellent qu ality, particularly those made from the grapes on the sou thern side of these the

B eau j ou r’

s Commerce of G reece , Letter v iii.

421

Vineyards'

of Arracov ia are the most remarkable ; These are

managed with as mu ch skill as any of the plantations on the Rhine .

The plants are all old stocks, from which one'

scion only is su ffered

to grow for the year, and which are afterwards pruned again . Walls

are bu ilt to prote ct the grou nd from be ing washed don"n the steep

de cliv ities by torrents, which present the appearance of terraces

and the views from these are highly picturesqu e -and su blime , owingto the ir great e levation . The Vale of Tempe produ ces wine resem

bling Clare t, which is considered to possess a mu ch better flavou r

than any in Gree ce . O n entering Pergetos, Dr . Holland saw fou ror five stills atwork by the side of the road ; the materials of distil

lation be ing the raisins of the cou ntry, the spirit of which is u sed toa considerable extent in every part of the Morea.

In Albania, Macedonia, E pirus, and Thessaly, there are vineyards

of considerable extent and prosperity, which the Grand Se ignior

encou rages, on accou nt of the advantages which they yield to the

revenu e . The vine is cultivated in the valleys below the town of

M etzov o, in Albania, but the ir wine is thin, poor, and strongly

impregnated with turpentine—an ingredient considered necessary forits preservation . In Greece and other parts of Turkey, w ine is con

v eyed from on e place to ano ther in skins, made secu re by a resinou s

preparation, which, from incorporating with the flu id, gives it a disa

greeable flavou r . Some allege that this resinou s odour'

makes it abetter stomachic, and tends to its preservation. From the P inu s

M aritima , a resin is collected, u sed throughou t Attica and other

places,‘

to preserve the wine from becoming acid, and is employed inthe proportion of an oke and half to twenty okes of wine . Fromthis it has been conjectu red, that the pine-cone was rendered sacredto Bacchu s. To the worship of Bacchusthe drama is supposed toow e its origin, and the principal theatre in Athens w as dedicated tohim . In the days of L ysicrates, the theatre w as, in some respe cts,more hallowed than the temple , and the exhibitions given there were in

honour of the gods, particu larly of Bacchus.~AtKirk Iklisie , an inspissated jui ce is made from bruised grapes,

and which is a common marketable article in Constantinople . It isu sually formed into rolls abou t a yard in length, containing walnu t

kernels. Persons fond of sweet-meats are very partial to this mixedpreparation . The whole trade of Kirk Iklisie consists in the sale of

this conserve, together w ith wine and corn. The wine is of a brightgold colou r, tinged with viole t, very pleasing to the eye , and likeChampagne in flavour, buthaving a greater degree of strength. If

properly managed, it might rank among ' the cho icest wines .

"6

The district of Boeotia furnishes very good wine , that of O rchomenu s in particu lar, is considered equ al to heck, having a flavou rsomewhat similar, but possessing less acidity, While it is as clear asspring-water.The soil in the vicinity of Salonica is very favourable to the nu r

tu re of the vine , and from the e x perts of this port an idea may be

formed of the agricu lture of that and the su rrounding country. The

annu al average qu antity ex po 1ted has been estimated at1,kilos of wheat , 5 00,000 of barley, and 100,000 of Indian corn, thekilo we ighing abou t 5 5 lbs., and be ing from 6 to 6% piasters in valu e .

H oney is so very easily obtained in Greece and many other partsof E u ropean Tu 1key, that mead might be made an article of cou side1able importance in trade , and also a wholesome cooling beverage

p i eferable to most of the adu lterated wines. The honey to be m et

with atAthens is procured from Mount H ymettu s ; it is qu ite transparent and of a tough consistency, so that the dish containing it maybe inverted withou t spilling, and the su rface , if indented with a knife,will yield to the impression like a mass of dough. A s an article of

food, it is considered very heating, and sometime s caus ing fever.This effe ct has been attribu ted by Dr . Clarke to the

'

peculiarity of

the flowers on the mountain on which the bees feed. These are

chiefly'

wild thyme , thymus serpyllum, salvz’

a pomzfera , and sa lv‘

z'

a

verbascum. The ancients believed that bees were first bred in Moun t

Hymettu s, and that all other bees were but colonies from this mou n

tain so that the primeval breed may still exist among the numerou swild stocks whic h inhabit the h ollow trees and clefts of therocks.

To the flowers of the Satureza C ap itata 1s owing the celebrity ofthe

honey gathered on the mou ntains of Pende li an d H ymettu s indeed,most of the honey of Attica is drawn from the flowers of this plant .

Galen speaks of itas the favourite food of bees . Attic honey 1s still

in high estimation, and presents of it are sent to Constantin ople . The

honey of L ebadea, or L ivadia, in B eeotia, i s conveyed to the Gran dSeignior’s seraglio but is mu ch inferior to the Athenian honey,which is as clear as crystal, and so solid that it may be cut with a

knifef In the Morea are many apiaries, the produ ce of which is of

the finest qu ality, and equ al to the honey of Hym ettu s, butmu ch paleri n colou r. From M au i

”

and B ardhunia are annu ally exported

okes of honey to Constantinople , Candia, and the other islands . To

Vide Clark’

s Trav els in G re ece . Frankland’

s Tour to and from Constantineple in 182 7-8, 2 v o ls. Svo . v ol. i. p . 70.

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424

intended to be preserved till the next year, are kept in cellars covered

carefully with straw to protect them from the inclemency of the w eather. Mead is manu factured, butto no great exte nt, as the honey ischiefly exported to Constantinople and the w ax to Venice and Vienna .

These matters form a very valu able article of trade , but, contrary tothe practice in Great Britain, a du ty is charged on the bees and not

on the manu factu re . This impost amounts on an average toannu ally.In the neighbou rhood of Jassy and the adjoining cou ntry, there

are vineyards produ cing an abundance of grapes, the wine of which,for the most part, is consumed in Poland. It is reported by a latetrave ller, that the wine of the environs of Patnar is,withou t exception,on e of the most generous wines of E urope, and not su rpassed even

by the best Tokay. When kept in a good cellar for three years, itis as strong as brandy, and three glasses of it are said to make a man

drunk . It is of a green colou r, and becomes

The quantity of wine made in Wallachia has been estimated at

eleven millions of piasters annu ally ; notwithstanding this, the mer

chants of this province are obliged to import from other countries to

the amount of nearly six millions of piasters for home consumption,while they e x pprt to Ru ssia a kind of wine called Tokckany . AtSchumla, a principal article of commerce with the interior is wine, and

atRu stchuk , a trade in wine is carried on with Vienna.

Since the introdu ction of the vine into Hungary by the Emperor

Probu s, in the third centu ry, the culture of the grape has continuedto be an obj ect of great importance, not only there, but throughbutthe whole of the German empire . Previou s to that time , Germanyw as withou t vines, and so meanly did the Romans think of the cou ntry, tha t they even doubted whether fru it cou ld grow in su ch a so iland climate . That the v ine w as ..u nknown while Hungary w as u nderthe dominion of the Huns; is certain, since in the verses of a Chineseprincess who w as married to a Tanjon orHungarian chief, she lamentsthat sou r milk was her only drink, raw flesh her only food, and a tenther only palace . At the time of Attila’s conqu ests in the fifth century, wine , it appears, w as a common beverage , as it is spoken of withmu ch familiarity on the occasion of the feasts given to that monarchas described by Gibbon .

ale ’B utas to the exact period of its introdu ction, it is notperhaps a matter of su ch importance , as the su ccesswithwhich the plant has been cu ltivated, it having metwith nearly equalencouragement to that which it has experienced in any other portionof Europe . The common mode of planting the vine is scarcely ever

D ecline and Fall, vol. v i. chap . 34, pp. 77-78.

42 5

more than from four to fiv e fe et high.'

This me thod of planting is’

considered favou rable to extensive produ ce , but not to goodness of

qu ality. Were the sap , by a di fferent treatment of growth, permitted

to ascend through higher and more numerou s ramifications of thebranches, it wou ld cau se, it is conceived, a greater delicacy in thefru itand prevent that harsh, acid, and watery taste , which is attributed to many ofthe Rhenish wines where a similar cu lture is observed .

To this practice also , it may be re colle cted, has been attribu ted thesou rish and earthy taste of the Cape wi nes , as noticed when treatingof that colony.

The produce of the wine districts of Hungary alone , has been estimated by Schw aitner at e imers, which is more than onehalf of the whole vintage of Austria and its provinces, calcu lated by

Blumenbach at e imers, or pipes of 126 gallons each.The principal vineyards are those of Ofen, Pesth, Tokay, Grossw arden , E rlau , Werchetzs, H onthu , (E denburgh, Ru sth, 8m. with theSyrmien wines and the red wine of Menes. Schw aitner compu testhe annu al valu e of Hungarian wines to

'

be florins, or

francs; The wines made at_

the vineyards from Presbu rgh to beyond Posing, are considered excellent, and known by thename of St . George .

Great as the qu antity of wine yielded by these vineyards may

appear, it is said to be equ al to no more than one-sixth part of what

France affords. The consumption of wine in Hungary is very con side rable , butitscarcely exceeds the export, as may be inferred from

the commercial tables ofAu stria Proper in 1807, fromwhich itappearsthat among the goods exported were

Common Tokay wine, 2813 casks, worth florinsTokay Au sbru ch, worth”Other kinds of Au sbru ch,124eimers, worth 3,720Common Hungarian wine, e imers, 474,462 .

80 great is the encou ragement given to the sale of the produ ce of

the country, that the emperor, in 1804, forbade the u se of fore ignw ine athis table . The most celebrated wine of the empire is Tokay,which has continu ed to maintain its character since the thirteenth

century ; and is among other wines as is the pine-apple among fru its.This de liciou s wine takes its name from an inconsiderable town of

Hungary, around whi ch are vineyards extending over a country abou t

twenty miles in diameter from Szanto to Tolesva . The vineyards inthe vicinity of the mountains bear the name of H ega llya or Subman

line , by which the wine itself is sqmetimes denominated . Those

plantations are superintended with a care and assidu ity unequalled in

426

any other part of E urope , displaying a regu larity and neatness which

give to each the appearance more of aflow er~garden than of a vineyard . The plants are supported by u pright props atmeasu red distances, leaving ample space for an approach to each, while proper ,

she lte r is provided to gu ard the you ng plants du ring the winter.The vintage takes place late in October, by which time the fru itarrives atthe greatest possible maturity : even some of the grapesare partly dried on the trees. Mu ch de pends on the season for the

qu ality and qu antity of the produ ce , shou ld u nhealthy dews or pre

mature frosts setln the vintage mu st be unprodu ctivein proportion .

In gathering the grapes, those thoroughly dried are separated fromsu ch as are nearly ripe , while all the damage d sorts are cast aside ,thereby preventing any u npleasant taste or flavou r to characterize thewine . Of the H egallya there are fou r or fiv e varieties, which are

studiou sly kept separate the ripe grapes are pressed by themse lvesfrom which the ordinary sort of wine consumed in the cou ntry is

produ ced, be ing in general sweet and strong in body. The

description of Tokay, which is chiefly made ' for fore ign consumption,is mad e from a mixtu re of half-dried grapes with the common kind.This j u ice , which is very rich and lusciou s, forms the bas is of those

two celebrated wines termed Tokay A usbru ch and Tokay M arlas

The half-dried grapes are piled together,w hich, from the ir own we ight,cause theflow of a thick sweet sirup, commonly called Tokay essence .

After this, a slight pressure is made on the heap by whi ch there is anincrease of ju ice ; care , however, being taken notto permit any par

ticles of the fru it to be carried with it, lestthey might injure the

flavou r. The ju ice thu s obtained is mixed in a certain proportion

with that of the common grape pressed in a hogshead with holes in

the bottom, so that none of the gross matter is sufl'ered to be incorporated with the liqu or : this mixture , after u ndergoing fermentation,yields the prime A usbru c/z. The M aslas is obtained by mixing juiceprepared from the residu e of the half-dried grapes with the commonwine , both that which is procured by treading, and that which is hadfrom the press. The Tokay wines are of different colours ; those of

a straw colou r, having a greenish tinge , are accou nted the best. Some

are clear, others thick and turbid“

; the latter sort is often very excellent . Poland afl'ords a ready market fer Hungarian wines, where the

best description of them is to be procured , from the length of timethey are preserved . In the vicinity of Tokay, good old wines are to

be had for a du cat or twelve francs the bottle , while in P oland, theyare sold according to the ir age atfrom tw o to fiv e du cats the bottleand atVienna, they rate at£12 sterling the dozen . At the late Duke

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428

better for the fermentation and qu ality of the Wine. This madethe wine-growers emu lou s of each other, in the size of the ir vesselshence the cau se of those enormou s tuns bu ilt in different parts of

Germany. The Tu n of He idelberg, which stands in a cellar, u nder

the E lector’s Castle , is 33feet in altitu de , 24 fee t in diameter atthe

bottom, and contains 800 hogsheads, or gallons)“ On thetop of the tun is a platform and balu strade , the ascent to which is by

a stair-case of 5 0 steps. It is adorned with vines, grapes, glasses,large festoons, and other de vices, in basso-relievo, with a number of

apophthegms in the German langu age . This tun was broken to piecesby the French, in 1693, but rebu ilt in 1729 ; it was u sually filledwith the wine , termed v in da N eckar, the produ ce of grapes whichgrow on both sides of the mou ntain. M rs. Trollope, in her late visit

to He idelberg, seems to think that this tun is vastly inferior to

M eu x’s great v at.1

'

The tun at Konigste in, made in 1725 , thoughless ce lebrated, holds 3709 e imers, exceeding that of He idelberg by

609 e imers, or 49 hogsheads. The approach to it is by a staircase of32 steps, a smaller tun is su spended within the large on e , which is34 feet ‘deep, and 24 feet wide . The top is railed round, and affordsspace for nearly twenty persons to regale themselves at a time .

Cups are preserved for the u se of visitants, and the Latin inscription ,which graces the head of this enormou s cask, welcomes the traveller

to exhilarate himself freely, according to the dignity of the vessel,and drink to the prosperity of the whole universe . At Griiningen ,near Halberstadt, is

‘

a tun 30 feet long, by 18 fee t deep ; and at

Tiibingen is a cask 24 feet long and 16 feet deep . When a vintageis great and the press small, the bru ised grapes are often put intosacks and trodden u nder foot. The hu sks are brought from thesesacks to the press, and what remains after pre ssure is putinto vessels,where they are kept to be distilled into brandy. The red grapes aregathered precisely in the same way as the white, only having beenbru ised, they are putnot immediately into the press, butinto largevats, where they u ndergo a kind of fermentation iRespecting Hungarian wines, Dr. Clarke ju stly observes, that “theOpinions of different individu als are so opposite , that on e travellerwill probably condemn what another has extolled ; perhaps, therefore , the best judgment may be afl'orded by comparison .

“

The finestwine of Tokay is very like that of Cypru s it has the same swe etness and it i s also characterised by that slight

_

efl'ervescence, fromChau chard

’

s G ermany, 4to . Chaptal on Wines.

1“ Belgium and We stern G ermany, v ol. i. p . 32 5 .

1: Hungarian Miscell. Ap . Bright’

s Travels.

429

which the Commendaria of Cyprus is never exempt .’

To com

pare it with other preparations brewed by E nglish hou sewives, itis somethinglikeM ead , or very lusciou s

'

old ra isin w ine and w e therefore pronounce it bad . The win es of Buda w e thought were better,becau se they have more of a resinous flavou r . B ut nothing is morelikely than that the very reasons w e have now u rged, in aflirmingthe bad qu ality of genu ine Tokay, may be considered by others asproofs of its excellence .

“ On the whole, if the wines of Hu ngary arenotfound to be so palatable to our taste , it is, perhaps, owing to the

cu stom of drinking the wine s of Spain, Portugal, and France , nottoany inferiority in the w ines of this cou ntry. Having scarcely anybe er, and the waters of Hun gary be ing generally impregnated with

minerals,wine is, therefore , made in great ab undance , and forthe rea

sons ju st given, the inhabitants have every indu cement . It is a practice in the Bannat for every nobleman to ke ep on his grounds an inn

to sell wine to the In Temesv ar, the capital, red Tokaymay be procured for two fiorins a pint, While the native wine is cheap

and good.

In Hungary, though brandy is distilled from the grape , yetthe distillation of a species of it from potatoes.

is carried on to considerableex tent . An excellent brandy is likewise made from plums, fermented

and treated n early in the same manner as peaches in America .

Were agricu ltu re in Hungary on a leve l with that in other cou ntries,the produce wou ld be immense . Oats, , barley, rye , sarrazan , or

bu ck-wheat, grow most abu ndantly in Sclav onia, Transylvania, andCroatia, and wherever the height of the mou ntains, or the diversity

of the forests, does n ot affect the temperatu re . In good yearsthey export upwards of six millions of bushels of wheat into thene ighbou ring countries . Millet and

'

rice are also cu ltivated, as we ll

as maize ; and in Transylvania, maize is the main article of su stenance , while rye is grown for the pu rposes of distillation .

From elder-berries, when properly fermented, a pleasant and wholesome wine is made , and a pu re and strong spirit is distilled from

them .

Hungary, in fact, may be“

said to afford, in its variou s districts, all

the beverages which promote the comforts and contribu te to,the

luxu ry of the human race . . Its grain, fru its, and vegetables, all yield

their several proportions ; and the vineyards are compu ted to pro

du ce from 18 to e imers, (fifteen gallons each,) of variou s

Clarke ’

s Tran els, v ol. v iii. p . 405 .

1‘ Travels through the Ban nat, Let. x i . p. 97.

430

sorts of wine ; while the brandy distilled from the grape and the

plum, (the latter termed is of enormou s extent.In the beau tifu l valleys formed in many parts of the Croatian

mountains, the vine flou rishes exu berantly ; the valley of Vinodol,adjacent to E zirqu en icza, takes its name from the number of vineyards with whi ch itis crowned, and the wine made there resemblesChampagne . The wines produ ced in the northern and eastern districts are said to be of great strength and exce llent flavou r ; some arethought to rival the best Bu rgu ndy. It has been compu ted, that inthe whole of Croatia, there are n otless than acres occupied

as vineyards, yie lding seaux of wine . Plum s being the

most common fru it of the cou ntry, there is a very favou rite spirit,termed Scltlz

'

wowz'

tza , distilled from it,which is in general u se , as also

a liquo r made from pears and barberries, which latter is u sed insteadof wine . Honey is obtained in considerable qu antities, and is, together with the w ax , chiefly exported. ,

The wine manufactured thereis notsufficient for the consumption of the inhabitants ; the importsof this article are principally from Dalmatia, and annu ally average

florins . At Fiume , on e of the principal cities, e imers

of liqu eu rs are manufactu red yearly, which are mostly consumed inthe Au strian dominions.

Although the Croats are generally poor, yet they go to great

expense in their marriage and funeral ceremonies, the anniversary o fa saint, or the baptism of a child . An entertainment on one of theseoccasions will last for several weeks, and will cost more than wou ldsupport a family for half a year .

In the German districts bordering on the Rhine, the v ine is culti

v ated to considerable extent, and the vines are of every varie ty. N o

ingenu ity is wanting to promote its growth, as well on the barrenrocks, as in the valleys. Opposite to the village ofRemagen , on the

road from Bonn to Coblentz, is a vin eyard conta ining 200 acres, on a

sing ularly picturesqu e , basaltic hill, called E rp eler L ey . This w as

once a barren rock, and it,

w as planted by setting each plant in a

separate baske t, filled with earth and grass, and then placed in the

cavities and interstices of the rock and thu s the place became , in a

few years, beau tifully clothed and ornamented w ith luxu riou s vines.

The heavy impost on wines in this quarter has rendered the article

rather u nsaleable, and instead of proving advantageo us to the government, it has pressed heavily on the agricu lturists . This du ty rates atone rix-thaler on every 160 bottles ; hence the owner , be ing seldomable to pay the taxation before he can remove the w ine from the cel

lar, is deprived of the benefit of a ready and profitable market and

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432

the right bank of the Rhine to Lorich, several leagu es below Bingen ,and, from time outof mind, has been renowned for its superior vine s .

This di strict w as presented by an old Carlovingian king to.

an Archbishop of Mayence, and a remnant of the rampart and ditch, with

which it w as su rrounded, is yet visible atB iberich. Writers have

remarked, that the right bank of the Rhine is mu ch more fru itfu l than

the left, which is accou nted for by the direction in_

which the river

ru ns, exposing that bank to the sou thern sun , While

‘

the left is,

keptcomparatively barren by the winds from the north, and scarcely any

of the celebrated wines are made on the left side of that river . The

Rhinegau is divided into superior and inferior cantons, relative ly to

the excellence of the ir wines—the former contain the villages on the

he ights—the latter, those on the banks of the river. The stronge stw ines are said to be made on the most e levated situ ations, the mostwholesome on those of moderate he ight, while the wine of the low

grou nds is sou r, and requ ires keeping. In travelling through this district, the eye is delighted with the u ndulating landscape , presentingvine-covered slopes, spotted by white cou ntry hou ses, villas, and

steeples—villages and ruined convents resting in the valleys, which,contrasted with the black purple aspect of the rocks and

'

with the deli ”

cate green of the vines, gives a mellow, luxu riant richness to thescenery. A bacchanalian might be supposed to drink intoxicationfrom the prospect — every thing having a blu shing vinou s co lou r.The vineyards of Grafenberg yield '

as choice a vintage , and produ ce as good wines, as any on the banks of the Rhine , and superiorto those of the Moselle . The Rhine wines constitu te a distinct orderof themselves. They are drier than the French white-wines, andcharacterized by a de licate flavou r, and an aroma qu ite pe cu liar, andwhich shou ld be reckoned sourn ess by the u ninitiated. In the A u s

trian states, the wines are almost all of an infe1ior qu ality, be ing sharpand often entirely acid. The H ock, or Hochhe imer, I S a Mayn wine ,and derives its name fi om the village Hochhe im,

which i s situatedabove Mentz, on the banks of the Mayn . R iesbeck tells u s, that thev ineyards here belong to the chapter of Mentz, and that the

Dean enjoyed the revenu e of it. This wine , although it stilldhas

a good character, is considered inferior to the best wines of the

hinegau , and, in R iesbe ek’s opinion, was the only wine in Germany

which he fou nd to be withou t any sour tastefi" Hock wine is of su chstrength and body, that a tea-spoon full of it has been known toflavou r a large tumbler of water. The vineyards which produ ce this

Baron Riesbeck’

s Travels through G ermany, v ol. 11.‘

p. 319.

433

wine , are on a little hill consisting of abou t e ight acres, and so situ ated,

that they seem to cou rt the influ ence of the sun , and are prote cted by

the tow n from the northen blasts . E very one contains abou t fou r

thousand vine -plants, valu ed ata du cat each, and this little spot produ ces in a good year, upwards of twelve large casks ofwine , bringing,as soon as made , nearly £15 0 a cask . This place has been renderedremarkable by Buonaparte making a present of it to General

Kellerman.Frankfort is the great mart for the sale of Rhenish wine, which

consists of two sorts, red and white the former the stronger of the

two. The white wines are distingu ished by the ir particu lar proper

ties, or by the places where they grow. Accord ing to the formerclassification , those of Nierste in , M arkobrunn er, Ste inberg, R iideshe im, Bingen, and Bacharach, are the strongest, and have morebody . Those of Schlossberg, (Johannisberger,) Ste inberg, G e issenheim,

Rothenberger, and Hochhe im, are the most endowed witharoma and perfume , and of moderate strength . Lastly, those of Laube nheim, A sman nshau sen , (red) B ischteim, are the most agreeable ,pos

sess a most de lightful flavou r, with a requ isite degree of perfume , and

are the most whole some of all the Rhenish wines.

The wine Bacharach has been ce lebrated from the earliest period.

The Romans called that place B a ccl u'

am , (the altar of Bacchus) ;and Pope Z E neas Sylviu s u sed to import a tu n of it to Rome everyyear, and the Emperor V inceslu s w as so fond of i t that he sold the

citizens of Nuremberg the ir freedom, for four casks annu ally . N earWorms, on the road towards Mayence , stands the gothic monastery

of L e ibe F ra u , (the Dear Virgin,) note d . for the excellence of its

wine , denominated by w ay of eminence , L iebfi'

a u n -M ilch, (the

Vi rgin’s Milk,) the produ ce of the Tokay grape be ing of a pe cu liar

and delicate flavou r, and almost as colou rle ss as water.

The several sorts of wines in the Rhinegau and other districts along

the Rhine , take the ir names from the re spe ctive places from which

they'

are produ ced, be ing as follows

H ellenberg, near A smannhau sen .and

H interhau serfl" R iidesheim.

B e dlanberg,Kapellgarten , jRothenberger,

near G e issenhe im .

Schlossberg, at Johann isberg.

M arkobru nner, at Hattenhe im .

Ste inberg, at E v erback.

G raefenberg, at Kiedhich.

H interha u ser,or Sfinterhau ser, sign ifies behind the hou ses

,so called frcm the

v ines standing on lower land from the hill, behind the village.

434

Hauptberg, at Rau enthal.North of Mayence , on the left bank of the Rhine ,Scharlaehberger, (red) near Bingen .

Rhe in-D ieboch, (red .)

nearE ngeholle , (re d) nearSou th of Mayence .

Dienhe im, Sou th of Mayence .

N ierste iner and Oppenhe im .

L aubenham

L iebfraumilch .

West of the Rhinegau , on the right bank of the Rhine .

G uttenfels, near Caub.

Roste iner.

E ast of the Rhinegau .

Hochhe im .

W ieke sh.

C ostheim .

Most of the vineyards enumerated are of small dimensions, andthe qu antity of wine they afl‘ord is trifling in proportion to the

immense quantity sold u nder the denomination of Rhen ish wine . To

procu re a genu ine article , it is ne cessary to have recou rse to the pro

prietor of a vineyard, or to some respe ctable merchant, from whomalone may be expe cted wine of the best qu ality. Dr. Granville , whow as in that cou ntry in 1827 , gives the following rates atwhich wineswere disposed of, which will convey an idea of .the impo sition practised in the wine tradeR iidesheim wine of 1825 , w as sold atFrankfort in 1827, for

rix-dollars the ohm , or 15 dozen bottles, at 17 shillings the bottleThe Schlossenberger, (Johannisberg,) for 700 rix-dollars ; the Ste inberger, for 900 rix-dollars ; while ( in 1822 , the same three kinds of

wine brought re spectively 1400, 7 5 0, and 980 rix-dollars. The samegrowth in1818 produ ced :Johannisberg, rix-dollars, for 15 dozen.

R iide she im , B ergwein , 910 rix-dollars.The Tavern wines of Germany are , according to Cooper, of a

superior qu ality to those ofthe same class in France .

Wine of a great age is frequ ently offered for sale . M arkobru nn er,

said to be of the vintage of 1719, and Johan n isberg of that o f 1726,were disposed of ; the former at£ 5 90 sterling fer 15 dozen, or 48gu ineas for one dozen , while the latter w as sold at £664 the 15

dozen, or 5 5 gu ineas for one dozen .

ate The passion for old wines has

G ranv ille ’

s Jou rn ey to St. Petersburgh, 2 v ols. 8vo . vol. i. p. 189, et passim .

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436

turn in it with the greatest facility, and the number of large casks itcontained w as really amazing; each be ing seventeen or e ighteen fe etin height. The monks were hospitable to an extreme , each of them

had four bottles of the best wine for his daily allowance , and when theyentertain strangers they were allowed an ad libitum .

At the Green'

M a n I nn , St . Goar, are preserved two large silvergoblets of great an tiqu ity and cu riou s workmanship , the sides ofwhichare embossed with variou s figures and inscriptions. O ne of them waspresented to the city of St. Goar by Christiana, Qu een of Sweden ,and the other by one of the Princes of Hesse . Before drinking outof one of these cups, strangers have to u ndergo a singular ceremonythe visiter is seated in a chair, in the middle of a large room ,

’

havinga heavy silver collar putrou nd his neck, a gilded crown on his headand he is then asked whether he will choose to be baptized with wineor with water if he say water, a large qu antity is pou red on his

head ; but if he prefer wine , which is generally the case , he is obligedto drink a certain number of toasts outof the two silver goble ts. The .

newly baptized stranger then writes his name in a record-book kept

for the pu rpose , after which the wine is passed about freely amidst

singing and jocularity. The cellar u sed on this occasion , which iscalled coronation , is said to have belonged to the two sons of Charlemagne , and mu ch conviviality and cheerful enjoyment are the com

mon attendantsfi‘

The time of the vintage in Germany is always a period of greatrejo icing, and that festival is annu ally celebrated with great eclat andhilarity. On su ch occasions, beneath an um brageou s bower, a tableis ornamented with flowers , and a k ind of throne is ere cted in thecentre , on which is laid the first bunch of ripe grapes in imitation ofan altar to Bacchu s. After the master of the ceremony has made a

spee ch su itable to the occasion, the persons assembled, you ng and old,dance rou nd the altar, and regale themselves with the comforts of theseason .Plu tarch mentions a feast of this kind celebrated by the Greeks

and Romans in the time of the vintage , at which the ir tables‘were

loaded with all kinds of fru its, placed u nder tents made of vinebranches and ivy, intermingled with aromatics and from the strongsimilarity between this and the Jewish feast of the Tabernacle, described in L eviticu s, chapter xxiii ., Plu tarch considered that peopleworshippers of Bacchu s.

Whether owing to climate , to cu stom, or to whatever cause , it hasbeen observed that the inhabitants of wine countries are in general

Tour in G ermany.

437

more cheerful , tranqu il, and regu lar in their dispositions, than thosewho are drinkers of beer, ale, and spirits ; and those characteristics

are n otless remarkable atthe time of vintage than in any other season

of the year . This is exemplified by the inhabitants of the Rhinegau ,who are a strong, handsome , healthy, and cheerfu l class of m en ,

capable of bearing a great deal of labou r and hence the inhabitants

of the sou th are said to be stou ter than those of the north for the

blood of the wine-drinker is considered pu rer than that of the bee r

drinker ; and as life is said to be in the blood, the remark on this

assumption may be j u stifiable . On the contrary, it may be u rgedthat m en who n ever tasted any description of fermented liqu or, and

who are accustomed to the lowest diet, are found capable of u nder

going fatigu e equ al to that of any o ther race of people -a circumstance known to every observer. It is a practice amongst the peasants in the north of Italy, never to go out in the morning withou teating bread and drinking some wine ; and they look remarkably stou tand healthy. Grapes are said to be particularly wholesome wheneaten w ith the morning dew on them hence they are regu larlyserved up atbreakfast, notonly as a zest butas a lu xu ry . At Vevay,in Sw iterzland, the physicians of Geneva order patients to subsistduring the vintage , altogether on grape d iet, the period of which isu su ally three weeks . The common da ily allowance is abou t 7l . of

grapes, withou t tasting any other sort of su stenance , noteven drinkof any description. In cases of insanity, the same regimen is said tobe very eflicaciou s in restoring the patient ta a sou nd state of mind,*

whi ch is a further proof of the renovating power of the grape worthyof investigation and inqu iry, and to which it might notbe beneath the

facu lty in this country to dire ct their attention .

Were the properties of the ~

grape sufficiently known , the vine wou ld

become an obj e ct of cultivation in every part of E u rope , where the

climate wou ld permit its growth . The vine does notshew a preference for any particu lar so il, buta dry is mu ch better than a moist situation . L imits, however, for its cu ltivation se em to have been prescribed by nature ,which no ingenu ity of man can su rmount . In someof the northern provinces of France , as Brittany and Normandy, thevine is n otcu ltivated atpresent, though it w as formerly reared thereto considerable extent it has given place to the apple and the crab,cider be ing the chief beverage . The regions of cu lture for this plantdo notlie parallel to the equ ator, butin an obliqu e

.

direction fromnorth-east to sou th-west, from abou t to 5 2 Q north latitude . Inthe inland parts of France and Germany, the u tmost limits of it are

Bakew ell's Travels inSw itzerland and Auvergn e , vol. ii. p .

“20.

438"

thout or'

5 0° ,butthe further north, the produ ce is the more inferior . In some places as the Crimea and the sou thern parts of Ru ssiai t does not exceed 47 ° or 48" of latitude . In Asia, the vine doesnotflou rish in a higher latitude , since none are to be fou nd to growmore northerly than Astracan ,

and the foot of Mou nt Cau casu s . In

the N ew World, the sou thern states are the most congenial to'

the

vine , and the northern‘

seem unfriendly to its cultu re . It is tru e , thatthe vine is fou nd considerably to the north of this continent, butit isstunted and impoverished in growth in proportion to its distance froma certain latitude , generally .thatof

The vine appears to occupy two belts on the earth’s su rface , b othof which lie in the warmer regions

‘

of the temperate zones, seldomexceedin g 5 1° in the northern, and rare ly approaching to 40° in thesou thern hemisphere , and is chiefly confined to an elevation of

fee t above the leve l of the sea . In Switzerland, this e levation islimited to fee t ; in Hu ngary, to\

900 feet ; on the Alps, tofeet ; in Ten erifl’e , to but in the Appenine s and Sicily, theextent is fe e t, while it does n otgrow atall in the high landsof tropical America yet, according to Jacqu emont, in his Jou rn ey in India, the vine prospers atthe he ight of fee t above the

leve l of the sea,* butmu ch of thi s diversity depends on ordinary cir

cumstan ces. It seems, however, that the produ ce of the vine attainsa maximum in the sou th of E u rope and the western parts of Asia .

This, perhaps, may be ow ing notso mu ch to climate as to the superior

state of cultivation bestowed upon it . The higher the latitu de, themore inclined to acidity is the grape ; hence the d ifference betweenthe Rhenish, Sic ilian, and Grecian wines. The strength is also influen ced by the proximity to the equator, for which reason Made irawine is stronger than that of northern latitudes.

Considering these relations to be corre ct, it is evident that itis notaltogether on tempe rature or climate but to other cau ses mu st beattribu ted the su ccess in the cu ltivation of the vine , as regards bothqu ality and qu antity. If the growth of the vine depended on temperature , then the vicinity of L ondon wou ld afford better vineyards thanthat of Zu rich or Geneva, and the summer heat of Moscow is higherthan that of Paris yetgrape s in the former ripen only under glasses .

In Made ira and the Canary islands, the main temperature is notmu chlower than in Algiers and Cairo ; yet the cu ltu re of the vine is veryconsiderable in

.those islands, whereas in Algiers the temperature is

already too high, and in Cairo , the vine is planted only for the sakeo f its shade . To determine the primitive seat of the vine is still

j'Jacqu emont

’

s L etters from India, v ol. i . p . 2 72 .

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440

The same writer considered fiv e-pence a high price for a bottle of

wine . In R iesbeck’

s time , it cou ld be purchased at‘from two to fou r

cru itzers the bottle . Although the peasants in Hungary are permitted

to purchase vineyards, they are obliged to pay on e-third of the pro

du ce to the lord of the so il, a heavy tax when the chance of bad vi n

tages, which too often happen, and the occu rrence of other casu alties

are considered .

The qu antity of wine produ ced annu ally in Carinthia is estimate d

at e imers : the quality is notconsidered superior, yetit me ets,notwithstanding,with a ready sale . In this du chy, they brew two sortsof beer both of which are in estimation as good and wholesomebeverages. Apples be ing abu ndant, large supplies of cider are produ ced, equ al in body and flavour to that of Normandy ; and from

which a good brandy is *

distilled .

The cu ltivation of be et-root w as, atone period, a matter of someimportance to the Germans, and variou s manufactories were established for the purpose of extracting sugar from it as well as from

other vege table substances. At one of these establishments called L aSou rce, Jacqb says, that they fed fifty cows on the refu se . The milchcows mainta ined on itwere in good condition; and the bu tter they

afi'

orded w as of excellent qu ality.

"E

The Germans, in most of the wine districts of the Rhine, distilfrom the skins of grapes that have been pressed, a spirit called troster,which they mix with grou nd barley or rye , and ferment in the u su alw ay. This spirit is considered very wholesome , and forms a greatarticle of commerce between them and the Du tch. From Upper andL ower Au stria, immense qu antities of this liqu or are sent into H ol

lan d, where , after a second .distillation, i t assumes the name of gin,

and is exported to various parts of E u rope . The prev ailing notionthat

'

all fore ign gin is manu factured in H olland is erroneou s, as Dr.R ender assu res u s that the greater part is manu factu red in Germany .

The revenu e it produces forms a very considerable branch of the

Au strian finance .

At Vienna, Krems, Waidhofen, L intz, Freystadt, Ems, Gmunden,Se c . several distilleries are employed, notonly in this manufactu re ,butin that of grain exclu sively. A considerable portion of the produ ce of these stills is transported to Moravia, Bohemia, Styria, C arinthia, & c ., some is sent into Hu ngary ; butthe qu antity is trifling, asthe people of that cou ntry distil for themselves. Almost every pean

sant there may obtain leave for that purpose on payment of twoflorins, or fou r shillings and six -pence ,to the landlord from whomhe

Jacob ’

s Journ ey through G ermany, p . 5 6.

441

rents his farm . There are several distilleries of importance atFiume ,Ujlak, Pilis, B uda, Pesth, Rosenau , Presbu rg, Steehlw eissenburgh,D ebritzen , & c.

* in which distillation is carried on from several sorts

of grain, wine , and the refuse of the vintage , from plums, prunes,and variou s other fru its, and from potatoes. The principal part ofthese spirits is sold atthe fairs in the co untry, of which there

,

are

above in the year. At these fairs, they are exposed in boothsor magazines in casks, to the amoun t of many thou sand e imers. The

stills in general u se are made of copper, but are notof large sizewood is the common fu el, though in some places peat is u sed .

Distillation from potatoes has been long carried on in Germany,part icu larly in L ithu ania, Hungary, and the eastern part of Prus sia ,& c . and the residu e , after the termination of the process, proves ofthe greatest benefit to cattle , particu larly to cows, as it increases the irmilk. The spirit is considered su perior in taste to ordinary malt

spirits some add 17—5 bu shels of malt to 100 bu shels of potatoe s,but10 bu shels have been fou nd suflicient.

‘

This quantity of Berlin

measu re yields five mu ids of brandy from 36 to 32 per cent . of alcohol the mu id contains 240 canns. Others have found that the

s ame qu antity of alcohol is produ ced from 100 bushels of potatoes, asfrom 24 bu she ls of wheat or 33 of barley .

The same sized vesse ls are u sed as those for malt spirits made inequal proportions, and nearly the same qu antity of fu el, as the potatoesare steamed by the vapou r of the water which is heated for mashing

,

so that it is only in the space of of each hour, during the process,that any extra fu e l is requ ired.

The potatoes are steamed in a barrel strongly hooped, and placedon a stool by the side of a still . The end which is u ppermost has a

squ are hole , fitted with a close cover, by whi ch the barrel is filled

with the potatoes ; a smaller opening, with a door shu tting very close ,is made at the bottom of the barre l to extract the

.

potatoes. whenready : there are tw o holes, one to rece ive the ne ck of the still, and

the other in the middle of the lower end of the barre l, to turn outthecondensed steam ; this latter hole has a baske t over it to prevent itsbe ing stopped up .

A s soon as the potatoes are su fficiently steamed , which is known

by taking outsome of them by the door in the side of the barrel, the.n e ck of the still is taken outof the barrel, and the potatoes are drawno utinto a hopper, from whence they pass through tw o wooden or stonerollers that are placed horizontally n ear the door by which they a re

extracted . The rollers are turned inwards by means of a handle ,

B right’

s Travels in Hungary, 4to. p . 228. 618.

442

and have below them iron scrapers to clear them . The bru ised potatoes fall into a trough, from whence they are taken and well mixedwith the mash made of ground malt .

In some instances, the yeast of beer is u sed as the ferment ; inothers, artificial yeast made of rye

-meal, mixed atfirst with cold and

afterwards with boiling water, so as to form a thick consistence :

some yeast of beer is then added , and afterwards'

the artificial, at

difi'

erenttime s, so as to keep up the fermentation .

A s potatoe swork mu ch easier than malt, less yeast is requ ired, and

the fermentation is very rapid ; m some instances, a thick cru st is

formed.Professor Balling, of Pragu e , has su cceeded in making an excellentbeer from potatoes, which is strong and well flavoured : his processhas been practised with su ccess in variou s places, and differs littlefrom that observed in preparing the wash for distillation. The G er

mans have been very assidu ou s in turning this vegetable to variou su seful pu rpose s ; and amongst others, w e are indebted to the ingeu nity of the Pru ssians for a valuable sort of cheese , which is

'

said tokeep for many years.

Notwithstanding the extent to which wine is made , and distillation

is carried on throughou t variou s parts ofthe German empire , immense

qu antities of spirits are yearly imported . In 1802, there were 470

pie ces , 198 casks, 1101 pipes, 16 chests, 33hogsheads, and 14 ankersof brandy importe d into H ambu rgh, besides 15 casks, fou r pipes,andon e che st of arrack ; also 215 pipe s, 72 pieces, 5 2 casks, and 1347

"

ankers of Geneva, together with 2991‘ casks ,399 hogsheads, an d 2236

puncheons of rum . This vast supply always finds a ready consump

tion in the interior, whither it is carried by means of the E lbe , & c.

In the '

same year, wine to the valu e of florins, were sentfrom H ungary into the German States of Au stria, including Gal icia,while wine , and other liqu ors to the amount of e imers, valu ed

at florins, were sent into H ungary. The greater proport ionof the wine and spirit trade of Germany consists in an internal commerce, and an interchange ofthe produ ce of on e province wi th that

of another : its external or fore ign trade be ing principally confined to

the free towns. The table in the Addenda shews a retu rn of‘

the

wine sent to G reat Britain from the Au strian dominions, inclu dingHungary and the districts of the Rhine , for the years there in specified .

Bees are so plentiful in Austria, that tons of w ax , and

tons of honey, are annu ally produ ced .

A good de scription of wine is produ ced in some parts of Bohemia .

The red wine of Melnik is considered of superior qu ality, and resem

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444

allowed to remain in the kieve for'

an hour, and is then run into the

u nderback, by an ingeniou sly contrived false bottom, perforated withholes, from which it is conveyed into the copper, where it mixes with

that portion of the flu id which remained . When this last charge hasboiledforabou t 15 or 20minu tes, it is retu rned to the mash-tun , shewing

atthe su rface a heat of 183° abou t 35 l . of hops are then added

to abou t tw o-thirds of a barre l of the drainings in the u nderback, andthe whole is putinto the copper and boiled for45 minu tes,when halfofthe hops are withdrawn, and setaside for boiling with the remaining

worts in the tu n . Thes’

e two qu antities, after an hou r’s boiling of each

separately, are taken to the coolers. The copper is again filled with

liqu or, and when boiling, pou red on the goods in the kieve withou tmashing. After be ing dra ined, it is boiled ,

along with the hops of thetwo pre ceding worts, for an hour and half, and then cast into a

separate cooler. After be ing brought from 68 to 72 ° temperatu re ,the thre e worts are mixed with 24lbs. .of harm, and then barrelled .

Here the fermentation takes place , which continu es for three or fou rdays and in abou t as long again, it is fit for storing. The floors of

the vau lts which are employed for this purpose are covered w ith ice,on which the barrels are placed, when re ce ived from the brewer,when, after remaining for. fiv e or six weeks, the beer is then considered fit for u se . At Vienna, the malt is bru ised by iron rollers,an d thrown into the mash-kieve , where it is mixed with cold water,in the preportion of 28 barrels of water, to 14 one-third E nglishqu arters of malt . In the mean time , a squ are copper is heating w ith

liqu or, into whi ch are putfrom two to three barrels of the cold wor'

ts,from the kieve , being part of fou r barrels letinto the u nder backwhen this mixtu re comes near bo iling, the head is skimmed, afterwhich it is boiled thre e qu arters of an hour. Abou t 18 or 20 barrels

of it are then ru n into the mash-tun , where the whole is complete ly

mashed for nearly an hou r, and the heat raised to the temperatu re of

At this period, the small qu antity of cold worts whi ch hadbeen left in the underback is pumped into the copper, and the wortwhich is in the mash-tu n is slow ly conveyed into the u nderback,from which it is again pumped, u ntil the copper is full Abou t a barre l

is n ow left in the u nderback, while the remainder of the worts lie s in

the kieve the second mashing is condu cted in a similar manner and

the copper, when j u st atthe boiling po int, is tu rned on the goods inthe mash-tu n , and mashed for an hou r, leaving the heat at

having se ttled a little , they are drained from the tu n , pumpe d into thecopper, and boiled abou t 30 minu tes. Be ing now qu ite clear, they are

returned into the kieve , mashed for half an hou r, and leftata heat of

44 5

On opening the cock, the first e ight or ten gallons being fou l,are thrown on the goods, and the rest pumped into the copper till fu llboiling is now kept up for half an hou r, when as mu ch is ru n into thekieve , as will leave room for the quantity left in the u nderback the

copper is again suffered to boil another half hour, when the wholecontents are run on the goods it is then charged with cold liqu or till

abou t half fu ll. Mashing for the last time is continu ed half an hour ,the heat be ing abou t and the liqu or is permitted to rest for an

hour before draining. The ru n from the mash-tu n next commences,and the liqu or in the copper be ing entirely ru n off into another

vessel, the pumping of the worts from the u nderback takes place

481bs. of hops are now put into the copper, and the pumping con

tinned u ntil it is fu ll, the u nderback retaining the remainder of theru n from the kieve . The . surface of the grains is skimmed, and theliquor which had been kept apart as above -mentioned, ata heatof

is thrown on them the whole of this mixtu re is allowed to re

main in the kieve till room is made for it in the copper : the wortsand hops having bo iled an hou r and a qu arter, part of them are castbutbefore leton the cooler , 12 « gallons of cold wort reserved fromthe first mash for this pu rpose , ata corner of the cooler, are spread

over the bottom . The worts in the kieve , as we ll as those in theu nderback , are pumped into the copper, and bo iled with the hops anhou r and half, the se cond worts are then cast and the brewing isfinished . L est any saccharine matter shou ld remain, some ' cold wateris mixed with the gra ins, ru n off and carried to a distillery, on e ofwhich is connected with every brew-hou se the qu antity of beer produ ced from su ch brew ing is 34 barre ls . From the coolers the wortsare letdown into

°

a tun ata heat of from 86° to we ll mixed with

601bs. of yeast, and when fermentation appears, the whole is drawn offinto casks of 2 5 gallons each, and placed on stillins where it is keptworking till fit for consumption . There is n o malt du ty charged at

Vienna , butthere is a city and cou ntry du ty on beer, the former ofwhich ismu ch heavier than the latter.The brewers of Vienna keep up the ir establishments in respectable

style and among the carri ages which gen erally throng the roadsleading to this city, are numbers of brewers’ drays drawn by largeFlemish horses, with harness decorated with broad , glittering, brassplates . These drays are invariably attended by dogs of a pe culiarbreed, having enormous heads like lions they seem, however,to be keptrather for show than for any prote ction .they afford,~as they are gentleand docile . The population of Vienna in 1833, w as inhabi

tants, be ing abou t more than Berlin . The city has 40 public,80 cofi

'

ee , and 5 00 smoking-hou ses.

446

The practice of smoking, which has rendered so many hou ses forthe enjoyment of this luxu ry ne cessary at Vienna , is so prevalen tthroughou t Germany, that it has be come notonly a national failing buta nu isance . If it wou ld add e ither to the dignity or comfort of man ,

i t wou ld be the more excu sable , but the reverse is the case , for whilei t wastes property, which cou ld be otherwise u sefully employed, itgenerally superindu ces habits of drinking , and in n o respect contribu te s to the health or character of the individu al who u ses it. Sir .

Arthu r Brooke Fau lkner, in his Visit to Germany, thu s writes on the

subj ect

The length to which the Germans pu sh the practice of smoking,is qu ite insu fferable to the u npractised nose of the alien . It is tru e

, ~

you may avo id the society of smokers by shu tting you rse lf up , but

even this will n ot avail, u nless you are hermetically sealed . Thereis hardly an occupation with which one can suppose it possible to

conjo in the proce ss, whereof the tobacco-pipe is n otthe accompan i

ment . The coachmen drive and smoke the cavalry offi cer is se ensmoking while he rides atthe head of his regiment ; the peasantry ,

ke atthe plough and the spade du ring the frosty weather, you

were metat every corner where there w as a shee t of ice , by groups

of persons skating and smoking. I am su re it is n o small dedu ctionfrom the lu xu ry of eating an d drink ing, that smoking cannot be com

bined with them . Whe ther a German sle eps and smoke s, I have not

inqu ired ; butif it be notphysically an impossibility, I would takean even betthat he does . The ir wives might te ll u s.

”

From the attention paid to the care of bees, honey is produ ced'

in

abundance ; mead is manu factu red, and is of some moment in the

trade of the cou ntry. Many of the distillers pu rchase the honey forthe making of rosoglio, and u se it as a sirup instead of sugar . Some

farmers are so extensive in the rearing of bees, that they have fromthree to four hun dred caps u nder management at one time and fo r

the purpose of feeding, the bees are often transported from place toplace , where bu ck-wheat, or lime-tree s, are plentiful . On these o ccasions it rarely happens that any accident or loss is su stained, the be es

retu rning instinctively to the ir respe ctive stocks, with a pre cision andan accu racy tru ly marvellou s .

It appears that the name of a qu a v im, and the practice of distilling spirit of wine , from aromatic herbs, were known ln H ungary soe arly as the fo urteenth centu ry, and that a qu een of that cou ntryrendered herself famou s by a medicinal preparation from rosemary

Visitto G ermany and the Low Countries, 2 vols. 8vc . vol. 1. p . 237.

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Betony, Marjoram, Avens, Penny—royal, flowers ofE lder, wild thyme,’

of each on e handful and half ; seeds of cardamum bru ised, three

ou nces bay-berries bru ised on e ou nce putthe seeds into the vesse l

when the liqu or hath wrought awhile with the herbs, and after they

are added, letthe liqu or work over the vessel as little as may be , fillit u p atlast , and when it is stopped, putinto the hogshead

'

ten new

laid eggs, the she lls notcracked or broken stop all close , and drink

it attwo years old if carried by water it is better.”

Dr. Z Egidiu s H oflin an added water-cresses, brook-lime, and wildparsley, of each six handfuls , with six handfu ls of horse-radish, rasped

in every hogshead ; it w as observed tha t the horse-radish made the

M um drink more qu ick than that whi ch had none .

”

With regard to the origin of the term M um, no decided Opinion canbe given. It is said to come pu rely from the German wordM umme,

the name of a strong ale , which, from its intoxicating qu alities, produ ces silence , by rendering its votarie s incapable of u tterance . Thisterm answers to that applied by the Dane s to a mask, be caus e it ex hi

bits the parties u sing it, wearing, as it were , a n ew face . The mostplau sible derivation of the term is, that this dr ink was invented byChristian Mummer, of Bru nswick, and that the word M um is merelyan abbreviation of hi s name .

In ancient times it appears to have been the practice to mix a greatvariety of ingredients in the manu factu re of almost every kind of

beverage, and the more singular the taste or flavou r, the more highlyprized w as the article . Of what description the M um made as above

described w as, mu st be left to the conj e cture of the reader. The fol

lowing practice , stated to be in u se a few years since, appears more inaccordance with modern improvement -The malt w as mixed w ith agreater proportion of water, than w as u sed in brewing beer or ale

after remaining satu rated in the mash-tun for abou t two hou rs, it w as

drawn off and re -boiled . This liqu id w as again introdu ced into the

kieve , on a qu an tity of fresh malt merely w et, and which had stoodthere soaking for abou t an hou r in water ; after this the worts were

drained ofl?and pumped into coolers, from which they were sent to

the coppers, and bo iled with a large qu antity of hops for some hou rs

The produ ce was of a rich glu tinous natu re , and after u ndergo ing a

partial fermentation , it w as putinto casks for sale , u nder the title of

M um . From the materials left in the kieve , two other brew ings were

effected, the first making a strong kind of beer, and the second an

inferior sort, or table drink . N one of these drinks, however highlythey may rank in Germany, are equ al to the beer, ale , or porterbrewed in the British empire . In many parts of G ermany,_the people

brew for themse lves, as is cu stomary in Great Britain.

449

Thewine of Gr iinberg is famed for its astringent qualities : it ismanu factu red in large qu antities from the grapes of the vineyards thatsu rroun d the city, and is mu ch u sed to increase the strength of in ferior wines . It is an apophthegm in Germany, when speaking of thisw ine , to say, you can mend the holes of a stocking by pu tting someGriinberg wine into it 1

”

At L iibeck , there are numerous sugar-refin eries, an d considerable

quantities of sugar are ex tracted.

from‘

the beet-root .In Gerin any, says a latewriter, I have n otseen three people dru nk

in three months. In Bavaria, and the north, the common peopledrink a good

i

deal of beer, butitis like.

the fine E dinburgh table -beerin strength and

'appe arance . It is weak, highly fermented, and

strongly hopped, and an immensity i s drunk withou t intoxication . In

the kingdom’ of '

Priissia; the principles of the Temperance Society

have made astonishing progress. P ublications incu lcating the doc

trine of abstinence from intoxicating liqu ors, are read atschool by theyou ng, and thus Temperance principles form a portion of daily and

practical edu cation .

In Switzerland, which is on e of the most mou ntainou s districts ofE u rope , the cu ltivation

.

of grain has be en so limited, as scarcely to

admit of di stillation . The su rface , soil, and climate are so irregu lar

and diversified, that'

in some places, grapes do n otripen, while in manyothers, even corn does n ot arrive at matu rity- the inhabitants are

often seen reaping on on e side of a mou ntain, an d se w ing on the

o ther. In the plantation of the vines, the hills are , in many places, cutinto terraces, from which, particu larly

'

abou t the lake of Geneva,

grapes and wine of a tolerable qu ality are obta ined: The vines are

chiefly tra ined e ither against trellise s or ke‘

pt low , and tied to short

po les.

At what time the vine w as first cu ltivated in Switzerland, w e are not

informed, butit is very probable that it w as introdu ced into that cou n

try by the Romans, since w e learn from history, that the Helvetians

paid pecu liar veneration to the god of wine , and preserved his gi fts

not in wine -cellars, but in casks ; and that experiments were u nder

taken in agricu ltu re , so that the Falernian hills were riva lled by the

vineyards of the Rhine . In corroboration of this, Roman measure s

have been found in the cou ntry ; and so late as 1807 , fou r great

ampho‘rae were discovered in a su bterraneou s apartment in the wood

Some of the vineyards on the L ake of Zurich are very old, and

are said to have borne the vine for 5 00 years. The vines of V e vay,

owing, itis supposed, to the ir exposu re to the sun , are accou nted the2 G

4 5 0

finest in Switzerland . The best wine comes from St. Saphorin ; a

h amlet adjoining the town . In the canton of Berne , the mountainsa re covered with vineyards, and those between Vevay and L au sanneare mu ch esteemed . V ines are planted in the valleys on the nor

them and sou thern frontiers. The red and white wines of M alantz

are reckoned the best in the canton of the Grisons. In the canton of

Basle , the hills are covered with the finest vineyards, from which goodwines are produ ced . N ear the capital, in the field of St James, is

grown that celebrated red wine called the blood of the Swiss,”from

a sangu inary conflict between French, commanded by the '

'Dau phin , afterwards Lou is XI., and Swiss, in which of

.the former were slain, while only 16 of the latter remained to describe the valorou s achievements of the ir bre thren. From thismemorable circumstance , the following couplets, termed the D rinking‘Song of the M en of B asle, must be read with interest

Drink 1drink l—the red,

k

red wine,

Thatin the gobletglow s,ls hallow

’

d by the blood that stain’

d

The ground whereon itgrow s !

Drink ! drink l—there’

s health and j oyIn its foam to the free and brave

B ut’

tw ou ld blister u p like the elf-king'

s cup,

The pale lip of the slave 1

D rink 1drink l—and as your heartsA re w arm

’

d by its ruby tide ,Sw ear to live as free as your fathers liv

'

d,

O r die as your fathers died I‘

The richness of the valleys and the dechvmes of the mountains ofSwitzerland afl'ord abu ndance of fru its, in the cultivation of whichthe inhabitants have been very su ccessful. From many of these ,

particularly from the M achaleb cherry, a very superior spirit called '

K irschenwa sser or cherry-water, mu ch resembling ou r whiskey, is ma

nu factured. This, in the opinion of Stolberg, is no way inferior e ither

in purity, strength, flavou r, or taste , to thatmade from corn atDantzic.1

' Coxe also speaks of it as a pleasant spirit, and many agre e ,that it is notexcelled by the Dalmatian marasckz

‘

no . It is distilledin the cantons of Zu rich, Schafl'hau sen, L u cerne, Berne , Ne ufchatel,

’

8m. Qu antities of it are exported yearly to Germany, Italy, and .

France . and it ranks in quality with that exported from the depart

P lan che s L ays an d L ege nds o f the Rhine .

1 Stolberg’

s Trav els,v ol. i. p. 146.

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45 2

The best Geneva w e now have , is obtained from Holland, and ismade , according to Dr . Rees, from an ordinary spirit distilled a secondtime, with an addition of some juniper-berries. The original liqu or,however, is prepared in a very diflerentmanner.It w as a cu stom in the distilling of spirits fromworts, or .other fer

mented liqu ors, to add in the working some aromatic ingredients,su ch as ginger, cortex winteranu s, or grains of paradise , to take off

the bad flavou r, and to give a pu ngenttaste to the spirit . Amengother l things usedfw ith that intent, some tried the ju niper-be rry,(gen evre , as it is - called in French,) and finding that it gave not

only an agreeable 'flav our, buta very valu able quality tothe spirit,the distillers adopted it generally, and the liqu or has since been soldzunder the French name gen evre , or, as it is rendered in E nglish

,

geneva . It is highly 'probable that this spirit, now so esteemedthroughou t E u rope, owes its nam e to the ju niper wine , invented or

broughtito perfection by'

C ountD e

”

M orretf son of Henry IV. of

France , to the'

u se of which he attribu ted hi s good health and longlife . This

'

liqu or. was considered so wholesome a nd made with so

little e x pehse , that itswas called the w ine of the poor.

”

The ‘ j u niper-berries employed in the'

distilleries," are generally

brought from Germany, Italy, or Sweden. . In the latterkingdom,

they are frequ ently m ade into conserve s and are e aten at breakfast.The Swedes prepare from them

'

a beverage whi ch they consider. us eful as a medicine ; and in some places, particularlyj n L aplandy theyare roasted and substitu ted . for coffe e . The ex perts of juniper ;

b erries for the u se of di stillers, are abou t 35 0 barrels annu ally, and

the imports of H olland from'

Odessa alone in order to supply the

Jamanu factu rers of Geneva, are very extensive . This aromatic berry,:P”is fou nd in variou s portions of the globe Dr. Gerard metit in abu ndance o u the H imaleh mou nta ins, at an elevation of feet

above the'

lev el of the sea.

"6 In Sweden , it is. a practic e to strew thefloors of the apartments with juniper spuigs over which sand is , scat~

tered,— a practice once'

prev elantin the presence chambers of sovere igns. In Carniola,a kind ofwine is made from j un iper-berries by

steeping themi n water, of which the inhabitants seem very fond ; but

inHolland theh chief use is in the di stillation of geneva. The berries

remain tw o years on the trees before they are ripe . In the mode for

merly practised, the j u niper w as added to the . malt in the . grindinga proper proportion w as allowed, and the whole w as redu ced to mealand worked in the common way. The spirit thu s obtained was

G erard’

s’

Letters, published in the Calcutta Transactions .

45 3

flavoured ab origine'

w ith'

the berry, and'

ex ceeded'

all that could bemade by any other method .

The two‘ principal modes observed in the preparation of w ish for

geneva are thu s described A qu antity of rye -flour, coarsely grou nd ,is mix ed with a third or fourth part of barley-malt, proportioned to

the size of the tfib iri which the vinou s fermentation is to be effe cted .

This they mi x with cold water, and then stirit_with the 'h

'

and to

prevent the'flou r from gathering into lumps, and to facilitate its disso

lution : When this point is attained,water

'

is'

added of the heat ofhuman blood . The whole is well stirred, after whi ch the ferment ismixed with the wort, having be en previou sly diluted with a little

'

of the

liqu or. The fernientation generally begins six hours afterwards ifitcommence earlier, there is-reason to apprehend.

that it will be too

strong, andmeans are employed to check it. If the fermentation be ~

we ll conducted, it generally terminates on the third day, when the

liqu or becomestransp arent, and assumes an acrid taste , hotand fieryon the tongu e . Having attained this po int, the wash i s well reu sed ,

or stirred, and the mash with all the corn is put into the still, and ,

then commences the first distillation, which is conducted very slowly,This is a matter of the u tmost importance, as i t is considered thatwhen the first distillation proceeds

'

rapidfy,'

the essential oil goes over

with the spirit, and mixes with it so intimately that .an u npala table

taste of the grain is imparted, w hich no subsequ ent process can n eu

tralize withou t employing ingredients hurtfu l to health This liqu or

is then re ctified ove r juniper-berries once or twice , according to the

sort of spirit whi ch it is intended to produ ce ; For common u se , on e

rectification is deemed su fficient, though it is n otconsidered so fine

or pleasant, as that which has u ndergone several rectification s, and

which is ca lled double geneva . Some distillers mix the juniper

berries with the wort, and ferment them together ; butin that casethey only draw a spirit from it for the u se of the interior, or for

exportation to E ngland ; the juniper, how ever,, is most commonlyu sed atthe re ctification and notbefore . .

The second method pursu ed by the best distillers is as follows

The malt and rye are mixed with warm water in given proport ions,and thoroughlyblended together, u ntil all the farinaceou s substanceis incorporated ; the liqu id is then allowed to rest u ntil the flou r hasse ttled atthe bottom . The wort is afterwards permitted toflow intothe fermenting tub, where a similar operation takes place, withanother qu antity of water pou red u pon the same grain, and theseoperations are repeated, u ntil the wort thu s drawn from it atdifferent

times, has abstracted the whole saccharine matter in the flour . This

liqu id is putinto the fermenting tun or vessel ; and when it comesto theproper temperatu re , abou t blood heat, the ferment or yeast is added.The

'

fermentation is considered milder and more regu lar, by thismethod than the other.Another practice in making geneva is, to u se in proportion asfollows v iz .

-O ne hu ndred of barley-malt, two hu ndred of rye-malt,mashed with 460 gallons of water ata temperatu re of Whenthe infu sion has been continu ed for a sufficient time , cold water isadded u ntil the wort is brought to abou t 4 5 l . of saccharine matter

per barrel . It is then ru n into a back, at a temperatu re of

with h alf a gallon of yeast. Fermentation soon commences, and isgenerally finished in two days, when proper attention is paidto thetemperatu re ofthe place . The wash is then putinto the still, redu ced

to abou t l 5 lbs. of saccharine matter the barrel, together with thegrains, and u ndergoes three distillations—a few juniper-berries and

a small qu antity of hops be ing introdu ced to commu nicate the flavou r.

Some pour all the water‘

which they intend to u se , into the tub orkieve at once , and put the flour gently into it, while two or more

p ersons are employed in stirring it we ll w ith sticks made for that pu rpose , in order to mix the flour and prevent it from gathering intolumps when the Whole is properly redu ced and mixed together, theyproceed to draw it off into a cooler, before it is putinto the ferment

ing vessel . In all cases the gravity of the wort is low , seldom

exceeding forty degrees and by distilling from a mixture of wash

and grains, the produ ce is allowed to be mu ch greater than that

obtained in Great Britain from wash alone f Gin is a spirit supposed'

to be produ ced only in its g reatest pu rity by the Du tch, from the

u ncommon care taken in its manu facture , and its perfe ction is greatly

a ttribu table to the manner in which the wash is prepared, and the

extraordinary pains bestowed on the fermentation in the cou rse of

a ttenu ation . Certainly if care be nottaken atthis stage of the pro

cess, it would be difficu lt to produ ce a fin e spirit free from any peen s

liar flavour, which is the great characterist ic of good Holland gin, the

spirit only discovering in any mixture , merely the aroma of the juni

per. No grain is u sed in the Du tch distilleries butthe most perfectkind

, after it has u ndergone the process of malting . Wheat is con

sidered the best for produ cing the cho icest spirit butbarley is moreprodu ctive . Rye , however, chiefly of Ru ssian growth, is the princi

pal article u sed, as it produ ces one-third of spirit more than wheat or

Vide Parl. R ep . on Distillery D uties, 1799, apu d Cookson'

s Obs Appen .

Dist1Rep .

)No . 2 . p . 206.

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45 6

of M. Cellier Blumenthal, be ing an alteration of Derosn e’s apparatu s

adapted to the distillation of the wash in continuation, and by means

of which re ctification can be carried so high as to produ ce the

strongest alcohol.

The brew ing of beer and ale w as earlyp ractised in the N e therlands.

Isaac and John H ollandu s, who s w ere natives of that cou ntry an d

flourished in the thirteenth centu ry, have written with great ability

on the subje ct, as we ll as on fermentation and distillation. De lft,among other places, be came famou s for its beer, and it

‘

w as for manyyears the great staple of that port ; what is n ow made there is chieflyconsumed in the neighbourhood . At Go u da and Mayden, itis

,

madein great perfection, and in the latter place , on accou nt of its valu able

qu alities, it is called F lemish physic, while L ondon porter is imitatedwith su ccess . At Bru ssels, there are great varieties of malt drink,and of be er notless than thirty or forty sorts : that of L ou v aine , in

Sou th Brabant, is said to be the most esteemed .

There the number of brewe rs are abou t 24, some of whom make

300 ba1rels of beer weekly. Mr B ooth has detaile d the pro

of manu factu ring two sorts of beer in that city, namedP ieterman and Wkitebeer— Seven quarters and a half of barley malt,and as mu ch raw wheat, both finely grou nd and mixed together, are

putin to 18 sacks ; also seven qu arters of finely-groun d raw wheat

are putinto sixteen sacks , from which 40 barrels of strong P ieter

man , 35 of table beer, and 12 barrels of small bee r are produ ced.

Two coppers, two mash tuns, and fiv e coolers, are employed, butasthe method of brewing is never likely to be practised in Great Britain, a particular de scription seems superflu ou s. No saccharometer

is u sed to dire ct the superintendent, the whole process depending on

his taste and ex perience . When the brewing is colle cted in the tu nand well mixed with yeast , the drink is drawn off into, casks pla cedon the ir end, and holding abou t a barre l _

and half each ; here the fer

mentation commences, and is finished in abou t forty-fou r or fiftyhou rs. No kiln or fu el is u sed to dry the malt, the air be ing the onlymedium of effectingthat purpose .

,O u this accou nt the grain1 is spread

on upper lofts but, from this defe ctive system, no malt can be

made in the winter season : barley alone is employed, from whichthe du st is never separated ; hence the grain, from the natu re of the

drying, n ever attains that crispness and sweetness which are the

characteristics of good malt. The grain and hops are of a very fine

qu ality, and the latter forms an article of considerable commerce ,

The beer is sent to Antwerp, Bru ssels, L iege , Tirlemont, and o therplaces, to the amou nt of casks annually. What adds to the

4 5 7

reputation of the beer of Lou vain, is the'

peculiar'

qu ality of the

wate r. The brewers of.Bru ssels u se malt and raw wheat in equ alproportions, and from fou r qu arters of each, when finely grou nd,

’

19

barre ls of strong be er are drawn . To prevent toomu ch adhesion, aqu antity of Whe ate n chafl' is thrown into the tu n , and the wholemoiste ned .with cold water, after which it is mashed with 18

barrels of hot liqu or. This mixture is of a thick consistency, and thehe at a fter mashing is abou t 122 Having remained in this stateabout an hou r and a half, it is ru n into the u nderback, immediate ly

pumped into the copper, and is mixed with 5 6l . of fine h‘ops. From

the thick nature of the worts, the ru n is slow, butto facilitate the process, wicker baskets are plunged into the kieve , throu ghthe interstices

of which the wortsflow , and are drawn outby small bowls ‘

or ladles .

A second mash with ten barrels of liqu or, is permitted to stand anhou r . Three other mashes su cceed, ending atthe temperature inter

mediate between 134 °and These mashin gs being colle cte d

in the copper and at the bo iling point, tlrree'

handfuls of u nsla cked

linw are thrown in , and the whole is bo iled for e ighteen hours; The

worts be ing se nt to the coolers, are allowed to remain there till theybe come quite cold , in winter even to the

'

freezing point, before they

are put into the fermenting tun , where they lie for'

two days witho u t

any appare nt change , and then ru n into casks to undergo fermenta

tion . This bee r iskept for many years atthe end of the first year

itis mu ddy, butatthe end of the se cond it is cle ar, and ‘

the longerit is kept the lighter it be comes. The beer of the winte r brewing is

termed P has e, and that of the summer, L ambl'

e .

The re are extens ive breweries in Bruges, and the facilities which

the manu facture rs have of obtaining grain, of which large qu antities

are expo rted, render the trade in malt liqu ors extensive and ben eficial

M rs . Trollope ment ions a very grote squ e group, in alto-re lie ve ,which she saw over the door of a brewery in that city itrepresents

the process of brewing, with several figu res employed in mashing,coo ling, and putting the beer into casks

'

while winged se raphs are

are seen tasting it, with the blessed Virgin and her infantson looking on )“ Making sugar from bee t-roo t w as an obj e ct

of atte ntion at the time Bu onaparte had a control over C'

on

tinental affa irs ; butthe manufactu rers had so mu ch the advantage

over the farmers, that the latter thought that the ir land could be

turned to a more profitable purpose , and the trade consequ entlydeclined . When the We st Indian sugar stood atfive shillings the

pound,the beet-root article cou ld be pu rchased atless than one shilling

B elgium and Western G ermany, vol. i. p. 28.

4 5 8

~The~

process of making thesugar consisted in reducing the clean rootsto a

'

pulp, by means of a cylinder perforated with holes like a grater,and revolving in a trough. The pulp formed by this machinery w as

putinto bags of hair or linen cloth, and pressed mu ch in the samemanner as that observed in making . the dry barm atParis . . The

liqu orwas collected, boiled, and afte r be ing mixed with a proportion

of lime , the saccharine matter was precipitated ; a solu tion of su l

phuric acid be ing added, and the whole be ing boiled a second time ,the saccharine matter be came then granu lated, and the sugar, when

refined, of a very good qu ality. This manu facture is notnow ofmu chconsequ ence , since the free admission ofWest India and o ther su garinto , that country. Distillation from the beet-root. has been trie d ;butwhere grain is so abu ndant, itsupersedes the necessity of extracting spirits from this vegetableIn Hanover, although there are various tracts of heath and

'

marshy

grou nd, the soil produ ces most of .the gra ins and fru its of E urope ;even the grape is cultivated in some places for making wine . The

beer of this cou ntry has been long ce lebrated for its excellence , andu pon this 'article and s pirits, an annual revenue of u pwards of sixtythou sand pou nds is levied . There are few towns in the kingdom in

which distillation is notcarried on , while the breweries are numerou s.

The principal establishm ents are atEmbeck, Gbsslar, and Hanoverthe latter is noted for a particu lar kind of be er, which is held in high

e stimation . throughou t the_

ceuntry. The Embeck beer was onceaccou nted the B urton of Germany, and vended in every part of the

Empire . In the fifteenth centu ry it ranked so high, that a barrel w asconsidered of equivalent valu e to , a hogshead of wine , and w as the

favorite drink of the sov ere ign. O ne of the largest hou ses atH am

burgh w as bu ilt for the express pu rpose of selling this liqu or, whichis .still . known by the name of the E z

'

mbeckischen H a as . After allthe praise that has been lavished on it, . the modern beer of GreatBritain is considered superior to it.

A brewer'

previou s to his commencing work, mu st notice the properoflicer, stating the time when the malt is to .be mashed, with the .

qu antity and kind of gra in to be u sed, also the hou r when the vats areto be filled ; and the du ty is imposed. in proportion to the quantity ofgrain, and the beer obta ined . If the brewery is on a small scale, oneshilling is‘ charged for every bu shel of Wheaten malt, e ight-pence for,

barley, and six -pence for cats where the qu antity. of beer produ cedis large , the du ty is then charged by the gallon .A distiller likewise mu st inform the Collector before he begins to

work, and have his still guaged, atthe same time leaving the head

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460

of the Opinions entertained by some of the German divines on thesubj ect of intemperance . In a sermon preached by on e Iof them, he

exclaimed that intemperance consisted in passing those .bou ndswhich natu re had prescribed. -Itw as intemperance formen who werequ arrelsome in the ir cups, ever to drink wine : to some

'

a g oblet . w as

refreshment, to others, tw o cau sed sickness, and su ch were 'intem -i

perate , when they drank more than one .

.Many ~ enlivened society,and were kind when they had drirnk fou r bottles, and it w as n otrightin themto take less. -Many more felt the ir hearts warm with gratié

tude to the De ity, as the generou s j u ice circulated in the ir ve ins,when they had drunk eightbo ttles—with them intemperance began atthe ninth. These persons be pronou nced to be the pecu liar fay onrites

'

of heaven, and bow ing .to his congregation, he acknowledged withfe rvou r, that he himself w as one of those happily gifted mortals .

”

In the Pru ssian territories, the manufacture of ardent spirits hasne ver .been an obj ect of great importance , at least in a commercialpointof .view, although few cou ntries hav e finer grain, or are moreex to lled for the e x cellence of the ir ale . . It w as remarked by _

Wolf

stane the Dane , whe n . he n avigated the Baltic as far as the cou ntrynow called Pru ssia, in ,the e ighth century, that :the people there ‘

‘rewed no . a le, becaus e . they had plenty of honey. This abun

dance of .honey w as noted many centu ries before by Pytheas, whenmead w as the . common drink of the meanest of the people , while the

rich drank mares’ milk, or, perhaps, a spiritu ous liquor prepared from

it.* In the Polish department, strong waters are made frpm’

wheat,rye, barley, pu lse , and also from cider. These are drun k chiefly . bythe common people , and often by the higher orders, who u se them

after they have been rectified with anise-seed, cinnamon,’

or other

In the re cent sou the rly territorial accessions of Prussia, the v in e ~ is'

in cu ltivation ; and anise , canary, coriander, mu stard, and poppy-s

seeds, are grown for the u se of distillers and others; -Ia Prussia, as

well as in many parts of G ermany, a brewery, a distillery, and some'

times a public-house , are the necessary appendages of every exten

sive farming establishment . Potatoe s are distilled to a considerable

extent, and it is calcu lated that tw o bu shels of them afford the sameproportion of ardent spiritas on e bu shel of barley. N ine bu shels of

potatoes are u su ally mixed with one of malt, to draw the Wort;whi ch, by distillation, produ ces a spirit, containing 80 per cent of

alcohol, and payi ng ‘

a very u npopu lar du ty of six -pence per gallon.

Macpherson’

s Annals, p. 263.

461

Before it is sold to the retailers, it is redu ced to 5 0 per cent ofalcohol ; and the sum paid by them is abou t fou rteen-pence per

gallon. The residuum, after the spirit is extracted, is given to cattle ,and, in nu tritive qu ality, is deemed equ al to two-thirds ofthe valu e ofthe potato es before the wort was extracted.

The cu ltivators of grain complain greatly of the heavy du tyimposed on the distillation of corn , but withou t mu ch reason, sincethe tax is paid ata high degree of strength, . and the spirits are sup

plied to the re tailers ata very inferior strength.During the late protracted wars, many exertions weremade , aswell as experiments, by V on Thaer, to procu re sugar from

'

nati ve‘

plants, of’

which the common garden turnip w as the most‘

produ'

ctiv'

e

from this plant, frombe et, an d other roots, sugar has been extractedof a colou r, strength; an d consistency equal to that of the sugar-cane.Considerable qu antities ofgoldwasser, a spirit infused with seeds

and spices, are ,distilled atDantzic, and from thence sent into the inte

rior. The supplies of grain ne cessary for the stills kept at work in

that city and neighbourhood, are draw n from the public granari es,which are so n umerou s and important, that a short description of themmay notprove u ninteresting. The bu ildings which compose them.

says,O ddy, are so extended, that

'

they form a separate town, andconsist of ranges of from fo ur to fiv e stories high. They are situated

u pon an island formed by the river M ottlau , which ru ns close by thecity on on e side , and is m etby anotherbranch at a place called the

Forestadton the other . There are thre e bridges on each side of the

island, at the end of streets over it, from the city to the Forestadt.In the night, ,

all the bridges are drawn up , excepting the tw o atthe

end of the main street, across the centre of the island, commu nicating

between the old . city and the Forestadt. " Oh this island, are all the

principal ware -hou ses for ashes, hemp, linens, and the extens ive

granaries forming seventeen stree ts, besides the large centr’

e on e that

exte nds the whole length ofthe island.

'

To guard these warehous es ,from twenty to thirty ferociou s dogs of a large size are kept, amongst

which are blood-hounds these are let loose at e leven o’clock at

n ight, To command and to keep the dogs within their districts , as

well as to protect the passengers from harm, there are large , high'

gate s atthe end of ea ch of the stree ts leading to,the main one . N0

light is allowed, nor is any person suffered to'

liv e on this island . The

dogs prowl abou t the whole night and cause great terror. It wou ld

be impo ssible withou t them to keep property secu re , amongst thehordes of Poles, Jews, and others who resort to Dantzic, as no e x em

plary punishment would have half the effect which the dread of

62

these dogs produces. In winter,when the water‘

is'

frozenover; andwhen the dogs might be liable to stray, there are

'

3three keepersplaced atparticu lar avenu es with whips, to drive them within the irrange . This brings to ou r re collection what Z E lian tells u s in hisHistory of Animals, that a thou sand large mastiffs were constantly '

kept at the temple of Adranu s, which stood in the city of Adranum ,

now A dderno , and that they were taught to fawn upon su ch as

brought presents to the temple , to condu ct persons home atnight, andto fall furiou sly u pon thie ves and tear them in piece s. In the Bazaar atMo scow ,the property of the shopke epers is protected atnight bydogscha ined to the ir doors . Under the arcade , a certain number of these

‘

animals are fixed to a long rope , placed from one end to the other,passing the doors of all the shops, which are locked up , and left solelyu nder their protection .

"6 The arsenal of Tripoli, in Africa, is guardedin like manner by immense dogs belongi ng to the Bashaw, kept forthat pu rpose ; but, to the disgrace of the governor, these animals are

supported by the courte sans of the town, who are obliged to

bring them food every day, atthe expense of the ir own degradation.

Owing to the measu res adopted at Dantzic, no fire or robbery 'was‘

ever known ; and.the

”

expense levied on each bu ilding for these precau tions is very reasonable , considering the immense property theycontain . Vesse ls lying along side of those warehou ses are notallowedto have a fire or light of any kind on board , nor is a sailor nor any

‘

other person su ffered even to smoke . The corn annu ally received ‘

and exported from Poland, through the medium of those granaries,is compu ted at tons, or lasts . The grain stored inthose warehou ses is brought down the Vistu la from the interiorcfPoland, principally by Jews, and the boats which convey it are from ’

one to three months on the voyage. These vesse ls are ru de ly con

stru cted, and after the cargo is disposed of, they are sold for firewood,or formed into hu ts forthe owners u ntil a market is obtained . In con

v eying'

grain in these boats, there is no artificial covering as a pro

tection from the weather ; it is piled in the boats so as to presentSloping sides like the roof of a hou se , and the su rface thu s exposed

to the damp , soon begins to vegetate and form a thick matted covering; serving all the

‘ pu rposes of a tarpawling,‘

and presenting theappearance of a verdant mound of earth, arou nd which flocks of birdsare seen to hover in the fearless pu rsu it o f food . AtE lbing, aswe ll asatD antzic, the warehou ses are gu arded

'

during the n ight by ferociou sdogs and since no evil consequ ences ensu e from this mode of pro

Barrow ’

s E x cursion s, p . 111.

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464

others from molasses, an d several from variou s saccharine materi als.

The stills are , forthe most part, made of wood, steam be ing the chief

agent ; others are worked in the u su al manner. In many, the machi

nery is cu riou s, simple , and eflicient.The exports of corn-brandy from Dantzic in 1802 , amounted ' to

ohms and in 1804 , to florins and .276 ohms. The

imports of rum and French brandy in 1803, were hogsheadsand in 1804 , ohms. Through the o ther principal perts of

Pru ssia in 1804, hogsheads of brandy were rece ived .

ale

The excise raised on mead, malt, beer, wine , and spirituou s liquorsin the Polish part of Pru ssia i s of some importance , but1n no degreee qu al to the meansthey might posse ss of extending it. In the ma

n agementof. the distillery,the P ru ssians have nothitherto shown mu ch

skill . Most of the ir conce rns are poor and ill adapted to the werk.

At Pillau , E lbing, Koningsberg, & c .,the stills wrought some yearss ince , were oblong squ ares of copper, gene rally abou t ten fe e t inlength, three fee t in width, and thre e fe e t in depth. Wood is thecommon fu el, though coal j s ple ntifu l, particu larly in Silesia, and peat

may be procured in some of the states in abun dance . B utas a too

intimate acqu aintance with the luxu ries of. life seldom contribu tes tothe felicity of the human race , it is, perhaps, fortu nate for these peoplethat the great bu lk of the ir agricu ltu ral produce is exported in theraw rather than in theirefined state .

In the eastern part of P ru ss ia, as no wine is made , the common '

beverage is be er or spirits from corn. The establishments for brewing

and distilling are consequ ently numerou s, butsome of them approach ?

in magnitude to those of E ngland. 1Tbe whole qu antity of bee r thatis brewed is fa ss, or casks of 5 0 gallons each.’ The con

sumption of corn-brandy is, on an average , gallons ann u ally.

In Berlin, there is a description of malt drink called W/zz‘

te B eer,

made from a mixture of wheat and barley malted in the ratio of fiv e

parts, (3.83qu arters) of the former to quarters of the latter, with

abou t nine barrels of liqu or atthe temperatu re of The Wheatenmalt 18 considered requ isite for the sake of the flavou r and co lou r .This mixtu re is mashed for abou t thirty minu te s, du ring which five or '

six barrels of liqu or nearly bo iling are conveyed from the copper intothe tun , after which the mashing is kept u p for fifteenminu tes longerthe heat of the mash be ing at

'

In an hourafter, fifteen pounds '

of hops, mixed with two b an d s of worts taken from the top of the

kieve , are bo iled in the copper for a qu arter of an hou r, during whichfour barrels more of worts are added, making in all six barrels in the

C ady on E u ropean Commerce, 4to. Vide Addenda.

‘

46 5

copper. The whole , with the exception of a barre l leftto keep thebottom from bu rning, is retu rned to the kie ve ata heat of and

after a few minu tes’ mashing is allowed to stand half . an hou r, theheat atthis period be ing Six barrels more from the top of the

kieve are now put into the copper and raised to a heat of 205 ° the

contents of both copper and kieve , grains inclu ded, are then throwninto a vesse l called a tap

-tun having a false bottom covered with

straw, the temperatu re be ing then Having remained u ndisturbed in this vessel abou t fifteen minu tes, the co ck betwe en the real

and false bottom is Opened , butin so small a degree in order to render

the liquor the finer, that it requ ires seven hou rs to draw it off. Atthis stage , six barre ls of liqu or are added and the whole is pumped

into the coolers, from which it is sent to the fermenting tu n ata heat

of when a gallon of yeast is added and in two ho urs fermentationcommences. In the space of e ight or ten hou rs it is putinto casks

and de livered to the traders, with whom the fe rmentation is finished

generally in three days on the fifth it is bu nged, is bottled on the

ninth, and is drinkable on the fou rteenth or fifte enth day. By thisprac tice the manufactu rer is a dependent for a supply of barm, e itheron his own or the cu stome rs of other brewers.

From the proportion and qu antity of grain stated, 181» barrels of

beer are u su ally obta ined ; this drink seldom requ ires fining, is well

flavou red, and will keep for six months.

Be tw een Dresden and Me issen, the vineyards which adorn thebanks of the E lbe are the property of the king, and the wine which

they yield is in higher e stimation than any other in his dominions.

In the whole of Pru ssia, it is e stimated that there are acresemployed in vineyards. Hops are raised in Brandenbu rgh, Pome

rania, Silesia, West Pru ssia, Saxony, and on the Rhine , in su fficient

qu antities to supply the inhabitants within the kingdom the average

qu antity produ ced is annu ally abou t bu shels, which are so ld

by meas u re . Thewines are calculated to be from to

e imers an e im er be ing fifteen gallons. In Brunswick, there are

e ighty or ninety breweries of mum and beer, with abou t thirty-tw odistilleries from corn . In Konigslu tte r, there are nine distilleries of

ardent spirits. In M agdebu rgh and Genthin are distilleries and breweries. In Berlin, within the walls, are one hu ndred and forty-threedistilleries and forty-two breweries.

In Wu rzen and Potsdam, there are considerable breweries whichengage a grea t number of the inhabi tants . The vineyards abou tLutzen

in Saxony, although affording abu ndance of grapes, yield butan indifl'

e

rent description of wine and, therefore , it is more profitably applied2 u

466

in making vinegar and brandy. At Weimar,' breWeries and distille

ries are chiefly employed to su pply the city, though there is a greattrade in corn . In Saxe -Go tha, an ise seed and cu

'

mminse ed are raised

to considerable extent and conv erted . into essential oil, which is ingreat demand for theflavou ring of Spirits.

In Silesia, ale-hou ses are numerou s, and no postillion drives a stagewithou t stopping to enj oy a schnap—an irresistible temptation, sinceevery ale-hou se hangs outa board with the sedu ctive salu tation,Willkommer mea

’

n F reu nd’L—Welcome , my Friend

In the ne ighbou rhood of Hirschberg, there is a spring so impregnated with oxygen, that the common people crowd to it on Su ndaysto intoxicate themselves cheaply.In Germany, honey is an abundant produ ction . The number of

bee-hive s in P ru ssia alone , are e stimated at and the sale s ofthe honey bring yearly aboutIt w as customary among the superior class of the Teuton es, (an

ancient people of Germany) to drink mead for a period’

of thirty daysafter marriage . From this practice is probably derived the familiarexpression, “to sp end the honeymoon .

” Hence mead may be classedamongst the most ancient and favou rite beverages of the Germans, asprov’

ed by the '

te'

stim'

ony of Pytheas already noticed . N ext in an ti

qu ity is the beer de scribed by Tacitu s butit is highly probable thatcider may dispu te the precedency, .as

_Tatian , a writer of the secondcentury,

“

makes frequ ent allu sion to it as a common drink among theHelvetians.

Throughou t Poland, all the distilleries are farmed e xclu sively tothe Jews by the nobles, who rece ive large sum s for granting thisprivilege . O n e nobleman has be en known to re ce ive £3000 annually for lea ve to distil on one of the large st of his estates. The liqu orsmanu factu red by them are corn spirits u su ally drunk W ithou t water ..The wash, previou s to the distillation, is mixed with the essential oilsO f fennel and caraway seeds, to render the spirits more. palatable , and ,

of which enormou s quantities are consume d to'

the real inj u ry of the

morals of the people . This led .Joseph II ., when he obtained p ossession of Galitzia, to prohibit the Jew s from e ither prun ing the vines ordistilling -spirits but these regu lations were disregarded after hisdeath, and the Jews are now sole masters of this branch of commerce .

E very traveller in Poland mu st lament the drunkenness of the pea

santry, particu larly as it is e ffected by the avarice of the nobles, sinceaccording -to the excesses of the people , the larger are the re turns tothe lords of the so il .*

Neale ’

s Travels through G ermany, Poland, Moldav ia, and Turkey.

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468

is peculiarly agreeable in flavou r, white as chalk, has little wax ,

"

and

is, therefore , easier of digestion : the forests of Kowno in Lithu ania,are alone noted for this produ ction . Su ch is the valu e setu pon lz

’

p z’

ec,

that a pou nd of it has been known to sell for two du cats atthe veryplace where it w as collected. In the forests abou t Kormo there are

no caps, the bees living in the hollows of trees excavated by thepeasantry for that pu rpose . The hives are protected from the severity of the winter by a coating of clay and straw every peasant is.

entitled as a right to that portion of the forest with the hivesto whi ch

he has paid attention ; and any infringement of this right, or a robberyof the honey, is pu nished by the extraordinary infliction of drawing

the intestines of the cu lprit through the navel, and rolling them rou nd

one of the trees which he had despoiled of its treasu re . Kosciu sko ,who w as a L ithu anian by birth, w as so partial to the mead termed

le'

p z'

ec, from the honey of that name , that, during his exile in Switzer

land, he wrote to General Wawrzecki to procu re him a supply fromthe manu factory atKowno .

The leszng/ honey is the produ ce of bees that feed in the pine’

forests ; and the stepow ey p ra sznymz’

rd, or the honey procu red so lelyfrom the field flowers, is considered excellent ; and that from the

Ukraine is accou nted the best. The poor people there reckon more

on the produ ce of bees than on that of grain ; and it is n otu ncommonfor some of the farmers to have from fou r to fiv e hu ndred ule , or logs

of wood in the ir bee enclosu res, which'

are called p ars ieka , or be e

hives, in order to collect the honey. To accomplish this pu rpose,these logs, which are of birch and abou t six fee t high, are hollowed inthe middle and are abou t fiv e fe et in length, and one foot in width.

The apertu re is covered with boards, leaving only a small Opening forthe passage of the bees . An idea of the qu antity of honey collectedm ay be conce ived, when it is known that one of these large cavitiesis often filled in a favou rable season at the beginning of Augu st .

From this su perabu ndance of honey in Poland, the common drinkmay readily be supposed to b e mead ; and this is manu factured to theu tmost perfection . In the proce ss, three parts of water are added to “

one of honey, and to 163 gallons of this mixtu re abou t 5 01bb. of hops

are added . This amalgamation is termed a wa a r or brewing. Whi le

the‘

w ater is in a bo iling state , the honey and the hops are stirred init, till the y become milk-warm it is then put into a cask where itfe rments for some days. The liqu id is then conveyed intO '

a caskin which whiskey had been kept, is bunged closely, and put into a

cool cellar, and after lying three years in this state , it is considered to »

have arrived ata state of excellence and continu es to improve by age .

469

The common mead ismanu factu red in the same w ay, e x cept’

that

aqu antity ofmalt is added. In Hungary, ginger is u sed in the process ; in Poland this is not cu stomary, though many think it wou ld

make a be tter stomachic . VVa z'

ak, D eren iak, and M a len iak are o therdescriptions of mead, with the addition of wild cherries, berries of the'

corn us ma scu la , and raspberries ; and the ir spiritu ou s qu alities are

su ch that they will keep for many years. The mead drawn from the

lzj n'

ec honey is pure ly that obtained from the honey itself, mixed with'

a certain proportion of water and fermented in the u sual w ay.

According to ancient Polish writers, bees were so superabu ndant

in the ir time , that they notonly filled the /hollow s of trees, but eventhe ground w as covered with the ir cells. The Poles at one period,brewed hydromel to

'

su ch an extent, that the workmen were fre

qu ently drown ed lin the huge vats employed in the .manu facture . It

w as aton e time a mark of Polish gallantry to take off a lady’ s shoe , ‘

and pass it round the table , filled with wine or..hydromel as abumper

to her health:

A description of honey of an intox icating‘

nature , is colle cted insome parts of Poland. This honey is gathered by the bees, from the‘aza lea p ontica , chiefly atO czakow and Potosia ; and is sole ly us ed

for medicinal pu rposes, no mead be ing manu factured from it, nor can

itbe eaterr like other honey, as it produ ces nau sea as well as inebria

tion . Before qu itting the su bject of honey in this quarter, it may be

interesting to know that in the fou rth and fifth centu ries, it w as a com

mon practice to collect bees together by hissing, orrwhistling, in the

same manner as w as done by beating on brass and it is still a prac

tice in L ithu ania and Russia, to lead bees to feed and gathe r them

home~

by the blowing of a whistle , a surprising phenomenon in the

hi story of these insects .

In a cou ntry so favoured by the beneficence of Providence , it is

lamentable that many of these gifts shou ld be converted to pu rposes

d isgracefu l to the human character ; and if it be tru e , as reported by

a respe ctable writer, that the ministe rs of religion dese crate the ir

high ofli cef by vending spirits to the people as a sou rce of emolument,w hat can be

’

expe cted from the commu nity when they find the ir

teachers thu s lend themselves to pander to the ir vices

The Dan es,among the other inhabitants of the North who drewfromFrance a vast qu antity of her brandies, atpre sent distil from corn to

a large extent. In 1800, the distillers of Copenhagen, amou nting to

316, formed a corporate body ; the ir consumption of grain in that year

w as tons, which yielded gallons of spirits. At

Flensburg, two hundred stills are employed, the produce of which is

470

principally sent to Iceland and Norway. In the town and ne ighbou r

hood of Hu sum, in the Du chy of Schlesw ick, the manufacture of

arden t spirits is prosecuted with mu ch vigou r. There , as well as in

other parts of the Danish territory, the fe eding of cattle on the refu se

of the stills, forms a very profitable part of the trade . Denmark,Schlesw ick, and Holste in produ ce corn in su ch abu ndance , that the

export in on e year frequ ently amounts to

The average estimate of the spirits exported from Denmark,amou nts in valu e to abou t rix-dollars, or The

crown draws a large proportion of the national resources from the

excise on this article , and from the li censes permitting its manufac

ture and sale . The wash u sed in the distilleries is principally made

from malted barley and rye, but scarcely any oats are u sed : considerable qu antities of the spirits are converted into cordials, and mu ch

drunk in the taverns and retail shops,“

in the form of drams termed'

schnap s.1'

Besides the ardou r with which the Danes prosecu te the distilla tionof spirits,they

’

make very good beer and ale . Beer is of great antiqu ityamongst them . The Scandinavian word braga (beer) , is probablythe primitive of our terms brag and braggart, the Scandinav ians

be ing great boasters over the ir cups. The Saxons and Danes were

passionately fond of beer ; and the drinking of it was considered on e

of the principal enjoyments of the heroes admitted into the hall of

Odin . From the word braga m ay have been derived the appellationbraggat, from brag, malt, and gots, a honey-comb, a species of drinkcommon in Wales, made from malt, honey, and spices and the wordbragwort, the name of a weak kind of mead, may be referred to the

same origin .

A considerable portion of the hops employed in the Danish brewer ies, 18 of the growth of the islands of Fu n en , Falster, Born holm, and

the p eninsu la of Ju tland b utthe consumption is so great that theyannually import hops to the amou nt of rix-dollars. A s honeyforms an important article in the ir domestic e conomy, and in the com

position of the ir liqu eu rs, great attention is paid by the Danes to the

cu ltu re of bees, over which the schoolmas ters of the cou ntry have a

pecu liar superintendence , and ,mead is manu factured extensively.

At entertainments, the inhabitants do notu su ally indulge to excess

in drinking ; when a su fficient supply of wine or other liqu ors has

been served, the host rises, and thanks his gu ests for do ing him the

Fo r further particulars on the Trade of Denmark, see Addenda. AlsoB oettiche r

’

s Statistical Table s, No . 2.

'

l' Clarke

,vol. v .

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472

butthese virtu es are, i n some degree , counterbalanced by the propen

sity of the lower orders for spiritu ou s liqu ors. The sale is extensive

n ot only there , but also in the ne ighbou ring towns. E lsin ore has,on that account, been not u naptly called by sailors, the G in -shop”

there all the British vessels lay in a stock of spirits, to serve them

du ring the ir absence from E ngland.*

In Norway, natu re has so stinted her gifts as to oblige its imbabi

tants to depend on others partly for the ne cessaries, as well as for the

luxu ries of life . Norway annu ally imports qu arters of corn,of which Christiana alone imports from Denmark barre ls

In the northern districts, the grain for the most part is destroyed by

incessant rains ; and what remains is preserved in wooden sheds,heated by m eans of stoves, or dried by the winds on po les, fitted up

for that pu rposed' A practice somewhat similar is observed in many

parts of Sweden, with thi s difference, that the shocks of corn arespread on wooden frames raised severa l fee t from the grou nd i The

chief beverage known to the primitive inhabitants of N orway, is that

which is drawn from the birch tree . The mode of pro curing theju ice is, by boring a hole in the tru nk, and then stepping it with acork, throu gh which, when a qu ill open atboth ends, is thru st, theju ice passes atthe rate of a large drop every se cond. Amidst theimmense forests that darken the mou ntains of Norway, great qu antities may be obtained in this w ay. The inhabitants manu factu re it asfollows -To a given qu antity of ju ice is added a proportion of sugar;mostly two pou nds to ev ery gallon . These are bo iled together, unti lall the impu rities rise to the top and are skimmed off. To the

remainder,when properly cooled, is added a little yeast, to promo tefermentation. Abou t three or fou r days complete the whole of the

process . In extracting the ju ice , it is found to ru n more free ly.when the tree is moderately shaken by the wind, than in still andwarm weather the tree su ffers little , if the hole be stopped with a

wooden peg. N otonly from the birch tree can a liqu or be drawn,whi ch may be converted into a good drink, butalso from the w illow ,

the poplar, the sycamore , and the walnu t, all of which, when fermented, yield a palatable and strong wine . Some of the be tterclasses in N orway, in making birch-wine , employ several ingredients,su ch as lemons, sugar, and raisins. The liqu or, when bo iled, is set

to cool, and when brought to a proper temperature, a little yeast is

Jon e s’s Narrativ e,vol. 1. p . 5 6.

1’ Cox e ’

s Trav els.I Acerbi

’

s Trav els, 2 vols. 4to»

473

added. It is then allowed tofermentf Some immediate ly barrel itand putsome rais ins and isinglass into the vesse l, in order to clear it.

A s soon as the fe culence is worked off, the liqu or is bunged up and

laid as ide for u se . In Norway, many of the hou ses are covered with

birch-bark, as it possesse s qu alities to resist rain and the inclemencyof the weather , for a number of years. From its conta ining a great

quantity of inflammable matte r, torches are made of this bark, cut

into long narrow stripes, and twisted toge ther. When dried, grou nd,mixe d with meal, and boiled, it is given to swine in years of

scarcity, it is mixed with corn and baked and u sed for human food,whi le the tw igs of the tree afford fodder for the horses. From the

berries of the sloe an agreeable sort of wine is co lle cted .

A distillery on a small sca le w as established in 1793, for the manu »

factu re of brandy, butno ac cou nt has been given of its su ccess . Ale,

to a considerable exte nt, is imported , and dealt outwith freedom at

weddings, chr istenings, and o ther entertainments . A le and beer are

now made in the cou ntry, butnotto su ch extent as to prevent impori

tation they are , however, of inferior qu ality n ative ‘ hops are

employed, which Barrow says he saw growingb

lu x uriantly in Nor;

w ay . Malt drink w a s held in su ch e stimation amongst the N or!

w egian s, that w e are told that King Abre ck , of H ordoland, chose

G ierheld to be his qu een, be cau se she excelled in the artof brewing;Very good ale is brewed in the families of gentlemen for domestic

u se butin many districts, it has a tartness, cau se d by the mixtu re of

oats with bere . For stronger drink the Norwegians depend on the

Danes, Du tch, and French, who carry on a profitable trade with the

cou ntry. So far back as the thirteenth century, a company of mer e

chants settled atBe rgen, who imported variou s articles of commerce ,amongst which were malt, ale , wine , and spiritu ou s liqu ors . At pre

sent the Dutch carry on a gre at trade with the Norwegians in thisw ay, and in return for the ir gin, in particu lar, rece ive large suppliesof j uniper-berries . The Swedes also furnish them with corn-brandy

,

butin small qu antities what they manu factu re themse lves, Barrowafiirm s, is pu rer than that of Sweden . This spiritthey distil frombarley, and occasionally from rye and oats it is generally flavoured,some t imes with anise-seed, and sometimes with caraway se ed otherssay, this is effe cted by the flowers of some mountain plants or by theju niper berry, with the addition of a little sugar. Dr . Clarke attribu testhe flavou r to the infu sion of the baog-berry, or bird-cherry, (pru n us

p adu s) the j u ice of which is red the spirit, however, is clear, butifdistilled on the plant, i t is thought the flavour might be retained,whilethe colour would disappear. Sin ce the introdu ction of -the potato,

474

and the attention paid to its cu ltivation, the Norwegians distil from it

to a considerable extent. L aing, in his Journal, thu s describes the

process , as carried on in a small concern which he visited at Dron

the im The potatoes are first steamed, and afterwards bru isedbetween two cylinders, the pu lp is then ru n into vats, with a

'

small

proportion of grou nd malt ; to every e ight barrels of potatoes, 721bs.

of malt are u sed : the fermentation produ ced by a mixtu re of yeastis generally finished in three days, after which distillation is carried onin the u su al -manner. The produ ce varies in proportion to the qu ality

of the potatoes . E very farmer is entitled to distil the produ ce of his

own farm, but pays a trifling license if he bu ys the potatoes and

works as a trader. A still is commonly kept on every farm, notonlyon accou nt of the spirits, the consumption of whi ch in every familyis very great, butfor the refuse or wash for the support of the cattle .

The spirit is generally flavoured like the corn brandy with an iseseeditis strong and fiery, butne ither harsh nor ill tasted . There is com

mou ly on e brewing and distillation every week, or atleast'

ev ery fortnight

, the operations of which are condu cted bythe women ; The‘

process of steaming the potatoes is effected mu ch in the same manner

as already described when treating of Germany they are put into a

barre l with iron hoops, having a small door in the side atits bottom,

which is bored with holes to letoutthe water the barrel is u su allyplaced on a stand with rollers for the pu rpose of conveying it from

one part of the concern to another the steam is conveyed into thisbarrel by a pipe connected with the head of the still or boiler, and

enters the barrel near the bottom through a grating the condensed

steam falls through the holes in the bottom . The operation of steam

ing is commonly finished in an hou r and. half and the potatoes are

considered sufliciently prepared for the pu rposes required, when theyare fit to be eaten . By bo iling the potatoes in steam, the flavou r is

said to be improved, and it prevents the spirits from partaking of theflavour of the potato it is thou ght to be more profitable to distilthem with a mixture of grou nd wheat and malt, rye , or any other

kind of grain, than to distil the potatoes by themselve s : the best pro

portions for this mixture are considered to be—to six heaped barrels

of potatoes, we ighing 78 stones of 161bs. each, 9 of wheat or

other corn, and fiv e of malt from bere or bigg, are to be added. If

other proportions be taken, the wort or wash is apt to become so

heavy as to be liable to bu rn or singe in the still, and by observingthese ratios, any qu antity, great or small, may be made with certain

and good effe ct . The ground grain and malt are first mixed with

abou t~

120 qu arts of water, heated to 5 0° of Reaumer, or 144° of

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176

importation of foreign brandies, and levied heavy penalties on theslightest infringement of any of his regulations, whi ch occasioned

.

numero u s complaints, remonstrance s, and menaces, in every part ofthe kingdom , and d iscontent rose so high, that even in the metropo lis,itw as fou nd necessary to station gu ards atthe Ro yal Brandy Factories, to prevent their de stru ction by an indignant popu lace . Thisexpression of pu blic feeling led to a modification of the laws ; butthe power of the crown is still predominant .In 1793 a large distillery w as erected near Gripsholm , within abou t

25 miles of the capital . It w as calculated to work annu ally abou t

Riga lasts of grain, or tons. A term of twenty yearsw as given to the proprietors for working it, after which it w as to

"

become a royal monopoly. In that distillery there were 96 v ats of

equ al size , in each of which w as u su ally mixed four tons and a qu arter of flour, two thou sand canns of water, and ten canns of commonyeast. E ach v atyie lded from 80

'

to 84 canns, and some times 90according to the grain : the mixture w as stirred atintervals, u ntil fer

mentation took place , when the vats were covered and lu ted downwith a composition of lime . In four days the wash w as ready for thestill. The number of stills amou nted to twenty-six , fou r of whichcontained banns, the others The process w as slow;from six to seven hou rs be ing employed in bringing over the wash,and

‘

a proportionate time for the spirits. O n e-fou rth part of the

grain u sed w as barley, and as each ton yi elded twenty-tw o canns of

spirit, the crown exacted twelve of these , ata strength six degrees

abo ve proof. The remaining ten fell to the proprie tors, which theysold atsixteen shillings and fou r ru nsticks per cann, making upon

tons, canns on the whole produ ce nearlyThere were ninety-six workmen employed, atabou t fou rteen or six

teen plottes per month .

Grain is not the only ingred ient u sed in the Swedish distilleries .

A large species of black ant, which affords on distillation a res in, an

oil, an d an acid, is employed with rye to give flavou r and potency to

the brandy. This inse ct is commonly fo und on small rou nd hills at

the bottom of the fir tree . It is, says Consett, less a matter of surprise

that they shou ld u se these insects in the ir distilleries than that they

shou ld eat them, and consider them highly palatable and pleasant .“A s I w as walking,

”he remarks, “with a young gentleman in a

wood near Gottenbu rg, I observed him sit down u pon on e of those

living hills, which from the natu re of its inhabitants, I shou ld ratherhave avo ided, and begin with some degre e of ke en ness to devou r these

insects, first nipping off their heads and wings the flavour he declared

477

was of the fine st a cid, rather‘

resembling that of lemon. M y youngfriend entreated m e mu ch to follow his example, but I could notover ;

come the antipathy which I felt to su ch kind of food.

” Chemistshave tried the distilling of ants, and have obtained an acid resembling

.vinegar ; its prope rties and attractions are not yetdistinctly deter

mined

The propensity of the Swedes for strong drink of all kinds is well

known, and the ir wish to refine u pon this lux u ry may have led them

to ad opt the ant as the Du tch have the j u niper . To the ir constant

u se of spirits, Fortia attribu te s the thinness of the popu lation. Several

a ttempts have been made to restra in them in the exercise of so fatal

an indulgence , butto no purpose .1' They allege that the practice of

drinking is condu cive to health, and e ven the most temperate adhere

to the cu stom of taking an allowance both morning and e v ening. ;t

At the ir dinner parties, whi ch in general are given with great cere

‘mony, the company assemble in an adjo ining room, where a sideboard

or table is spread with bread , bu tter, che ese , pickled salmon, and corn

brandy. T0 these , says Thompson , who on one occasion met fifty

persons ata private hou se , the company pay a visit, and each takes adram by w ay of whe t to his appetite .§ Clarke , howeve r, asserts,that he had never se en a drunken mob in Sweden . upon the Sabbathday, nor dru nkenne ss on any day among the peasants. If intoxicationprevail in that cou ntry, it will be foun d perhaps in the better classesof socie ty.

Where the lower orders u se beer as a common drink, breweries

may be expe cted to abou nd . In 1809, there were 15 9 registered

e stablishm ents of that kind in the cou ntry. Some years previou s tothat period, they were enabled to export 232 barrels from Stockholm,

and in 1790 they shipped off 169 barre ls. When Thompson, wholately travelled in Sweden, visited Gottenbu rg, a Mr. L orent w as

e re cting a brewery for porter, to enable him to imitate that of L ondon,which he sold atthe inns for tw o shillings and six -pence the bottle . Thisbrewery su cce eded so well, that in 1826 its porter w as of su ch good

qu ality, and came so near to that of London , that it w as jocu larlysaid, they gotthe ir water from the Thames.

”The porter of this

house is in demand throu ghou t Sw eden i and has, in a great measu re,superseded the ne cessity of any importation from E ngland . The

concern is now kept u nder the firm of L orent and Nooning, who, it

Vide Con sett’s Remarks in a Tou r through Sweden , &c.

"

l Fortia’

s Travels.I Clarke

’

s Travels,v ol. v. p . 135 .

Thompson’

s Travels in Sweden , 5 to . pp . 12 Sr. 13.

478

is said, have embarked therein a capital of Great encon

ragementis given by the Swedish government to the consumption ofporter in preference to that of ardent spirits, the u se of which hasbeen attempted to be restrained by e very means that cou ld well bedevised ; even those who keep post-horses or vehicles for hire are

prohibited from selling spirits, or any matter which might afford an

excu se for an indu lgence in the u se of ardent spirits. Cou ld the per

niciou s practice of taking schnaps or drams, which is too prevalent, berestrained, it wou ld have a powerfu l e ffect in reforming the habits

and cu rbing the propensities of the lower classes from those irregularities into whi ch they too frequ ently fall. Although the vice is generally condemned, yetthose who are often bu sy in its condemnation,render themselves frequ ently reprehensible in this respect . An anec

dote proving the tru th of this observation is related of a young man ,

who be ing intox icated, mettw o sober~ you ng friends that reproached

him for his intemperance ; butthe moralists had a short-lived triumph,

for in the evening of the same day, when he had be come sober, hemethis admonishers reeling along as drunk as Bacchu s. What !”

said he , as he stood eying them with a look of pity and contempt,are these the persons that reproved me this morn ing for an irregu

larity into whi ch they themselves have so grossly fallen in the

e vening P”

The good old practice of domestic brewing is still followed in Sweden , and the beer is represented as sweet and wholesome . In theye ar 1797 ,

’

there were fifty breweries and forty-‘

seven Vintners inStockholm. Regnard describes a drink whi ch he metwith in that city,termed ca lckat, consisting of beer, wine , and sugar. Formerly it wascu stomary in Sweden to drink healths outof goblets of a size proportioned to the rank or respectability of the person whose health w asproposed, so that a goble t to the health of a king w as as mu ch, if notmore , than cou ld be taken as a bumper. At entertainments in someparts of Sweden, a beverage is u sed term ed bishop , which consists ofa mixtu re of Bu rgu ndy, Claret, Sugar, Spices, and Seville Oranges.At Stockholm, every description of luxu ry is to be fo und which iscommon in E u rope , and although the manu factu re s are insufficient

for the su pply of the cou ntry, the deficiency is made up by importat ion, a view of which may be seen in a Table of the Addenda .

A s agricu lture in Sweden has been carefu lly attended to, mu ch ofthe sterility of the so il has been overcome , and the land, in manyplaces, rendered tolerably produ ctive . Oats, barley, rye , and wheatare cu ltivated, butn otin su ffi cient qu antity for home consumption,since i t has been calcu lated that u pwards of tons of grain

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480

All the post-hou ses on the mountainou s passes in Swedenand Norl‘

w ay are tax free , and they have the privilege of selling corn-brandy forthe accommodation of travellers. Spru ce beer is a beverage mu ch inu se among the Swedes . It is said to have originated from the salutary efl'ects produ ced by bo iling the tops ofthe spru ce fir, and gi vingthe liqu id to the soldiers employed against the Ru ssians, du ring

a w ar with that people , and at a time when the scu rvy had madegreat ravages. The re covery of the army w as on this occasion somiracu lou s, that the Swedes ever after continu ed to call this fir

, the'

scorbutz’

c tree .

From the'fru it of the ru bus arcticu s, a most deliciou s wine is pro

cu red, the u se of which is confined to the nobility in Sweden ; and

the Swedes make an agreeable liqu eu r, resembling lemonade , fromthe berries of the ru bus chamaemoru s.

Among the Sw edish imports, E nglish porter is still an e stimablecommodity, notwithstanding the prosperity of the native breweries.

The privilege of importing this liqu or is confined to Go ttenbu rg, and

the consumption of it is great, on accou nt of the number of hands

employed in the fishery an d oil trade . Brandy, however, is the

favou rite beverage , and the cu stom of u sing it before breakfast and

dinner, is as mu ch a characte ristic of a Scandinavian or of a Ru ssian,as the ceremoniou s gifts of tobacco and coffee are of a Turk or of an

Arabian. Strangers in Sweden are subj ect to many disea ses, whichnever attack the nativ es and if you ask how they escape these dis

orders, they answer that they preserve the ir health by drinking

brandy, morning and evening. B utthey do not confine the drinking

of brandy tothese tw o periods of the day, for the dram bottle is ever

at hand, even in the king’

s palace and there are fourteen different

stages in the day’s dram-drinking, e ach having a distinct name , butit

is exp ected that the Crown Prince , who is favo urable to Temperance

Societies, will bring abou t a reformation in this degrading habit.

The popu lation of Sweden, in 1880, w as of whom the

half may be conside red consumers of brandy. The se may be dividedin to three classes, according to the number of drams taken daily

Canns.

million take 5 drams daily, or 60 canns yearly,36

The cann is valu ed ata rix-dollar, or on e E nglish shilling, which

gives an amou nt of rix—dollars spent on brandy.

481

The following is a retu rn of the number of pan s employed , withthe amou nt of canns of brandy manu facture d in Sweden, du ring theyears spe cified v iz .

O ‘ O O O C

o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 b e .

The qu antities o f fore ign spirits imported du ring the fo llowing

years, were

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

For a view ofthe importation ofwine , together with the qu antitieso f malt-liqu ors exported , the reader is referred to the Addenda .

The cann is computed to hold 30 drams ; a nd 100 canns are equ al

to 69 E nglish wine-gallons.

The number of pans has bee n redu ced to abou t which ismainly} owing to the exertions of the Temperance Society

but u nfortu nate ly the imports show that the efforts of this

So ciety are , as yet, but limited. The brandy-pans, as they

are termed, are of various sizes : some are only large enoughto make four canns, while others can make nine ty and u pwards.However writers may be divided with regard to the char

acter of the Swedes, on the whole i t may be aflirm ed, that no person

of fine fee lings and warm fancy can , withou t regret , qu it a country

so remarkable for its picturesqu e scenery and the hospitality of its

inhabitants.

In L apland, a large portion of which is subje ct to Sweden, scarcity

is some times so gre at that the inhabitants are compe lled to feed upon

the bark of trees : yet, amidst this desolate region, a late traveller

ascribes the only evils with which the people are .besetto the habitual2 1

u se of brandy.

"t The ir love for this liqu or is su ch, thatthey have

been known to give a crown for a glass,1'

and to exchange one of the irbest re in-deer for six drams of the common Swedish spiritd: Theyregard the ir passion for it as a misfortu ne , butwhen remonstrance is

made on the subj ect, they say that withou t brandy they cou ld have

n o“wives. This u nhappily is too tru e , for when a you ng Laplander

w ishes to choose a wife , he mu st first furnish a friend with some

bottles of brandy, to mediate betwe en him and her father, who is dis

posed to pe rmit the visits of the lover only in proportion,to the

brandy he brings.

This perquisite too ofte n indu ces a parent to postpone the nuptials

o f a daughter fortwo or three years.'

From the pleasu re it gives

in this world, the y consider a little of itnecessary for comfort in the

n ext, hence they put into the coflin of a deceased friend'

a flask of

brandywith other articles, in order that he may cheer himself on his

jou rney .§In a country where the winters are so rigorou s an d the cold so

intense, it need scarcely seem su rprising, that an ignorant and savage

people should have re course to strong liqu ors to enliven the so litude

o f the ir rocks and mountains, and to give a brisker,flow to the irSpirits. It is a ce remo ny notu nworthy of relation, that whe n a Laplander has laid hold of the glass or mug, outof which he is abou t todrink , he first dips his forefinger into the liqu or, r ubs a little of it tohis forehead, then on his bosom, and with the ce lerity of lightning,empties the contents into his stomach. These innocent people thinkthat those precau tions prevent the ardou r of the

'

spirits from inju ring

e ither head or heart .“The ir chief supply of brandy is drawn from theborder fairs ofN orway, Sweden, “Mu scovy, and F inland . To the seplaces they generally resort in caravans, or companies , travelling in

sledge s drawn by the re in-deer, and the ir furs,bafirets, chee se made ofre in-deers’ milk, dried fish, toys, and the deer itself, for the ir favou riteliqu or, and for su ch ne cessar ies as they ,

may want. Who le families

go to market in this w ay, and seldom retu rn withou t experiencing,

some of the fatal conse qu ences of too great an indu lgence in the irpassion for strong liqu ors.

L apland abou nds with the rubu s ckamwmorus , or, as itis calledclou d-berry, from be ing found on the tops of mou ntains, the fru it of

Vide Clarke ’

s Travels, vol. v. p . 404. f Ehrenmalm .

I Clarke’

s Travels, v ol. v . p . 42 5 .

Ibid . v ol. v . p . 404 .

ll Thompson’

s Trav els in Sweden , p .343.

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484

w ith pepper, partly for the sake of its intoxicating quality,‘

by’

way of

narcotic, and partly to hasten and ease the pains of labour . The

mothers even pou r it down the throats of infants, and at all the irchristenings

'

and funerals, intoxication prevails, the ceremonies of

rejo icing and mou rning be ing made mere pre texts for dram-drinking,

At feasts, says Malte-Bru n, they seldom depart before the wholerepast is consumed The pu olem

-vine , or brandy brought fromFlensbu rg, circulated fre ely, and mirth is evinced in no isy loqu acity.

All the gu ests , thu nder the wild discord of the ir j olias, or nationalsongs, and the amu sement is sometimes .varied by cards made from

the bark of trees, and colou red with the blood of the re in-deer . The

Laplanders; . when inflamed with liqu or, never commit any acts of

cru elty, shew ing’

only an elevation of spirits which prompts them to

shou t, jump , and laugh, craving drams with hysteric screams, till theydrop on the ground in total disregard ofall tha t belongs to them ,

offering every thing they possess for brandyf When sober, they are ,

as gentle as lambs, and of the most placable disposition . L ike the

gi'

psies, they practise sev eral'

modes of divination, one is by inspe ctinga cup

'

of liqu or and which, to ensure the greatest possible certainty,mu st be a cup of bra ndy , which at. on ce explains and ensu res thew hole bu siness ofthe prophecy,

’

ev incing thatthe love of strong drink ,even on su ch occasions, predominates over the love of money.

N otwithstanding the love which the Laplanders display for intox i

cating liqu ors, and the consequ ent mental imbecility which the u se of

these liqu ors produ ces, yet several o f this nation have manifestedtalents of n o ordinary description. Schober a nd .Weber g ive an

a ccount of a L aplander who was gifted with u ncommon memory andfacility .

in the‘

acqu isition of langu ages buthis inordinate desire forspirits u nfortunately proved his ru in . This person w as early takenfrom his native land, and edu cated in Sweden u nder the au spices of

Charles ’XI. H e w as afterwards sent to L apland -to preach the

gospe l to -his cou ntrymen, having previou sly qu alified himself in theo

logy. After labouring abou t .half a year in this piou s u ndertaking, he

got weary of the employment, .and, mounted on a re in-deer, he

entered Stockholm in the dress of a L apland peasant there he

remained for a short time , colle cted some money, , which he spent in

brandy, au d'

then repaired to Copenhagen . In that city, he repre

sented himself to be a L apland prince , w as admi tted to the presenceof the king, and afforded mu ch amu sement to the cou rtiers by his ;s ingu lar exploits in drinking. Under the same title , he

'

visitedthe principal cou rts of Germany, followingthe cu stomary cou rse of inebriety. H e visited France, learned the langu age of that cou ntry in a

485

month, and after receiving presents fronr Lou is proceededthrough Germany and Poland, to St . Pe tersbu rgh, where he had been

only six weeks, when he w as able to express himself with clearness

and flu ency in the Ru ssian langu age , evenso as to p reach before the

empe ror, with whom he became so great a favou rite , that he settled

on him an annui ty of 2 5 0 rubles. H'

e' then repai1ed to A stracan , and

in a short time be came master of the ~Tartarian langu age : In one of

his drunken moments, while lying in a street, he w as seized by some

Calmu cks, carried into the cou ntry, and presen ted to the ~Khan . H is

head w as shaved; hi s x person dressed in the costume of the people ,and himse lf prov ided with two wives . In the cou rse of a month hecou ld co nverse familiarly with the inhabitants butalthough he w as

treated with the greatest kindness and familiarity, he took the e arliest

opportu nity of escaping to Astracan, where he stu died the Persian;the l\r ngul, arid the mod ern Gre ek languages. B utbefore he cou ld

fu rthe r shift the scene ofhis eventfu l life , his dissipation pu t ‘

a pe riodto his existence .

The taste and habits of the Finns are little better than those of theirLapland ne ighbou rs, for withou t tobac co, bee r, and brandy they con s

sider life to be joyless. Old and you ng possess the same propensity,‘

and although little acqu ainted with bodily debility, the ir excessive use

of inflammatory liqu ors u ndermines the ir physical vigou r, and oftenrenders them disgu sting obj e cts of intempe rance and folly.

The ’desire to obtain tobacco and brandy often indu ces'

the F ii'

ms

to u nde rtake incredible jou rneys ; both m en and women wou ld sooner

e atthe ir provisions raw , and even starv e ,e rather than be deprived of

those lu x u n'

es. It is related of on e , that having travelled from a great

distance to Abo'

to pu rchase an iron pot, he observed some »brandyand tobacco in a shop for sale and su ch w as his i nfatu ation , that he

spent all he had in thei r pu rchase, and re tu rned home withou t theu tensil for Which he had u ndergone su ch fatigu e .

~

When the people repair to the great fair atAbo , they immediatelyhave recou rse to the ir favou rite liqu or, and in this weakness they are

indu lged by the artfu l traders who t1afiic with them. While u nde1the 1nflu en ce of intoxication , they disclose all the irplans to each othe r ;and m these u ngu arded moments, the tx ade r or his agent cont1iv e s to

hear the ir commu nications, in order to take -advantage of the irsimplicity.

"E

It is calcu lated that, on an average , a Finlande r annuallyconsumes fr m 27 to ~30

‘

rix -dollars in brandy, which is equal to the

Clarke 's Trav els, -vol x i. pp. 334—5 .

486

purchase of a cask . Neither Finn nor Norwegian drinks brandy tokeep him warm, to promote digestion, or to lighten labou r, all is consumed before the door of the merchant with whom he trafii cks, and

the infatuated be ing wou ld be su rprised athimself were he to retu rnhome withou t be coming raving mad with brandy. E dicts have beenissu ed to prevent the merchants supplying them with this liqu or toexcess, butto no effect. The poor creatu res,when reproved for su ch

irregu larity, exert all the little intellect and ingenu ity they possess todefend the practice . With the greatest self-compla cency, they u rge

as an u nanswerable argument, that brandy is as equ ally strong, and

as equ ally nou rishing as bread, be cau se like bread it is prepared fromgrain , and bread be ing the staff of life , brandy which ispreparedfrom

it, mu st be equ ally n ou rishing as it is exhilarating thu s this u nfor

tunate propensity enervates every spring of a ctivity, every incentive

to improvement, and every moral sentiment .* By the influ ence of

this beverage, the imaginations are carried'

to the height of frenzy an d

enthu siasm . In the ir moments of merriment, they boast of an inter

cou rse with fairie s atbanqu ets and dances they talk with triumph

of the feasts which they have shared in the elfin-caverns, wherewine , brandy, and tobacco , the produ ctions of the fairy regions, haveflowed in abu ndance . With these and similar notions, many of the

gloomy days of life are enlivened ; while poverty is forgotten am idst

the reveries of intemperance and folly.

When Mr . Bu llock, an E nglishman, visited Finland in 1822, for

the pu rpose of procuring a herd of re in-deer, he cou ld effe ct nothing

withou t brandy. O ne of the natives, finding he cou ld notgeta glass,told this traveller an d his companion that he wondered what sort ofpeople they were notto have so mu ch as a drop ofbrandy.

” Barrow,who late ly visited Finland, confirms the observations of Mr . Bu llock ;he afiirms that dru nkenness is a habitu al vice among the Finlandersthey drink ve tki raw , and in large qu an tities, so that they soon become

intoxicated .

It may be generally remarked of all these northern hordes, that theprecept of the ir ancient god who recommended full cups, has beendevou tly followed a le and mead were the favourite beverages of

O d in , butthese have long given place to the more bewitching delu

sions of the alembic. To these may be added as a favou rite amongst

the Finlanders, the pleas ing liqu or extracted from the birch-tre e, a

drink,which

,in some places, is manu factu red mu ch in the same man

n er as in N orway ; it loses its strength,flav our, and agreeable qu alitiesin abou t ten days, if notmade with the greatest care .

Vide V on Buch ’

s Tra x els‘

through Norway and Lapland, p . 296 .

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488

years since in the province of Penza and the‘

adjo ining d istricts, m ay

afl'ord an idea of the magnitu de of these establishments .

1st, A distillery belonging to the crown domain Doorzovye , where

15 0 labou rers were employed to work 80 stills , in which were made

barrels or e imers of corn spirits .

*

2d A distil lery in B rilov skoi belonging to the imperial college of

finances, where , . from 90 stills worked by 160men , barrels

we re produ ced annu ally.

3d, A private distillery consisting of 20 stills which mad e

barrels.

4th, A distillery in the district of Insara belonging to a private

family, in which 24 stills, wrou ght by 5 5 me n , yie lded 7 ,000 barrels.

5 th, A distillery in the distric t of Moksha, the property of the

A nn ikof fami ly,where from chetv erts of corn and fathoms

of wood, 15 stills, wrought by 40 men , produ ced barrels .

6th, A distillery at Kutlin skaya, Sloboda, where from fiv e stills

wrought by 30 workmen, barrels of spirits were 'made from

chetv erts of corn fathoms of wood were consum ed as

fu el»

7th, A distillery in the village of‘

Su amen skoi, where two stills

wrought by 20 men , produ ced from 400 chetv erts of corn ,e imers of spirits, and bu rned 5 5 0 fathoms of wood.

8th and 9th, Two distilleries in the village of N ishnaya shkafl'

ta, in

the district of Gorodishtshe , the property of a nobleman, one of 12

the o ther of 13 stills, managed by 5 0. workmen these yield togethere imers of Spirits annu ally .

l0th and 11th, Two distillerie s in the village ofSiramas be longing toa noble

'

family, in on e of which were 12 stills wrought by 5 0 work

m en , producing , barrels of corn spirits ; and inthe other, 5 stillsfarmed out and» wrought by 10 m en , e imers of Spirits wereyearly made .

12th, A distillery near the v illage of Pe trovka in whi ch were 13stills worked by 70 men , who in some years distilled 7,000 e imers ofbrandy.

13th and 14th, Two distilleries, one in the village of Stolipina, theo ther near the village of Mamsa, they consisted of 35 stills each, . an d

were worke d by 90 men , who distilled‘

upwards of e imersannu ally.

15 th, A distillery in the district of Ke rensk, inthe village ofN ikolsky, or Kitta, containing 30 stills wrought by 72 men ; from

An eimer is equal to about English w ine -gallons.

489

chetv erts of eoru—and fathoms of wo'

od, eimers ofspiritswere distilled .

l 6th, A distillery near the village Polivanova, the property of a

noble fam ily, where 16 stills wrought by 45 men produ cede imers of spirits from chetv erts of corn, and a consumption of7,000 fathoms of wood .

In the whole of Penza there were 397 stills wrought by 982 men ,

in these stills chetv erts of corn, and fathoms of wood

were consumed in the manu facture of e imers of spirits ; theannual produ ce of spirits in the district is, according to Pallas,

gallons.

When Capta in Alexander visited the seat ofwar between the Tu rksand Ru ssians in 1829, grain w as so abundant in those parts, that theproprietors fou nd the distillation of it the most profitable mode of

consumption . O ne distillery he knew to produ ce one hundred vedros

per day, each"‘ vedro of twelve qu arts be ing sold for two rubles or

twenty-pence British .

R ye and barley are the kinds'

of grain principally u sed in all distil

leries ; these forthe most part are malted and m ixed in proper propor

tions. To a vesse l containing abou t 5 00gallons of bo iling water, are

put900 pou nds of grou nd barley malt, or rye and barley grou nd tomeal ; these when we ll mashed with rakes and thoroughly.mixed together, are allowed to stand until the liqu id becomes viscou s and holdsin solu tion the saccharine matter of the grain; water is afterwards

added to bring it to the consistence atwhich they wish to ferment it.When the wash is complete ly finished, the liqu or is drawn from the

tub or kieve , and putinto proper vessels, where harm or yeast mixed

with cold water is added, and the vessels be ing secured from the

admission of atmospheric air, the material is allowed to ferment, u ntilit has arrived to that stage at which it is deemed fit for the still.

Some only draw a part of the wort from the mash-kieve in the firstins tance , and mix it with barm, allowing the remainder to standu ntil it becomes a little tartish, before they pou r what w as taken out

into the kieve . The whole materials, brewing, grains, and all, are

there mixed and fermented together. This ru de mode of preparing

wash has been long practised in Ru ssia, and is considered highly inju

rions to the p rodu ce of the gram . The extract is said generally tofall far short of what is obtained in Holland or in ou r own cou ntry.

While e ighteen gallons of spirits were taken from a quarte r of grain

in Britain, e ight only were obtained in Ru ssia, hence it is estimated

that the Ru ssians annu ally lost in the ir distilleries notless than to the

value of and an half sterlingfi" From a chetvert of corn,

Par] . Rep. on Distilleries, and E i idence thereon , 1799.

490

weighing 9 poods*or3601bs. a M r. VassiliNicolav etch Subof, dire ctor

of economical affairs in the government of Pensa, extracted six e imers

and a qu arte r of spirits ; while others from the same quantity ofgrain ,could getonly fiv e e imers. This he attribu te s to the temperatu re of

the hotwate r u sed in the mash, which he regu lated by means of coldwate r and ice , and preventing the spiritu ou s parts from making the irescape du ring the progress of fermentation. H is general extractwasseven e imers and fou r-fifths of common proof spirits, from ten poodsor 4001bs. of grain j

‘ At the distille ries formerly condu cted atM os

cow , were u su ally drawn from one chetvert of barley malt, fiv e orfiv e

and a half vedros of brandy. B utthere are few instan ces in which/theRu ssian distillers can be sa id to have shewn mu ch improvement orreal practical knowledge .

Spirits are commonly distilled of su ch a strength, as that not lessthan on e-half of the flu id shall bu rn away, e ither in a silver or copper

vesse l ; butof late the hydrometer has, in some places, been adopte d

as a test of more accu racy.

The revenu e arising from the sale'

of brandy is very extensive ,according to Tooke , who estimated its amou nt atfrom e ight to ninemillions of ru bles. Until 17 5 2 , it was farmed for u ntil

1770, for u ntil 1774, for and u ntil 1778, forin 1779 it was letfor fou r years atthe sum of

since which th e it has been gradually increasing. So far back as

1789, the licenses to inns and taverns yielded an d the

brandies sold in the cities of Pe tersbu rg, Moscow, and the parts adja~

cent, amou nted to rubles pe r annum. This is .notremark-Q

able , when in the city of Moscow. alone , there were no fewer than4000 kabaks or shops for the retail of brandy. The crown, or ratherthe chamber of revenu e , farms all the kabaks, and the contractor ormerchant who supplies them with spirits is prohibited from distillinghimself, butis obliged to buy all from the functionaries of government,who e ither draw the brandy from the ir own distilleries, or obtain itby contract from those of the privileged provinces. Whe n any pe r

son farms the kabaks, he is allowed to keep bee r, mead, and wine inaddition, which,w ith othe r trifling advantages, enables him to

'

pay thegovernment three rubles for every vedro of brandy, and to sell it inthose hou ses atthe same p rice .

Besides the produ ce of the corn di stilleries, the Russians makeseveral intoxicating beverages. Beer is brewed in Petersbu rg, M os

A pood is equ al to 401bs.Ru ssian weight, or 3615

5 l . E nglish,

I Pallas’s Travels, v ol. i.

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492

as long:as necessary, it i s drawn off into casks, in each ofwhich apie ce of coarse rye-bread is puttoacidu late the qu ass .

The casks are placed in a cellar, and in twenty-four hours it‘

is fitfor drinking. From the proportions of grain mentioned, six orsevenvedros of quass are obtained . It may be made of barley-malt alonebutthe rye

omeal is absolu tely necessary.In most places, continu es Tooke, ’they do notgo circumstantially

to work. It is even cu stomary to leave outthe barley-malt, addingmu ch more meal than rye-malt : the proportionto half a pood ofmealbe ing only two or three handfuls ofmalt. Instead of bread they putin some yeast of the former brewing . Some add raisins, which cau sethe qu asar to acqu ire a strong foam. N umbers make gu ess fromrye

-meal only. B ut in all the modes of making it , cold or tepidwater is pou red on the ingredients, the pans be ing greased and setinhotovens.

Another kind of quass, called kz'

sslyscktschy, is made with bo ilingWater and rye-m eal alone , the mixtu re be ing violently and frequ entlystirred abou t in hot water. Cold water is pou red u pon it, and the

vessel setby fermentation, after which it is bottled . This fin e drinkfoams vehemently, and efl‘erv esces with the solution of a gas thatsparkles like seltzer water. The kisslyscktsc/zy has some resemblanceto the horn erbier of Vienna . In some hou ses they also u se a small

qu antity of honey or raspberries and cranberries,with other fru its , inmakingqu a ss from which it a cqu ires an agreeable ruby colou r andb ecomes extremely pleasant to the taste .

The most simple mode of making qu ass is, as described by Mr.

Johnson, by steeping a certain quantity of bread in hotw ater, until itgets into the acetou s fermentation in whi ch state it is checked and fit

Granville describes the manu facture of quass in a different manner.tH e says, that it is composed of 20lbs. of rye , I Olbs. of rye

-malt and3lbs. of barley-malt,the two species ofmalt being mixed together withtepid water in an earthen vessel till it forms a sort of liqu id paste .

Itis then covered for an hou r, after which some water is poured overit, and the rye

-meal is gradually added, stirring it all the time so as

to form a paste-like dough. The vessel is then covered and madeair-tight with bread-paste , when it is placed in an oven of a tempe

a

rature equ al to that when bread may be considered half-baked, whereitremains to the following day. The oven is then heated again, andthe vesse l replaced in it, and on the third day is removed, and the

paste dilu ted with river water, du ring which operation it is stirred

Journey from India to England. 4to. p . 25 7.

493

continu a lly with a large wooden spoon . The whole flu id is next putinto a barrel with a sufficient qu antity of leaven, where it is stirredwell for some minu tes and setaside in a place of moderate temperatu re . A s soon as froth appears on its surface , the barre l is carefully

closed and carried to an ice -hou se or cold cellar, and atthe end of

two or three days it is fit for use . To the ingredients mentioned

above , some add half a pou nd of mint and two pou nds ofWheaten andbu ck-wheat flou r,which are said to improve its taste and heighten itsefl'erv escence . In the sou thern parts of Ru ssia, qu ass is made by

filling a large barrel with fru it, sometimes plums, apples, crabs, or, in

short, any fru it of which a sufficient qu antity can be procu red . The

cask is then filled with water, and the whole is allowed to ferment

atthe expiration of fifteen days it is fit to drink. When a portion

of this qu ass is drawn outof the vessel, water is pou red in to supply

its place ; and thus a sufficiency is kept u p'

until the time of year wheni t can be aga in manu factured f

In the Philosophical Transactions, there is a le tter from Do ctorGu thrie to Dr . Priestly on the an tiseptic regimen of the natives of

Ru ssia, in which is give n the mode of preparing the common and

better sorts of qua ss u sed in that empire , which does notdiffer mate

rially from that already mentioned, butwhich the readermay consu lt

should his cu riosity lead him to fu rther enqu iry .1'

Barrow gives a good sketch of the arts that are practised by theke epe rs of the '

qu ass, or gin shops, to obtain cu stomers. At the outside of the door are invariably stationed tw o or three you ng men

,

e ach dressed in a pink-colou red coat , whi ch folds ove r the breast,and is tied in with a sash atthe waist, with loose

‘

blu e trou sers tu cked

into a clumsy pair of boots. They wear the ir ha ir very long and

divided in the centra l When any one passes near a shep, thesedecoy lads plant themselves dire ctly in his w ay and commence a seriesof salu tations, bowing almost to the ground with the ir hair hanging

dishevelled abou t the face , rendering the ir appearance ludicrou s, andin this posture they e arnestly entreat his entrance , and in su ch amanner that it is scarcely possible to pass withou t purchasing adraught . The quass, which is carried abou t in glass de canters and

vend ed in the stre ets , is very different from that sold in the shops.The latter is a most deliciou s beverage , e specially on a su ltry day insummer, when brought u p iced from the cellars. A great port ion of

Holdern ess's Jou rn ey to the Crimea, 8vc . pp . 21

1. V 010 68, pp .

I Barrow'

s E x cu rsions to the North of E urope ,‘in 1833, ev e , p . 110.

494

the liqu or sold u nderthe name of qu ass is a weak spirit mix ed with

ra spberri es. Mr. Barrow, as well as Dr. L yall, asserts that the R u s

sian peasantry are rather temperate , that is, they do not indu lge in

exce sses of drunkenness, and that many of them cou ld notbe indu ced

The Ru ssians have also a good kind of beer called p ica, which isin common u se and resemble s the German beer. Among the be tterclasse s, E nglish porter is esteemed a lu xu ry. Variou s so rts of drink

are vended by men through the stree ts of St. Petersbu rg, amongst

which is one called s’

tena or Sbetz’

n , a favou rite with the populace .

It is mad e of honey and hotwater, and it is cu stomary to mix pepper

With it , and to drink it hotwith the addition of boiling milk. The

taste of this liqu or is agre eable, but it is not intoxicating if takenmerely by itself.alt

M ead , the ancient and favou rite drink of all the northern nations,is as mu ch in requ est in Ru ssia as qu ass. It is manu factured in greatperfection, and is u su ally of two kinds,

‘

white and red . To make thefirst, says Tooke , tw o poods of white honey are mixed in fiv e ankersof clear river or soft water, and boiled and skimmed till nearly an anke ris bo iled away. The liqu or is the n strain ed throu gh a fine sieve or

piece of linen into a broad ope n vesse l, and m ixed with a cou ple of

spoonfu ls of beer lees, and a pou nd of white bread, ka latsck. Afterit has stood in the vessel, in a moderately warm plac e , and fermentedfor thirty-six hou rs, it is pou red through anothe r sieve or piece of

linen into a cask, in which has been previously puta pou nd of small

shred isinglass for clarifying it.For red mead, to on e pood of honey they add e ight vedros ofwater,

and redu ce them by bo iling to six vedros. When cold, the j u ice of

abou t half a che tv ert of pressed or bru ised cranberries, strainedthrough a sieve is mixed with it. A small po rtion of yeast is thenapplied, and a roll of clean sand with abou t four ringle ts of isinglassor the albumen of eggs is thrown into the vesse l to cle ar or fin ethe liqu or. Cinnamon ,

cloves, ginger, mace , and other spice s areinfused. It is placed in a cool ce llar, and, after stand ing the re forsome weeks, it is e ither bottled for u se or drawn from the cask dire ct.

When prope rly m ade and preserved, it is cons ide red by many as

equal in strength and flavou r to Tokay. Clarke metsome Cossackmead thirty years old, which tasted like Madeira .

Strawberries, raspberries, and cherries, are often u sed in the makingof mead

, and, in most cases, the stones or seed of the latter are bru ised

G ran ville’

s St. Petersbu rgh, vol. 11. p . 422.

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496

ravenous of the hon ey, and unmindfu l of the flavou r bf the spirits,takes so mu ch thathe soon becomes intoxicated, and falls an easy

prey to his de stroye rs .

To the indu stry displayed by the Ru ssians of the sou thern prov ince , in the rearing of bee s and preservation of honey, mu ch praiseis du e and were these labours imitated by our own countrymen, themoney transmitted from Great Britain to o ther nations f or honey,whi ch is said to be n ot le ss than annu ally , might be saved.

The other liqu ors most common in Russia, besides those alreadymentioned, are made from fru it of variou s sorts, su ch as apples, pears,plums, cu rrants, cherries, gooseberries, raspberries, bilberrie s, cranberries, & c ., and the ju ice of the birch tree . The preparation of thesevaries in different places, and is generally regu lated according to thejudgment or taste of the persons who condu ct the process. Tookeobserves, that in making cherry-wine , abou t fiv e or more vedros of

the ripe fru it are cru shed in a tub, until thei

ston es are broken and

that to ea ch vedro , one. and an half or two pou nds of honey an d a

pint of good brandy or wine are added, with a little yeast tomake it ferment . When it has properly cleared itself of the yeast,i t is poured into kegs or bottles and placed in a cool ce llar .Among the plants which grow in the deserts, near the banks of theVolga, the dwarf a lmond tree (amygdalus mama is the most plentifu l. Its fru it is called ba bovm

'

ck, or Calmu ck w alnu ts. Somelanded proprietors colle ct this fru it, and extract from it an oilwhich,though bitter, is very agreeable in salads. Its taste somewhat resembles tha t of pe ach kernels, and a spiritu ou s liqu or is also distilledfrom itf“ These are the principal drinks made and u sed by theRu ssians. ‘

In some of the sou thern parts of the empire the vine is cu ltivated ;and wine is made , butn otto su ch extent as to supply the popu lardemand.

‘

:Dr. Clarke observed, that the wild vine flou rished at'

Woronetz, which lie s in the 5 4th degree of N orth latitu de ; While it

is we ll known that the vineyards of E urope terminate many degreesnearer to the equ ator. The most important vineyards are those of

Astracan, which, atone time , were cu ltivated at the expense of the

crown , butare now principally in the po ssession of private individu als.

These vineyards are 135 in number, 2 1 of which still belong to the

state . Vines were first brought into that region from Persia, by an

Au strian monk, in the early part ofthe seventeenth centu ry ; ~and

their culture having been fou nd to su cce ed, the Czar Ivan V assilie

Pallas ’s Travels.

497

V ltSll , in the year 1613, cau sed them tob e planted abou t the city .

Pete r the Great also encou raged the ir cultivation ; and the grapes

became so excellent in hi s time , that they were exported to St.

P e tersbu rgh for the u se of the imperial table , and for su ch of the

nobility as cou ld afford to pu rchase them, a practice still carried on

to advantage . Great cau tion is observed in the carriage of those

grapes ; the y are packe d in red millet, in wooden cases, to prevent

bru ises on the road. A pood of them costs between two and three

rubles on the spot . In the vineyards above mentioned, whi te and

red wines of a su perior de scription are produ ced, which some compare

to the L a cryma Christi of Germany, the Vin de grave , or the Champagne of Bu rgu ndy. In making wine , the grapes are putinto canvas

bags, trodden'

w ith the fee t in troughs, and afterwards squ e ezed inwooden presses. Pallas fou nd in the cellars of the proprietor of tw o

villages ne ar Astracan , vedros of wine , ready for sale , kept

in very large casks : some of the se were near 20 years old, the pro

du ce ofthe Hungarian grape . The wines here contain a considerable

portion of brandy, and no description is sold u ntil it is three years

old . A good sort of wi ne is made from grapes withou t stones, calle d

Kyskmz’

s. Here are annu ally pre ssed from 4 to e imers of wine ,and the oldest casks are always filled from those su cceeding in the

order of time . In some ofthe vineyards, the bu nches of grapes are

so luxu riant, that they measu re from tw o to thre e spans in length

and mills are ere cted for conveying water through the plantations.

In the government of Astracan, brandy of an exce llent kind is

distilled in considerable qu antities, with which they preserve the irwines, as well as supply the numerou s kabaks and caravansaries.

At Sarepta , on the Volga, distilleries of spirits and breweries of beerhave been established by a Moravian colony, w ho se ttled there some

years ago . They brew also a description of beer from the watermelons which there abou nd it is regu larly hopped like other beer :

a marmalade is prepared from this fru it, which is u sed as a su bstitu te

for siru p of tre acle , and it is supposed that a tolerable wine might be

made from it, were the process u ndertaken . The Cossacks, particu a

larly those of the Don , cu ltivate the vine , bu tnot in su ch abu ndance

as to permit its be ing distilled into brandy. The grapes are said to

be good, and were they n otpu lled too soon, the wine manufactu redfrom them wou ld, in the opinion of Dr. Clarke , su rpass all others in

the world . The Don w ines consist of white and red ; and were the

French practice in making them followed, from the rich and generou s

nature of the fru it, they cou ld notfail to maintain the good opinion

given of them by the Doctor.

498

The practice ofburyingthe vine du ring winter is injuriou s butthisthe Cossacks are obliged todo, to save it from the severe frosts of the

cou ntry. A similar practice , as mentioned by Strabo , w as observedfrom the most remote antiqu ity, in the cou ntry near the{In 1772 , the who le produ ce of the vineyards of the Don did note xceed from 70 to 80 hogsheads, of 40 e imers each ; butthe increases ince that period has be en econ siderable j A number of German'vintners have been encou raged to settle on the banks of this river,which has influ enced others to establish breweries in the neighbou ringdistricts. The vineyards of Count Platofi

'

are remarkable for theirextent and excellence , as well as for the variou s sorts of deliciou s

wines which they produ ce some of them, when not adu lterated, are

equ al to the light F rench wines. These wines are in general plea

sant, and efl'erv e sce like champagne , but have more the flavour of

b u rgu ndy. It is a practice among the Ru ssians in summer to

s erve along w ith the ir wine a plate of ice , a piece of which is putinto

e ach glass, when the wine is abou t to be, dru nk. The best Don wine

is made near Tcherkask , and it is u su ally manufactu red from grapes,not qu ite ripe , which some conj ecture to be the cau se of all winese xhibiting efi

'

erv escen ce . Klaproth mentions a kind of champagne~c alled Symlian skii, which is distribu ted ove r all Ru ssia, . a greatf avou rite , and commonly bearing the name of D onsky v in o. It is,however, frequ ently inj ured b y the intermixture of

'potash, whichcau ses it .often to produ ce headache and disorders of the stomachj ,

Thewine made a n the banks ofthe Terek, of the Volga, near Saratov,in E katerinoslav, and in the Tau rida, are good ; and were its sale not

i nju red by the importation of Greek a nd Moldavian wines, itm ighthetu rned to great advantage . The Cau casian Tartars, a lthough theyprofess the Mahome tan faith, drink wine pu blicly, which they render‘

v ery in ebriating, by hangingthe u nripe heads of poppies in the casks

w hile fermentation is go ing on .§ The mou ntains inhabited ' by these

people are ~.v ery fertile , and the vines grow so luxu riantly, and climbto such a he ight abou t the tree s, that in many places the inhabitants

find great difficu lty in . gathering the grapes .

The wines of the Crimea rank so highly, that they are in demand

even in the remote governments of the empire and at St. Pe ters

burgh, they are in su ch repu te , that there is -a chartered company for

the management of the sales of. these wines, supported by the emperor .

G eogr. L ib . v iii .“

f Pallas'

s Trav els,4to. v ol. ii.

‘

I Klaproth’

s Travels in the Caucasu s and G eorgia, 1807—8, p . 85 .

5 Tooke.

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5 00

hu ndred shops open for the sale of fru it alone ; and the price of a

vedro of wine, of fifteen bottle s, varies from three to six rubles .

When Webster visited the peninsu la in 1826, the whole annu al produ ce w as reckoned to be 6, pints of wine , Paris measu re ,and the grapes were in su ch e stimation that they were sent to

Moscow and Petersburgh, where they procured a rapid sale .

Among the Crim Tartars, it w as formerly a great trade to prepare

b ekmess, or marmalade , and the misseless, or su up, from the ir grapes

butthe sale of fru it and wine was fou nd to be more profitable , and’lest any thing shou ld be lost in this w ay, brandy w as distilled from

the refuse of the vintage . The vats in which the fermentation w as

carried on were pits r’

nade'

in the earth, we ll covered and plastered

w ith clay. The lee s of 100 e imers of wine generally yie lded fou r'e imers of brandy. Be sides this home distillation , large importations

are made of sekiS-kag/av odka , or brandy prepared in the island ofScio , from fru it and the lees of the grape . Many of the farmersimport fru it, wine-lees, and a poorer sort of wine from the Greekislands of the Archipelago , to supply the ir distilleries with materials .

The Crimea w as early distingu ished for its fertility and commerce .

Mithridates drew annually'

from this cou ntry and its dependenciestw enty minae of corn , or bushels, with ou nces of

silver and Strabo"re lates, that L eu con‘I I, kingofthe B osphoru s, sent

from Theodosia to Athens, du ring a great scarcity, medini ofcorn, 330 millions of pou nds, making tons. An idea of the

state and pomp of Mithridates, and of the extent to which the luxu ryof wine drinking had been carried in those days, may be formed fromthe circumstance recorded by Appian , that when Pompe y,

visited thecity of Talura in the Taurida, he found cups of onyx set inmassive gold along with other articles of immense valu e ; hence . the

city went by the name of Mithridates’ wardrobe . Su ch was the im

m ensity of trade in thatqu arter, that atthe port now called Sebastapal, the great mart and rendezvou s of the merchants of the ancientkingdom of Colchis, 120 interpreters were kept by the Romans, tofacilitate their commercial transactions. Yet with all this wealth,

p ower, and intercou rse with other nations, it does n ot appear thatany knowledge of distillation existed in that peninsu la ; n or can I

find that this artw as introdu ced there previou s to the settlement of'

the Genoe se in the .15 th century This opinion is confirmed by‘Storch, who believes the C rimean s first learnt it from the inhabitantsof Italy or Spain, and variou s coincidences in terms yetremain as afurther corroboration for instance , the Genoese term for a cask

"

or

Book vu .

rp .

5 01’

barre l is bari, and that of the Crim-Tartars bard , bringing it very

near our E nglish word barrel.

The a rrakz’

of the mountain Tartars, which is prepared from sloes,dog

-berries, e lder-berries, wild grapes, and plums, is sold in commonwith the strong beer, or bu sa, brew ed from ground millet. Hop sare grown in the Crimea , the best are fou nd among the German

settlers who u se them in their private brewings. The ordinary drink

of the people is made by triturating and dissolving cheese in waterfrom the bo iled jui ce of apples, pears, and grapes, a nice ' description

of marmalade called nardenk, or nardek, is made , which is pu rchasedby the Tartars of the Steppes, and u sed by them in drinks

,

and for

other domestic pu rposes. The Mahometan Crimeans u se sherbet, amixture of coarse honey and water . Wine they do notdrink with

out the consent of their priests, and that only in time of sickness,even then it is butsparingly allowed, though it might be of essential

service but many of the Mahometans here drink brandy likethe ir bre thren in other parts of the world, alleging in excu se tha t theProphe t forbade nothing in the w ay of drink, but liqu ors that were

fe rmented . Under this flimsy pretext they drink beer, thinking it

does notcome u nder the law , be cau se they are ignorant ofthe manner

in which it is made . From Trebisond and Sinope , qu antities of marmalade and bekmess are brought, and again sent in considerable amoun t

to Taganrog, in the sea of As0ph, for the u se of the distilleries. .

‘When a failure occurs in the vineyards , the deficiency in the grapesis supplied by the beckmess, from which and the marmalade a spirit

is made , he ld in su ch high repu te , that it is sold in many parts of theRussian empire as French brandy. In e very town and village , a

khan, or species of inn has been e stablished, from time immemorial,called the odd, expressly for the reception of strangers, where they

are accommodatedwith a cou ch, fire and refreshments, free of expense .

It is generally the mollah, or priest, who take s u pon himself the benev olent offi ce of enterta ining strangers, from whom a small . remuneration is expected, but notdemanded . In the Crimea, there are no

inns, but travellers find no inconvenience in consequ ence , as theyare su pplied with every comfort by the hospitality of the inhabitants.Honey is an art icle very plentiful in the Crimea, and it afi

'

ords

many delicate conserves and agreeable beverages. Bees, of cou rse ,are mu ch nu rtured, and the Tartars are most expert in the ir management su ch is their discrimination, that some of them, on see ing beesat .work on the flowers in the fields, can immediately tell to what

village they belong ; even many are so clever in this respect, thatthey know of what owner they are the property ; Many of the hives

5 02

are very large one at,

Karagoss was, by w ay of erhinen’

ce,

‘

called the

E sprav n ek . The largest, when full, yie ld from 60 to SOlbs. of honeyand w ax middle sized ones from 30 to 601bs., and the least from 10

to 301bs. For the most part, the bees hive in the hollowed trunks oftrees cutfor the pu rpose , to abou t six inches in diameter, and many

of these trunks are carried from place to place , to su it the convenienceof feeding. They are laid horizontally, piled one upon another ingardens, and when honey is to be extracted , the trees are de tachedmerely by the smoke of bu rning paper held atthe bottom ofthe hive,withou t the aid of su lphu r, or the destru ction of the inse cts . The

cylinders are so heavy that it requ ires atleast two stou t men to carryo ne of them . So extensive are some villages in the honey trade , thaton e of them has been known to po ssess 5 0 hives ata time and 300

hives are no u ncommon stock . L arge spe cu lations are made in thisw ay on accou nt of the preference given to the honey of the Crimea,b eyond that of Ru ssia, its su periority arising from the natu re of the

flowers from which it is drawn , and the care taken in having it pu re .

Among the peasantry residing betw een Trebisond and D u nabourg,

itis a common practice to hang the hives in the woods, that the beesm ay have the benefit of the first flowers of the lime trees, becau sethey yield the fines t description of honey)“ The honey of the Crimeais so excellent, and in su ch demand, that it forms a principle article .

of the exports to Constan tinople , where it commands a rapid sale .

From the walnu t, which is cultivated to great extent in the Crimea:a sweet clear liquor is extracted in the spring, atthe time the sap is

rising in the tree . This liqu or is procu red by piercing the trunk, andplacing a spigot in the incision ; the flu id thus obtained soon coagu

lates into a substance u sed as sugar. A s yet it does notappear thatthis j u ice has be en converted to any inebriating pu rpose butthe

inventive facu lty of man may, in time , render it subser vient to the

gratification of appetite in that w ay. Some of those walnu t trees

yie ld nu ts annu ally, valu ed from 80 to 100 copicks per thousand . The oil expre ssed from the nu ts is a profitable article , and thepaste , after expression , serves as food for many of the poor . Cakesmade from the walnu t in this manner are common for sale in theshops of Geneva and Savoy, while the ashes ofthe nutserve as a su b

stitute for soap in washing. On the Dnieper and atCherson, a gooddeal of spirits is distilled, and atOdessa, a tow n bu ilt on the Dnie stersince 1792, there are not less than six distilleries and as manybreweries. At Odessa, which is the great commercial port of the

M. Holdern ess’

s Journey, p . 27, also Tooke'

s Ru ssia, v ol. iii. p . 388.

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5 04

of themwou ld amou nt to six or e ight ' times as mu ch as the w inen othing therefore is in u se butthese boordooks, or prepared skin s .

Wine is so plentifu l and cheap atTeflis, that it is sold from a penny

to two-pence the bottle ; beer is sold in the public market .In this province , wine is consumed to great extent ; respectable

persons u se silver ladles instead of wine-glasses, but frequ ently introdu ce immense horns ornamented with silver. These are emptied to

the last drop , and it is notu ncommon to see them pledge each othe r

in repeated bumpers, in the same manner and with the same ease

that ale or porter is quaffed in this cou ntry ; yetthis practice does not

seem to be carried to the excess of intoxication , which has be en

attribu ted to those people . A late trave ller states, that after an

entertainment given by one of the princes of Georgia, the gu ests

w ere condu cted to an ou thou se , which they were told w as the winecellar ; but to his astonishment there w as no appearance of e itherwine or drinking u tensils. In a short time , however, several pe rsons

with spades'

entered the apartment, and clearmg away a portion of

the su rface of the floor, tw o immense jars as large as hogsheads were

exposed, and after raising the covers the wine w as handed abou t in

silver ladles, and even the peasants who attended as spe ctators weresupplied with copiou s libations in earthen jugs. In several districts

of Georgia, bo th red and white wines are made of excellent quality.

The red is said to resemble Bu rgundy, and the white to be like

claret, and in no respect inferior to e ither . The Georgians have the

repu tation of drinking immoderately some of them are said to con

sume seven bottles in the day without be ing mu ch intoxicated but

this is to be u nderstood only of the afflu ent portion ofthe commu nity,

Sherbet, w hich is a very common drink, is, for the mostpart, composed of water, sugar, and acid ; and when iced, is ve ry agreeablein warm weather, butis n otcomparable to E uropean lemonad e . Thisliqu or forms a very cho ice beverage at entertainments, and the host

is often complimented by his gu ests on the chee rfu ln ess of his cou n

tenance , and is said to look as red as his apples, as brilliant as thesu n, as placid as the moon , and they bid adieu with a wish that the

roses of happiness may ever bloom in the garden of his destiny .

”

Kotzebu e relates of the Sardar of E rivan that he eagerly drank of

liqu eu rs that were presented to him, and made no secre t of his loveof spiritu ou s liqu ors, atthe same time openly declared that he cou ldn otlive w ithou t them . H e observed that the Persians qu affed wineand liqu eu rs in immense qu antities, and he m etwith several instancesof a man drinking off a bottle of rum atone draught, withou t theappearance of any inconvenien ce from it . The Sardar ’s physician

05'

defended the practice of drinking spirits, and in do ing so said, thatMahomet w as a fool to forbid wine , and he re commended it as a

panacea to his patients. In this opinion he resembled a brother M a

bomete n , who defended his partiality for strong drink, by saying thatthe Koran afiirms that the faithful shall have wine in paradise—a

wine deliciou sto the taste , butnotintoxicating, from which he inferred

that the prophet only intended tha t wine shou ld not be dru nk toexcess. since it is sinful to suppose that wha t is lawful in heaven isu nlawfu l on earth.

At Mozdok, near the Cau casu s, and in Georgia, the people chieflysubsist by the ir v ineyards, and a spirit prepared from grapes, which ,

they notonly dispose of athome , butsend qu antities of it into Ru ssia .

These people make a good sort of wine from ripe mu lberries, and anacid wine drawn from peache s is in common u se, while that from the

‘

grape is considered excellent . Of the grape wines, the M odosk is

ge nerally inferior ; that called Kislar, from the vine of that name , isthe best, and is considered little inferior to Hermitage e ither in strength

or flavou r . The brandy made atKislar, or Kitzliar, is of superior

quality, and is a more lu crative article of commerce than wine .

Kislar brandy is in requ est over all Ru ssia, and is sent to the mostdistant parts of Siberia . From water-melons agood brandy has been

distilled, and to the cu lture of this plant mu ch attention is paid in thesou thern provinces of Russia they flou rish in many places in great

luxu riance , and some of them have been known to we igh 301bs.

On the Terek, a beer termed Terskaz'

a braga is brewed from mille t

by soaking it in water, then bru ising it, and after that boiling it, inwhich stage a quantity of grou nd malted rye and barley is pou red

u pon it to redu ce it to thedesired temperature oats are then added,and the whole is left to ferment . When this process is completed,the liqu or is freed from the hu sks of the grain, and atthis stage it isfit for use . Klaproth met with bouz a in Georgia made from peaswhi ch is the common basis of it in tha t cou ntry. In some of the

mounta in passes of the Cau casus, the late Emperor Alexander permitted some fami lies to cultivate small pieces of grou nd free , havingatthose places a depot of flour, brandy, & c. always ready for chari

table purposes. In M ingrelia, as well as Georgia, is to be found thatdescription of honey called stone hon ey , which is disso lved in water

and u sed for a common beverage . At Imerethi, or Imiretta, adjoining

Georgia,the k’wa -tap lz

'

, or stone -honey, is fou nd qu ite solid, brittle , andnotvisco us. It has a pleasant spicy flavour , and is discovered in the

cliffs of the rocks, the honey and w ax forming one mass as hard as

sugar-candy. These lumps or cakes are generally white atfirst, but

5 06

through'

time be come yellow, and the peeple j carry itin théir'

pockcts

to assist in refreshment. The vine grows to su ch perfectiongthatthetru nks of the trees are frequ ently above fifteen inches in diam eter.

The finest fru it grows withou t cu ltivation, and there is an abundance

of almonds, qu inces'

, pears, and plums. From the great qu antity and

superior qu ality of the frui t of this cou ntry, it has been compared ta r

an extensive orchard . The wine of Imiretta is re ckoned superior to

that -of Teflis, the D on , and the Crimea ; it is sent in skins to the

n e ighbou ring cou ntries, while a considerable portion of the revenu e

paid to the M e'

phe , or prince of the cou ntry, is collected from this

Saar, a kind of beer resembling E nglish porter, is made by the '

Karatschio, and it is considered the best in the Cau casu s . Brandy

is distilled by those people from barley and wheat they have

scarcely any other beverage except this and bou za and , althoughMahometans, they partake of both withou t any scruple of conscience ,and atfunerals and marriages indulge in it to excess.

The Circassiansmanu factu re from m ille t a beverage called ba utkup s,which is also named y antzokbl by the Cossacks of the Terek . The

tribes near the Cke iban , espe cially the Ubu ch tribe , cu ltivate the

vine , and make a considerable portion of very good wine . The Sou ate

wine is of excellent flavou r , resembles Champagne , and if well made ,wou ld, according to Spencer, rank among the best wines in theworld.ale B utthe u su al drinks of the Circassians are skkou , a speciesof sou r milk and a spirit, which, like other Tartar nations, they distil

from mare ’s milk . They have also a liqu or di stilled from corn of a

tolerably good qu ality, the art of making which is said to have beencommu nicated to them by the Cossacks butit is more probable thatthey acqu ired it from the P ersians, or some of the n e ighbouringnations. From whence sk/cou , or as it is termed by the Turks

yaou rte, had its origin is a matter of doubt : some allege that theAlmighty himself revealed the knowledge of its u se to Abrahamothers say that it w as presented by an ange l to Hagar in the wilderness when driven from the hou se of her master and fainting with heatand thirst . B e this as it may, all preparations of milk are held sacredamong the Tartars.

The following engraving exhibits the still u sed by some of the

tribe s ofthe Cau casu s. It consists of an earthen j ar, or pot, sometimesmade of copper, covered with a lid, having a neck entering into the

Trav els in Circassia,Krim Tartary, in 1836, 2 v ols. 8vo.

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5 08

strange reveries, and frequ ently cau ses su ch whimsical condu ct as togive the individual who has partaken of it the appearance of insanity,with all the wildness of intoxication . We learn from Aristotle , thatthe honey gathered in the plains around Trebisond had the samemaddening qu ality, and he attribu tes this effect to the be es collectingit from the flowers of the box -trees ; that it had also a purgativequ ality, and was almost an infallible remedy against ep ilepsy. H e addsthat itdeprives those who eat it of the ir senses, and in this manner it

operated on the army of Xenophon,when on his re treat through AsiaMinor. The superstition of the country attribu tes to Merissa, or

M ereime (Mary) the mother of God, the protection of bees, and the

people fsay, that the thunder in its wrath wou ld have exterminatedthem all, butthat this holy woman concealed on e of them in her sleeve ,by which m eans the species w as pre served. In comm emoration of

this event, a festival is held in September, on which occas ion theCircassians regale themselves with viands and beverages prepared

with honey.

The honey of this cou ntry is indebted, for its very superior qu ality

and flavou r, to the wild thyme and other aroma tic flowers of the

mou ntains u pon which the be es fe ed, and it forms a most important

article in the hu sbandry and domestic e conomy of a Circassian .

Clarified honey, bleached in the su n till it is qu ite white , is a comrrion

substitu te for sugar, while the hon ey of the comb is notonly a constantarticle attable , butis u sed in almost every sort of cookery. Fromthe walnu t-tree a good description of sugar is obtained, which isconsidered a valuable remedy for di seases of the lungs and gene raldebility. The mode of procu ring it in the Cau casu s is the same as

that practised in the Crimea.

The Circassia ns make a kind of half-fermen ted liqu or denominated

fa da orfada -clmsc/z, that is wfiz'

tefada , butin Tartar, braga . Brandythey call arka orfadafitza , signifying blackfada . Mead they term

fada flesch or redfada braga is very common and brandy little inconsumption . Another drink called tu schag

-tgo, made of water in

which grape-ju ice boiled and concocted,‘

is in us e among the

Circassians, butis more common with the Persians as a renovator,or cooling sherbet. Here the respectable people have bowls of silver

or gold we ighing from 300 to 5 00 du cats, outof which they drink on

all occasions of ceremony in the name of God, of the saints, or of

the ir deceased relatives and friends, relating the most remarkableoc cu rrences of the ir lives with the ir heads uncovered, evincing

’

all

possible veneration and respect.

Though the Circassians are rather an abstemiou s people, yetthey

5 09

sometimes fall into excesses in drinking , espe cially at the ir religiou sceremonies, one of the principal of which consists in sacrificing a he

goat on the death of a friend . Having killed the animal, the skin‘with the head and bones is placed on a cro ss atthe top of a long polee re cted perpendicularly, in view of the relatives and friends of thedeceased. The flesh of the goat is then boiled, roasted and eaten

,

after which the men pay certain marks of adoration before the skin ,when the women withdraw, and the m en regale themselves amply

with aqu a c ite or su ch other intoxicating beverage as is most easilyprocured . Unhappily, these religious funeral-rites seldom terminatewithou t desperate and fatal consequ ences. This ceremony of theCircassians is notu nlike the circump otatz

’

o , or fun eral feast of anti

qu ity, so frequ ent among the ancient Greeks and Romans, which inlike manner w as produ ctive of disastrou s efl'ects : hence Solon at

Athens andthe Decemviri atRome endeavou redto prevent the practicealtogether, thinking it improper that mirth and dru nkenness shou ld

accompany the grief and distress o ccasioned by the dem ise of friends.

In that part of Tartary near the source of the Kuma and Pod i

kumka, has lately be en discovered a mineral spring of an acid taste ,strongly intox icating and losing little of its inebriating qu alities byremoval to any distance of this water, the Circassians occasionally avail

themse lves and which is said to resemble the Ballston watersof North America.

Siberia, which inclu des all the northern parts of Asiatic Ru ssia, isso thinly inhabited and has so little intercou rse w ith the civilizedworld, little respecting it is known e ither as regards its manufactureor agricu ltu ral produ ce . In many parts of this extensive region,spirits are extracted from su ch fru its and grain as the country affords ,butthe principal su pply is drawn from Ru ssia. At a distillery on

the river Ué, wrou ght some years since , there were 106 coppers, 28coolers, and 6 stills. To every cooler w as reckoned 10 chetv erts of

rye-malt, with a fifth or seventh part of oats or barley. The coppers

were so proportioned, that they were commonly filled outof one coolerand he ld 42 vedros. The worts were u sually draw n from the mash

tu n , and the fermenta tion w as completed in fou r days. From 30 tochetverts of corn were the annu al consumption ; and from

e ach chetvert three or four vedros of common brandy were obta ined.In another establishment, abou t sixty versts north of the city ofIrku lsk , the annu al qu antity of brandy made amou nted toankers .T B uta few districts of this immense territory, three -fou rths

Klaproth’

s Travels, p . 277.

l B illing'

s Accou nt N. Parts of Russia, “0:

5 10

_o f which lie in the same latitude as Norway and Lapland, yie ld grain

s ufficient for the ordinary consumption of the popu lation, the beve ~

rages are mostly drawn from the different spe cies of vaccinium or

berries that abound of these , the cranberry, bilberry; raspberry,

s trawberry, gooseberry, & c . are the principal from the p run u s fru

tz'

cosa , which grows plentifu lly, an agre eable w ine is made . From the

H eracleump anacea and the H eracleumSiberz’

cum, a saccharine matter

is obtained, which being subj ected to distillation, affords a strong liqu or,and though n ot very palatable , is in requ est in Kamtschatka . The

birch yie lds a sap that is converted by some of the mou ntain tribes

into an intoxicating liqu or by fermentation, after the manner of the

N orwegians. The trade with Siberia be ing a monopoly o f R u ssian

merchants, the brandy, wine , and other liqu ors transported thither,form a profitable part of the ir traffic.

A s several of the chi ef towns are made depots for the articles

necessary to supply the cou ntry, and the mode of the ir conveyance

from place to place be ing cu riou s, a description of it cannot fa il to beintere sting. In transporting goods from the magaz ines of Yaku t to

O chotsk, from twenty to thirty thou sand horses are annu ally employed,and instead of u sing wagons or carts, the packages are generallythrown across the backs of the animals. In the article of rye

-flou r, as ingle horse will carry six poods, which are packed in leathern bagscalled suma s on e of the se is su spended on each side : in this mannerthev are very convenient for carriage and bid defiance to every sort ofwe ather. The suma s are made of green c x -hides stripped of the hairinto which the flou r is forced when they are damp, and the su rfacewhen dry is as hard as stone . The flou r then , for abou t half' an inchthick , becomes de eply incru sted on the skin, and in this w ay the con

t ents are preserved in the most perfe ct state. through the whole winter

an d will remain so for almost any length of time . The horses’

e ngaged

in this labou r are managed by the Yaku ts,who have an”

e x traordinary

influ ence over them, on e man superintending from twenty to thirty“with the u tmost ease and indifference . When on the jou rney, shou ld'the driver stop atany time , su ch is the docility of those horses, thatthey will notproceed withou t him, and although permitted to feedindiscriminately in pastu res du ring the night, they are colle cted in

.the morning by the halloos of the ir ke epers shou ld any of them beatso great a distance as n otto hear him, mou nted on one of

,them, he

is soon carried within the hearing of another, which, immediately on

hearing his voice , begins to neigh . This serves as a signal to all the

rest, after which they are immediately seen galloping towardshim as

if sensible of approaching a friend.

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5 153

12amfoliole p innatg’

fide:'

When thisplant has attained its fu ll growth,i t is abou t six feet high, and is covered with a White down , notu nlikehoar frost. It is, in taste , as swee t as sugar, butis extremely fiery,ardent, and pungent . The stock is hollow, and consists of three or

fou r jo ints with large leaves issuing from each. When the principal

stem, which is tuberou s, runs to se ed ; it is very tender'

and palatablewhen stripped of the rind , and denominated p ootc/zkee . The stalks of

the leaves are also hollow, butthe ju ice is so inflammatory that greatcare is taken in eating them that they shall nottou ch the lips, for ifthey should, an immediate blister wou ld be the consequ ence . Beforethe cou n try w as subj e cted to the Ru ssians, this grass w as employed

as a principal ingredient in the cookery of the Kamtschatdales, but

has since been chiefly appropriated to the making of brandy. Wh enprepared and dried, i t is pu rchased by the government atthe rate of

from three to fou r rubles the pood. It is gathered and made readyfor the distilleries in the following manner The stalks be ing cut,

and the downy substance scraped from the su rface , they are pla ced insmall heaps till they begin to heat and smell . When dry, they are

p ut into sacks of matting, where they remain for a few days, and

become gradually covered with a saccharine powder, whi ch exu desfrom the hollow of the stalk. Only on e qu arter of a pou nd of thepowder is obtained from thirty-six pou nds of the plant in this state .

The women, who condu ct the bus iness, find it ne cessary to de fendthe ir hands with gloves, while they are scraping the stalks, the rindsbe ing of a qu ality so acrid as to lacerate any part it might tou ch.The spirit is drawn from the plant in this state by the following process — Bu ndles of itare steeped in hotwater, and the fermentationis promoted in a small vessel with berries of the gimolost or of the

golu bz'

tsa ; care be ing taken to close the mou th of the vessel, and to

keep it in a warm place whilst the fermentation continu es, which isoften so violent as to agitate the vessel which contains the flu id, andOccasions a considerable no ise . When the first liqu or is drawn ofi

‘

,

more hotwater is poured on , and a se cond fermentation ensu es in thesame manner. Both liqu ors and herbs are then putinto a copperstill, and the spirit is drawn off in the u su al w ay. The liqu or thusprepared , is called by the natives raka . According to Steller, thespirit distilled from this plant, when u nscraped, is very pernicious to

,

health, and produ ces su dden nervou s disorders.

*

L esseps says, tha t those who drink of it are su re to be extremelyagitated during the n ight, and to experience on the next day melan

oCooke , v ol. xv ; and Le sseps’

Travels, 2 vols. 8vo.

5 18

choly and distu rbed sensations . B ut, notwithstanding those disadvantages , itis drunk by the inhabitants wi th extraordinary avidity.

Those who do notpractise the di stillatio n of it, procure it from R u s

sia ; and the Cossack traders , -who are'

well aware .of the ir attachment

to its delusive qu alities, sometimes take advantage of this frailty, asthe followi ng { anecdote related by L esseps .will .fully i llustrate -A

Kamtschatdale had give n a sable for a glass of brandy : inflamed M ith

the de sire of drinkin g another, he inv ited the seller into his hou se .

The me rchant thanked sa id he w as in a hu rry. The Kamtschatdale renewed his solicitations,an

‘

d proposed'

a se cond bargain ; li eprevailed .

-.Come ! ano ther glass for this

'

sable .; it is a fin er on e.

than the first! ‘

N O'

! )I mu st zk e ep the rest of my'

brandy..

I hav e.“

promised to sell it ata certain place , and I m ust

'be'

gone ! Stay a

moment !’

here are two sable s ’Tis all in ‘vain ! Well, come I will

add ano ther ! -"Agree il ! d rink !” Meanwhile the thre e s ables

,werese ized and the lhypocrite made a fresh pretence to getaway ; his hostre doubled his importunitiesto reta in ‘

him , and demanded a third glass.

Furthe r refusals were given , and f urther -ofl'

ers were made . The

higher'

the chapman ra ised his price ,the more the Kamtschatdale was“

prodigal of his furs . Who wou ld h ave su ppos ed that itshouldhav e

ended in the sacrifice of s even m ost b eautifu l sables for the last

glass 'They .were a ll he had .

It is known that a Kamtschatdale .Willsell 'his'

last sable for a glass

of brandy, andlsuch is the de sire for it, that itis compu ted ;thatbottles .hay e be

'

en c onsumed in the period o f three or fou rmonths by6 or 700 people . Itis .calcu lated that the money expended on spiritsby one .family in two or three m onths wou l d be sufli cient {for the ir

support for .the whole year, while .after these extravagancies they areredu ce d to the gre atest want and misery. The v ending of spirits i n

this c ou ntry was in the 'hands of the government, but latterly the

monopo ly is given up ; y etm ithout advantage to the people , as an

e x tra .qu antity .of spiri ts of an

.

“

inferior q uality is sold throughout

the cou ntry by itinerant merchants resembling our pedlers, who fre

qu ent those regions forthe sake .of the _furs . When a Ru ssian mer

chant enters the but.of a Kamtschatdale , he takes as ,mu ch liberty as

if rthe hou se were his own , o ccu pying ,the b est apartment withou tceremony, a nd ordering d inner , or ;supper in _

the same w ay, as

well as food for his dogs. In the mean time he is over-reaching the

1300t in the.pu rchase d his fu rs— ih many instances -only giving

a glass of . spirits .and a leaf of tobacco , for what, if fairly sold , wou ld

prod u ce something considerable to the u nsu spiciou s and deludedKamtécha

‘

tdale .

5 14

uThe fondness’

bf these people forva lley“

,or whiskey, impels them togreat exertions in hunting sables an d foxes, that by means o f the irskins they may procu re a supply of the ir favou rite beverage for the

winter, together with tea and tobacco, regardless of every otherluxu ry.Bes ides brandy,the Kamtschatdales make u se of a beverage equ ally.

potent, extracted from a red mu shroom known among the Ru ssians asa stre ngspoison , and which is consideredto be the same as the amam

’

ta

muscarz'

awof France and Britain . This they ferm ent in a vessel withfru its , and scarcely give it time to clarify ere they inv ite the ir frie ndsto partake ofi t. ;A noble emu lation inspires the gu ests to disbu rdenthe master of the hou se of this ne ctar, and the company se ldom separate u ntil the whole is e x hau sted. For the u se and invention of thisliqu or they are indebted to the ir conqu erors mu shrooms in Russiabe ing exceedingly abu ndant,~the qu ality is well known .

Coxe tells u s;thathe seldom entered a cottage withou t seeing greatqu antities and in the marke t-places, where they were exposed for.

sale , the varieties .w ere as remarkable as the number, be ing white ,black, brown, yellow, gre en, and pink.

ale The annu al sale of these at.Moscow amounted to u pwards of one thou sand waggons.

The spe cies of mu shroom carried to Kamtschatka is named mad m

mar, and,when boiled, commu nicates a strong i ntox icating qu ality tothe

.

water .'

Itwou ld appear from Strahlenberg, that the rich,'

in someplaces, lay up great stores of mu shrooms and the

'

poor who cannot

buy, watch, with wo oden bowls, their bacchanalian emissions, in order

to procu re the liquor after a secondary process.

'

B utthere is strong

reason‘

to believe that this i s ‘

a misrepresentation, as Strahlenbe rg, the

o nly person that mentions this circum stance , w as never in that country,and the testimony of subsequ ent writers is against him .

The Shamans, conju rers, or priests among the Kamtschatdales,

never attempt to perform the ir incantations, or to exert the ir abilitiesin de ception, u ntil they have first eaten of mu shroom, (moolzkamore ,mou ckomore, or agra ricus ma scarias) which immediately throws them

into a kind of madn ess, fo aming .all the time atthe month while

u ttering the ir cabali stic words and expressions, ‘which are carefully

explained hy ~the magician after the frenzy and delirium occasioned

by the dose ‘have ceased to ope rate .1' This mu shroom, according to

Kotzebu e , when taken in small qu antities, is said to excite an agree

able hilarity o f spirits ; butif immoderate ly u sed, will produc e insanityfor several days. The Kamtschatdales, animated by

~

this vegetable,

Cox e 's Travels, v ol. vn . p. 394. 1' Dobell, vol. i. p . 15 8.

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5 16

o fthe bottle .

”

The first.thing,’

says that trave ller, thatyou mu st dow henryou arrive atene

'

of the ir hou se s, is to treat the family w ith tea,an duhe adds,thathe once saw a Kamts chatdale d rink eleve n half-pintboWls of it . ata s itting, and afterwards declare he c ou ld [have com

pleted the dozen had there been Water enough in the ke ttle . Thise xcessive love for tea is surpassed o nly by the Yaku ts,

'

who drink anincredible quantity

'

of melted bu tter, some of whom have be en knownto consume at a wedding from twenty to thirty pou nds a man, c on,

ten ding with e ach other for pre -eminence in the l

consumption of thisluxu ry and whatis f stillmore singular, the master of a family ce nsi~

dered himself 'honou red and ‘

was delighted to see half a dozen of thesegreat bu tter drinkers come (to his feast."E

Of w atky or whiskeym ade from ;rye ,-great qu antities are dru nk

by the K amtschatdales. Individuals have been known to swallowfrom six to eight glasses o f watky

’

withou t h aving any perceptibleefi

'

ect, and for this e njoyment, 'as a lready ‘Obser‘ved, they would barter

anything they p ossess. Sometimes they are driven to great irregu J

larities, while lunder the influ ence -of intox ication, and the ir timid disposition alone protects them from the n atu ral con sequ ences. Dobellrecords a remarkable instance of this natu re in one of his own .me n,

so fu riou s that he ru shed from his ;pre

sence with '

a large knife in his hand, seeking the.

superior ofh is tribe ,prince Zachar , crying out

'

thathe w as .an u nju st man , and 'that hewou ld stab .him . In vain 'did his companions endeavou r to restrain

him ; whe scontinu ed to rave in this manner u ntil he got n ear (to the

prince’s zdw elling, when the bellowed out ‘with all this .force, “;come

out, Zachar, if you dare. ,I'

am prepare d (to kill you !”

The (prince

hearing this, immediately sallied forth, :an‘

d with bosom bare f desiringthe crowd to stand aside . H e iadv anced b oldly up to the Karaikee ,

and with '

ah'

u ndau nted i cou ntenan ce and thundering voice , said,“here

is the breast of you r prince ! strike if you dare The ,

‘Karaikee

se e in ed '

pet'

ri'

fied he‘

raised his hand, but, ~

afraid to strike ,“

the .knifedropped fromj hi s powerless arm to the grou nd. “Coward: e x 1

claimed . Z acharp“you { have saved y ou r

’

lifep for ify ou had aimed a’

blow fatm e -I wou ld have hu rled'

y‘

ou gto the e arth, an d your own

knife should have'

leto ut you r heart’s blood .

”The prince ' then

ordered the‘“

Karaikee'

to be confined u ntil he be came sober. The

following a necdote is further illu strative of the dangerou s «effects,caused by the .excessive

‘

u se of w atky, and shews the j u ncommon

attachment that this people have for strong liqu ors —O ne of them

D obell’

s Travels in Siberia, vol. I .

5 17

be ing offered some‘

valuable trinkets, ne edles, for some rein-deerhe smiled and said, “the se are pretty things, but I am an old man ,

and dislike su ch baubles my de light is,to smeke , and now

,and then

when I can buy liqu or, to get heartily dru nk ; therefore you shallhave this re in-dee r for w atky ,

and tobacco I want nothing else .

”

The bargain w as conclu ded, the old man soon be came dru nk, buttheeffec ts notcontinu in g so long as could have be en

'

wished ,he, with twoof his compan ions , .entered the tent of the pu rchaser, with the ir knivesdrawn in athreatening manner, -u pbraiding him , wi th hav ing givenbad liqu or, and threatening to kill him fon the imposition . The nar

rator had fortu nately . at the mom ent his loaded pistols in his hand,and presenting them atthe party said, in a commanding tone , the

fi rst man tha t ad vances on e step further, I shall shoot him instantly .

”

They pau sed, trembled, and, dropping on their knees, asked pardonfor the ir rhisderheanor. They were then disarmed, and a present was

made to theme of another 311g of liqu orfi

.

“

f The great fondness of those ru de and Simple people for spirits ofall kinds, ,cau ses them .often to pay. atthe rate of a ruble per glass fora very spu riou s s pe cieswf brandy with all the ir love for it, they .

seldom have re cou rse to u ndu e me ans of obtaining it. Sau er relatesa pleasing instance of this honest fee ling in a Kamtschatdale , who

usually accompanied him on his aqu atic excu rsions, and expendedevery farthing of his money on spirits I one day,

”says he , saw

him com ingto my habitation, and to tempt him, I hid myself in an

adjo ining room , leaving a glass of brandy u pon the table , and abottle ,half-fu ll, close to it, wi th some sea-biscu it. H e came in , saw nobody,and called me , butobtained no answer . . Upon which he advanced tothe table , and sme lt the g lass It is brandy,

”said he , butI will not

drink, and theb ottle'

half-fo ll i We ll, _ I won’t taste you ; .butI’ll , go

seek maste r, and scold him for leaving you in this manner . I’ll just,

sme ll again and I stepped outof the window into the garden

and went to mee t him -whe n he accosted me . in the . followingmanner 5 ‘ I have be en into your room, . . and saw a glass fu ll ofbrandy ; perhaps you won

’t be lieve me , but indeed I did not

“‘ I dare say you N o, by I did not, I knew you wou ldnot be lie ve me ; buta Kamtschatdale will never take anything withoutpermission i ’ We ll, I mu st believ e you will you come and drinkit?” Yes, that I will, but I wanted to scold you for leaving itA stronger instance -than this of forbe arance cou ld scarcely be pro

du ced from among a people vastly supe rior in civilisation . The

Dobell, . vol. ii p . 165 .

5 18

Sale,

of'

spirits and the whole of the distillerybu siness are as'

already'

observed, a mon opoly of the crown, and farmed to the highest contractor, notonly in the remote regions of Kamtschatka and Siberia, butthroughou t“ the whole Ru ssian territory. In some provinces, thesecontracts are made for a term of three years only : the contractorshave a comptoer in each town for the sale of the brandy, and the

re tailer mu st h ave his license and his brandy from the person thu sappo inted . The contractors are termed Farm ers-General, and are

u nder the'

control of the vice-governors of provinces. The systemis considered a bad on e , as it is the means of enriching ind ivid uals at

the expense ofthe bu lk of the people , and giving them a spanie ns for

a genu ine commodity.

T his monopoly ren ders the situ ation of a vice-governor very lucra d

tive , and in some instances yields him annu ally half a million of

rubles, or upwards of The money is obtained by a per

centage on every vedro or anker of spirits sold in the province , and acertain sum paid hy

’

t'

he‘retailerS for licenses . In return for this , allthe trouble he has is to visit the differentdistilleries and Kabaks, to

ascertain if the spirits be adulterated, buthaving already rece ived hisbribe from the farmer-general, his inspe ction may natu rally be con

sidered in proportion to the extent of the fee . N ext comes the,

farmer-general to make his inspection, then his secretary or chief

agen t, each rece iving an emolument, and the retailer redu cing thearticle to me et these expenses, gives ultimately to the purchas er

,

drink of a very bad description . Milton has noticed a similar system

u sed in his day, taverns called cu irsemay , were farmed outby the

emperor, or bestowed on some duke or gentleman, as a reward for,

his services.

The serfs consume most of the ir earnings in these Kabaks, or dram

shops, which are condu cted by license u nder certain regulations, andin many parts the ke epers of those hou ses are Jew s,who know we llhow to manage the ir u nfortu nate customers, and often boast of the

great qu antity consumed weekly by these misgu ided creatures .

i . As the emoluments increase in proportion to the consumption of

spirits, it manifestly becomes the intere st of the governor of a province to promote tha t consumption, forwhile it increase s the revenu eand adds to his interest w ith the government, it also enriches his .

Own coffers, hence the qu antity, and notthe qua lity, produ ced atthe :

public distilleries is chiefly stu died . A proof of this is what is relatedof General Kaptzev itch, governor of Tomsk in Siberia, who orderedthe officers that had charge of distilleries, to rece ive a certain numberof stripes, if the qu antity of spirits extracted from the grain was not

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5 20.

o f publied

rej oicing‘. It

"

was a practice ofthe, late, Empe ie rAlex an der,to give a ruble and a glass of brandy to every private soldier. O ne

of the you ngprince‘

s; who w as in‘

the habit of offi ciating ‘

on,ou e of those

o ccasions, mistook the natu re of the‘

ordery and dire cted, five, time sin su ccession, that the glas s shou ld be repeate d and another :rublegiven .

‘ Su ch w as the delicate fee lings of respect tha t the father hadfor the word of his son , that he permitted the men to re ceive it, butprivately reprimanded him for his ind iscretion

'

by stripping him fora time of his military trappings and honors;Although the manu factu re of spirits throughou t thewholemf theRu ssian empire is prodigiou s, immense qu antities are yearly imported .

In 1768, the whole amou nt of the imports of the vine came to

697,000 ru bles, and the exports from the'

se veral parts. of Ru ssia,exclu s iv e of those in the Caspian, in 1793, were 3971 01211, 9 ankersof corn brandy ‘

and other’ Spirits, valued in'

rubles”atIn’ 1794, the entries atthe port of P etersbu rgh‘

w ere for wine , to

the' value of 7 rubles, and for brandy rubles.In 1796, the imports atthe

’

same port Were—a

O f ale and porter, 7033 casks, amou nting i n rubles toBrandy, arrack, rum , and shrub, 112 hhds.

L iqu ors, 21hhds. e . .

W ines of all kinds,19,427 hhds"

. 1 .

The imports in 1797, W810

Of beer and porter, casks, valued atrublesArrack, rum , and brandy, 35 44 ankers . .t

Strong liqu ors, 3180 bottlesM

1. 1

Wines of all kinds in hogsheads, 11,294: .1.

In 1802 , the valu e ofthe'

imparts were rubles.

In 1803, there Were 65 07 ankers of arrack, brandy, and rum ,

imported ihto Petersbu rgh . These imports have greatly increased’

since the establishment of peace among the several powers of E u rope ,notwithstanding the high du ties imposed by the tarifs of the cou rt,which tend to discou rage an intercou rse with foreign n ation s in the

purchase of articles that may be produ ced athome , even in an inferiordegree . M an , it is Well known, is , in all regi ons, partial to thatwhich best pleases his palate , and hence in those parts of theempirewhe i e the brandies and wines o f P 1ance , the gin of Holland, or the

m m of the West Indies, have made the ir Way, apreference is givensince they are accou iited vastly superior to any beverage manu fac

tared within the boundaries of the Russian territories.

5 21

The taiperts of liqnors into Petersburgh, in°

the °

course of fou r. suc

e , bottles

Portugu ese St Span ish,pipe

The imparts of wine into the principal ports of Russ ia , during the

B e sides the abet'e , the produ ce of the vintage in seven governments

of this Empire , amou n ted m 1834, to 27,824 hogsheads of wine which

are con sumed withinthe Emp ire .

The price s, when Tooke compiled his work, stood as follows

A hogshead of beer, when pu rchased from a Ru ssian brew er, costs8 rubles ; from an E nglish brewer, 20 rubles ; brandy w as 65 rublesthe anker portwine from 35 0

’

to 2 5 0 rubles the pipe ; French, from25 0 to 15 0rubles the hogshead Madeira, 300 rubles the hogshead

champagne , per case of fifty bottles, 200 ru bles ; Rhine wine fromone ru ble, -fiftykopecks, to thre e rubles, fifty kopecks per bottleHun gary wine from tw o rubles,fifty kopecks, to six rubles the bottle:Wine , spirits, and other kinds of drink, are offered for sale ingreat

abu ndance at the public fairs throughou t the different parts of theempire , and L ondon porter is to be had in almost every village thu sis a facility given to the general u se of these beverages . An idea of

the extent to which this spe cies of trade is condu cted, may be formedfrom knowing that ata fair in Nizu i Novgorod , there were for sale

of wine and brandy alone , a qu antity worth 6, rubles, whilein the woode n bazaars exclus ive ly, were sold to the amoun t of

rubles, a ruble being ten-pence of our money. .The

revenue on spirits at Kazan is said to amount to 4,000,000 rubles ,

85 9.93

5 83 7 5

13,911

5 22

the consumption of which in that city, on a

i

feastday, is‘

estiniated at

rubles, and on ordinary days atabou t rubles)“ In M os~

cow , there are abou t 5 00 inns and taverns, 200 restau rateurs, 15 0

kabaks'

or gin shops, 80 beer hou ses, and 180 wine vau lts.

In Petersbu rgh, atthe corner of every street is an open kabak forthe sale of spirituou s liqu ors, notu nlike the old gin shops of London.

The better classes consume prodigiou s qu antities of champagne , as

well as other descriptions of wines. At dinners of respectability, richfish soups are introdu ced, composed of champagne and other e x pen

sive wines, some of which have been known to cost rubles,which at10d. per ruble amou nts to £120. N0 water is u sed in these

expensive soups, and the effe ct on the company is frequ ently apparent.«Both atPetersbu rgh and Moscow, the nobility and gentry entertain

in a very sumptuou s manner, and their services of plate on su ch occasions are costly and superb. Chancellor tells u s that when he visitedthis empire , even so far baek as the sixteen th century, the Duke of

M oscovy had‘

two cups ofgold setwith pearls and preciou s stones on a

table in the middle of the dining chamber, outof which he nsu allydrank. These cups were placed in the centre of a large table ' arou nd

which was a greatvariety of other gold cups for the noble s ; among

these stood four crudurces, or pots of gold and silver for holding the

drink, and each fu lly a yard and half in he ight. At on e enterta inment

given by the Duke, there were 200persons all served with drink ingolden goblets, and so numerou s were the vessels of gold, that there

was notroom ou the tables to contain them .1' T hou gh the Ru ssians

still e ntertain expensively, the re spe ctable ‘portion of the commu nityare temperate , which fo rms one of the best and most striking features

of their character. The you ng,nobles and officers of the army are

particu larly fond of French. wines, of which Champagne is the

greatest favou rite . It may be generally obse rved that the people of

this empire are like their fellow m en in other cou ntries, prone aliketo variou s vices and possessing many virtu es.

In the British Empire , the distillation of spirits has be en long anobj e ct of attention, both to the government and the people , but the

period atwhich this important bi an ch of trade originated in thesekingdoms seems now n ot certainly known. It is indeed probable ,that before the introdu ction of agricultu re , mead or honey dilu ted

with water, was the only strong liqu or known to the inhabitants of

Cochran e ’s Narrative , vol. i. p . 107.

1" Chancellor’s Voyage to the Northern Parts of Ru ssia. P inkerton

’

s Vo'

yages

vol. i.

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5 247

com e from the countries where it w as a common ‘

article of cultureand they cou ld, therefore , the more readily me et the u ncongeniality ofthe

'

soil and climate by the ir skill and attention .

It would appear that the u se of wine was formerly prohibited in.

thos e re ligiou s e stablishments, as w e find that in the year 738, wine ,

was permitted te“

the monks of E ngland, by a de cree,of Bishop

Arden , fo under of the'

monastery of L indesfern in Northumberlandi 'E

The Isle of E ly is said, from the .abundan ce of its vintage , to have :

beendenomin ate d the isle of vines ; and the bishop of whi ch, shortly

after the conqu est, commonly exacted three or fou r tu ns of,wine as

the tithe of the vineyard, while a ce rtain qu antity w as reserved in hisleases for rent . B ut even in that island,which w as the most fa vou redplace of its cu ltu re , the growth was ne ither permanentnor valu able ;for it appears tha t in seasons the produ ce w as mere verj u ice , shewingclearly thatn o human skill nor exertions cou ld make the vine flou rishin a. cou ntry towhich it was an alienAt Roga

'

n eia , in the h undred of Rochfhrd, a vineyard is said tohave consisted of six arpents, and to have yielded , on an average, 20

modii of wine ; while w e are told that Glou ce ster excelled all other,

parts of E nglan d, in the abu ndance and pleasant taste of its grapes,and that the wine was of a su perior description , li ttle inferior to the

wines of France . Windsor Park was noted for its grapes, , part of

the produce the king kept to himself, a. partw as sold for his profit,and the tithe on the whole formed a part of the livin g of the Abbotof Waltham, parson both of old and n ew Windsor" Notwithstanding

these historic records, it may be asked, if the growth of the '

v in e w as

natu ral or flou rishing in E ngland, why discontinu e it, or send su ch .

sums of money to fore ign cou ntrie s for an article , which might be so

cheaply procured athome P The answer is obviou s . E ngland is notthe cou ntry for its cu ltivation e ither with respect to soil or clim ate ,and w e find that even in the times in which the vine is said to haveflour ished most, fore ign wines were imported ve ry largely, a proofthatthe home prod uce w as very scanty, and that to prosecu te the

cu ltivatiorn of the vine , w as ne ither su cce ssfu l nor profitable” Misledby the spe cious reports of William of Malmsbu ry, Bede , Stowe, andOthers, many in E ngland attempted to cu ltivate the vine ; but with

outany advantageous effect ; and w e find in the present day tha t it‘

thrives best when treated as an exotic in our gardens and green

houses E ngland be ing a cou ntry so far north and so exposed to

geld and the moistu re of the great Western Ocean, that it cou ld not

Hollinshed’

s Chron . vol. i. p . Speed’

s Chron . fol. sec. v iii . p . 2 5 2.

25

be ex pected'

to b e favourable'

to its cu ltu re . This is fu lly’ corrobo ra-J

ted by the ende avou rs made some years since to e stablish vine yardsin the Isle of Wight, but those efforts comple tely fa iled in '

conse

qu ence of the causes ju st mentione d .

There are , how ever, instances in E ngland of the vine growing to

great perfection, su ch as that planted in 175 8 at St . Valentine 1n

E ssex ,which has extended to morethan 900 fee t and itwas known

in one year to yie ld bu nches of ripe grapes.

'The vine at

Hampton palace , planted'

in 1769, has a stem'

l8 in ches in circum-J

ference , vvith b ran che s 14 fe et long. It has“

produ ced in on e year

u pwards of bu nches of grapes, the average Weight of e ach.

The Romans who remained so'

long m asters of E ngland, and towhom wine w as so familiar, 'mu st hav e ‘mad e the ir British Iv assals

acqu ainte d with this gra teful liqu or and the . Saxon invaders, the ir

immediate su ccessors, do not‘

appear to hav e ndimin is'

hed the prevail

ing taste for this luxu ry.

’ ‘Hence wefind that a ‘feastgiven by H en

gist, abou t the year 4 5 0to Vortigern,the British king, after the com

pletion of Hide castle , that Rowena, the beau tiful daughter of the

Saxon chief, is represented with a golden goblet filled with wine ,drinking to the health

'

.of the monarch ; and this i s regarded as the

first instanee x on re cord of drin king healths in Britain . . When thepractice -of drinking healths first c ommenced, cannot .be determined,butthe earliest Pers ian re cords afford many instances of it. In that

cou ntry it w as

.

fashion able to drink the health of .the re igning

monarch in bumpers of Zabul ' wine , ,and afterwards .to kiss

!’the

grou nd in token ofrespectan d submiss ion . Among the Jews, drinking

healths‘

implied e ither a blessing -or a curse , ,according as good or evil

w as desired for the individu al toasted. .In the time of Homer, thepractice of pledging in drinking was c u stomary a nd f rom the

G re eks,'

the Romans borrowed that ceremony. At the feasts a ndsocial me etings of both the Greeks and R omans ,itw as a common prae .

tice to toast the healths of the ir ,respective friends , in as many cy atla’

or goble ts as there were le tters in.the name of the individual men

tioned—thus six cups were u sually dru nk during the re ign of Augu stu s Caesar, answering to the number of letters in his name ,

’

by the

w ay of paying him divine honors . At these feasts, it w as also fro

qu ent to drink to the honou r of the gods and goddesses, and it has

O n the coast of Barbary, v ine s hav e be en fou nd w ith'

stem s of 8 or 9 feetin

girth ; and in Italy, vines have continu ed productive for 300 years. Pliny mentions one of continu ed be aring for 600 years.

5 26

been reported that six hu ndred glasses have been qu afi‘

ed on one of

these occasions by a single individu al. The glasses, however, cou ldn othave been more capaciou s than thimbles, while the time for con

sumption mu st have been very lengthened. Roman antiqu ariansstate , that a person w as appointed atevery public feast or enterta inment, to regulate the toasts and the qu antity of the liqu or to be

dru nk . This person w as chosen by a throw of dice , and denominatedA rbiter B ibendz

'

, de cider of drinking and after first pou ring out a

libation to the gods, the gu ests salu ted each other with the wordsben e mikz

’

, my ow n health ; or bene v obz’

s, you r health, or some su chsimilar convivial sentiment .

Among these assemblies, each gu est w as obliged to keep the rou ndor leave the company hence the proverb drink and begone .

’

To this Horace refers, butgives more license

Thu s ev ery gu est m ay drink and fill

A s m u ch or little as he w illE x empted from the Bedlamru lesO f roaring prodigals and fools.W hether in m erry m ood

,or whim

,

H e fills his goblet to the brimO r better pleased , to letitpass

Is cheerfu l w ith a m oderate glass.

‘

From the Olympic songs of Pindar, w e learn that an opu lentfather u sed to pledge , in the midst of his relations and friends, the

you th on whom he had fixed for his son -in law, as a public announce-i

ment of his'

1

From all this it is reasonable to think, that the practice of drinkinghealths w as first introdu ced into E ngland by the Romans, and not

by the Saxons, who were more a savage than a polished people , little

accu stomed to the luxuries or refinements of civilized nations. Some

suppose that the drinking of healths in Britain w as of Scandinavian

origin, and draw the conclu sion from the writings of Snorro

Stu rlu son , who, when speaking of the practices atthe feasts of theirgods, and even after the introdu ction of Christianity, says it w as

bu stomary to drink the health of Christ, St . Michael, and other saints,in the place of Odin, N iord, and Frey, the early obj ects of the ir

national idolatry.2]: This practice of the Scandinavians may be easily

traced to the Greeks, by whom three cups were always taken atthe ir

meals ;'

the first dedicated to Mercu ry, the second to the Graces, and

Horat. Sat. L ib. 11. 8. v i. v. 67.

'

l’ P ind . O lymp . 7.

I Henderson’

s Iceland, vol. ii. p . 67.

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5 28”

elders and the'

wise” Of ale , indeed , there vvere .at'

that tinie‘

thre e

sorts , but these were merely modifications of the same beveragePigment, morat, and cide r were in u se . The first of these liqu ors was

sw ee t and odoriferou s, be ing made of honey, wine , and spices Of

variou s kinds ; while .the second w as m ade .of honey dilu ted with the

ju ice of mu lberries ; a nd the third was p repared from su ch fru its '

as ,

the country afforded. It was customary, however, to u se p ure trifle ,

withou t a nymixture of spices, b utto‘

s erv e the spices on a p late by ,

were taken after .the'

wine as .a stomachic .* The

pigment, or .pixnint, as it w as called, .w as rathe r a medicina l prepa

ration of the wine; made and sold by the apo thecarieswho .w ere styled

p igmentaria’

, from which it took its name . During these :times, itwou ld appear ~t0 1have been a cu stom among the Saxons that w hendinnerw as

'

ov er, andthe dishes removed, they continu ed drinking .till the

e v en ing.T Wine was u sed, and the stronger itw as, the m ore it w as

desired .

‘

ln -old times, the best w as called'Tizealogicum, be caus e it

Was o bta ined :from the clergy and re ligiou s,men, .to whose ho uses

many of the laity wou ld .often send .for bottles, be ing sure that theyshou ld not.be s erved .with the worst.sort,"as .

the v ihtners wou ld the s e

thought «that the ir sou lsfiw ou ld go to .the devil if they served the

clengy w ith any butthe‘best.

At enterta inments among the Britons, the gentry satin the centre

of the hall arou nd a table , behind whom'

the attendants, or gu ards,formed another circle . When d inner w as over, the principal person

called for a cup of ale and pledged the gu est onhis right the samecup

'

filled to the brim .w as dru nk by each p erson in su ccession , the

attendants at the same time regaling themselves behind. Womenwere a dmitted and highly h onou red on those occasions but they

always' retired abefore intemperance commenced. In the re ign of

Edgar, drinking w as so prevalent, and carried to su ch excess, that alaw was enacted that n o man shou ld th ink beyond certain 'n icks or

marks 'made in the pots and sometimes pins for the pu rpose of limit

ing the potation :i hence the phrase , that when an individu al hadbe come j olly, he w as said to be in a merry pin, having the limitsassigned to temperance ; and w e are told that a whole company drank

outof a single vessel handed from on e to anothe1, su ch be ing the

practice ofthose times. Pledging each other ln drinking w as another

;Mill’s Hi st. of ,Chi valry, v ol. i. p . 169, note .

1’ Tu rn er

’

s H ist. .Ang. Sax on s, v ol. ii . chap . iv . p . 5 1, &c.

1 Basil Ken n et’

s H ist. E ngla nd , v ol. iv . p . 91.

William'

of M almsbu ry , B . 31.

5 29

cu stom and is said to hav e'

had its origin from the death bf E dwiard the

Martyr , who w as mu rdered by the treachery of his step-mothemE l

frida. The meaning of a pledge w as a secu i ity fo r the safe ty of theindividu al drinking, who all the time w as exposed to the attack of anenemy, his arm be ing raised to his head, his face partly covered , andhis body u nprote cted . When, therefo re , a pe rson w as abou t to drink,he addressed the gu est next him to know if he wou ld pledge him , and

be ing answered in the affirmative , the sword or dagger of his compa

nion w as raised to prote ct him while drinking.

“E So debased was the

condu ct o f the Danes in E ngland during the re ign of E dgar, and so

addicted to inebrie ty were they, that their bad example indu ced thatmonarch, by the advice of Du nstan, Bishop of Canterbu ry, to put

down all the alehou ses, excepting one in every village or small town .

The N orman conqu est greatly contribu ted to the progress of civi

lisation and refinement, by the introdu ction of all the improvements

and d iscoveries known am ong the French, Italians, Gre eks, and

Saracens : hence the N ormans, on the ir invasion o f E ngland, called

the inhabitants barbarians, an d so great w as the ir superiority in civili

sation , that William of Malmsbu ry tells u s that one of the great

distinctions between the Britons and Normans w as, that the latter

bu ilt magnificent and stately castles, whereas the former consumed

immense fortu nes in rio t and hospitality w hile residing in me an dwe l

lings. Mu ch refinement and knowledge we re also introdu ced into

E ngland by the means of the cru sades ; and it ha s even be en stated,with every probabili ty of tru th , that the artof distillation w as made

known in E ngland so early as the time o f Henry the Se cond . Du ring

the re ign of Henry the Third , in 125 6, the manu factu re of ale had

be come of su ch consequ ence , that the price of it w as fixed in propor

tion to that of corn or wine , and a brewer might se ll tw o gallons

of it for a penny in cities, and three or fou r for the same price in the

In 1802,barley-malt rate d at3s. 4d. per qu arter, and from th

echeapness of wheat, the brewers malted that grain also . The beer

made from barley w as 3d . or 4d . a gallon , while that from wheat w as

but lid”wheat be ing then only abou t 2s. the qu arteri This cau se d

a pro clam ation prohibiting the malting of wheat, lest itshou ld prevent

the encou ragement of its growth for bread , and give the advantage to

corn and other inferior grain. The Chronicles of Rymer shew thatin 15 04, ale sold for abou t 3d . and beer for 2s. 4d . a gallon . The

Stru tt’

s Manners and Cu stom s of the Ancient Britons, vol. i. p . 49.

f Hum e, v ol. 11. p . 333.

I Vide Flectwood'

s C liron icon Preciosum , p . 7 5 .

5 30

method‘

of making this liqu or, as practised'

by the ahcientB ritons and

other Celtic nations, is thu s described by Isidoru s and Orosiu s : f ‘The

'grain w as steeped in water and made to germ inate ,'

by which its spirits

w ere excited and setatliberty, itw as then dried and grou nd, after which

it w as infu sed in a certain qu antity of water, and being fe rmented, itbecame a pleasant,warm ing, strengthening, and intoxicatingbeve rage .

”

The reader will perce ive that this is the same drink described by

Pliny, and mentioned in the early part of this work, as common to theseveral nations in the West of E u rope . The grain u su ally employed

in its manu factu re was barley, butwheat, oats, and mille t were some»

times u sed .

* In Arnold ’s Chronicle , pu blished in 15 21, mayr be seen

a re ce ipt for making beer, which is nearly as follows Ten quarters of malt, 2 of wheat, 2 of oats, with l llbs. of hops, for making 11barrels of single beer.” The ancient Welsh and Scots had tw o kindsof it, called common and sp iced ale, . and the valu e of each w as thusdetermined by law If a farmer hath no mead, he shall pay twocasks of spiced ale , or fou r casks of common ale for one cask ofmead.

”

B y this statu te , a cask of spiced ale , nine palms in he ight an d e ighteenin diameter, w as valu ed at £7 . 10s . of o ur present co in ; and a cask

of common ale of equ al dimensions at abou t £8. 438. of the samecu rrency . At this period, common ale w as an article of su ch luxu ryamong the Welsh, that it cou ld only be procu red by the great and

opu lent . P reviou s to the introdu ction of Christianity, this liquor w asin su ch repu te , that the Sax ons and Dan es believed that “to

'

drink

large and frequ ent draughts of it w as one of the greatest pleasu resenjoyed by the heroes admitted into the hall of Me etingsw ere formerly held in E ngland forthe express pu rpose of drinking

ale , denominated Scot-ales. O ne of the se called giv e-a le , seems tohave be en a remnant of Anglo-Saxon supe rstition .

'

Thes-e drinkingbou ts were sometimes held in public-hou ses and some times in thechu rch or chu rch-yard . The expense of a Scot-ale w as defrayed byj o int contribu tion ; and when held in taverns, the clergy were n ot

allowed to be pre sent . There were occasionally common drinkingstermed [ect-a le , clerk-a le, chu rch-a le , and bride-a le, the last of which

still prevails in Scotland u nder the name of penny bride-ale , a praew

tice intended to assist those who are u nable to defi '

ay the expense of

a wedding-dinner .1 In some parts of Germany, similar superstitio uscu stoms long prevailed. On making an additional window to a n ew

H enry’

s H istory of E ngland, v ol. 11. pp 361-2-3 4 .

1‘ Mallet

’

s Northern Antiq. chap .

~

iv . Antiqu arian Repertory.

1 Supplemental vol. E ncy c. Britann ica .

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5 32

A s great abu ses were atfirst committed under the mode by whichthis branch of revenu e w as collected, it w as soon after placed on the

same footing with that of the other branches of excise .

"é This'

duty,

however, w as n otvery produ ctive , as appears from an abstractof the

money raised in E ngland for a period of nineteen years, v iz . fromN ovember the 3d, 1640, to N ovember the 5 th, 165 9 , du ring whichthe whole amount of wine—licenses is rated at In 1663,the amou nt w as in 1688, Abou t this period,the ale and beer brewed in E ngland came , on an average of some

years to barrels of strong, and barrels of smallbeer annu ally. In the year 1691, the qu antity brewed by the commonbrewers in the city of L ondon and its subu rbs, amou nted tobarrels of strong be er and ale , and barre ls of small beer.The du ty upon these articles be ing dou bled in that year, itset

a number of private brewers to work, which so affected the licensedbrewers, that in the year 1695 , the annual qu antity of strong beerand ale was redu ced to barrels, and the small beer tobarrels. In 1724, the qu antity of strong beer brewed in L ondon andthe ne ighbou rhood w as barrels, and of small beerbarrels, while in the whole kingdom the strong beer w as compu ted at

and the small beer at barrels i For furthersatisfaction the reader may consu lt the Tables in the Addenda inwhich he will find an account of the beer and ale brewed in E ngland,for certain periods from the year that the excise on that article w as

p utu nde r the management of Commissioners in the time of Jamesand embracing portion s of the reign of William 111, Anne , George

I ., I II ., IV., an d William IV. In 1822 , there were in L ondon98 brewers and 37 licensed victuallers, who brewed barrels,of which were strong, and table beer .§ In therest of E ngland were 1488 brewers and licensed victuallers,who brewed barrels, of which were strong, and

table beer. From the 5 th Janu ary, 1829, to 5 th Janu ary,1830, there

'were brewed in the L ondon district barrels ofstrong, an d of table beer ; while in the cou ntry there weremade barrels of strong, a nd of table be er .“Thenumber of brewers in L ondon in 1836, were 106 common brewers,

Sin cla ir'

s H ist Reven u e, p . 208.

'

f Ibid. pp . 261, 2 68.

i M aitland’

s Hi story of L ondon . .

P arliamentary Paper, No . 5 71, Se ss . 1823.

l] Par] . Paper, No . 19 l,

. 2 5 th March,1823.

5 33

and 2 5 v ictu allers, with 130 persons licen sed for general sale ; whobrewed all they sold . In London and throu ghou t E ngland, theconsumption of malt w as

YEARS. B USH E LS. B USH E LS.

1832, London E ngland1833,1834,1835 ,1836,

In the whole of E ngland, for the year 1836, there werelicensed brewers. The victu allersw ere be side s victu al

lers licensed to sell on the premises, with victuallers licensednotto sell on the premises.

The u se of maltliquor, some are of opinion, w as notintrodu ced into

E ngland before the time of Henry VI I . in whose re ign the breweries,or beer-hou ses, as they were then termed , were twice putdown by

the legal au thorities, e ither for selling withou t license or for making

the liqu or too weak . By an actof Henry VIII . in 15 32 , only twodescriptions of beer, strong and dou ble , were permitted to be manu

factured, the strong fixed at 6s. 8d. and the double at3s. 4d . the

barrel. The public demand increasing yearly, indu ced the brewers to

advance the ir prices contrary to the statu te , so that in 15 91, the

go v e rnment ordered that—the brewers shou ld sell atthe prices fixe d

by law . The Brewery Company which w as incorporate d in the timeof H enry VI . 1438, remons trated on the hardship of be ing obliged todispose of an article ata rate far below its valu e , every material

employed hav ing considerably increase d in price from the time of

passing the statu te . N otwithstanding the enactment, the consump

tion continu ed to increase , an d du ring the time of E lizabeth, the exportof beer had be come a valu able branch of commerce . The Q u e en

herself, in her right ofp u rv eya nce , a prerogative then inherent in thecrown , pau sed con siderable qu antities of be er so obtained to be soldon the continent fo r her ow n emolument .The sovere ign s of E ngland had the prerogative of pu rchasing

n e ce ssaries for the support of the royal family at an appraisedvalu e , even withou t the consent ofthe prop rietor. This inqu isitorialpriv ilege was known by the names of pu rveyance and pre

-emptionbutit became atlength so disagreeable to the people , that the right

was abolished and the E x cise -w as e stablished in its stead by the Long

Vide Parlia mentary Paper, 1837.

5 34

Parliament in 1643, and afterwards made hereditary to the crown ?

This import is supposed to have been originally plan ned by a M r. Pim,

and w as at first laid on spirits only. The cu stoms were also an

ancient prerogative of royalty, and atfirst consisted of small sumspaid forthe accommodation ofwarehou ses, we ights, and measu res, with

some small du tie s levied as fine s and tribu te for the liberty of traflicking . Besides these means of subsistence for the regal hou sehold, in

some of the early re igns, defic1en c1es were frequ en tly supplied bytyrannical exactions, and by

“

a volu ntary Contribu tion entitled a

ben evolen ce . E dward I ., when abou t to engage in a w arwith France ,had reco u rse to the latter expedient, and summoned the wealthiestpersons in his dom in ions ' thathe might obtain suflicient assistance.

The money raised in this way w as sometimes ve ry considerable , for,being given spontaneou sly, it w as often mu n ificent. Interesting inci

dents are related respe cting su ch donations. Among these , it isstated, that the monarch ju st mentioned, applied personally to a rich

Widow , who , thou gh advanced in years, w as so charmed byhis agreeable manners and handsome person, that she answered his requ est

saying, “By my troth, for thy lovely cou ntenance thou shalt have

£201”

-With which the king w as so mu ch pleased , that he gave the

old lady a kiss, and she w as so delighted with this mark of royal

condescension that she added £20more to the benefaction . Though

B en ev olences were annu lled by Richard I I I. yetHenry VII . endea

v ou red to ra ise money by that impost .

The du ty first imposed on beer m 1660, by the 12th Charles I Iand granted to him for life , w as two-shillings an d six -pence per barrel

for strong, and six -pence for table -bee r, atthe same time that a du ty

w as laid on wine as well as on wine licenses : this revenu e w as farmedtill 1684, when it w as placed u nder C ommiss ion ers . For some yearspreviou s to that time , it w as managed by George Da lkw ood and

partners. In 1688, the excise on this article , clear of all deductions,amounted to £666 ,383.T By the 5 th ofWilliam and Mary, in 1694,the du tie s were raised to four-shillings and n ine-pence on strong, andon e-shilling an d three-pence on table beer ; but the produ cts werenotso great, and they afte rwards continu ed to flu ctu ate according to

the change of the du tie s . The increase of popu lation an d the habits

of the people have now rendered the consumption of this beverageprodigiou s, and no twiths tanding that the du ty w as 10s. on every barrele x ceeding 16s. and 2 5 . on every barrel of 16s. or u nder, the net

Sinclair’s History of the P ublic Revenu e of the British Empire, p . 34.

'

f H istory of the Revenu e , p . 281.

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5 36

In the reign of James how were cu ltivated to some ex ten t in

E ngland, _butnotin su ch qu antity as to supply the demand, since , in

1608, a statu te w as passed against the importation of bad hops.~The

great supply, however, w as drawn from abroad u ntil 1690, when , to

increase the home plantations, a du ty of 203. per cent . over and abov e

all o ther charges,w as putupon what w as imported ; and in 1710, the

du ty of one penny per pou nd w as imposed upon all hops reared in

E ngland , and three -pe nce on foreign hops.T H aving been so circum

stantial in the history of hops, it,

m ay be naturally enqu ired of what

service they are in brewing, and what w as substitu ted for them pre

v io u s to the ir introdu ction . The answer requ ires little research .

E xperience has proved the salu tary effe cts of bitters on our digestiveorgans and hence the u se of hops in malt liquors, as they seem to

diminish their noxiou s efi'

ects, prevents them from be coming sou r,invigorates the stomach, an d promotes digestion . Valu able as theyare in malt liqu ors has been foun d, yet, like the introdu ction of any

novelty, they were opposed, and in particu lar bythe citizens of London,m a petition to parliament as a nu isance , in common w ith N ewcastlecoal The on e as spoiling the taste of the drink and endangeringthe

health of the people , the other as offending by its disagreeable sme lland 1nJu 11ou s efi

'

ects.f P1ev iou s to the u se of hops, ground-ivy, calledalehoof or tu nhoof, (glee/coma lzedera cea) was generally employed forpreserving beer. The ale , says P arkinson, in his Theatrum Botanicum , published in 1640, which ou r forefathers were accu stomed todrink, w as a thicker drink than beer, but left off since hops wereadded, as they altered the qu ality and made it more healthfu l in preserving the body from the repletion of gross humou rs which the ale

engendered . The hop , (I mmu lu s lup u lua) as an ingredient in our

inaltliqu ors, is found to posse ss in itself, elements of activity whichother materials that have been employed in its stead, do notpossess,combining the properties of astringency, bitterness, and aroma. B e

s ides narcotic and diu retic principles, it imparts to the beverage a

ton ic qu ality an d an agreeable flavou r, modifying the bitterness witha warm and stimu lant property . The application of this vegetable isto remove from the beer the active principle of its fermentation, forwhich pu rpose a certa in qu antity of hops is bo iled with the wort,before it is setto ferment, and no other mate rial has yetbeen fou ndcapable of su pplying its place , as its essential oil conveys a pleasing

Hum e , s ol. v ii . p . 242 .

1} Ann e , 0. 12 .

i Blithe’

s English Improv er Improved, 3rd E d . 16 53.

flavou r, and prevents theflu id fromrunning into the ace tous or pu trid

fermentation . The brewers abo u t Paris are said to u se bu x in ia , (an

e x tract from boxwood,) as a su bstitu te for hops, and which is said to .

po ssess a powerfu l, bitter, and su dorific principle . Qu assia and othe r ,

bitter materials that have been tried to supply the place of hops, are

both hotand u npleasant , and as they contain no saccharine matter to

produ ce spirit through the vinou s fermentation, they add nothing to .

the real strength or richness of the liqu or besides, they are whollydestitu te of the aromatic flavou r whichthe hops impart , and incapable

of communicating that fine , full, an d bitter qu ality, so mu chprized bythe lovers of beer, ale , and porter . Qu assia, a tree of Gu iana, and.

so called in hono u r of a drunken doctor, a negro named Qu assia, w hodiscovered the virtu e of the wood in curing malignant fevers, is a badsu bstitu te forhops ; for thou gh su fficiently bitter, itwants astringency,and other properties, particu larly those which are su fficient to pre cipi

tate the.

vege table mu cilage or glu ten . Gentian is little better, though

it has been u sed in this w ay from a remote period . This plant issaid to have re ce ived its name from Gentiu s, King of Illyria, whofirst discovered its medicinal qu alitie s . 167 years before the Christian

era. Common mu gwort (artem is ia v u lgaris) andwater trefoil (mony

d nthes trifoliata ,) have also been tried and fou nd equ ally deficient inthe hop principle .

Wormwood, before the hep acqu ired so mu ch estimation, w asemployed as a preservative for ale and beer many preferred the

flavou r it imparted to that given by the hop . The French distil it,and manu factu re it into a liqu eu r that is greatly admiredf

‘e but its

valu e as a bitter in malt drink can n ever su persede the virtu e of the.

hOp . Horehou nd has also been made u se of as a su cced aneum when

hops were dear . Besides the articles already mentioned , there are ,

many plants, which yielding bitter astringent j u ices, are , or might be ,substitu ted for hops. In Sw eden, N orway, and the Highlands of

Scotland, heath (er ica ,) and common broom were u sed in some places,and are still occasionally employed for a similar pu rpose . In certain

parts of France and Germany, nothing butbroom -tops is resorted to ;and in Gu ern sey, the te u crium scordon ia serves perfe ctly well to .

answer the intention . .E nglish h0ps are accou nted prefe rable to

those of the Continent,'

as they possess more gallic acid and

tann in .1’ Kent, which has been denominated the hop -

garden of

The Japan ese , according to Thu nbe rg, (vol. iii . p . 71) u se the leaves ofwormw ood for tinder. They are so prepared as to form a material of a brow n ishcolou r, which is easily ign ited.

f Paris’

s Pharmacologia, -

v ol. i'

p. 311.

5 38

England, is considered to yield the best. Among these is a pecuharspecies mu ch esteemed by porter-brewers, and is the produ ce of the

H umu lu s G erman icu s, a plant well known in other parts of E u rope .

A s a su bstitu te for hops, a bitter wood w as, at on e time , importedfrom Jamaica, particu larly when there w as a scarcity, which was sold

so high as £80 the ton butbe ing vastly inferior to hops, the govern

ment pu tsu ch a du ty on it, that it operated as a prohibition . Thoughsome brewers u se birch-bark, and others that of the common oak ,

(Qu ercus G a llu s) yet it is notfor the preservation of the drink, butbe cau se these materials, containing mu ch tannin and othe r astringent

matter, imbu e the liqu or with a rough, bitter flavou r essential to its

composition. It is to be regretted that e ither from want of knowing

how to obtain the right flavou r from malt and hops, or from avarice and

to vend a spuriou s for a genu ine article , many brewers, regardless ofthe laws, u se deleteriou s ingredients,“ e ither for the sake of colou r,taste, or strength, or to e conomize malt and hops. Spanish liqu oriceproperly employed, gives colour, flavour, an d richn ess. C occu lus

I nd icu s , or what is called the black ex tract mad e from the berries,which gives a fictitiou s strength highly perniciou s, cau ses head-ache ,and other dangerou s afl'ections. N u x -vomica , a spe cies of po ison, andthe «berry of a tree indigenous to Ceylon and the Coromande l coast, is

also u sed. Dr. Fleming says, that the H indoos of,Upper India are

inthe habit of adding it in the process of the distillation of arrack ; andRoxbu rg, in his Botany, says that it is added in orde r to render the

spirit more intoxicating. The fru it from which the se eds or real

N u x -vomica of the shops is obtained, is abou t the size of a large,

apple , having a round, smooth, hard, shell of a rich orange colou r.When ripe it contains a soft j e lly-like pulp, containing the seeds fromtwo to fiv e in number, which are flat, nearly rou nd, an inch broad,and abou t on e -e ighth of an inch in thickness. The pulp is conside 1ed

perfe ctly harmless, as it is eaten eagerly by many sorts of birds, andthe root is u sed for the cu re of native intermittent fevers, and the

bite of venomou s snakes : su ch is the drug which is too often incautiou sly u sed by some of ou rbrewers l C ap sicum, a very hotpepper,althou gh employed to give warmth and briskness to the liqu or, is notdeleteriou s, but, on the contrary, wholesome , and a safe corrective of

flatulen cy. Salt of steel, and su lphate of iron (copp era s,) are impro

perly substitu ted for this ingredient, and have the effe ct of giving a

fine head and colou r to porter . G ra ins ofp aradise, as well as capsi

cum , e ither in the ir natu ral state , or in the form of a concentratedtincture , are u sed for imparting pu ngency to be e1. G inger

-root,

coriander-seed, and orange-p eel, are employed as flavouring sub

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5 40.

formed the plan of brewing a drink that wou ld answer ev erypurpose ,and partake of the same flavour u nited . H e efl'ected his obj ect, calling the beverage entire , or entire butt, be cau se it w as taken from one

bu tt or vesse l ; and from be ing pu rchased by porters and su ch likepersons, it w as ever afterwards distingu ished by the name ofp orter .

In the manu factu re of this liqu or, the E nglish have notbe en exce lled

by any other n ation, although it is imitated in most of the countries

of E u rope . Popular opinion will have it that the wate r of the Thames

is superior to any other for the making of porter, butMr . Richardsonalleges that this is a mistaken idea arising from vu lgar prejudice , sinceit is indispu table that other water make s malt-drink equ ally good,and some of the principal brewers find the N ew River water as ser

v iceable . The spe cific gravity of the former is and its spissi

tude while the specific gravity of the latter is and

its spissitude 10003443“

It is said that the annu al qu antity of porter brewed in London

exceeds barrels of 36 gallons each ; and that the con sump

tion of porter and ale in that metropolis amou nts,to of

barrels and upwards. This vast supply is chiefly drawn from the

breweries within the city, which, in respect to size , style of bu ilding,

and ingenu ity of operations, are n otsu rpassed, nor indeed equ alled by

any other establishments of the kind in the world. Some idea of

the ir magnitu de m ay be formed from the brewery of Messrs . B ar

clay, P erkins, and C o ., once the property of Mr . Thrale , the friend

of Dr. Johnson . This concern o ccupies a space of abou t ten acresin area , and the bu ildings which contain the vats are of

.

extraordinary

dimensions . There are u pwards of 100 of the se vesse ls on the pre

mises, the average content of each be ing barre ls,and the fer

m enting tuns are also so capaciou s as to contain barrels severally.

There are , moreover, three copper bo ilers holding re spe ctive ly 15 0barre ls. The machinery of the establishment is worked by tw o steam

engines, on e of which is twenty-tw o horse power, and the produ ce ofthe liqu or is from 3to nearly barrels while the malt consumed in a year exceeds qu arters, and the hops upwards of

bags . It give s employment to atleast 200 persons on the

premises and in variou s other ways to almost twenty times thatnumber, while 160 horses belonging to the proprietors are constantlyengaged in conveying materials to and from the brewery. A s a

matte r of novelty, fiv e and twenty gentlemen dined in on e of the

coppe rs, and when they had retired, fifty of the workmen went into'

Vide Treatise on Brew ing.

5 41

i t and regaled themselves at the same table . H is MajestyGeorgeI I I . partook of an entertainment in a similar manner, given in one of

the tuns in Whitehead’s e stablishment, which w as conducted on a

magnificent scale su ited to the dignity of the Royal visitant. Thisneed notappear incredible , since the vats in these concerns are of most

enormou s size . O ne for ho lding porter in M eu x’s brewery is 65 l

2~

fee t in diameter, and feet in altitude , containing barrels,giving a su rface of squ are fe et, equ al to aroom of 5 8-

51,in each

of its lineal dimensions, and competent to accommodate nearly 100persons atdinner . In 1814, on e of the large vats in this e stablishment

bu rst, from which the porter ru shed with su ch impetuosity, that theadjo ining stree ts resembled rivers, and the su rro unding hou ses wereso filled with the liquor that eight persons were drowned amidst themultitu de w ho were making the ir e scape from its ravages . Domesti c

s“ ,

brewing is carried o n throughou t the cou ntry in variou s degrees of

e xtension ; the farmers brew for the ir ow n u se even to half a bu she l

of malt . The manner in which this home manu facture is condu cted

w ill be best comprehended by the follow ing detail of the processThe apparatu s generally consists of a rum pu ncheon cut into two

u nequ al portions, forming vesse ls of difl'erentcapacities the smaller

s erves as an u nderback, and the larger for a mash-ke iv e and ferment

ing tu n . Tw o or three tubs, abou t the size of mashing-tubs, are

f employed as coolers or as re ce ivers of the worts from the keiv e . The

bo iler is u su ally e ither a large potor copper cau ldron . The ke iv e is

set in a block or stool in su ch a position that the ru n from it mu st fall

into the u nderback fromthe spigot, and when a perforated pie ce of tin orcopper cannot be ha dto cover the hole through which the worts ru n ,a bunch of birch-twigs like a besom , is placed over it to prevent thegrain from be ing carried offwith the liqu or. Du ring this preparation forthe brewery, the water for washing is kept bo iling in the copper from

which it is pou red into the ke iv e in suflicientqu antity to answer forthe first running. The ne cessary heat of this water is ascertained bysu ffe ring the steam to subsidcfso that a person looking into the ke ivacan se e his image reflected from the su rface . If mashing is commenced

ata greater heat, experience has shown that it wo uld be come thicklike p udding and notru n off. When the water in the ke iv e has cometo the temperature j u st stated , the malt, consisting of abou t threefourths or seven-e ighths ofthe whole qu antity, is gently pou red in, be ingfirst well bru ised between cylinders, the person in attendance takingcare to mix or stir it briskly while throwing it in, so as to prevent it

ge tting into lumps. Too mu ch cau tion in this respect cannot beo bserved, as mu ch of the extract depends on the proper mixing ofthe

5 42

grain with the water. When thu s mixed the residue of dry malt islightly scattere d ove r the top or surface of the ke ive, and then thewhole is covered with sacks or a lid to pre serve the heat, an d the

better to saturate the malt. In this state it is allowed to stand forthree hou rs, atthe e nd of which the spigot is drawn partly out in

order to obtain a portion of the liqu or to know if it he suflicientlyfine ; if not, further time is given, and it is su ccessive ly tried u ntil it

is fou nd to be qu ite clear, when it is ru n into the u nderback. At tt

stage , the hops, consisting of abou t 1111l . are laid loose e ither in thevesse l or in a bag, while the water in the m eantime is preparing for

a second mash. The heat of this water ought to be of a higher de gree

of temperatu re than that u sed in the first m ashing, the spigot being

secu red atthe hattom of the ke iv e , the water is admitted when anothe rmixing takes place . The ke iv e is again covered and allowed to

stand abo u t two hou rs : during this ope’

ration, the produ ce of the first

brewing is kept bo iling in the copper, to which it w as immediate lyconveyed, along with its proportion of the hops, after the commencerment of the se cond mashing. In order to ascerta in when the worts

are sufficiently bo iled, a small qu antity is taken out, and if flakes are

seen to be su ddenly pre cipitated to the bottom , the process is con

sidered comple ted butan error can scarcely take place byits bo iling too mu ch, for, if notwe ll bo iled, the liquor will n ev er,

appe ar fine

in the glass. The worts of the second mashing being colle cted, are

bo iled in the same manner, butfor a shorter time , as there is less glutinou s matter to separate . After the first worts are bo iled, they are

straine d through a sieve , 85 0. When cooled to a blood-heat, a small

qu antity is put into the fermenting tu n with the addition of somebarm . A s soon as fermentation commences,the worts are kept addingin small qu antities, u ntil all is pou red into the tun . Care is ne cessaryto preserve the ferm entation in a prope r state , for if too cold, it wou ldc ease altoge the r, and if too hot, the drink wou ld be flatand withou tbriskness, butif properly managed , it wou ld preserve a fine body andshow a sparkling in the glass abou t sixteen hou rs accomplish allthe pu rposes of fermentation in the tun , when the harm atthe top is

skimmed off and the liquor drawn into a barrel previously we ll cleanse da nd dried . The barrel shou ld be filled to within an inch of the bu ngto give room for fu rther working, and it shou ld be filled so close to

the bung-hole , that all impu rities shou ld getleave to e scape throughit. A small qu antity ought to be ke pt outto fill u p the vacancy inthe cask occasioned by the working . When the fermentation hassubside d,the bung sho u ld be mere ly laid on the bu ng-hole, afterwards

the cask slightly bunged, lest it should burst, and when the fermenta

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5 44

as recorded'

in several of the old statu tes. Those who are in thepractice of constant brewing, whether for the supply of the ir own taprooms or for those of the ir ne ighbou rs, have commodiou s apparatusfor the pu rpose , with a thermome ter and o ther scientific instrumentsand brewing in E ngland may be said to have arrived ata degree of

perfe ction u nknown in othe r countries.

The ingredients for making a good strong keeping ale , shou ld be

in the following proportions—4 10 bu she ls o f best pale malt to 5 0lbs .

o f hops. For the first mash 10 barre ls of wa ter at172 ° may be let

on , and raked for half an hou r, water at180° may then be pou red in,

so as to pass through the malt and to wash away all the worts previ

o u sly soaked in the mash . These liqu ors, when bo iled down -with

the hops, fermented and finished, ought to produ ce 8 barrels of ale

at I OOlbs. gravity on D icas’s Saccharometer, although what remains

is inferior to what has been previou sly obtained . The same malt and

hops will, however, s erve for making table-be er . With this view, a

se cond mashing may be made with water atthe temperature of

and even a third mashing, ata temperatu re of the qu antities

be ing su ch, that after bo iling on the same hops, fermenting, and

finishing, there will be 12 barrels of beer, at301bs. gravity.

A good description of ale m ay be procu red from 40 bu shels

of prime pale malt and 301bs. of good hops . The temperatu re at

mashing may be as alre ady stated, and it may be calcu lated to produ ceboth ale and be er . In this case 12 barre ls of ale at70h gravity, and

10 barrels of beer at301bs. will be produ ced . If the obj ect is merely

to obtain ale at70lbs. of gravity,the qu antity produ ceable w ill be 14barre ls . If table -beer of a good qu ality, withou t any ale is requ ired ,the qu antity of materials to produ ce 30 barrels of finished beer wou ld

be 40 bu shels of malt, 2 5 1bs . of good hops, as mu ch water as willprodu ce 35 barre ls of hopped wort ; and this will finish abou t 30

barrels of beer. In calcu lating the quantity of water ne cessary to

produ ce a given qu antity of a first mash, it will be of u se to knowthat an imperial bu shel of ground malt absorbs and retains abou t 6?imperial gallons of wort.

Bu rton ale is in high estimation for both strength and quality. It

is made from the palest malt and be st hops, having a gravity so high

as from 36 to 401bs . a barrel. If the malt be notvery good, only on emash can be made for this liqour butif it be of prime qu ality, two

m ashes m ay be mad e , notlosing sight of the great specific gravity

w hich ou ght to be produ ced. The heat of the liqu or shou ld be 185 °

or adding 5 ° for the se cond mashing . If only one brewing is

to be made , the wort may be boiled an hour and a quarter if two,

5 45

the worts should be boiled three qu arters of an hou r for the first, and’

an hour or an hour and a qu arter for the se cond ; keeping constantly

in mind that long bo iling is inju riou s to the colou r , a property of n o

small recommendation to the valu e of the ale . The qu antity of hepsmu st be %lbs. to the bu she l of malt varied by circumstances, butthe

more hops that are u sed the higher will be the colou r of the ale .

During the process of fermentation the heat shou ld be abou t and

as the first temperatu re wou ld therefore be atan average the

quan tity of yeast, both on accou nt of the circumstances and the great

we ight of the wort, shou ld notbe less than filb. to the barre l. The

exce llence of Bu rton ale arises notonly from the u se of the best maltand hops, butfrom the pe cu liar quality of the water, which is impregnated with saline particles from the rocks of gypsum, over which it

flows.

The revenu e arising from the breweries of E ngland, as alreadynoticed, w as of great importance to the state , n otonly from the du tyimposed on beer, butfrom that raised on malt, of which su ch immense

quantities are annu ally consume d by the brewers. In the year ended

5 th Janu ary, the number of bu shels of malt charged with du ty

w as in 1829, there were and in 1830,the re Were The duty of 28. 7d . a

‘

bu shel on this article

for the three years in qu estion , amou nted to 7s. 6d .

averaging 2s. 6d . annu ally. If to this be added the du ty

on beer for one year, (taking the average of the same three years)be ing Os. 1d .

, the yearly aggregate of both will be

2s. 7d ., a prodigiou s revenu e levied on one article of

agricu ltu ral luxu ry .

In E ngland, the malt charged with du ty after the abolition of

the beer du ty, was, ia

YE ARS. B u snnns. B USHE LS.

1831, from barley bigg du ty1832, do . do . do .

1833, do . do . do .

1834, do . do .

1835 , do . do .

Mu ch has been Written against the malt du ty, as pressing on the

agricu ltural interests of the cou ntry, and that a high impost on it may

have this tendency, there is reason to believe , but, that a moderate

du ty would prove inju rious, is qu estionable . It is argu ed that the

present charge on malt is too high, and that a mu ch greate r qu antity

wou ld be consumed, and the public benefited either directly or indi

Par] . Paper, No. 183, 2 lstJune , 1830.

5 46

rectly by a redu ction . The demand wou ld increase the price of

barley, the malster make greater exe rtions, more hands would beemployed, and the price of labou r advanced in proportion .

It has been calcu lated that in the 37 years ended in 1828, themalt tax brought into the treasury. Before the latebeer du ty w as repealed, the malt consumed in E ngland and Walesw as {1 by public, and 3

'by private brewers. A s a principle q u ain

tained throu ghou t this treatise , that high du ties are n otonly inj u riou s to the interests of the manufactu re on which they are imposed,but also to the revenu e , is well exemplified in the case of the dutyunder cons ideration, since it appears that -in 1787 the qu antity of

malt made w as quarters and in 1828 the qu antity manuactured was notwithstanding an increase of

in the population du ring this interv aLof 40 years.

The regu lations u nder which the present malt du ty is levied,although giving considerable privileges to the malster, are still sufliciently vexatiou s, and often place character and property atthe mercyof designing individu als. A low du ty wou ld lessen notonly, temptation to evade the law , but indu ce the trader to act with fairnessand puthim less in the power

~ of p ersons connecte d with his con

cerns- the resu lts to the revenu e wou ld, it is confidently maintained,be proportionably advantageou s.By an act passed in the re ign of his late M aj esty,

‘

the du ty on

beer and ale was repealed, u nder the impression of affording to thepeople a cheap, good, and wholesome beverage, and relieving themfrom a tax w hich operated against the ir indu stry. Of the policy ofthis measu re mu ch has be en argu ed by its advocates and opponents

“

some contending that4while it affo rded -satisfaction and saving to theconsumers, it wou ld increase the u se of the beverage , and conse

qu ently'

augmentthe revenu e by a greater consumption of malt. ,O n

the‘

other hand, it has been u rged that an experiment of this natu rewou ld tend to deteriorate the article by placing its manu factu re ln

'

the hands of men , who wou ld tak e advantage of the p u blic, in‘

\ the

absence of the regu lations u nder which it w as gov erned,which requ ired

beer to be made from malt and hops alone , by substitu ting raw grainin lieu ofmalt . B oth , a.rguments are deserving of seriou s attention,but

,perhaps sufficient data have notyetbeen obtained since the pass-4

ing of the late bill to enab le a .ju st estimate to be formed of e ither

its salu tary or injuriou s consequ ences. The reader may form a ju dg-fment of this, by a comparison of the qu antity of malt charged beforeand since the abolition of the beer du ty, as previou sly given.

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5 48

plained of as an Oppresssion , on which account no well-wisher to hisspecies or his cou ntry shou ld be desirou s to see an u nlimited indulgence in whatever wou ld tend to encourage vice, or render man e ithercontemptible or odiou s.

When the du ty on beer existed in Ireland, it w as considered as

affecting the comforts ofthe people , and as a sort of oppression on thenation, as well as giving encou ragement to the consumption of ardentspirits. With a view of remedying thi s evil, the du ty w as repealedaltogether ; butexperience has shewn that none of the anticipatedconsequ ences followed, nor w as the re venu e on malt thereby increased,as had been expected . Whe ther the same resu lts may be the con

sequ ences of the present measu re , time alone can determine .

The revenu e raised on this article w as of the u tmost importance inE ngland, and the regu lations under whi ch that revenu e was c ollected,while they gave protection to the fair trader, served equ ally to ensureto the public a genu ine article . A s matters now stand, nothing butthe competition of trade can protect the public from the avariciou smalpractices of cu nning and nefariou s manufactu rers ; and since w efind that from Janu ary 1827, to February 1831, there were inE ngland and Wales 303 informations, many of them for a secondoffence , against persons for adu lterations in beer, of which numberonly 13were acqu itted ; what may n otbe expected when the tradeis withou t any legal restrictions ?

In Great Britain, the partiality for malt drink has been more extensive than in Ireland ; and, therefore , the people wou ld hail any mea~

su re as a boon that wou ld permit them a freer enjoyment of longestablished practices. In Ire land, a taste for ardent spirits has beenalways a national characteristic, but this is more attributable to theinattention of the legislature than to any pecu liarity of the nativese ither in taste or constitu tion. The E nglish have been restri cted

almost to a prohibition in the u se ofevery other beverage except that ofbeer and ale , butthat the ir taste might notbe equ ally inclined withthat of the ir Irish brethren to a more potent liqu or, is mainly to betraced to the vigilance of legislative interference, since we find that

the inhabitants of both countries are alike disposed when they haveequ al access to the same gratification .

That the du ty u pon beer affe cted the indu striou s part of the com

mu nity alone , is an idle assumption , for w e find that the we ight of anytax generally falls u pon the idle consumer, . who seldom thinks .of

making compou nd interest on the money he might employ if no su chtax existed ; for if it not exist, the money would probably be

Par] . paper, No . 136 ; loth Feb . 1831.

5 49

Wasted in the pu rchase of a more expensive gratification . What possible evil could have existed by the continuance of the bee r tax ,

I

have yetto learn Wou ld less beer or ale be consumed, fewer of thefields be cultivated, or the popu lation of the cou ntry be diminished PE very person is able to answer these qu estions ; in short, the aboli

tion of the du ty has been more to still the popu lar clamou r, frequ entlythe resu lt of inconsideration, than from any conviction of its u tilitye ither to the state or to the commu n ity. The brewing of beer wasas unrestricted before the repeal of the late laws, as it is a tpresent,and the only difference it makes as regards the trade , is, that thevisits of the E xcise cflicer are not so obtrus ive as formerly on thede le terio us manu factu rer, and the terrors of his appearance and his

power to inflict penalties for misdemeanor, no longer haunt theimagination, nor conjure up fear to the gu ilty heart . E very person,be fore the annull ing of the act, had liberty to brew beer and ale,

e ither for domestic u se , or for sale , and those who made it for their

own private pu rpose , had nothing to do with the officers, or exciseregu lations, so that the liberty of the subj ect is nothing bettered bythe late enactments.

Though beer is chiefly made from barley, yetithas been produ cedfrom other materials than grain. Thefi eld beet, (mangold wm

'

zel)sometimes called the root of scarcity , on accoun t of its esculent

qu alities, has be en su cce ssfully employed in this way. From this v ege

table , ale is made of di fferent strengths and qu alities. A good drinkis obtained from ten pormds of the root to a gallon of water ; but

fifteen pou nds to the gallon make a better beverage .

The best mangold wu rzel ale is pro cu red from a portion of twothirds of the root, to one third of malt . The method observed in theprocess is to cleanse the roots well, scrape off the rind, slice them, and

boil them down to a pu lpy consistence . From this, the liqu or issqu ee zed outti ll not a particle remains. This ju ice is then bo iled

with hops in the ratio of six ou nces of the latter to nine gallons of

the former ; yeast is then added in the u su al w ay, and the liqu or isspeedily fermented. Mangold

‘

wurzel is also u sed in distillation , and

an acthas been passed legalizing its manu facture into spirits the

red species is the most common, butthe pale yellow sort is pre

ferred by the distiller and sugar-boiler though possessing the vinou s

principle in a considerable degree , yetit is scarcely half so produ ctivei n that respect as the pota to . Mangold Wu rzel requ ires little carein its cu ltivation, and from its valu e to farmers, is da ily getting intoestimation ; it grows some times to a great size ; a single root has

4 William IV . Cap . 74.

5 5 0

been known to we igh 321bs., measu re 30 inches in circumference,and, including the top , to be 4 feet in height.

Sp ru ce B eer, which is a common drink in Great Bri tain and

Ireland, is e ither white or brown, according as sugar or molasse s is

employed in the making. In N orway, Sweden, Denmark, and

America, where pines abou nd, this liqu or is made from a decoction

of the leaves, rind, and branches butwith u s it is an essence or flu id

extract procu red by boiling the shoots, tops, bark, and cones of the

Scotch fir (p inus sy lv cstrz’

s) which are u sed in the process. A solu tion

of any of the natu ral or prepared sweets, with a du e proportion of

spru ce, makes sp ruce beer, sp ruce a le, or even spru ce w ine .

Molasses is commonly adopted ; sugar is preferable, and honey is

excellent . Variou s recipes have been given for the manufactu re of

this be verage . The following may be taken as a pretty correct

standard -To 8 gallons of boiling Water, tempered by 8 gallons of

cold water, add l6lbs. of treacle for brown , or 161bs. of lump sugar

for white spru ce , with 6 table-spoons full of essence mix them well

toge ther, and ferm ent them with half-a-pint of harm for two days

and then bottle for u se . A weak extract of malt makes a good spruce

beer, when well regulated in the process. The virtu es of this liqu or

are , perhaps, notso we ll known as they should be ; it may therefore be

proper to observe , that allpreparations from spruce are warm, stimu

lating, and anti-scorbu tic, swee teners and purifiers of the blood,cleansers and healers of internal ulcerations, and, like other bitters,strengtheners of the vesse ls, dissolv ents of mu cu s, and expellants ofcalcareou s concretions : hence , in long voyages, essence of sp ruce is

n ow deemed indispensable . When this article w as first u sed in mak

ing a beverage , is notwell known ; ’is from the mildness of its effects, it

has attracted less of that notice which intoxicating liqu ors u su allycommand while , howe ver, itsmedicinal qualities are of benefit to man ,

it has notby its consequ ences, depreciated his character, or loweredhim in his moral dignity.

The manufactu re of cider in E ngland is of some importance , andits qu alities have been long celebrated . A s a summer drink, it is ingreat demand, be ing less subtle and impetu ou s than wine , possessingso agreeable

_

an acidity, and so capable of allaying thirst, that it isaccounted superior to some of the ales ; besides, it does not cau seflatu lence , and serves as an agreeable , gentle aperient, very salu tary

in warm seasons. By distillation it produ ces a good spirit, but isseldom converted to that pu rpose , in consequence of its acidity rendering the liquor rather disagreeable but this is greatly remedied by

Vide page 480.

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5 5 2

Modern cider-makers co nce ive that while fermentation'

is go ingforward, the introdu ction of a moderate proportion of su gar wou ldgreatly tend to the improvement of the liqu or on the principle thatthe French recommend amelioration of the ir harsher wines by a similar

mixtu re du ring fermentation . This, it is thought,while it strengthensthe body of the drink, imparts to it a pecu liarly rich quality.

A similar practice is common in Burgundy, and in the process of

making wins it is singu lar that a preference is given to sugar extractedfrom potatoes, notonly on accou nt of its cheapness butof its more

readily amalgamating with the fluid than e ither the sugar of the‘cane

or of the bee t-root . The wines of Bu rgundy are n ever brandied ,except those made up for the E nglish market, the sugar supplyingthe place of any addition of spirits. Were sugar extracted in large

qu antities from potatoes in the cider districts of E ngland, an improve

ment might be made in this drink ata trifling expense .

A very strong liquor may be obtained from cider, by allowing itto freeze , an d then drawing of? that portion ofthe flu id which remainsu nfrozen in consequ ence of retaining its heat. A most wholesome

liqu or called P omona w ine, is prepared, by adding ] gallon of brandyto 6 of new cider after be ing racked off, which, when e ight or twelvemonths old, is a good substitu te for wine, and preferable to many ofthe wines sold by re tailers.

Perry, a beverage prepared from pears, in the same manner as ciderfrom apples, is considered to be , when well made , notinferior to somewines, and has been often passed for champagne ’

on accou nt of its closeresemblance in taste and sparkling . It is, therefore , frequ ently u sedby retailers in the adulteration of that wine . At the period of fixingthe du ty on ale . and be er, cider and perry were also su bje cted to a

taxation of 8d . per barrel ; butthe law be ing now repealed, itm ay be su fficient to state , that the revenu e on cide r and perry w as

never considerable the last three years before the repeal of the act,

which took place in 1830, the amount of revenu e w as, in 1828,on gallons ; in 1829, on gal

lons and in 1830, on gallons.

The principal cider and perry districts of E ngland are in Hereford,Glou cester, Devon, and Worcestershire . The apples that are fa

v ourites of the table , are seldom fit for cider-brewing those of a

red and yellow colour are most esteemed. The harsher sort of pearsprodu ce the best perry the redder and more tawney they are , themore they are preferred ; and crab-apples mixed with them are saidto improve the qu ality of the liqu or O n e great advantage attendingthe culture of pear-trees is, that they will thrive on land where apple

5 5 3

tre es wou ld perish, and that they grow so large that a single tree hasbeen known to afford from on e to fou r hogsheads of perry. Ane x trordinary tre e in Herefordshire has more than once produ cedfifteen hogsheads in a year . This tree covers nearly half an acre of

land, and like the Banian ofthe E ast, its extended branches becomingheavy, bent the ir extremities to the ground, took root, and produ cedo ther branches, each forming, as it were, a distinct tree . For furtherinformation respecting the mode of manu factu ring those liqu ors, thereader is referred to works written expressly on the subject .*

A s to wine , it w as always held in su ch high estimation, that theimportations were carried on extensively . In 1272 , E dward I.

imposed a du ty of two shillings on every tu n of wine imported intoE ngland in lieu of the old impost called prisageT—an ancient branchof the royal prerogative . This tax afterwards obtained the name of

butlerage, because it was paid to the king’

s bu tler ; this du ty chargewas abolished in 1311. When the first du ty was levied on wines, the

importations were principally French and Rhenish the Spanish,Portugu ese , and Italian wines be ing then little known . Abou t theyear 1300, the merchants of Gascony were settled in London in

great numbers ; and in 1317 an order w as issu ed, that merchants

who are notof the freedom of the city are forbidden to retail wines

or other wares within its precincts or subu rbs.

” Home-made win eswere also in repu te in those times, since w e find that in the reign ofHenry I I I., a gentleman held hi s manor of Norfolk on condition of

supplying the king, annually, athis E xchequ er,with tw o vessels termed

mites of wine made of pearmains and in the subsequ ent re ign of

E dward I .,pearmain cider w as also called wine , which, perhaps, might

accou nt for the mention of vineyards in old times in Kent, Su ssex, and

other parts of E ngland, to prove the existence as we ll as the extent

of which has caused mu ch trouble and controversy . If an argument

were wanted to show even the inu tility of vineyards in Britain, the

cheapness of foreign wine atthe time the vine is said to have beencu ltivated in E ngland, is conclu sive, since , acco rding to Stowe , in 1842 ,the price of Gascon wines in London w as only 4d., and that of

Rhenish 6d. per gallon ; and in 1389, foreign wine was but203. per

tun for the best sort, and 13s. 4d. for the second, making it about

Knight’

s Treatise on the Apple and Pear ; Crocker’

s Tract on the Artof

making and man aging Cider ; Marshall’s Rural E conomy of G lou ceste rshire ;Shannon on Brew ing ; also the writings of Nicol, A bercrombie , Neill, Forsythe,Vancouver &c .

1” Sincla ir s H ist. Revenue p . 40 and 94.

5 5 4

three half-pence per dozen, certa inly mu ch cheaper than it cou ldpossibly be made in E ngland. At those periods, the E nglish weremu ch addicted to habits of inebri ety and spent a great portion of the irincomes in riotou s feasts, where eating and drinking were carried toexcess] withou t e legance or repu tation . According to Hollinshed,the strongest wines were in the greatest requ est, while claret andother light wines were scarcely thought of. G iraldus C am

brensis describes the tables of the monks as loaded with the

most costly and delicate.

dainties, as well as an excessive abu ndanceof different sorts of wines, su ch as claret, mu lberry wine , , mead,and variou s sorts of strong liqu ors, so that no room w as fou ndfor ale . This writer relates that the monks of St. Swithin, at

Winchester, fell prostrate before Henry I I ., and with tears in the ireyes, compla ined of the ir bishop having withdrawn three dishes fromthe usu al supply of the ir tables. When the monarch fou nd that they

had still ten left, he told them he w as himself contented with three,and that he wou ld cu rse the bishop, if he did notrestrict them to

that number. The laity also indu lged in the luxu ries of the table .

John of Salisbu ry says, that they drank Wine outof gilded horns,strewed their houses with flowers, and sung songs when they became

inebriated.

In 135 4, there were 1829. tuns of wine imported into E ngland, and

wine was so abundant, that in 1392 , when Richard I I. after a longabsence , w as rece ived in L ondon by the citizens, with great demon

strations of j oy, the very condu its in the streets, through which the

cavalcade passed, were allowed to run with every variety of this

beverage .

* T0 this extravagance there are few parallels, except that

of Potemkin, when he gave a magn ificent feas t to the empress

Catherine , athis palace in the Tau rida, when the conservatory fountains

were filled with champagne and claret, and served to the company bymeans of silver pumps applied to those reservoirs ; atthis time white

wine w as sold at6d. and red at4d. per Chau cer the poet,in the re ign of E dward III ., was the first who rece ived a potation of

wine daily from the king’s bu tler, and Richard in 1398, granted

him a tun of wine yearly during his life , with a pensmn of £20, both

of which grants were confirmed by H enry IV. In the re ign of this

monarch, among the articles which furnished the breakfast table of

the nobility, were , for a gentleman and his lady in lent, a qu art of

beer and a quart of wine and a gallon of beer and a qu art of wine

Maitland’

s London . 1 Stowe.

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5 5 6

The quantity of wine imported and ex ported from 1834 and 1835,

with the rate and n etrevenu e thereon is as follows

C ape wine ,French

,

Portugu ese ,Madeira

,

Span ish ,

The high price on fore ign wine indu ced many to manu factu re an

article from gooseberries, currants, and other fruits, as substitu tes

butitis to be presumed that the redu ction of the du ties by a recentact,

* will have the effect of rendering it unnecessary to have recou rseto the home produ ce to the same extent as formerly.

The fru it from which the home-wines are chiefly made, is thegooseberry, currants, raspberry, strawberry, cherry, plum, & c. In

former times, wines were made from mu lberries, blackberries, qu inces,peaches, apricots, and even from the sap ofthebirch, beech, sycamore,and some other trees. Of all the domestic wines, the gooseberry

and cu rrant are the most common, owing to the abun dance of thosefru its ; the gooseberry has a fine body and pleasing acidity the

currant a rich aroma, and me llow softness. The manufacture of thesewines, if it may be so called, is too familiar to requ ire description orspe cific directions. The following method, however, of making

superior cu rrant wine , as recommended in a French publication, may

notbe u nacceptable

For currantw ine—E ight pou nds of honey are to be dissolved in

15 gallons of boiling water, to which, when clarified, must be added

the ju ice of 8lbs. of red or white currants. The whole is thenfermented for 24 hou rs, and for every two gallons of water, mu st be

added two pou nds of sugar . This preparation is afterwards clarifiedwith the whites of eggs and cream of tartar .

For gooseberry w ine—The fru it shou ld be gathered when dry and

about half ripe , and then pou nded in a mortar . The ju ice, whenproperly strained through a canvas bag, is mixed with sugar, in theproportion of 31bs. to every 2 gallon s of juice . It is then left in aqu iet state for 15 days, atthe expiration of which it is carefully pouredoff, and left to ferment for three months, when the qu antity is u nder15 gallons, and for fiv e months when double that quantity. It is thenbottled and soon fit for drinkingj

l and 2 Will. IV . c. 30. 1“ B ibli . Physico . Econom.

5 5 7

Some make a very excellent description of wine from a mixtu re of

gooseberries and cu rrants, the gooseberries be ing most predominant.

The m ixtu re is bru ised and fermented in the u su al way ; butthis,well as every other description of home-wine, is mu ch improved

both in flavou r and body by the addition of a du e proportion of pu respirits -indeed withou t this ingredient, all domestic wines are prone

to run into the acetou s fermentation .

Plums make a very fin e sort of wine, and with a mixture of otherfru it and ingredients, produ ce the best substitu te for port that has yetbeen invented. Sloes are said to be superior to plums for winemaking, and like them afford an excellent tart in confe ctionary .

From e lder-berries is easily manu factu red a pleasing sort of wine ,which, when w arm ed,

.

is mu ch esteemed, and forms a comfortable and

grateful beverage to the E nglish farmer when he retu rns from the

toils of the day. From the red-berries of the mou ntain-ash or service

tre e (pyrus a ucup arz’

a ,) an agreeable wine is made , from whi ch has

been distilled a good spe cies of brandy.

Birch wine is still made in some parts of E ngland ; atOvertonHall it is manu factu red in the following manner, diflering little fromthe process already described, as practised in Norway in March, the

tru nks of the trees are bored to the depth of an inch and a half nearly,and abou t three -qu arters of an inch in diameter, atthe distance of a

foot from the grou nd. Directly be low the orifice , a metal tube is

fixed into the .bark through which the j u ice flows into a rece iver

placed u nderneath. When the weather is warm, the water thickensand close s the perforation, so that in a few days there is n o exu dation ;butiftheweather be cold or W indy, there will be a constan t dischargefor a month. Some trees will produ ce 24 gallons in a day others

buta trifling qu antity. This birch liqu id brings 6d . a gallon , whensold for the purpose of making a light o r small wine . If notimmediately disposed of afte r be ing taken from the tree , it will notkeepsweet more than a day ; it is heate d nearly to boiling in order to preserve it, and then left to cool.When a suffi cient qu antity is then colle cted, to every gallon of

j u ice , 2l . of sugar and i lb. of raisins are added . This mixture isboiled for an hou r, skimmed, and leftto coo l to su ch a temperature,that when yeast is added, fermentation commences . In this state itis left to work for nine ty-six hou rs, after which it is casked, when5 lbs. of raisins and loz . of isinglass are added for every 20 gallons .

The bu ngs are left open, and in less than a month itis cleansed of thefe cu lence , the casks are then closed up for abou t three months , and ina few weeks, after bottling the liquor, it is fitfor u se, butlike mostother wines itimproves greatly w ith age .

5 5 8

From many of our vegetables, good wines may be obtained . The

parsnip in particu lar, yields an excellent description, and is said toapproach nearest other imitations. The making of it is notexpensive ,and it only requ ires age to render it a wholesome and valu ablebeverage .

From potatoes which have u ndergone , if it may be so termed, a

species of malting by exposu re to frost, wine of a tolerable qu alityhas been obtained . The frosted potatoes are bru ised and put into a

press for every bu shel of these , 10 gallons of boiled water is prepared . Into this water are put «glb. of hops and élb. of white ginger,which after having been again boiled forthirty m inutes, is

“pou red on themashedpotatoes in a vessel adaptedtothe purpose . Here it is suflr'ered toremain three days, when harm is added, and after the fermentationhas subsided , the liqu or is carefully drawn off into casks, when glb.

of common sugar is again putto everygallon of the contents. In thisstate it is kept for three or fou r months,before it is considered fit fordrinking.

From the se home-made wines, brandies of a n i ce flavour and qua

lity have been distilled , some of them superior to the common brandiesof France , and to which none of the E nglish compounds bear any

comparison . From tu rnips , it is said, the L ondon imitators of foreignwines make an article which passes with the pu blic as genu ine .

In the shops is frequ ently sold a home-made wine u nder the nameof port, which is manu factu red from raisins with a mixture of sugarcolou ring, and flav ou ring ingredients so well managed, that good

j udges are sometimes de ce ived red and white wines are thu s made

atthe option of the manufactu rer. In a similar w ay, have imitations

of wine been made from sugar, honey, molasses, & c . & c. all of thesehave been classed by the revenu e u nder the denomination of sw eets .

Imitations of almost every description of foreign wine have been

attempted, and with su ch su ccess as to frequ ently meet with a ready

sale but as all imitations fall short of the original, and as it is not

within the range of this treatise to give instru ctions for the manu fac

tu re of mock articles, the reader is referred for further information to

Dr. Shannon’s e laborate Treatise on Brewing. It has been asserted,and with ju stice , that great deception has been practised in the w inetrade by the venders of wine in general, and if w e believe Dr. Clarke ,a great portion of the champagne u sed in this cou ntry is made fromgreen gooseberries and sugar, be ing an imitation of the commonchampagn e of France , which is made with green grapes and sugar.The home-made wines

, or sweets, have been subj ect to an excise

duty, which for the year 1833. amounted to 63 on

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5 60

sou rces from which aqua cite , or the great elixir of life, might bedrawn . B utthat the Arabians were notthe inventors of distillation ,I have endeavou re d to show, in other parts of this treatise , from principles based on the progress of civilisation, the introdu ction of luxu ry,and the general history of mankind . In E ngland, for a long period,the manu factu re of aqu a v itae was slow , and like the progress of the

alembic in other parts of the world, w as sold in the shops of the apo

thecaries as amedicine . We find from a catalogu e of the mercantile

produ ctions of every state in E u rope, appended to a poem by H aluyt,

entitled The Progre ss of E nglish Policy,” that in 1430the Genoese

traders brought into this cou ntry, rack or arra ck, shewing that theywere in the habit of making it and dealing in it, like anyother article

of traffic or commercial specu lation.

France , for a series of years, w as the great still-hou se of E urope,as her wines afforded a constan t supply for the distillation of brandy ;but as the knowledge of agricu ltu re advanced, and grain be cameplentiful, the demand for that spirit diminished, and the home manufactu re atlength attained to su ch importance, that it w as taxed with

a du ty of two-pence per gallon in the re ign of Charles the Second .

At first it was thought expedient to lay the du ty on spirits of the

first extra ction , or, as they were termed, low w ines, and the earliestretu rn s of the E nglish distillery on record are made up in that w ay.

The produ ce of all the stills in E ngland in 1694, amounted togallons of low-wines, or gallons of spirits, and in

1743 it had increased to gallons of low-w in es, or

gallons of spirits. The du ties, in 17 5 1, were raised to

four-pence on the gallon of low -w ines , and to one shilling on thegallon of Spirits. The manu factu re decreased in consequ ence , and

the produ ce w as only gallons of low w ines in that year .

The du ties were also raised in 1760, and then amou nted to 9d . on

the gallon of low wines, and to 28. 3d. on the gallon of spirits, equ al to

36,% d. on the gallon of pot-ale , or wash. These high and increas ing

du ties tended to de crease the operation of the stills for w e find that

in 1783, the whole amou nt of spirits charged with du ty in E ngland,

was only gallons. In 1785 , the contents of the stills whichwere worked from the raw material, amounted to gallons,exclu sive of those ofthe rectifiers, amou nting to gallons . The

revenu e then arising from the gross distilleriesw as 98. Id.

In 1802 , it w as e stimated at and on the 5 th January, 1812,it amoun ted toThe following exhibits the qu antity of Spirits charged with du ty in

E ngland, with the amou nt thereof, for five su cceeding years

5 61

6

12 6

12 6

6

17 6

The imports of foreign spirits from an early period were very

considerable and in the time of E lizabeth they were of su ch impor

tance , that they ranked among the commodities bestowed by the

crown on individuals who had distingu ished themselves e ither in civil

or military employments. In the subsequ ent reigns, till the time of

Charles the Second, they were su bje cted to variou s changes and

regu lations, a detail of which cou ld afford butlittle in terest to thegeneral reader . It is

'

enough to show that the imports of colonial andfore ign spirits, on

’

which consumption du ties were paid, amounted tom

YE A RS. I M P . P R O O FI

G A L . YE A RS. I M P . P RO O F C AL .

1827 ,

1822 , 1829,

1823,

1834,

1833,

Of fore ign and colonial spirits were imported and exported in

YE AR } I M P O RTE D . E X P O RTE D . YE A R. I M P O RTE D . E X P O RTE D.

1834, Rum 1835

Bran dyG cne va . 26 l , 5 7 l

O ther sorts .

In these years the duty on rum was 98. per gallon , and on the other

liqu ors 6d. In 1834 ,the qu antity retained for home consump

tion w as gallons of rum , and gallons of the other

sorts produ cing a n etrevenu e of and 1835 , the gallonsof rum forhome consumption were of other sorts

yielding a revenu e of

It may be seen that, n 0tw ithstanding the high du ties on all fore ign

spirits,large importations of them have beenmade into E ngland, which

when added to the home -made spirits, show that the people , although

attached to porter, beer, and ale ,. consume no small portion of ardent

liqu ors. Were it not at variance with the domestic arrangements

and policy of the kingdom , the u se of rum shou ld be more encou raged,be ing an article preferable to any imitations, how well-soever manufactured .

5 62

It has therefore been contended, that to lower the du ty so as to

allow rum to compete with the home manufacture , would be for theadvantage of the ,public, as a great deal of the spirits distilled inE ngland is made from foreign grain su ch a regulation wou ld tendto the encou ragement of colonial produ ce , and assist the home agricu ltu rist by preventing an influx of corn from other countries. Sugarhas become an indispensable article of life , is reared atgreat expenseand . trouble , and the planter has materials left w hich can only beturn ed

‘

ttf accou ntby distillation .'To encou rage the consumption of

rum , therefore, is the“

interest of the government, notonly as regardso ur colonies a broad, butas it wou ld exclu de .the introdu ction of

fore ign gin and brandy, as well as the grain from which many of ourcompou nds are manu factu red . Whether it might be .a w ise spe culation to admit the free u se of molasses in ou r distilleries, as has been

suggested, is a point that involves a variety of considerations ; but, onthe whole , it may be observed, that rum can only be manu factu red toperfection in the plantations where the materials from which it ismade , are produ ced : and here it may be asked, what spirit can beconsidered superior to pu re old genuine West India rum The fur

ther circu lation of this s pirit, by an equ itable du ty, could scarcely failof che cking the baneful practice of smuggling—a practice carried onto an extent equ ally inju riou s to the revenu e an d public morals. The

enormou s expense attending the support of an e stablishment fo r thesuppression of this evil, perhaps, more than counterbalances the good

resulting'

j

from it : the dangers consequ ent on the execu tion of thisdu ty, and the ren coun ters between the smugglers and

’ the protecting

otfiee1s , afford numerou s an ecdotes characteristic of the ingenu ity andability ofthe parties employed . 1recolle ct an inci dent related ofan ofiicer

engaged in this service , w lu ch shows what a brave and dete1m in ed

man can accomplish -

on a trying o ccas ion .-While a party of smugglers

we re regaling themselves in a tavern on the eas tern coast of E ngland

and re cou nting the ir several explo its and contrivance in defeating thereven u e officers,

'

on e of them boasted that he had never meta,person

able to take from him a single tub of gin, rum , or brandy. What,said one of the company, have you neve r m etwith Mr. BatemanI f yo u had, you wou ld find that the very devil himself c ould not

e scape him .

”I

' wish,”said 'the other, I had a trial of his skill, I

should teach him t0“

be cautiou s in attempting to puta hand o n myproperty .

”:Atthis ju nctu re , Mr . Bateman entered the tavern, when

the other exclaimed there he is,”and calling him by his name ,

repeated what had ju st passed . Well,”said the excise-man

, I

not an x iou s to pick a qu arrel with any body, butif any occur

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5 64

content than 400 gallons ; nor can the distiller make spn'its, at the

same time, from different materials, su ch as grain, sugar, and potatoes,nor he cannot cease distilling from one material and commence with

another, u ntil he shall have completed a month’s work of the one

article and have given six days’ notice before commencing a changenor can any distiller brew or make worts, or wash, during the dis

tilling period, so that both Operations cannot be carried on at the

same time . Besides, the produ ce of each day’s brewing mu st beseparate , and the officer mus t be served with a notice in writing forevery su ch brewing. The distiller is obliged to give notice , six days

previou s to the commencement of his work, of the gravity atwhichhe intends to make his worts or wash, whi ch cannot be less than 5 0,nor more than 90 degrees and a like notice , if he wishes to makeany alteration. The worts of every day’s brewing mu st be collectedin a fermenting back within the space

v

of 8 hou rs after the ru nning

commences from the coolers, and then a notice mu st be immediate ly

served on the officer specifying the back with the gravity and qu antity of the worts collected ; no yeast nor barm can be added u ntil after

the offi cer shall have taken an account of the gravity and qu antity of

wort in such back, which mu st be within two hou rs from the delivery

of the notice to the officer. Shou ld the gravity, or quantity, after su ch

account has been taken , exceed that previou sly ascerta ined by’

5

per cent . the distiller is su bje ct to £200 penalty, and the whole to becharged as a new back or brewing nor can distillation begin u ntil a de

claration has beenmade , that allworts orwash in the distillery is collect

ed intothe fermentingbacks,and e ight hou rs’notice mu st be given before

the contents of any back are removed to the charger or vesse l fromwhich the still is supplied . Until on e back is completely distilled into

low -wines, another cannot be removed, and a notice mu st be given, inorder that the strength of the low -wines may be ascertained beforethey can be removed from the receiver to the charger, whi le the

low -wines, spirits, and fe ints, produ ced from each back, mu st be keptseparate u ntil an accou nt is taken of their strength and qu antity bythe officer. In a distillery, there are three modes of charging the

du ty e ither on the Wash, low -wines, or spirits, Whichever is the

highest; and the manner of doing it is as follow s z—O n worts or

wash, the strength is made outatone gallon of proof spirits, for everyfiv e degree s of gravity attenu ated in every fiv e gallons of wash . The

low -wines are estimated according to the strength brought to proof,

making an allowance of 2 per cent. in favour of the distiller and the

spirits which are produ ced from the low -wines of each back, are

calcu lated at proof, the fe ints remaining, being dedu cted. If any

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spirits shou ld be fou nd beyond the proportions ju st stated fromanygiven qu antity ofwash, it is called an u ndu e ex cess, and charged

with du ty accordinglyf These charges of du ty are made out atthe

end of each period ; besideswhich, there is an annu al charge or comparemade

'

of the'

quantity of spirits that ought to have be en produ ced ,with the actu al

'

qu antity charged ; and'

shou ld a deficiency appear,the trader is subject to pay the du ty on the difference . This compare mu st be returned by the officer within on e month after the

expiration of the year’s license , and the trader is obliged to pay the

amount within ten days after '

In the proce ss of the work, the ’ charges are made from the highestgu age withoutany allowance for waste or dregs in the worts ; and

the distiller is requ ired, atthe end of ev ery vdistilling pe riod, to make

a retu rn of the qu antity of wash distilled, and the spirits produ ced,and no spirits can

' be removed from any distillery in a less qu antity

than.

80 gallons, ato

a strength of 25 or 11per cent . above, or 10

below hydrometer proof. .

Distillers in E nglan d can warehouse their Spirits for e x portation

only, or for removal to Scotlandj or Ireland, w ithoutp aymentof e x

cise du ty, ata strength of e ither 25 or 11per cent . over hydrometerproof. All spirits manu factu red inthe United Kingdomby simpledistillation are , by the Act, denominated plairfB ritish spirits ; butallsp irits produ ced by re ctification, and having anyflavou r commu nicated there to , and all liqu or which shall be mingled or mixed withany su ch spiri ts , is deemed a compou nd called B ritish brandy ; a nd

all other spirits re-distilled or'

mixed with jun iper-berries, caraway

seed, anise-see d, or any other seeds u sed in the compou nding of

spirits , shall be deemed and called B ritish compou nds “lastly, all

Spirits of the strength of 43 per cent . and u pwards over proof bySikes’ hydrometer, are called sp irits of:w ine , or a lcohol.

The mere working of the still in E ngland is a simple mechanicalpro cess, to perform which, the distiller is notrestricted to time . The

concerns aare in general 80 large that the stills are in proportion ; someof them containing from 10 to gallons and upwards hencean entire back is conveyed ato nce into one of these stills, and thecharge of the low -wines’ still is the produ ce of the wash from the

wash-still. At the period when the fe rmentation has ceased in the

fe rmenting back, and the wash become s fine and of a . vinou s flavou r,it is conveyed into the wash-still and made into the low wines. Theseare afterwards put into the low -wine still and made into sp irits

and fe ints .

The particu lar skill requ isite in condu cting a distillery to advan

5 66

tage re lates to the brewing an d fermenting, in order to obtain’

the

entire saccharine matter of the grain, or rather the material fromwhich the spirit is to be extracted, —a sort of knowledge whi ch hasabsolu tely be come a science in the hands of those w ho possess it .A s all the apparatu s connected with a distillery are kept u nder lockand key, the moment a distiller 18 abou t to commence the operationsof making spirits , the Officer of E xcise attends with a bun ch of

keys to open the following locks : v iz ., the lock on the cock in theback, then tha t leading into the charger, and as soon as it is

_full, thecock between it and the back, is again se cu red, when a gu age of the

wash is tak en after which the dischargi ng-pipe is u nlocked to permitthe ru n into the still. After this, the furnace door and discharge -pipesof the still are u nlocked, and the distiller is permitted to proceed withhis work u ntil the distillation is completed . When the wash-stillis charged, which is generally with something less than three -fou rthsof its contents, the locks.

are again replac ed and sealed u p , and the

office r takes stock the se cond time to ascertain the decrease of wash

and the state of the other locks, which are commonly fou nd to

correspond : the decrease or qu antity stands as a charge against thedistiller.

Du ring the working“

of the still, on e or two officers visit the con

cern ,

'

and inspect the process ; and when the still is comple tely off,they e ither re-charge u nder a previou s notice , as before stated, \_

or ifno su ch notice is served, they lock u p the furnace door . The samelocking and u n locking take place in the case of the low

,w ines

’

still .The produ ce of this still, known by the name of s p irits and fe ints,ru n into separate vessels properly secu red, and when the distillation

of the low-wines’ still is completed, the officer takes an accou nt ofthe qu antity and strength of the Spirits and fe ints in the same w ay

as with the low -wine s, redu cing them by calcu lation into proof spirits

after which the liqu or is added to the stock of the hou se , and the fe ints

left to be re -distilled with the residu e of the su cce eding back . At

the conclu sion of each distilling period, the offi cer makes a return to

the collector of the qu antity so distilled, the du ty on which mu st bepaid u n less the spirits be warehou sed.Previo u s to the enactment, ofwhich an epitome has ju st been given,distillation w as confined to a few capitalists ; but, with a view of en

cou raging a fair competition in the trad e , and indu cing the people totake the spirits dire ctly from the distillers, the actw as passedwhich isnow in Operation . Formerly, English spirits, although they weremade from the finest materials, cou ld not, from the grossness and

richness of the wash, be rendered palatable or saleable withou t u nder

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5 68

the proprietor with the words, Re ctifier or Compounder,” mu st be

painted in large characters. Re ctifiers and compou nders are ,obliged

to charge the still with a qu antity of liqu or in the proportion of not

less than seven parts in ten of the whole . qu antity the s till is capableof holding, the head included and

'

every su ch still must remain so

charged u ntil the rectifier or compounder shall draw of? the spiritsthe Whole qu antity is to be worked off within sixteen hou rs from the

time of the ofi cers taking the accou nt of it . A s soon as the'

work has

ceasedfthe'

head, if not permanently soldered to the

taken off and se cu red u ntil the .work re commences u nde r the super

intendence of the officer. All spirits rece ived into the . stock of a

rectifier or compou nder, must remain in bulk u ntil an accountof the

strength and qu antity be taken by the oflicer '

and calculated in proofgallons . Re ctifiers may

'

send outcompou nded spirits atany strengthnotexceeding 17 per cent.

'

under proof, and in an y. qu antity n otlessthan two gallons. Any private person having more than eighty gallons is accou nted a dea ler, and subject to all the pains and penalties ofan unlicensed traderr

While treating of the'

beverages of E ngland, those of Jersey‘

,

Gu ernsey, Alderney, and Sark, should n otbe ov erlooked,though not

celebrated for anypecu liar species of liqu or, if w e'

eXceptthe greatqu antities and excellent qualities of the J ersey cider.

'

.Orcha rds areattached to almost every farm in the island,

'

which are very produ c

tiveand we ll-cultivated. Cider is a principal article , of ex port, andso extensive , that the doors of the farm-houses are ,

generally madevery wide,and are arched over for the facili ty of moving the cidercasks. Parsnips are a cheap article of a gricu lture they form the

principal portion of the food of both .man and beast, and are mu chu sed , in fattening geese , hogs, and horned cattle . D istillation in thoseislands is sometimes carried on to su ch extent as to afford a considerable quantity for exportation . In 1829, there were sent into E ng

land and in 1830, proof gallons of spirits, the joint

prod u ce of Gu ernsey and Jersey};be From the former, in 1833, there

were exported gallons of cider, and gallons of potatospirits of both of .which there is a very considerable consumption onthe island. The latter island is -so produ ctive of cider, that in 1831,there were exported to E ngland hogshe ads ; and it is thoughtthe home consumption , with what w as sent to N ewfou ndland and

o ther foreign parts, amou nted to as mu ch . When the extent of this

island, which is buttwelve miles in length and six in breadth, is con

Pari. Paper, No . 5 31, loth Jun e , 1830.

5 69

sidered and the wonderfu l quantity of this liquor which it affo rds, it

is notsu rprising that it has been denominated a. sea of cider.

The Aborigi nes of Scotland, having been principally shepherds

ignorant of the arts, the ir drink mus t have bee n as simple as their

labours, and as limited as the ir knowledge butas luxury increased,and the toils of agricu ltu re became irksome , it is natu ral to conclu de

that the ir inventions in fermented liqu ors .wou ld proportionablyadvance , and that they wou ld seek to .dissipate the ir care and elevate

the ir spirits by some sort of be verage . This solace they are said to

have fou nd in an intoxicating drink, called by .their poets, “.the j oy of

the she ll.“

Thu s Ossian Now on the side of M orna, .the heroes gathered to

the feast . A thousand aged oaks are turning to the wind, and the

sou ls of the warriors brighten with j oy.

”

In the Western Islands, many of the customs of the ancient Caledo

n ian sand Britons are still preserved, and, amongst others,the oldmanne r

of drinking . .

‘

In fiormer tim es, large companie s assembled,'

composed

principallyofthe chief respe ctable men ofthe islands. This assemblagew as called a sheate, streak , or rou nd, fromthe company always sitting in a

circle . The cup -beare r handed abou t the liquor infull goblets or shells,which the gu ests continu ed to drink u ntil n ota drop remaine d. Thislas ted for a day at least, and sometimes for two . days, and in thispractice our rou nd of glasses is supposed to have originated. Duringthe revel, two men stood atthe banqu etting door with a barrow, andwhen any one became incapable , he w as carried to his bed, and they

re tu rne d to dispose of the others in the same w ay. Sir Walter Scott,in a note to The Lord of the Isles,

”states, that this cu stom w as still

in existence , and re lates an ane cdote of a gentleman of temperatehabits, who, forming on e of a company of this description, although

permitted to remain neu tral, was obliged to submit to the ceremony .

Martin, in his History of the Western Isles, says it w as deemed a

breach of hospitality among persons of distinction to broach a cask ofaqu a v ita , and not see it finished atthe time . If any of the party .

retired for a few minu tes, he w as obliged, on his re tu rn, before he sat

down , to make an apology in rhyme for his absence , which if u nableto perform he w as compe lled to discharge su ch a share of the reckoning as the company thought proper to impose . Thi s cu stom, whichis yetprevalent, is terme d B eam /big B a rd , signifying the P oet

’

s con

gratu latz'

on .

The ancient inhabitants made a liqu or by bleeding the bird ; trees,

O ssian , vol. 11. p . 9,and Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland .

5 70

which were common in the country. They als o fermented'

a beverage

with honey, bees be ing very plentifu l inthe woods, and mead, a drink

of the same description, is still u sed in the western parts of the king

dom . In process of time , when grain became abundant, they brewed

an ale which w as called loin , a word signifying provisions this is

probably the malt drink which Bu chanan calls v in um ex frugibu s

corrup tis. Some say they made a drink from the juniper, and others

that they made one from heath. B utatthis remote period, it wou ld

be both idle and u nprofitable to endeavou r to de termine a matter so

u nimportan t, and concerning which, there are , I belie v e , n o re cords.

Yet, it is reasonable to presum e , tha t the Scotch were notless expertthan their neighbou rs in the preparation of all those liqu ors, that were

common to other nations in the same circumstances. I shall not

attempt to trace the progress of the ir inventions in this respect, butdescend to modern times, in which w e have certain data and u nqu es

tionable information . .

In 1272 , a du ty by gauge was placed upon wine but it w as not

u ntil 1482, that w e find the manu factu re of beer or ale in Scotlandnoticed by the government, although it abou nded in tha t cou ntry longbefore .

* At the union, a _daty w as introdu ced similar in po int of

regulation to that imposed in E ngland, on two-p enny a le, which was

the principal ma ltdrink in u se atthe time it w as rated at23. li d.

per barrel. Several alterations followed, butin proportion to the :

advance of the du ty, the work of the brewery decreasedIn 1760, the excise stood at33. 4id . per barrel.The state of the beer trade in Scotland will appear from the sub~

jo ined number of barrels brewed in fou r su ccessive years, v izSTRONG . SM ALL .

1827

067 241293I“ 7y ears ended J ‘h Jam

1829

1830

From this it is evident, that the beer trade in Scotland for theseperiods w as rather

‘

on the decline , a proof that when the tax on any

article is too high, the people will be disposed to seek some othersubstitu te . The late abolition of the du ties may have some e ffe ct inrestoring this trade , but it is difiicu lt to bring

,

back the taste of a .

nation when once diverted from any pecu liar habit of indulgence.

The gross amou nt of the revenu e raised on beer in Scotland in182 1, came to 65 .m

il d. and the netsum to Os. 2 .2}

‘

dsrIn 1827 , the amount of du ty was 6s. 0d ., and in 1828, it

Acts. Jae . 3. c. 89. 1Finance Accou nt, 1822, p . 41.

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5 72

and 268 victu allers who brewed their own beer ; while in 1836, therewere

.

242 licensed brewers, with victu allers, and the maltconsumed in the breweries of E dinbu rgh and throughou t Scotland was,for five years ending 5 th Janu ary, 1837 , as follows

YE A n s . B USH E LS. B USHE LS.

1832 , E dinbu rgh, Scotland,1833,1834 ,1835 ,

1836,

The Scotch were familiar with all the wines u sed in Britain atan

early period of the ir history but have generally evinced a greater

partiality for ardent spirits. On an average of the imports and

exports of wine ended 1827, there were imperial gallonsimported, and exported, leaving for the consumption of apopu lation of only 37 gallons, be ing to each indivi

du al some thing better than a pint and one-fifth annu ally. Homemade wine is a manufactu re not carried on to any great extent, noris it an artof gre at antiqu ity in Scotland. The .home:made wine forfifte en years ended 1820, w as but806 barrels,:22 gallons , the du ty onWhich amountedto only an d for fou r years ended 1834 ,the number w as gallons, yielding £5 77 5 s. 0d . when the du ty

entire ly ceased.

-'Previou s to lthe equ alisation of the duties, the

'

eonsumption and

export of wine were rather on the de cline , chieflyowing to the excessof the imposts and the port charges,

'

which placed‘

alm ost every description of wine beyond the reach of the middling and inferior classes.

Since the late regu lations, the trade has increased ; butthe improved

quality and the low price paid‘

for the spirits have materially tendedto divert the public taste from the u se of wine , be yond what is sulficient to supply the tables of the opu lent, or to gratify the palate of

the luxu riou s.

On reviewing the Scotch system of distillation prior to the presentlaws, the difference is fou nd to be considerable . At the Union, in

1707 , the du ty on spirits w as mu ch the same as that levied in E ngland . The whole qu antity made in the year 1708, (the earliest date

of any regular account for Scotland,) was gallons . The manufacture rapidly increased u ntil the year 17 5 6, at which period the

distillerie s yielded gallons of spirits an additional du ty wasthen imposed , and the quantity de creased accordingly. Abou t twentyyears after commenced the export to E ngland, which again.

increased the manu facture .

The mode of collecting the du ty in Scotland, till the end of the

5 73

year 1784, w as by an actu al accou nt and '

surv ey of the quantity of

wash, low w ines, and sp irits, made by the distiller ; From the 1st

November, 1784 , the whole du ty w as rated on the wash .thus —for

every 100 gallons, the distiller w as allowed a credi t for 20 gallons in

his spirit stock on e to ten degrees over hydrometer proof. The sameregu lation w as e stablished atthat time in E ngland ; but in Scotland

it only continu ed for abou t tw o years, . and in 1786 gave w ay to the

licensing system . By this plan, the distillers in the Lowlands werecharged atthe rate of £1. 105 . 0d. per annum for every gallon con

tain ed in each still and in the Highlands only £1 the still in thelatte r place w as limited to a certain si ze , and the sp1rits to be madewere notto exceed a defined quali ty, while a line of demarcation w as

drawn for the sale of the ir re spe ctive spirits . At the same time , itw as thought that a still cou ld notbe worked more than from fou r to

seven times in the we ek . It w as discovered, however, that the distiller cou ld work with greater despatch and make a larger quantity

of spirits than w as previou sly -su pposed . Upwards of gallonswere stated as the amou nt smu ggled into E ngland in 1787, over andabove all that had been brought to charge .

The du ty on the contents of the still was raised in 1787 to £3

while , atthe same time , su ch stills as were entered for the E nglish

market were exempt from this du ty, and the spirits charged at the

rate of 2s. 6d . a gallon on the ir importation into E ngland .

Improvements continu ed to be made . in the method of distilling

rapidly, in consequ ence of which the du ty on the capacity of the still

w as augmented, su ccessive ly, from £3to £9, £18, £5 4, £108, and

lastly to £162 . Su ch w as the increase of rapidity in work, that in

1799, a still of forty-three gallons cou ld be wrought off in two m in utes a nd three-qu arlers, or nearly twenty-two times in an hou r .

arr

This despatch w as principally e ffected by altering the still from its

original, deep, and contracte d form , to a shallow and broad constru ction, by which a large r su rface of the liqu id wase x posed to the action

of the fire . To so greata he ightw as this improvement carrie d, that a

still of forty gallons, of which the head formed ten , has been known

to be fou r feetbroad , and only three orfour inches in a ltitude atthe

In 1802, an Act w as passed, imposing, in addition to the existing

license of £162 , an obligation of of spirits per gallon of still

room, atthe rate of nine-pence per gallon, and enacting that the washbrewed, shou ld produ ce , atleast, 11 per cent . This law pla ced the

Vide Dr. Jeffrey'

s Report.

1' For a

“

v iew of an improved still of this kind,see the Philosophical Magazine ,

v ol. x i.

474

Scotch distillery on a very respectable footing, and the trade con

tinned so regu lated u ntil 1814, the only alteration in the interimbe ing an increase of du ty on accou nt of the wash, and an increase of

the per-centage to 165 gallons of spirits for

.

every 100 gallons of

Wash, butin that year the whole scene cha nged ythe E nglish system

w as putinto fo rce by on e swe eping actof P arliament, an d the old

Scotch plan w as laid aside . Rapid work, small stills, and large chim

n ies, gave place to lob, large stills, chains, and locks . N umerou salterations in the internal e conomy of distilleries followed, and mu ch

money w as thrown away by the alterations consequ ent on the changeof system . The persons engaged in the Scotch trade , notbe ing

then an u nited body, tamely submitted to the measu re , some fromcur iosity, and some from a notion that opposition wou ld be u seless,while others, being rich, were indifi

'

erent. On the part of the government the attempt w as made with the best intentions that of promotingone u niform system ,but in making the change, the difiierentmaterials,or, in other words, the difierence betwe en the Scotch and E nglish

barley and malt, w as qu ite forgotten . The E nglish barley and maltmight yield a produ ce of 19 per cent . when the Scotch cou ld not.

Another important matter overlooked, w as the want of rectifiers inScotland, to redu ce the spirits made u nder the Act to a marketablestandard . While 11 per cent . w as the medium of calcu lation, u nder

a former law , for the making of wash or potale , excellent spirits weremade ,

‘

sold, and consumed : Spirits from potale , produ cing 16 per

cent,were barely tolerated ; butthe spirit made from wash, producing

19 per cent ., w as scarcely drinkable , be ing so harsh and ardent as to

be u nfit for pun ch and qu ite u nsaleable . The consequ ence w as ru in

to many re spe ctable distillers, as well as great inj u ry to the revenu e

by the produ ction and smuggling of Highland whiskey—a liqu or,whi ch

,from its mildness and good flavou r,w as more consonant to the

tastes and habits of the Scotch people . In the following ye ar, great

amendments were made , the old Scotch plan w as revived, grafted on

a continu ation of the E nglish system . This, however, w as fou nd not

to answer, as the trade gradually declined every year, u ntil 1817 ,whenit appeared by the retu rns of the sales of legal spirits, that another

and more effe ctu al change w as ne cessary . The trade had, in a greatmeasu re , got into the hands of smugglers, and thu s redu ced to an

illicit traffic, flou rished in different parts of the cou ntry beyond all

conception . In'

this state of things, all systems, E nglish as well as

Scotch, or mixtu re s of . e ither, ceased atonce , all mon thly or yearly

obligations were dispensed with ; 10 and 12 per cent, according to the

gravity of the worts, were su bstitu ted for 19 per cent and what is

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5 76

e ffect upon the flavou r of the ir spirits, and has undoubtedly contri

bu ted to the repu tation of Highland over Lowland whiskey. The

Highland distillers, espe cially the smugglers, have notthe“

means ofprocu ring yeast from L ondon . Of cou rse , their wash is less perfe ctlyfermented, butthe flavou r given to the L owland whiskey by the yeast

may be distinctly perceived ; and, on that accou nt,”says the Dr . w e

are disposed to su spe ct that the flavou r of the spirits always su ffers

in proportion as the fermentation is brought nearer a state of perfec

tion .

”

The character of the’ Scotch whiskey ranks high, and it continu es

to compete with any other spirits“

made in the United Kingdom . For

thi s, it is , no dou bt, indebted to the care and attention bestowed on itsmanufactu re , as

_

we ll as to the se lection of the materials . The largequ antities of malt that have be en consumed in the Scotch di stilleries,help to raise its repu tation, although impu tations were cast upon themanu factu rers, insinu ating that all spirits said to be produ ced by them

from malt were made in the ordinary w ay, by a mixture of malt andraw grain . B ut withou t entering minu tely into this matter, it is

certain , that the traffi c in Spirits has considerably increased to thegreat advantage of the Scotch distiller . Making spirits pu rely from

malt w as long considered a desideratum , and for thi s pu rpose the legislatu re granted an allowance or drawback of I s . 2d. for every gallon

of proof spirits made wholly from malt, with the view of increasinglegal distillation in the Highlands and throughou t Scotland generally.

The taste of the people was habitu ated to this description of spirits,and the supply of this article w as commonly obtain ed from illicitd istillers, to cou n teract which and to bring a pa latable spirit into themarket were the great obj ect of the enactment . The premium of

I s. 2d. w as confined to the spirits consumed in Scotland, for in case

of export to E ngland, the whole du ty w as paid withou t the allowance

of any drawback. The consequ ence w as that illicit distillation greatlydecreased, as is evident, when it is known that in 1821, the year pre

ceding the grant of the drawback, there were in Scotland only 106

legal di stillers, but in 1828, they amounted to 273. It may be here

remarked, that as there were no marke ts for the grain raised in the

Highlands, re cou rse w as had to illicit distillation but, since the

encou ragement given by,

the recent laws, a ready consumption is

afforded for the superabu ndant produ ce of grain, and the land-own ers

now find it their interest to co-Operate with the government in the

suppression of illicit traffic and the encouragement of a fair trade . On

Supplement v ol. to Encyc. Brit. art. Distil.

5 77

the whole it appears that the envied advantages which the Scotchmanu facturers have over the other distillers ofGreat Britain , arise from

several local and other circumstances, among which may be re ckoned

the abu ndance and cheapness of barley, the lowness of fu el, and the

permission of bonding spirits free of du ty. Whether, however, theScotch possess any advantage over the E nglish distiller upon anyo ther grounds than that

°

of the lowness of the du ty, may be qu estioned.To render the present distillery laws u nobje ctionable in every part

of the empire , and to remove that e nvy and j ealou sy which mu stalways exist, so long as there are imposts in one portion of the cou ntrythat are notapplicable to another, it might be prudent to equ alise thedu ties everywhere , p utting all the di stilleries in the United Kingdom

on the same footing. The late acthas approximated towards thisobject, and it seems a measu re bette r calcu lated than any o ther to putdown illi cit practices and to silence all complaints and remonstrances

,

Ne ither wou ld lowering the du ty in E ngland have a tendency toprodu ce any immorality on the part of the people more than in Scot

land, where no extraordinary evil consequ ences have arisen from the

u nre stricted u se of spiritu ou s liqu ors. It is a fallaciou s assumption,that becau se the qu antity of spirits made u nder a low du ty is greater

than u nder a high du ty, thatthe consumption of the spirits is increased

accordingly for, as there is little temptation to smuggle , a preferenceis given to the legal article , and hence the apparent increase of con

sum ption where there is none in reality. Indeed it might be a qu estion in political e conomy and moral philosophy,whether, if there wereno du ty whatever on spirits, buta corresponding impost on some other

article , it might not be equ ally serviceable to the revenue of the

cou ntry, and the corre ct habits of the people .

In distillation, the same precau tions are notrequ isite on the part ofthe legislatu re to se cu re u s as good an article as is requ ired in themanu fac tu re of ale or beer, in which there are so many Opportu nitiesfor adu lteration . In spirits, it is otherwise , since it is well knownthat the u nrestricted produ ce of the u nlicensed stills has given a

beverage more e steemed than that sanctioned by the law , although

su pported by premiums and other influ ential indu cements. A s a du ty

on spirits has become ne cessary both in a financial and moral po int ofview, its equ alisation is calcu l ated to obviate all obj e ctions on the partof the manufacturer, to stimulate all to honorable competition , and

finally prove su ccessfu l in opposition to fore ign and home smuggling,

which have so long proved de stru ctive of the happiness and good orderof a large portion of the commu nity.

Some of the distilleries in Scotland are upon a very extensive scale2 r

5 78

while others again, particu larly in the Highlands, are of a very small

magnitu de , the whole being often comprised in the compass of on e

apartmen t, the content of the whole still be ing, in many cases, littlemore than 40 gallons, while the large concerns in the Lowlands rangeso high as from 2000 to gallons and u pwards. In some con

cerns there are several stills of great dimensions forthe manu factu re ofwash and low-w in es, for the making of which the regu lations are mu ch

the same as those in E ngland, the distiller 'having it atdiscretion towork e ither qu ickly or slowly.

The produ ce of these distilleries, with the disposal thereof, standsas follows

’

E X PORTE D T O

Years. Galls . made . E ngland . Ire land.Year 828,

ended ImperialJan . 5 830, Measure

832 ,

The quantity which. paid du ty for home consumption for the same

years was‘

, in

YE A RS. IM P . GALL .

‘ AM OUNT or D UTY.

3s. 10d .

9, 3s . 4d.

0 0

The spirits charged with du ty in Scotland, were , in

1831, 16s. 8d.

6 s. 8d.

135 . 4d .

1834, 38. 4d.

1835 , Os . 0d .

By 6th George IV. chapter 5 8, a du ty of 2s. 10d . per gallon was

imposed“

on all spirits distilled in Sco tland or Ireland ; and by l stWilliam IV. chapter 4 9 , an addition of Sixpence per gallon on all

spirits made in the empire ; butby the 4th and 5 th William IV.

chapter 75 , from the first September 1834 , all spirits made in Ireland

were redu ced to 2s. 4d. per gallon ; butno alteration was made in

Scotland or .E ngland .

The home -made spirits and beer exported from Scotlan d to fore ign

countries were—in1830 Beer, 2 617 barrels .

1831 do . do . do. 2935 do .

1832 , do . do .

' do . 2337 do .

do . do . do . 285 4 do .

do. do . do. 2889 do .

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80

friend. This ceremony, denominated door-drink (deach-a-doras), issimilar to the parting cup amongst the natives of Sw itzerland, andpre cisely that u sed atpresent in Ireland u nder the same appellation .A like practice is prevalent in the Hebrides,where the banefu l cu stomof taking spirits in the morning is generally observed . A s soon, saysDr . Johnson, as a man appears in the morning, he swallows his glassof whiskey, and n o man is fou nd so abstemiou s as to refu se thismorning dram which they call a sha lh but, notwithstanding this habit,he did not consider them a drunken race .

* Ossian celebrates thehospitality ofthe Highlanders in the following beau tifu l strain The

towns of C athmor rose on the banks of Atha ; seven paths led to his

hall seven chiefs stood on those paths and called the stranger to thefeast . B utC athm or dwelt in the wood to avoid the vo ice of praise .1

'

C athmor w as the chief of Clu tha. The feeble dwelt in his hall. The

gates of C athmor were never closed ; his feast w as always spread .

The sons of the stranger came and» blessed the generou s chief of

Clu tha. Bards raised the song and tou ched the harp j oy brightened

on the face of the

At fu nerals, considerable qu antities of spirits are consumed, andafter the ceremony of interment is over, the friends of the deceased

are invited to a plentiful repast, where whiskey is putabou t very

lavishly, and the evening of the day of sorrow closes as a festival ofreve lry bordering sometimes on intoxication.It is to be regretted ,thatnotwithstanding the encou ragement whi ch

the present statu te affords, smuggling still prevails to some extent in

the Highlands, and also in the islands, both affording places of con

cealmentfor that purpose in a pre-eminent degree , as they aboundwith deep ravines, isolated glens, rocks, and solitary valleys.

A n adventure of a singu lar natu re hefe l a gentleman who latelyvisited the Hebrides. While making some geological researches, hew as indu ced to descend a pre cipice to examine the natu re of the strataof a rock, and entering a cave that attracted his attention, he w as

astonished to hear the noise of persons, as if revelling ata banqu et.Be ing fearful of danger he w as abou t to retire , when he w as accostedby a person inside and requ estedto advance . Considering compliancethe best policy, and his cu riosity be ing a good deal excited, he followedthe individu al into the cavern, and w as no little astonished to findhimself introdu ced to a number of persons seated on benches rou nd a

Jou rney to the Western Islands of Scotland.

1' Temora. I -C althon and Colmar.

5 81

table, regaling themselves with as mu ch apparent satisfaction as ifl ia apalace . On looking rou nd, he perce ived a number of casks of spiritsranged as if in a cellar, wi th old swords and other weapons of defence ,plainly indica ting that he had fallen in with a party of smugglers.

Apprehensive that he w as an oflicer of the revenu e , he w as eyed with

great distru st, and qu estioned most particu larly as to his pu rsu its but

finding that his profession w as of a different natu re , they told him

candidly what they were, treated him with mu ch kindness, and, after

enjo ining se crecy, su ffered him to depart, butn otwithou t partaking of

a hearty glass, and a share of all the lu xuries of the ir solitary grotto .

According to Pennant, the people of the Hebrides extract an acid

for pu nch from the berries of the m ountain ash, and also distil ; from

them an agreeable spirit.

If w e admit with Boethiu s that there ' formerly existed in Cantyrean alembical liqu or called usqu eba ugh drawn from thyme , mint, anise,and other fragrantherbs, it may be inferred tha t the knowledge of itsmanufactu re w as obtained from Ireland, where that liqu or w as so

superior and prevalent. In Dr. Johnson’s time , whiskey was veryplentifu l in the Hebrides several stills were then in the island of

Cal, and more spirits were made than the inhabitants cou ld consume .

M artin , in his description of the Western Islands, says that in someplaces they preserve their ale in large earthen vessels, and think they

are better for that pu rpose than wood. . When the ale becomesflat,they rende r it brisker by the immersion of a hotstone or a toasted

barley cake some u se a hotmalt-cake for the same pu rpose . The

natives preserve the ir yeast by an oaken withe , which they twist and

putinto it, and for fu tu re u se keep it in barley straw. This withe,which is from fou r to six inches abou t, is boiled in wort, well dried,and be ing ste eped again in wort, cau ses it to ferment and produ ces

yeast . The rod is outbefore the middle of M ay, and be ing preservedand u sed in the manne r stated , serves for a length of time—on e of

these fermenting withes has been known to an swer the purpose forupwards of twenty years. In the island of L ewis, which affords bere ,oats, and rye , u squ ebaugh is distilled ; this u squ eba ugh, when threetimes distilled, w as -called trestarig and, when four times distilled,u squ eba ugh

-ba u l,more than two spoonsfull ofwhi ch were sufli cienttoendanger life .

In Harris, the natives in brew ing beer, u se the seeds of a white wildcarrot as a substitu te for hops, and say it answers the end suffi cientlywell, besides giving the drink a good relishfi"

Martin '

s Western lslcs, .p . 192.

5 82

E very family of distinction in those islands had a cup-bearer, who

always filled an d carried the cup rou nd the company, taking the firstdraught himself. This office w as hereditary, and a town with landw as the reward of the service . There w as another omoe held in theHighlands at a symposium, or drinking—bou t, by a person called ahenchman , whose bu siness w as to attend his master, stand behindhis chair or athis hau nch; hence the appellation . The du ty of this

person w as to actas se cre tary, and to be ready on all o ccasions to

ven tu re his life in defence of his chieftain . In the isle of Skie, theroot of Carmel or Knaphard (Argatz

'

lz'

s Sylvaticus) w as u sed to prevent dru nkenness, and for its aromatic flavou r preferred to Spice inthe distillation of aqu a vitae.

In St . Kilda, the j u ice of nettle -roots, mixed with barley-mealdough, w as u sed for yeast in the brewing of

.

ale , which produ ced allthe desired

’

effects. Though these islanders ind ulge in the u se of

intoxicating liqu ors, yetthey are in general a temperate people , and

live to a great age . Martin records the instance of a man named

Tairv ille, who arrived atthe age of 180, and who never drank any

malt liqu or, distilled waters, nor even wine .

In Kirkwall, the capital of the Orkneys, there were two licensedd istilleries, and on e in Stromness, with a few small breweries, butthey did not afford a su fficient supply of drink for the inhabitants.These islands exhibit many vestiges of the inroads of the Scan dinavians, of the worship of Odin , with several pagan tombs, monuments,or temples for sacrifices. In the graves have been found var iou srelics of antiqu ity, implements of war, urns of pottery containinghuman bones, glass beads, and cups of the same material, capable of

holding half a pint, shewing that the inhabitants were familiar with

the drinks of the ir ancient northern ne ighbou rs .

In the Shetland islands,the brewing of ale w as once qu ite familiar,but, owing to the du ty on malt and the poverty of the inhabitants, it

has nearly fallen into disu se . Formerly, it is said, they possessed the

artof distilling a spirit from heather, a secret which has perished alongwith the other institu tions of the Picts. It is certain, however, that

notmore than a century ago, they u sed heather in brewing, as hops

are u sed atpresent, butfurther than this, nothing certain is known)“

Some of the lairds and respectable land proprietors still make ale

for domestic u se , and which is accou nted a pleasant,,wholesome beve

rage . The drink most in u se is bland , a preparation from the serumof bu ttermilk, which is found in almost every hou se .

Edmondston’

s View of the Zetland Islands, vol. 11. p . 5 0.

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r084

between our an cestors and that nation . Vallancey shews that every

thing w e ow e to theMilesians had an Oriental origin, and Sir WilliamJones is of opinion that the Goths and Hindoos had originally thethe same langu age , gave the same appellationsto the stars and planets,and had the same religiou s rites and opinions, as also that the Greekstook their pagan de ities, with the fables and the whole machinery

of their mythology, directly or indirectly, from India, where all are

still fou nd in the Sanscrit books and Indian temples. Caesar tells u sthat the Dru ids were great astronomers, and it is curiou s that theIrish word for a year, literally signifies the circle of B el, or the su n .

The ancient cu stoms of the country proclaim, in a great number of

other instances, the ir E astern descent . The practice of employingmou rners to lament the loss an d sing the praise s of the de ceased, is

manifestly derived from the Jews, as well as that of drinking atwakes,which, it is to be lamented, has been too often abu sed . This excess

w as carried to su ch a height by the~

Israelites, tha t the Sanhedrim

made a de cree that ten cups onlv shou ld be dru nk on su ch occasions.

*

Homer’s accou nt of the dirges su ng by the women at.

the fun eral ofHe ctor, proves the antiquity of the cry or dirge , as u sed by the ancient

and modern Irish. In Ru ssia, a similar practice prevails, when mead

is carried to the grave to be drunk as a parting offering to the

deceased .

Pearce , du ring his residence in Abyssinia, observed that a cry similar

to that in u se in Ireland, w as common amongst the Abyssinians at

the ir funerals, particularly at the burial of persons of distinction .There are numbers of men and women in that country, who gain a

living by making rhymes and attending at cries ; and if they are

superior poets, they receive high wages in corn , cattle , and cloth .

H e w as acqu ainted with a very handsome middle-aged woman, who,though she had a large estate to liv e on , had stu died poetry from herinfancy, and attended gratu itou sly atall cries, in order to distingu ishherse lf. The same description of women are employed to condu ct

the cry, even at the present day in Ireland and many of them are

very happy in their recitation si on those o ccasions. To su ch effusions

the celebrated Curran attribu ted his early predile ction for poetry andoratory .

Christianity. which carries w ith it civilisation in all its bearings,w as first introdu ced into this island from Asia , and notdirectly fromRome, all concu rring to prove the extent of our intercourse and com

Vide Mathew ix . also 2 Chron . x x x v. 2 5 .

5 85

mu nications with other nations. If the Phoenicians, E gyptians, or

any of the Asiatics, were , at an early period, acqu ainted with distil

lation, it is likely that they wou ld have introdu ced it into Ire land,where they came in great numbers to traffic and to settle . These

colonists wou ld also diffuse a spirit of commercial enterprise through

the country, which wou ld render its harbou rs better known than those

of the adj acent isles .

Accordingly, w e learn from Tacitu s, that “the ports and landingplaces of Hibernia were better known than those of Britain, through

the intercou rse of merchants and it appears that in the time of

Ptolemy the town of Wexford w as familiar to that geographer .1'

The

L eabhar L e can, or L iber Lu canu s, distinctly mentions, that, ata very

early period,the Irish had made great progress in the arts, in the dye ing

of pu rple , blu e , and gre en , and in the separation and refining of goldd:On the riverL iff

'

ey in particu lar,A.M. 2815 , in the re ign of Tighern

mas, there w as a great smelting hou se where orba n and orbu z’

d , whi te

and yellow gold were refined and a famou s artist called Ju achadanor Uachadan of C u alan e

'

, in the cou nty of Wicklow, brought themanu factu re of cups and goble ts from this metal to great perfection.That the artof making glass w as early known in Ireland, is certain

from the spe cime ns of that and crystal fou nd in the cairns raised inhonou r of the dead ; and this is fu rther confirmed by what has beend ug up from the ru ins of old buildings, particularly from those of

D owu ,whichwere ru dely painted and scarce ly transparent, as if donein the infancy of the invention. We are informed that St. Patrick

shewed to A ilbeu s, on e of his disciples, an altar of beau tifu l workman

ship having a glass chalice ateach of its fou r corners.

The familiarity of any artoften prevents an accou nt of it, and hencethe pau city of information, which some of the most enlightened writershave in the ir records, respecting inventions and other matters, a know

ledge of the origin of which wou ld be , at the present day, of thehighe st interest .

If w e are to credit ou r early annalists, magnifying glasses and the

u se of the te lescope were known to the Irish Dru ids and that even thepolarity of the loadstone w as notto them a se cret nor the effe cts ofgu npowder among the arcana of philosophy and the other phenomenaof physical science . Hence it is inferred, that the shaking of the

Dru idica] grove near Marse illes, as described by Lu can, and the strange

Vita Agricolae , c . 24.

'

I’ O

’

Halloran’

s Ireland,v ol. u . pp . 246, 434.

I For the materials u sed in the art of dyeing, among the ancient Irish,see

Walker’

s Historical Essay on the dress of the ancient Irish, p . 261. 2d Ed. B ro.

5 86

sounds echoing from it, with the fl ickering blaze issu ing therefrom,

arose from a preparation of materials similar to gunpowder .

The skill of the Irish in other respects is confirmed by the variety,richness, and splendou r of the variou s articles discovered from time

to time in different parts of the kingdom, su ch as swords, with goldhandles, shields of pu re silver, helmets and corslets cased with gold ,horse-trappings, and even bridle -bits of the same preciou s metal.

The crowns of the ancient monarchs were of pure gold. O’

H alloran

mentions two he had seen , ne ither of which had the cross on it,which renders it probable that they were made before the introdu c

tion of Christianity.

* O n e of these crowns, Walker, in his IrishBards, says,was dug up in 1692

‘

in the county of Tipperary, and whichis thou ght to be still preserved in P ranced

’

O ur annals relate that at a very early period of the world , A .M.

335 5 , atArigiod-Ross, on the banks of the Su ir, there w as a mint for

the coinage of money, where , even before that time , shields and targetsof pure silver were fabricated, and a mint w as ere cted atC lanmac

nois for the coinage of siiver. So rich w as the cou ntry inthe preciou smetals, and affording so many Opportunities to exercise the ingenu ityof the artisan, that the tax on L e inster paid annu ally to the monarch,for a series of 400 years, w as in part 6000 ou nces of pu re silve r,3000 copper cau ldrons,3000 mantles richly embro idered while Cor

mac Gas, in A. D . 222, was enabled to bestow 300 ou nces of silverin a day as rewards to the bards and literati. Mu sic and poetrywere particularly cherished, and had arrived to a degree of perfe ctionu nequalled in other countries. To this some of the earliest writersbear testimony : C ambrensis says, “that of allthe nations within ourkn owledge ,the Irish is beyond comparison the chief in mu sical compositions ; and Geminiani, the celebrated Itali an Composer, who w as :

stru ck with the harmony of our airs, declared that “he found none of

so original a turn on this side of the Alps.

”H andel himse lf confessed

he wou ld rather have been the au thor of Aileen Aroon than of allthemu sic he had ever composed .

N e ither were the Irish less attentive to commerce than to the '

encou ragement of the arts, for in the re ign of'

Ollamh-Fodhla,A .M . 3082 , amongst other wise regu lations of that monarch, wereenacted laws forthe extension of trade and the improvement ofmanufactu res and to prevent imposition or breaches of these regu lations,sixty persons conversant in those affairs were u su ally despatched into .

the di fferent great cities and manu factu ring towns to discover abuses,and prevent persons not properly qu alified to carry on trade or.

manufactu res to the injury of the cou ntry. A s a proof of the veryHist. vol. ii. p . 92 . 1Hist. of the Irish B ards, vol. ii . 32 .

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5 88

in the ir own houses.

"6 A similar practice is observed throughou tvariou s parts

,of the Turkish empire , where hou ses, termed Khans,

are erected for the re ception of travellers, which are so endowedthat every night the gu ests are entertained free with a comfortable

supper, be the ir number more or less, according to the capacity of

the The Chou ltrz'

es in India, which are similar to the

B eatachs in Ireland, are attended by an inferior Brahmin who resides

convenient and he notonly furnishes refreshm ents,butcongi, or rice

water, to assu age the thirst of the traveller. In the same manner w e

are informed, that, in ancient times, noblemen in E ngland w ere

accu stomed to keep open hou ses, w here all the ir vassals and all

strangers had full liberty to enter and eatas mu ch as they pleased ;from this cu stom, the title of Lord is derived, which signifies a

dispenser of bread .

The Gau ls were also remarkable for hospitality, and it is related

of Lu ern iu s, the king of the A u v ernion s, that he made an enclosureof twelve furlongs squ are , in which he regaled all visiters, du ring

sev eral‘

days, with every species of exqu isite meat and liqu ors and

that Ariamn es cau sed lodges to be erected on the high roads,capable of accommodating four hu ndred persons, which number beentertained for a whole year. Strangers were notpermitted to passWithou t partaking of refreshments and, if time would not permit

them, to eat, they were compelled to drink.

The'

caravansar ies in the E ast, or, as they are termed in Persia,hou ses of hospitality, are , according to O

’

C onnor, in his Chron icles of

E ri, the car-m k-man -sam s , the seats of the stations for food,i”or

the B eatachs once so_numerou s in Ireland, for the pu rpose of receiv

ing the distressed, and sheltering,the nightly wanderer, to ad-1

minister to his comforts and protect him from inj ury. The B eatacizs

were also bound to inqu ire from their gu ests at the ir departu re, .

what they stood in nee d of, and in what they could be served. The ‘

name of the gu est, to what fami ly he belonged, or his place of des

tination , were n otto be asked, the whole displaying a magnanimity, ,a hospitality, and a spirit of humanity, notsurpassed in any othercountry.

The hospitality for which Ireland is so proverbial, has, in somedegree , been observed among the more northern nations, as w e findin the H avama al, or sublime discourse of Odin B e humane and

gentle ,”says that venerable code , to those you meet trave lling,

on.

Trav els in Syria and the Holy L and, p . 2 95, 35 1.

1 Sir Pau l Rycaut’

s O ttoman Empire , p . 167.

Chronicles of E ri, vol. i. p. 15 1.

5 89

the mountains or on the sea ; and to the gu est who enters you r dwe l

ling with frozen knees, give the warmth of your fire : he w ho hath

travelled over the mou ntains hath need of food and well-dried

garments.”

Many extraordinary instances of Irish hospitality, both in ancient

and modern times, m ight be related as illu strative of the pre ceding

historical facts. O ne in particular of Mr. Mathews, re corded by

Sheridan, in his L ife of Swift, is well worthy of recital . This gentleman resided atThomastown in the county of Tipperary, and possessed

an e state of a-year . At thi s place he bu ilt a spaciou s man

sion , open atall times for the reception of respectable visitants, and

su rrou nded by a demesne of acres, laid outin the most tasteful

and improved manner . The hou se con tained forty commodiou sapartments for gu ests, with accommodations for servants, and each

apartment w as fu rnished with every convenience , even to the most

minu te article . When a gu est arrived, Mr . Mathews shewed him

his apartment, saying, this is you r castle , here you are to command

as absolu tely as in you r own hou se you may breakfast, din e , and

sup here ,wheneve r you please , and invite su ch of the gu eststo accompany you as may be most agreeable to you .

”H e then shewed him

the common parlou r, where ,”he said, a daily ordinary w as kept,

atwhich he might dine when it w as more agreeable to him to mix insociety, but, from this moment, you are never to know me as master

of the house , and only to consider me as one of the gu ests.

”

Du ring meals , Mr. Mathews took his seat, withou t any regard todifference of rank or qu ality . There w as alarge room fitted up exactly

like a coffee-hou se , where a bar-maid and waiters attended to fu rnish

refreshments atall times of the day. Here su ch as chose , breakfastedattheir ow n hou rs. It was furnished with chess-boards, backgammontables, newspapers, pamphlets, & c . in all the forms of a city coffee

A detached room w as fitted up as a tavern, into which su ch oftheguests as chose , might re tire after dinner and regale themselves withan extra-glass, though there w as a moderate su pply of wine alwaysatthe table in the ordinary. A waiter with a blu e apron attended,and helped every person towhatever description of liqu or he liked, inthe same manner as is practised in public houses, and as if each of thegu ests were to pay a share of the re ckoning.

Here, too , the midnight orgies of Bacchu s were often celebrated,w ith the same noisymirth as is customary in his city temples, withou t

Mallet’s Northern Antiqu itie s, wol. n . p . 144.

5 90

in the least disturbing the repose of the more sober part of the family.Games of all sorts were allowed, but un der su ch restrictions as to

prevent gambling, and so as to answe r the ir tru e end, that of amu sement withou t inju ry to the purses of the players. There were tw obilliard-tables and a large bowling-green ; ample provision w as madefor all su ch as delighted in cou ntry sports fishing

-tackle of all sorts,a variety of guns with proper ammunition , a pack of bu ck-hou nds ,another of fox -hounds, and another of barriers, with twenty cho icehun ters in the stables for those who were notproperly mou nted forthe chace . So well w as every matter arranged, su ch checks werekept upon the domestics who were of tried integrity, the articles of

life so cheap, and the demesne alone fu rn ishing every article savethat of wine , liquors, and groceries, that the host

’

s fortu ne was fully

adequ ate to support this generou s and hospitable establishment . No

confu sion nor disorder ever arose from the mu ltiplicity of vis iters, as

all w as condu cted with the same ease and regu larity as in a privatefamily. It w as an established ru le that all might depart when they

thought proper, withou t any ceremony of leave-taking, and the ser

vants were enjoined notto rece ive any perqu isite , as it was considered

the highest insu lt if any offe r of that kind were made .

Attracted by the wonderfu l accounts related of Mr. Mathews, thece lebrated Dean Sw ift resolved to visit him , and to be convinced that

the report was ne ither roman tic nor exaggerated. When Mr.M athew s

learned that the Dean was on his jou rney, he immediately despatched

a coach and six which met him with a store of the choicest viands,wines, and other liquors, at the end of the first day’s journey. Oncoming within sight of the hou se , the Dean, astonished atits magni

ficence , exclaimed, wha t, in the name of God, can be the u se of su ch

a vast bu ilding ?” Why, Mr. Dean,”replied Dr . Sheridan, who w as

his compan ion on this o ccasion, there are no less than forty apartments for gu ests in that hou se , and all of them probably occupied atthis time , except what are reserved for u s. Then,

”said the Dean

mou rnfully, I have lost a fortnight of my life ,”the time which he

had promised to spend atThomastown, adding su ddenly, butthereis no remedy, I mu st submit I

”

Mr. Mathews rece ived him at the door with u ncommon marks of

respect ; and then condu cting him to his apartment, after some com

pliments, made his u sual speech, acqu ainting him with the cu stoms ofthe hou se , and re tired, leaving him in possession of his castle . Soonafter the cook appeared with his bill of fare , to rece ive his dire ctionsabou t supper, and the bu tler, at the same time , with a list of w inesand other liqu ors. And is all this really so,

”said Swift, andmay

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5 92

steals bees outof a garden or fort, says the Brehon code , “is subject

to a like penalty as if he steals them outof a habitation, for these are

deemed of equ al penalty by law .

”

Bees in an enclosure or fort, and in a garden, are of the same

accou nt (as to property, penalty, 8m.) as the wealth or substance of anhabitation .

* Camden tells u s that, from the earliest period, bees were

notonly in hives, butin trunks of trees, and in the holes of the earth,hence there was su ch a profu sion of honey, that it became an article

of exportation .

The most ancient songs and poetry, which the cou ntry affords, arereplete with praises of mead ; and in a poem by Alfred, king of theNorthumbrian Saxons, A .D . 685 , he notices honey and the drinksu sed atthe banqu ets .

Pliny and Virgil praise the liqu ors made by the mixture of honey,raspberries, and white cu rrants ; hence it is evident, that mead andmetheglin were favou rite beverages in that age . Mead w as atthattime prepared in the following manner -A qu antity of honey, col

lected fresh from the combs, was blended with water till it cameto a proper consistency. It w as then bo iled for bet ter than an hour,su ffered to cool, and left to ferment in a close vessel .Modern times introdu ced the addition of spices of variou s descriptions, according to the taste or fancy of the manufactu rer. A smallqu antity of barm w as added to promote fermentation and increase the

levity of the flu id .

Barm w as a Celtic discovery arising from the knowledge of brewing. It was found that the froth or spume of the ir cu rmi, (denominated bu rm by the ancient Welsh) mixed with flou r and water,in the composition of

_bread, rendered it lighter and pleasanter thanleaven, eggs , milk, hon ey, or the lees of w ine , as u sed by othernations ; hence the application of its u se in the fermentation and

clarification of vinou s liqu ors.

The modern mode of making mead is as follows —To a hogshead

of water add e ight gallons of honey blend them well together, and

bo il.

them an hou r in a copper ; skim the mixtu re and draw it off into

a’ rece iver, and leave it till it becomes lukewarm ; then cask it with

some yeast, and when fermentation is completed , bung the casks

closely. In the process, some introdu ce white s of eggs, mace ,ginger, cloves, cinnamon, rosemary, lavender, swee t-brier, lemon

peel, orange-peel, with other spices and aromatics, to heighten the

Walker’

s Historical Essay, 2nd. Ed. p. 164. Anthologia Hibernics, vol. 11.

p . 132 . note .

5 93

flavou r and render itmore palatable,and make ita u sefu l stomachic.

At the present day, great quantities of mead are manu factu red in

variou s parts of Ireland, particularly in the cou ntie s of Cork,L imerick, Waterford, and Tipperary ; and cider of a sup eriorqu ality is equ ally abu ndant in those cou nties, and so ld at a very

reasonable rate. The introdu ction of cider into Ireland w as in there ign of E lizabeth ; and it was first made atAffane , in the cou ntyof Waterford,* a drink which Phi llips, in his admi rable poem on thisliqu or, says,

far surmou ntsGallic or Latin grap es .

A wooden flaggon , called a meat/tar or mether, implying aciddrink, is still to be fou nd in this cou ntry, and is considered a relic of

high antiquity and veneration . It is formed out of a solid piece of

wood having fou r sides, with tw o handles opposite to each other, so

that it may be raised to the lips with greater ease . Tradition venerates the very name of met/zer as a drinking u tensil, since it makes u sfamiliar with the associations of o ur early ancestors. Although themetlwr w as u sed in former times as a drinking vessel, yet it isthought that the com a , or ho rn, w as more ancient . This w as atfirst

merely the horn of a cow or bullock ; butin process of time , it wasmade of brass. The crooked cornet of Pliny, and our corna are,

perhaps, one and the same instrument .

Among the drinking vessels u sed by the ancient Irish, was the

C om batM arina or blaosg, corresponding to the B uccz’

na or the ] ! ofthe M urex , u sed by the Romans. Formerly, both in Ire land and

Scotland, drink w as served at feasts in this u tensil hence the

e x pressions feast of shells,”and hall of she lls,

”may be accounted

for as occu rring in Irish and E rse poetry.

The com a , in its natu ral form w as polished, and ornamented accord

ing to the fancy of the times . The same description of drinking-horns

w as common in E ngland and Denmark . In the latter cou ntry, the y

u sually drank outof nothing butthe horns of an ox and, in the mu seum

atCopenhagen, there are preserved tw o of those horns made of gold,found among others of a like kind atdifferent times in Ju tland . These

horns are ornamented with hi eroglyphics ; on e of them represents a hu

man figu re w ith a dog’shead , a dev ice common in E gypt, it is supposedto

representAn ubis orHermes of Hades. From this it may be conj e ctured

that,these horns are of Celtic origin , and allderived from the same stock,

Walker’s Hist. Essay on G arden ing, 8vo . p 166. Anthologien H ibern ian,v ol. i . p . 194.

5 94

that of the Titan Celts,who inhabited the coasts of theMediterranean,and existed in Greece , in Gau l, and in the Atlantic Isles, .before any

o f the Gothic and Gre cian colonies had made “the ir w ay into E urope .

‘These instruments were used n otonly atthe convivial board, but‘

were the u su al vehicles for carrying a supply of drink as well in the‘field of battle as in that of the chase . To this practice C hau cerallu des in the following distich

Janu s sits by the fire w ith double berdeAnd drinketh of his bugle

. horn the w ine .

To these horn s were neatly appended, stoppers or lids, to secu re

the liquor. Grose re cords , that in the will of Prince E thelstan,he is fou nd bequ eathing his drinking-horn, along with his militaryaccou trements ; and Pennant describes on e of these ox -horn cups

which he saw atDunvegan Castle in Scotland,* as tipped with silver ,of a spiral form, an d u sed atfe stivals, when each gu est w as obliged

to drink off its contents aton e draught .

The northern nations held this species of drinking-vesse l in high

esteem, and“

employed the capaciou s horn of the great Au rochs forthat pu rpose . Those cups graced the halls of kings ; and outof them

the ancient heroes ‘qu enched the ir thirst. E ven in Ireland, atthe

present day, horns are u sed by the gentry in some places for thépu rpose of distributinga le or beer among the domestics, labourers,or attendants ; and hence the expression of a horn of ale , beer; or

whiskey, is familiar to almost every Irish ear. Horns, therefore ,be ing the early drinking vessels of the ' descendants of both Greeksand Goths, accou nt for representing Bacchu s with bu lls’ hornsand why he has some time s been called Tau ru s.

From the practice of drinking outof horns, filled to overflowing,may have originated the com a -ccpm, or horn of plenty, so fam iliar inheathen mythology, and from which w as supposed to issu e a superabundance of all the riches of art and n atu re . These drinkingl

horns,be ing the first in u se , have , n o doubt, been continu ed in con ;

sequ ence of the ir antiqu ity. The scriptures'

mention them in different places.1

'

H orns were fixed on the ancient altars not only for u se , bhtfor

ornament the sacred oil of the tabernacle w as kept in a horn the

sacrificeswere frequ ently bo u nd to the altar by cords from themand

“

some altars were constru cted entirely of these materials,’

so thatthey were held assacred from the most remote times i

'

Galen ré

Pe nnant'

8 Tou r 111 Scotland, Voyage to the Hebride s , v ol. 11. p 194 .

-1‘

l st Samu el x v i. I sai . x x x ii. 24 . I E x odu s i i. 2 7.

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5 96

Its form w as scaphoid, resembling that of the double-headed paterae,i n u se among the ancien ts for pou ring libations on the altars of the

gods, some of which, of pu re gold, have been dug up lately in the bogs

of Ireland .

The intemperate Thracian s were accu stomed to empty them in theirdrinking matches ata single draught, a practice which the H ighlandchieftain s of the present day

'

still observe . It w as probably owingto su ch an explo it, that Alexander the Great met with his su ddendeath, as hew as in the very actof employing a drinking-horn calledthe cup of Hercu les, when he fell down and expired . The horns of

the rhinoceros were particu larly selected by the ancients for their

pateree, from an opinion that they possessed an“

occu lt, magicalqu ality, so that no poisonou s ' liqu id cou ld be pou red into them without

,

being shewn by a cold dew exuding throu gh the pores and

appearing on the su rface . It w as”this superstitiou s notion that

indu ced Mithridates n ever to dr ink from any other vesse l thanthe horn of -a rhinoceros, as he w as in constant dread of be ing po isoned.

The Chinese of the present day u se large cups'

of this description on particular occasions o f ceremony, and atthe close of the ir entertainments.

Porce lain cups, it is thought,were first introdu ced atRome by Pompey,whenhe re tu rned from the shores ofthe Caspian sea , and su ch w as at

that time the ir valu e that one which he ld thre e sex tari, sold for twentytalents and N ero gave three hundred talents for a

single vessel .Augu stu s, u pon the conqu est of E gyp t, selected out of all the

spo ils of Alexandria , a single mu rrkz’

ne cup for his 'ow n u se . Thismu

'

rrlzinc'

is believed to have be en porcelain , and it is said tha t C leopatra d i ank her narcotic wine outof china ; and su ch was the fancy

for those costly cups, that N ero , a ccording to P liny, paid 6000

sesteltia, (nearly for tw o glass cu ps with handle s.

916

An tiqu arians are divided respecting the su bstance called murrlzz’

ne,

and 'w hether cups made of it were ever introdu ced into Ireland, or

any of the British Isles, is u ncertain ; butthey were held in high

e stimation by the ancients. Dr. H agar asserts, that they were fo i m ed

of a Chinese stone called yu , diversified in colou r, and bearing a

polish like agate . Thisme, which 18 a kind of pebble , IS distingu ishedby the names of the w ater-y a , and the ‘ land, or earth-ya , o ne be ingfou nd in rivers, and the other in m ountains .

That'

the Romans might have procu red these from the E ast ishighly probable , since w e are assu red that three centurie s before the

'P liney, E x x x v i . 26 Vi de D r.V ince nt’

s App e ndix to the P e riplu s of Nearchu s,p . 44.

5 97

Christian era, the cu ps u sed atthe table s ofthe Chinese princes were of

gold, silver, and ya stone , and in the times of Au gu stu s and N ero , a

y u-cup was a most acceptable offering to

'

a Chinese sovere ign .

In a passage of Martial, allu sion is made to the Romans using

mu rrhine -goble ts in drinking w arm'

w in e , which Dr. Hagar qu otes asan additional proof that these vessels w ere .procured from China,since in that empire all liqu ors are drunk warm . The extravagant

price for y a need notbe wondered at, be ing so very rare and even

at the present day, yu stone is considered by the Chinese morevalu able than gold , since nine or ten years are incessantly employed

in the manu factu re of a single p ie ce .

"6

Those stones are from tw o to twe lve inches in diameter some as

white as snow ; some of the most beau tiful emerald green others

ye llow,vermilion , and j etblack. The rarest and most . e steemed

varie ties of this stone are the white speckled with red and the gre en

ve ined with gold. Many of the wealthy Romans u sed drinkingvessels, the inside of which were cutand po lished, forming mirrors

so that the person drinking might se e his own image mu ltiplied.

A go ble t of this description w as , among other valu able gifts, pre

sented. by Valerian to the Emperor Probu s.

V allancey states, that, by the ancient Brehon laws, a tax or tribute

to the chief w as placed on each load of cromcr inc h, or cocoa-nu ts ;the shells of which were u sed as drinking-cups by the Irish, which

is a corroboration of the early intercou rse of this people with theE astern nations. Abou t the beginning of the 17th centu ry, theFrench introdu ced cups made of ice for the double purpose of drinking

and keeping the wine cool.

The Pretende r, du ring his wanderings amongst the fastnesses of

Scotland, w as in the habit of drinking outof a cup, with a'

glass

bottom, through which he cou ld observe and gu ard against the

motions of an enemy . Su ch cups were common in the feu dal .times.

A cu riou s antiqu e cup , holding abou t a qu art, w as presente d'

with

rose-water to the Qu een after dinner, atthe civi c enterta inment given

to her on the 9th November, 1837 . This cup belonged to Jam es I .,

an d bore the following qu aint inscription on the frieze, or fillet that

surrounded the upper partTo fa ithfu l sou le s

,

Christgiv eth drink right goode .

The salve r, on which it was served, had once graced the board

of George I ., whose arms were engraved thereon .

Amongst‘

the cups u sed in ancient times, there were none more

Hagar on the Numismatical Hist. of the Chinese, vide Valpy’

s Classical Jour.

5 98

extrao rdinary than those made of human scu lls some u sing those of

the ir enemies others, those of the ir friends. Herodotu s inform s

u s, that they were shaped into cups by cu tting them off below the eye

brows, some times neatly varnished, and the Scythians, if poor, covered.

them with leather, but if. rich, in addition to‘ that, theyqdeco

-f

rated them with gold . R ubruqu is says, that the Thibetians made

handsome drinking-cu ps of the sculls of the ir parents, tha t they mightthe be tter re collect them in the times of the ir festivity. It is toldof the Persian monarch Shah-Abas the Great, that having. slain an

Usbeck prince , he made a drinking-cup of his.

scu ll set in gold, whichw as u se d on solemn occasions by his su ccessors. An Usbeck ambassador; be ing

'

atthe cou rt of'

Ispahan, w as presented by the emperorwith this cup full of wine , and w as asked if he knew of wha t it w ascomposed. Be ing told that it w as the head of his king, the ambas

sador discreetly remarked My kin g w as happy in dying by thehand of so great a monarch ; butto me he appears mu ch more gloriousatpresent, since I see his memory preserved by

.

so mighty a king'

aeyou r majesty 1” It is relate d of Ghenghis Khan, that . he w as in thehabit of u sing a silver-ench ased soul] , as a drinking-cu p_

notonly inordinary buton festive occasions.Alboin, king ofm bardy, converted the scu ll of his father-in-law

Gun imond, whom he had slain in battle, into a drinking-cup, and

presented it filled with wine to his w ife Rosamond, as a trophy of hisvictory . We are informed that Gerald Fitzgerald, '

E arl of Kildai e,drank outof a scu lltas a vesse l atthat time in common u se. Abou t

thirty. years sinc e,Mr. M ‘Carthy, a gentleman of the cou nty of Cork,who, in the ' langu age of the Beau ford M anuscripa

'

w as Titu lar kingof Munster,

”be ing the descendant of M‘Carthy More , prince of thatprovince , had i n his possession a cup said to be made from the scu llof an ancestor of Brian ; B oiromhe , whom the M ‘Carthys had slain i nbattle . It was highly polished and had a lid of silver. It was said tobe the cu stom of the Irish to retain such cups, and pledge the ir friendsfrom these favourite vesse ls

“

; many of whi ch have been found bu riedin bogs, and several of them are still 1n the possession of old families .

It is, however, strongly maintained, that the practice of drinkingoutof human sculls w as notan u sage common in Ireland,

_

V allan ceyqu otes a French writer to show that the ancient Galils made drinkingcups of the ir enemies slain in battle , and asks B o

"not su ch au thorsknow, that the ir ‘

ancestors 'imported this ba rbarou s cu stom from the

E ast ?”

The polished Arabians and Persians, he adds , did the same .

The ir poems, which w e admi1e so mu ch for their soft 1magery, weredelivered atthei1 evening conversations,when thegobletscull of their

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600

That the vine ever flouri shed in Ire land as a plant of general

cu ltu re , is qu estionable ; yet it is asserted by L edwich and others,that

'

the vineyards were once common in the country and an old

canon , to the following effe ct, is cited in proof of the assertion

If fowl destroy a crop, a vineyard, or garden, enclosed with a hedge

of fiv e feet high, the owner shall make a re compense from whichit has been inferred, that the cultu re of the grape w as once practised

here on no ordinary scale . The vene rable Bede ,who flou rished abou tthe end of the seventh centu ry, says, that Ire land is pleasantly situ

at'

ed, that it abou nds with honey, and is notdestitu te of vines,”ale but

this shou ld not lead u s to conclu de that Ireland w as a wine country .

Certai‘n ly w e have in the national re cords compou nd terms for everything relative to the grape , su ch asfion -amku in , a v ineyard, j ion -dios,a wine-press,fi on -chaor, a grape ,finava z

’

n , a vineyard, 8m. Besides,Colonel V allan cey spe aks of an Irish almanack of the fou rteenth

century, in his possession, in which mention is made of the time '

of

gathering the '

grapes, and drinking mu stor n ew wine . In the annalsu nder A .M . 305 0, Fiachda I I . was su rnamed F ionsgotha ch, (

'flzeflower-king) from fi on , wine , and sgot/z, a flower, wine made from

flowers be ing then mu ch in u se butfromwhat description'

is unknown .

All these matters do n ot warrant the assumption or belief that the

vine ever formed an article of general cu ltivation in this cou ntry.Its plantation cou ld only have be en atbest an obj ect of partial attention, e ither in gardens or grou nds attached to abbeys and monasteries,and even these were confined to the sou th of the kingdom . From

'

what has been already advanced respecting the vine in other cou ntries,it mu st

i

be'

e videntthat Ireland cou ld n otbe a land for its propagation

encircled, as it is, by an immense o cean, subje ct to great moistu re ;and beyond the range of that zone , to which the growth of this fru i t

natu rally restricted .

Wine , how ever, w as early in u se in Ireland , as it is mentioned in

the earliest annals and poems . A damnan notices it, (B . 2 . c . i .) while

the annals of Tigernach,A .D . 5 84, record the circumstan ce of an“ Irish

monarch be ing drowned in this liqu or after the manner of Prince

George , Duke of Clarence , brother to E dward IV. who'

chose to be

drowned in a bu tt of Malmsey .

It is remarkable , that in a cou ntry where the arts were ‘ manifestlycarried to su ch perfe ction , that the study of alchymy, (so enthu siasti

cally pursu ed hy the rest of mankind in other parts of the world,) doesnotappear to have formed a bran ch of specu lative knowledge in.

Bede , E ccle s . H ist. B. i. c. 1.

601

Ireland , but, although our annals are silent on this subje ct, itdoesnotfollow butsu ch a study may have be en pu 1su ed ; and that it w as,

seems highly probable , since it is certain tha t the study of medicinew as notnegle cted by our an cest01s for w e are informed, that i n there ign of Cormac C as, there w as a famou s medical college 1n Mu nster,and a poem is still extant in ce lebration of the great abilities of

Finighin , a chief profe ssor. O n the other hand, were it certain that

the Irish did not pu rsu e a search so va in and fu tile as that of thephilosopher’s stone , it wou ld argu e in favou r of the solidity of the irjudgment, and, from what does appear, that the ir attention w as

dire cted to considerations of a higher natu re— those of regu lating andpre serving the pu rity of the ir history, laws, and u sages .

When Partholan us, a Gre cian colonist, came to Ireland , (A. M

it is said , that he brought with him ploughmen and brewers .

If su ch he the fact, the knowledge of malting among the Irish must

have been coe val with the first se ttlers .

That agricultu re w as, atan early age , carried to considerable extent

in Ire land, w e have every reason to believe . O’

H alloran and

O’

C onnor assert , that the first employment of the Milesian colony,'

after the ir arrival from Spain, consisted in clearing a portion of thecountry of the woods and forests, with which it w as ' covered ; andthat history re cords, with particu lar respe ct, those monarchs who gavethe gneatest encou ragement to the cu ltivation of the soil. Though

there is an omission in the fragments of those times, the hand of

industry has supplied u s with su fficient evidence to prove , that thiscountry w as more popu lou s than atpresent, since stree ts and o therremains of towns were sometime since visible on the tops of mou n

tains ; and the marks of the plough with ridges, are still to be fou nd

atgreat elevations, having u ndera hog of fiv e or six feet in depth, a

so il fit for all the pu rposes of vegetation and hence the island w as'

prefe rred by fore igners to Great Britain, on account of its fecu ndity.

This is notto be wondered at, when it is certain , from tradition andliving testimony, that bogs have been known to grow, to move , and tosettle on tracts of land f01n1erly we ll cu ltivated ; and it is a singu larcwcum stance , that three distinct growths of trees hav e been imbedded

in three distinct strata of hog. Harris and others state , that m 1601,

when Tyrone and O’

Donnellmarched to the relief of Kinsale through

Connaught, a considerable portion of plou ghed land over which theythen passed with the ir army, is now a hog ; and that the mansion

house of a nobleman is to be seen in the midst of i t. The popula

tion of the cou ntry cou ld notbe incons iderable , since in Munster alone ,during the re ign of Brian B oiromhe, fighting men cou ld be

602

brought into the field, composed of infantry and cavalry

with a fleet of 300 sail fu lly manned, of which it is said Callachan , on e

of the Mu nste r princes, furnished 120 ships. For the subsistence of

so great a popu lation, the cu ltivation of grain mu st have been cou si

derable—the irrigation of land w as then pra ctised-_ and wheat, or

cru itn each, as it is termed in Irish, w as abu ndant ; which grain, some

say, w as introdu ce d by the C ru ithn iz‘

, a race of Scandinavian Picts.

B ut it is more probable, that it w as introdu ced many centuries before

through an inte rcourse with fore ign nations ; and that barley w as alsocultivated and ale brewed from it pre v iou s to ou r first acqu aintance

with the Danes in the n ineth centu ry, is indispu table . Om a , accord

ing to V allancey, is the Irish term for barley, and Strahlenbe rg says,that A rba B uda is the Calmu ck term for wheat, corre sponding nearlywith the Irish epithet A rbha B u d/1, signifying yellow grain . Fromthese circumstances, it is manifest that, ale or bee r from grainw as early brewed in this island, and the silence of Bede and C am

brensis on the subj ect is no proo f to the contrary, though L edwichinconsiderate ly admits that itis.

*.We learn from the writings of

Cormac M ‘C ullenan , Archbishop of Cashel and king of Mu nster, w hoflou rished in the

,ninth century,that the making of malt and brewing

of ale were the n familiar in this coun try.C u irm w as a common term applied to beer “

and ale ; and bracutor

sa inlz'

nn , (in We lsh bra cat), w as a n ame for a drink , brew ed fromma lt, brac or brea ch signifying malt ; hence the word ,

meant a goodoragreeable ale from malt. C u irm, in its general ac

lceptation , implied

festive drinking, with hospitable welcome and cordiality a nd. it ,yet

jus tifies the common saying I will hold no cu irm with an ev il'

com

panion or a dangerou s ne ighbour .

In the fifteenth chapte r of Jonas’s life of St .’ C olumbanu s, (whowrote be twee n 5 89 and 640) there IS the following curious passageillu strative of this subj e ct ' When the hou r of refreshmentapproached, the minister endeavou red to serve about the a le (cerev isz

‘

am) which 18 bru ised from the ju ice of wheat and barley, and whichabove all the nations of the earth, except the Scordiscoe and Dardanswho inhabit the borders of the o cean, those of Gau l, B ritain, Ireland,and Germany, and others who are notu nlike them in 'mann ers, u se

he carried to the ce llar a vessel which they called a typ rus, and place dit before the vessel in which the ale was deposited, when havingtou ched the sp igot, he su ffered itto ru n intoGrain, in those days, was separated from

'

the husk, notby threshing,

Antiqu ities, 2nd Ed. 4to. p . 371. '

l’ Messingham ,

Flor, p . 226.

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604

derable time'

after the invention of water-mills, that wind-mills wereintrodu ced . Dr . Clarke observed, that in Cypru s, the mode of grinding grain w as the same as that anciently practised in Scotland,Lapland, Ireland, and all parts of Palestine , as well as throughou t

the L evant, which w asu niformly by qu erns or hand-mills. This modeof grinding grain w as commonly managed by women . The process,as observed by him at N azareth, w as thu s effected -Tw o women

seated opposite each other held between them tw o rou nd fiatstonesin the centre ofthe u pper on e w as a cavity for po uring in the corn, andby the side of this an u pright wooden handle for the pu rpose of moving

the stone . O ne of the women with her right hand pu shed this handle

to the female opposite , who again sent it to her companion, and thu s

a rotatory and rapid motion w as given to the upper stone , the left handbe ing constantly employed pouring in a fresh supply of grain, whilethe flou r and bran fell from the sides of the machine thu s illu strating

the observations of ou r Saviou r, allu ding to this cu stom in his prediction concerning the destru ction of Jeru salem

Two women shall be grinding atthe mill, the one shall be taken

and the other left .“ The same practice seemsto have been commonin the days of Homer, as appears from the following qu otation

A w oman,n ex ta labou rer atthe mill

H ard by, where all the palace mills w ere wrought,

G ave him the o men of propitiou s sou nds .

Tw elv e m aiden s,day by day, toil atthe m ills,

Mealgrinding som e , or barley, som e of wheat,

Marrow of man .

Fu ll fifty female m en ials serv ’

d the king

I n hou sehold cfii ce s ; the rapid m illsThe se bu rn ing, pulverize the mellow

’

d grain .1'

The description given by Dr . Johnson of the handmills that he saw

u sed in the Hebrides, be ing similar to those already noticed, and to thequ erns formerly u sed in Ireland, is worthy ofThese mills consisted of two stones abou t a foot and a half in

diameter, the lower a little convex to which the concavity of the upper

w as fitted ; in the middle of the u pper stone w as a rou nd ball, and on

on e side a longhandle the grinder shed the corn gradu ally into thehole with on e hand and worked the handle rou nd with the o ther ; thecorn slid down the convexity of the lower stone , and by the motion of

the u pper it was gro u nd in its passage .

M atthew , X X IV. 41. 1“ Cowper

'

s O dyssey, Lib . 20—105 , and Lib. 7- 10,

1; Journey to the Western Islands

605

Where expedition was ne cessary , two women were commonly

employed in the operation, and it is an extraordinary co incidence , thatthis mode of grinding grain in Ireland and Scotland shou ld exactly

correspond with the me thod u sed in Asia from the most remote period,a striking and u nqu estionable proof that our arts had the ir origin in,

the E ast ; and it is, therefore , notsingu lar that our antiquaries shou ld

have traced our ancestry to that qu arte r.

E ven in Chili, amongst the Indians, maize is ground by a spe ciesof qu ern formed of two stones, one moveable within the other whichis hollow . This is worked by a woman, w ho, with her right hand,keeps the stone in motion, while , with her left, she supplies the grainas the flou r falls into a re ceptacle for the purpose .

Abou t the time of the introdu ction of water-mills, ale was in common u se and home -made ; but the wine in general requ isition w asimported from Poictou in France , and of which C ambren sis speaks ashaving m etwith in great plenty.

Camden relates, that the ancient an d peculiar drink of the Irish , aswell as of the Britons, w as ale . This is confirmed by D ioscorides,whoflourished u nderN ero . That writer, speaking of the Britons and Irish,whom he called H eberi, says, that they u sed a liqu or called curmi,

made from barley,“6a name , according to Pliny, given to the sam e

description of drink in common u se amongst the E gyptians and other

nations, as noticed in a former part of this publi cation. Camden

mu st, therefore , be in error when he remarks, that curmi is corruptly.written for the old British word cwrw or kwrw , which , he says, signi

fies a ln , a n ame taken from those Danes who called it oela , notas

Re silins de rives it from A lica .

It is the same liqu or which Ju lian the .Apostate , who d ied in 363

in one Of his epigrams, denominated wvgo'

ynm mu B ea/4 010 8 B gofu oy,

cu rmi mad e of wheat and oats, notthe liqu or of Bacchu s, or in other.

words, the ofi'

sp'ring of corn , a liqu or like w ine w it/toutw ine . This

drink, the same perhaps as the lea n or le uan of the Scotch, famou s in

the rhymes of the bards, although considered wholesome , is ri dicu led

by H . d’

Abrin ces, a Norman, poe t to Henry II I ., in the following

couple ts

Sure t1s some m onster of tt tygian pool,They here call ale , the draughts how thick and foulFirst taken dow n are passed so w ond

’

rou s thin,P lenty of dregs m u stn eeds rema in w ithin .

L ib . X I. 0. 110.

606

B utthe learned Frenchman ,AdrianTu rnebu s, in his treatise onwine ,doubts notbutthose who drink this liquor, if they avo id ex cess, will

be longer lived than those who drink wine ’

; whence” continu esCamden, i t happens that many of ourale -drinkers live to the age of

one hu ndred years.

’k B utthe name of_

the liqu or is notof su ch impo r

tance as that of substantiating the fact, that ale or be er’

w as known inIreland from the most remote antiquity . According to Ware , .the

Irish had 110 pecu liar name to distingu ish this drink, except the word

lea u n , which signifies liquor in general, and which was u nderstood to

apply equ ally to ale or. beer. Whether the ingredients were infusedinto bee r, in ancient times,to give it an antiseptic qu ality, .writers have

notbeen su fficiently explicit butthe practice of infu sing bitter herbs

into vinou s, as well as other sorts of drink, is, w e have seen, very

ancient .

The p ocu lum absinthiatum w as, in e arly ages, accounted a whole

some beverage , and worm-wood w as supposed to be an antidote fordisorders occasioned by inebriety ‘while some French chemists aflirmthat beer made with worm-wood intoxicates more qu ickly,

“

and that

it greatly assists the digestive organs.

The modern Swiss still solaces .

‘

himself, amidst the Alpine“

snows,with a spirit distilled from gentian , 'the bitterness of which, _thoughrepugnant to others, is relished by him as a most delightfu l

'

luxury.

The n ep entli e of H elen, with which she solaced her gu ests, w as one

of.

those mixtu res that the E gyptians were in the habit of infu singwith the ir beer ; and the practice of brewing heath, which w as ancientlycarried on in Ireland, cou ld nothave been any thing else than bo iling

with malt a qu antity of that plant, for the purpose of giving it anantiseptic and be tter quali ty.

In some of the -Western Islands, heath, as already observed, formed

a principal constitu ent of the beer of the inhabitants butthe accu rateknowledge of its u se perished with the extirpation

,

of the Picts.

Wormiu s speaks of the drinking of heather-beer, as one of the

pleasu res, which the so uls of departed heroes enjoyed in the society

of the gods..The 'Danes, when in possession of this country, are said

to have brewed boir, or beer, from heath ; butit is certain -that thisshru b wou ld yield a v ery . u npalatable drink ,

withou t -the additionof

some saccharine matter. As a proof of this, a gentleman in the countyof Don egal, tried, some years since , to manu facture beer from heather,but w as u nsu ccessful ; hence it may be presumed,

' that the termheather-beer means nothing more than the name , the flower and tops

Camden ’

s Brit. v ol. 11. p . 303.

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608

extort from me —letme share the same fate with my sons— I am

prepareda -I fear not the worst you can inflict— I am ready to die 1”The fathe r shared the fate o f his sons, according to his desire , and

thu s, it is said, the knowledge of the artdied with him .

A few years since , in sinking for a water-cou rse in a townland of

the cou nty of L imerick, a mill , with the machinery, and a portion ofbrewing u tensils, were said to have been discovered, together with

some cakes of bread and heather, concealed in the position in whi ch

they were left by the Danes— Itw as also stated, that a book, orma

n u script, containing the re ce ipt for the mak ing of heather-beer, hadbeen fou nd at the same time ; but that it w as clandestinely taken

away . If this statement be corre ct, it is a corroboration of what ishere advanced, that the Danes employed other ingredients than heathin the manu factu re of the ir beer, and it wou ld seem that they u sed

bread instead of grain, like the E gyp tians and Abyssinians of the

present day in the composition of B ou za .

In ou r own days, by an infu sion of worm-wood in hotale , a drink

called p u rl is u sed, by bacchanalians, as a morning draught , after a

night’s debau ch, both in E ngland and Ireland, wormwood be ing

accou nted a corrector‘

of inebriety. The ancients mention a winemade from it as a wholesome and agreeable drink . According to

some, it was an infu sion of the leaves of the plant in a qu antity of

wine but others say it w as produ ced dire ctly from the plant byfermentation . The practice , in former times, of fermenting worts by

means of yeast or harm for the pu rpose of making beer, is allowed tohave been introdu ced into Ireland by the Celts, and the yeast w aspreserved by means of afurze or whin-bu sh, (gorz e , u lex e u rop eu s,)kept in the chimney from brewing to brewing. Thi s, when dippedin the wort, like renne t in making che ese , cau sed the liqu orto ferment.

We are told that during the intercou rse between the Irish and the

people of Chester, in 115 6, ale w as mentioned as an article of

export into tha t city,from which it is evident that brewing w as fam iliar in the country atthat period. In 1184, the rapaciou s Philip of

Worce ster, then governor of Ire land, in on e of hi s excursions, meanlywrested from the clergy of Armagh, a cau ldron of copper u sed for

brewing, which was sent to Down, but afterwards restored to its

proper owners.

The ancient Irish, atthe ir ordinary entertainments, were served bywaiters with drink in cu ps of wood, horn, brass, or gold, according to

the rank or consequ ence of the party. They u su ally satin a circle on

ru shes or beds of grass, instead of benche s or cou ches. Three-leggedw ooden tables were placed before them after the manner ofthe ancient

609

Gau ls ; and were covered with victu als, su ch as bread baked on‘ grid

irons, or u nder ashes, milk in a v ariety of forms, flesh and fish bo iled

and fried . In the Chronicles of E ri, w e fin d that when the assembly of

the Olam met, mention is made of their,go ing forth to the high cham

ber, and of the boards being spread, and of the horns go ing rou nd to

e xcess, while , atthe same time, the words of wisdom and of age were

thu s expressed Beware of strong drink, my son , i t lifte th high ,

yea, very high ; it abaseth low , yea, very low , the spirit of man it

is the fall of reason, the poison of man’

s life .

” When festivities were

he ld at night, the place of assembly was illuminated by tapers of

immense size as thick as a man’s waist, from which issu ed a brilliant

flame , tha t rendered every object visible at an incredible distance .

It w as by on e of the se lights, that O’

Donnell was led to the tent of

his enemy, Shane O’

N eil, the invader of Tyrconnell, in 15 5 7, on which

o ccasion the latter narrowly escaped destru ction . These torches

were composed of the pith of ru shes twisted together, having a Small

fibre ofthe skin or bark left on eachto prevent cohesion, andw ere then

well satu rated with grease or oil prepared for the pu rpose . Ru sh

lights of a similar natu re , though on a smaller scale, are yetcommon

among the peasantry, in lighting up the ir cabins, when from poverty‘

or other cau ses, candles cannotbe procu red. At many of thoserepasts, moderation, then as in modern times, often lost its du e res

traint, for, notwithstanding the admonitions of the wise and expo

rien ced,“popular resentments were excited, as liqu or inflamed the

passions, and contests rarely ended withou t bloodshed on the spot? "6

Su ch o ccu rrences are notto be accounted extraordinary in a cou ntry

where faction and ambition too often distu rbed the peace of society,and proved the bane of liberty and the prosperity of the nation .

At an ente rtainment given atTara, abou t the year 222, when Cormac

and Feargu s, kings of Ulster, were contending for the monarchy, it

w as contriv ed by the artfu l Feargu s, in order to render his adv er

saty’s pretensions to the throne u navailing,to have the hair and heard

of Cormac set on fire , when he had become heated over his cups it

be ing an inviolable law tha t no person cou ld sit on the throne , who

had any defe ct e ither of body or mind . And w e find that it w as

owing to an indu lgence in the use of drink, aton e.

of those festivals,‘

that the Danish chieftain, Turgesiu s, in 85 2, fe ll a victim to the j u st

vengeance of Malachy, king of Meath, whose daughter he wished to

v iolate and obtain for a concubine .

Among the reciprocity of presents mu tu ally interchanged between

O Connor's D issertations, p . 110.

610

the chiefs and monarchs, gold and silve r drinking-c ups formed no

inconsiderable portion. An idea of the extent to which this w as

carried, may be formed from the fact, that, on on e o ccasion, six ofthe'M u nster princes were presented, amongst other gifts, with seven cupseach, two with e ight, and the fou r others with ten cups of gold, be ing,n o doubt, in proportion to the ir rank,to the splendou r of the ir tables,and the qu antity of drink consumed atthe ir palaces. Su ch w as the

abundance of drinking-cups, as well the valu e setu pon them, that w e

find Cathair M or bequ eathing fifty drinking-cups with broad hoops ,and fifty brown marble vases, as a legacy to F iacha B aiceda and we

have instances on re cord of the B oige, (a small vessel we ighing fiv eo u nce s of-gold, which w as u sed for drinking Sa inlz

’

nn , or ale) havingbeen transmitted from father to son as an heir-loom . At Tara, ,the

great seat of the monarchyy w e read of on e hu ndred and fifty cups ofmassive gold be ing the common su pply to

’

keep u p the splendour of

the regal table ; and it appears to have been the general practice

among the Irish kings to u se large cups atthe ir repasts and entertainments. We are told, that Tireldach the monarch, re ce ived with other

articles as ransom from O ’

B rien , king of N orth Munster, (in l 15 2) avery large cu p, called by w ay of pre

-eminence, the cup of Brien

Boru .

*

It w as cu stomary in those times, for the nobility and chie ftains to

have the ir B a cg/za l, B a chlama l, or cup-bearer,whose office w as to hold

the cu p or B aclzla at meals and .feastssl' The office of cup

-bearer

(in Irish, deocltbhe ire) is so ancient, that it is d ifli cu ltto ascertain the

period of its origin. So remote as the time of Pharaoh, it w as a

station of consequ ence atcou rt, inasmu ch as it brought the individu alin contact with the monarch, and w as therefore a place of great tru st.

O u r translators of the Bible have rendered the H ebrew word

for-.cup-bearer, butler,i which is a corruption of the old E nglish word

boteler, «implying a “person having the charge of bottling liqu ors .

Among the P ersians and Arabians, the cup-bearer w as termed sa lty ,

and he had pe cu liar privileges . With the Parthians, according to

Athenaeu s, m en u sed to serve with swords by the ir sides and in the

same manner among the princes of Germany. Ambrose , deH elia et

O'

Halloran,v ol. i . p . 209 . 1

' Cam den ’

s Brit p . 143. Ed 15395

,I In Hebrew ,the cu p

~bearer was term ed T'

TPIDD (M a shka) , from 7717117, to give

drink to ; in G reek,

’

otvox oog, from’ozyag, w in e

,and to p ou r ; in Latin ,

.p oczllator, from p oczzlum,a cu p , and p z

‘

ncerna from m vszv, to drink,

to mix . The chief cu p-bearer w as .called x gx owo

'

x oos, in Hebrew“1117, Sitar.

Se e G ene sis, ch . x ] .

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612

ables of’

the Roman kings and Pliny, (B . 7 . c. 12) says, that'

a

dealer named Toraniu s sold two beau tiful boys to Mark Antony, for

sesterces. Boys, who had reached the years of puberty,served atthe tables of the ancient Britons .

Qu intu s Cu rtiu s informs u s, that the concubines of the Indian kings

served the wine at the banqu ets, and carried the sovereign to bed

when he had dru nk to excess. Females were , on some occasions,employed as cup

-bearers by the!

Greeks, and w e read of He camedepreparing a mixed drink, and of the female attendants of Circe per

forming the same du ty. E ven the native American chiefs had their

cup-bearers to attend atfestivals and on solemn occasions. In the

age s of chivalry, knights-errant had the ir cup-bearers,who were gene

rally the ir squ ires, and were as prou d, dignified, and chivalrou s as the irmasters. In every civilised country, a cup

-bearer w as equ ally known

and respected. In Ireland, a cup-bearer w as, from the earliest times,

an indispensable and honorary attendant atthe court o f every m onarch

and atevery public festivity Cormac, king of Ireland, speaking of

a banquet, says, “The prince should light his lamps, welcome hisgu ests with clapping of hands, and procu re comfortable seats the

cup-bea rers should be respectable and active inthe distribu tion ofmeat

and drink ; there shou ld be a moderation of m u sic, short stories, a w elcoming cou nten ance ,fa ilte forthe learned,w ithpleasantconversations.

”

In serving the wines, it w as .cu stomary for the cup-bearer to taste

them, for the pu rpose of shewing that they contained nothing po isonou s. This cu stom of tasting win es in th e cou rts of monarchs, or at

banqu e ts and public entertainments, is said to have originated with thePersians, as w e learn from Xenophon . Amongst the Romans, thiscu stom is thought to have been introdu ced byAugu stus Tiberiu s, whoemployed a wine-taster, and su cce eding emperors, as well as o thereminent persons, followed the example . The tasting of wines, it isevident, had its origin in su spicion arising from the fear of every man

in pow er, who , though he may have j u stly pu nished the gu ilty and

rewarded the meritoriou s, yetran the risk of drinking the poisonou sbowl or meeting the assassin’s dagger . The office of wine-taster, latelyabolished in this country, mu st have originated from this cu stom . At thefeasts ofthe ancient Irish, large vases or coolers stood athand, filledwithvariou s liqu ors ready for distribu tion by the cup-beare rs. These vesselswere of different materials, some of brass, others of mixed metals, andmost of them very expensive and highly ornamented, equ alled, perhaps,in modern times only by the silve r wine-cooler of George IV ., whichwe ighed e ight thou sand ou nce s, contained thirty-e ight gallons, and

w as capable of holding six men . N ext in magnitude and splendour

613

may be mentioned the beau tifu l fou ntain and cistern exhibited by theM arqu is of E xeter, atBu rghley, near Stamford, on the visit of theDu chess of Kent and her present Majesty, when Princess Victoria ,

in September, 1835 , and which we ighed tln'

ee. thou sand, fiv e hu ndredounces of silver .The splendou r of an Irish cou rt, in ancient times, will be best

u nderstood by the description of the ha ll of Tara, which , in the re ignof Cormac, w as 900 fee t squ are , and the diameter of the su rrounding

rath w as 7 dice or casts of a dart it contained 15 0 apartments, 15 0dormitories for gu ards, with 60 m en in each the he ight w as 27

cubits there were 15 0 common drinking-horns, 12 doors, and 1000gu ests daily, be sides princes, orators, and m en of science , engraverso f gold and silve r, carvers, modellers, and nobles. There were 27kitchens and nine water-cisterns for washing the hands and feet of thevisitants. The banqu e ting hall consisted of 12 stalls or divisions ineach wing, 16 attendants on each side , and two to each table —100gu ests in all."9

On the first day of November, three days before the feast of SamIzu z

'

n , . or the moon , in this splendid court satthe monarch with hisface to the west, e levated on a throne , in the centre of the hall . O n

his right was the king of Ulster, notso mu ch e levated . On his leftthe king of Mu nster behind him w as the king of Connaught, and

be fore him w as the king of L e inster . The nobility, bards, and o thershad their stations allotte d to them according to the ir rank. At theseassemblies, the re cords of the kingdom were examined, in order topreserve the annals from mistakes or dou btful matters : hence the

origin of ou r Irish Psalters.

We find, that wines were plentifu l in Ireland, atan e arly period,and our annals state , that Brian B oiromhe exacted a tribu te from theDanes of Limerick, abou t the year 970, of 365 tuns of wine , besidesthe same quantity. from the ports of Dublin, Wexford, and Drogheda

among the items of this tribu te w e find 268 tu ns of Spanish wine ,shewing the extent of the commerce of Ireland, atthat period, even

in articles of luxu ry. A large portion of this wine w as consumed at

Cean-Corraah, near Killaloe , the residence of the monarch. There

on e hu ndred servants were every day atdinner and supper . From

the kitchens, there were two long corridors paralle l to each o therleading to the banqu eting hall, along whichthe servants were stationed,passing from hand to hand the various services of meats, fru its,w in es,

From an old Irish fragment, fou nd in Trin ity College , Du blin , as given by

V allancey.

614

& c. Across the Shannon ran a bridge of wood communicating with

the royal wine-cellars, which, to this day, bear the name of Cloch-na-v

Fhionn e , the wine-store , or bu ilding. At this palac e , the immortalBrian entertained the princes and nobles of the kingdom with an

u rbanity and a splendour not su rpassed in modern times .

* '

The

annu al consumptionwas estimated at2670beeves, 1370hogs,365 pipes

of red, and 15 0 hogsheads of other wines. The monarchs, du ring

the residence of the Danes, were paid certain subsidies from those

traders in money, wine s, and merchandise , on the firstdays of M ay

and November, and hence the larger sea-ports, in particu lar, were

bou nd to pay tribu te in proportion to the extent of the ir commerce

and the privileges they enjoyed. This tribu te , atone time , consistedin bu llocks, 6000 cows, 4000 sheep, 5 000 hogs, 5 140 cloaks

of pu rple , green, and scarlet, besides 420 tons of iron .

From all that has been said, and thefree intercou rse that subsistedso long between the Irish nation and the continent of E urope , itwould be wonderfu l that any of those arts, which tend e ither to increaseou r knowledge , or add to the comforts of life , should have escaped

observation or remained u ncultivated. It wou ld, therefore, be ano

malou s among such a people , were some of the more simple artsu nknown to them ; so far from that, w e find that they were scarcely

ignorant of any of those inventions or discoveries, which regardedn ational interests or domestic comforts. L earning, it is generallyadmitted, shone brilliantly here when most of the othe r portions ofE urope were immersed in ignorance . Su ch w as the proficiency of thenation in literatu re , that theAnglo-Saxons and Scots acqu ired from thiscou ntry the e lements of the ir learning or philosophy. Bede re cordsthat schools were open to fore igners, where the y were suppliedgratu itou sly with meat, drink, clothes, lodging, and. e ven books.Su rely, then, where there w as su ch an extension of knowledge , themechanical arts cou ld n othave been overlooked nor neglected . The

remnants of magn ificent chu rches, monasteries, and princely castles,over which the hand of time has spread the foliage of the ivy ; the

lofty rou nd-towers, that seem to bid defiance to the ravages of time ;the scu lptu re by which many of those bu ildings are ornamented ; and

the splendid, antiqu e , and costly works of artfou nd in the bowels ofthe earth, are indubitable monuments of a polished, indu striou s, and

superior people .

In the luxu ries of domestic life , the Iri sh also excelled, for, as w ehave seen, their feasts were luxu riou s, the ir clothing superb, their

O'

Halloran , v ol. iii . p . 339.

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616

and compound, are recorded in the Red Book of O ssory, a work compiled abou t 5 00 years since, and which, likewise , contains a

rece ipt for making another liqu or termed n ectar, composed of a

mixtu re of honey and wine, having ginger, pepper, and cinnamon,other ingredients incorporated. This niix tu re w as called p iment,from its pungency and spicy natu re , and, on account of its deliciou squ ality, it w as mu ch celebrated by the early French poets, who con

sidered the pe rfuming of wine with foreign aromatics, then so dearand difficu lt of procuring, as the very acme of taste and ingenu ity.In Ireland, it w as an early practice to imitate fore ign liqu eurs,which,from the praise of the poe ts alluded to, mu st have even excelled those

of Italy and France . Aqu a v itae was first u sed in the cou ntry as a

medicine , considered as a panacea for all disorders, and the physiciansrecommended it to patients indiscriminate ly for preserving health,d issipating humours, strengthening the heart, cu ring co lic, dropsy,

palsy, qu artan fever, stone , and even prolonging existence itse lf beyondthe common limits. Hence it was eagerly sought for, and the taste , thu sformed, has be en transmitted from generation to generation, with anattachment which time sce

’

r‘

u s rather to strengthen than to diminish.

The L atin epithet, aqu a v itre, the Irish term, usqu eba uglz, and

the modern word, whiskey, are , in point of fact, synonymou s. Aqu a

v ita signifying the w ater of life, and Usqu eba ugh, which should bewritten I skebaglzah or I squ ebeoh, the former implying water of life,and the latter liv ing w ater. A s I squ e, or l ake, means water, it mu stappear evident that the word whiskey is only a slightalteration inthe

'

pron un ciation of this Irish term . Both O’Brien and Vallanceyadmit that a i, ay , or ey , are old terms for water, and I squ e , or I ske ,

implying water , the compou nd word literally means water of w aters ,

The word whiskey, therefore, is of very comprehensive import, andfully expressive of this sense-su bdu ing beverage . B u il-ceamz was

also another appellation bywhich spirits were distingu ished, bu il sigu i

fying madness, and ceau n the head terms fully explanatory of itsinfuriating effe cts and the temporary derangement which it occasions.

F ear-bu ille is the Irish expression for a mad man . Antiqu ariansinform u s, that bu il-ceann w as made from a species of black oats,which

,if notmalted, mu st have indeed produ ced spirits of a very

inflammatory and fiery description , particu larly when newly manu fac

tu red and from its powerful effe cts it procu red the name of strongw aters, afte rwards abbreviated into X w aters, the letter X be ing anciently u sed as the symbol of purity or perfection .

V allancey states, that from time immemorial this letter w as con

sidered a sacred character among the E gyptians, Chaldeans, Thibe

617

tians, and Indians ; and w as respe cted as a high indication of divineexcellence . The E gyptians, howe ver, did notexactly represent it bythe figure of an X, but as a dire ct and an inverted X thu s X : thissacred symbol is frequ ently to be found on the columns ofthe colossaltemples ‘ of that celebrated and wonderful nation . On the greattemples of the Dalai-Lama atPu ta-La, or the Holy Hill, as w ell as atTeshoo-Lomboo, are numerou s characters of this kind, all bearing

reference to the lofty attribu tes of the divinity of the Thibetians.

From the sacred application of this character it has descended tocommon pu rposes, yetstill bearing affinity to its literal meaning, asin the instance of X waters, & c.

It is curious to observe , that this ancient symbol so common inOriental climes, is frequ ently to be found in Ireland on the pillar-stonesor Phalli of our pagan ancestors. The less learned antiqu ary considers those characters which are marked cross-like, to be Christianinsignia or pagan monuments ; but the researching philosopher will

only estimate them in the proper sense as a part of Oriental heathenism. That the ' letter X was most commonly written so as to repre

sent a cross, long before the era of Christianity, seems remarkably

strange , whenw e are brought by consequ encestothe full conviction that

the Cross of Christ w as the tru e symbol of perfe ction, of which all previou s characters of the kind may be considered as merely typical.On the statu e of Osiris atRome w as engraved the figu re of a cross

and in the Temple of Serapis at'

Ale x andria were fou nd on the demoli

tion.

of that edifice , by the order of Theodosiu s, crosses cut in stone ;these , in the interpre tation of the wise m en ofE gypt, signified vitam

v entu ram which discovery is reported to have occasioned the con

version to Christianity of some of the Ge ntiles.

‘ The application of

the letter X to whiskey, ale , or beer, was, and continu es to be , a dis

tingu ishing mark of its strength and purity ; and lest the singlecharacter might not be sufficient to indicate the strength of

some of our malt liqu ors, it has been doubled, as in the instance

of double X porter, now so strongly re commended by the facu lty,for its refre shing and strengthening qu alities. T0 usqueba ugh the

le tter X has never been applied, becau se this appellation w as e x

tended to aqua v itce in its compound state after the admixture of

raisins, fennel-seed, and o ther ingredients, to mitigate its heat, render

it more pleasant, less inflammatory, and more refreshing .

The origin of the term aqu a v ita , as applied to exhilarating liquors,it is noteasy to determine, u nless by an admission of the reasoning

Soer. Hist. Eccles. lib. 5 . cap . 17. Sozomon . H ist. Eccles. lib. 7. cap . 15 .

618

already advanced . Water, in the Opinion of the ancient philosophe rs,constitu ted the basis of all matter ; and Moses having written that

the sp iritof G od moved upon the face ofthe waters,” it was inferred

that a living or prolific principle w as thereby commu nicated ; hence

the early Persians considered water the sou rce of all bodi es,

(aqu a omn ia ) , an d the Koran states, that God made every livingthing of water .” M ay not, therefore , the appellation of aqu a v itae , or

water of life , have been derived from this prevalent opinion, since it

w as re ckoned to possess so many renovating and revivifying virtu es.

The distillation of this liquor w as partially carried on through the

kingdom, and this from malt alone . N o restriction appears to have

been pute ither u pon its manu facture or u se , u ntil the time of HenryVII I . when it w as de creed, that there be butone maker of aqu a

v ita: in every borough-town u pon pain of 65 8d then a heavypenalty, when money w as so scarce

”

and property so low in valu e .

At that time the Irish were great proficients in compou nding liqu ors

butthe ir usqu eba ugh w as the ir famou s drink, and in great demand.

Whatever might have been its original materials or composition , its

qu alities were estimated in proportion to the spices and other aromatics

u sed to he ighten its qu alities, as commonly practised at that period.

.We also find that no ale should be sold abo ve 2d. per gallon upon

pain of 8d. toties qu oties ; and that no Wheaten malt shou ld go to any

Irishman’s cou ntry upon pain of forfe itu re of the same in value . This

last restriction arose , n o dou bt, from an anxiety to l imit the u se of

wheat in the manu facture of ale and ardent spirits, it be ing an article

properly confined to the making of bread and hence there w as no

prohibition against sending bread, a le, or aqu a v itae, beyond the pale .

So early as the re ign of E dward I, in 1300, the Irish exported toScotland, wheat, oats, malt, and ale , for the pu rpose of enabling themonarch to carry on his warlike operations in that kingdom. At thesame period, the mayor and commu nity of Drogheda made him a

present of 80 tuns of wine, and chartered a vesse l be longing to the iro wn port, by which it w as conveyed to him . atKirkcu dbright.These historical facts prove that malt was plentiful in Heland and

although it is only from occasional incidents that brewing and distillation can be traced to the ir origin, or to the ir introdu ctioninto thiscou ntry, yet sufficient facts have been addu ced to prove that bothwere common ata remote period, and perhaps anterior to a connexionwith Great Britain . Dr . Ledwich has stated, contrary to the standingau thentic records ofthe nation, that distillation from malt commencedin 15 90 ; but it no where appears that the Irish then distilled fromany description of grain butwhat had been malted, as the practice

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620

mu st, therefore, appear evident,whether u squebaugh be applied‘

to the

ancien t or modern spirits, that its valu e , flavou r, and goodnessdepended on the ju dgment of the maker, and the prevailing pre

ju dices of the day— hence the materials employed, varied according

to the caprice of individu als and the flu ctu ation of pu blic opinion .

Variou s rece ipts, therefore , have been given for its compos ition, among

which the following is considered on e of the best To make 10

gallons of this cordial, Qoz . of cloves, nu tmegs, and cinnamon, mu stbe taken, with 4oz . of anise , caraway, and coriander-seed, divided

into equ al portions ; also half-a-pou nd of sliced licorice root. The

seeds and spices be ing first bru ised and mixed w ith the licorice , are

putinto a still with 11gallons of proof spirits and 2 gallon s ofwaterand as soon as the spirits is found to come over, a small bag containing abou t 2oz . of safl’ron , is fastened to the end of the worm, so thatthe ru n of the liqu or mu st pass through and .

,

carry with it'the tinctu re

and essence of the safl’ron . Du ring the operation, it is u su al to pressthe safl’ron -bag in order to convey all the essence of this ingredient

into the flu id, and when the process is finished, the liquor is sweet

ened with the best lump sugar.

The French and others, in addition to the articles already enum e

rated, u se e ssential oil of citron, bergamot, oranges, and lemons, with

ange lica-seed, vanilla, mace , cubebs, raisins, and dates ; but n o

limitation can be given for making an article designed to gratify

every palate .

The predominant and early u se of safi’ron in the manufactu re of

u squ ebaugh among the Irish, arose from the extensive a pplication

and well-known virtu es of that plant, in several, u seful, domestic

pu rposes. In dye ing yellow, saffron (crocus sativ u s,) w as the chiefingredient, as it gave that admired tinge to the flowing shirts and

garments, worn by our e arly ancestors. Its exhilarating, he ating,and aromatic qu alities were also so familiar tha t it w as employed as a

part ofthe Irish MateriaMedica, be ing fo und a great stimu lant and reno

v ator. On this accou nt it has been called cor homin is, the heart ofm an ;

and from enlivening the spirits, it gave rise to the saying, when

speaking of a person in a cheerfu l state of m ind, dormiv it in sacco

croci , he hath:sleptin a sack of saffron . The E nglish, according to LordBacon , were rendered sprightly by a. liberal u se of saffron in swe etmeats and broths and B oerhav e calls it a tru e and genu ine rou ser

of the animal spirits.Its u se in colouring the ancient Irish apparel, w as grou nded on

the opinion and prej udice, that it tended to strengthen the body and

limbs—virtu es which no other colouring substance was thought to

621

impart ; and here itmay be noticed, that the loose and flowing robes

of the Irish bespeak an Oriental origin and imitation . The Irish

were not the only people that employed saffron on particu lar occa

sions in preference'

to o ther su bstances equ ally valuable . The Poles

and Spaniards u se it in the ir sau ces and richest delicacies, while its

application to the colouring of bu tter, cheese, creams, and conserves, is

too familiar to requ ire further notice .

The m ixing of saffron and aromatic Spices with spirits is also of

Oriental origin , i t be ing the practice of almost every nation to put

ingredi ents into the ir liqu ors to gratifythe taste byrenderingthem more

palatable . Thus , in modern t imes, i t is the prevailing practice to

render spirits more agre eable by dilu ting them with w ater, adding

lemon and other ingredients to neu tralize the pu ngency or ardou r of

the spirit, as exemplified in ou r common drink termedp u nch.

The beverage called p u nch, so popu lar in this cou ntry, and

throu ghou t the whole of the British empire , is a compound drink,which is generally believed to have originated in the E ast, an d is said

to have been first made by the E nglish at Nemle , near Go a. The

Persian p u nj , orthe Sanscrit p anciza , signifyingfive, is most probablythe sou rce of its derivation since it denotes the number of ingre

dients of which itis composed .

The pa le-p a utz of Su rat, as well as the bou le-ponge metwith by

B enn in in 1644, (see page 15 6 of this work,) are mere ly terms forthe liqu or known to u s as p u nch. The former consisted of arrack,rose-water, j u ice of citrons, spices, and sugar.Freyer, in his trave ls, says, that the word p unch is pu rely Indian,

and is un derstood to mean the mixtu re of fiv e ingredients as a drink .

Struys and M andelslo , both old writers, support the same opinion,a nd clearly show the liqu or to be Oriental. H ow well the makingo f pu nch is understood by our countrymen requ ires n o comment !

The following acco unt of a jov ial bowl of this beverage may

be amu sing - In the year 1694, a bowl of punch w as made atthe

hou se of the Right H on . E dward Ru ssell, Commander-in-chief in the

Mediterranean . It was made in a fou ntain in the centre of a gardensurrou nded by four walks, each of which w as covered over-head

with orange and lemon trees, and having a table the whole length of

it, spread with a cold collation, confe ctionary, & c. The following

ingredients were mixed in the fou ntain, v iz ., fou r hogsheads of

brandy, e ight hogsheads of water, lemons, 20 gallons of lime

j u ice , we ight of fine , white Lisbon su gar, fiv e pou nds of

grated m itmegs, 300 toasted biscu its, and a pipe of dry Malaga .

A large canopy w as raised over the fou ntain to keep off the rain,

622

and a boy belonging to the fleet, towed round the circle , and filled

the cups to the company, of which it w as compu ted more than

m en partook.

The partiality of some indiv idu als for this beverage is well illu s

trated by the '

follow ing anecdote , which the Au thor had from an

au thentic sou rce —A gentleman in the sou th of Ireland, who w as

fond of fox -hu nting and other field-sports, seldom sat down to

dinner withou t a. few friends, who were equ ally social. Afterreturning on on e occasion, accompanied by his fe llow-sportsmen , andpartaking of a good dinn er,he and his gu ests applied themselves to the

enjoyment of the bottle . After drinking to a reasonable hou r, on e of

them conce iving he had taken his qu a ntum, and having to attend afa ir on the following day, re tired to his home . B ut what w as hissurprise when he called at his friend’s hou se , on his w ay at six

o'clock in the morning, to find the servant coming to the door with akettle of water . Su spe cting its pu rpose , he exclaimed , “Ah ! John, isyou r master still atthe p u nch .

9 Yes ! by H replied the other,this is the tweif

‘

th ke ttle , since you left him last night !”

The subjo ined lines, translated from the German of Schiller, are

taken from the Dublin University Magazine for Janu ary, 1885 , as

conveying some good moral reflections on this su bj ect

Four be the elem entsHere w e assemble '

em

E ach ofman’

s w orld

O r e x isten ce an emblem .

Press from th e lemon

The slow-flowing ju icesBitter is L ife

In its lessons and u se s

Bru ise the fair sugar lumps

Natu re intendedHer sw eetand severe

To be every where blended.

Malt-drink in Ireland, as has been already stated, was of early

origin, butits general u se w as incon siderable till after the E nglish

invasion . A du ty of 5 s . 32d . spa barre l w as imposed on it in 1787,

when its consumption became of some magnitu de . While it w as in

operation ,this du ty varied in proportion to the exigencies of the state

and the vi ews of the ministry but the government, from a wish toencou rage the u se of malt liqu ors, and the advancemen t of agricultu re ,thought it expedient to repeal the du ty altogether ; atthe same timethe du ty w as raised on malt from Qi d. to 1s. 3d . the bu she l, and

afterwards gradu ally increased to 4s. 5 d ., and w as again lowered to

Pou r the still water

Unw arn ing by sou nd,Eternity

’

s O cean

Is dark'

n ing arou nd !

Mingle the Spirit,The life of the bowl

M an is cold m ortar,

Unw arm ed by a sou l.Drink of the stream

E re its poten cy goes

No bath is refre shingE x ceptwhile itglow s.

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624

bu shels, yielding for the on e , atthe rate of two bu shels of malt for

every barrel brewed, and for the other barrels of

the different sorts of maltliqu or.* The following is the number of

bu shels u sed by the “licensed brewers for the ye ars specified

B USH E LS. B USH E LS.

The malt drink exported was, for the year ending 5 th Janu ary,

1827 ,

1829,

Of these , there were sent to E ngland and to Scotland

220 barrels, while in 1829 there were sent to the former and

to the latter 118 barrels ]LThe imports of beer du ring those tw o

years were 747 barrels from E ngland, and 87 5 from Scotland . In

1832 , there were in Ireland 216 breweries, and in 1837, there were

247 breweries, in which the malt consumed in that year, was

bushels.

To e stablish a brewery in Ireland on a moderate scale wouldrequ ire no great capital . For a concern calcu lated to tu rn out 30

barrels per week, two coppers only wou ld be requ isite , one to boilfifteen and another to boil six barrels. A mash-keiv e to answer those

coppers'

shou ld be abou t 78 inches in diam eter and 40 in altitude .

The u nder-back need notbe of great capacity, one of fiv e barrels’

contentwould be su fficient, as the liqu or is immediately pumped fromit to the coppers. The cooler, u su ally made of inch and qu arterplank

, shou ld be su ch as notto admit the worts to be , at any time ,more than 2g, inches in depth, the more shallow the better, butmu ch

mu st depend on the size of the cooler and the magnitu de of the apartment where it is erected . Two fermenting tu ns, of from 15 to 61

barrels’ content each, would be adequ ate for su ch an establishmentthey are u su ally made from American pine . The cost of thesearticles may be estimated at

P arl. Pap . No. 190, March,1630.

1' P arl. Pap . No . 190, March 1830.

62 5

‘

s.

2 0

1Mash-ke iv e , or tun 8 0

1 Underback, . 2 0

1 Cooler, 12 0

2 Fermenting tu ns, . 12 0

A Wort and water pump , 5 0

A H andmill for bru ising or grinding 0

40 Barre ls, at11s. . 22 0

70 Half do . at'

88. do . 28 0

70 Quarter barrels, at 5 s. 17 10

1 L arge Dray, 7 0

1 Small Dray, 3 10

Casks, stillings, troughs , instruments, 40 0

Total, £267 0 0

To work a concern of this kind, it would requ ire two men and a

boy constantly, w ith a cooper o ccasionally to prepare the casks, the

expense of which may be re ckoned at£40 annu ally. From these

data may be easily cal cu lated, what capital might be necessary for a

concern on a larger scale , and which would be proportionably cheaper .

The common proce ss of brewing is to bru ise or grind the malt ; the

bru ising by cylinders j s preferred . The grain is then putinto the

mash-keiv e which is, supplied with wa ter ata heat of where it

is well raked to satu rate itwith the water; and is allowed to remain

for three hours, du ring which it is covered with a lid, to prevent it

absorbing so mu ch of the oxygen of the atmosphere as wou ld render

it liable to become sou r, to gettoo cold and nottake outthe extract.

The liqu or is now drawn off, when another mashing ata temperature

of 180° takes place in the u su al manner, and is allowed to stand

covered for one hou r . A third or final mashing atboiling heat andthen standing for one hou r, covered asbefore , completesthe operation .

If, by any acciden t,the k eiv e shou ld be set, as.

itis termed, or notrun

off, as sometimes happens, boiling .water is the n introdu ced and

remashed, in order that the extract orfluid '

mayflow the more readily.The produ ce of the mashing is called worts, and is suc cessively conv eyed to the coppers, in which, for abou t three hou rs, itis boiledwith a proportion of . 2é—lb s. of h0ps for every barre l intended to bemade . This liqu or is sent to the coolers,where it is allowedto reachthe temperature of 63° or 64Q before i t

'

is conveyed into the fermenting

-tun , where from 40° to 43° gravity by D ica'

s’s Saccharometer is

considered a su fficient strength to yield beer at205 . gr barre l. H alfa gallon of good , thick harm is considered nec essary to ferment each

barre l of malt brewed or mashed. If the malt be good, it shou ld2 s

‘626

produ ce 2 § barrels of 32 gallons E nglish, or from 40 to 41 gallonsIrish . If ale be brewed at408. the barre l, worts of from 70to 7 5 l .

gravity will be su ffi cient, and each barrel of malt employed in this

w ay, will, after taking off the ale atthe gravity above specified, give

one barrel of table beer,the worts of which requ ire four hours’boiling

on the same hops. The heat in the fermenting-tun should never be

allowed to rise more than from fou r to fiv e degrees, to regu late which,the thermometer is commonly su spended in the vessel. In summer,the heat of the worts put into the tun shou ld be ‘the lowest possible

butin no season shou ld they be allowed to remain more than twelve

hours in the cooler. Worts ru nning into the tun generally cool at

two degrees, and an allowance shou ld be made on that accou nt butitis better to have them rather cool than warm, as a few gallons can be

easily heated to bring them up to the necessary temperature . Afterbe ing fermented in the tuns, the time for removal into the casks is

indicated by the froth in the tun becoming rather settled but it is

n ever allowed to fall or getdown, as it was term ed in°

the old dis

tilling laws . E very thre e hou rs, for the first twenty-fou r, whi le

the b eer i s working in the casks, it ought to be filled up by its

own discharge colle cted from the troughs, on which the casks

are placed . After the first twenty-fou r hou rs it isfilled occasionally,in the same manner, everyfiv e or six hou rs ; and so on in proportionas the working ceases in three days it is commonly fit for u se.

B rown patent malt shou ld be employed to give the liqu or colou r, ifdesigned for publicans ; butif for private u se , pale drink is preferred.

For fining the liqu or, isinglass dissolved in sour beer and strained, is

the material generally u sed, a pint of w hich is sufiicientfor a barre lmore than what wou ld clear, wou ld injure it, as it thins it andg ives

ita tendency to become acid .

When sending outbe er and porter from the pu blic breweries, it isa common p ractice to putin two gallons of u nfermented worts into

each barrel which cau se s a sort of ferm entation, throwing up a head

atthe bung and making the liqu or appear strong and fresh.

In extensive breweries, the malt is commonly grou nd by rollers,of which there are more or less employed, according to the extent of

the concern, butthe mode of brewing is the same . To regu late the

heat in the ke iv e , some brewers u se what they term a da sh-box ,whichis a spe cies of cylinder placed in su ch a position as to have discharge

pipes ru nning into it from the different coppers, with fixed thermo

me ters to ascertain the heat of the liqu or, while a tube with a cockconveying cold water, is attached, in order to enable the brewer to

convey the liquor into the keive at whatever tempera ture he may

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628

level in all the fermenting vessels by means of a regulating cock.

When the fermentation_

has ceased, the liqu or is sent into large vats,or barreled and sent intomarket.

In the brewing of porter, the first mash shou ld be heated in thecopper to in the proportion of two barrels to each qu arter ofmalt, which ought to be a m ixture of best pale and brown malt,and shou ld be kept mashing for abou t three-qu arters of an hou r,while the liqu or shou ld remain on the goods for an hou r . The tap of

the mash-tu n is then opened to letoff the liqu or as qu ickly as possible,and the tap shou ld be left .open till the next liqu or is brou ght into thetun that the goods maydrain.

-In the mean time, the se cond liqu or hasbeen heating, and may , in from two

’

to three hou rs, have acqu ired theheat of 160° the qu antityb eing one barrel to a qu arter of malt. Mashthis, for half or three qu arters of an hou r ; let it stand for one hou r,and then letit be run in the cou rse of half an hou r more . At

abou t fiv e and one-half hoursfromthe beginning, the third mash shou ld

be made at the qu antity being on e barrel to the quarter ; mashthis for half an hour , letit stand an hour and tap as before .

A fou rth liqu or is seldom mashed,'

butif it be , it may be cold or

blood warm, as it is of no u se butto make the sou r-beer for finingsand it is of little consequ ence how it is done . Some brewers u se it forthe first liqu or of the next brewing butthis, perhaps, is n ota goodplan , as it may

~taintthe w hole brewing.

TheseWorts are to be boiled with from twelve to fourteen pou nds ofhops to

'

the qu arter of malt, if the liqu or is intended for keeping e ight

or twe lve.

months , but, in the ordinary ru n of porter notintended forkeeping, fiv e pounds may be sufficient . The first worts shou ld beboiled one hou r, the second tw o, and the third four hours .

The worts are now to be cooled down as ex peditiou sly as the w eather w ill permit

’

, to abou t if the medium heat of the atmospherebe abou t If it be more or less, allowance mu st be made . Allthe

three worts are to be brought toge ther into the gyle-tu n , and abou tfive pints o f yeast to the qu arter of malt putin, and du e time allowedfor fermentation and cleansing. The criterion for cleansing is theattenu ation, and one zgreatpo int in porter making is, that of separating the harm completely from the liqu or.

,

The proportion of colou ringis arbitrary, as it greatly depends on the colour

,

of . the malt. For

merly it w as the practice to employ Socotorin e aloes, in the proportionof half an ou nce to a barre l, in the second .worts ; and to give a re tentive head, as mu ch salt of ste el as would lie on a. half-crown

,piece wasadded with the fin ings to a barrel. Quassia, in the proportion of a

pound to abou t twenty barrels, was u sed as a substitu te for the aloes,

629

and=

copperas forthe salt’

of steel,butthese ingredie nts being noxiou sand u nwholesome , have been discontinu ed .

A s the colour of porter is chiefly to be attribu ted to the qu antity of

brown or roasted malt u sed, care is taken to infuse su ch a quantity of

that material as w ill produ ce the degree of co lou r requ ired, and finingis effe cted by isinglass dissolved in stale beer, till it becomes of a

glu tinous con sistence , a pint of which is the u sual allowance for a.

barre l, butsometimes more is ne cessary .

A good colou ring article is procured by m’

oisten ing a quantity of

brown sugar with water, spreading it in a frying-panto abou t an inch

deep, placed on a fire, and stirred u ntil it is ignite d ; .when it is bu rnedsufliciently, the flame is extinguished, and water is added to the residu um till it has the consistency

'

of molasses, and .iti s then mixedwi ththe worts in the copper in su ch quantityasthe depth of colour requ ires.

In Ireland, the brewing trade , though notso extensive as in E ng

land, 13, notW1thstand1ng, condu cted on a respe ctable scale . In Cork,B audon ,Limeri ck Fermoy,Waterford, Clogheen , Clonmel, Kilkenny,and Carlow, are the principal establishments of the sou th. That of

Beamish and Crawford, situ ated in the Sou th Main-stre et, Cork, is

the most considerable ; it is elegantly fitted up, having appropriate

machinery, with vesse ls on an . extensive . scale, and . is capable of

brew ing upwards of ‘ barre ls of porter annu ally. The con

cerns of'

M essrs. Lane and C o ., W. Cashman and Sons, W. .Condonand Co ., in that city, are respe ctably condu cted, and the .liquor prodficed ’is of superior quality . In

'

the north, there are many highly res

pectable breweries, viz .Drogheda, Castlebellingham, Dundalk,N ewry,A‘rmagh, Monaghan , Dungannon y Donoughmore , L u rgan, Belfast,and Derry, where malt‘ drink is manufactu red to great perfection .

The ales of Drogheda, Castlebellingham,Lu rgan and Belfast. have

obtained a . high character, while the porter and ales of Dublin are

accou nted equ al to any brewed in the empire : the extensive exportation of these articles is a proof of this assertion ,for, u ntil within thesefew years, there w as

'

notany e x port of porter to E ngland, the Britishufactu rers supplying that~commodity ; and su ch was the force of

preju dice , tha t n othing butan E nglish beverage cou ld satisfy an Irish

palate . The house ofMessrs. .Arthu r Guinness, Sons, Co ., w as the

first to open the trade of exportation,’

and they have bee n su ccessfu lly fo llowed by several o ther respectable hou ses in D ublin . The

premises of thism ost enterprising firm are situ ated atJames’s Gate ,in the west of the city. The range of bu ildings covers nearly fou racres the arrangemen t and machinery are u pon the most'

complete

and efficient plan, and every department is so systematic and well

630

managed, that the work proceeds with the u tmost precision and regu

larity no confusion, bu stle , n or disorder ensu es ; the grain is taken up,and we ighed in its passage to the lofts, by ingeniou s me chanical con

triv ances. There are three mash-tune capable of mashing 600 barrels

ata brewing, with three coppers containing barrels. The

mashing is performed by rakes worked by steam-engines, of whichthere are two of fifteen horse-power that work all the machinery on

the premises.

Under the bottom of the mash-keiv es there is a screw fixed in a

trough, so contrived as to draw of all the grains into an adjoiningyard, where they are disposed of to the pu blic. The labou r of one

man is suflicientfor a. keiv e , through a hole between the real and

artificial bottom of whi ch he is employed to discharge the grains, to

be carried off by the screw. This apertu re is se cu red and renderedwater-tight by means of a cover fasten ed ‘down to prevent the egre ss

of the liqu id . There are three immense fermenting tu ns, and fortyfour vats calcu lated to hold from 35 0 to nearly barrels ;three of which contain the latter qu antity.In on e apartment are an immense number of fixed casks in which

the liqu or u ndergoes the process of cleansing, and in another a number

of cylindrical vessels, termed rounds there are 100 of these , holdingsix barrels each, so arranged in rows as to admit be tween them largeand deep troughs to hold the discharge of the barm, as it works off

from each vesse l.

The number of persons employed is very great, among which are

no less than e ighty coopers. The concern is lighted with gas, and tosecure it from fire , there are pipes so contrived that any quantity of

water can be instantaneo u sly conveyed to every part ofthe premisesthese pipes are supplied from a cistern holding barrels, and so

e levated as to command the entire establishment . The qu antity of

porter capable of be ing sent outannu ally, is, atan average , u pwardsOf barre ls, that of the other brewers of the city is equ allyrespe ctable in proportion to the magnitu de of the ir con cern s. The

repu tation ofthe Dublin double X porte r be ing so high, the demandfor it in E ngland is almost incredible and i t is sa id to be improvedby the voyage , the motion of which is thought to operate upon it,in the same manner, as Made ira-w ine is acted on by the agitation ofthe ship . The export hou ses are Messrs. Arthu r Gu inness, Sons, andC o ., Manders and Powell, Watkins, D

’

Arcy and C o ., O’

Conn ell and

C O » L . Finn, Messrs . Swe etman, and the Messrs.

'Conlan, 8m 8m.

Besides the places already mention ed, there are several breweries in

Ireland which manufacture excellent malt-dr ink ; of these, the esta

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632

on a five hu ndred gallon still there were fou r doublings, and the follow ing year e ight, the du ty be ing fou rteen-pence per gallon ; whilein 1792 , there were sixteen charges on two hu ndred gallon stills, thegeneral size wrought atthat time . The charges gradually increasedu ntil 1806, when the trade assumed a degree of importance that ithad notpreviou sly possessed, be ing then principally confined to a few

individu als of we ighty capital?“

At this period, the government refu sed to license stills under fiv e

hundred gallon s, and, in the same year, all the laws relating to thed istillery trade in the kingdom were compressed into one act,1

' inwhich e very thing relating to the bu siness was fully defined. Am ongother matters, it w as fou nd to be necessary to fix the d imensions of

stills, to place the process on an equitable footing,as it w as obviou s

that if these dimensions were not determined , the'

distillers cou ldprodu ce a mu ch greater qu antity than the law requ ired, by makingthe bottoms of the ir stills as large as possible, so as to have the advan

tage of e x posmg more su rface to the heat of the furnace .

It w as ordained, that the diameter of every still, taken in the

middle part, most remote from the bottom, shou ld be to the altitu de

Of 93011 Still, taken in a perpendicu lar line from the centre of the

d iameter to the bottom,

'

in the proportion -of not more than three

to one—i . e ., for every inch of altitu de , the diameter should not

exceed three inches, and so on in proportion.This law ceased to operate on the loth of October, 1823. It w as

soon discovered thatthe ingenu ity of the Irish distillers, like that of

theii Scotch neighbours, when the li cense system prevailed, far out

stript the enactments of the legislatu re'

i nthe extent ofwork. In 1807

itw as considered pru dent to license stills of two hundred gallons andu pwards ; the work was then conside1ably in creased on all stills from200to 12 5 0 gallons’ capacity, butno addition was made at that time

to the work of larger stills. In 1815 , there w e i e 5 ,67 5 per cent .

added, on an average to the proportions of work previou sly required ;and, in the same year, an actwas passed allowing stills of from fortyfou r to on e hu ndred gallons to be licensed . Considerable adv an

tages were granted to these , in expectation that they might tend tothe suppression of illi cit distillation , it be ing intended that theyshou ld be confine d to those districts of cou ntry in which that1 ban eful

practice prevailed.

The charges on those small stills were far short of the proportionallotted to the larger ones. A still of one hundred gallons’ contents

Vide Addenda for the n umber of stills and the ir contents for some years prior

to 1806, w ith a scale of work requ ired by stills in thatyear.

1' 46 G eo. 3. c . 88.

633

was also obliged to perform'

n inety charges'

monthly. Under thisregu la tion also , it was soon discovered that the distillers turned theadvantages thu s granted them to the ir own private emoluments,instead of preparing whiskey similar to the illicit spirit commonly

called I nn ishowenfi or P otheen , which was the intention and e x pec

tation of government . In consequ ence of this, the ir work w as

increased in 1817, to two hu ndred doublings monthly ; notw ithstand

ing this great addition, the proprietors of large distilleries werejealou s of the su pe rior advantages which they impu ted to the smallerstills. In 1816, - twenty per cent . w as again added to the work of stillsexceeding one hundred ten per cent . more .

To gratify the cu riou s, there is gi ven in a table of the Addenda, acorre ct list of all the stills that were atwork in Ireland in themonth

of Febru ary 1818, with the qu antity of spirits produ ced by them

weekly, in proportion to their doublings or charges —also the aver

age consumption of grain and coals in each, specifying su ch as werepbliged, from their local situ ation , to u se tu rf. On comparing that

table with the scale of work for 1806, as exhibited in the table of the

Addenda,the increase appears predigiou s,‘

and indeed almost incredibleIt is a strikinginstance

'

oftheresults produce d bythe ingenuity and a cti

v ity ofman when powe rfully excited ; for it is a well-known fact; thatwhen work i n distilleries w as nothalf so great as itthen was, mu ch

more diflitmlty was ex perienced . in , its performance . such was theskill acqu ired by practice , that four

‘doublings could be worked off i n

less than an hou r, which at one time was the lengthened labou r oftwenty-e ight days.To the Scotch distillers who had established themselves in the

country, and whose experience enabled them to introdu ce improvements , prev iou sly u nknown , this 1ncrease , in a great measure , may be

attribu ted . B utgreat as the quantity unquestionably w as, the marke twas clandestine ly supplied with a very considerable su rplus, which

by some hasbeen stated as a fifth, but by others, to approach nearlyto a half of the who le consumption.At various times, plans have bee n suggested for the improvement

3. Among the many, one of a curiou s nature was

Mr . Birch, of Roscrea'

, calcu lated to obviate the difficu ltyfuel in the interior of the country. Tha t gentlemanit w as practicable to work a still by the application ofmore advantageou sly than by the use of e ither turf or

L

? I nnishowen is a barony in the cou nty of Donegal, pre-eminentfor illi cit disspirits , and P ot/teen Wasa name given to

6345

coals ; and that itwould, besides, produ ce a greater qu antity of spiritsin a given time , than cou ld be done by anyZotherzknownfprocess .

What gave rise to this method, w as the great scarcity of fu el

experience d atthe Roscrea distillery, occasioned by the badness and

want of tu rf in w etseasons. In the year 1818, the Board of E xcise

w as solicited for permission to work by steam ; and, notwithstanding

the determined opposition of the distillers in Dublin, the plan w as

put into execu tion u nder the superintendence of an able pro

fessor of chemistry assisted by several practical revenu e officers. Incarrying on the experiment, the liqu or in the still w as boiled by the

force of steam ,raised in a boiler prepared for that pu rpose , and con

v eyed by a pipe which commu nicated with the exterior of the still

only, filling up with steam the spaces or interstices in the body of the

still, and also the space between the still itse lf and its case , whi ch case

w as made of wood, and every part of it exposed to view.

Previou s to this trial, which w as condu cted at Roscrea, there were

independently of the steam-engine , fou r furnaces on e for the still,and on e for each copper, which contained 212 superficial feet ; butby

the proposed plan of working these furnaces, they were redu ced to

two, containing Only sixty-fou r superficial fee t subje ct to fire influe nce . It, moreover, appeared that steam, n ot exce eding 22 5 ° of tem

peratu re , w as able to produ ce the highest charge of the excise lawswith a saving of upwards of fou r-fifths of the fu el, and the same of

all other attendant expenses. According to a calcu lation made atthetime , the expense of working a two hu ndred gallons’ still with coal,amou nted to £4390, of which £5 40only afforded employment to thepeople , whereas, when worked with tu rf, employment wou ld begiven to the amount of 13s . 4d . ; all circu lating at home tothe best advantage .

The great saving of fu el effe cted by the steam system, m ight

appe ar consistent with the important consideration of employment tothe poor ; but, although a still worked by steam wou ld notconsumemore than

”

one -fifth of the qu antity of tu rf or coal, that wou ld berequ ired by the common mode , yetit w as argu ed, that for the samereason it wou ld be the means of erecting inthe interior ten distilerie s for on e , and thereby diffu sing the bu siness more generallyand with greater effe ct.

This ingeniou s method of distilling w as ultimately rej ected by theBoard of E xc ise , on the principle that it was considered to affordfacilities to smuggling u nder the existing regulations but, sinc ethe actof the 4 G eo . I V . chap . 94, has relieved the distiller from the

produ ction of a limited qu antity in a given time , this steam method

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637

The foregoing engraving and following description of the appa

ratu s, will be fou nd to differ somewhat from . those of »the pate n

te es, as we ll as from those in the London E ncyclopaedia ; both of

these having been published, previou sly to the system be ing redu cedto practice upon an extended scale of operation.

It will be seen by the plate , with a delineation of which I

have been favoured by Mr. John Rees, a proprietor, that this appara

tus consists of seven coppers placed on e above another, numbered in

the section, fig. I . -1 to 7 . E ight were originally intended, but

seven have been found suflicient; six to contain wash, and the

upper on e , water . These coppers, or compartments, are attached byflanges and bo lts, and commu nicate with each other

i

by the doubletubes, A,

throu gh which the vapour ascends and by the pipes B , bymeans of which the wash descends , from one copper to another,in su cce ssion , from the uppermost but one, N 6, into which it is

introdu ced by a pipe and cock C, from the wash-charger D ; theintermediate charger, described by the patente es, as surrou nding the

u pper compartment, having be en dispensed with. The lowest, orfirst copper does notdiffe r from an ordinary still of similardimensions.The second and third, each contain four of the double tubes , A, and

two of the pipes, B .1 The fourth, fifth, and sixth coppers, have also

the last-mentioned pipes, and one double tube A, in each, placed

u nder a semispherical vessel, or dome E , . constru cted u pon,and tightly flanged and bo lte d to the bottom of the several coppers

j ust mentioned. The vapou r, after u ndergo ing the process in theseveral domes, which will, hereafter, be described, passes into six

spiral tube s or vertical worms F, immersed in the water of the uppercompartment, and attached to the top of the dome in No . 6. O ne

only of these worms is shown in the se ction, and tw o of the

attaching pipes. The u pper end of the vertical worms communicateswith the chamber G,

'

which is su rmounted by a small dome and pan ,

the latte r containing water ; after u nde rgoing the final control ofwhich, the vapour passes off by the line over H, to the commonworm for condensation .

The water is introdu ce d into the upper compartment by the pipeand cocks, I, from the sky cooler, and the waste water, “which isgenerally used to scald the backs, is conveyed away by the pipe K,

w ith a cock to empty the compartment entirely, when requ ired. Thereis also a cock , L , by which water can be conveyed from this into all

the other compartments, each of them be ingfurnished with a co ck,NI, commu nicating with that next below it, for the pu rpose of

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bringing down the wash atthe close of a back ; a nd also w ith a manhole N , to admit a person to cleanse the several compartments. The

small inverted double tubes 0 , are for the conveyance of the con

densed portion of the vapou r from the bottom of the several domes,into the third compartment, for re -distillation . And the pipes P ,

are to carry off the small portion of vapou r generated by the washrou nd the domes. This is conveyed into a coil of worms incliningtowards bent pipe P, to whi ch it is attached, passing through the

water of the u pper compartment, and comm u nicating with the second

coil of the ordinary worm .

The lower compartment has only the u sual discharge-cock Q, the

second not having been found requ isite . Thus on e compartment,and several articles have been dispensed with ; all tending to simplify

the operation . B utthe rou ser or chains, which M. St . Marc alleges

were u nnecessary, have been found indispensable to prevent bu rning ;as have also valves in the three lower compartments, to provideagainst the remotest chance of collapsion .

”The se compartments haveglass gauges to them, to as certain, at all times, the level of wash

they contain . The foregoing be ing a description of the apparatus, it

only remains to add a short detail of its operation . The first thre ecoppers (of which the se cond and third only are intersected by thedou ble pipes,) distil almost atthe same time the lowest be ing that

submitted to the action of the fire , Operates on the others by thedischarge of its vapou r,which ascending, by means ofthe pipes, passesintothe wash, and is there condensed, infusing its caloric to that liqu id,which is thereby qu ickly brought into a bo iling state . The over powerfrom the wash in the second section or compartment, passes into thethird copper with similar e ffect.

The new vapour, necessarily stronger than the first, ascends intothe fourth section, whe re it is re ce iv ed u nd er a. semispherical dome,whi ch prevents it from communicating directly with the cold washcon tained in that copper. In this place the most vw atery portion ofthe vapour is condensed, and it gives up its caloric, which contribu testo heat the wash that surrounds the dome . The most volatile or

spirituous part,which pass es into the dome of the fifth section, e x periences the same effe ct on com ing in contact with a cold body.

The same Operation takes place from one dome to another up to thelast. As the vapou r, whi ch rises, is exposed to a cold tempe rature ,i t is condensed, yielding its caloric and it is afte r a su ccession of

condensation that the spirit becomes divested of all we ak and watery

particles, which, thus liqu ified, return from one dome to another,

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640

consumed ; an increased produ ce ,by e conomising what is lost by ev a

poration in the three ,~Operations , with the ir pumpings, & 0. on the

ordinary system—a considerable saving of labou r, there being buton efurnace , and one tail-pipe instead of thre e , or sometimes fou r. To

which may be added the advantage of dispens ing with low-wines andfe ints’ re ce ivers and chargers, together with the ir connexions and

pumps, and the power requ ired to putthe latter in operation .

A safe Of a superior nature has been constru cted by Mr. Sharpe,one Of the patentees ; it is attached to the end Of

‘

the worm, and holds

a large glass cylinder in which‘

athermometer is su spended ateach

s ide of this cylinder are two , smaller ones in which are placed hydro

me ters, one for asce rtaining the strength Of the liquor when above,

and the other when below proof. The safe is so ingeniously'

contriv ed

as to enable the distillerto see the strength and colour of the spirits,and also to take a sample , which, however, is registered against him

u pon a dial, and n o Spirit can be su rreptitiously obtained, while its erves to prevent frau d both on the proprietor and the revenu e .

The cost Of one Of these stills with all its appendages, when com

pletely ready for work, on the largest scale , is not less than fromto but from the numbe r of years that itwi ll stand

distillation, it may be accounted cheaper than any Of those belonging

to the Old system, the bottom be ing the only

'

part liable to injury

butthat is easily supplied, and with expense comparatively trifling.

An Obj e ction has been u rged against this still, that it deprives theSpirit of the e ssential O il, which imparts that flavou r so familiar to,and popu lar amongst Irishmen .

The apparatu s invented by ‘M. M. Adam and D uportalforprodu cing alcohol at a single process is generally known, and those who

are acqu ainted with Wolfe ’s Apparatu s so common in chemical laboratories,will u nderstand clearly the principles on which this ingeniousmachinery is constru cted, and the full effe ct Of its Operations.The still Of Professor Soliman i which has u ndergone improvements

by Curadau is based on the principles Ofthe still of Adam and Dupe rtal. It consists of a boiler and three refrigeratories, and spirits Of anystrength can be O btained by means Of it butit is better adapted forthe distillation of wine than of wash. A drawing and descri ption Ofthis still may be found in the Register Of Arts and Journal of PatentInventions.

Mr . Winter, a distiller i n Fran ce , co

the principle , that the mixed vapou r

condensable atthe same

641

heat above to be kept in a state of vapour, while spirits ofintense strength will evaporate ata heat very little above the commonatmospheric temperature . This apparatu s is applicable to stills Of

every description, and enables the distiller to extract the whole of thespirits in the wash, ata single Operation . Its great excellence con

sists in condensing the aqu eou s portion Of the mixed vapou r from thestill before passing into the worm . TO effe ct this purpose , the vapou rsfrom the still are first made to enter into a pecu liar kind of rece iver

su rrounded by a water-bath, the temperature Of which is u niformlypreserved at or thereabou ts, according to the strength Of the

spirit requ ired . In this recei ver the aqu eous particles, or those thatrequ ire a he at Of more than 170° to be kept in a state of vapou r, arecondensed, while the spiritu ou s vapours from their superior levity

pass into the second re ce iver. This se cond re ceiver is also of a

pe cu liar constru ction , and be ing kept ata low er temperatu re than thefirst (at140

°or less), the w hole Of the weaker v apou r,o r that which

is condensable atfrom 140° to 170° of temperature , is therein redu ced

into a liqu id state , while the strong, spirituou s vapou r ascending alone ,through certain very narrow spaces, contained between concentric

cylinders, into the u pper part Of the apparatu s, is there collected intoa third re ce iver prior to passing into the worm . The worm is

su rrou nded as u su al with cold-water, whose powerfu l refrigerating

e ffect upon the strong, spirituou s vapou r with which itis charged,cau ses itto pass rapidly into the flu id state .

With this apparatu s, it is thou ght, the distiller wou ld have no

o ccasion to send his spirits to the re ctifier, an attention to the temperature of the two baths be ing all that is requ ired for

,rectification in

the most perfe ct manner. A s a confirmation Of the va lue of the

apparatu s it is stated, that fe ints 80per cent u nder proof, produ ced, atone ope ration, spirits 5 5 per cent over proof.

The late ingeniou s Mr. Watt, having ascerta ined that liqu ids boiled

in vacu o ata mu ch lower temperature than when u nder the pressure

of the atmosphere , applied the discovery to distillation . The savingOf fu e l by distilling in va cu o wou ld be immense , since i t is well known

that the heat Of the hand in an exhau sted re ce iver is sufficient to

make water boil. All liqu ids boil in a vacu um atabou t 145 ° lowerthan in the Open air, u nder a pressu re of thirty inches of mercu ry

water, therefore , would boil in a vacu um Of After him Mr.

Tritton contrived an apparatus for this purpose , which from its simpli

city, is deserving Of attention . The ve ssels are arranged in the

manner Of Wolfe ’

s apparatu s, as represented in the subjo ined

drawing, and of such strength as to hear, when empty, the externalr 2

642

a tmosphericpressu re . The vacu um is produ ced and maintained bya ir-pumps, or by the admission of steam to expel the air, and afterwards condensing the steam into water.

A is the'

bOdy of the still, B 18 -a water bath intoimmersed, whi ch prevents the liquor f1om burning or acqu iring an

empyreumatic flavour : C is the head or capital, and D its neck cu rvingdownwards and entering the condensing vessel, E F is a refrigeratory or close vessel containing cold water for converting the spiritu ou sv apours,which, having been raised inthe still, are contained inthe vesse lE .

'

Attached to the bottom Of this ve ssel, is a pipe for conveying the

liqu id and the uncondensed vapou r into a vessel G, which be ing

su rrou nded with cold water contained in the vesse l H , acts also as a

refrigeratory and redu ces the whole Of the remaining vapou r into a

liqu id state . I is an air pump for effe cting a vacu um in the vesse ls A,

E , G K is a stop-cock for preventing any commu nication betw eenthe vesse ls E and G, when the conte nts Of G are drawn Off by thecock M, by which -means a vacu um is preserved during tha t Operation

in the ve sse l E and the still. I is an air cock for admitting air intothe. vesse l G to allow the contents to ru n outatM : N is a dischargecock, to the still A. Withou t a vacu um be ing produ ced the matterin the still can never be heated beyond that be ing the greatestheat that the su rrou nding water is capable of re ce iving or transmitting.

A s this apparatu s affords a convenient and e asy mode Of removingthe pressu re Of the atmosphere by the air-pump, the distillation ise ffe cted atthe low temperatu re of 132

9

, and the regu lar applicationOf so low a degree of heat cannot fa il to produ ce a spirit of the cleare stand stronge st qu ality. 0 11 this principle Of boiling in v acu o several

machines have‘been contrived for Obtaining vegetable extracts for

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644

chamber which contains sthis revolving worm, is kept ata temperatu re

su ited to condense the'

aqu eou s vapou r and to allow the spiritu ou s topass on through the other hollow axis to a refrigeratory of the ordinary kind . The large worm, as it revolves, condu cts the waterObtained by the condensation of the aqu eous vapou r back into the

still, something after the manner Of the water-screw Of Archimedes.

The manner of charging the still, as well as the other arrangements

connected w ith this plan , reflect great credit u pon the invento r. From

a consideration that alcohol is n otaltoge ther the re sultOf the vinou sfermentation butthe produ ct Of a su bsequ ent elementary change , that

a greater qu antity Of spirit might be Obtained by subj ecting the

fermented liqu or u nder distillation to a high instead Of a low tempe

ratu re , and to cfi'

ect this obj ect withou t carbonizing the substances

submitted to tthe action Of the fire , the rotatory still and wo rm were

contrived by M r. E vans.

"6

The patent d istilling apparatu s of Mr. Williams is distingu ishedby an enlarged capacity of the still-head for the separation of the

aqu eous vapou r by co ndensation, previou s to its passing into the refri

geratory, as also in a pecu liar arrangement Of vertical tubes, and a

flattened worm in octangu lar coils. TO these is affixed an additionalapparatu s, contain ing a refrigerating saline mixture for themore ed

'

e e

tu al cooling Of the spirit. This contrivance is well adapted forwarmclimates, and for overcoming obstacles created by the high temperature of the atmosphere . An ingeniou s distilling apparatu s w as con

triv ed by Mr . Hebe rt, (editor Of the Register Of Arts and Jou rnal of

Patent Inventions,) by which the wash or wine is made to spread, in‘

an extremely thin and expansive shee t, over a large hollow « cone Of

copper and descending by its own gravity to the bottom . Within

this cone is the fire or water bath which cau ses a rapid ev aporizationpassing be tween the su rface Of the still and an external casing also Of

a conical figure ; thence passing along the ne ck, it enters a convo lu tedtube in a wash re servoir . The wash in this vesse l being of a lowertemperatu re , cau ses a portion of the vapou r to condense and fall intoa recipient bene ath, in which also the u ncondensed pa rt is re ce ived

previou s to passing into a refrige ratory . From this it ascends throughnumerou s small metallic tu be s su rrounded with cold water, and by thismean s is instantly condensed . The vapou r in passing through theconvolu ted tube , imparts a great portion of its caloric to the wash thatsu rrou nds it, and the wash in consequ ence comes u pon the still hot,requ iring buta slight accession Of heat to

'

force it O il“in vapou r.

I Vide the Register of Arts and Jou rnal of Patent Invention s , v ol. iv . p . 15 1.

4 5

This vapou r, likewise , gives back the caloric it rece ived, so that thequ antity Of fu e l requ ired to work this apparatus is exceedingly small.

The work is so u niform , that there is no ne cessity Of stopping theprocess to discharge and re charge ; and the work continu es u ninter

ruptedly so long as there is a constant supply Of wash .

The plan of Mr. James Frazer, of H ou nsditch, London , for which

a patent w as Obtained in 1826, differs from others in several particu

lars.

'

The wash-still, instead of be ing exposed to the fire , is immersed

in boiling water, the vapou r from which enters the low -wines’ still,where it is condens ed . The wine that abstracts the heat from the

wash becomes itse lf vapou rized and is condu cted into a refrigeratory.

The first and second distillations are , in this manner, condu cted

together by a continu ou s process.

Mr. Shannon, au thor Of the Treatise on Brewing and o ther wo rks ,invented a still of a cylindrical form with double ends, by which hethought the heat and flame should he i so diffu sed around, that thewhole mass of liqu id wou ld rece ive almost an equ al portion Ofthe fire ,and which, in his estimation, wou ld be mu ch more safe from accidentsthan the common still. This still w as made to admit another atthe

top su fficiently large fora spirit still to rectify the Spirit drawn fromthe wa sh in the un der-still, so that it cou ld be adapted to e ither a

gross or re ctifying manufactory. It w as intended to possess the

advantages and effe ct the work of two stills atthe same time , the

raw Spirit ru nning from the lowest still or cylinder while the rectifi

cation O f the spirit or the compou nding Of it into brandy or gin, w as

go ing on in the upper-still with the same fu el and attendance and this

appearsto be the first attempt atcontin uous distillation in Great Britain .Adapted to this invention is a refrigerator consisting of a number ofOblong squares , arranged in a zig-zagmanner, and continu es in a des

cending chain like the common worm, and may be compared to a

v ery large worm flattened to two or three inches in width. TO pre

serve the vapou r within the folds O f this machine from coming in con

tact with the atmosphere , M r. Shannon contrived a condensing valve ,to prevent the waste Of the ethereal and more volatile parts Of the

vapou r from be ing carried O ff by the elastic air generated , or e x tri

os ted in the process.

The Obj e ct Of Mr. Shannon w as pr incipally to prevent the

trouble , de lay, and expense Of applying a mu ch greater heat than is

necessary to raise the vapou r outof the still in the Old system, and

then compress it again to ' descen d through a column Of air within ,

646

heavier than itself, and overcome the counter-pressu re of‘

the

atmosphere without, which protracts the process of distilling,o verheats the wash, elevates the grosser particles, and impairs the

qu ali ty Ofthe spirits Of the first character, in a degre e that has seldombeen remedied by any su cceeding process of cleansing,flavouring, orrectifying.

Mr. W. Gu tteridge , Of 30, Bu dge-row , London , has invented a

still Of a very pe cu liar natu re , which he denominates the Torricellian

S till, after Torricelli, the Italian Philosopher. It is a self-supplying

apparatu s, the advantages Of which are stated by him to be numerous

and u nprecedented, and founded on the theory Of atmospheric pres

su re . The arrangement O f the operations are1st, Raising cold water by means Of a syphon from any le vel below

the su rface of the grou nd, on which the distillery is erected .

2ud, Conveying any qu antity Of warm water into the head Of thes till from the top of the tank,after condensing the alcoholic vapou r inthe final condenser, an d so

‘

diffu sing it on its entering, as to increaseits temperatu re to 176

° before coming into contact with the vapou rcondu ctor. By this contrivance , one syphon is made to raise cold

water to the tank, and hotwater to the still-head atthe same time .

3rd, The vapour condu ctor in the still is made to condensea maximum Of aqu eou s vapou r with a minimum Of water, therebyobtaining a strong and pu re spirit in the ‘

shortest time possible .

4th, The power Of ascertaining when the fe ints are rising on the

body w ithou t interrupting the delivery Of the superior spirit, and

p reventing them from passing through the still-head and final condenser, by which means ne ither this condenser nor the pure spirit canever be contaminated with the fe ints ; also in determining du ringthe coming of the spirit from the head when the whole of the spirit isseparated from the charge in the body.5 th, Re taining in that part Ofthe still-head, called the re cipient, thefe ints Obtained from each charge , the ir re -distillat ion and rectificationin each su cceeding charge during a period of any duration, by whichmeans no fe ints will appear except from the last charge .

6th, Keeping wash , or the material to be distilled, from the fire ,and distilling wholly by steam atthe atmospheric pressure , if judgedexpedient.7th, The final condensers acting more e ffe ctu ally than the

common worms.

8th, The redu ction Ofthe height Of this apparatu s compared withother stills, place s it u nde r the hand Of the distiller for more accurate and ready examination .

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648

stranger to run away through fear of an explosion. This might h avebe en obviated by Opening the small cock, which led from the firstsection into the s till, and by lessening the intensity Of the heat.Mr. Joseph Shee , of Cork, Obtained a patent for a still, or rather

a cont inu ation Of fou r stills, having fou r chargers and fou r worms in

one tub , and four rece ivers ; the variou s vessels forming its com

ponent parts with the ir uses are Of the same kind as those for thecommon still. While the first still is atwork with, say, 900 gallons Of

wash, the first charger is re-charged with an equ al qu antity ; thevapou r ! generated in the first still rises in the head and passes

through the close pipes from still to still u ntil it returns to the firstcharger, through which it passes into the first worm, where it is con»

d ensed, and runs into a rece iver, from whence it is pumped up i ntoa se cond charger so that

'

when the dis tillation Of the 900 gallons inthe first still is comple ted, the low -wines produ ced from it, abou t

35 0 gallons, are pumped into the second charger, and run into thesecond still, from whence the vapou r is made to pass dire ctly into itsown or se cond worm, and from thence conveyed into the se condrece iver, and the Operation is continu ed from still to still u ntil thee ntire process is completed . The whole Operation in the stills may

be thu s briefly stated

The first still u nder which only fire is applied, (the o the rs be ingheated from it are , properly speaking, steam-stills ,) be ing chargedwith 900gallons of wash, the first charger is re -filled with 900 more.In NO . 1 still, 900 gallons are distilling, and will produ ce 35 0

gallons Of low -wines.

In N O . 2 still, 35 0 gallons of low -wines are distilling, and will

produ ce 140 gallons of fe ints .

In N o . 3 still, 140 gallons of fe ints are distilling, and will produ ce100 gallons Of strong fe ints.

In N o . 4 still, 100 gallo ns of fe ints are distilling, and will produ ce80 gallons Of strong spirits.H ence , as Mr. Shee Observes, i t is evident that a single fire u nder

the first still operates at once u pon fiv e chargers with only the samee x penditure

'

ofufu el, time , and labou r, that, in the ordinary mode , is

required for a single charger .For further particu lars respe cting this ingen iou s contr ivance, thereader is referred to Mr . Shee ’s ow n de scription Of the machineryand its advantages, as possessing a large share of merit and highintere st.

A , still of an ingeniou s nature wa s constru cted by Mr. ThomasHaig, of L e ith, in 1829 . It consisted Of the body Of the ordinary

649

still, with a very high head and swan-like neck, continued by‘

a

pipe through which the steam trave rsed a chamber contain ing 300

u pright tubes, each 1-3inches in diarrieter. Through these , the steam

ascended (after u ndergo ing a partial condensation,) into another

u pright pipe , having a semicircu lar top bending downwards into a

horizontal pipe , through which the vapou r again ascended into

another chamber containing 15 00 u pright tubes, each inch in

d iamete r, throu gh which the steam evolved, and finally passed into

the worm and the last stage of refrigeration. From the two cham

bers were tubes, which conveyed back to the still su ch portions of

the liqu or as wou ld notascend. The spirits produ ced by this modeof distillation were of exce llent qu ality, and the fe ints were mu chpurer, having less of the e ssential oil in them than those produ ced in

the ordinary w ay. What has been the final su ccess of this invention

I have notbeen informed .

-The patent apparatus of Mr. Ste in is deserving of notice as effe cting distillation by means of fou r elliptical stills, the object being toe conomise in the expense of fu e l, rather than to obtain spirits of an yrequ ired strength atone operation . The heat absorbed in the con

.version of a given we ight of water into steam, exceeds greatly that

which is requ ired to raise its temperature to the boiling point one

pound of water converted into steam raising 61bs. of wate r to thepoint of ebulli tion . The heat thu s evolved varies in different liqu ids,and is in all considerable ; and as distillation is ordinarily condu cted,this heat is notmere ly lost,

’

but occasions a considerable additionalexpense , from the great quantity of water requ ired to redu ce the

Vapou r to the liqu id state .

”To obvia te these tw o sou rces of loss,

Mr. Stein contrived his apparatu s so that one portion of liqu id formedinto vapou r shall be redu ced to the liqu id form by another portion ofthe liqu id which is evaporated by the heat given outin the coudensation. B utto convert a fluid into stea m, n oton ly a ce rtain qu antityof heat is requ ired, butthe heat mu st be of a certain intensity ; thusalthough a pound of steam at212 ° wou ld raise 6lbs. of wate r to the

boiling po int, it wo uld convert no portion of i t into steam , as the

moment the water had acqu ired the heat of the steam it would rece iveno fu rther po rtion of heat from it ; but if the steam is formed u ndera pressure exceeding that of the atmosphere , its heat as indicate d bythe thermometer is increased, and it will consequ ently continu e toimpart heat to a liqu id which has attained the bo iling po int u nder aless pressure_than the steam employed to heat it. Upon the com

bination of these two principles,‘Mr. Stein’s apparatus has been con

65 0

stru cted . For further‘particulars his own desciption may be.

consu lted;Mr . Z En eas C ofi

‘

ey, of Dublin, invented a still, for which, in

1832 , he obtained a patent. The pri nciple on which his apparatu s has

been constru cted, is, on the points of temperatu re atwhich water and

alcohol bo il, 212 ° for the former, and 173° for the latter ; mixtu res

of these boil atintermediate heats in proportion to the ir qu antities.

When the steam of water is made to pass through a liqu id compo sed

of water and alcohol, it will be condensed u ntil it has raised the mixtu re to its own boiling po int, after which the alcohol evaporates by

the fu rther application of steam. When a mixture of steam and

alcoholic vapou r is made to pass through a liqu id composed of water

and alcohol, similar effects are produ ced, for after the mixture has

arrived atits bo iling po int, the vapou r passing through loses some of

its watery parts, and an equ ivalent qu antity of alcohol is volatilized ;and the mixed vapour, after pas ing through the liqu id, carries ofi

'

a

larger portion of alcohol than it brought with it . When a mixtureof steam and alcoholic vapou r passes into a condenser, or worm, the

vapou r first condensed will contain more than a mean proportion of

steam or watery vapour and, if the size of the condenser, or worm,

be n ot’

sufiicient, or the temperature of the bath in which it is imrmersed be too high to condense all the vapou r, that portion of

it“

which escapes“

u ncondensed will contain more alcohol than the

portion condensed.

Keeping these observations in view, it will be easy to understand.the natu re and advantages of Mr. Qofi

'

ef s apparatu s.

The body of the apparatu s consists of an oblong.

vessel, BB’

, and

and tw o columns erected thereon, C, D, E , F, and G, H , I, K.

The first of these columns is called the analyzer, the second therectg

'

fi'

er.

The whole is made of wood, lined with copper, and the wood be ingfiv e or six inches thick, little or no heat is lost by radiation .

The oblong ve sse l has a copper plate or diaphragm, c d , across them iddle of it,which divide s it into tw o chambers, B B

’. This diaphragm

is perforated by a great number of small holes, for the passage of

the vapou r upwards du ring the process, and it is also'

furnished withseveral valve s which open u pwards as shewn ate, e , e, e , wheneverthe vapou r is in su ch qu antity as not to find a free passage through.the perforations.

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6 5 2

A pipe V, V, descends from this diaphragm nearly to the bo ttomof the lower chamber B, into a pan forming a steam trap, and thereis a valve on the top of this pipe which can be opened or shu t

'

at

pleasu re , by means of a rod t, passing through a stufling box on the

top of the vessel. Glass tubes atx , x , shew at all times the level ofthe liqu or i n the chambers BB‘.

The column C, D, E , F, which is called the ana lyzer, consistsof twe lve chambers, f f f f j ; formed by the interposition of

e leven copper diaphragms giz giz, & c . similar to the large dia

phragm c, d , that is to say, these eleven diaphragms a1e per

forated with very numerou s holes, and furni shed with valves openingu pwards. To each of them is also attached a dropping pipe , p p p ,

& c ., by which the liqu or is allowed to flow from plate to plate ; theu pper end of each of those pipes projects an inch or two above the

plate in which it is inserted, so as to re tain atall times, during thedistillation, a stratum of wash of that depth on each diaphragm ; the

lower end of each pipe dips a little w ay into a shallow pan lying on

the diaphragm u nderneath, forming thu s a steam trap by which theescape of vapou r through the p ipe is prevented . The pipes areinserted atalternate ends of the diaphragm as shewn in the figu re .

The co lumn G, H, I, K, is divided, in a similar manner to thatjust described, into chambers by interposed copper plates or dia

phragms. There are 15 chambers in this column, the lowe rmost tenk k 11 & c ., constitu te the rectg

’

fier, and its diaphragms are perfiorated

and furnished with valves and dropping pipes, precisely similar tothose of the analyzer.

The uppermost fiv e of these frames formed thefi n ished sp iritcon

denser, and are separated from the other ten by a copper shee t, ordiaphragm, withou t small perforations, buthaving a large opening at

W for the passage of the spirituou s vapou r, and a dropping pipe at

S . There is a neck abou t the opening W, rising an inch or so abovethe su rface ofthe diaphragm, which prevents the return of any finishedspirit by that opemng.

Under the dropping pipe S , is a pan mu ch deeper than those ofthe other dropping pipes, and from this pan a branch pipe y passesoutof the apparatu s, and carries the condensed, but still very hotspirits, to a. worm, or other refi igerator, where in they are cooledThe chambers k’ k’ k/ k'of this finished spirit condenser, are formed

of plain u nperforated diaphragms of copper, with alternate openingsatthe ends, large enough both for the passage of the vapou r upwards,d of the condensed spirit downwards the u se of these diaphragms

being merelyto cau se the vapour to pass along the pipesm m in a Z ig

65 3

zag dire ction, and to be thus more perfectly exposed to their con

de nsing su rface .

In every chamber, both of the finished spirit condenser and of the

rectifier, there is a setof zig-zag pipes, placed as shewn in the plan,figure 2 , each set of these pipes is connected with the o thers by thebe nds l l l l, and they thu s form one continu ed pipe 772 m , leading

from the wash pump Q to the bottom of the re ctifier, whence it finallypasses outatN , and rising up , enters the top chamber of the analyzer

whe re it discharges itse lf atn ’.

M is the wash charger, L a smaller wash vessel connected with itand with the wash pump, this vesse l is called the wash reservoir, andis not, strictly speaking, a n ecessary part of the apparatu s its use is

to reta in a su fficient reserve of wash, to prevent the apparatus be ingidle during the de lay, which the E xcise regulations render u nav oidable , between the emptying of the wash charger , and the refilling itfrom a n ew back.

The pump Q is worked continu ou sly du ring the distillation , so as

to supply the apparatus with a regu lar stream of wash. It is so con

structed, as to be capable of furnishing somewhat more than is n eces

sary, and there is a pipe n with a cock on it, by which part of whati s pumped u p may be allowed to ru n back, and the supply sent intothe apparatu s regu lated.

A is a steam bo iler having no thing pe cul iar in its constru ction, thesteam from it is conveye d into the bottom of the spent wash rece ive r.b y the pipe 6, whi ch, after entering the re ce iver, branches into a

n umber of smaller pipes pe rforated with holes, by which the steami s dispe rsed through every part of the wash in which they are immersed .

The se perforated pipes are notshewn in the drawing.

M ode of exotica—When commencing an Operation, the wash-pumpi s first setin mo tion to charge all the 'zig-zag pipes m m 971, u ntil the

the wash passes ov er into the analyzers atn ’. The pump is then stopped,

a nd the steam let into the bottom of the apparatus by the pipe 6 b.

The steam passe s u p through the chambers B B’

, and by the pipe z

into the analyzers, from whence it descends throu gh i i to the bottomof the rec tifier atN . It then rises through the chambe rs k k, euveloping the z ig

-zag pipes, and rapidly heating the wash contained inthem .

When the attendant perce ives, by fee ling the bends l l I, that thewash has be en heate d in several layers of these pipes, perhaps e ighto r ten layers, (butthe number is n otof mu ch moment,) he again setsthe pump to work, and the wash now bo iling hot, or nearly so , (and

6 5 4

always in rapid motion) flows from:the pipe m atn ’, and’ passes down

from chamber to chamber through the dropping pipes, in the direction

shewn by the arrows in a few of the upper chambers . It may be

here observed, that no port ion of the wash passes through the smallholes perforate d in the diaphragms which separate the chambers.

These holes are regu lated both in number and size , so as to be not

more than su fficient to afford passage to the vapou r upwards u nder

some pressu r e . The holes, therefore , afford n o ou tle t for the liqu or,which can only find its w ay down in .the ziz-zag cou rse indicated by

the arrows . It is, therefore , obviou s, that the wash as it passes down

is spread into strata, as many times as there are diaphragms, and isthu s exposed to the most searching action of the steam constantlyblowing u p through it. A s it descends from chamber to chamber,its alcohol is abstracted by the steam passing thro ugh it, agreeably to

the 3d and 4th preliminary principles w e have laid down, and by thetime the wash has reached the large chamber B , it is in the ordinarycou rse of the operation, complete ly deprived of its alcohol.

The wash, as it descends from the analyzer, accumu lates in the

u pper large chamber B’

, u ntil that chamber becomes nearly filled ,which, when the attendant perce ives to be the case , by _the inspection

of the glass tube, he opens the valve of the pipe V, and discharges thecon tents of B, into B then shu tting the valve , the wash from the

analyzer again accumulates in B’, and, when it is a second time nearlyfull, the contents of the lower chamber B are discharged from the

apparatu s altogether, through the cock N , and the charge in B / let

down into B, by opening the valve as before , and thu s the processgoes on so long as there is any wash to supply the pump . When allthe wash is gone , a qu antity of water is letinto the reservoir L , and

pumped through the pipes m m, to finish the process and obtain thelast portions of alcohol. This winding up of the operation by sendingwater through the pipes, takes place on the distillation of every back

of wash, in consequence of an E xcise regu lation, which requ ires thedistiller to keep the produ ce of each back separate from that of anyother. Were it notfor this regulation the distillation wou ld go on

u ninterruptedly, so long as there w as any wash in stock ; the addition

of water for winding up wou ld be necessary butonce during the dis

tilling period, and the manufactu rer would save mu ch time and fu el

atpresent wasted by these interru ptions.

It has been already said, that in the ordinary cou rse of the opera

tion, the wash is stripped of all its alcohol by the time it has reachedthe bottom of the analyzer,but, as a precau tionary measu re , the chambers B ’ B have been superadded, in each of which the spent wash is

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65 6

Whenever the thermometer indicates too high a temperature , more‘

wash should be let into the apparatu s, and v ice versa the quantitybe ing regu lated by the cock on the pipe n . It wou ld seem, however, that very little nicety is requ isite on this po int. The attendantfinds by experience that the flu ctu ation of a few degrees above or

below the proper heat is of little consequ ence ; and, w e observed,that he very se ldom fou nd it ne ce ssary to alter the supply of wash .

The water for supplying the boiler passes through a long coil ofpipe immersed in the boiling, hot, spent wash, by which means it israised to a high temperatu re before it reaches the bo iler. It will beseen that the vapou r passing through this apparatu s is all condensedby the wash, notwater ; and, therefore , no heat is wasted, as in thecommon proce ss. The consequ ence of this is, that abou t three-fou rths

of the fu el u sed with the common stills is saved, a matte r of very

important consideration, in a national point of view .

According to the common process, it requ ires ll s. of coals to dis;

til a gallon of proof spirits?“of which, as w e have said, 91bs. are savedby the n ew system ; and, assuming the whole qu antity of spiritsdistilled in the empire to be gallons, which (colonies in

cluded) w e believe is not over the mark, the saving of fu el arisingfrom the new methods of distilling, which, no dou bt, will be soon

universally adopted, will amou nt to tons of coal per annum .?The apparatu s of Mr. Coffey, erected at Inverke ithing, in Sco t

land, distils gallons of wash perhou r, and that atBonnington ,near L e ith, u pwards of 3000 gallons per hou r. The still erected for

Messrs. Thomas and George Smith, atWhi te-chapel, has been nowu pwards of a year atwork, making, I u nderstand, gallonsof proof Spirits in the period of fiv e days, or obou t gallonsdaily ; and from the pu rity of the spirits, and the immense saving offu el, labour, & c ., is giving the highest satisfaction .The Messrs . Currie atBromley, are working on the same extensive

scale butthey are u sing tw o of Mr. C ofi‘

ey’

s stills. The one whichhe has lately ere cted for Sir Felix Booth, Bart., atBrentford, bidsfair to rival all the others . There are no brew ing coppe rs in thisd istillery, that process be ing entirely carrie d on with a pecu liar apparatu s, which Mr. Coffey has constru cted for Sir. F. Booth for thatpurpose ; and, instead of the numerou s and wastefu l fires necessary

When the coals are of the be stqu ality, the furnace s scientifically con structed,

an d when strong w ash is u sed , a gallon of spirits can be distilled w ith m u ch lessthan 12 lbs. of coals butw e have good reason to belie ve the average consumptionis notle ss than that.

1The author is indebted to Thomson’

s Records of G eneral Science for the

foregoing description of this apparatu s.

6 5 7

in the common distilleries, the whole of the process of brewi ng and

d istilling in this very extensive work is performed bythe e conomical

fires of tw o steam-engine bo ilers .

The still worked by Mr. Bu sby, in Dublin , is a beau tifu l specimen

o f this apparatu s, and is giving great satisfaction by the produ ction

o f a very superior spirit.

The Stills generally in u se in Ireland, u nder the present law , are

of the common kind, consisting of a very large dome-shaped copper,similar to the coppers u sed in breweries, wi th a worm and worm

tub of great magnitu de . The Stills, however, are so familiar that

a more minu te description would be u nne ce ssary.

To enable the reader to form a correct idea of the figure of the

Still formerlyin u se , a representation is subjo in ed, with a de lineationof a person working the machinery, and another standing by the head

to prevent its getting foul .

exertions were making to le ssen the labou r and bringto perfection the process of distillation , plans were , atthe sametime , devised to se cu re the revenu e on the qu antity of spiritsactually produ ced. O ne of the first attempts to effe ct this object,was made atCarrickfergu s, in 1821, by Captain Thomas Po ttinger,by means of machinery plac ed in enclosed vessels. The principles on which his experiments were condu cted had a two -fold obj ect:First, to ke ep the produ ce out of the reach of the distiller du ringthe process ; and, at the sa me time , allow him to ascertain the

strength, heat, and colour of the spirits while running. Secon dly,2 U

6 5 8

to secu re the casks so as to' prevent any defalcation in the conte nts,

or .diminu tion of '

the charge . To se cu re these obje cts, a glass j arw as stationed at the end of the worm, in which

'

was placed‘

an

.hydrome ter, and to the ou tside w as affix ed a scale to indicate thestrength, the heat be ing atthe same time determined by an adjo ining

thermometer. To prevent all access to the flu id, or run from the

.w orm, a glass cylinder w as placed overhead, which, it w as impossibleto remove , withou t b reaking. To effect the second obj ect, thed ifferent re ce ivers w ere covered by iron plates, bolte d and screwed‘within. E ach was furnished with a ball-cock to prevent its be ingfilled above a certain he ight, in which was placed a very large copperball attached to a p ump xto regulate the strength of "

the. liqu or atthetime .of pumping. These balls were in reality hydrometers, which ,when the liqu or became stronger than the u su al standard, sank tothe

‘ bottom, and, bythat means , opened an air-valve which commun icated w ith the . pump, and prevented it from working. T0 thesecon trivances, a machine w as super-added within the spirit rece iver,by which the Spirits were measured, as they came from the worm,

and the qu antity negistered by an index . The whole w as so secu red

as to be inaccessible to the distiller, or the visiting oflicers.

At the suggestion of Mr. Coffey, -(inventor of the still,) who wasappo inted by the Commissioners to superinte nd Captain P ottinger

’s

operations, fre sh e x periments were made , with a new and improvedon a still containing 5 00 gallons. The improvements of

M r. Coffey were , that n o wash could be put into the still withou tbe ing measu red an d re co rded . For this pu rp ose , a close vessel w asemployed, denomina ted the washm easu ring gauger,

”ihav ing two

stop-cocks, or rather a double-cock, so constru cted .that the actof

opening the one for filling the charger, shu t the other'

for employingit ; while , at the same time , the distiller w as enabled to fill his

charger an d convey the conten ts into the still . This dou ble cock

w as enclosed in an iron box containing a few wheels, by the re volu

tion of which, the qu antity of wash “putinto -the still was marked on

an index visible .through small glass apertu res. In this measu ring

charge r, . an overfall pipe w as fixed to shew when it w as full, whichcontained a valve to .prevent any liqu id be ing forced up through it .

A similarscharger w as constru cted for conveying the low-wine s into

the still, on the breast of which w as a close copper case , in which allthe communicating pipes terminated . This case contained a valveopening and shu tting atpleasu re . The discharge -cock w as so con

stru cted as to letevery thing pass fre ely out, but nothing into thestill. The air, or safety-valve , was fixed on the lying arm, in su ch a

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660

on the vessels in a’

w etstate, for abou t two hours before the scaldingwater is pou red in, and afterwards su ffered to stand u ntil it is of that

heat that a man can go in and wash out the vessels. This process

mu stbe done so as to leave no remains of any acid matters whatever,as the least ,portion thereof wou ld prove highly inju riou s and here

it may be generally observed, that, withou t a constant attention to

clean liness,-nothing can be effected in any stage of the work. Some

distillers with every twenty pounds of lime , mix five pounds of pot

ash, and keep it in a stirring state u ntil an efl‘e rv escence tak es place .

This solu tion is made thin like wash, and applied round the whole

vessel, after .which it is washed off in the same order in whi ch it w as

puton . The scalding of the vessels is more particularly to be attended

to in April, M ay, Ju ne , and Ju ly butwhen a su fficient quantity of

goo d water cannot be readily procu red, the solu tion of lime and potash

is indispensable . Some u se soda with the lime in place o f potash, saym a proportion of tw o ou nces of soda to every fou r pounds of lime

buton account of the superior strength of the potash, it is pre ferred.

The malt, barley, and cats, or whatever sort of grain the distillermeans to u se , is g rou nd to a proper consistence and placed in bags

n ear the keiv e , where s itis kept u ntil a sufficiency of w aten is letinto

the ke iv e from the coppers, and then -the bags are emptied in gradu

a lly. The,

quantity of the grain depends o n what kind is to be used ;if a mixture be employed, it mu st be in the proportion of one-seventh

o f malt to equal parts of oats and.

barley ; this be ing the generalratio in a distillery working from What is called raw or mixed grain ;some consider on e-fifth malt, two-fifths bere or barley, and two-fifthsof oats or wheat, as the best proportion -others~

ome-seventh malt, on efifth oats, on e-half wheat, and the remainde r here or barley. Wheatis considered a dangerou s material to u se in a large proportion , inconsequ enc e of the adhesive qu al ity of the wort. A lthoughthese are

the general proportions of grain u sed, yet the distillerr is commonlygu ided by the (state of the markets. In all-casesthe quantity of liqu oremployed for the first or break-up mash for each barrel of ( twelvestones of ground grain, varies from forty to fifty-four Irishg allons at

the discretion of the distiller : twenty gallons isthe qu antity fgenerally

u sed in the se cond mashing,and fifty in the third . It may sometimeshappen that he is deficient in some of the particular kinds of grain,in which case he must supply the difference with whatever sort hehas most of on hands. All the grain i s not put in atthe same time ,the malt be ing commonly putin first, the oats next, and the here , or

barley, last . While the gra i n is b eing removed into the keive , the

661

mixing e ither by machineryor hand rakes is going on .

“

The tempe

ratu re of the water is generally from abou t 144 ° to or from

140° to where water is only employed, which is the case at

commencing each period butthe next day when the small worts are

u sed, the heats are from 146° to 148° and 15 03atfinishing. These

heats are regu lated by .the judgment and experience of the distiller;who manages them , according to the description of grain which heu ses, and .the state in which it may be in, whether n ew from the mill’

or a long time ground . In the latter case , and shou ld the grain be only

a week or ten days grou nd, the heats already spe cified would be su f

ficient but if j ust a come from the mill, the heat will of course be‘

lowered a degree or two , say to Some distillers pay little

atten tion to the state of the grain, and they do notalter the range of

the temperatu res, but this matten is deserving of du e regard, as it

mus t have its influ ence on the liquor in the keiv e . The machinery,or rakes continu e plying u ntil all the grain is thoroughlymixed ,when

the remainde r of the liquor i ntended for the mash is let‘ in from -the

copper, by some in two parts, and by -others in thre e ,~ -ata =tempera~

ture of from 198° to so l-as to raise the ke iv e from 148° as the

case’

may be , to 15 2°atfinishing. E very brewing consists of three

mashings, on e for strong worts, another for weak er ; the last is sent

to the coppers as small worts to assist. in the next brewing. B utthe

number may be said notto be comple ted u ntil all the extract is taken

from the keiv e , which may extend to a fou rth mashing.

A s to the qu antity of worts drawn off the keiv e , the whole of the

first an d se cond mashing is letinto the u nderback. Cau tion is to be ‘

observed in draining the keiv e so as to letas li ttle of the gross mu ci

lage in with the worts as possible . The liqu or o f= each of the two

mashings is su ccessively pumped into the coolers, if the keiv e i s not

large enough to contain the whole worts intended for the back,where i

itis allowed to remain u ntil it is ata he atof from 66° to 70° or

It is then permitted to . ru n into the back where harm is applied .

The gravity, atwhich the worts are intended to be collected or set,

is regula ted e ither in the ru n from the keive , on the coolers, in a wort

re ceiver, or in the back itself, butcommonly in either of the two latter‘

v esse ls . The proportion of yeast is from one to two gallons per‘

cent. , this, however, like other matters, mu st a good deal depend ou

the qu ali ty of the. article , as we ll as on the experience and j udgmentof the distiller. If workin g at5 0° of gravity, from fifteen to twentygallons of harm are usually given to one thousand gallons of worts.Where mu ch harm is used, the liqu or may be ru n into the back a ta .

.662

lower heat, and when‘little

’

is added the heat is requ ired to be higher;butthis depends mu ch on the season of the year : cau tion; howev er ;shou ld be u sed in applying

'

the qu antity of harm , as too much wou ldinju re the flavou r of the spirit.

The fermentation commences generally in the cou rse of threé or

fou r hours, and if the working appears dull, slow, or stubborn, more

harm is introdu ced ; bu b is sometimes added with ’

the harm, and

some times not,until the worts have be en u nde rgoing fermentation for

twenty-four hours. B ub is made from grou nd barley and strongworts, and sometimes from strong small worts from the coole rs, pro-s

perly blended and bo iled with some hops, in the proportioh of on e

pound to a barrel of worts. The meal of peas, beans; and cats is fro;

qu ently u sed in making thi s article, owing to their fermen tive prope r4

ties. This mixture is let off into a cooler where it remains till it

arrives ata temperature of after which it is allowed to formant

by the addition of some harm in a tun from which it is remov ed ,when

in a high state of fermentation, into a back as already stated .

’

If a

qu antity of hub is not thus us ed, a greater portion of harm must be

applied the quantity o f huh depen ds on the extent of the worts set;and is added so as to enable the d istillerto takeadvantage of the 5

per cent . increase allowed by law . The fine’

r the'

grain is 7grou nd,the‘

better for ge tting the whole of the extrac t ; butthe finer, the greater?

shou ld be the precau tion observed in working, becau se it mightsetasdistillers say, or become so thick that the saccharine matter would be

blocked u p’

by an extra heat hence distillers always take cares to

manage’

the warmth of the liqu or so as’

to prevent accidents of this

n atu re , by notallowingthe heat to’

ru n too high, or too low . The

temperature of the water for mashing malt only, is from 15 0° at

commencing, to I 65°or 170

°atfinishing the heat ofthe firstmash"

be ing and gradu ally raised in the cou rse of the mashing by the

addition'

of’

more liquor from the'

coppersuntil the pro cess is concluded:

Malt bears a higher heat than e ither raw or mixed grain . For beeror ale brewers u se higher heats on accou nt of the malt they u se be ing

more highly kiln dried and prepared forthe pu rpose ; for distillation it

is notne cessary to have malt so highly dried . For pale beer, brewe rsu se nearlythe same description ofmalt 'asdistillers . A back mayb e

'

con sidered as fit to go to the still when it is fully attenu ated or emferment no more atthis stage it po ssesses a vinous taste ,and if pres

perly fermented, shows no gravity; and is then ca lled wasil, it being!

during the process of fermentation indiscriminately balled warts aridwash.

"l

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664

fermented together, more produ ctive than small portions, and notso

liable to be affected by change of weather ne ither is the same portion of spirits to be always gotfrom the same materials. Raw cornworts are more like ly to ru n into the ace tou s fermentation than maltworts, and the liqu or made from them is more su sceptible

.

of receiv

ing a commu nication of flavou r in rectification than that made whollyfrom malt .

Here it may be satisfactory to define the natu re and properties offermentation, so far as regards brewing and distillationChemists div ide fermentation into four different heads, the saccha

rin e, the v inou s, the a cetou s, and the p utrefa ctz’

v e . Starch is the

only su bstance liable to the saccharine fermentation ; for, when it is

kept moist for some time, it generates abou t half its we ight of sugar.The vinous fermentation requ ires sugar, water, and yeast, u nder acertain temperature .

The real theory of the proce ss is accounted for by the known fact,that the sugar Which disappears is almost equ al to the united we ightsof the alcohol ~

and carbonic acid generated. ~ The saccharine ju icesof fru its do not requ ire the addition

i

of yeast, since they contain,w ithin themselves, some principles like it, that cau se the fermentive

process —thu s the ju ice of the grape , the apple , & c., fermentsspontaneou sly, butnot withou t the free admission of atmospheric

When grains, (as oats, malt, bere , are intended to be con

verted into fermented liqu ors, it is necessary to have a portion of

them malted in order the more readi ly to cau se the farinaceou s partsto be converted into the saccharine su bstance .

It was formerly thought essential to su bje ct the entire quantityintended to be brewed to this process butexperience has proved thata mixtu ‘re of raw with malted grain will answer that purpose , and

convert the whole mass into a saccha rine flu id. The farinaceou s partof grain merely mixed with water, passes into a state of acidity, butwhen combined wi th a portion of saccharine matter, i t u ndergoes thevinou s fermentation . Care mu st be taken that the qu antity of waterbe not too great, as in that case the acetou s fermentation wouldtake place , and if too little water be employed, the proce ss will bedull and doubtfu l. In the vinou s stage , the

.heat is moderate ,seldom exceeding that of the human body ; in the ace tou s it is mu chhigher, and in the pu trefactive i t is still greater even so high tha tpu trefying substances heaped toge ther have been sometime s knownto kindle into flame .

65

All'

vegetable substances which un dergo spontaneou s fermentation ,are more liable to be come acetou s, than those fermented by yeast .This may be accounted for by the consideration of the mu cilaginousand extractive matter notbe ing properly blended by the active principle of barm- hence , were it practicable , fermenting withou t theaid of this important and essential material, would be attended notonly with great risk butwith certain loss.

O n a trial institu ted by the Crown against a distiller for adding

yeast to worts b efore being collected in the fermenting wash-back, bywhich he w as subje ct to a penalty of £200, it w as endeavou red to beproved, that in samples which had been tak en by two inspecting oflicers,and which when distilled, produ ced spirits, yeast had not been employed, and tha t the result w as the effe ct of spontaneou s fermentation,though the samples so taken showed from the commencement, a pro

gress of attenu ation from 5 0° to 4° in a period of three days.

E vidence on the part of the distiller alleged, that spontaneou s fer ‘

mentation commences in from three to five days ; on e of the wit

n esses, a practical distiller, stated, that he settwo gallons of worts ata gravity of from 46° to and a temperatu re of from 70° to

and that they came down in abou t fou r days to 5 ° which was the

lowest of two or three experiments of this natu re , the average be ingfrom 6° to Another witness tried how fermentation wou ld act

on two gallons of pu re malt wort, withou t barm, bub, or any fer~

mentable matter, and he fou nd the operation to commence in abou ttwenty-fou r hou rs after, and to continu e attenu ating for 10 or 12

days, produ cing a good Spirit. H e afterwards tried fo ur gallons of

worts from mixed grain ata gravity of 78° 5 , ata temperature of

and procured abou t half-a-pint of spirits, butthe process of attenunation stopped at l 4 lbs.—Had this qu antity been regularly fermentedand distilled, it is considered that it shou ld have yielded abou t twoqu arts of spirits, evidently shewing the defe ctive nature of spon

taneou s fermentation . Another experiment w as tried on two gallonsof worts made from a mixture of barley, malt, oatmeal, and wheat,and setata gravity of 5 1° and 70

0 temperatu re ; these were abovefiv e days attenu ating, stopped ata gravity of 5 , and yie lded abou ta naggin of spirits, besides a considerable portion of fe ints.

In Opposition to these testimonies , it was u rged on the part of the

Crown, by the evidence of two Chemists and a Revenu e Inspe cting

Officer, in support of the correctness of the samples, that n o spiritswhatever cou ld be produced from worts by spontaneou s fermentation,as w ithoutbarm, or the addition of some other fermentive matter,

666

worts wou ld ru n into the acetous fermentation, and instead of alcohol

produ ce acetic acid. O ne of the most intelligent of those Chemists;stated, that afte r seventy-four experiments, he fou nd that in no

instance , worts withou t the addition of fermentive matter, have u n

dergon e the vinou s fermentation, and that worts that have been submitted to spontaneou s fermentation, produ ced nothing but vinegar,as withou t the addition of some fe rmentative matérial,such as yeast, nospirits could be

’

obtained; This is confirmed by the ex periments of

Fourcroyand V aznqu elin . Some ex perimentalists have asserted,that

fermentation may take place withou t harm in worts impregnated'

withfixed air ; and thatthe operation is qu icker or'

slower in proportion'

to the qu antity of air which the worts have imbibe d—perhaps this iscau sed by the fim

’

d containing an extraordinary quantity of fixed air;which, by some disposition of the air itse lf to assume its e lastic

state , may produ ce the fermentive process. The briskness, pu ngen cy ,:and pleasing acidulou s taste of all fermented liqu ors, de pend on the

qu antity of fixed air which they contain. Shou ld they be come flator vapid, theymay be broughtto their origina l vigour by a restoratio n

of the lost aerial acid, which may be effe cted by variou s practical ope-a

rations,"as shewn by the experiments of Dr. Henry, an eminentChemist, of Manchester but this has never be en resorted to by

'

either distillers or brewers. It is absurd to speak'

of fe rmenting in

large .cbncerns withou t barm, becau se time cannotbe spared, and even

w ere‘

itpracticable , the waste of property would . be incalculable .

E xperience has proved that fixed’

air is one‘

of the great principles

of fermentation, it has , therefore , become; the practice to fennent

in close , instead of open, vesse ls , in orde r to prevent the waste of the

alcoholic material, with the escape of the fixed air, or carbonic acid

gas, by which it is impregnated. It is thought that by pu tting theyeast

‘

first into the tun and pou ring the worts upon it, a better mix ;

ture of the ingredien ts and a sp eedier and superior feinientation’

willbe the consequ ence , which may be readily accomplished where the re

is a wort rece iver : the same mass ‘

should “

be allowe d to'

ferment

withou t any subsequ ent addition,”

for n ew and old'

worts never amal

gamate to be sufficiently'

produ ctive, though a c ontrary practice has

been sometimes followed .

The law has determine d that no fermentive matter shall be added

to“worts u ntil two hours after be ing set, or u ntil the ofi c er has ascer-s

tained the gravity, so that though fermentive matter be added at a

ve ry high tempe rature , even that nothing is effe cted, as no

fermentation can take place until the temperature be reduced to at

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668

after is preserved in a separate vessel and called weak low wines .

These are redistilled, the strong low wines first and the weak after"

wards. From both is obtained a quantity of strong spirits, and the

residue is termed fe ints, be ing the weak liqu id after the spirits are

extracted . These fe ints are redi stilled with the low wines of the next

back.

Spirits are made atdifferent strengths ; some distillers strike themoff so low as 3° or 4

°over proof, butthe general practice is to strike

them off ata strength of from 12 to 18° over proof ; mu ch, however ,depends on the work and views of the distiller. It is 'cu stomary tocalculate that from a given qu antity of grain a certain qu an tity of

spirits can be drawn , the present practice enables distillers to getfrom

735, to 87% imperial gallons of proof spirits from every barrel’

mashed ; and even sometimes nine gallons, mu ch depending on the '

qu ality of the grain .

Distillers tabu late their coppers and ke iv es, by which means they »

are enabled to de termine what qu antity of liqu or ata given temperatu re is necessary in mashing a certain qu antity of grain according to

the gravity of the worts required . For example, suppose it is in

tended to set7 ,000 gallons at 5 L}? at the first mash, gallons

may be drawn off at60°

now by mu ltiplying by 60 the pro

du ct is Again, by obtaining from a second mash gal

lons at that in the same manner of calculation w ill affordwhich added to the makes this divided by 7,000 (theentire number of gallons designed to be set,) gi ves a gravity of

Some distillers draw all the worts from the ke iy e atthe first mash

ing, particu larly where the vessels, v iz ., the mash-tun , u nder-back,and coolers, are su fficiently capaciou s. Where this is notthe case , ~

the calculations are made in the forego ing manner . If, however, thesmall worts in the copper shew a gravity of any consideration, du eallowance mu st be made in the qu antity of grain to be mashed .

Suppose it to be ata gravity of 13° on an average , it is easy to"

cal

cu late what qu antity of grain is to be added to draw off worts of thedesired gravity.If the worts shou ld exceed this gravity, less grain is requ ired to

bring the worts to the standard and if u nder, more gra in mu st be

employed for that pu rpTo illus trate this subject, letit be a qu estion to know what qu antity of grain wou ld produ ce gallons of worts, at5 1

°of gravity,

669

allowing gallons of small worts to remain ofthe previous brew

15 00 The average qu antity of liqu id u sed for the first 48 gals. permashing, as stated on page 660, is barrel.

For the second m ashing 20 do.

third do . 5 0 do .

l 18 gallonsThen divided by 118 quotes 5 0,the number of barre ls requ ired .

Suppose that on the last day of the distiller’s brewing period, hehas worts in three coppers v iz .

No . 1 200 bar. at22 °

13°

3 200 4 °

and he wishes to u se all these worts, butno water in addition and

he knows by experience that his malt and raw corn will yield 116°

of gravity per barre l of 12 stone , or 1681bs. it18 requ ired to de ter

mine howmany barrels of malt and corn are necessary to ensure a

wort of 43° gravity. The Operation is.

2GOX 22 4400

200X l3 2600

200 4 800XAs 116° z l bar 7soo : 67,

7

,

78002 123"

600

shewing that 673-75 barrels of malt and corn are su fficient to yield 13°

the average composition of the three coppers .

Now since the requ ired gravity isThe average gravi ty,

The difference or complement is 30°

Then, A s 13: 6777

3 30 : the number of barrels requ iredat30

° gravity ; hence arises the following general ru le for all calculations of this natu re

RULE .

Find the mean grav ity and the adequ ate number of barrels of maltand corn requ ired at the desired gravity, as in the pre ceding directions : then say, -A s the mean gravity is to the number of barrelsof malt and corn thu s found so is the complement or difference of

gravities to the number of barrels of malt and corn requ ired ; or

670

thu s, -Divide the produ ct of the complement of the gravitie’

s and

number of barrels by the mean gravity, and the resu lt i s the barrelsofmalt required .

To know what malt and corn .wou ld be requ isite to produ ce a wort

of allowing 46 barrels at13°to be on hands atcommencing, and

the grain , on an average , to possess 120°of extract per barrel of 12

ston es . The calcu lation is. as .follows

46 barrels at.13° produc es 46 x 13z 5 98° extract, and ~5 0— l3= 37

then 46x 37 = 1702 , which divided by 120° quotes barre ls or 2

stones nearly, the qu antity nece ssary to be brewed to produ ce the

complement requ ired .

To brew and ferment atone operation has lately been attempted,by which it is thought the qu antity of the spirit is au gmented whilethe qu ality is improved .

-The process is by mix ing 10001b s. of maltfinely ground, with 3001105 . of Wheaten meal then gradually adding200 gallons of water, stirring it well all the time till comple telymixed,and afterwards adding 5 00 gallons of bo iling water,mixing the wholequantity thorou ghly. It is then su ffered to stand for two hou rs andagain mixed, and when cold abou t 12 or 13pounds of solid yeast areadded, and the whole allowed to ferment in a warm place in a vesselloosely covered . This experiment may, in course of time; lead to

beneficial resu lts, butthe certainty of su ccess is n otfounded on suth

cient grou nds to ensu re a recommendation of its adoption.Many distillers ,

u se super-carbonate of soda, and others alkalis, forthe purpose of facilitating fermentation and correcting acidity ;

4

but

these shou ld notbe resorted to withou t.

great caution, as they cau setoo violent ‘

a working of the back, loss in .produ ce , and impart aninjurious flavou r . Some add su lphuric acid to the wash, in order toprevent an oil from the grain coming over with alcohol, which, if noteffe cted, the taste and flavou r of the spirits is aptto be inju red.To make pu re spirit, all requ ired i s, a good wholesome grain,cau tion in brewing, a regu lar fermentation, and attention to the dis

tillation .

'

I t is manifestly the interest of every distiller to purchasethe best description of grain, whether malte d or unmalted ; a clea r,full, hard, and well preserved grain , free from m u st or smell of anykind

,is the best . All the raw gra in u sed in distilleries is kiln-dried

before it is s ent to the mill, in which process great care sho uld beobserved, so thatit is nottoo dry or too crisp, it be ing suffi cient todry it to that consistence termed mz

’

llf ree , that is, when it is thoughtto break fre ely in grinding .

At the close o f any period, a distiller may satisfy himself as to thecoi'rectness of the work by dividing the number of gallons obtained,

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.672

this is termed the rotor w ithering heap . It is then carried to the

k iln and dried by tu rf—the kiln-head on which it is dried is covered.with rotten straw, over which, if convenient, is placed hair-cloth or

matting . The period of drying a kiln-head or crop, as it termed, iscommonly for twenty-fou r hours,

'

when'

dire cted by a person of e x perience . While on the kiln, it is carefully turned by the hand so as

to expose every particle to a like degree of heat, and to prepare it forgrinding. This process consists mere ly in bru ising or breaking the

grain, butnotredu cing it to flour . When thu s prepared, it is takento the still-hou se , which is generally a hovel or excavation near a ru n

ning stream, or where there is a fu ll supply of water . The qu an tityof malt tobe brewed is commonly from sixteen to seventeen stones.After be ing bru ised or mashed in the u su al w ay, it is covered in thekeiv e , with a lid or sacks, and allowed to stand for three or fou rhours. The worts are then drawn off and cooled to a temperatu reregu lated by the finger, no instrument being u sed for that pu rpose

and commonly to the same degree as that which is observed inregular

'

distilleries. The worts are then putinto a pipe or pu ncheon,w ith abou t a gallon of harm. The worts soon begin to ferment,generally an hour or two after the harm is

'

added ; they are allowed

to stand in a state of fermentation for twenty-fou r hou rs, and thenprepared . These two brewings, after u ndergoing the fermentingprocess for abou t e ighteen hou rs, are considered fit for the still, andin the ordinary cou rse of working, a brewing is made each morning.

The qu antity of pu re spirits drawn from these two brewings, u suallyconsists of 223gallons of from one to two, or from two to fi v e ; or,

in other words, the spirit is of that strength that it will bear one

gallon to abo u t two of spirits, or two gallons of water to fi ve of

spirits to bring it to proof. The u su al strength atwhich illicit spiritsare made, is fromfour to six over proof on Sykes’s hydrometer ; butsometimes it is made at8 per cent . over proof ; and, in many cases, ithas been sold ata strength of 30 over proof.Illicit stills are generally made of tin or copper sometimes of a tin

body and copper bottom ; often a large , black, me tal potis u sed. The

worm is either made of copper or tin, according to the caprice of thesmu ggler. These stills range from 40to gallons’ content, one

‘

beingmade to serve the double pu rpose of a still and copper . The fu elemployed in the working of the stills has no effect on the flavou r of thewhiskey, whether it be of turf, wood, or coal .

In making the malt, and in the mode of distilling, the flavou r isaltogether formed ; no machinery is employed in the still to keep theliqu id from burning ; and hence the empyreumatic taste and smell are

673

communicated to the liquor, and also to the backing, as it is called,of oatmeal and hotwater.

In distilling the wash, the strong low-wines are separated from theweak, the latter be ing thrown back into the still with the su cceedingcharge of wash a similar practice is observed in making spirits, thefeints being put into the still with the next charge o f low -wines.

Thu s the spirits are preserved pu re and clear, no thing whatever beingu sed in the distillation buta small quantity of soap throw n into thestill with the pot-ale to neu tralise , or ke ep down the barm, (as theyterm it,) which would, o therwise, cause the run ofthe low -wines tobecome co lou red like the wash, or to get fou l. Itis a mistakennotion to suppose that soap is u sed only by the great distillers, since itis considere d an indispensable a rticle by every person who understands

the mode of working a still on the old system .

The manufacture of these illicit stills has be en long a favou rite

beverage in Ireland , be ing from malt withou t adu lteration , and pos

sessing a flavour which habit has rendered most agre eable . This, .

combined w ith the high du ties on legally-distilled spirits, and the

want of a ready marke t for the disposal of the grain of remote and

mo unta inou s distri cts, indu ced the people to embark in this illic ittraffic to an extent, which w as not only inju riou s to the agricu ltu re

and revenu e of the cou ntry, butto the morals and peacefu l habits of

the community. T0 su ch an extent w as it carrie d, that in 1806, out

of gallons, (the compu ted consumption of spirits in Irelandin that year,) gallons were allowed to be the produ ce of

illic it manu facturers ; and in 1811, 1812 , and 1813, there were no

less than illicit di stille ries destroyed by the re venu e and

To putdown this illi cit trade , various enactments w ere passed bythe legislature , amo ng which that of fining the townlands on w hi ch

any portion of a still, wash, low wines, or other materials for distillafl

tion were found, was notthe least oppressive . The annual average

of fine s lev ied for se ven ye ars u nder the act for the suppressio n of

this evil, amounted to for all Ireland, while in one cou nty

alone the sum laid for 1806, w as in 1807 , and in

1814, How could itbe expected to be otherwise , when itwas proved before the parliamentary commissioners, that many menwere fou nd to de clare that the y had never done a day’s work in the ir

lives butat illicitdistillation, and that the y knew nothing e lse by which

they cou ld gain subsistence .

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Many interesting“

and curiou s facts might be related of the extraordinary contrivances of the people to evade the law and preventdete ction, su ch as the artfu l constru ction of distilleries on the bou n

daries of tow nlands, in the cavern s of mou ntains, on islands in lakes,on boats in rivers of carrying away and se cre ting revenu e office rs

for weeks together to prevent their giving testimony, the romanticmanner of the ir treatment While in confinement, and the variou s

other schemes and devices to defeat the intentions of the govern

ment.Am ong these may

‘be mentioned the instance of a person who hadcon stru cted a distillery so artfully, that it e lu ded the vigilance of the

most expe rt officers of excise , though known to have long existed in

the neighbou rhood . A de termined gentleman of this departmentresolved to find it outat all hazards, and, on on e moon light night

u naccompan ied by sany pe rson, he followed a horse led by a peasant,having a sack across the back of the animal, whi ch, he su spectedcontained materials for this mysteriou s manufactory . When

'

the

horse had arrived at a certain place , the sack w as removed

from his back, and su ddenly disappeared . The officer made his

observations, retu rned to his l esidence , and having procured mili

tary assistance , repaired to the place where the horse had been

u nloaded . All w as silent, the moon shone bright, the grou nd w as

u nmarked by any pecu liar appearance , and he w as almost inclined,

(as well as those who accompanied him) to think that he labou redu nder a delusion . Perce iving, however, some brambles loose ly scat

tered abou t the place , he proceeded to examine more minute ly, and

on the ir removal, discovered some loose sods, u nder which w as found

a trap door leading to a small c avern, at the bottom of which w as

'

i

a

complete distillery atfull work, supplied by a subterraneou s stream,

and the smoke‘

conv eye d from it through the'windings of a tube that

w as made to commu nicate w ith the fu nnel of the chimney of thedistiller

’

sd w elling-home , situ ated ata considerable distance .

Another distillery has been known to be worked on the site , and

in conju nction w ithf a lime-kiln, which, from the kiln be ing continually in operation, kept the o ther for years withou t detection. So

cunningly were some of those still-hou se s situ ated, and so artfullyconstru cted, that the smoke proceeding from them w as made to issu eas if from bu rning heath, or sods of peat, igni ted for manu re . The irposition w as , for the most part, e ither on a commanding eminence , in

‘

the centre of a hog, or in a well-se cu red fastness ; but’

always calcu

lated to prevent the identity of townland or proprietorship, while the

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676

Janu ary, 1883, to fifty-seven parties, and in the present year to

seventy parties- amounting, including officers and men, to upwardsof 1200 persons. They were distribu ted through those parts of the

cou ntry in which illicit distillation most prevailed, and thou gh the ir

exertions have been very great, yet they have but partially sup

pressed the evil .

Their services will be best appreciated by an enumeration of thedetections made by them in fou r su ccessive years

MaltBu sh. Distilleries. Worts G alls . Spirits se ized.

624

35 3

Since the re-organization of the Revenu e Police u nder the superintendence of Colonel B rereton , and ,

the , ju diciou s alterations made byhim

,this force has be come more effective , and will, no doubt, prove

of great benefit to the Revenue.

E xperience has pro ved that illicit distillation has always decreased

in proportion to the lowness ofthe du ty, so that it w as almost annihilated by the reduction which took place in 1823, by cau sing a sub

stitution nearly u ni Verse ] of the legal for the illegal article . Differe nce of opinion, how ever, exists respe cting the extent to which a

redu ction of du ty shou ld be made ; perhaps the best means to prevent

the evil u nder consideration, wo uld be to reduce the du ty in propo r

tion to the average price of grain in the province s, so tha t the temptation to manu factu re spirits from it, wou ld be less than the gra in

itself wou ld bring in the marke t. Su ch a measu re co u ld scarce ly fail

of having, atleast, a pow erful influ ence , if not of e ffecting a total

suppression of the illegal practice , while it wou ld give the preponderance in favou r of the legal manu factu rer.

[

Of the many plans which have been laid to obstru ct the revenu eofficers in the discharge of the ir du ty, the following is notthe leastdeserving of notice — O u the approach of the Assize s in 1803, when

many were abou t to be prose cu ted for illicitly distilling,’

eu officer,statione d atDu nfanaghy, in the Cou nty of Donegal, who w as to sup

port the informations, was su ddenly se ized, blind-folded, and carriedaway by a body of me n in dn u ise , and brought to the island of

Arran on the we stern coast . From thence he Was conveyed to the

islands of Goa] , Inn ismay, & c. where he w as closely confined , often

thre atened with the loss of life, and was even obliged, by way of

7

humiliation for his native services,to assist in the working of an illicitstill ; while , like another Tantalus, the cup of pleasu re w as held to hisparched lips, withou t the liberty of gratifying his thirsty de sires . At

the e nd of thirteen days, when the ne ce ssity for his confinement hadc eas ed, he w as again blindfolded, taken from the island, and sent aconsiderable distance into the interior of the cou ntry, where the maskw as removed from his face , and he w as allowed in the solitu de of

night, to make his w ay to his disconsolate family, who , all the time ,had looked u pon his restoration as hopeless. Another officer, on a

similar o ccasion, w as hurried from his bed, withou t any coveringexcept his shirt and trou sers , putinto a sack, thrown across the backof a horse , and, in this manner, w as condu cted to the margin of a lake ,where , in his ow n hearing, a consu ltation was he ld whether he shou ldbe drowned by tie ing a stone to the sack and committing it to thedeep, or that he shou ld be put to a more lingering and tortu ring

death . In this awfu l state of su spense he w as removed to a mou ntainous part of the cou ntry, where he w as subj e cted to e very kind ofinsu lt and privation , continu ally menaced with death in every shapeof barbarity, led outat night as if abo utto be execu ted, and againconduc ted to his so litary habitation , anticipating a renewal of furthercru elties . In this state he w as re tained for a considerable time , tillthe Judge who presided atthe Assizes, during the tria l of some persons for illi citly distilling, suspe cting the parties as be ing accessary to

this outrage , told them, that if the office r who had be en taken away,we re notimme diate ly libe rated, he would pass su ch a sentence on themas wou ld for ever put it outof the ir power to commit su ch another

ofience , and gav e them but twenty-fou r. hou rs for his restoration .

This had the de sired effe ct the u nfo rtunate man w as again putintoa sack and restored to his family in the same manner as that in whichhe had been carried away.

To the vigorous measures of government, aided by the gentry of

the country,butmo re to the lowering of the du ty and the encou ragement given to small stills, the present de crease of illicit distillation

m y be mainly attribu ted and tho ugh it still exists , its prevalence is

butcomparatively partial.

The legal distilling establishments of the countryare, for. .the mostpart, condu cted on an extensive scale , the s tills . ranging from 5 00 to

gallons’ contents. In Cork, the establishments of Wyse,

Callaghan , M orrogh, L yons, O’

Kee ffe , Shoe , and Daly, .are of immensemagnitude , while the concern of Murphy, as we ll as ,that of Hackett

atMiddleton, are little inferior . The distillery o f C lonjmol contains

678

3 mash-tu ns containing gallons, and capable of u sing 400

barrels of grain in a day . It has 5 coolers containing gallons,with 12 wash-backs holding gallons ; on e wash-charger of

gallons 2 low wines’ and feints’ chargers gallons 2

low -wines’ stills gallons, and one wash-still of gallons.

The qu antity of wash fermented and consumed in a period of 12

d ays, varies from 15 8 to gallons , produ cing abou t

gallon s of proof spirits. The charge for the year ended 5 th January

1838, w as gallons. This concern works abou t nine months

in the year, and gives daily employment to abou t on e hu ndred and

fifty persons.

Brown’s e stablishment in Limerick has two stills for wash, con

containing gallons, and tw o for low -wines, containinggallons. There are eleven wash-backs, each averaging gal

lons, one wash-charger,36,600 two low -wines’ rece ivers, tw o

feints’ rece ivers, two low -wines and fe ints’ chargers,one u nder-back, one bub-tun , one spirit re ce iver,

five spiritsi store -casks, each one metal cooler, inthree parts, and on e worts’ re ce iver containing gal

lons. In a bonded warehou se on the premise s, there are generallysorted from 5 00 to 800pu ncheons of spirits . There are also two malt

hou ses, which work six months in the year, each of which wets 5 30bu shels of barley twice in the we ek . The machinery is worked by

tw o steam-engines, one of which is of 40 horse power . Besides3000 tons of coal annu ally consumed, there are upwards ofboxes of tu rf brought down the Shannon from a hog abou t sevenm iles distant ; in the cu tting, drying, and making up of thi s turf, fiv ehu ndred persons are constantly employed . The site of the distillery

o ccupie s abou t three acres , and the machinery and u tensils are

estimated to have cost upwards of A med ical gentlem an has a salary for attendance on the labourers, to whom half wagesare given in case of the ir be ing rendered incapable of work, e ither

from age or accident .

The distillery of Mr . James Jameson, M a1rowbone-lane , Dublin,has fou r stills ; tw o for wash, containing gallons ; tw o for

low -wines, two me tal mash-tans, six coppe rs,two u nder—hacks, seven coolers, gallons

besides cooling-pipes of great extent. There is a wash-charger holding and an intermediate on e containing gallons thereare ten fermenting wash-backs capable of holding gallons .

‘

O ne of these alone holds and three others upwards of

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680

Bu shels.

Allowing 3, for malt 2184 at 68. 3d perbush. £682 10s. 0d .

2, for barley 65 5 3 at 3 4% 1105 16

3, for oats 65 5 3 at 2 715

860 1.

The average cost for grain wou ld be200 tons of coals at12s. per ton .

Carriage , at28. per do.

Barm .

Total cost of materialsDedu ct for hog-wash and grains

Netcost for materials. 2748 8 0

Add du ty, at2s. 4d . per proof gal. 3634 3 4

Stands distiller for materials and du ty. 6382 11 4

Rating sales, at5 3. 7d . per gallon 25 percent . O .P . the whole galls. at

tha t strength, or at proof,wou ld bring 695 6 16 8

Balance to meet expenses, & c. 5 74 5 4

O n this principle it is easy to calcu late what the price of whiskeyshou ld be , to make the trade of a -distiller an obje ct worthy of

speculation .

Few countries afl’ord better means or facilities for condu cting thisbusiness than Ireland,

'grain be ing plentiful, fue l cheap, Water inabundance , workmen numerou s, and eager for employment, with aready market always to be had for the disposal of the commodity.

In estimating the qualities of grain for distilleries, much depends on

the soil, climate , and seas‘

on ; hence calculations founded on any

given data, Withou t considerations of this kind, might lead to errone

’

ou s resu lts, the relative propo rtions o f mu c ilage , sugar, gluten, and

nu tritive , or soluble matter, varying in diffe rent’countries. The

‘grain of the south of Europe e xcels that of the north, owing to the

d ifferent influ ence of heat, dryness, and moisture .

'

Itmust, the rca‘

for‘e, be valuable to the d istiller, brewer,”or e x pe rimentalist, to be

presented with the following tabular view ’

of the chemical analysis

of the principal articles from whi ch spirits,'

or other liquors, are , or

may be , extracted ,'

as given by Sir Humphrey Davy a nd othe r‘

eminent philosophers.

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bere or b

O O O D D ' B O O b O O O O O

corn 0 0 0

own in

Do . in SpringBeans (common)Be ans (kidney)Lentils

fi‘

0m 26'0

to 200 0 15 5 to l 5

0 0 0

The basis of_all spirits and vinou s fermentation is sugar, and no

intoxicating beverage can be obtained from any substan ce ,which doesnotcontain a portion of this mate rial , n or is the re any su bstan ce ,which contain s it, that 1s notprodu ctive

'

of the alcoho lic principle to a

greater or less degree , e1ther 1n proportion tothe saccharine qu an tity,o r to its combination with othe r ma tter. Chemists are d ivided as to

C abbages w ere in common u se among'

the ancients , an d Cato wrote v olume sdescriptive of their natu re and valu e . The Indian s had su ch veneration for cab ,

, bages that they swore by them, and were, in thatrespect, as superstitiou s as the

Egyptians, who p aid divine honors to leeks and onions for the gre at bene fit, whichthey conce ived, they derived from them.

682

the constitu ent parts of sugar ; all, however, agree that it is composed

of carbon, oxygen , and hydrogen , butno experiments have yetde termined the exact proportion of each ; an d a recent analysis has proved

that the difference between the composition of starch and that of sugaris trifling,and

‘

that the former principle is easily converted into the

latter by natu ral, aswe ll as artificial operations, and that this o ccu rs

as well in the germ ination of seeds as in the process ofmalting : hence

itis evident why those fru its, roots, and seeds, or grain, which co ntain

the largest proportion of starch, yield the greatest qu antities of alcohol

or spirits. The qu antity of saccharine matter contained in any grain,or edible plant, w ill be fou nd by making a tinctu re of the vege table

to be assayed in rectified spirits of wine , which, when satu rated byheat, will deposit the sugar by standing in a cool place .

The following table exhibits the qu antity of alcohol, (sp . gr . .82 5 at

60° Fahrenheit) in several kinds of wines and other liqu ors, as ascer

tain ed by the experiments of Mr. Brande .

P er cent. per m easu re . P er cent. per m easu re

Port, average of six Hock .

Do. highest, PalmDo . lowest, Vin de Grave ,Sherry, average of four kinds Frontignac,Do. highest, CotiDo.

Claret, average of tw o kinds Cape Made ira ,Calcave lla,

Malaga,Bu cellas,R ed Made iraMalmsey Made irMarsalaD o .

Made ira, highest,D o . lowe st,R ed

White do .

D o .

White Hermitage ,R ed do .

Hock

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

From the pre ceding table, it appears that port, made ira, marsala,raisin, and currant wines, contain the greatest bulk of alcohol, so that

a ss

1

Constantia ,Tent,Shiraz,Syracu se , .N ice ,Tokay,Raisin Wine ,Grape Wine ,Cu rrant Wine ,

11.30Gooseberry Wine ,E lder Wine . Cider P erry,

l Stou t,Ale ,

\1 Brandy,R um

H ollands,

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684

they'

su cceeded to smuggle to an enormou s extent. " Besides this evil,private distillation had so forced itse lf on the notice of government,from its demoralizing tendency, that it w as fou nd ne ce ssary to dire ct

an inqu iry into the laws which controled the operations of the distillers of the United Kingdom. Du ring the cou rse of that inqu iry, a vastmass of information was co llected, and the respective merits of the

variou s systems then in u se were compared and de te rmined , so far asregardedthe practibility of extending on e u niform plan ofwork to thewhole empire . After a close examination, it w as cons idere d that theprinciple of the law then existing in Scotland, (a law originally sug

geste d by the distillers themse lves) which w as that of charging theduty a ccording to the gravity of the worts, or wash, with the us e of

the saccharometer for that pu rpose ,w as the best calculate d for obta ining the object in view. The valu e of this instrument, as applied to

distilling purposes, w as for a long time known to the trade, and had

in 1799, attracted the attention of the Scotch oflicers of the revenu ebutits application as a test, or criterion fb r ascertaining the gravity

of worts w as not introduced till 1816, when the law in Scotland w asmodified to embrace all the checks of the E nglish system, with theother improvements consequen t on the u se of the saccharome ter .

The ex tension of the Scotch system to Ireland,afforde d the,opper

tunity of re vising the act, un der whi ch itwas condu cted ; and instead

of distillers being restricted from mak ing wo rts lower than 60 (whichw as the case in Sco tland,) it w as thought expedient to remo ve eve ry

obstacle of this description, and permit ' them to disti l worts atany

gravity from 30° to to be ascertained by su ch a saccharometeras the L ords o f the Treasu ry might order .While on this s ubject itmay be proper to remark thatthe saccha

rometer, (from m x x g, sugar , and Morgana measu re) is a s imple machine

inv ented in 1784 by Mr . Richardson , a bre we r atHu ll.

It is u sually composed of brass, and is nothing more or less than as

its name imports—a me as ure’

o f sweetness , o r saccharine matter.

.The form o f that now u sed ’

in the E xcise departm ent, and known bythe name of Bate ’s saccharometer, (from Wm . Bre ttell B ate , the ia

v entor, ordere d by the Treasu ry in 1823, to be u sed insteado f Allan’s

u n der the actofthe 4thGe o .4, ch . is abou t 7§ incheslong, cons istingof an elliptical hall, or float, with a flatgradua te d stem of .4ginches

in length, having ,a small loop,atthe bottom . The div ision s on the

scale are numbered downwards from 1° to and it is supplied withfive we ights fitted to the loop, and marked 970, 1000, 1030, 1060,

685

and 1090 : the first weight be ing for attenuation below water, the1000 atwater, and the others -above water. The instrument is accom

pan ied with a book of tables to assist in the calcu lation ofthe grav ities,and to which the reader is referred for further illu stration . It w as

constru cted to ascerta in the swe e tness of worts, or to compare theirwe ight with that of equ al qu antitie s of the water employed. In fact,i t may be said to be a hydrometer calcu lated to shew the spe cific grav ity of wash instead of spirits. For, as

’

spirituous liqu ors are strong

in proportion to the ir levity, or weak in.

proportion to their gravity,and as the hydrometer will sink deepe r in strong than f in weak spirits,so the saccharometer will sink deeper in weak than in strong worts .

Re specting the history of this instrument, which has be come the

standard for the colle ction of the revenu e , and the regu lator of the

work of brewers and distillers, it is a cu riou s fact that Mr. Richardson , previou s to its inv ention ,had realized a considerable independencebutthat after the application of the saccharometer, his manu factu rew as less e steemed, and he lost that cu stom an d celebrity by which hehad previou sly acquired so mu ch su ch too frequently has been thefate of those by whom society has been most benefited !Traders have been in the habit of u sing the saccharometer invented

by Mr . Dicas, of Liverpool it is calcu lated to shew the gravity or

saccharine matter in an E nglish ale -barre l of 36 gallons, equ al to 44gallons’ wine-measu re . When a wort, therefore , is stated u pon it tobe of 601b s., or 60

° gravity, the meaning is, that 36 gallons of su ch

liquid we ighs its we ight of water and 60lb s. more , so that among distillers and brewers by degrees of gravity is meant the excess of the

we ight of worts above that of an equal bu lk of water in 1000parts of

the latter : hence the heavier the malt infusion, or worts, as it is

termed, the greater the valu e, since i t holds in solution a greater

quantity of saccharine matter. All liqu ids, as well as most other

bodies, expand by heat and contract by co ld, consequ ently worts, or

wash, are e ffe cted, less or more , by the temperature . E xperiments

have shewn that a cubic foot of rain-water ata heat of we ighs

1000 o u nces av oirdupois,butwhen raised to the temperatu re of 100°

it increase s its volume to T év of its bulk . Water, therefore ,has beencalled 1000, and it is indifl

'

erently expressed 1000, or decimally

and is used as the standard of all su bstances, whether solid or fluid)

.

Hence in tables of specific gravities, the figures express how many

times 1000 ou nces of the different su bstances a cubic foot contains.

The following is the specific gravity of most of the vario us liqu ids

and other articles mentioned in this work

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A cetic

Alcohol or commercial 837Spirits of Wine , highly rect . 829 Sugar, white ,Atmospheric or common air Vapou r of Alcohol,Azote or N itrogen gas, 969 Vinegar distilled ,Bee r, Wate r,

brown ,Carbonic Acid Gas, sea,

C ider, l . .018Wine ,Honey, Bourdeau x,Hydrogen 074

lChampagne ,

M ilk of Cows,

Ass’s, M ade ira,Malaga,Port, 997

Tokay,

A s there are 1728 cubic inches in a cubic foot, and in an

imperialga110n , the gallons in a cubic foot.

The specific gravity of any flu id may be fou nd by weighing a cer

tain qu an tity (a qu art for instance) and mu ltiplying the weight by thenumber of qu arts in gallon s. It is cu stomary, however, forthe sak e of convenience and accu racy, to u se a small phial

'

w ith a

narrow ne ck, and when completely filled with the flu id to weigh it ina scale that will tu rn with the tenth or le ss of a grain . Suppose thenthe we ight to be grains and as weigh 1000 ounces ,say 10000z . : lga1. : we ight of

agallon, and7704

the produ ct will be the we ight of an imperial pint of that flu id , thisbe ing again mu ltiplied by the number of pints in gal

lons, the produ ct is the specific gravity .

To save su ch calcu lations and the trouble attending them , instru

m ents have been invented upon the principle that bodies immersed in

a flu id mee t,with a resistance proportioned to the spe cific grav ity of

su ch flu id : hence their u se and importance in determin ing the strength

_

of spirituou s liqu ors.

To ascertain correctly the specific gravity of w orts, the u se of a

thermome ter is indispensable , in order to determine what is to beadded to or taken from the ge neral standard

’

of atwhich po inttables of spe cific gravities are u su ally calcu lated .

To determine the qu antity of spirit to be drawn from wort or wash,

_ 9712 .6grs. the we ight of a pint : consequ ently

by which the we ight of any flu id be ing multipled,

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688

to state , that there are three modes of charging"

the duty, e ither on

th e wash,the low-Wines, or the spirits, whi chever of them happens tobe highest . The brewing and distilling mus t be condu cte d in alternate periods ; during the process of brewing there can be no distillation, and du ring distilling there can be no brewing. Six days’ notice .

mu st be given before commencing or re-commencing brewing, and

a notice of the gravity u nder whi ch the trader intends to work and

which may be from 30° to This gravity cannot be changedu ntil the expiration of a month . If the worts of a brewing are col

looted in a receiver, a declaration of the quantity and gravity mu st bedelivered to the officer, who is obliged to take an accou nt of them inone hou r after butif colle cted in the fermenting-back, (the ru nningof the wort into w hich mu st be finished in six hou rs) the gravity mus tbe taken withintwo hours. No fermentable matter can be added beforethis grav ity is taken . Shou ld the gravity or qu antity exceed the declaration by 5 se' cent. a penalty of £200is incu rred . When the increaseexceeds 5 so cen t . the wort is deemed n ew and the distiller is chargeable with the du ty accordingly. The du ty on the wash i s a percen

tage of one gallon for every 5 degrees attenu ated on the low

wines, by a comparison of the ir strength with that of proof spiritsafte r making an allowance of 5 as cent. on the Whole on the spiritsby the produ ce of low-wines and fe ints calcu lated as proof spirits.

E xclu sive“

ofthe regular daily charges of any of the three mode sju st mentioned, whichever may be the highest, and which are charged

atthe expiration of every distilling period a yearly accou nt is to bemade u p of all the wash distilled during the term of the license , at

the respe ctive monthly gravity or gravities de clared by the distiller,redu ced to proof spirits. And if that calcu lated qu antity of spiritsshall be more than what the distiller has already been charged with,he mu st then pay the du ty on the difference , which amou nts, in fact,to this, that although he gets credit for bad fermentation in the

charge from each back, yet it is the declared gravity which is even

tually charged and paid for. The ordinary charge againstthe distiller

mu st be made within si x days after every distilling period, and thedeficiency charge at the expiration of the license , on the 10th of

O ctober, mu st be returned within on e month after .

The office r is enjo ined to keep a regu lar debtor and creditor

accou nt of the stock of spirits, and shou ld any excess be fou nd it is

forfe ited to the crown, together with the sum of ten shillings for

every gallon of su ch excess —if there be a deficiency , there is a for

feiture of ten shi llings on every gallon so deficient, provided su chdecrease shall notexceed three per cent ; nor is this forfe itu re to be

'

689

exacted; ifthe trader prove the deficiency not'

to have been occasmnédby frau d, e ither

The libertyo fwarehou sing spiritswithout payment of du ty, whichthe actpermits , is a great indulgence and accommodation , _

as . itfgiv es

the trader the use‘

of the money till a marke t offers, or till itx su its hisown convenience . the strength mu st he either . l l or 2 5

per'

cent . o v er proof, and the casks cannot be.

of less content'

than 100

gallons e ach ; . butby Se c. ilO, of '

the 6th and 7th Wm . IV. c . a

distiller is .now permitted'

to , store casks so low as 20 gallons. A

rent is requ ired at the rate of one penny per week for'

e v ery 40

gallons when placed . in . warehouses belonging to the'

crown

but; by a subsequ ent'

regulation, tra ders have the .privilege of re

lieving themselv es from this rent . by storing. the spirits on their

own premises, under. the look and key p f the revenu e .

' Ithas been

suggested that it wduld be'

advantageou s'

to. the .revenu e , were all the

spiritsmanu fa ctured throughou t the empire ,'

stored in the warehou ses

of the crown and deliv ered f rom thence for e ithe r home or fore ignconsumption . By this

'

mean s, n o . sp irits'

cou ld leave the distillery

withou t the knowledge of the'

ofiicer, u n less by incu rringa palpable

risk, which, it is presumed, no respe ctable trader wou ld attempt.

Spirits may be sent from Ireland to E ngland , on payment of the

difference of du ties, whi ch is 5 5 . 2d . per gallon the duty in Ire land

be ing 2 5 . 4d ., and in E ngland 7s . 6d . With regard to Scotland, the

duty there is 3s. 4d ., which nearly a mou nts to an interdict ion of inter4

course be tween Ire land and that country. In E ngland, distillation maybe said to be a monopoly, since it is still confined to a few capitalists;while in Sco tland and Ireland it is open to every specu latist. The

mode of charging the du ty is, howeve r; fnu ch the same‘

in'

all partsof the empire , be ing regu lated by the saccharometer and hydrometer;u nder the survey . of officers. The former instrument ha v ing beenalready described, it only remains to give an account of the latterfThe hydrometer, as its name imports, (from

‘v g, water, and

mf g”, a measu re) is a test of the density,’

or gravity of wate r:.This instrument is constru cted on the principle that all bodi es we ighin proportion to the qu antity of gravitating matters they contain, andis mere ly a ready substitu te for the hyd rosta tic balance ,to which itispreferred, on account of the ease and e x peditibn with which itcan be

used ; for this reason it has been adopted by government to ascertainthe strength of spiritu ou s liqu ors .

‘

To illu strate the general principle , letwater be the standard of comparison, a cubic inch of which,at 60° of Fahrenhe it, we ighs 1000 ounces ; and since , as has been

2 Y

690

already stated, all bodies we igh in proportion to the ir particles of

gravitating materials, and that gold is more minu te , simple , and

cohesive than any other body, if it be adu lterated with any o thermetal, its sp ecific gravity, or comparative weight, mu st be less in pro

portion to the qu antity of alloy with which it may be amalgamated.

The we ight, therefore , of gold is a su re criterion of its qu ality, and

bf experience the pu rity, orimpu rity of substances, whe ther solid orfluid, m ay be obtained . Besides, when it is said that the specificgravity of proof spirits is 923, the meaning is, that a cubic foot of

the liqu or will we igh exactly 923ou nces and if the specific gravityof alcohol be re ckoned as 825 , it implies that a cubic foot of alcoho lw ill we igh 825 ou nces, avoirdupo is. The relation which all otherspirits has to this standard, or proof, is expressed by saying that theyare so mu ch a bove, or u nder proof ; so when it is said, that a spirit is2 5 per cent. above proof, it implie s that 100 gallons of it will admitof 2 5 gallons to redu ce it to the strength of proof ; an d if it be 2 5

per cent . u nder proof, it is considered to contain 2 5 gallons of watermore than is contained in 100 gallons of proof spirits in other words,

p roof spirits are a mixture of an equ al qu antity ofwater and alcohol .

Hence a table might be easily formed to shew what quantity of w ater,or spirits, shou ld be added to any given portion of spirits to render ittru e proof. From this explanation, it will be seen that the calcu lationsmade from any instrument are . simple and easy of comprehensionbut, for the practical application , re cou rse mu st be had to the instru otions accompanying the instrument, and explanatory of the table sand sliding-ru le constru cted for compu ting the strength of spirits at

diffe rent temperatu re s.

The following general ru le may be adopted for calcu lating the

strength of spirits, whe ther above or below proof, v iz .- To redu ce

the strength to hydrometer proof, divide the qu antity by its degreesof strength, whether over or u nder hydrome ter proof. When overproof, add the qu otient to the qu antity ; if u nder proof, su btractit

therefrom, which give s the quantity athydrome ter proof.A simple method of ascertaining the sp ecific gra v ity , and cou se

qu ent commercial valu e of Z Ether, Spirits, S ulphu ric , and o theracids, & c. , was re commended for tw enty-fi v e years by Sir JamesMu rray, M. D, of Du blin, part of whose plan has been since adoptedby Mr . Gilpin . I subjoin a representation of it which w as “givenF0

.m e by Sir James. in 1823, when my former w ork w as in

the press,

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692 ,

Now , it is plain, that if the sample for tr ial be stronger than real

proof; by which the instrument was first adju sted, it will consequ entlybe lighter, and in order to cou nterpoise the we ight B , more of the

liqu or mu st be added u ntil the scale is balanced . The height‘

at

which the liqu or stands in the stem is then to be noted, and everyline, ormark, tells the number of degrees, above proof, that the spiritamou nts to .

If, however, the sample be weaker than tru e proof, in that caseless bulk will make the same weight, and every degree u nder the

p gooflmark, P, shews the resu lt as so many degrees u nder p roof: By

these means, therefore , the different liqu ors are tested by a singlewe ight, and the inconvenience and trouble of u sing a variety are

renderbd u nnecessary .

Sir James Mu rray also recommended another method on the sameprinciple which is very simple , (Fig .

An accurate lever, or steel-yard, is fu rnished with , a solid glassWeight, B , aton e end , say 20 or 30 ou n

‘

ce s’ we ight ; this ; isJ filed, or .

grou nd away u ntil it cou nterpoises a,flask A , of tru e

'

p roof spirit at!accu rately and complete ly filled up

.

to, a . ground stopper—_ thisflask is su spended by a

,wire , ring, or hook, ina a no tch cutin the

beam_

atC, which is there’

marked p roof} ,

N ow , it is plain, that ifthe same flask be filled with weaker spirits at;

it will’

weigh more , and it' mu stthen be 'moved forward hy' the

ring, or wire , on the arm of the ste e l-yard, or lever, u ntil it is .po ised ; .

and the number atwhi ch this o ccu rs denotes the degre es of strengthybelow-

proof ! B ut if the sample be stronger than true proof, . then

the same vesse l will nothold a similar we ight, and the ring and flaskmu st be drawn nearer to the extremity of the lever ; and ! the { linewhere it balances, indicates the degre e, abov e p roof, withou t the slightesttrouble

,or inconvenience .

,This, therefore , is very superior to

,

the thou sand grain .bottle ,becau se n o we ights, norfurther calculations, are requ isite . The opem se

small dedu ctions or additions of Dicas andnothers_are avgided, so thata

common porter can , in a moment, u se the proposed instrument .

693

'

SirJames M hrray has fou nd that proper glass rods'

teri ninatinginsolid gla ss balls for-weights, are the most suitable beams, or levers.

VVhen we ll ‘ po ised on glass balls or pivots; they'

are neat and accu

rate , an d ai'e 1‘notliable to vary, like me tallic su bstances, from damp ,fric tion,or oxydation.

The thermometer, (Fig. having only a single line ; or degree ,

(6 5 ) is cheap,“

simple , and e ffe ctu al.

Of hydrometers there are variou s sorts made of different materials”butDrJB lagden is of opinion that those made'

of glass are the mostaccu rate . G lass hydrometers

‘

are so subj e ct to accidents, that me taldu es have been preferrede

' Sykes’s instrumentis‘

the one in generaluse , and w as adopted by the act G eo. I I I. chap . 140; and subse

qu ently confirmed by the 5 8th G eo . I I I . chap . 28. T his hydrom-i

e ter consists of a hollow ball one inch and an half in diameter, havingaflatstem 3. 4 inches long, div ided on both sides into ten equ al parts,and each division is subdivided into five equ al parts. At the other

end is a small conical stem 1. 13 inches in length, having a pearshaped bulb atits extremity. The whole instrument, whi ch is madeof bras s, is 6. 7 inches long, and is accompanied with nine circu lar

we ights, numbered ' 10, 20, 30, 40, 5 0, 60, 70, 80, 90, and an ad

ditional one of a solid rectangular form,with a notch in each to fit

them to the stem . The square we ight is made for the summit, and

the o thers for the conical part atthe u nde r portion of the ball . .By

the separate application of these we ights in su ccession, the range of

strength between pu re water and alcohol is determined . E ach weightis equ ivalent to ten principal di v isions. The we ight numbered 60

indi cates proof atthe temperatu re of 5 1° of Fahrenhe it and bythe addition of the squ are on the top, it sinks it to the same po int in

distilled water of the same temperature . This squ are we ight be ing

ju st one-tw elfth part of the entire we ight of the whole hydrometer,together with its bottom we ight, marked 60, cau ses the scale to shewthe difference betwe en water and proof spirit, which, the act. of par

liament states, mu st we igh 4; of an equ al bu lk of distilled water.Before the invention of this instrument, mu ch fraud w as practised onthe public, as there was no accurate method of enabling pu rchasers of

spirits to dete ct the de ceptions of unfair dealers .

The following anecdote , be ing in po int, is worthy of pre servationA shopkeeper atCanton, sold to the pu rser of a . ship , a :qu antity

of distilled spirits according to a sample shewn ; but, notstanding inaw e of conscience , he , afterwards, in the privacy of his store -hou se ,added a certain quantity of water to each cask . The spirit havingbeen delivered on board, and tried by the hydrome ter, w as discovered

694 ~

to be'wanting in

'

strength . When the vender was charged with theintended frau d, he , atfirst , denied it, for he knew of n o humanmeans which cou ld have effe cted the discovery ; but, on the exactqu antity of Spirits, which had been missed , be ing spe cified, a superstitiou s dread se ized him, and having confe ssed his rogu ery, he made

amends. On the instrument of his dete ction be ing afterwards shewnto him, he offered any price for what he foresaw might be tu rned to

great accou nt in his trade .

Having described the hydrometer, it remains only to remark thatin order to ascertain exactly, the qu antity of pu re alcohol in any portion of the mixtu re of that material, M . Gay L u ssac has constru ctedan a lcobometer . The scale is divided into 100 degree s ; each of

the se degree s indicates the proportion of pu re alcohol contained in100 parts of mixture . Thu s, for instance , when the instrument indicates it signifies that 100 parts of the liquor submitted to proof,contain 2 5 of pu re alchohol, and 7 5 of water—pu re alcohol indicates100. P ure alcohol cannot be frozen though re ctified spirits may, bythe rapid evaporation of su lphurous acid. According to Sau ssure ,alcohol consists of

Carbon 5 2 . 17

Oxygen 34 . 79’

Hydrogen 13. 04

being, as already observed, the con stitu ent principles of sugar.Although the standard specific grav ity of alcohol is rated at 82 5 ,

yet experimentalists have obtained it so low as .791, and at the

intermediate degre es of .817 , .809 804, .799, .797, and .796 . A lcohol is co

’

ou rless, has a fragrant odo ur, and a highly pungent tasteit is very inflammable , bu rning with a blu e flame withou t smokedu ring its combu stion, water and carbonic acid are formed, the

qu antity of the water exceeding that of the alcohol consumed . Itcombines with water in e very ratio , and the ir u nion is accomplishedw ith a considerable evolu tion of heat, and the bu lk of the liqu or isless than that of the tw o before their admixtu re . The highest re ctification of this spirit is ca lled a bsolute alcohol, from its be ing con

sidered absolu te ly fre e from water ; it is so very volatile tha t even atthe density of 820, it will bo il atthe temperature of 176° Fahrenheit, the barometrical pressu re being 30 inches . It produ ces con

siderable cold during its evaporation ; in it many of the vegetableprinciples an d essential o ils are soluble ; it is the only solvent of thevege table alkali, and is of the u tmost utility in the Materia Medica .

Among the variou s matters from which alcohol can be extracted,

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696

the liqiior'

is drawn ofi'

as’

before . A second quantity'

ofzwater is‘

then

added, amounting to abou t 44 gallons'

, the whole ' is fstirred,’

left'

to

dr'

a in,’

and the liqu id thu s obtained,is also sent to the fermenting tun .

This tre atment cools the liqu id considerably, but'

to cool and exhau st

the pu lp of all the fermentable matter, which it

44 to 66'

gallons of cold'

water are‘ thrown over it, which on draining.

through is rece ived into the fermenting v atwith the liqu id extracts; By

this time the pu lp‘

on the false bottom is nearly ex hau sted, but‘

retains

almost three-fou rths of a liqu id ‘ charged with fermentable matter,which may be u sed to feed cattle , ormay undergo another draining .

In the rou tine p f these operations the fermentable liqu id iis graduallycooled, til] , atthe end of the process, it acqu ire s a temperatu re v erysu itable

'

to the commencement of fermentation“with a specific gravityof 12035 ,

To convert the Starch of potatoes into a siru p , or saccharine con

sistence , is the first consideration in preparing it for distillatiom

Kirchoff, a Russian chemi st, discovered, in 1811, . tha t su lphu ri c acidbest efi

'

ected this important purpose;by diffus ing a certain quantity of

the starch through water’

rendered pungent by. a su itable proportionof the acid . The mixture is then boiled ffor' 136 fhou rs; stirring itcarefu lly -during the first hou r,

’

to prevent its settling ‘

at'

the bottom ,

At the expiration of that time , ' it beco'

me'

sa lm’

ostentirely flu id, and

only requ ires stirring at intervals accordingly, as'

the wat'

e‘r eva

'

pm

rates, it ought to be r eplaced ;'

When'

the liqu id issufficiently’

boiled,pu lverize d chalk is,

added to saturate the su lphu ri c.

acid after cooling

and settling, it possesses a swee t agreeable taste be in'

g clarified aridhaving e vaporated to the consistence of sirup, it acqu ires an intense

saccharine fiaveur and yields,‘

on cooling, crystals of sugar . In thisproce ss, Kirchofl’ employed common starch,

'

and after'

his experimentsbecame public, many chemists were engaged in varyingand improv

ing the discovery. L ampadius substitu ted the starch of potatoes

for that of wheat,'

and altered the proce‘

ss'

ofKirchofi'

in other respects,for, instead of a vessel of metal , he u sed one of wood heated by steamfrom an adjoining boiler, and conveyed

'

thr'

o ugh pipes. descendingperpendicularly to the mixtu re

'

at the'

bottom Sir George Tu thill

put into an r earthen ve sse l a pound and a half of. po ta to -starch, aqu arter of an ou nce of su lphuric acid, and six pints of distilled

'

water

ata boiling heat . These he kept stiri'ing' for . thirty-e ight hou rs:

adding a supply of fresh water to ke ep the mixtu re in a degre e ,o f

u niform flu idity . At the expiration of twenty-fou r hou rs, itbe came

sweet, and increased in saccharine qu ality du ring the remainder ofthe process.When it had boiled for thirty-fourhom'

s an ounce of finely

97

pu lverized charcoal was infused,. .and, in tiv e hours more , some freslilime w as thrown in to saturate the acid, and the bo iling was continu edfor half an hou r longer. The liqu or was then sti a med through calico,and the residuum, consisting of charcoal and sulphate of lime , after

repeated washings by ,warm water, w as dried , and we ighed seven

e ighths of an ounce . The clear flu id having settled to the consistenceof sirup, .was,1in e ight days,

~

conv erted into a crystalline substancelike commonzbrown sugar, with a' mixture of treacle . This

‘

saccha

rine matter weighed one pound anda quarter; and its qu alities“

Were

considered,

as intermediate between those of cane and sirup : Profesesor D e la Rive of Geneva, andM.Theodorq e Sau ssu re, by _

a furtherinvestigation of the se

’

results, found thatduring this process no gas isevolved , that-the . conversion pro ceeds equally

lwe ll

.in’ close vessels,and that

_

no‘

portion p f the"

su lphuric ac id is de composed. Whence itis

’

fair to conclud e ; that the conversion of starch into sugar is nothing

more than' its combination with _water in its solid state ; or rather w ithits e lements . B racon

'

nothas recently e x tended still further flour

views concerning the artificial produ ction of sugar and gum . H e

foundthatwell-dried elm-du st, shreds of linen, & c . when treated w ith

sulphur'

ic'

acid (sp'

. gr . and afterwards diluted ,w ith water, and

the acid saturate d with lime ,'

yielded , by evaporation, a glu tinou s

matter, which'

w as . convertible into a crystallized sugar, by fu rther

boiling with dilu ted sulphu ric acid at30° No thing can more

satisfac torily illustrate the facility with which on e proximate princ iple

is conve rtible into another ; and strange as the statement may appea1

to persons notfamiliar with chemical spe cu lations, it is neverthe le ss

indispu tably tru e that a pound we ightof rags can be easily converted

into a pou nd we ight of sugar,alsand be distilled into spirits.

Su ch w as the origin of the art" which has be en so su ccessfully

applied to France ln the manu factu re of spirits from potatoes , and ithas rendered the sacchai izing of starch by sulphcn 1c acid, a simple and

practicable branch of manufactu re .

‘M. Z eize has stated , that’

a small quantity of chloride of calciym

(ox ymu riate of lime ) moistened with water, added to the wash madefrom potatoes or grain, (the liqu id be ing allowed to subside before itis distilled) makes ,

the spirit produ ced more like brandy. It is freed;he says, from the peculiar taste of all corn-spirits, and is considered

as good as the brandy made from win e . The chloride mu stbe of the

best quality, and to determine the quantity 'ne ce ssary to be u sed, a

Paris ’s Elements of Medical Chemistry, p . 195 .

698

little of the wash shou ld be first tried with itas'

a test'

of the pro-4

portion requ isite .

M. D ubru nfaut, a French chemist, in his Art of Distillation , (published atParis in has given the resu lts of variou s experimentsmade by him in the saccharizing and distilling ofpotato starch. From "

4 gallons, 3} pints, to 5 ggallons imperial measu re of spirits at 19°

(935 sp. gr .) w as the ordinary qu antity obtained from l lOlb s. of starchsaccharized by su lphu ric acid but it is thought that this cou ld beconsiderably increased by variou s means, particu larly by dilu ting andcooling the worts rapidly, as delay in this stage of the process tendsto diminish the alcoholic principle .

When of starch are su bmitted to the action of su lphu ricacid, 13710 gallons of spirits of 935 degrees spe cific gravity are obtained .

B utsince it is known that starch acted on by sulphuric acid,produ cesan equ al weight of sugar , and that sugar in fermentation gives nearlyhalf its we ight of carbonic acid-gas, and the other half of pu realcohol, it is evident that thi s qu antity is far off the actual qu antitythat ought to be produ ced ; and after all the ingenu ity of the chemist,what has been accomplished only proves that there is yetmu ch to bedone to perfe ct the pro cess of transforming starch into alcohol . t

In Sweden, an improvement in the distillation of brandy frompotatoes has been lately introdu ced by M. Siemen of Pyrmont, whow as invited to Stockholm by the government atthe instance of M.

Berzeliu s. The Danish monarch also indu ced him to visit C openha

gen , to commu nicate his plan of operations to ProfessorOersted, whogave it his u nqu alified approbation .

The po tatoes are heated by steam athigh pressu re above the tem

peratu re of and redu ced to a fine pulp by the rotatory motionof an iron cross in the same vesse l in which they are steamed . The

pu lp is then diluted with hotwater and a little cau stic potash. O n e

pound of potash is sufficient for thre e or fo ur tons of potatoes. The

e ffe ct of high steam heat is to render the pu lp extremely misc ible‘with the alkaline water, so that every thing, except the skins, readilypasse s through a sieve . This fine pu lp is speedily cooled, and it is thenfit to be fermented in the ordinary mode . A great qu antity of yeastis also produ ced du ring fermentatio n , which serves e ither for fu tu reoperations, or for bakers

’u se . M. Siemen states the produ ct o f spirit

by his process to be more than on e -third greater than is obtained bythe common me thod, which amou nts to 13 qu arts from a ton of potatoe s . In the experiments made , u nder the personal inspection of

Professor Oersted, atCopenhagen, from 16a},-to 17 qu arts of spirits at

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700

cerated‘

and fermented wi th h ops. :B y . saccharized

starch with ,honey : instead of hops, a palatable vliq

'

u orw as made ,having all the qualities of Lou v ain e beer. "Potato starch be ing free

from any pe cu liar taste , seems capable of 'receiv ing flavou r in fer

mentation fromany s ubstance that gives repu te to our beer, or home

made wines. Dr . H are, having observed a strong‘

analOgy betwe en

the saccharine matter of'the sweet po tato and sac :

‘charam of a wort made from the

‘

p“otatoe s,

‘

of 1060"

sp ecific gravity, with‘

a proportion ate qu antity of hops for the‘

space

of two hou rs.-It w as then coole d to about and

'

yeast added.

A s far‘

as could be judged, «the phenomena of the fermentation and

the liqu or produ ced, were pre cisely the same as if 'malthad been

u sed. The wort w as kept in a warmplace u ntilthe temperatu re was

,85

° Fahrenhe it and the fall of the head showed the attenu ation to

be su fficient . Yeast subsequ ently rose , which‘

w as removed byskimming. A fu rther qu antity of yeast w as precipitated by refrigeration, from which the liqu or be ing de canted , became tolerably fine for

n ew beer, and re sembled, in flavou r, ale made from malt. ; Ithas beencompu ted,that five bu she ls of potatoes wou ld produ ce as mu ch .o t

as three bu shels of malt, while the residu e, as food for“

cattle , wou ld

be worth half as mu ch as the po tatoes emp loyed. 5

In the Opinion of some , (particu larly those who h ave not em

ployed su lphu ric a cid in the sacchariz ing of starch,) the best time

to u se po tatoes in distillation is in Spring, when they begin.to ‘

v ege

tate . The growth of the bu ds must be checked as in the process ofmalting ; and this is easily done by spreading . them b u a floo r, and

by subsequ ent turning, so as to deprive them of . as mu ch'

of the ir

aqu eous matter as possible . When redu ced to a pu lpy consistence ,diluted with bo iling water, and drawn Off .and cooled to a proper

temperatu re , the liqu id is then fermented in the same manner asgrain worts and su ch has been the treatment observed by many,who have tried the distillation of potatoes in this country. Sproutedpotatoes produ ce as perfect farina in Ju ly as in December, and equalin qu antity to what they wou ld have yie lded earlier in the season,be ing, according to Sir John Sinclair, abou t l4lbs . per cwt:

In Pru ssia, it is very common to cu ltivate po tatoes for the manufactu re of starch and treacle . The treacle is found to be very pro

fitable , and though not possessing so mu ch consistence as thatimported from the West Indies, yetit is

"

not inferior in sweetness,and can be sold to the consumers ata more -reasonable rate .

In the Jou rnal of Arts, i t is stated that potato apples yield,'

by

proper treatment, as mu ch alchohol as an equ al qu an tity of grapes

701

when bru ised and fermented with one eighteenth or one-twentieth

part of the ir we ight of yeast .*

From these de tails on the application tof potatoes in the manu fac

ture of spirits, persons may be . indu ced to try experiments that”

might u ltimately prove advantageou s. If they proceed bythe redu etion of the farina to a pu lpy substance , .the o peration is simply byboiling; if by the i redu etion to starch, . it may b e mechanicallyeffe cted, atlittle expense and labp ur, e ither by pounding, or

‘

grating,

and elutriation with cold water» To saccharize the -starch, . from one

to two parts of su lphuric acid, . are'

considered su fficient .for 1everyhu ndred parts of starch,

’

when the hea t applied is abo ve a

period oftwoor three hou rs is thou ght suflicientto produ ce crystallizedsugar . the heat in this process is best communicated a wooden

vesse l by means of steam .

Besides the Spirit which can be extracted from potatoes, bee t-root;or mangel-wurzel,

‘ has latterly become an article offattention for’

the

same extensive cu ltivation for this . pu rposemight .be a dvantageous, . suflicient experiments have notbeen' triedin this country, ,

to enable a correct j u dgment to be formed . The ’A ct

of the 2d and 8d Wm . IV. chap . 74, and not.the . 4th Wnil

as qu oted in the note page 5 49, (which re ceived theuroyal assent

on the lstAugu st, spe cially prov ides for the .distillation i fromthis article , withou t any admix ture i of .malt, . or o ther grain ,

'

but;

there 1s a manifest anomaly 111 confining the :distillation to the mereextract of the roo t, to the exclu sion of other ingredients, which

m ight be beneficial in the proce ssIn France , the distillation of this article has be en followed ! withconsiderable success, by several experienced chemists; and the pro b

du ce is goo d ; butit is from the mo lasses,after the extraction of thesugar, that the spirit is drawn.TThe bee t-roo t is first we ll clean sed wand rasped into apulpy

state , the sugar is e x tractedh and the residu e , or :molasses, is fern

mented m the u sual -w ay, butit has been foun d serv iceableflto add a

mixture of grou nd malt, which gi ves force and 1strength -to '

the fer

mentation, rendering it more comple te , and produ cing

'

a spirit ofgreater body and more palatable flavou r. .With a cylindri cal screw,

’

or hydrau lic press, from 70 to 80 per cent. of'

ju ice'

has been procu red ; and this liquid, when yeast is applied u nde r

'

a proper tem

peratu re , soon begin s to ferment, and rapidlyundergoes the necessary

Jou rnal of Arts for’

1819,Art. 18.

1“M argrafl“, the Pru ssian chemist, first pro cured sugar from the white beet in

1747.

702

attenuation for the still . Su lphu ric acid , it is stated, has, in some

instances, been added with e ffe ct to the solu tion of treacle and

w ate r in the fe rmenting-back ; butthis is highly qu e stionable , and is

in opposition to the principles of vinous fe rmentation .

A distillery was lately fitted up at Battersea for the distillation

of beet-roo t . The wooden still employed was from 6 to 700. gallons’

content, and w as worked by steam pipes passing through the wash .

The process observed there was simple , the roots were sliced, and the

ju ice was squ eezed out by a hydrau lic press. The fermentationproved u ncertain, owing, n o doubt, to the want of malt some of the

backs notcommencing to work for many days, and ste pping whenhalf attenu ated ; o thers commencing early and fermenting be tter ;

butnone of them attenu ating below The spirit w as coarse and

impure , and the produ ce did not exceed two-thirds of the notice d

gravity.

To spe culate , therefore , on the distillation of be e t-root as a profita

ble branch ofmanu facture , would prove , it is to be feared, (asthe law

n ow stands) a hazardou s enterprise ; and the more so as the Act of

the lst'

V ictoria, chap . 5 7, has imposed a du ty on the sugar extracted

from that vegetable .

Mr . Hercu les Bradshaw, an enterprising gentleman.

of H ills‘

borough, in the county of Down, who cu ltivated the beet-root to a

very considerable extent, established a manufactory for extracting

sugar from it . Samples of good sugar were produ ced, and the

manufactu re of the article w as so promising as to indu ce many of

the farmers in the vicinity to spe cu late largely in the cu ltivation of

the root, the more

'

particularly from having a ready marke t con

v enient. It is probable (had notthe law interfered ,) that Mr . Brad

shaw would have su cceeded to the fu ll extent of his expectations, as

the resu lt of his experiments was highly satisfactory.

Within these few years, it w as fou nd, that in making bread in

which barm w as employed, a portion of alchohol w as generated , bymeans of what has been termed the p a nary fermentation . To collect

this spirit whi ch w as lost in the oven, Mr . R. H icks, of L ondon, w asamongst the foremo st in contriv ing an oven and «apparatus for preserving the alchohol thus . evolved . The oven, forwhich he obtaineda patent in 1830, is made of metal, having a floor of bricks in the

bottom, with doors to shu t perfe ctly air tight ; whilst a pipe is

attached to the top of the e v en , through which the vapour ascends,and is condensed below m a common worm . By this mode , it w as

stated, that from cvcry 4l . of bread, from half an ounce to an o unce

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701

This branch of trade is, by a late law , greatly simplified . B eforea

rectifier can obtai n a license which costs ten pounds, he mu stmake an

entry of his premises and utensils; H e mu st have a still contain

ing 120 gallons. imperial un easure in the ibody, independen t of the

head , but is atliberty tto have as many : Iarger or smaller:as hepleases. The oflicerakeeps an account of allthe raw oi plain spirits

rece ived by permit, and'

twelv e'

hour

s -before the ~‘comm e1ieementof'

work, a notice is served on him, whe n he attends and unlocks the

fu rnace door, which had been previou sly secu red to preventoperations .

The still be ing charged with '

of its contents,‘

(which is ascer

tained‘ by dip) , the apertu re through‘ which this is efl‘hcted ,

secured by a lock, while du ring the cou rse of the work, the oflicdrmakes two visi tsgene to inspect the p1ogress and the other to show

the still off, when the furnace door 1s again locked, if the trader

shou ld cease to .work, orthe still 15 re charged ifthe work 1s to continu e .

A g eneral (s tock of h the 'concern is taken'

every 42 days atleast, or

oftene f if the offi cer considers it‘

e x pedient,'

on which an occasional

che ck is kept-by the'

/Sup erv isor butifa decrease be foun d in agreaterproportion than five gallons .to

'

every hu ndred, a penalty‘ is incu rred .

In Ire land, the . bu siness . of a re ctifier is confined ‘

to the manu-3

facture . of spirits of wine , cordials, and ' liqueurs; 1w ith°'

imitations

of brandy,rum, and geneva, and formsbut a small branch of tradewhile in E ngland, all rawspirits are modified andlsentinto consumption through the means of the rectifiers, in the form, or u nder thename

'

of B ritish compounds.

In 1835 , there were in E ngland 108 rectifiers in“

Scotland, 11and in Ire land,

'

20. This chief grievance which-1the'

pe1sons in thistrade have to compla in of (particu larly ln Scotland and Ire land) 18 theprohibition against the exportation of the irmanu factu re . By the actof.the .6th and 7thWm . I V . c. »72 , countervailingdu tie s w ere

‘

imposed

on certa in compou nds, tinctu res, and medicate d spirits'

on the ir remo-i

v al from Ireland toE ngland, or Scotland, or from Scotland to E ng

land, . but‘

as the . articles enumerated in the'

schedu le , form but a

limited portion of the manufacture'

of the trade ,'

the rectifiers are , inn o ; re spe ct, benefited by its provisions. And hence the bu siness of

re ctification mu st continu e to present few indu cements ,to p‘

ersons ofcapital and enterprise to embark m it, until a change 111 the law willofl'er’atreciprocity of intercourse and advantage ;The lowness

'

of price obtained for the plainer 'ai'ticle, prevents;for the most part, any efforts to improve the -description of liquOr

'

s‘

coming through the hands of these traders, aswell as the exertions

’705

o f sci entificme11,'

if better encouragement were gi v en ,'

to introdu ceimprovements into thepresent system of work . If the cu ltivation ofnative fru its and the making of wine therefrom were more

'

particu

larly attended to, an exce llent brandy (subj ect to a moderate du ty),might be produ ced to the e x clu sion

'

of the fore ign commodity, a gre atportion of which is made from grain and cider. The consumption ofsugar in the making of these wines, wou ld, there is little doubt, coun-s

terbalancethe loss of du ty on the fore ign brandy.

Having given an ample detai l of the variou s intoxicating beverages, and

'

other ex hilarating substances u sed in the different cou n triesof the world, and hav ing pre sented a fu ll e x planation i of the most

improved practice of . bre iv ing and distillation , I shall take leave of

the'

subject by making a'

few observations on the effect, which the

inordinate u se of spirits may be supposed ,to produ ce on the popu lation

of the empire, illu strated by details of its influ ence on man from the

earliest re cords of history.Whether, as previously alluded to, drunkenness had any effect in

contribu ting to the destru ction of ma nkind by the de luge , it wou ld beimpossible to dete rmine but w e have seen that Noah' proved himself to have been 116 stranger to its evil consequ ences. The vice of

Lotand his daughters is a melancholy instance of its banefu l influence .

’

To irregu larity occasioned by intoxication , many importantevents , revolu tions, and o ccu rrences are to be attribu ted . Babylon

fell thro ugh its delu sive effe cts, for while reve lry, banqueting, and

ino rdinate excesses were going on , the enemy were enabled to takeadvantage of the indiscretions of the hour, and to destroy the . boast

and glory of a mighty and powe rfu l empire . Alexander, who sighed

becau se he had not another world to conqu er, fe ll a victim to the

direful poten cy of wine maddened by its influ ence , Persepo lis w as

destroyed through the instigation of Thais, and Alexander himself

prematu re ly Sunk u nder the pressu re of an inordinate debau ch . H is

mighty empire crumbled into atoms , leaving its vestiges as the frag

ments of a stupendou s edifice erected bythe power of a giganticmind,and destroyed by the same influ ence , through the wantonness of adrunken frolic . The Roman s, itis we ll known , after a siege of threeyears, cou ld notredu ce the city of Syracu se , owing chiefly to thetalents ofArchimede s, till the celebratio n of a feast of Bacchu s hadrendered the inhabitan ts so incapable of exertion, that Marce llus, the

, Roman gene ral, taking advantage of the irregu larity, entered the c ity

in triumph, and made captives of a people , whom he cou ld . nothavecsubdu ed had they notyie lded to the temptations ofexcessive drinking.

2 z

706

Lycu rgu s, king of Thrace , finding his subj e cts addicted to this v ice ,proscribed the cu ltivation of the v in e , and e stablished agricu ltu re in

its stead .

Its influ ence over the P erman s and other Orientalists, as well as

amongst the ru de and barbarou sAfrican tribes, it wou ld be ted iou s to

recapitu late ample testimony has been given of its perniciou s con

sequ ences on the aborigines of the American continent, while its

frightfu l demoralizing power has been lamentably exemplified through

outthe vast expanse of the Polyn esian and Au stralasian islands .

To re cou nt the numerou s fatal instances occasioned by dru nkenness which history exhibits, wou ld n ot only exceed the limits of this

work, butafford ample materials for a volume .

Throughou t E urope , a taste for intoxicating bev erages'

prevails less

or more in different regions. In the wine countries, although this dis

pos ition may be carried to great length , yetthe effe cts are

'

less v isible

than in those parts where ardent spirits is the predominant liqu or .

This is e asilyaccou nted for, when it is known that the alcoholicor intoxicating principle is in wine combined with other ingredients

which diminish its influ ence on the human frame butin Spirits it is

collected and u ncombined with other materials by which its activityo n the system is the more powerful and enervating. Irishmen havethe repu tation of being more

.

generally prone to the u se of spiritu ou s

liqu ors than the ir ne ighbou rs, and the national character has been

tarnished in consequ ence . So far back as the time of Henry VII I .,w e find that the legislatu re warmly exe rted itse lf in the suppressionof this vice , While an Irish parliament u nder E lizabeth w as equ allyintent on checking its destru ctive ascendancy. B ut it does notappear’

that any encou ragement w as given to the substitu tion of ale for

spirits ; hence the inclination of the population w as never divertedfrom the native beverage , butallowed to take root and spread with'the increase of every succeeding generation . The force of habitis powerfu l, and daily experience shews what it is capableof effe cting,'e ven in the u se of tobacco— a we ed which imparts less vigou r to theb ody or pleasure to the m ind, than the talismanic enchantment derived'from the e lixir of the bo ttle .

To the pe cu liar circumstances of the cou ntry, involved as it hasbeen, from an early period, in fore ign and domestic broils,

'

combined

with the want of edu cation and of regu lar employment, a love of com

pany, the hospitable and social habits of the people , together with a

.numbe r of festiv e and holy-days, (all so many scene s of revelryand

intemperance ), may be attribu ted the influ ence and hold which the

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708

commu nity. In speaking of these societies, it may notbe irrelevant

to remark, that while they are calcu lated to do mu ch good, a want

of u nion amongst the membersmu st prove inju riou s to the greatobje ct

that all shou ld have in view.

Some carry the ir notions of abstinence to great length, even denying

the u se of e very thing that has u ndergone the fermenting pro cess,

(notreflecting that the j u ice of the grape contains, in its simp le state ,all the elements of alcohol ;) while others are n otso fastidiou s, and

allow the moderate u se of wine and malt liqu ors. Without, however,attempting to draw a line of demarcation between them, it is to be

feared, no matter how influ ential example may be , that‘

u nless some

reward, token of approbation, or substitu te be given, the . nominalterm of Temp eran ce, or the mere pledge of any individual, will havelittle effect in produ cing any substantial reform amongst the lower

classes . It has, therefore , been considered, that were those who havegiven testimony of the ir reformation , assisted _

ih their respective av ocations or pu rsu its of life , by the patronage of the su perior classes of

society, or by the distribu tion of hono rary distinctions, or pecun iaryrewards, it wou ld indu ce numbe rs to abandon the ir irregu lar habits,enrol themselves as Temperance members, andwou ld finallyleadto thecomfort and happiness of thou sands of families. In E ngland, it is said

that there are

'

above Temperance advocates, and an equ al

number iii Ireland and Scotland-_ a gratifying statement to’

the friends

of religion and tranqu illity. And it isto be hoped that this virtu ou s

example will be su ccessfully followed throughou t the British empire,and in every nation where man is debased by the bru tality of drunk

enness. The Spartans u sed to shew to ‘ young pe rsons the ir serfs or

Helots in a state of intoxication, in order to make them detest the

crime of inebriety, and were a similar mode of exemplary exposu re

practised in every part of the world, it might have its influ ence in

rendering the vice more odi ou s and contemptible .

E ven the poor Indians hold intoxication in abhorrence, accou ntingit a species ofmadness and the Word,which in theirlanguage signifies

a dru nkard, is also.

the term for a man iac. To what shameful e x trav a

gancc the love of strong liquors ledthe Athenians in the ir bacchanalianfestivals, is well known to every classical reader . So mu ch were the

Romans disgu sted with the obscenity of these orgies, that they sup

pressed them by a decree of the Senate . B ut, although the ir prudenceled them to reprobate those scandalou s acts of wantonness and folly,many of the ir governors ran into riotou s excesses atthe public expense,and withou t regard to the laws of decency or decorum. An extra

09

vagant instance of this description is exemplified in the intoxicatedfrenzy of Ne ro ,whose banqu eting hall (styledD omu s A u rea ), exhibitedevery mark of fv oluptuou sness and debauchery. This bu ilding w asso constru cted, that the ce iling , partitions, and other compartments

had a ro tatory motion, similar to that of the celestial bodies, shewingthe different seasons of the year, and le tting fall on the heads of the

bacchanalian votaries, ateach revolu tion , showers of essences, flowers,and perfus ies ,to delight the senses ; while the most costly wines weredealt abou t w ith an u nsparing profu sion, to infatuate the mind and

excite the passions. The condu ct of N ero w as notmore remarkablefor its ex travagance and fo lly than that of Au reliu s Antoninu s, (su rnamed Heliogabalu s,) who , after plun ging into the vortex of everydissipation, so . far degraded himself as to invite the lowest and mostabandon ed of his subje cts to his banque ts ; while the infatuatedpropensities ofC aligula led ,him to fee d his ho rse with gilt barley, andcau se the animal to drink wine with him outof a golden cup .

The v ice of drunke nnesshas tended to degrade man more than anyof the othe r weakne sse s , to which human nature is prone . It is we llremarked in the G uardian, when personifying the follies of life, “that

drunkenness w as the only vice tha t did notchange the face of its pos

s essor into thatof another creatu re ; butthis is to be taken far from a

privilege , for these two reasons : be cau se it suflicientlydeforms them of

i tself, and because none of the lower rank of be ings is gu ilty-of so

foolish an intemperan ce”

,

aie “A drunken man ,

”says Addison , “is a

greater monster than any thetis to be found among all the creatu resthat God has made , as indeed there is no characte r which appearsmore despicable in the eyes of all reasonable persons. B onosu s, on e

of ou r ow n coun trymen, who w as addicted to thi s vice , having setupfor a share in the Roman empire , and be ing defeated in a great battle ,hanged himself. When he w as seen by the army in this me lancholy

situa tion , notw ithstanding he had behaved himself very brave ly, thecommon jest w as, that the thing they saw hanging u pon the treebefore themw as n ota man buta bottle .

”1'

The Scythians abhorred

the B acchanalian feasts of the Greeks, becau se they thought it w asu nreasonable to suppo se that a God shou ld drive me n into all the

v iolen t transports of mad nes s which drinking produ ces. The Lacedaemonians had no notion of drinking for pleasu reh and they notonly

accou nted drunkenness infamou s, but severely pu nished those whowere dete cted in su ch crimina lity . O n re turning from their public

G uardian, No . 5 6. 1’ Spectator, No . 5 69 .

7 10

meals, no persons were allowed'

tor'che s or lights, becau se itwas e x

pected that men who w ere perfe ctly sober shou ld be able to find theirw ay in the dark. A law w as enacted by Pittacu s, king of Lesbos,that “he who committed a crime when dru nk, shou ld rece ive a double

punishment”—on e for the crime itself, and the other forthe inebrietyw hich prompted him to commit it .

Paley observes, that the gu ilt of any action in a drunk en man

bears the same proportion to the gu ilt of the like action in a soberman,that the probability of its be ing the consequ ence of drunkennessbears to absolu te certainty.

”The B ritish laws consider drunkenness

a n aggravation,not an excu se for criminal behaviour, and have pro'

v ided, that he , who is gu ilty of any crime through his own voluntarydru nkenness, shall be pu nished for it as if he had been sober . The

o ffence is pu nishable e ither in the ecclesiastical courts, or by a ju sticeo f the peace faccording to the statu te . It is even a suflicient cau seto remove a m agistrate himself from office .

By the laws still in force ,”i if any person shall be convicted of

dru nkenness before'

a magistrate , he mu st forfe it fiv e shillings for thefirst ofi

'

en ce , or sitsix hours in the stocks ; and forthe second offence ,he mu st enter into a bond with two sureties in £10 each, to be of

good behaviour, or be committed : our late enactment is buta modification of those .

In the time ofthe Commonwealth, the magistrates of NewcastlelonTyn e punished dru nkards by making them carry a tub, which theycalled the drunkard ’

s cloak. A hole was made in the bo ttom, (whichw as turned upwards) , to admit the head of the delinqu ent to pass

through, and two smaller ones were perforated in the sides for the

hands. This he was obliged to carry in the open streets, so long as

the magistrates chose, exposed to the contempt and ridicu le of the

people .

The sacred writers observe , that Wine is a mocker, strong drinkis raging ; and whosoever is de ce ived thereby is notwisest B e not

among wine-bibbers ; among rioto us eaters of flesh—for the dru nkard and the glu tton shall come to pov ertydl: Who hath w oe Who hathsorrow Who hath contentions ?Who hath babblingPWho hathwoundsw ithou t cau se Who hath redness of eyes P” They that tarry

long atthe wine ; they that go to seek mixed wine . L ook not thou

u pon wine , when it is red, when it give th his colou r in the cup ; whenit moveth itself aright—atthe last it biteth like a serpent, and stinge th

Jae . l . c . 5 - 2 l . Jac. I . 47.

'

l' Prov. x x . I Ib id. x x iii . 20, 2 1.

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of meliorating the condition ofmany a helpless widow and orphan .If,

amongst the lower orders, spirits and ale be taken into considerationas the common beverages ; and allowing to each indiv iduala consumption of three pence a-day, this wou ld come to £4 . 11s. 3d . annually,o r £91. 5 s . in twenty years. This though comparatively small,and far u nder the actu al ou tlay, is so enormou s that whe n applied tothe aggregate popu lation of Great Britain and Ireland

, (upwards oftwenty-fou r millions,) estimating at fifteen millions of drinkers, ‘

the

whole wou ld shew a sum annu ally, or£1in twenty years.

That the excessive u se of inebriating liqu ors.is produ ctive of

incalcu lable evil to the commu nity at large, is a tru th, whi ch not

eventhe drunkard himself, in his sober moments, wou ld be disposedto deny. Were w e to examine the prisons, bridewells , ho u ses ofcorre ction, penitentiaries, lu natic asylums, and other places of incarceration, w e shou ld find a vast number of the inmates of those abodesof human . degradation to have been the victims of v ice and folly,through the inordinate u se of intoxicating liqu ors while the numerouspaupers that u nhappily throng every city, town, and village, may ow e

the ir misery, in a great measu re , to the same desolating cau seIB ut

while the _abu se of ardent spirits and intoxicating beverages of all

kinds is to be lamented, yetit is u rged hy‘

some, that a moderate and

salu tary u se of them is notto be condem ned, as they have been fou ndbeneficial on variou s occasions, have ad ded to the comforts of life , andheightened the enjoyments of society when kept wi thin the bounds ofreason and propriety. And they further allege , that the invention ofspiritu ou s liqu ors is no more to be attribu ted to an evil propensity inman, than any other invention or discovery,which has been produ ctiveof the best consequ ences the evil, they assert, lies in the excess of

the application -the good in the restriction. So that,if man debases

himself by an immod erate u se of any of the bou nties of natu re , thatis no condemnation of the ir valu e an d importan ce . It is an aphorism in .

China, that “the - drunkard’s fault is not the wine ’s, ,but his own.

”

Tru e ! for had he abstained from the wine, the fau lt wou ld nothave '

occu rre d .

It w as customary among the ancient E gyptians, in order to preventexce sses atfestivals, or other entertainments , to bring into companythe figu re of a corpse , to remind the gu ests of mortality, and the

slender thread on which life existed , as well as the nec essity for

temperance and moderation in the ir enjoyments.

Montesqu ieu is of opinion, that dru nkenness predominates through

outthe world in proportion to the coldness of the climate or the

713

distance from the equ ator towards the pole, and,that the law of

Mahome t was one of climate su ited to that of Arabia, as the law

mentioned by Plato , Aristotle , and E usebiu s, (whi ch forbade the

Carthaginians to drink wine ,) w as a law of a similar description .

Ample testim ony of the melancholy effects of drunkenness may be

fou nd on referen ce to the minu te s of evidence taken before the Committee ofthe House of Commons,which w as appointe d in June, 1834,to inqu ire into the extent, causes, and consequ ences of intempe ranceamong the labou ring classe s of the United Kingdom. Before this

Committee were laid scenes of the most appalling natu re, arising fromthe habitu al and excessive u se of ardent spirits, and it appeared that

mos t, if notall, of the desperate atrocities whi ch had been committed

were chiefly owing to its influence . It is worthy of remark, that

during the Irish rebellion in 1798, there was one-fou rth °

of a

greater proportion of spirits u sed tha n in either of the two pre cedingor su cce eding years. It has been estimated that in E ngland, four

fifths of all the crimes in the cou ntry have been committed u nder theexcitement of inebriating liquors. Du ring the year 1832 , there were

taken into cu stody by the London police , persons for dru nkenn ess alone, notincluding any of the numerous cases in which assaults,or more seriou s offences, had been committed u nder the influ ence of

drink. This statement relates merely to the subu rbs of L ondon,Withou t any of the numerou s cases that occu rred in the city itse lf.

It is, moreover, alleged, that more than one-half of the insanity

amongst the popu lation is occasioned by inebrie ty—of 405 patientsadmitted into a lu natic asylum, atLiverpool, 2 5 7 were known tohave lost the ir reason by this vice .

From the preceding facts and observations, itmu st be obviou s thatthe assumption, which has been u rged by some , of a high du ty onspirits

"

leading to excess in its indu lgence , is contrary to experience

and actual practice . Yet it cannot be affirmed, that to the operation

of a low du ty, the great bu lk of the irregu larities which take

place , .is to be attribu ted. It is notin the management of distillery

laws, or the ir adaptation to the suppression of smuggling, e ither inpublic or private di stilleries, that w e are to look for the cau ses, which

have produ ced in Ire land those acts of wickedness and bloodshed,

that have so mu ch disgraced the character of a country yielding ton o other in fertility of so il, in beau ty of scenery, or in the valou r

and ingenu ity of its inhabitants. By a more general diffusion of

knowledge , the incu lcation of sound religiou s principles, and a com

plete participation in all those privileges, which the u nion with Great

7 14'

Britain mu st ultimately produ ce , aided by the meliorating hand oftime , and an impartial administration of the laws, the character of

the Irish maybe rescu ed from the imputation s,which, in some instances,have been w antonly, and,in others, buttoo j u stly cast u pon it .

The e stablishment'

of manufactories— the encou ragement of indu stry—the Opening of marke ts in remote di stricts— the draining of

bogs—.the cu ltivation of waste lands—the formation of canals con

n ecting our great lakes and navigable rivers-_ and the constru ction ofrailroads, effe cting a more ready commu nication with the populou s

cities,towns, and villages, together with a ju dicious a'

nd well-managed

poor-law , wou ld tend mu ch to the improvement of the people ; and

by thu s giving them employment, serve to eradicate many of thosecau ses of discontent, which have too long proved destru ctive to the

happiness and prosperi ty of the empire - Besides the advantageswhich these variou s sou rces of improvement wou ld introdu ce , theyw ou ld be the means of elevating the mind, and raising man to a moredignified station in the scale of his be ing. H e wou ld look aro undhim with more complacency and satisfaction on his

'

fellow-mortals,who , with him self, would be in the enjoyment of those comforts,«which habits of industry,

’

united to re ligiou s practices, necessarily

produce .

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A D D E N D A .

A Tabular View of the Opium Trade of Great Britain, includingthat of our India Settlements, with China [see page

Great B ritain .

Years .

lbs.

1823

1824

1825

1826 1

1827

1828

1829

1831

1832

1833

1834

1835

Table of the qu antities of Arrack exported from noticed

page 182

To GreatBritain . To British Colon ies. Valu e .

L eaguers. 8.

9

16

The du ty on Batavia arrack, in 1826,w as 48. 6d. in 1827, 78. 6d

1828-9, the same 1831, 48. 6d 1832 , 4s. 6d . ; 1833, 4s. 3d .

The du ty charged, in 1834, on the importation of this commodity intoGreat Britain from the E ast Indie s, w as 15 8. per gallon, and 9s. fromthe Colonies ; and on other foreign arrack, £1. 28. 6d .

717

E xports from the Mau ritiu s, vide page 190

Table of the E xports from Great Brita in to the E ast Indies and

China, allu ded to in pages 163 and 231

RUM . G E NE V A :Proofgallon s. Proofgallon s . Proof gallon s.

An Accou nt of the Wine imported into Great’

B ritain

Cape of Good Hope , referred to in page 274

YEARS. IM PE RIAL GALLO NS.

1821

1822

1823

1824

1825

1826

1827

1828

1829

1830

1831

1832

1833

1834

1835

E xports from the United Kingdom to the Cape

-1830. 1832 .

7 18

R um exported from the West Indies, (in proof gallons,) as alluded

to in page 286 7

An tigu aBarbadoesBahamas

Bermu dasDemeraraDominicaGrenada

Montserrat,Ne visSt . ChristopheSt . L u ciaSt . Vincen t

206

1

1

A table of D istilleries'

and B reweries’

in the'

United Stateé, as

mentioned atpage 325

States.

Massachu settsNew H ampshireVermontRhode Island

Connecticu tN ew JerseyP enn sylv an i

DelawareMarylandVirginiaOhioIndiana

Ten essee

N orth Carolina .

Sou th Carolina . .

MississippiTerritoiyIllino is Te i r1t01)

96 do .

60 .

do . cider

ba rrelsgallons

7 5 barls. of cu rrant

[wine

galls. beer

gls. perday476 barre ls

do .

do .

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720

of Wine from Portugal to Great Britain, as alluded to in

I M PE RIAL GALLO NS.

E xports of Wine from France into Great Britain, as referred to

in page 403

WINE . YEARS.

1820

1821

1822

1823

1824

1825

1826

1827

View of the produ ce of Wines

extent of the trade carried on with

ing L iqu ors V ide page

Produ ce of Pricew in e in per

barrels. Barrel

I M PE RI A L GALLONS

m the Ionian Islands,the United Kingdom in

721

The imports'

and exports of Turkey, theMorea, and the Greekislands, as mentioned in page 423

Spirits importe dinto Turkey.

The Au strian, Hu ngarian, Rhenish, and other liquors importedinto Great Britain, as referred to in page 442

Years. Years.

Geneva importe d from Holland into Great Britain, as allu ded to inpage 45 5

Years.

The juniper-berry, which forms a constitu ent part in the manufac

ture of gin , has been found growing wild in the We stern porti on of

Ireland, and were its cu lture properly attended to , it might be fur

n ished in su ch qu antities asto obviate the necessityof foreign supplies .

3 A

722

Imports and E xports of -Liqu ors 111 the undermentioned ports'

of

Pru ssia, as referred to in page 464

Imports, in Centners of 113élbs. each .

Trade in Spirits, Wines, & c . betwe en Great Britain and Denmark,as mentioned in note page 470

E xportsto'

Dénmark .

Years Rum . Brandy. G en e v a. Win es.

tm u ns

94 3188 119

2 87 5

23 4927

2 5 20

110 2 443

35 1671

15 6 1194

34 5 1 1290

Trade in Spirits and Wines between Great Britainmentioned in page 481

Exports to Sweden, in galls .

Rum . G en e va Rum . Brandy. G en e v a . Wine s.

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724

George IV. and William IV.

Small Be er.

The number of stills and the ir contents, with their scale of work,as mentioned in page 632 z»

Du blin.

Size of Still C harges required . Spirits requ ired

Gallons .

72 5

A table of the stills that were atwork in Ireland, in .the month of

Febru ary, 1818, as alluded to atpage 633

Names. Residence .

Jameson and Dewar DublinJohn JamesonRobert H aigJames JamesonNicholas RoeJohn PowerJohn M orrogh

William WyseSamu e l PerrottP.W. CallaghanJohn BrownDittoGeorge ConnellJames ShawRobert ThomsonMalcolm BrownAndrew SteinJo hn BirchJohn CassidyJames M ullan ifl'Holton O

’B eirne

Robert Hacke ttJohn RobinsonRobe rt CoddJohn ThomsonJolm FallsM i chae l ReganAlexande r StewartD . and A . M ‘Intyre

Patrick BrennanBartholomew FinnWilliam CathersWilliam Leatham

Total gallons of spirits made we ekly 1with the coals u se d f

BelfastNewryDu ndalkO loumellRo screaMonasterevanL ongfordAthlone

DroghedaCarrickfe rgu sDu ngannonGalwayLondonderryKillether

KilkennyGalwayNewtonhmav adyBuncrana

726

The extent of the trade in spirits, wine , and malt liqu or'

s

'

in Ire

land, as noticed in page 707F IRST PART .

SPIRI TS.

Imported .

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728

Trade of Ireland in Wine and Spirits for the following years,partly in continu ation of the forego ing table

Spirits in gallons . Gallons of winere tained for

re ign Colonial. consumptwn .

Qu antities of all sorts of Wine , as well as of Fore ign and ColonialSpirits consume d in the United Kingdom, with the amount of reirenu ethereon [vide page 7O7

Spirits in Im Amou ntof

perial gallon s duty.

729

A view of the Trad e of Great Britain with several of ’ the Statesof the American continent

Galls. of all sorts Exported .

Win e .

UN I TE D STA TE S.

Spirits. Wine .

449

379

335

307

311

398

5 14

464

M E X I C O .

14

9 289 13

14

21

21

8

26

11

C O LUM B IA .

2 1

23

7

6

15

15

4

22

B RA Z I L .

381

436

397

5 60

315

2 5 7

467

606

R I O D E L A PLATA .

21

64

76

112

5 4

78

103

730

Sp irits. Wine .

CH ILI .

11

24

12

7

8

7

14

23

E RU .

6

19 23

6 5 0

5 11

8 3

14 1

20 28

1834 14.

3 3

Tables show ing the rate s of dutie s on spirits, as impose d by acts of P arliam e ntin differentyears,w ith the qu antity on which du ty:w as paid , togetherw ith the n umber of lice nsed

distillers w orking du ring those years.

Scotland.

Ireland .

Duty pergal. of stillcont

s . (1. S. (1. 3. d .

3 12 0 l 4 0

10 16 Oi l 16 0

64 16 4 3 0 O 2 5 4

4

11381223

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732

Cromwell, for the better ordering of licen ses to be granted in Ireland, for the

sale o f wine , and the making and retail of aqu a v itae, appointed Thomas L onge ,

E sq. and Dr. Joseph Waterhou se , C omm1ss1oners, to treat, contract, and compou nd,in his nam e and on his behalf, w ith any person or persons whatever, being natu ral

born subjects or denizens, for and con cern ing the licensing or the keeping of any

tav ern or tavern s, and for selling, u ttering, and retailingWin es, as w ell as the making,selling, and retailing aqu a v ita—fe e £ 100 per annum to each .

Beside s the se regulation s, in l612 a duty w as imposed on all w in es imported intoI reland atthe follow ing rates, v iz. -on e very tu n of Spani sh, Lev ant, or Canary,imported by natural-born subjects of Ireland or E nglan d, 403. Irish, an d by stran

gers, £2 . 13s. 4d. ; upon all French, £1. 6s. 8d .,and by strangers, 4os. ( loth .

Jac. I .)From the foregoing e x tracts, w ith which I was favou red by a gentleman inti

mately conversant w ith the records of the cou ntry, the intelligent readerwill ob servethe greatcontrast between the pre sen t and form er system s o f licen sing distillers,and others con n ected w ith the w ine and spirittrades—illu strating, in this re spect,an obscure portion of Irish history.

In the notice of brew ing porter, page 628, the heat atwhich the liquor is senttothe tun is there stated to be Other brew e rs send itto the tu n s at from

60° to 64° of temperature , ac cording to the strength , or spe cific gravity of the

liqu or ; buta good deal depends 011 the heatof the weather and the situ ation of the

u ten sils.In the firstmashing, the heat of the water poured on good dry malt, should be

and the proportion of wate r run in from the coppe r, should be to the quarter

‘

ofmalt, 35» barrels . The mashing, or raking of the grain should continu e for about

half an hour. In the second mash, the heatofthe liqu or or water should be

and the proportion letin from the coppers, shou ld b e from 11to 1§ barrels o f waterto each qu arter of malt, and the raking in this mash shou ld continu e from tw e nty

m inute s to half an hou r, and be let stand, for three qu arters of an hou r before

draw n off the ke iv e . After the firstand se co nd mashings are ov er, in order to take

outany saccharin e m atter thatm ay remain , brew ers are in the habit of r unn ing

water into the kieve ata heatfrom [80°to wh ich is techn ically called a dash ;and this dash ing is continu ed till the specific grav ity shew s on e degree or n othing

on Richardson’

s saccharom eter. The hops to be u sed are in the p roportion o f 2 §lb s. to the hhd . or lglbs to the barrel for plain porter, and for double X , blbs. to

the barrel or 75,3l to the hhd. Cou ntry porter requ ire s 24l . of saccharine

matter, and 4gl . of he ps to the hhd . or 31bs . to the barrel. The liqu or is sentto the ferm enting tu n s at a heat of 61° for dou ble X , and at6 5 ° for plain porter,to bring iton the more qui ckly.

In the brew ing of ale , the heatoi the firstmash is from 160° to and after

this, all the liqu or ru n into the ke ive is accou nted a dew/1. The w orts of the firstand second mashings are boiled together, and the proportion of hops is 5 1bs . to the

barrel of m alt. From the se tw o m ashings, the qu antity of liqu or sent from the

kie v e to the coppers to b e be boiled , is reckon ed at 3§ barrels to the qu arter of

m alt; and itis cooled dow n and sentto the ferm e nting-tu na ata heat of No

brow n maltis u sed in the making of ale , as this liqu or is generally e stimated by itspalen e ss.

I N D E X .

Abas-Mirza,anecdote of

i

Shah,drinking-cup of 5 98

Abdelrahman, Su ltan, his prohibition of i ntox icating liqu ors 66

Abulfeda, his n otice of Ma homet 35

Abyssin ian s, beverage s of the , 5 8—distillation practised by, 130—hospitality of,

61—dfi 11king-vesselsof, 5 9 and 63—cup-bearers of, 60, 63—en tertainments

Achm etC achef,

'

an ecdot'

e of

AddendaAdel, b everages ofAfghanistan , liqu ors u sed in , 167—grapes of, ibidAfrica

,liqu ors of,

Agave , liqu or from , 296—m0de of cultivating,Agras, a Span ish drinkAgu a-ardiente ,Ai py, what made from

Airen,a term forKoumiss,

Alban ia,Alboin , drinking~ cu p of,

Alchymist, an ecdote of an

Alchymy, early notice of,23—derivation of, SlJ-antiqu ity of in China, 209

Alcohol, origin an d e x planation of, 31, 362

Alcohom eter, descriptioii and u se of, 093

Aldern ey, di stillation i n 5 68

Ale,early nam e of, lQ—antiqu ity of

'

111 Asia, 137—manu factu 1e of,in G reat

Britain , 5 44—B nrton , { bid-" duty first imposed on in Scotland, 5 70—au c1ent

name of in Ireland, 603.

Ale-w ives, why so calledAlembic

,de rivation of thatterm

Ale x andrian library, de stru ction of,

Algiers, liquors u sed in, .

Ali B ey, treasu rer of,Ali Efi

'

endi, anecdote of,

A l-Mam on , remarkable observation of,

Almohdi,anecdote of

Ai -M okanna,remarkable su icide of

Almond tree s , liqu ors fromAnecdotes of smuggling 5 02—3

731

Angola, w ines ofAn is , a ki nd of arrack

An ise-seed , u se of in Morocco, 79—in Sw eden , 479

Annabon , liqu ors of, 71

Aman ita muscarz‘

a , in ebriating efi'

ects of the 122, 5 14

America, op in ion s re specting the primitive popu lation of,321to 325 —e arly n otice

of distillation in,ibid—brandies of, 328—cider of

,32 9—4 ugar an d rum of

,

332,334—v ines of, 333—hon ey of, ibid- Temperance Societies in , 339

Indian s of,349

Amphorae, fou nd in Pompeu ,Aqua

-v itae , 191 ; derivation of, 615

Arab ia,liqu ors of

Arabians,remarks on the ir reputed knowledge of the Arts and Science s, 29

Arafi‘

er, a liqu or, 187

A rbutu s u n edo,spiritfrom the 410

Arjan,a Calmu ck and Kirghis drink, 146

Arrachaca 311

Arracan , liqu ors of 179

Arrack,etym ology of 140—manufactu re bf

,160, 161, 162 , &c.

- Pariah,164 con

sumption and manufactu re of in Siam , 176, 178 —in Ceylon , 183, 18 5 ,

187— in Java, 194—Batavia, 193—ih Cochin-China, 205—ih China 232—1n

Corea, 237, &c.

Artichoke s (Jeru salem ) , distillation from 398

Ashantee , instance of an e x traordinary drinker m ,76 -drinking-vessels u sed in

ibicL- cu stoms observed m , ibid

Assam,brandy of,

Astracan , brandyl

of,

Attenu ation ,Auguu r A sj i, a ki nd of grape

Au reng-Zebe , anecdote of,

A va, drink fromAwamuri, a liqu or of the Japan ese Islands

BB aamboo, a liqu or of Sierra Leone , 74

B acanassi, a liqu or of the Sunda islands, 198

B aksima,a drink 5 07

B aksoum ,a be er of Tartary 149

Balearic islands, wine and brandy of the 376

B all, a m ead of Tartary 145

Ballo , a kind of beer, 6 5,82

B allston Waters, e x hilarating qu alities of, 336

Bananas, distillation from 307

Banqu ets, atBen in , 71 -superb on e of Tamerlan e , l49—a1nong the Lu sitanians,382—thatof Prince Potemkin , 5 5 4—magn ificenton e of theDuke of M oscovy,

5 22—practic e ob served atthose of the G reeks and Romans, 5 2 5 ;—among the

Briton s, 5 2 8—01“

the ancient Irish, 608—cu riou s cu stom observed atthose of

the ancientEgyptian s, 712

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736

Pagein India, 165—imports and esports of, 176—atthe Cape, 2734-Pulqu e, 268in P eru , 305 -in Chili, 307—in Paragu ay, 312—in the Un ited States

, 328.

in Made ira, 360—in Spain , 35 4, 36 5 -in Fran ce , 398, 400—in Hu ngary,

446- in Switzerland, 4 5 1—in Hanover,448—ih D antzic

,463—in Poland ,

466—ih D enmark , 469 - in Norw ay, 474—in Sweden , 474—ih Ru ssia, 489in Kamtschatka, 5 11.

Brew ,derivation of the word 363

Brewery, e x pen se of e stablishing one in Ireland, 62 5 ; di scovery of an ancient onefor the brew ing of heather-beer, 608

Brom,a drink of Java ,

Brum ,a drink of Sumatra,

Bu al, a w in e of Madeira,Bu enos Ayres,B ucharia, w in e an d brandy of,Bull

,a drink of New Hollan d,

Bursa, a drink of the Kiwen ses,

Bu rton ale ,

Bu sa, a drink of Fezzan ,

Brian B oriomhe , large wine-store of

Cabul, liqu ors of,Cacongo , liqu ors of

,

C afl‘raria ,beverages of,

Californ ia,liqu ors of,

C allu , a term for palm.win e ,

Cambodia, beverages of,Canada , 341—spru ce

-beer, 348—distillation from potatoes in , ibz'

d

Canary isle s, w ine of

Candia,liqu ors of,

Cape of Good Hope , remarks on the settlementat,270—ex ports of, 273, 717

Carolin e islands, beverages of,Carthagin ians, their early conn ection with Ireland, 5 87Cau casu s, madden ing honey of 5 07

Celebes, beverages of the 198

Cephalonia, Wines of 409

Ceylon , liqu ors used in , 180—distillation in ,183— e x traordinarym ode of drinking

in,181—marriage feasts of, 187—ex ports of, 716

Chalibon ian w ine ,Chem istry, early knowledge of, 20—origin of the term ,

2 1

Chili,liqu ors of,

'

307 -drinking'

vessels used in,309

Chica,2 92—mode of making inP eru , 293

China, remarks on , 208—early notice of distillation in,2 11—e arly commerce of,

2 12—taste l'or literature in; 213—cultivation of the v in e in ,2 16 —rice-w in e s

and brandiesof,2 17, 218 - entertainm ents and inv itation s in 2 19, 220, 22 1

manu facture of beer in,2 21—popu lation of

,224—drinking-cups u sed in , 227

an ecdote of a hostin , { bid—distillation in , 228—9—lamb-w inc of, 230—manufactu re of sugar in , 231

737

PageCider, derivation of, 7—made in Barbary, 78—in the United State s, 329—in

P eru , 393—in Canada , 345—ia G reat Britain , 5 5 0—in Ireland, 5 93—distillation of in Normandy, 398—win e from , 5 5 2

Circassia, liqu ors ofCochin-China

,liqu ors of

Coca, u sed by the P eruvians for oplumCoco de mer, cu ps formed of

Congo , palm-w ine of, 68—cup-bearers in, ibid -win e-taster of the king of, 69

Con stantia w ine , 270

Corea , b everages of 237

Corinth, —and derivation of cu rra nts 410

Crete , or Candia, w ines of 410

Crimea,beverages u sed in 5 00

Crim inals, strong drink given to before e x ecu tio n 5

Cup b earers, ancie nt nam es o f,G IG—antiqu ity of

, ibid—the ir costum e,611—their

importance and privileges in O riental cou rts,{ bid—among the G reeks and

Romans,&c. ibicL—the ancientBriton s

,612— fem ale employed by the Indian

kings , &c . { bid—at' the Irish cou rt, { bid—o f the American Chiefs,ibid- in

Congo , 68—ia Loango , 70— in Japan ,239— in Abyssin ia , 60, 63—inDahomy,

64—in Ashante e , 76—the Friendly Islands, 2 5 1—in China , 227—among the

Burme se , 175—the Lu sitan ian s, 382— in the We stern Islands, 5 69, 5 82Cups for drinking u sed among variou s nations, 5 5 , 147, 149, &c . &c. interesting

accou nt of, 5 93D

Dahomy, beverages of, 64—drinking-cups u se d in, ibirl- stratagem of a monarch

of, 6 5

Dantzic, beverages of, 463—grain store s atand mode of guarding, 462

Darfur, liqu ors of 66

Date tree , de scription of, 5 1, 5 2—w ine made from in Nubia, 5 5—revenu e and

trade in ,5 5 , 81

Denm ark, beverage s of 469

Distillation,

origin of, 2 1, 22 , 23—from dates in Egypt, 5 1—in Nubia , 5 5—inIndia

,15 8—in Sumatra

,192 in China

,2 l l—in Japan , 2 43—in P ersia ,

85 , 9 5—atthe Cape , 2 73—in Me x ico , 298—in Peru , 303— in Chili, 307in P araguay, 312—in the Un ited States, 328—in Can ada , 343—in Made ira

,

360—in Spain , 364—in P ortugal, 380— in France , 398—in H ungary, 446

in Sw itzerland,45 1— in Hanov er

,45 8—in Dantzic, 463—ia Poland , 466.

in De nmark,469 -in Norway, 474—in Sw ede n , 475—in Ru ssia , 489—in

Astracan,497— in the Crimea, 5 00—in Siberia , 5 00— in Kamtschatka, 5 11

in E ngland , 5 5 9— in Scotland , 5 72— in G u ern sey and Jersey, &c . 5 68 -in

Irelan d,631— illicitdistillation , 671

Drinking, anecdotes of 12 , 13, 36 ,37, 38, 39, &c.

Drinking-glasses , from whence first procu red 5 5 5

Dru nkenness thoughtto be on e of the chief cau ses ofthe deluge , 4—remarks on, 705

Dru zes , liqu ors and cu stoms of 47

Egypt, accou nt ofthe drinks u sed in .

738

PageEgyptians, wine of 5

Eldon , win e of 5

E lba, w ine s of 408

Elephants fed 01! sugar15 7

Emb eth , a w ine°of Cacongo 71

“

E ngland, on the‘cu ltivati on of the vin e in, 5 23—antiqu ity and ex tent of its manu !

facture and trade in malt-liqu ors, 5 29 to 5 45 — immense establishm ents forbrew ing, 5 40 -greatimportance of the duty on malt, 5 4 5 ~ policy of repealingthe be er duty con sidered, i bid—m anu facture of cider, 5 5 0 -perry, 5 5 2

hom e—made ’w in es, 5 5 6— imports and e x ports of w ine , ibid and Addenda—d is

tillation , 5 39 —imports an d e x ports of spirits, 5 61—rectifiers, 5 65 , 704—forthe number of distillers see Addenda , 730.

E rivan , attachm entof the people of to pu nch

E u rope , introdu ction of distillation intoEx cise , origin of the term

Fada, a Circassian beverageFerm entation , 662—remarks on sp ontaneou s, 66 5

Fezzan , beverages of 67

Finland, propen sity of its inhab itants for strong liqu ors a; 485

Feasts of the dead 78, 241, 269, 35 0

Floridas, beverages of, 320- feasts and mann ers of the aborigines of

, 32 1

Formosa, drinks of 32 5

France, 380—remarks on the introdu ction of the vm e into , ibid—distillation of

brandy in , 392—of the Jeru salem artichoke an d potatoe s , 398—from be et-root,399, —m anu facture of liqu eu rs in , 400—remarks on the w ine trade , 402

Frankfort,sale of Ren ish w in e at 433

Friendly Islands, beverages of, 2 5 0—acu p-bearers of, 25 1

G au ls, liqu ors and ‘feasts of the

G aza,w ine of

G ear, an ale of Ragada in AfricaG eber

,w ritings of

G en ev a,manu facture of

G e ntian, u se of, 5 37—n otice of distillation from, 606

G eorgia, liqu ors ofG eorgian Islands, distillation inG ermany, v intage and w in es of

,436 to 440. —distillation ‘

from potatoe s in , 441G old Coast

,liqu ors of the

G oldwasser, a li qu or of Pru ssia

G rapa, a drink of the N egroes

G rape s, v arieties of in P ersia,91—how pre serve d , 93

G reece,liqu ors o f

G u allo, a liqu or of Congo

G u arapo , a P eru v ian drink

G u in ea, partiality of thcl

natives for strong liqu ors

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740

Ithaca, w ines of

JJapan , beverages of, 238—cup-bearers in , 239- antiqu ity of brewing in , ibid

drinking-v essels of, 240, 243—cu riou s notice ofstills and brew ing uten sils,2 44—distillation in , 243—remedy for dru nkenness in , 248

—remarkable and

pathetic anecdote of two natives of, 241—singular effects of the todonoevo in ,248

Jassy, w in es ofJatropha

-ma n ihot, spirits fromJava

, distillation in , 193—drinki ng-cups of,Jeru salem artichokes, distillation fromJersey, liqu ors ofJe sse , island of

'

Jora,m altof the P eru v ians

Jin-Jm -di,an African drink

Ju n iper-berries, u ses of in Lapland, Sweden , and Holland

KKava

,a bev erage pecu liar to many islands in the Pacific and mode of preparing,2 5 0—w onderful effects of

,2 5 2 .

Kamtschatka , 5 11—spirits made from grass in , 5 12—anecdote s of the inhab itantsof

,5 13

,5 14 , 5 16, 5 17.

Kea-sum,ancient name for brandy 362

Kebal,spiritfrom 169

Kirschwasser, or cherry-water, a brandy of Sw itzerland 45 0

Koramas,mead of the 280

Ki slar, brandy distilled from water-melons at, 5 05 -w ine from mu lberries, { bidfrom peaches,

Koumiss, a beverage of the Tartars,136—from mares

’

milk,ISL—mode of pre s

paring, 138—made from the milk of cow s,sheep , and camels, 140, 167—di stil

lation of, [40, 142

Kriska,a liqu or ofthe G old Coast 73

K iimmelwasser,abeverage 463

Kutuki, anecdote of 139

Ladrone Islands,beverages of

L aghibi, a liqu or of TripoliL alo

,a preparation of the B oabab

L amb-w in e

L apland, beverages of, 481—anecdote of a nativeL ebanon

, wine of

L em nos,w ine of

L emon tree, liqu or from the

L ipari Islands, w ine s of theL iqu eu rs, origin and inv ention of

L iqu or of immortality in China and Japan , 2 10, 243—in Floridas,Loo-Choo Islands, beverages of the

741

Loa‘ngo , cup-bearers in , 70—cu stoms observed in drinking in , ibid

Lotu s plant, accou nt of 8- w ine from ,

Lotophagi , why so calledL ou vaine

, be er of

Lugibi, a liqu oro f FezzanL u neburgh, regulations respecting distillation in

M aby, a drink of the West Indies, 290

lVlacassar,beverages of 199

Madagascar, cu riou s n otions of the natives respecting the rivers of Parad ise , 3bev erage s of 187—cu ps of; 189.

Madeira,wi ne s o f 35 8

M ahayah , a Spiritfrom figs, 78

Mahom etan s, prohibition of wine amongst, 33 -an ecdotes respecting, 35 , 36, 37’90—mode of evading the prohibition by the Moors, 78

Ma hwah tree , beverages from 15 3, 173

Maize , spirit from ,292 —sugar from , 300—beer from ,

304

Maltearly known to the Peru v ians, 304—in Ireland, 671

M andebocre , a li qu or of Paragu ay 311

M angel-wurzel, a le from ,5 49—d i stillation from

, 701, 399

Man illa, beverages of 200

Mariana Islan ds,liqu ors of 248

Maraschino,a liqu or of Dalmatia 423

M asakhaw,a beverage of Formosa 236

Masato,an American drink 305

Mathew s,M r.

,an ecdote of 5 89

Mau ritius,beverages of 190

Max imin ,his great pow ers in drinking 13

Mead of the Tartars,146—of the G ermans

,446—of the Ru ssians, 494—in

Circassia, 5 08—India , 165—P oland, 467—Spain ,

375 —Moldavia ,G ermany, 446—Prussia, 460—Dantzic , 463—in the Crimea, 5 02_ derivation of the term , 5 91—antiqu ity of in Ireland, i bid

M eather,or Mether

,antiqu ity and u se of 5 93

Mediterranean Isles, beverages of 408

Melons , beverages from 15 0, 168

Me x ical,a sp irit from the agave 294

Me x ico , li qu ors u sed 111,298—pu n ishment for drunkenness m 299.

Mezcal,spirit from the 35 5

Milafi'

o,a wine of Congo 67

M ilk of Mares distilled by the Tartars, 140—preparation of in Iceland, { bid—u sed

for a bath, l4 5—procured from vegetables, ibid—that o f she ep distilled by the

Calmu cks, 146 specific grav ity of that of different an imals, 686.

Minorca,wines b f

Mindanao , ab undance of honey inMi tylene , w ines ofMoluccas , beverages of the

Morocco, inebriating liquors in

742

M oorafacoo , a drink u sed in the Loo-Choc IslandsMotherwort, beverage fromM um ,

447—origin of the term, ,448 -receiptfor making, ibid

Mu shroom , (Aman ita M uscaria) beverage fromMust, atwhatheatfermentable

Naples, w ines ofNax os, or Nax ia

,marble cups of, 4 16—distillation from lemons in

,ibid.

Negroes, beverages of 111 AfricaNepau l, beverage s of, 165—human sculls u se l as drinking-vessels i n, ibid .

Nepenthe of Hom er, what 6, 606, 97

Netherlands, brew ing in 4 5 6

New Holland,distillation m 2 5 8

New South Wales, remarks on,2 5 9—distillation in

,260—bee r of

,261_ _ intem

perancc in , 262—anecdote of an Irishman 111

,ibid

,cu ltivation of the v ine in

266.

N icobar Islands , beverages of the

Norw ay, distillation from potatoe s inNubeez, a P ersian liquorNubia, liqu ors pf

O ases, notice of the 5 2

O bservation s on the effects of drinking in Indi a 169

Ombelbel, a n ame given to Bou za 5 6

O pin ion s of Davy and Paris respecting the origin of Glenn, Gouls, &c. among the

Arabian s, 5 0.

O pium,derivation of the word

,97—manu factu re of in Asia

,ibid—in P ersia , ibid

in India, 98—revenu e ari sing from,100—price of in India, 101— smoked

ex ten siv ely by the Mandarin s, ibid- its effects, 102—its u se denou n ced by a

Mu ssu lman preacher, 104—sale and u se of in Siam ,106—in Born eo and

Sumatra, 106 , 107—among the C elebe s, ibid—its effects on the Javan ese , 108_ u sed by the Rajpoots, G racias

,& c . 110, 111— its effects on an imals

,116

,

l l 7—u sed by the In di an jockeys, 117—by Chin ese thieves, 12 5 —specimen of

a Chinese proclamation again st, 134—substitutes for, 117 l2 5—ex portof, 716.

O pium-eaters, an ecdotes of, 111, 112 , 113, 114 , 115 , 116, 117, 134 , 135 ,

136—quantities u sed by, 132 .

O porto, w ines ofO taheite , liqu ors u sed in

O tec, an African ale

O uycou , a beer of the West Indies

Palestine , vineyards of]

Pall, an African w ine 71

Palm-w in e , mode of obtain ing atSierraLeone , 73; u sed as a bribe in courtships,78—as o fferings to the dead, { bid—lin India, 15 4—supposed to be the “strongdrink" of the Scriptures, 7—ia Peru , 304.

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744

PageRose-water, earlymade by the Persians, 91—quotation from a Saadi respecting, 93.

Rosolio , 41—made atD antzic, 463.

R u bus a rcticu s, prine from 480

R ubu s Chamaemoru s, liqu eu r from i bid

Ru dkin,his plan for the collection of the duty on spirits 6 5 8

Rum ,distillation of m the Carnatic, l 5 8—made 111 China, 2 18—derivation of the

te rm , 282 -its m anufactu re m the We stIndie s, 283—in Brazil, 314—in theUn ited States, 331 334- trade of in E ngland, 5 61

Ru ssia, 487—revenu e derived from bran dy in , 490—e x tensive0

brew eries, 491

mead manufactured to greate x tent, 494—importance of hon ey for home-con

sumption , and as an article p f comm erce ,—mode of rearing bees, { bid

cultivation.of the y ine , 496—imports and e x ports, 5 20, 5 2 l—distillation a

monopoly of the crown , 5 18

Saccharometer, invention and use of

Sack, derivation of the term

Saeki, a Japan ese beer, 238—derivation of the term, ibid .

Saffron , early u se of in Ireland 620

Sagw ire , a specie s of palm-w in e 19 5

Sal-Indicum , firstname for sugar in Eu rope 366

Sam-tchoo , a Chinese liqu or 2 17

Sandwich Islands, liqu ors of 2 5 4

Sangaree , a drink of the West Indi es 288

Saracens, opin ions con cerning their inventions and discoverie s controverted, 21,

Sardi nia, w in es ofSatschio , a Japan ese brandySavage s of Am erica

,their feast of the dead, 35 0—anecdote s of their chiefs

,

Sbitena , or Sbetin , a Ru ssian drink,Sc otland, primitive beverage s of, 5 69—brewing in , 1370—di stillation , 5 72 .

Sculls, u sed as drinking-cups, 165 , 270—cu riou s an ecdotes respecting, 5 98.

Sen eca, his complaint of womenu sing wine to e x cess

Shetland Islands, distillation from heather formerly practised inShiraz, wine of

, 84—derivation of, ibid .

Siam ,liqu ors of

Siberia,liqu ors used 111

Sicily, Win es ofSierra-L eon e , drinks u sed there , 73—introduction of the v ine

, 74 .

Skins of beasts u sed for holding Wine , 18, 19—am ong the Tartars,139—in Pom

p eii , 140—in Made ira, 603—in G eorgia, 5 02—among the Pampas, 311

Soliman I . , his e x ertions to prevent dru nkenn ess 39

Sora, a beer of Peru 306

Spain , early notice of distillation in , 362—cu stom of a Celtic king of, 362—e arlycultivati on of the v ine in , { bid- brandie s of, 363—w ines, 36 —granaries, 374—breweries, 37 5 —cider, ibid- mead of

,ibid .

Specific grav ity, 686 , 693—anecdote respecting, 693.

743

Spirits, a preservative aga instthe plagu e , 39 .- spontaneou s combu stion occasidiigdby, 683.

Spontaneou s fermentation, remarks on 665

Springs , intox icating 466 , 5 09

Spru ce beer, origin of i nSweden , 489—u se of i n GreatBritain 5 5 0

Still , suppo sed to be allu ded to .in St. Matthew , 10—introdu ction of into E urope ,361—Calmu ck, M il—Mysore, 15 9—native Ind ian, 160—u sed in Thibet andB ootan , 172 _ in Ceylon , 186—China, 228—theGeorgian Islands , 2 5 6—Pe ru ,

306—Canada, 342—Spain ,365 —De srone’

s,393—St.Marc ’

s, 635—Soliman i’

s

640~ Win ter's, ibid—SirAnthony Pe rrier’

s, 643—Grimble’

s,Wet—Evan ‘

s, ibid

—Williams'

s,644—Shannon’s, 64 5—G utteridge

’

s, 646—M orrisy’

s,647

_ Shee’

s, . 648- Ste in ’

s, 649—that of Mr. Cefl'ey, 6 5 0, 65 1, &c.

—the one

formerly in u se in Ireland , 6 5 7.

Sugar, cu ltivation of in Upper Egypt, 5 4—known early in India, 15 2—derivationof the w ord, ibid—elephants and horse s fed 011 in India

,15 7—substitute for

in Bokhara,168—manu facture of in Siam

,177—in Java

,19 5 — in Man illa

,

202 -ia China , 230—in the Marqu esas , 2 5 4—in New South Wales, 26 5 — inthe West In dies, 2 18, 287 —in Peru ,

299—from maize , 310—in Brazil, 314-from the maple , 329, 380, 33l—in Spain,366—from the w alnut-tree , 5 02—from rags, 697—from be et-root, or mangel

Sw eden , u se of the antin distilleries of, 476—distillation from potatoe s in , 479Switzerland, w ine of

,449 distillation of brandy in 45 1

St. Helena, early distillation frdm potatoe s in ,281

Sumatra, beverage s of 190

Surinam ,liqu ors manufactured in 319

Tafiia , a name for rum 285

Taflilet, w in e and beer of 80

Talipot-tree , description of 200

Talwag en , a liquor of Ceylon 183

Taroot, v in eyards of 49

Tartars , distillation early known to , l42 —cup-bearers of, l43—the ir me ad, 146lu x ury of their prince s, ibid—their cups and drinking-v essels said to counte

raetpo ison , l47 - gen iu s for poetry, ibid —their w ine from lamb’

s-flesh, 15 0their large bags , 139.

Tamerlane , banqu et of,Teutone s, cu stom s of

Tee-root, a li qu or distilled from 2 5 4

Temperance Soc ieties, origin of in the United State s, 338—in Van D iem en’

s

La nd and New Sou th Wales, 266w in Pru ssia, 449—in Sweden, 480-1

G reat Brita in and Ireland, 707.

Temperance , o pinions o f a Hanoverian Preacher respecting, 460—law respectingin China, 226—enforced by Alomprah, l 75 -ia the Society Islands , 2 5 7remarks on , 705

'

I erac ina,a Tartar drink from rice 146

Theka , a Peruvian liqu or 802

Theophrastu s, practice of drunkards in his day 12

744

Thibet,liqu ors u sed in , l 7l—distillation in , 272

0

Toak,a Madagascar drink 187

Toddy, mode of procuring 15 5

Tokay w ine , 428

Tonqu in , beverage s of, 205— sociality i n , 207—cups u sed i n, ibid—cider of

,208.

Torgi lla, or Tergilla, challenge of 111 drinking 13

Torqu atu s, his ex traordinary powers of drinking 13

Toupare , a Madagascar drink 188

Tripoli , beverages of 80

Tu n s, enormou s on e at He idelberg, 428—at Koningste in , ibid—at Halberstadt,

428—atTiibingen , ibid .

Tu rkestan,beverages of

,l 5 o -m elons of

,

Turks, mode of living an d hospitality of

UUn ited State s

,di stillation in

, 32 5 - cider of, 329 330, 331, 332—v ine

o f,ibid—rum of, 334—maltliqu ors, 335—honey, ibid —Temperance Societies

in, 338.

Usqu ebagh , 615 , 616—receipt for making,Usuph, a drink of Morocco

V an Diemen’

8 Land 167

Vanhorn,his ex cess in drinking 13

Vegetables, various from which spirits may be produ ced 681

Vienna, malt-drinks of,444—brew ers of, 44 5

Vau lts for w in e , enormou s 435

V ellipatty, a beverage of Ceylon 138

Vines, when firstcultivated by the Roman s, l lw of P ersia, 85—of India , 15 6—of

Madagascar, 188—of New Sou th Wales, 265—of the Cape , 2 70—of New

Spain , 299—of Chili,307—of the Un ited State s, SSS—of Spain , 367

climates su itable for, 437—cu ltivation of in Portugal, 376—formerly in E ngland,5 24—111 I reland , 600

.Vin eyards, tax on in P ersia,63—in Portugal, 373—in France , 384—in the Crimea,

499

Vintage in G ermany, 427—great sports at,'V intro de Batatas, a kind of beer

V odtki, Ru ssian brandy

Walnut-tree ,’

sugar obtain ed from

Water-melon s,brandy from

Watky, the Kamtschatdale name for WhiskeyWe st Indie s, distillation of rum in

,283—e x ports of, 285—hospitality in ,

We stern Islands,cu riou s cu stoms obse rved atancient entertainm ents in ,

dign ity and emolument attached to the office o f cup-bearer, 5 82

Whida h,beer of, 72—skill of the woman in brew ing in ,

Whiskey, derivation of the word

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