In Cabul, the Armenians are the principal dealers and manufacturers of intoxicating drinks, but the present governor, with the best intentions, has put an end to the Armenian influence by a strict prohibition of wine and spirits. Hence the Armenians, together with the Jews, have fled to other countries, as they had no means of support but that of distilling spirits and manufacturing wine. Previous to this edict, 40 bottles of wine or 10 of brandy might have been purchased for a rupee.

Among the fruits of Bokhara, melons are in the highest estimation; water-melons in particular have a superior flavour, and grow to such an enormous size, that twenty people may feast on one, and two of them are said to form a load for a donkey: they afford a delicious cooling beverage. In that country, there is a curious and common substitute for sugar, called Turunjubeen. It is a saccharine gum which exudes from the well-known shrub called camel's-thorn, or the Khari-Shootur. Towards the end of August, 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 bush, is the Turunjubeen. Some hundred maunds of it are collected annually, and the whole sweet-meats of the country are prepared with it. From its nature and properties, it strongly reminds us of the manna given to the Israelites.

From grape jelly, or sirup mixed with chopped ice, the Bokharians draw what they term rahut i jan, or the delight of life. Here ice 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 in Bokhara without icing it, and a beggar may be seen purchasing it, while he proclaims his poverty and implores the charitable bounty of the passengers. The water, which the king drinks, is brought in skins under the charge and seals of two officers. It is opened by the vizier, first tasted by the people, and then by himself, when it is once more sealed and despatched to the king. The daily meals of his majesty undergo a like scrutiny; the minister eats, he gives to those around him; they wait the lapse of an hour to judge of the effect, when they are locked up and despatched. His majesty has one key and his ministers another. Fruit, sweet-meats, drinks, and every eatable, undergo the same examination.

In Bokhara, there is a disease called the Mokkom or Kolee, a kind of leprosy that renders the skin dry and shrivelled, the hair of the body falls off, the nails and teeth drop out, and the whole frame assumes a horrible appearance. This disease is prevalent in the rice districts, and is said to be caused by the use of bouza, a strong drink distilled from black barley.

Honey is abundant in Bokhara and the adjacent countries; but it is not much employed as an ingredient in the beverages. Captain Burnes states that he observed bees feed on mutton, that in winter they are often supported with flesh instead of sugar; that which he saw given to them was fresh; and he adds, that they sometimes attacked dried fish.

Throughout the whole continent of India, the people are well acquainted with the different virtues of all the species of palm. Of these, the cocoa-nut tree (cocos nucifera) is the mos tvaluable, as it not only affords food but a large supply of toddy, though not in so great a quantity as the palmira. The date tree (phoenix ductylifera), the Tamar of the Hebrews, yields toddy also, but neither so much nor of so good a quality as that which is produced by the other species of palm. This tree, as well as those of the same genus, has been the subject of great research and investigation with many eminent writers, of whom Larcher, in his learned notes on Herodotus, has been elaborate; after him Pontedora, Tournefort, and Kæmpfer may be consulted; the latter, in his Amoenitates Exotica, has been happily minute in illustrating this portion of natural history.

The skill and ingenuity which the inhabitants of India generally display in making intoxicating beverages from the produce of their trees, as well as from other portions of the vegetable kingdom, have been clearly exemplified; and the ease with which they are procured, and the habits, therefore, which their use has engendered, have tended much to the injury of Europeans and natives, both in a moral and physical point of view. Dr. Bucha nan, however, has questioned this, particularly as repects health; and observes, that intoxication is less frequently a cause of disease, than is usually alleged; it chiefly, he says, proves injurious to the health of our seamen and soldiers in warm climates, by making them impru "The two dently expose themselves to other causes of sickness. persons in my service," continues the Doctor, "that are most subject to fevers are my interpreter and painter, although from their situation in life, they are exempted from all hardships; but from their caste, they ought not to taste spirituous liquors, and are really sober men. At the same time, a man who takes care of my tents, although he is exposed to all weathers, and at times to much fatigue, enjoys perfect health, probably keeps off the fever by copiously drinking spirituous liquors, to the use of which he is exceedingly addicted." But with all due respect for the Doctor's opinion, this example should not be received as a precedent, because it is well known, that those who are addicted to a slavish use of ardent spirits, are more subject to

disease, than those who use them with moderation. In India, as in Europe, where the cholera morbus has been so fatal in its effects, it has been proved that drunken and dissipated characters were the first and most numerous victims of that terrible disease.

"Drinking spirituous liquors," says Heber, "is highly injurious to our soldiery in India. Nothing can be more foolish, or in its effects more pernicious, than the manner in which spirits are distributed among the troops. Early every morning a pint of fiery, coarse, undiluted rum is given to every man; and half that quantity to every woman; this the greater part of the new comers abhor in the first instance; or would, at all events, if left to themselves, mix with water. The ridicule of their seasoned companions, however, deters them from doing so, and a habit of the worst kind of intemperance is acquired in a few weeks, more fatal to the army than the swords of the Jâts, or the climate of the Burmese. If half the quantity of spirits, well watered, were given at a more seasonable hour, and, to compensate for the loss of the rest, a cup of strong coffee were allowed to each man every morning, the men would be quite as well pleased, and both their bodies and souls preserved from many dreadful evils.”*

Captain Mundy, who had a good opportunity 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; alluding to the general use of arrack, and its cheapness unfortunately adds to its fascinating qualities, which are further heightened by an infusion of chillies, to render it the more intoxicating.† Speaking on this subject, Hamilton observes, that one cause of the prevention of the spread of Christianity in India, may have been occasioned by the dissolute lives of some of the early Christians; and the clergy not only indulging in the use, but actually trafficking in the sale of arrack; a practice equally obnoxious to the Brahmins and Mahometans.‡

The kingdom of Thibet, although not so early known to Europeans as some other eastern countries, yet we were partially acquainted with it from the visit of Marco Polo. He observed that the Thibetians had no wine, but an excellent drink made from corn or rice, flavoured with various spices. Oderic, in 1318, found bread and rice-wine in that country in abundance. Turner, in the account of his embassy to the Teshoo Lama, makes us more familiar with the arts, manners, and customs of the Thibetians. They cultivate wheat, barley, and

* Heber's Narrative, vol. iii. p. 201.

† Pen and Pencil Sketches in India, vol. ii. p. 215. Vide Hamilton's Account of the East Indies.

rice, although the state of agriculture is not by any means in a flourishing condition. They extract from rice or wheat, a drink which is called chong: this beverage is prepared by an infusion of grain in a state of fermentation; wheat, rice and barley are used indiscriminately, To a given quantity of grain, is added rather more water than will completely cover it; and the mixture is placed over a slow fire till it begins to boil. It is then taken up, the water drained off, and the residue spread on mats, or coarse cloths, to cool. When cold, a ball called bakka, composed of the blossoms of the cacalia saracenica of Linnæus, is crumbled over the grain and mixed with it. The common proportion is one of these balls, about the size of a nutmeg, to two pounds of the grain. After this process, the grain is put into baskets lined with leaves, and slightly pressed down with the hand, so as to squeeze out the superfluous moisture It is then covered with leaves and cloths to defend it from the air, and put into a place moderately warm, where it is allowed to remain for three days. At the end of this period, it is put into earthen jars, when cold water is poured on the top in the proportion of a tea-cup full, to every gallon of grain, and the top of the jar is made close with a strong compost of stiff clay. In this state it remains for at least three days, before any of it is taken out for use; but, if suffered to continue longer, it improves by age. When chong is wanted, a quantity of this fermented mass is put into a capacious vessel on which boiling water is poured, until it is completely covered by it. The whole is well stirred together, and, after remaining a short time to settle, a small basket of wicker work is thrust into the centre, and the infusion called chong immediately drains through and fills the empty space with the liquor. The drink is then distributed to those around by the segment of a gourd fastened upon a staff in the form of a ladle; each person holding a shallow wooden cup on the points of his fingers for its reception. This liquor is accounted pleasing and grateful, having a slightly acid taste, but possessing little intoxicating qualities. From the nature of this liquor and the peculiar manner of making it, it is evident that the invention is purely oriental, as there is nothing in Europe of a similar description from which any idea of such a manufacture could have been borrowed. Chong is also used for distillation, and from it a very powerfully inebriating spirit is drawn, termed arra. The apparatus employed for this purpose must appear, from an examination of the annexed plate and a perusal of its description, to be of a simple and rude construction. Chong, or arra, is always served to visiters, both on their arrival and at their departure,

without regard to the hour, and, contrary to the practice of Japan and China, it is never drunk warm.

A. An earthen vessel, in which the chong is placed, immediately over the fire. B. Another without a bottom.

C. A smaller earthen vessel, which is the recipient.

D. An iron basin filled with cold water, renewed occasionally as it grows warm, and may be termed the condenser.

e e e. Three cross staves of wood on which the recipient is placed.

The junction of three vessels, A, B, and D, being secured with cotton bandages and clay lute, a fire is lighted under A, which contains the chong. The spirit rises through B, is condensed upon the convex bottom of the basin D, and the spirit arra is received into the smaller vessel C.

f. The fire-place-9 9 g. openings over the fire for the reception of a similar

apparatus.

Turner's Embassy, 4to. p. 343.