122 
was distilled to the extent of 104,347 metric tons.’ A spirit is 
distilled from the grain in Manchuria, under the name of “ Kaoliang 
Whisky,” samples of which were exhibited at the J apan-British 
Exhibition, London, 1910. Kaoliang seeds are used in the manu- 
facture of “ Samshu.” ? 
r 
ercentage of alcohol. ‘“ Samshu”’ is distilled from rice, in Hong 
Wong. where the spirit forms the basis of several beverages 
prepared by flavouring with plums, oranges and other fruits. 
The spirit possesses a peculiar pungent and disagreeable odour, 
which makes it unsuitable for certain purposes, but it is less 
pungent when the husk is removed before fermentation.‘ Wile 
gives the percentage of fermentable matter in rice as nearly 
No i 
rica, e 
production of alcohol, 
Ragi (Eleusine coracana, Gaertn.), a grass, native of India, where 
the seed is an important article of food. A fermented beverage is 
prepared from the grain, and a spirit is sometimes distilled from it. 
(4.) Srems. 
Sugar Cane (Saccharum officinarum, Linn.). The sugar cane is 
cultivated more or less throughout the tropics for sugar. It is 
the source of rum, distilled chiefly from the molasses, the most 
notable being that prepared in Jamaica, where the production of 
rum is a leading industry. 
Alcohol is also obtained from this plant in Cuba,® Salvador, 
where in 1908 there were 62 distilleries’; Colombia’; Salaverry, Peru 
—the spirit exported only to Bolivia®—and in Mexico. The cane 
in Mexico yields 70 per cent. of juice on weight, giving from 9-10 per 
cent. of alcohol, and the cost per litre of producing 96 per cent. 
cohol irom sugar-cane juice averages a little more than 1 
centimo (4 cent) after the cane is delivered at the mill, which 
can be done for from 4-6 pesos (about 2-3 dollars) per ton. 
“ Aguardiente ” made from cane-sugar is one of the chief distilled 
drinks of Mexico! and in Colima, Mexico, the annual production 
of spirit is given at 262,000 litres, value (1907 ) 23 cents per litre.’ 
' Mon, Cons, and Trade Rep. Washington, No. 339, 1908, p. 179. 
? Dip. pa Cons. Rep. Ann. No. 4424, 1910, p- 11. 
3 rad , 
“Le. No, 334, July 1908, p. 81. 
: Le. No. 341, 1909, pp. 149-150. 
Dip. and Cons. Rep. No. 3635, Ann. reg 6 34. 
i 0. 332, May 1908, pp. 85-86. 
Herb. v. No. 4, 1899, p. 224. 
2 
* 
