198 DATE GROWING 



yield twenty per cent more liquor than fresh and sound 

 ones. The five stills at Baghdad, all owned by Jews, 

 turn out a total of 500,000 litres per year, which is 

 worth from twenty to thirty cents per litre. The 

 effects on those who drink it are said to be practically 

 the same as those of absinthe.* 



Laqmi is sometimes distilled, furnishing an 

 intoxicant which much resembles arrak. 



The beverage called nabidh has already been 

 mentioned in Chapter I; it is made by pouring water 

 on macerated dates and letting it stand over night, 

 and is rarely relished by Europeans. It remains 

 popular in Arabia and Egypt; in other date growing 

 regions it is hardly known . 



A rather palatable drink is made by macerating 

 dates in milk, which is sometimes, but not always, 

 boiled. It goes by various names in different regions, 

 and according to the details of manufacture; it is of 

 course taken when quite fresh and is lawful to the 

 Muslim. 



A kind of beer is sometimes made with dates and 

 barley, to which yeast is added. It is considered 

 lawful if it is not allowed to ferment beyond the 

 point of slight acidity. 



This includes, I believe, all the types of beverage 

 made from the date; but the list of varieties, as given 

 by Arab authors, is long, the same drink being given 

 many different names, as the method of its manu- 

 facture is slightly varied or the locality changed. 

 And now that I have covered the subject of drinks, 

 as such, let me return for a moment to laqmi to note 

 a few unappetizing details of scientific interest. 



*A good account of the arrak industry at Baghdad is given by 

 G. Ghanimeh in Al Machriq, No. 11, p. 480, Bayrut. June 1, 190T. 



