330 .\a/inal liislonj of the Coco-nut Tree 



more than a fourth of its volume of spirit. But what no 

 author has ever vet mentioned is, tliat to free it fron^i the 

 nauseous and enipvreumatie taste which all spirits extracted 

 from substances essentially saccharine, Mich as this and the 

 juice of the sugar cane, commonlv have, the Hindoos add 

 to it, before distillation, water in which they have macerated 

 the Howers of the nioiic, that is to say, a large shrub of 

 the Indies, of which botanists, according to every appear- 

 ance, have as yet no idea. 



These tlowcrs exhale an aromatic odour of cinr.amon mix- 

 ed with that of anise. The muuc, a shrub unknown in 

 Europe, has a pretty appearance, and rises to the height of 

 twelve or thirteen feet ; its stem is cylindric, hard, branchv, 

 and full of cottony pith ; its bark is delicate, and of a red- 

 dish colour, interspersed with black spots ; the leaves are 

 pctiolous, a little rough, placed opposite to each other, of a 

 dark green colour, shaped almost like a heart, nervous, 

 and red on the ediic and the nerves ; the flowers, which 

 are of a beautiful red colour, havino; each a calvx, velvety 

 on the outside, monophvllous, and with Jive indentations, 

 are disposed in umbelliferous bunches. A corolla has live 

 divisions, live stamina, an ovarium, conical, bearing a stvle 

 almost of the length of the stamina, terminated by two 

 setaceous and divergent stigmata : these tlowtrs are suc- 

 ceeded by the fruit or berries, of the form of large coffee- 

 beans, a little turbinated at their lower part, of a yellow red 

 colour, interspersed with red points, pulpy, and containing 

 one or two kernels, pointed, enveloped in a very thin cod, 

 hard, and of a flesh colour; this kernel has the smell of 

 that of the apricot, but is of a bitterer taste. 



This spirit is distilled in various parts of Hindostan, in 

 the Decan, and the j)rovince of C'anara, on the coasts of 

 Malabar and Coromandel, and in the island of Ceylon, 

 where it is called Cohnnba Arrac. 



I cannot help here rectifying an error in the French 

 translation of Ci. Forster's Travels ironi Bengal to Peters- 

 bur h, by the way of Cachcmir. It is said, in a note 

 added by t^e translator in the lirst volume, that the spiritu- 

 ous liquor of India is made from the liquor of tlie coco- 

 ijut. I must here observe, tliat several kinds of spirit, each 

 of which has a particular denomination, are distilled in 

 that country. Tlie liquor of the eoco-unt, though very 

 sweet, contains no si^echarine or alcoholic particles ; it 

 ^levcr iinder»roes vinous or acetous fermentation, but only 

 ■the putrid, which cannot furnish ardent spirit I hope 

 ' \hc iranslator of tiir^^t v.ork, for wlujm I entertciui the grcal- 



