INDIAN DISTILLING 



regions where modern civilisation with ite concomitant luxury ha* not 

 penetrated to any material extent. 



SOYMIDA FEBRIFUGA, .t,i.. ./,/. . H. Br. Ind., i., 567; 

 Gamble, Man. Ind. Timbs., 1902. 155-6; Brandis, Ind. Treet, 1906, 144; 



MKLIACEJE. Indian Red-wood, Bastard Cedar, rohun, rakat rohan, ohan, 

 shem, wond, sumi, etc. A large deciduous tree of tin- lry furcate of C< 

 ami South India. 



The deep red bark contains a GUM, said to afford a good mucilage ; it also 

 yields a strong red FIBRE, which is made into ropes in Chota Na^pur. Hie bark 

 is astringent and has been used as a TAN. For long it has been employed MEDI- 

 CINALLY as a substitute for quinine. The most important product of the tree is. 

 however, the WOOD, wlu'ch is utilised for almost every purpose. It is much priced 

 for house-building, ornamental furniture and carving. It is commonly formed 

 into pestles and pounders for oil and grain millH. [Cf. Pharmacog. Ind., 1890, 

 i., 336-8 ; Russell, Monog. Dyeing Indust., C. Prov., 1890, 17 ; Kept. Cent. Indig. 

 Drugs Comm., 1901, i., 12, 146-7 ; Agri. Ledg., 1902, No. 1, 19.] 



SPIRITS, and Indian Distilling:. Many of the intoxicating 

 liquors sold in India perhaps hardly deserve the name of SPIRITS. They 

 embrace both fermented and distilled liquors, and can be conveniently 

 grouped as Foreign and Country. To a small extent WINES and BRANDY 

 are produced in Kashmir, but the bulk of the vintage beverages are 

 imported. BEERS and ALES are brewed in India under the most improved 

 European methods (see Malt Liquors, pp. 757-62), but they are also largely 

 imported ; SPIRITS are distilled both after the most primitive Native and 

 the most advanced European methods, so that country spirits (arak), as 

 well as rum, brandy and whisky can be had all over India both of foreign 

 and Indian brands. 



Dutt (Mat. Med. Hind., 272) observes that the fermented and distilled 

 liquors that cause intoxication are by Indian classic authors called madya 

 or madird (Sansk.). He then enumerates some 20 forms of spirits which 

 appear to have been recognised as different, such as those distilled from 

 the grape, the date, sugar-cane, rice, barley, wheat and from the flowers of 

 the mahua. Ray (Hindu Method of Manuf. Spirit, Journ. As. Soc. Beng., 

 1906, ii., No. 4, 129-42) gives a highly instructive and interesting sketch 

 of the Indian knowledge in spirits. 



Arak is perhaps the most generally accepted vernacular name for 

 spirits. Moodeen Sheriff (Pharmacop. Ind., suppl., 56, 275) gives, among 

 others, the following synonyms : shardb, Hind. ; mad, surap, Beng. ; 

 ddru, Guz., Duk. ; shdrdyam, Tarn. ; sdrdyi, Tel. and Kan. ; aye, Burm. 

 Regarding the name arak, or, as it is often rendered by Europeans, arrack 

 or rack, the observations in Hobson-Jobson (ed. Crooke, 36) may be ex- 

 hibited briefly : " This word is the Arabic 'arak, properly " perspiration," 

 and then, first the exudation or sap drawn from the date-palm ('arak al- 

 tamar) ; secondly, any strong drink, " distilled spirit," " essence," etc. 

 But it has spread to very remote corners of Asia." Thus ariki, arki, 

 Mongolia and Manchuria ; rdki, Turkish, etc. The word pachwai (see p. 757) 

 denotes a beverage (beer) made from malted grain, but when distilled 

 this becomes phatika or madira. In Sanskrit, three kinds are distinguished 

 according to the grain used surd (rice), kohala (barley), and madhulika 

 (wheat). So also fermented sweet liquors, such as palm-juice (tnri) or 

 honey and water or cane-juice, would correspond closely with ale, and when 



1043 



SPIRITS 



D.B.P., 





I !. 



D.E.P, 

 v.. 332-4 ; 

 vi., pt. ill, 

 331-7. 

 Spirits. 



: .' t Y..- '.-. 



Indian 



'. M I r 

 Nl 



Ant. 



Grain Cwd. 



