62 THE USES OF PLANTS. 



is distilled from wine, sweetened and flavoured with 

 prunes ; but ' British Brandy ' consists largely of 

 ' silent' (potato) spirit and caramel, or burnt sugar. 

 Whisky should be distilled from fermented grain, 

 deriving its smoky taste from traces of creosote, which 

 it acquires from the wood or peat smoke used in pre- 

 paring it. Gin is also at least, when genuine 

 obtained from fermented grain ; but is flavoured with 

 the essential oil of juniper-berries (Juniperus com- 

 munis, L.) or with turpentine. ' Sweetened Gin ' con- 

 tains sugar ; cordial gin, oils of cinnamon, cloves, etc. 

 Rum is distilled from the molasses or uncrystallizable 

 liquid extract of the Sugar-cane, chiefly in the West 

 Indies, and is sometimes coloured with caramel or 

 flavoured with Pineapple. 



In other countries many other substances are dis- 

 tilled, such as the saccharine juice of various palms, 

 yielding ' arrack,' and rice, yielding the Japanese 'saki.' 

 A great variety of flavouring substances is also used 

 in the sweetened spirits known as * liqueurs ' or 

 ' cordials.' Among these may be mentioned the 

 essential oil of Angelica (Angelica Archangelica, L.) 

 used in Chartreuse, and the oil of Bitter Almonds in 

 Noyau and Ratafia. 



Under this head reference need only be made, in 

 conclusion, to the extensive use of Glucose, or Starch- 

 sugar, and of Potato, or ' silent ' spirit. The alleged 

 adulterants of beer are mostly far too expensive to be 

 used for such a purpose. Maize is largely used in 

 distillation in the United States ; and, though the 

 ' arrack ' at present obtained from the Mahwa-flowers 

 (Bassia latifolia, Rcxb.) is described as a coarse spirit, 



