290 
Koumys. 
Am.  Tour.  Pharm, 
June,  1880. 
with  still  another  one,  1875,  page  83,  from  the  "Allgem.  Med.  Cen- 
tralzeitung,"  1874,  page  1108,  recommends  milk,  grape  sugar  and 
fresh  beer  yeast  to  be  fermented  together  at  a  temperature  of  88°F. 
until  fermentation  has  set  in,  when  it  is  to  be  bottled,  and  shaken 
€very  fifteen  minutes  for  the  next  fortv-eight  hours  (not  a  very  pleasant 
job). 
In  1876  I  formed  the  acquaintance  of  a  Russian  gentleman,  visiting 
this  city,  who  had  made  koumys  in  his  native  country,  and  together 
we  experimented,  but  with  very  indefinite  results,  until  we  imported, 
at  considerable  expense,  some  of  the  original  ferment  from  Russia,  and 
with  it  prepared  koumys,  which  certainly  effervesced  very  much,  had 
a  rich,  creamy  appearance,  did  not  coagulate  in  heavy  curd,  was  slightly 
acidulated,  but  possessed  a  rank,  acrid  taste,  which  I  attributed  to  the 
ferment,  whose  odor  was  certainlv  not  verv  inviting.  The  conse- 
quence was  that  the  koumys,  which  had  been  made  at  a  considerable 
outlay,  never  enjoyed  the  reputation  it  ought  to  have  acquired,  and  the 
costly  ferment  was  gradually  left  to  die  out. 
As  the  demand  for  it  again  increased,  I  was  sorely  puzzled  how  to 
make  a  koumys  that  would  be  all  that  is  required  of  it,  and  that  would 
possess  all  its  virtues  and  properties.  I  tried  in  vain  all  the  above- 
given  methods,  but  invariably  obtained  sour  milk  with  a  heavy  curd  as 
a  result,  indifferently  effervescing,  while  the  taste  was  enough  to  cure 
any  hankering  the  patient  may  have  had  after  the  coveted  milk  wine. 
When  considering  the  nature  of  koumys  and  its  peculiar  features,  it 
appears  evident  that  its  properties  must  be  largely  due  to  the  nutritious 
quality  of  the  milk,  along  with  the  alcohol  produced  by  the  fermenta- 
tion of  its  sugar,  while  its  rich  eff'ervescence  makes  it  readily  digestible 
even  to  weak  and  enfeebled  stomachs.  The  cause  of  success  in  its 
manufacture  from  mares'  milk  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  large  amount 
of  sugar  of  milk  contained  therein,  which  is  80  parts  in  1,000  to  40*37 
in  cows'  milk;  while  the  albuminates  in  the  former  are  but  16*41  to 
54*04  in  the  latter  (Ranke's  Physiology  "),  so  that  the  object  in  view 
seems  to  be  to  increase  the  amount  of  sugar  in  the  milk  while  decreas- 
ing the  albuminates,  should  the  latter  be  required. 
As  the  sugar  of  milk  when  added  to  milk  is  not  directly  induced  to 
fermentation  by  ordinary  yeast  fungi,  I  was  soon  led  to  substitute  grape 
sugar  for  it,  into  which  the  former  has  to  be  changed  before  under- 
going vinous  fermentation,  and  which,  though  not  in  the  same  quanti- 
ties, yields  by  fermentation  the  same  results — carbonic  acid  gas  and 
