Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1879-07-31
Oriental Beverages.

{ The Chinese have made beer from
peculiar kind of rice for over 600
years. Its inventor, is Asaid to have
brought some OF the new beverage to
the Emperor, who, on tasting it, re-
marked: "Tnis liquor will cause great
trouble in the Empire To prevent, if
possible, the fulfllment of his own proph-
ecy, he banished the inventor and for
bade the manufacture. but this early 2
attempt to nip the liquor traffic in the
bud failed; the secret of the manufact-
| ure was preserved, and the Chinese are
still in the enjoyment of oftheirvenerable5
rice beer. The rulers of the. Celestial q,
Empire would seem to have had more
success in the suppression of wine
drinking, several Emperors having gone
to the root Of the matter by ordering
| the eXtirpation Of the vines. The strong
drink Of the Japanese, known as sacki,
is also prepared from rice, and so is the
| brom Of the Jayanese, which is not con-
lsidered ripe until it has been buried in
an earthen vessel for several months
in the ground. The numerous tribes of
Central Africa prepare malt liquors
from maize and millet, while the Kam-
schatkans have succeeded in extracting
"a spirit from one of their native grasses.
Among the agricultural races cereals
were not the only materials from which
ALCOHOLIC liquors We're. prepared; the
fruits OF various trees were pressed into
the service. Thus, in vinesgroWing coun-
| tries, "dull drafts of barley wine; gave.
place, at least among the well-to-do
| classes, to the more generous juice Of
the grape, while palnifwiue Or tura, from
which our word toddy is said to be de-
| rived, became the d yfavorites liquor
| wherever the palrn-tree fourished. In
lcountries too cold for vine culture, but
where honey abounded, the latter seems
| to have been preferred cto cereals for &
fern enting purposes Mead, the liquorH
thus produced, was the ,iavorite drink
of our ADglo-Saxon. forefathers, and of,
the people of northern Europe general
ly, and 1t is still much used in Russia.
1t is possibly owing to the abundance of
honey In South Africa, that the drink
reappears among the Hottentots, the
Katirs and the natives 1Of Madagascar.
Honey is not. however, the only animal
substance from which d a.ferTpented bey-s
erage is obtained, Among tle ), urely
pastoral races, whose wealth consists
wholly of their hocks and herds, milk
has been turned to account for this pur-
pose. The Mongols and the Tartars
nave. from time immemor orial prepared Z
an alcoholic. drink known as konmiss,
from mares milk. This is placed IN
bothe-necked vessels made of skins, and :
sour milk of the cow is added as fer
ment. As fermentation sets in the con-
tents of the skins are violently stirred,
and in few days the liquor is ready.
Koumiss has long enjoyed the reputa-
ton of being a remedy forIconsump-
ton, the tribes using it being, it is said,i
remarkably free frome pulmonary dis 4
eases, and, with view to its applica-i
ton incidentally for this purpose, the
manufacture of the Scythian beverage
has recently been started in England.
THE Canadian fisheries Officers are
strict in enforcing provisions of the 3
fisheries treaty. which are strained to-
apply to American vessels fissing with s
lin three miles, Of the shore. sl6axooeS .