Washington sentinel., 1901-04-06
! lgR SEN-=====
t., ~ SENTINEL
UnramiltAr IntoxicAnts.

which primal man acquired was
drunkenness, says the LONDON
EgenfHq Standard. Scientists tell
US that man and a certain micTobe
are the only living organisms that
take naturally to alcohol. vi
course, there are exceptions In"
dividual domestic animals dogs,
donkeys, horses and elephants
will occasionally acquire a taste
for intoxicants; but, as rule, ant
mails will not touch them. But, as
Byron saws, "Man, being reasona-
Bile, must get drunk" The word
reasonable here should be reason
ing, for without a more or less
highly developed power OF reason
ing neither man nor any other an
imaI can get drunk, for the simple
reason that intoXicants do not
grow, but have to be made. The
alcoh olic liquors with which we IN
England are familiar are not very
many. In fact, the lower classes
as a rule only indulge in beer, gin,
rum, brandy, and whisky. Ol port
and other wines they know little
more than the names, II they know
those. But there are many IntoX-
icants made in this country which
are hardly ever seen outside the
localities where they are manutac-
tured. For example, there rs the
grand old drink oi the Vikings
mead. IL is made from honey,
iermented, and, though it does not
. ~ -
strength, it is stronger than the
Oldest ale, and the unsuspecting
imbIber will fud himself quite sud
denly laid out after a couple OF or
binary glasses. This liquor is
made plentifUlly in Huntingdon
shire and in some parts OF Wales,
as well as in other counties. But
the Londoner knows it not, He
even believes that it is a drink like
sack, which nobody now knows
how to make. Yet, barring its in
toxicating effects 10 those not used
to il, it is one Of the most whole
some and palatable alcoholic bev-
erages in existence, Another
drink not much known in England,
but common in the United States,
which conceals the most intoxi-
eating qualities beneath a mild
taste, name, and appearance, IS
what in the States is known as
hard cider One gets it, though
rarely, IN Somersetshire. A glass
of it will upset a strong man who
is not used to ii. In some parts ol
the country a most fiery and potent
spirit is made from plums. 1t is
manufactured and sold suTrep-
ttiously, and can be made either
from ordinary cultivated plums or
from the wild greenage, which in
Huntingdonshlre is called a
crack" This spirit is water
white, and the taste Tor it is an ac-
quired one, for to the uninitiated 1t
resembles methylated spirit. There
are many varieties of beer made in
England, which are only locally
known and appreciated. Heather
beer is one of these. Il is getting
uncommon now, as the older
people who know the recipe are
gradually dying out, and the
younger generation are content
with the ordinary beer at the vii
lage inn, arsenicated or otf erW.se.
Many Of the old English drinks
survive in out ot-the-way villages.
They are unattainable to the ordi-
nary traveller, one reason for this
being that, unless he is pedestrian
tourist, he will never probably
strike the places where these old
bTews are made, and even il ne
should, they are not sold at inns,
though they may be made there
for private consumption only.
Their chiet manufacturers are old
housekeepers to small farmers and
cottagers, so that il IS only by liv-
ing IN a village and knowing the
inhabitants that one may get to
know oithese drinks. "Koorow,"
an old liquor, practically obsolete
these three hundred years, IS still
made in certain villages OF Derby.
shire. Ii is a species OF ale, ex
ceedlngly smooth, and favored
with spices. Another old English
beer is "braket," which is made
from ale, pepper, and honey. This
is a drink which was exceeding
popular in the fourteen hundreds.
Ii can be got in certain parts Of
Hampshire and Dorsetshire. ALE
berry" is still another which may
yet be found, though seldom. Its
necessary ingre edients are old beer,
spices, sugar, and bread. But old
beer has now become rarity.
Some terribly potent liquors can
be distilled from tEe innocent look
ing banana. Also from the milk
Of the cocoanut. They are fond OF
the latter in the West Indies,
though, Of course, the chief drink
there is rum. The drinks oi the
Old World are as many and as
varied as those OF the New. The
Japanese make an excellent one
from the plums and from the flow
ers Of the motheT-wort and the
peach. The Chinese produce sew
eral qualities Of spirit from rice
and pulse, all Of them intoxicating,
and most Of them poisonously in
toxicating, besides which they can
make an alcoholic drink from NUT
ton. The Russians run them close
in curious preparation OF an an
imal nature. This IS their qwass,
a drink which TO the uninitIated
tastes like soap and water, and
which is made from milk. Cocoa
nat is used in the Old World as in
the New. One method OF prepar-
inn an infnvfEak;ur IrrrLy Tr-r, -