1892 Drinks of the world

DRINKS.

358

good drink be extracted, but also from the birch, the willow, the poplar and the sycamore. A sort of birch wine is made in Normandy. An excellent drink, resembling brandy, has been distilled, it is said, from water melons in the southern provinces of Russia, where consequently much atten- tion is paid to the culture of this vegetable, producing in some cases water melons of thirty pounds in weight. In the Sandwich Islands a drink is distilled from the root of the Dracoena, something like the beet of this country. The root of the Draccena gives a saccharine juice resembling molasses. From this, with the addi- tion of some ginger, a kind of tea is made, also a Their manu- facture of this drink is remarkable for Its complexity, involving certain mystic operations with an old pot, a leaky canoe, a calabash, and a rusty gun-barrel. It is unnecessary to give a detailed account of the pro- We yearn in vain for that absence of entangle- ment which distinguishes the religion of the Iroquois, who have no other worship than the annual sacrifice of a dog to Taulonghyaawangooay which being inter- preted is the ''supporter of the Heavens." At this sacrifice they eat the dog. Sbitena, or Sbetin, is the name of a delightful drink sold in the streets of St. Petersburg to the populace. In Granville's St, Petersburg (ii. 422) a mention is made of this beverage. It is composed of honey and hot water and pepper and boiling milk. A drink called Onteire is prepared in the South- West of Africa by the aid of some dirty gourds and milk vigorously shaken therein at stated intervals. spirit called by the natives Ywer-a. cess.