History of the Indian Archipelago : containing an account of the manners, arts, languages, religions, institutions, and commerce of its inhabitants / by John Crawford, with maps and engravings. [Vol. 1, no. 1]

CHIEFLY FOR F6REIGN EXPORTATION.

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with the molasses and palm-wine, which had been
previously combined. The mixture remains in a
small vessel for one day only, when it is removed
into large fermenting vats, in which it remains for
seven. When, at the termination of this period,
the process of fermentation is over, the liquor is
finally removed into the stills, and, according to
the number of distillations it undergoes, becomes
arrack of the first, second, or third quality in commerce.
The manufacture of arrack is conducted separately from that of sugar, the arrack distillers usually purchasing their molasses from the sugar manufacturers at the rate of about a dollar and a half
a picul, deliverable at the distillery. The best arrack is manufactured at the rate of seven Spanish
dollars per picul, or Q-,7oo dollars per cubic foot.
It is not very easy to determine with whom originated the manufacture of this singular spirit. It
is evident enough, from the nature of one of the
materials, the molasses, that it is not a native manufacture. The name Arak is Arabic, but among
the natives it is not confined to this particular modification, but applied generally to every kind of
spirituous liquor.
A valuable and important product of the Indian
islands is Black Pepper, (Piper nigrwrm, L.) Except the western portion of the peninsula of India,
they are the only countries in the world that yield
this remarkable product. Tile pepper vine is too