taken prisoner by the Polovtsky, and the captors got so drunk upon Koumiss that they allowed their prisoner to escape." The old monk and traveller Gulielmus de Rubruquis, who travelled in Tartary in the middle "The same evening, of the thirteenth century, says: the guide who had conducted us, gave us some Cosmos. After I had drunk thereof, I sweat most extremely from the dread and novelty, because I never drank of it before. Notwithstanding I thought it very savoury, as indeed it was." And in another place, he thus refers to it: "Then they taste it, and being pretty sharp, they drink it; for it biteth a man's tongue like wine of raspes,' when it is drunk. After a man has taken a draught thereof, it leaveth behind it a taste like that of almond milk, and maketh one's inside feel very comfortable; and it also intoxicateth weak heads." Ser Marco Polo speaks of it. milk, prepared in such a way, you would take it for a white wine; and a right good drink it is, called by them Kemiz." "Their drink is mare's It remained as a traveller's curiosity until 1784, when Dr. John Grieve, a surgeon, one of the many Scotchmen who have from time to time entered the Russian service, wrote to the Royal Society of Edinburgh (who published his communication in their Transactions," Vol. I., 1788). 'An account of the Method of making a Wine, called by the Tartars Koumiss, with observations on its use in Medicine," and, especially, he thought that, "with the superaddition of a fermented spirit, it might be of essential 1 Raspberries. service in all those disorders where the body is defective either in nourishment or strength." And he further proved the benefit of the milk-wine on three patients, two consumptive, and one syphilitic, sending them to the Steppes among the Tartars, whence they returned stout, and in perfect health. From time to time, until the middle of this century, phthisical patients were sent to Tartary to undergo this milk cure; but life among these nomad tribes, with its filth and privations, was hardly congenial to a sick man, so that although some returned cured, others came back only to die. But in 1858 Dr. Postnikof started an establishment for the cure of diseases by fermented mare's milk, at Samara, in Eastern Russia, and a similar establishment, about forty-five miles distant, was started by the late Dr. Tchembulatof, both of which have been extremely well patronised, as their places were well ordered, and the Koumiss was prepared in a cleanly manner. So successful were they, that the Russian Government, in 1870, started a place of their own for the cure of sick soldiers belonging to the Kazan district. Here are beds for 100 soldiers and 20 officers. The curative effect of fermented mare's milk set people thinking whether the milk of cows, which is much more easy to procure, would not answer the same purpose. It was tried, and a new drink was given to the civilized world, as also a new name, which was coined expressly for it-GALAZYENE, from yaλa, milk, and (ûun, a ferment. It can be obtained in London from the large dairies. Dr. Polubensky gives the following formula for fermenting cow's milk. "An oak churn, such as is used for churning butter, has a bottle of fermented cow's or mare's milk, five days old, poured into it in the morning. A tumbler and a half of warm milk (of a temperature of about 90° Fahr.), in which half an ounce of cane, still better milk, sugar has been dissolved, and a bottle of skimmed cow's milk, are then added. "The addition of the sugar is made for the purpose of remedying the small amount of lactine in cow's milk; the water is added to make the milk, which is rich in casein, thinner, and thus to facilitate its agitation and emulsion. Skim milk is used because it contains less fat, an excess of which interferes with fermentation. The mixture is then beaten up during half an hour, to prevent the curdling of the casein, and is then laid aside for three hours. (This is effected at an ordinary room temperature of 60° Fahr.) "After the lapse of three hours, when the surface of the mixture is covered with a film (of casein and fat in a non-emulsioned condition), it is again agitated for half an hour, and another bottle of skim milk-with or without warm water, according to the thickness of the milk-is added; the whole mass is again churned for an hour and a half, or longer, until the casein is well divided, and small bubbles appear on the surface of the fluid. Then the mixture, having stood for half an hour, has a fresh bottle of milk added to it, and the stirring is again renewed, with short intervals, until the Koumiss is ready, which usually happens by |