Note 31 — S (continued 2)

For the purposes of the Madras Abkāri Act, toddy means fermented or unfermented juice drawn from a cocoanut, palmyra, date, or any other kind of palm-tree. It is laid down, in the Madras Excise Manual, that “unfermented toddy is not subject to any taxation, but it must be drawn in pots freshly coated internally with lime. Lime is prescribed as the substance with which the interior of pots or other receptacles in which sweet toddy is drawn should be coated, as it checks the fermentation of the toddy coming in contact with it; but this effect cannot be secured unless the internal lime coating of the toddy pot or vessel is thorough, and is renewed every time that the pot is emptied of its contents.” It is noted by Bishop Caldwell31 that “it is the unfermented juice of the palmyra (and other palms) which is used as food. When allowed to ferment, which it will do before midday, if left to itself, it is changed into a sweet intoxicating drink called kal or toddy.” Pietro Della Valle records32 that he stayed on board till nightfall, “entertaining with conversation and drinking tari, a liquor which is drawn from the cocoanut trees, of a whitish colour, a little turbid, and of a somewhat rough taste, though with a blending in sweetness, and not unpalatable, something like one of our vini piccanti. It will also intoxicate, like wine, if drunk over freely.” Writing in 1673, Fryer33 describes the Natives as “singing and roaring all night long; being drunk with toddy, the wine of the Cocoe.”