_Rum._--Rum is obtained by the distillation of the fermented juice of sugar-cane or of molasses; a very considerable proportion of the article bearing this name is, however, made from grain spirit. In France and Germany the mother-liquor remaining after the extraction of beet-sugar, is utilised in the manufacture of a spirituous liquor greatly resembling rum in properties. The characteristic odour and taste of the liquor are mainly due to the presence of ethylic butyrate, and are frequently factitiously communicated to its imitations by the direct addition of this ether or of butyric acid. Grain spirit is also sometimes treated with pineapples, which likewise impart the distinctive flavour. Rum is chiefly produced in the West Indies, and in North America. The specific gravity ranges from 0·874 to 0·926; alcohol, from 50 to 70 per cent.; solid residue, from 0·7 to 1·50 per cent; ash, under 0·10 per cent.[114] The following are the results obtained by Berkhurts, from the analysis of various samples of genuine and artificial Jamaica rum:[115]-- -----------------+----------+----------+---------+------- | Specific |Alcohol by| Total | Source. | Gravity. | Weight. | Solids. | Ash. -----------------+----------+----------+---------+------- London | 0·885 | 61·38 | 0·668 | 0·023 Glasgow | 0·875 | 61·38 | 4·800 | 0·089 Bremen | 0·875 | 74·07 | 0·568 | 0·031 Directly imported| 0·910 | 51·33 | 2·047 | 0·098 Artificial | .. | 38·94 | 0·469 | 0·033 Artificial | .. | 58·86 | 0·926 | 0·021 -----------------+----------+----------+---------+------- The variations in the composition of commercial rum would seem to be so great that little information of value concerning its authenticity is to be derived from analyses of a general character.