COOK ISLAND "COCKTAILS."

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13839, 27 August 1908, Page 6

COOK ISLAND "COCKTAILS."

BAY RUM AND FLORIDA WATER. [BY TELEGRAPH. SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.] W .I.lgton, Wed nesd ay. The craving for strong drink, which would seem to be a Polynesian characteristic, has been exhibited in a. very singular manner during the year,'' fays Colonel Gudgeon, Commissioner in the Cook Islands, in his annual report to the New Zealand Government. "The people would seem to have become dissatisfied with the ordinary bush beer, whether made from the orange, banana,.or pineapple, and are last becoming confirmed drinkers of scent. I suspect tint*- a special brand of scent has been manufactured tor their benefit, otherwise 1 find it difficult to account lor the wholesale consumption of Florida water, bay ruin, and other abominations 01 the same nature, which was disclosed by the fact tha* one Linn imported 288 lloz bottles by one trip of the steamer, it being wellknown that the native does not require bay rum for his hair. Previous to the arrival of this shipment, my attention had been called to the increasing import- of scent* and hair wash, and the matter was referred to New Zealand, with the result that an Order-in-Cbuncil has been issued reacting this infamous traffic.