We shirked our meals at the establishment with great regularity, with
the exception of morning coffee, which was unavoidable, but we did
justice to its kumys, which was superb. Theoretically, the mares should
have had the advantage of better pasturage, at a greater distance from
town; but, as they cannot be driven far to milk without detriment, that
plan involves making the kumys at a distance, and transporting it to the
"cure." There is another famous establishment, situated a mile beyond
ours, where this plan is pursued. Ten miles away the mares pasture, and
the kumys is made at a subsidiary cure, where cheap quarters are
provided for poorer patients. But, either on account of the
transportation under the hot sun, or because the professional "taster"
is lacking in delicacy of perception, we found the kumys at this rival
establishment coarse in both flavor and smell, in comparison with that
at our hostelry.

Our mares, on the contrary, were kept close by, and the kumys was
prepared on the spot. It is the first article of faith in the creed of
the kumys expert that no one can prepare this milk wine properly except
Tatars. Hence, when any one wishes to drink it at home, a Tatar is sent
for, the necessary mares are set aside for him, and he makes what is
required. But the second article of faith is that kumys is much better
when made in large quantities. The third is that a kumys specialist, or
doctor, is as indispensable for the regulation of the cure as he is at
mineral springs. The fourth article in the creed is that mares grazing
on the rich plume-grass of the steppe produce milk which is particularly
rich in sugar, very poor in fat, and similar to woman's milk in its
proportion of albumen, though better furnished: all which facts combine
to give kumys whose chemical proportions differ greatly from those of
kumys prepared elsewhere. Moreover, on private estates it is not always
possible to observe all the conditions regarding the choice and care of