76 AN ACCOUNT of rie 
_gar, and asa reafon for thinking fo, he added, that he often 
found the fame relief, by taking about half a pint of a fy- 
rup, prepared by boiling a little brown fu.ar in) water, 
juft before he went to bed, that he did from a dofe of opi- 
um. It has been fuppofed by fome of the early phyficians 
of our country, that the fugar obtained trom the maple 
tree, is more medicinal, than that obtained from the Weit- 
India fugar cane, but this opinion | believe is without foun- 
dation. It is preferable in its qualities to the Weft-India: 
fugar only fromits fuperior cleanline/s. 
Cafes may occur in which fugar may be required in me- 
dicine, or in diet, by perfons who refufe to be benefited, 
even indireQly by the labor of flaves. In fuch cafes, the 
innocent maple fugar will always be preferred.* 
It has been faid, that fugar injures the teeth, but this o- 
pinion now has {fo few advocates, that it does not deferve 
a ferious refutation. 
To tranfmit to future generations, all the advantages 
which have been enumerated from the maple tree, it will 
be neceflary to prote& it by law, or by a bounty upon the 
maple fugar, from being deftroyed bythe fettlers in the ma- 
ple country, or to tranfplant it from the woods, and cul- 
tivate it in the old and improved parts of the United States. 
An orchard confifting of 200 trees, planted upon a com- 
mon farm, would yield more, than the fame number of 
apple trees, at a diftance from a market town, A full 
grown tree in the woods yields five pounds of fugar a year. 
If a greater expofure of a tree to the action of the fun, 
has the fame effeéts upon the maple, that it has upon other © 
trees, a larger quantity of fugar might reafonably be ex- 
pected from each tree planted in an orchard. Allowing it 
to. 
* Dr. Knowles, a phyfician of worthy charaéter in London, had occafion to recommend 
a diet to a patient, of which fugarcompofed a material part, His patient’ refufed to fabmit 
to his prefcription, and gave as a reafon for it, that he had witneffed fo much of the oppreffion 
and cruelty which were exercifed upon the flaves, who made the fugar, that he had made a 
vow never to tafte the product of their mifery as long as he lived. 
