4 T)ijfertathn on the H'tjlory of Sugar. 



tlie world known to the antients, ought to be difcufTed before 

 we inquire whether the antient Greeks and Romans were 

 acquainted with fugar; for, if it covdd be proved that the 

 fugar cane was tranlplantcd in modern times from the new 

 to the old continent, there would be no occalion for difpute. 

 Eat this point, as might be eafily fliown, hae been negle&ed 

 by moft of thofe who have attempted to write on the hiftory 

 of plants; and fuch an error has been lately committed by 

 a man of learning, who entered into a difcuffion refpecling 

 the Greek and Latin names of the potatoe {hiberofiun fo- 

 lamim), which, without all doubt, was tranfplanted into 

 Europe from South America. In regard to the fugar plant, 

 it is indeed certain that it grows fpontaneoufly in many parts 

 of Afia and Africa; for i^ can be eftabliflied, by incontro- 

 vertible proofs, that fugar was made in Europe before it was 

 known in America *. It is poflible that the Greeks and the 

 Romans may have been acquainted with a plant abounding 

 with fweet and pleafiuit juice which grew fpontaneoufly in 

 various places ; and as the w^ord faccharnm, which, without 

 doubt, fignifies fome fweet juice, occurs frequently in the 

 writings of the antients, it is worth while to inquire whether 

 the faccharnm of the antients was the fame as that which we 

 ufe at prefent. 



What the antients called fnccharum, falcharon, fahchar, 

 ox filcbari, was a white fubflance, fimilar in confidence to 

 fait, and wdiich, like fait, broke under the teeth. It had a 

 fweet tafie, but lefs fo than common honey. It was found 

 in Arabia Felix, but the bcft was found in India; and it was 

 brought alfo from the remotcfl parts of Ariace and the coun- 

 try of the Borygazi. It was not made by art, but was pro- 

 duced by a reed, in the form of gum, or adhering to the 

 canes in natural concretions. The largeft of thefe with w^hich 

 the antients were acquainted were in fize equal to about that 

 of a walnut. In the time of Pliny, Diofcorides, and Galen, 

 it was employed only in medicine f. 



This 



^Voyages' de Monf. C*«r///«,u Rouen 1723, Svo. vol. iv. p. 34: — Quant 

 au fiicrc, je crois qn'il y en a eu dc tout terns aux Indes. Je I'ai bien que 

 cela ell fort conteftc, — mais je tiens le contraire, fonde fur ce que le lucre 

 croit partout dans les lades aboiidamment, aifement, excclli,mment, et 

 non pas conimc les fruits que Ton tire des pais eloignez, qui ne viennent 

 januis fi bien, lorfqu'ils font tranfplantez loin dc ieur fol. Urie autre 

 raifon, que j'ai encore plus forte, c'cft que le fucre fe trouve nomme et 

 ordonn^ en cent endroits des anciens cents de medecine Indiens, Peifans, 

 et Arabes. 



t Plinii Hijl. Nat. lib. xii. c. R, edit. Hard. vol. i. p. 659 : Saccharon 

 ct Arabia fcrt, fed laudatius Indium eft autem mcl in arundinibus collec- 



tum 



