lS8 Account of the American Sugar MapL . 



thing of the hands which are employed in making higar in 

 the Weft Indies; for flaves have not that obligation to clean- 

 linefs which thofe have who work for their own benefit, and 

 have received a proper education. It has been conceived 

 that the maple fugar is inferior to the Weft India fugar in 

 ftrength. The experiments which led to this opinion I fuf- 

 pect have been inaccurate, or have been made with maple 

 fugar prepared in a flovenly way. I have examined equal 

 quantities by weight of both the grained and the loaf fugar, 

 in hyfon tea, and in coffee, made in every refpect equal by 

 the minuteft circumftances that could affccT: the quality or 

 tafte of each of them, and could perceive no inferiority in the 

 ftrength of the maple fugar. The liquors which were to de- 

 cide this queftion were examined at the fame time by Alex- 

 ander Hamilton, Efq. fecretary of the treafury of the United 

 States, Mr. Henry Drinhur, and feveral ladies, who all con- 

 curred in the above opinion. 



3. Price. Whoever coniiders that the gift of the fugar 

 maple tree is from a benevolent Providence ; that we have 

 many millions of acres in our country covered with them ; 

 that the tree is improved by repeated tappings; and that the 

 fugar is obtained by the frugal labour of a farmer's family; 

 tnd .it the fame time confiders the labour of cultivating the 

 lucar cane, the capitals funk in fugar works, the firft coft of 

 flaves and cattle, and the expenccs of provifions for both, 

 Sec. will not hefitate in believing that the maple fugar may be 

 manufactured much cheaper, and fold at a confiderably lefs 

 prite than that which is made in the Weft Indies. 



3. The refources for making a fufficient quantity of this 

 fugar, not only for the confumption of the United States, but 

 for exportation, will appear from the following facts: — There 

 are in the ftate? of New York and Pennfylvania alone, at 

 feaft ten millions of acres of land which produce the fugar 

 maple tree in the proportion of thirty trees to one acre. 

 Now, fuppofmr all the perfons capable of labour in a family 

 uiilt of three, and each perfon to attend 150 trees, and 



each 



