226 June 1749. 



opinion, they lay, that if you put a piece 

 of frefh meat into rum, and another into 

 brandy, and leave them there for fome 

 months ; that in the rum will keep as it 

 was, but that in the brandy will be quite 

 eaten, and full of holes. But this experi- 

 ment does not feem a very accurate one to 

 me. Major Roderfort told me, that being 

 upon the Canada expedition, he had ob- 

 ferved, that fuch of his men as drank 

 brandy for fome time died of it; but thofe 

 who drank rum were not hurt, though they 

 got drunk with it every day, and oftener 

 than the others. 



Long-Island is the name of an ifland 

 oppolite the town of New York, in the fea. 

 The northern part of the ifland is much 

 more fertile than the fouthern. Formerly 

 there lived a number of Indians on this 

 ifland ; and there are yet fome, which how- 

 ever decreafe in number every year, becaufe 

 they leave the ifland. The foil of the 

 fouthern part of the ifland is very poor ; 



but 



qualify it gets from the fugnr, which corrects the ftyptic 

 quality all kinds of brandy and fpirituous liquors have. 

 The older the rum is, and the longer it has been kept in a 

 gre;.tca(k, the more is its llypticity corrected. All which 

 has b. a en lately proved by the cleared experiments, ex- 

 plained and deducted from themoft indifputable principles 

 of chymiftry, in a pamphlet written by that able chymiil 

 Mr. Dojfte. F. 



