HISTORY OF VERMONT, 365 



nish sufficient supplies. The distilleries have 

 met with good success in their attempts 

 to make gin. And nothing seems wanting, but 

 time, and experience, to produce large quanti- 

 ties of all those spirits, that can be produced 

 from grain. As yet these works are in their in- 

 fancy ; probably they will become a lucrative 

 branch of business to their owners, and of very 

 considerable advantage to the state. 



Hunting. Hunting was formerly a busi- 

 ness, which was much pursued, and attended 

 with considerable profit in this state. The coun- 

 try, in its early state, abounded with moose, 

 deer, bears, foxes, wolves, rabbits, martins, &c. 

 In the lakes and creeks, there were large num- 

 bers of beaver, otter, muskrats, and minks. 

 The flesh of some of these animals, and the furs 

 of all of them, proved a lucrative branch of 

 business to some of the first settlers. But as 

 the settlements increase, the wild animals disap- 

 pear, and in a few years they \v\\\ be scarcely to 

 be found at all. At present the pcltiy may a- 

 mount to one or two thousand pounds per an- 

 num ; but it has almost ceased to be attended 

 with a profit, adequate to the expense. 



Commerce. Com.mercial concerns afford 

 employment for a considerable number of peo- 

 ple. This branch of business is wholly confined 

 to the adjacent parts of the country : Part of it 

 is carried on with Connecticut, part with Mas- 

 sachusetts, a considerable part with the province 

 of Canada, but much the largest part with New 

 York. The articles that are brought into the 



