272 JAMAICA. 



juftly bears that blame ; which, for the moft part, Ihould rather be 

 thrown on the negleft of cleanHnefs. The ladies of this ifland 

 eat large quantities of it in fugar-cakes, or what is called pan-Ju~ 

 gar [/], and confedionary. I knew a man here, who was excef- 

 fively fond of fugar and its preparations. During the crop-feafon, 

 he not only ufed to eat plentifully of it, but mixed fyrup and 

 water for his common beverage at meals. At the age of about 

 eighty years, he had his teeth flill compleat, perfe6lly white and 

 found. He informed me, that he never was afflidled with the 

 tooth-ach in his life. His head was covered with good black hair, 

 without any vifible intermixture of grey, or the lead lymptom of 

 baldnefs; and he was ftrong, hale, and lively. He imputed the 

 foundnefs of his teeth, his unchanged hair, and ai^ivity, to his 

 never having drunk malt-liquors, wine, or fpirits of any kind ; his 

 only drink being plain water, the pureft he could get, or mixed 

 with fugar. He would probably have attained to a much greater 

 age, if it had not been for an accident, occafioned by his own te- 

 merity. 



Kalm, accounting for the bad teeth of the ladies in Pennfvlvania 

 and other North-American provinces, oppofes the vulgar notion of 

 bad qualities in fugar upon very probable grounds. He obferves, 

 that women, who ufed no fugar in their tea, had equally bad teeth as 

 the reft j that the men in general were lefs liable to this misfortune ; 

 and that the Indians, living in the fame air and country, were re- 

 markable for good teeth. He afcribes the decay of them to their 

 drinking tea too often, fomctimes no lefs than thrice a day, and 

 too hot. Some females may titter at the good Dr. Hales's experi- 

 ment with a pig's tail, which being dipped into a cup of tea, 

 heated to the degree in which it is ufually drank (viz. thirty degrees 

 above the blood-heat), the Ikin was fcalded in a minute, fo as to 

 make the hair come off eafily. But he juftly concludes from hence, 

 that the frequent drinking of fuch hot liquor is hurtful, agreeably 

 to the general aflertion of phyficians. And I may add, that the 

 ableft dentifts have concurred in their teftimony, that it is particu- 



[c] The fyrup in the tache, or laft clarifier, adheres in a thick cruft to the rim, fomewhat rc- 

 fembling brovvn fugar-candy. This is taken oft", and partes under the name of pan-fugar. Cakes 

 are alfo made by mixing a httle powdered ginger and cinnamon with the clarified fyrup; and, 

 after pouring it on a plate, it hardens, and is lliced into little fcjuares. 



larly 



