252 CULTIVATED VEGETABLES. 



thinking so, he added, that he often found 

 the same relief by taking about half-a-pint of 

 syrup, prepared by boiling a little brown 

 sugar in water, just before he went to bed, 

 that he did from a dose of opium." It has 

 been supposed by some of the early physi- 

 cians of our country, that the sugar obtained 

 from the maple-tree is more medicinal than 

 that obtained from the West India sugar- 

 cane ; but this opinion, I believe, is without 

 foundation. It is preferable to the West 

 India sugar only on account of its superior 

 cleanliness. 



Angelus Sala says, that "sugar, used in 

 a proper manner, nourishes the body, ge- 

 nerates good blood, cherishes the spirits, 

 strengthens children in the womb; and this 

 is not astonishing, because it contains simi- 

 lar virtues to the very sweet wines. It is ser- 

 viceable also in complaints of the throat 

 and lungs ; hoarseness and difficulty of 

 breathing, arising from an acrid defluxion; 

 for ulcerations of the lungs, chest, kidneys, 

 and bladder, and to cleanse those parts from 

 purulent matter. It eases pains of the in- 

 testines, softens the faeces, and prepares 

 them for expulsion; it cleanses wounds and 



