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[Page 10]
The present value of Cedar in this Country may be pretty correctly ascertain'd by comparing it which [with] that of Mahogany, which the Carpenter sells at two Shillings Currency per foot; while Cedar Plank for Ship building is 1s. 6d Currency [1 shilling 6 pennies currency] per foot, and where it is of a quality fit for furniture, tho' narrow, it fetches from 2shgs. to 3s.8d [2 shillings to 3 shillings 8 pence] Currency, which it may be observed, in general equals 2/3 of Sterling money of the same Denomination.
I cannot omit mentioning a well authenticated Instance of the virtues of the Cedar Tree & Wild Sagebush. Some years ago a Ship commanded by Captn [space] put in here, having eighty of her Crew sick of a fever, which had already proved fatal to many of their ship mates. The Surgeon who came immediately on Shore, understanding the Cedar to be a tonic & the sagebush a sudorific, boiled the boughs of both & made from them a strong Extract, which he then brewed & having fermented it with Lemon Juices he bottled it & gave it his Patients as a Beverage, every one of whom recover'd. It has since continued to be made by the negroes, who frequently impose it on the navy for spruce beer. With the Berries of the Cedar they also make a Syrup of a Balsamic & tonic nature, which is both taken internally & applied externally with great success as a substitute for Friars Balsam.