Wheat is the staple of tin's Province, and tho' that comodity seem literally to interfere with the product of Great Britain, it do's not so in fact, for it's generally manufactur'd into flower and bread, and sent to supply the sugar Collonys, and whenever a market in Spain Portugal or other parts of Europe has encouraged the sending it thither in Grain, the adventurers have often suffered by the undertaking, for at this remote distance, the intelligence of a demand reaches us so late, that the marketts are supplyed before our vessells come there, and even if it were otherwise our merchants

TRADE AND MANUFACTURES OF THE PROVINCE OF NEW- YORK.

lye under vast and certain disadvantages besides for freight of wheat from hence in time of warr was at least two shillings and six pence, and in time of peace is eighteen

pence sterling per bushell, and

by the length of the passage it often grows musty, at least cannot come so fresh to markett as from Great Britain whence freights (as it's said) are not above one quarter part of what they are here. The main bent of our farmers is to raise wheat, and they are like to remain in that way until the price of it becomes so low, that necessity puts upon some other way of Cultivation which in process ;

;

of time

is

like to

happen, because the Sugar Islands cannot increase in the proportk": v.

ich the

Northern Collonys do, and whether some other encouragement may bring them over sooner I cannot affirm.