St. Paul daily globe., 1891-10-03
PEeGoTTY BEACH MossERs
a New England Industry That
Provides the Housewife With
RIanO NIanno

A New England Industry That
Provides the Housewife With
Blanc Mango.
Fair old Scituate boasts an industry
IN which. if in no other, it is the leading
town in the country, says the Boston
Globe. 1t has, as none of its more
wealthy sister towns have, its moss.
From the rocks that carpet its harbor
and make its shores feared by the sailor
IS gathered an income every year that
may not be prineely. but is still large
enough to compensate the town for the
lack OF noisy, smoky factories and
stIong-smelling wharves.
When the moss gathering industry
began in Seituate no one knows. Prob
ably the value of the moss was first dis
covered by accident by some fisher
mans wife The gathering and curing
OF moss for food began in Ireland many
years ago. 1t was used principally by
the people of the south OF Ireland. near
the seacoast. Many people have made
the claim that they introduced the i'll
dustry In this country, but even the
Oldest Inhabitants of Scituate are in
doubts as to who was the first.
The particular locality whe re the bns
mess Is carried ON is called ''Peggotty
Beach" Little Peggotty village is
punched here, and here the moSserS and
their families ply their trade. There is
no loafing. Everybody is expected to do
his share of the labor. While the faith
er is out in his boat robbing the sea to
put bread III his family's mouth and
blanc mango and jelly into the
mouths of mankind, the wives
and daughters are wading along
the rocks near the shore filling
their aprons with the smaller pieces of
the moss. The boys are at the same
time raking and turning the patches of
moss that are laid out in regular lots in
front of each creel-house. The veteran
''mosser" is on the beach at sunrise.
There is much to do before the tide
will answer" and he must watch the
tides. With garden rake he levels
Off patch on the grayeled beach. al
ways being careful not to leave foot
print. Then he carries the moss that
his wife and daughters have washed
out the night before and spreads it on
the smooth spots. 1t is of many coiors,
from the maroon purple-black to deli
cate yellow, according to the waShings
and bleachings it has received.
The Globe man happened upon the
best possible day to see the process of
messing. A low tide in the morning
and westerly breeZe-nOt winds
what the men pray for. Ont by the
rocks of Third Cliff the double spirits
and dorieG were already stationed, and
men were standing up in the boat pok
ing around in the water with long poles.
In order to get a nearer view the Globe
hired typical small boy to take him
out in his dory.
How do you know when you are over
moSsw was asked of man whom the
guide called father"
''Oh, can see it" was the answer.
The uninitiated could not distinguish
one rock flOm another at the bottom,
but the experience of years (for some of
these people have been here as many as
thlrty-fiv years. makes their sight
wonderfully keen.
The rake used in Scraping the rocks
has handle fifteen feet long fitted into
heavy iron head. The teeth are set
very close together and are sharp
pointed. Over the back part of this
bead there is guard that keeps the load
from falling back into the water. As
much as two pounds of moSS can he torn
off the rocks at one shove of the
rake. A good days work for one man
is lbs pounds of moss. The cargo sell
dom falls below seventy pounds. Should
the moSSer lose run of rock which
offers good yield, and the lufTled
waters interfere with his finding it,
bottle of oil is brought into requisition
and little of it is thrown on the water
to quiet the ripples.
The moss-gatherers are met on the
beach by the young folks. and ''creeIs"
holding barrel each of the weed are
filled to the brim at the boats, and it is
then spread to dry on the beach. To
bleach the moss to the right color eight
washings must be made; it is housed,
when perfectly dry, in the shanties.
This season the mossers want cents a
pound, while the dealers do not want to
advance the old price of "a cents. The
highest price ever known was 25 cents
pound. and for years it held as high as
10 cents, even with the great supply.
This year has not been specially pros
porous, yet all the single men have
from 500 to $500 worth OF moss, and
those with families can count on 81 GOO
for their seasons work.