The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-12-31

Iceland moss waS once highly I,riz.rl for
its nutritious and nmsila cinous qualities
When properly washed. free from its bit
ter principle. dried and powdered. it
makes a palatahp lan" mango. which
was in great demand before gtlatine and
similar articles were known 10 ,-'uk"ry-
\ pudding of this edible l:c!lt L. EnuWn -
the bOtani>t as Cetraria I>!an,lici. is how
something of 4 novelty Though this
moss is quite abundant ii, winter oil the
sandy plains and mountains of New Eng
land. it is scarcely ever gathered. eNcrnt
by the betaniSr.
In Iceland. where the Ctt@tria covers
hte rocks. it has long been Il common ar
ticle of food for man and beast The
moss is thoroughly washed and made into
a bread and into soup. The bitterness
finally soaks out Of the moss after it has
been washed several times and left in
water for twcnty-f"ur hours. 1t may
then be slowly Sinfmsree! i'll milk. toWhi"il
it imrarts IFS tl1iekenin= qualities. When
the blanc mango is thick enough to form,
sweetrh it. and flavor it with little lem
on peel. Or boil thin slices of yellow
lemon p; el in the milk with the moss. Pour
the blanc into a mould to cool.
\ handful of the moss washed until
it is freed from its bitterness and hoil.rf
bling in it's nutritious gelatinnuS qualities
the famous birl-nest sonp. of which the
principle constituent is Il species of als;,.
or seaweed, employed 10y the .IavaneSe
swallow to build its nest hy tie cliffs of
the sea- The poor natives of Iceland. it
is said, make a broth hy boiling the Get
raria 1slandica in water a1on" The Ice
land moss found in New England fields
does not come to fruit and does not have
any bitterness.
The Iceland moss, which grows ut Al
pine heights in this country. bears fruit.
and. like that in the shops which is
brought from Norway and Iceland. is in
tensely bitter.
The co.or of Iceland moss is olive lrowl.
and grayish green: 1t is light on til" TN
der side. and Il little reddish sometimes
form Cetraria is not unlike other lichenS.
We believe this is the edible lichen of
commerce.
There are other lichenS nf our fields and
rocks known to I've rich in licheu starch.
but they have never been employer! for
food In the barren parts Of Northern
Asia certain nonlad tribes eat I-ecannr,
esculenta Il nutritious ichcn. hut it has
never been an article of c''mnsercc. The
reindeer moss of L4apland and other c"un-
tries furnishes the heritage Of the peasant
and food for his reindecrS.
Iceland moss is sold. dried. nj tlru.
stores ut about ) cents for 4 quart meas
ure in bulk. The sale is limited. 1t is
little used to-day. except for blanc mango
it's tonic powers in colds. 1t is recalled
most frequently today hy the familiar
homemade cough candy which bears its
name 1t is healing ana soothing. but
it is now known to produce no special
effect in consumption. as t WAS once
thought to do. 1t has been successfully
used to thickcn chocolate. and il could
hp Il MT, va, tn
thcken soups and StcWS. rs it would lni-
mart no flavor of its own if properly
washed.
Irish moss. or cana getn. which is often
used as Il substitute for Iceland moss. is
not lichen. but a seaweed. or alCa.
There are many edible alsae. which fur
niSh food for man as we'll as for Holsters.
crabs and other molluskS and creatures
of tho sea. Like the Cctraria of com
merce. the canaseen grows in New Eng
land and on the Seashort Of northern por-
tons of our continent
The fronls of Iceland moss are erect.
and vary from two to four inches in
rocks must not be mistaken for it. The
edges of its fron,'s arc also fringr,l. or
celiatc.-New York Tribune.
Amusing Compliments.
The Westminster Gazette says: THE
compliments paid by the poor are often
put in an amusing way. One Old woman
who was very fond Of the rector, said to
Mr. Bernays: You know. sir. us likes
the rector is ears are SO clean!' Surely
an odd reason for parochial affection. An
other admirer once declared, with regard
to the whole staff of clergy: You are all
so plain "a word of high commrnlatinn),
but as for the vicar. 'e's beautifully The
greatest compliment, though ut the same
time the most curious Mr. RernaNS ever