The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-09-21
SEA MOSS HARVESTS.
Little Used for Blanc Mango Now,
but Brewers Want it for
Their Beer.

Their Beer.
Fifty years ago blanc mango w;lS not
only Il common article of diet, but also
took the place Of icecream at evening
parties and church sociables In man:
cuphoar1s there are today the quaint,
tlariny gobcts which were made for
blanc mango glasses and have outlived
their usefulness. Irish moss was il mar
k'tahle article in those days. but moss
ing WAS not 4 big industry, and the prod
net OF The rocks was probably not Il tenth
of what it is today. Irish lloss has been
put to 4 new use within recent years, ana
instead OF bci;i;- ::t iitrvu for food it is
now gathered for drink. This informal
lion came from silent man Who WAS
raNil,:; over the drying moss on the
beach.
lis this the kind of moss they make
blame mango OF:
is it ready to be cooked when you gct
Through with it,"
isn't it hard to get enough for The
people of this country to cat?'
no. We would Sturve to death en-
what is sold for iooti:"
"What is it sold for, then:'
"Iur beer"
* that so? DO the brewcr>S Use r
instead OF hops:
NO: for purifying the beer
This was Il new light. The picturesque
1oWS OF tubs. mounds and patches, tn.
patient drying and washing and bleach.
lNS were. then, all for beer.
The mos$er requires ct nature two
things. >ubmrrHEd rock fer the mess t"
grow on Il clean, sandy beach for it
10 dry ON. His outfit begins with Il dory
and 4 fine iron rake with Il slender wood
ell handle twelve or fifteen feet long. He
rows out TO The rocks On the chh tide
when the water is S:'!uoth enough so that
he can SEQ the bottom clearly: The moss
l. very dark green. and locks HACK in
deep water completely covering; the rock
on which it grows. The mosscr reaches
down with his rake and sets his, teeth
iillr, with the stuntcd plants, which grow
'nly three or fcir inches high. Each
widest part of the derry. and or food tide,
when the water Gets too deep frr further
work. the MuSSrr rows back to Shurt.
The great black heap Of moss covers up
his legs and rises Il FOOT or more above
the sides Of the boat. In deep spots it
Is possible to work only Il short time be-
fore and after dead low water, but in
either places the !lOSScr can rake on three
hours rhb and three hours rise, giving
him six hours to Il tide
After the moss has been gathered /;
l'W crop will grow in a few weeks, so
ground. and learns the bottom, 50 thor
NNghly that he can sometimes work on
the nlSht tides when the water is smooth.
While 4 man can gather -, and even, $40
worth Of moss on Il fair day. there are
1nany days when he can gather none at all.
stormy weather means Il setback not only
IN gathering, but also in curing the moss,
and in any weather there is also the dam
ger from disease like rust that gets into
tnH moss and renders it unmarketablc.
" l,n
loaded dory he leaves it ahoat while he
retreShes the inner man, or. III plain
f1nEllsh. eats Il square meal. Then he
works at other things until the tide is
high. when he can easily pitch the moss
ashore ana ana spread it out on the sand
above hig h,,Watrr mark. \ doryload
spread out like hay will make patch
the size OF a good-sized room. 1t looks
almost black at first. but as it lies in the
sun, raked over day after day. it assumes
%reen brown and reddish tint<. After
washing. however, it becomes uniformly
yellow with sort Of translucent al-
ptaranrc. Under some conditions the
moss can be- cured in ten days, and at
other times the process may occupy three
or four weeks. Each moSser has near
his cottage or shanty Il lot OF patches,
whose varying colorS show the different
stages Of the process. At some stages
rain is likely to seriously delay the cur
Eeaped up like haycocks and covered
with Saicoth
After it is dried it is thoroughly washed
and then dried again. The washing is
done in great tubs made Of hogshcads,
which are bought for 81 apiece and sawed
III two. These tubs are lined along the
beach ut high-watcr mark and flied with
moss from one side and water from the
other, the water being scouped up at high
1lde by means Of small barrels with han
dies to them. Just like clothes. the moss
is souzled and scrubbed and rinscd until
it G|istens in the sunlight. ambcrcooretl,
anu is again spread upon the clean sand.
Ordinary wooden hayrakes are used to
turn the curing moss, and the work is
done 10y men. women and even children,
whose bare feet are tanned and whole
Somc-looking. During the many rakings
stones, shells, bits OF ordinary scaveed
or infected moss are picked out Then,
when it is cured. the moss is stored in
large sheds like hayba
\ few years ago moss brought I cents
i pound and proved a bonanza. but to-
day, its gathering is only fairly profitable
ut half that price: If Il man pulls two
barrels. or POO pounds. in half day,
that sounds like good business at ST, but
the moss must vet be cured and the
stormy days accounted for. Still. there
is one mana surfman in the winter
Who has the reputation Of making 500 4
week messing i'll the summer season,
which lasts generally during the three
summer months At the end of the seu-
son the buyers for the breweries come
around and make their bargains with the
mosSerS. who must then barrel their prod
net and ship it to Boston. The stowinc
OF 100 pounds of dry. springy CARA
green i'll an ordinary flour barrel is about
the hardest work that the mosscr has to
DO. In some cases the moss is shiDped
in bales. but the buyers prefer to have
it barre>led, and allow % cents Der 100
pounds for that purpose.