The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1901-09-19
THE EDIBLE SEA NOISES
ONE RESOURCE AGAINST A FAIL
INC FOOD SUPPLY.
Duise and Its Use-fn the Far East This
Glass Of Plants IL utilized ON n Muci,
Larger scaie--smsil hut Growing In.
dustry on Our Coasts.

dustry on Our Coasts.
The sombre prediction of Malthus
that the time Is not far of when the
growing population OF the world viii
pass the available food supply. he,
comes less plausible every day
through the growth of our knowledge
respecting the possibility OF utilizing
the resources OF the sea. That the
amount OF tish food Is inexhaustible
has long been known. II Is now be-
coming evident that In the humble
sea-weed humanity has IA store of
wholesome and palatablc food which
Will equal any demand for centuries
yet to come. In the last five years
considerable progress has been made
in the use Of the algae and other forms
of marine vegetation. Experiments
thus far have simply followed the
lines laid down by the peasantry OF
Ireland and Scotland. Here from
time immemorlsl there has been
large use of at least ten different
genera of sea-mOsses which are usu-
ally summed up under the term Irish
iubSS. NV OiutI anu NOTu II
dulse. which Is an abbreviated form
from two Celtic words. meaning water
leaf The most popular dulse is the
kind found near Carragbeen. in the
Waterford district of Ireland. From
the name of the town has come the
name of the moss. .carragheen," and
from this In turn the scientific name
for the mucilage, ''carragcenin, which
is II leading constituent OF the leaf.
Next TO carragheen are the craw-
dulse. the sand-dulse. and the pepper
dulse or Northern Ireland and West
ern Scotland. These contain mucilage,
and also small amounts of starch, di-
gestible cellulose. and an appreciable
amount of essential oil. The pepper
dulse of Scotland. when carefully
dried and stored. has pleasant, warm
flavor, which is supposed to be of
medicinal virtue.
In Iceland several varieties of dulse
are largely used by the people, and
are known as Iceland moss. The
mucilage is here mingled with small
percentage of albumenOids, which rem
der it better food than the car
ragheen. During the first half of the
century Iceland moss was regarded as
a specific for coughs and colds. and
large quantities were exported to
Great Britain and the United States
Even to-day, in old fashionaed drug
stores and conservative confectionery
altn Il,
moss candy may be had for those
suffering from pulmonary troubles.
Dulse in the British Isles is used in |
four ways. The first is to cat II raw.
This practice is confined chiefly 10
the Irish proper. Employed in this
manner, it is supposed to purify the
blood and to prevent fevers. The sec
ond mode is to dry it in the sun and
afterwards to boil it for long period,
either alone or with herbs. A third is
to pickle it, and Il fourth is to grind it,
boil, and extract the mucilage
In the far East this class of plants
is utilized on a much larger scale. The
Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Siberians.
and even the Aleutes consume vast
qualities. The oldest use to which it
is put is to cut it up, boil and ferment
the resulting liquor. 1t produces
mild beer of rather pleasant flavor
and very slightly intoxicating. The
japanese have given the matter great
thought and have developed several
profitable industries upon these mosses
as basis. In one, the mosses are
cleaned, macerated. rubbed through
sieves, and the resulting milky fluid
boiled down to what they call vege-
table gelatin. 1t has been STYLED
marine pectin by English and Amerl-
can officers and is referred to in many
consular reports. Ii is put up In long
sticks like macaroni, and is translucent
white in tint, brittle in texture, odor-
less, and always colorless In appear
ance. 1t Is used in made dishes,
desserts, and above all in confectlon-
cry. ln another industry the muciage
is extracted and put upon the market
in small cakes, which sell at about
the same price as starch-from one to
three cents pound. Even at the first
hSure one cent, tnefe is n reasonable
profit TO the manufacturer.
In The Imperial Book Upon Foods"
curious volume issued by the Chin
ese Government. over forty mosses and
sea lichens are recommended for food
purposes, and Instructions given re-
specting their preparation. In general
they are washed so as to remove all
sand and shells. They are then cut
up and stored. When they are to be
used they are boiled for several hours
and strained. The filtrate is not
thrown away. but is treated with an,
other preparation, again filtered, and
the liquid exaporated. The first tiltra-
tion saves about twenty-five per cent,
and the second forty per cent. The
solid from the first operation ranges
from pure mucilage to mucilage
mixed with albuminoids and starch
The solid from the second operation
contains little mucllage and starch,
considerable soluble starch, and the
major part Of dextrine and grape
sugar.
In our own country small but
growing Industry is being developed
on the coasts of Maine and Massachu-
setts. Four varieties of dulse are col.
lected, of which the best and the most
popular Is tho suonpq dillsa which