Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-12-29
LIVES ON rockwell.
Artist Henneman Makes Delicious
Meals from Waste Product.
fBoothbay Register9

Did YOU ever eat rockweed? No, of
course not, you say. nor did anyone else.
You are wrong Right in Boothbay
Harbor is a man who has been eating
practically nothing but rockwell since
a week ago last Wednesday and has lost
not one ounce of his weight. not iot of
his vitality and not a title of his men
tality. And this to prove that star
walton for the want of food is a phrase
which must be wiped out. His expert
ment and his plan is one of the greatest
helps yet put forward for the relief of
starving Belgians.
Valentine Henneman, the artist of
Bruges, Belgium, who lectured to the
people of Boothbay Harbor week ago
last Wednesday night, is the man who is
making the experiment so successful and
so fraught with possibilities. The day
OF his fine lecture he began his expert
ment, several days after he thought of
his plan and began preparation for tho
test.
Mr.. Henneman stood on the shore or
Linekin Bay one cold morning looking
out across the broad sea toward his
stricken fellow-countrymen, thinking of
ways In which to bring relief to them.
The tide was low and all for moment
he let his gaze rest on the rocky shore.
Here was a great abundance of green
growth-the rockweed which chases all
along our shore-line. Mr.. Henneman
knew that sheep lived on rockwell at
times and wondered if man could not.
If so, here was thousands of times the
food supply of starving Belgium, lying
right at our doors. unused. not thought
Of Could it be prepared? Would it
drive away utmost starvation? He
would see.
The artist gathered the rockwell,
boiled it in fresh water for three hours,
baked it in the oven and ran 1t through
coffee-mill, grinding it to fine pow
der. The boiling took out the salts. pot
assium and cianide. Three quantities of
rockwell, seasoned with salt, pepper
and cloves, one of potatoes and one
small slice of bacon makes fine Dinners
For supper rockwell soup, composed of
rockwell, onions. a little beef bone, two
spoonfuis of sorrel. some bay leaves and
a crust of bread makes a very delicious
supper, when properly seasoned. In
neither meal, prepared by another. would
it ever have been known that rockwell
formed d part. For breakfast powdered
rockwell boiled in spider. bit. of
pork and plenty of vinegar. powdered
cloves, pepper and salt. eaten with a
crust of bread, and he had had fine
breakfast. The next dinner was of two
onions. fried in little lard, a large por-
ton of rockweed and a spoonful of flour
to thicken it up.
Rockwell alone, says Mr.. Henneman,
has not much taste. but the salt, pep
per, vinegar, lemon, etc, make 1t deli
cious, The stuff has been treated in
other ways. The greater part of each
meal has been rockweed There has
been rockweed pie. rockweed pudding,
rockwell preserve and there are prob
ably yet many undiscovered ways of
serving the food.
Mr.. Henneman hopes to interest the
New England Belgium Relief Associa-
ton in the food product which is in great
abundance here. A little money would
procure great quantities of food which is
not considered of use except for fertili-
ger. 1t can be used. Mr.. Henneman
says he has fine appetite and feels UNI
usually we'll since he began his expert
ment
In addition to these suggestions, the
artist declares that Belgians love mus