252 Mn. Glassford's History and Description of the Kelp Manufacture. 



kiln is kindled with a layer of dry heath or straw, which when in full 

 blaze is slightly and carefully overlaid with the dry wreck, which speedily 

 takes fire and burns. As this is being consumed it is again covered with 

 fresh wreck, and thus the operation proceeds during the whole day. 

 The burner — from whom a considerable portion of nicety and tact is 

 required — spreads the wreck carefully over the burning mass with his 

 hand or with a pitchfork, leaving the ends of the wreck lying over the 

 walls of the kiln, which prevents the fresh weeds from crushing down the 

 burning mass beneath, and permits the air to enter easily through the 

 sides of the kiln. As the mass burns it is very apt to burst into flame. 

 This is to be carefully avoided by the burner, who knows that this 

 wastes and dissipates the kelp salts. It is also apt to fall into holes, 

 and present the appearance, on a small scale, of volcanic craters, this 

 is caused by the partial fusion of the ashes of the wreck, which runs 

 into a liquid mass, and must also be avoided if possible. This is 

 caused by too much air entering the sides of the kiln, to prevent which, 

 a number of firm grass sods are ranged along the side of the kiln, next the 

 wind. In this way the kiln is kept warm, the ash is not so apt to fuse 

 and run into kelp, nor to be cooled down by the access of too much air. 

 The burning of a kiln is divided into two periods, which are termed 

 floors, when the kiln has been in operation for six to eight hours, the 

 burner carefully levels the surface of the ashes, throws in the half consumed 

 wreck which may be lying along the sides and on the walls of the kiln, 

 and allows it to remain in this way for ten to fifteen minutes. In the 

 meantime, he has pulled down a portion of the kiln ends, or end walls, 

 and mustered the assistant burners from the other kilns, each of whom is 

 provided with a small iron cldt, or rake, (called a corag in the Gaelic,) 

 about two feet long, and having a wooden handle or shaft six feet long, 

 or thereby, fastened into its hose. The corag is similar to the common 

 hoe, but the mouth piece, or clat, is only about three inches square, and 

 is widest at the lower edge, for the purpose of drawing the ashes more 

 effectually together; they are made very strong and of good iron, as they 

 are quickly consumed by the hot kelp. The men (three or four) range 

 themselves closely together, at the one end of the kiln, they plunge their 

 corags into the porous ash and begin to knead and work it rapidly; 

 it quickly melts or runs together, and as it does so, more of the ash 

 is drawn into the fused magma and worked up with it, until the half 

 of the ash in the kiln is thus drawn together and kneaded into liquid 

 kelp ; it is then carefully spread over the bottom of the kiln, and the 

 men then proceed in a body to the other end of the kiln and perform the 

 same operation there. When this is done, they proceed to the other 

 kilns of the company and work them up in the same way. This is termed 

 the first floor, and it forms a cake of kelp of from three to six inches in 

 thickness, which floors the kiln, and forms the basis for the next floor ; 

 the burner proceeds with his operations as before, laying on fresh weeds 

 and tending them carefully again till the evening, when the second floor 



