CHAPTER XXXI 



THE KELP INDUSTRY IN THE HIGHLANDS 



During the winter months heavy gales, mainly from the 

 west and south-west, force great rollers across the Atlantic, 

 and these, breaking- on the outlying reefs and shores of the 

 western islands of Scotland, tear off large quantities of 

 laminarian seaweed. These seaweeds grow mainly just 

 below the limit of an ordinary low tide — though at low 

 spring tides some of their growing fronds are just visible 

 — and fasten themselves to the rocks by means of special 

 root-like attachments known as "haptera " or "holdfasts." 

 The stem of the seaweed varies in thickness, but a good speci- 

 men approaches the thickness of a man's wrist, and measures 

 from six to seven feet in length. 



This weed, at two distinct seasons of the year, is gathered 

 and burnt, and from the resulting ash, by a chemical pro- 

 cess, iodine, potash, soda and other products are extracted. 



The history of the kelp industry in the Western Highlands 

 is an interesting one. In many places where to-day it no longer 

 survives great quantities of the ash were formerly produced. 

 For instance, it is said in the statistical account of Argyll- 

 shire that on the Island of Ulva, near Oban, one hundred 

 tons of kelp ash were produced annually less than one 

 hundred years ago. To-day not a single ton is made. The 

 Ulva kelp had the reputation of being of excellent quality, 

 and there is an old Gaelic saying to the effect that the Island 

 of Ulva has a harvest of gold about its shores. This saying 

 is now taken as referring to the harvest of kelp which the 

 island formerly provided. 



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