A Monograph of the Genus Alaria. 5& 



to have been abandoned in Europe, except in small localities. The 

 Alaskan aborigins still appreciate, as I have been tokl from a 

 Siwash chief, the matured sporophylls of A. marginata and other 

 larger forms as a delicacy. I have seen the natives of Kamtschatka 

 eat the midribs of A. fistuJosa. This has been already noted by 

 RuPEECHT in Tange des ochotischen Meeres, p. 355 (1848). He 

 says : — " Nach WosxesseîsSki ist sie {A. fistuJosct) den Kamtscha- 

 dalen (bei Javina), welche die Blattrippe essen, als « Kdusschisch » 

 bekannt, Pli. alatum in derselben Gegend und in Petropawlowsk 

 als (( Kauam » oder « Kauan » : letztere wird gekocht ganz und 

 mit verschiedenen Beigaben verspeist, die Blattrippe aber roh." 



In Japan, where numerous species of seaweeds are used for 

 food and other purposes, a considerable amount of Alaria is left 

 unused. This is principally due to the fact that other brown 

 algae, such as Laminarla and Undaria, much better in taste, con- 

 sistency, etc., are found in association with it. The Ainu in the 

 southern Kuriles frequently use the matured sporophylls as food. 



As a source of kali or iodine, the Alaria plants are not entirely 

 useless. The following table gives some of the analyses by Tur- 

 KENTiNE^) and by Miyama and Kakihaea.^) 



1) TuEKENTTNE : The composition of Kelps, p. 220. 



2) MiT.\-MA and Kakihara : Eeports on the Kali Eesources, p 18. 



