EDIBLE SEAWEEDS 87 



The Japanese manufacture about two million 

 dollars' worth of agar each year and export much 

 of it to Europe and America. Agar manufacture is 

 one of the curious Japanese industries which have 

 developed without the application of modern science. 



The red algae, which are used in its manufacture, 

 grow on rocks in relatively shallow water and are 

 gathered from small boats either by rakes with long 

 handles or by diving. The gathering season extends 

 from May to October; July and August are the 

 best months. After cutting, the weed is spread out 

 on the beach to dry. The dried algae are sold to 

 manufacturers, whose factories are located back from 

 the ocean in the hills and mountains, where cold 

 nights come early in autumn, and where the winter 

 is long. 



The first operation in the Japanese process of 

 making agar consists in beating and pounding the 

 seaweed until most of the foreign matter, such as 

 shells and sand, has been removed. After being 

 washed with cold water, the cleaned tengusa is spread 

 out to dry in the sun. It is then bleached by alter- 

 nately sprinkling with water and drying in the 

 sunshine. The bleached raw material is boiled for five 

 or six hours with about fifty times its weight of water 

 and a little acid. The solution produced in this 

 manner is filtered and then cooled in wooden trays. 

 When cold, a firm jelly is produced which is called 

 tokoroten by the Japanese. This is cut into various 

 shapes, depending upon the use for which it is 

 intended. The strips or blocks of jelly are then 

 placed out of doors on a cold night and frozen. 



