CHAPTER V 

 Edible Seaweeds 



SO little seaweed is eaten in America that most 

 persons do not know that many species of algae 

 are edible. Some Irish moss is prepared in 

 Massachusetts, and agar is manufactured in one 

 factory in California. In many parts of the world, 

 however, large quantities of seaweeds are eaten as 

 vegetables, in soup, in jellies, and in many other 

 ways. The Hawaiians are especially fond of all sorts 

 of seaweeds, utilizing more than seventy species in 

 all sorts of dishes. The local production is not suffi- 

 cient to supply the demand, so that much seaweed 

 is imported from Japan. 



Because of the mountainous character of the 

 Japanese islands, their agricultural products are 

 insufficient to supply the needs of the dense popula- 

 tion. For this reason, the Japanese have given more 

 attention to aquiculture than has any other nation. 

 Since the Japanese islands are so numerous, the total 

 extent of the coast-line is very great, being about 

 eighteen thousand miles ; thus the area available for 

 seaweed culture is very large. Red laver is the most 

 important species of algae cultivated for use as food. 

 The Japanese cook seaweeds in a great variety of 

 ways. Red laver (various species of Porphyra)^ 



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