IODINE AND OTHER CHEMICALS TS 



then spreading them out in thin layers in the sun, 

 where they are bleached by alternate wetting and 

 drying. When the sheets are completely bleached 

 they are dried and rolled up into bundles resembling 

 Japanese matting. Nearly a million dollars' worth of 

 funori is manufactured every year. Osaka is the 

 principal center of the industry. 



Funori is prepared for use as a size by dissolving 

 in boiling water. It is used chiefly as a substitute 

 for starch in laundering, for sizing cloth and paper, 

 and for the preparation of calcimines. 



The American Indian utilized the Pacific coast 

 kelps for several purposes. The stems were not only 

 used as bait in fishing for sea-urchins, but were also 

 made into fairly good fishing-lines. The long rope- 

 like stipes of the giant kelp Nereocystis luetheana 

 were prepared for use as lines by first washing them 

 in running water for several days, then partially 

 drying and smoking them, and then knotting them 

 together. In order to reduce the size of the lines, the 

 smoked stems were stretched and then dried further 

 in the sun. Such lines were strong and flexible while 

 wet but became brittle when dried. The Indians also 

 used eel-grass in basket-weaving. The Eskimos coil 

 the long hollow stems of kelp and use the coil as a 

 worm condenser for distilling hoochena, a popular 

 Arctic drink. 



For many centuries seaweeds have been used as 

 fertilizer in Japan, China, Great Britain, France, 

 and many other countries. They increase crop yields 

 because of their water-soluble potassium content and 



