254 Mary Davies Swartz, 



by the Japanese, Chin-ese, and Hawaiians. These algae are found 

 in great variety and widely distributed. In Japan, the general name 

 applied to them is "Nori," which is also given to several prepared 

 products. According to H. M. Smith (23), the most important Japan- 

 ese seaweed preparations are: "Kanten," or seaweed isinglass, made 

 from various species of Gelidium, the principal one being Gelidium 

 corneum, often adulterated with similar seaweeds; "Kombu" made 

 from Kelps, especially numerous species of Laminar ia, Arthothamnus, 

 and Alaria; "Amanori," from species of Porphyra; and "Wakame," 

 from Undaria pinnatifida. 



Kanten is used largely for food, in the form of jellies, and as an adju- 

 vant of soups and sauces. According to H. M. Smith (23), it is also 

 employed in foreign countries 'in jellies, candies, pastries, and many 

 desserts, in all of which it is superior to animal isinglass. ' It has 

 recently also attained popularity as a therapeutic agent in chronic 

 constipation, being sold under various trade names, either plain or 

 impregnated with laxative drugs, as cascara or phenolphthalein.i 

 Kombu enters into the dietary of every Japanese family, being cooked 

 with meat, soups, etc., and also served as a vegetable, or made into a 

 relish with Soy-bean sauce. Amanori is eaten fresh or else is chopped 

 and sun-dried in thin sheets, which are toastsd over a fire before 

 eating. The crisp amanori is crushed between the hands and dropped 

 into sauces or soups to impart flavor; or broken into pieces, dipped in 

 sauce and eaten alone. Sheets of amanori, spread with boiled rice 

 and covered with strips of meat or fish, are rolled and cut into trans- 

 verse slices, and take the place of the American sandwich. Wakame 

 is eaten as a salad, or cooked like amanori. 



In Hawaii, edible algae are called "limu. " Of these there are over 

 seventy distinct species used for food, more than forty being in general 

 use (18). Tons of limu are gathered for eating in Hawaii annually, 

 and large quantities are also imported from the Orient and San Fran- 

 cisco. Some idea of the extent of their use may be gained from the 

 following statement by Miss Reed (18): ''Ancient Hawaiians prob- 

 ably seldom ate a meal without some kind of limu, and even today no 

 Hawaiian feast is considered quite complete without several varieties 

 served as a relish with meats or poi."^ Since, with the exception of a 

 few experiments reported by Oshima (15) and Saiki (20), there are no 



iCf. Galactans, p. 283. 



^Poi is a thick paste made from the root of the tare plant, and takes the place of 

 rice or bread in the native diet. 



