USEFUL ALGAE — CHASE 417 



grounds were in Tokyo Bay. One or two centuries ago, according 

 to Smith (1904a), Porphyra grew in natural quantities at the mouth 

 of the Sumidagawa, near Asakusa, in Tokyo. As the river carried 

 down large amounts of gravel, its mouth advanced farther and far- 

 ther into the sea, thus making the waters near Asakusa too fresh for 

 its growth. To the dismay of the inhabitants Porphyra ceased to 

 grow there. Then the cultivation of Porphyra was begun. The 

 quality of the cultivated Porphyra is dependent largely on the 

 weather. It is best after frequent rains and snowfalls have made 

 the shallow water brackish. 



Harvey tells us varieties of Porphyra are gathered in winter off 

 the rocky shores of Europe. The British and French boil it for 

 many hours until it forms a dark brown semifluid mass which is 

 called marine sauce, sloke, slouk, or sloucawn. Lemon juice or vine- 

 gar is served with it and its flavor is more delectable than its appear- 

 ance. At some of the British establishments for preserving fresh 

 vegetables, it was in the past century put up in hermetically sealed 

 cases for exportation and use at sea, or for use at seasons when it 

 did not grow on the rocks. In winter, the Porphyra fronds grow 

 abundantly on the rocky coasts of Europe and North America. 

 Porphyra is not only regarded as antiscorbutic but is said to be useful 

 in glandular swellings, possibly because of the minute quantity of 

 iodine which it contains. 



Harrington states that the Indians have used Porphyra for thou- 

 sands of years, ever since they came from Siberia. It grows on 

 the Gulf of Alaska and along the whole archipelago of Alaska as 

 well as on the shores of Washington, Oregon, and California. Wher- 

 ever it grows, the Indians would hunt for it. 



The Indian does not believe in using salt on his food. The Iro- 

 quois referred to a white man as "a salty one" because they ate people 

 and they knew that the white man had a saltier taste than the red 

 maai. The Indians would not salt their mush, or their eggs, as 

 they believed that salt would make their hair turn gray and their 

 toes turn up before their time. Salt was white man's style so it 

 should be avoided, but sea lettuce, as they called laver, was native 

 style, and therefore they gathered the sea lettuce with which they 

 supplied the salt need of their bodies. The Indians collected the sea 

 lettuce in the spring because their grandfathers were accustomed to 

 gather it at that time. 



The various kinds of kelp, coarse, broad-fronded members of the 

 Laminariaceae family (pi. 3, fig. 1) form an important food product 

 of Japan, and large amounts of the kelp or kombu, the name of the 

 foods made from kelp, are exported from Japan to China. Kombu 

 products have been sent to the East Indies and San Francisco but 



