432 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 



harden to a gel until it is cooled to temperatures that approach the 

 temperature of the mouth. This means that there is a lag of from 

 60° to 70° C. (108°-126° F.) between the liquefying and hardening 

 temperatures, which is important in dental materials of this type. 

 The agar constitutent is doubtless responsible also for the unusual 

 elastic behavior of the materials. 



Irish moss, of which the scientific name is Chondrus crispus (pi. 3, 

 fig. 2; pi. 4), also a member of the Florideae, the red seaweed family, 

 forms a jelly very much like the agar-producing seaweeds. The com- 

 mercial supplies of Chondrus crispus are obtained principally from 

 Scituate, Mass., Nimes, France, and Dublin, Ireland. Its Irish name 

 carrageen comes from a place called Carragheen near Waterford, 

 Ireland, where it abounds. 



Clwndrus crispus^ or Irish moss, is nutritive, and being easily di- 

 gested and not unpleasant to the taste, it forms a useful article of 

 diet in cases in which the farinaceous preparations such as tapioca, 

 sago, and barley are usually employed. It was formerly utilized as 

 a demulcent in chronic pectoral affections, diarrhea, and irritations of 

 the urinary tract, but it is rarely employed for those purposes today. 

 The United States Pharmacopaeia recommends that it be macerated 

 for about 10 minutes in cold water before cooking, in order to re- 

 move any unpleasant flavor it may have acquired from contact with 

 foreign substances. The dose is 4 drachms (15.5 grams). 



In 1835 Irish moss was a fashionable remedy for consumption. 

 A former mayor of Boston, Dr. J. V. C. Smith, helped to establish 

 the moss industry in Scituate, for at that time one person was paying 

 from $1 to $2 a pound for Irish moss or carrageen, as the Irish called 

 it, from Ireland. Today one drug company alone uses 6,000 to 7,000 

 pounds of Irish moss a year. This company sorts and cuts the moss 

 with revolving knives, then packs the cured moss and sells it princi- 

 pally for invalid food or the preparation of blanc manges. Repu- 

 table physicians have recommended the jelly extract in cases of 

 stomach ulcer. 



Another company of manufacturing pharmacists puts on the 

 market at least six distinct preparations of Irish moss. One is a 

 laxative and regulator made up of Irish moss and mineral oil. The 

 moss is used for its excellent emulsifying effect. Another is a cough 

 medicine. The usual cough medicine consists of a soothing or quiet- 

 ing principle dissolved in a sirup of sugar, the body of which is neces- 

 sary to hold the mixture against inflamed membranes. Since the 

 sugar acts at times as an irritant, the cough medicine that uses Irish 

 moss as a base is claimed to be superior. The Irish moss gives the 

 medicine body and also produces a slight soothing effect in itself. 

 The other preparations are described in the section of this paper 

 entitled "Algae as Cosmetics." 



