50 THE MABINE ALft.T: OF aUEElS^SET 



burning of seaweed for the sole purpose of obtaining iodine has been 

 compared to the wastefuhiess of using mahogany for firewood, or 

 " burning down a cottage to boil a kettle." By the newer methods, 

 all the soluble salts and a maximum amount of iodine can be extracted 

 from seaweed. In addition, the production of certain residuals and 

 bj'-products, as a result of these methods, seems to possess such a 

 possible future value in textile and other industries as to warrant 

 a return to the utilization of seaweed for the production of iodine. 

 Thus, when seaweed is submitted to the process of jDartial burning 

 and distillation in closed retorts, a j^orous and valuable charcoal 

 results, from which all the soluble salts, including the iodides, can be 

 dissolved out with readiness, leaving such residuals as ammonia, tar, 

 and paraffin oil. This marine charcoal might serve as a fuel under 

 the retorts or pans used for the purposes of distillation. Its extreme 

 porosity makes it an effective deodorant and decolorizer and a valuable 

 filter, for it has been subjected to the thickest town-sewage for 

 several months without the least clogging, and its efficiency after 

 this treatment remained unimpaired. As a substitute for bone-black, 

 it is most highly recommended. The oily tar produced by the distil- 

 lation of seaweed mentioned above, yields, on redistillation, large 

 quantities of paraffin oil. As much as 617 galls, of oil can be 

 obtained from one ton of Fucus. 



In another method, devised by Stanford, the seaweed was sub- 

 mitted to repeated direct lixiviations or macerations in dilute solutions 

 of carbonate of soda or other alkaline substances. After obtaining 

 the requisite salts and iodine, the residuals were algm, cellulose, and 

 dextrin. 



Algin, when treated with sulphuric acid and other cliemical pro- 

 cesses, becomes a hard horn-like substance, having properties that 

 enables it to be used as a substitute for india-rubber and parchment. 



Sodium alginate, a derivative of algin, is a gum possessing 

 14 times the viscositj^ of starch, and 37 times that of gum arable ; it 

 is distinguished from albumen in not coagulating by heat. It could 

 be put to varied uses such as a mordant in dyeing and in sizing cloth ; 

 in cookery it might be used in thickening soups, puddings, and 

 jellies. In pharmacy it would be useful as an excipient for pills, an 

 emulsifier of oils, and for softening water. Mixed as a binding with 

 charcoal, sodium alginate might serve as a coating for boilers and 

 metal work ; combined with shellac it forms a fine varnish, and owing 

 to its resemblance to gutta perclia it is said to be a good insulator. 

 Cellulose, if combined with other materials which furnish the 

 requisite amount of fibre, can be made into paper of an excellent 

 grade. 



Knife-handles are made by cutting lengths of Laminaria CIous- 

 toni stipes and forcing blades into them. When dry the latter 

 remain firmly fixed, and owing to the irregular shrinkage of the 

 portions they assume a roughness similar to staghorn. Such handles 

 are used in Scotland and in various parts of S. America. Imitation 

 citron, orange and lemon-peel are made at Seattle from the bulbs and 

 hollow parts of the stipes of Xereocystis Luetkeana, one of the large 



