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abundant and of various cliaraeters owing to the considerable range in 

 latitude and temperature ; at all times they are scattered on the Leacli, 

 but after storms they are piled uji in masses. But the Japanese do 

 not content themselves with what is sent them : a large number of 

 boats are constantly engas^ed in dragging the alga) from the bottom, 

 even at considerable depths, with implements which experience has 

 shaped ; yet again, not content with the natural harvest they exten- 

 sively cultivate these marine crops. 



156. The greater part of the marine vegetation is consumed as 

 food, and among sea flora the " Laminaria ", often of huge size, take 

 perhaps the first place ; under the general name of " Kombu " thej 

 are of universal use in the Japanese dietary though they do not 

 commend themselves in general to European palates. The edible is 

 cut up into small pieces, heated in water, and served as a condiment in 

 broths, or after being sugared or salted is taken with various fish. One 

 particular species is said to be an excellent substitute for tea with a 

 particular pleasant fragrance of its own. The importance of the 

 article may be judged by the fact that most of it is used at home and 

 is only exported "to some extent" to China; yet this expoi-t, on an 

 average of ten recent years, annually amounts in a dry state to 57,644,000 

 lb. valued at Rs. 12,82,550. It is an industry of long standing and 

 occupies many thousands of men, women and children. The total 

 annual value cannot be less than twice the above expoi-t value. It was 

 stated in a paper of 1894 by Mr. K. Ito that as the manufacture had 

 become inferior Government intervened and made a rule that all Kombu 

 must be inspected and branded before it is exported : cf. the work of 

 the second class of associations, ISuisan-kuniiai, supra, paragraph 118. 



157. Another edible sea-weed is the Amanori (Porphyra tenera, 

 laver) cultivated in numerous places, usually in shallow flats at the 

 mouths of rivers where the water is not very salt, but especially in 

 Tokyo Bay where the first objects that strike the traveller's notice 

 as he skirts the Bay in the train, are the rows of faggots or fascines 

 of bamboo and brushwood sticking up from the mud on which the 

 weed grows ; these are placed in position in autumn and the crop 

 begins in January and goes on to late spring. Dr. Smith states that 

 the area in Tokyo Bay leased from Government was, in 1901, as 

 much as 951 acres and gave a crop worth Rs. 4,44,000 or Rs. 166 per 

 acre; in 1903 the same area gave just double that value or Rs. 9 lakhs 

 and Rs. 930 per acre ; while Professor Mitsukuri gives the value in 

 Tokyo alone as above Rs. 15 lakhs. As the industry is found in many 

 other places the gross value must be well over Rs. 20 hikhs, and the 

 product in food by no means negligible. The plant grows rapidly on 

 the collectors, is gathered from time to time, washed, minced, and 

 pressed into thin brown sheets about octavo size ; these are then stuck 

 upon bamboo frames inclined to the sun, and when dry are bundled 



K 



