186 WESTERN SERIES OF READERS. 



book-covers. From the ashes of seaweeds several 

 valuable salts can be obtained, especially the salts 

 of iodine. 



The salt grass of the seashore is carefully saved 

 in some countries of Europe. It is made into a 

 coarse hay, which is used instead of straw as a 

 packing material, especially in crates and boxes 

 containing glass or earthenware. Perhaps you 

 have seen it when such cases have been opened. 



We now come to the animal products, and here 

 we find a great variety. Fish, doubtless, heads 

 the list, as by far the most valuable; and then 

 come the other kinds of food, as oysters, clams, 

 lobsters, and crabs, while oil, whalebone, sponge, 

 and pearl follow on, the yield of each one being 

 worth vast sums of money every year. 



There are more kinds of fish taken from the 

 sea than you or I could count in a long time, but 

 a few of these are more valuable than all the rest 

 put together. Sharks are the largest fishes, but 

 few people care to eat their flesh, though the 

 Chinese esteem their fins a delicacy. 



But almost everybody eats salmon and cod and 

 mackerel and herring. They are eaten fresh by 

 those who live near the shore, while for other 

 people they are preserved in various ways and 

 sent all over the world. 



