33 6 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



isinglass, for making moulds used by the plaster of Paris 

 workers, for hardening the same material in short, as a 

 substitute for all kinds of gelatines, over which it has the 

 advantage of producing a firmer jelly. 



Another seaweed, much used for industrial purposes, 

 is the fu, resembling the carrageen moss, and applied to 

 similar uses, such, for instance, as the sizing of the warp of 

 silk goods. 



Seaweed is not much used for food purposes in Europe. 

 In Ireland, dulse (Rhodomenia palmata) is either eaten with 

 butter and fish, or boiled in milk with rye flour. The Ulva 

 latissima, or green laver, and the Porphyra vulgaris, or 

 purple laver, are abundant on the British shores, and when 

 boiled and served with pepper, butter, and vinegar, form an 

 agreeable delicacy to many persons when eaten with cold 

 meat. The London shops are supplied with it from the 

 Devonshire coast. In Ireland it is known as " sloke." 

 ''Tangle," which is the young fronds ofLaminaria digitata, 

 is much eaten in Scotland ; and at one time the cry of 

 " dulse and tangle " was as common in the streets of Edin- 

 burgh and Glasgow as that of watercresses is in London at 

 the present day. 



Miscellaneous Uses of Seaweed. Various attempts have 

 been made from time to time to manufacture paper from 

 seaweed, but they have not been attended with any very 

 great success. 



In 1820 a patent was granted in Denmark for making 

 paper from seaweed, which was alleged to be whiter, 

 stronger, and cheaper than other kinds. In 1828 a patent 

 was taken out in the United States, by Elisha Collier, for 

 making paper from Ulva marina. In 1833 a patent was 

 granted in France to Monsieur Tripot for making paper 

 from seaweed. In 1875 two English patents were pro- 



