184 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



monly found growing wild, possesses no useful pro- 

 perties without cultivation. 



ICELAND Moss, or Lichen islundicus, is used as an 

 edible substance by the Icelanders, who rarely ob- 

 tain corn-bread, and whose limited stock of substi- 

 tutes obliges them to have recourse to every species 

 of vegetable production which is permitted by their 

 inclement climate to spring forth. The plant is col- 

 lected by the inhabitants of this northern region, and, 

 after being cashed, is either cut into pieces, or it is 

 dried by the fire or in the sun, and then put into a 

 !}ag, which is well beaten ; it is ultimately worked 

 into a powder by being trampled on, and in this 

 state is used as food. This lichen is found growing 

 on the mountains, both in the lowlands and high- 

 lands of Scotland. It consists of upright leaves 

 nearly two inches high, soft and pliant when moist, 

 buf rigid when dry. They are smooth and shiny, 

 inclining to a red colour towards the roots, and 

 having the exterior surface sprinkled with very 

 minute black warts. The margins are set with 

 small, short, stiff spinules. 



Iceland Moss Lichen Islandicut. 



The family of plants known by botanists as Cru- 



