AGmcULTUUAL MUSEUM 293 



Its uses arc for maruirc, for feeding cattle, or fot 

 burning, (wlien dried), into kelp, a sort ot" bleaching 

 stuff. 



As manure, the aJga is peculiarly favorable for gar- 

 dens, having a fendencv to destroy the grubs and insects, 

 common to such grounds. An acre of shoie property 

 covered with stones, in bearing, vvi'l manure annually an 

 acre of arable land, and will give a heavy crop, and mf?re 

 permanent fertility than the bosl stable maiUire For 

 feeding cattle, the plant is not so well aj)proved, as it is 

 not known to be u-cd in tliis way, unless in seasons of 

 scarcity; when it is given to neat cattle after slight boil- 

 ing, being of an unctuous apiieaiance, it might be suppo- 

 sed to be nourishing, but whether it be fiom the disrelish 

 of tlie cutUe, or the nature of the plant itself, it will not 

 fatten them us well as the ordinary vegetable i'odder. 

 For kelp, its vaiueis pre-eminent, being cut, and spread 

 out in the Sun, it dries immediately, s^v.d is burned ia 

 pits, ipto a licjuid lava, and when cool^ is taken out in 

 lumps, and in tliat state sold at factories, where bleach- 

 ing is required. 



The great extent of the flats and beaches along the 

 coasts, and in the bays of the United States, affords 

 abundant scope for th-j production of this useful plant, 

 and in all such places where stones are already placed 

 or could be easily obtained, it would form a rich addition 

 to oui indigenous stock, if it could be naturalized on 

 this side the Atlantic. 



The probability is, that the current of theGulph, bear- 

 ing off this coast, prevents the gci minating principles of 

 the alga from reaching our shores by any other mode 

 than that which has been mentioned, the introduction 

 of some of the stones wiih the roots adhering, to be pla. 

 ced in some suitable situation, under the care of some 

 practical gentleman, from whom the public might expect 

 to derive information of t|ie result. 



J. N. T. 



Waslmigton City, March 4th, 1811. 



