Fucie 
22 
islands are fond of this species, adding it to ragouts 
and olios, to which it communicates a red colour, 
and at the same time imparts some of its rich and gela- 
tinous qualities. The dried leaves infused in water ex- 
hale an odour somewhat resembling that of sweet vio» 
lets, and they communicate that: flavour to: v 
with which they are mixed. Lightfoot: mentions, that 
¥, edulis, 
P, ciliatus, 
¥. pinnati- 
fidus. 
f. natans, 
in the Isle of Skye in Scotland, it is sometimes used in 
fevers, to promote perspiration, being boiled in water, 
with the addition of a little butter. Fucus palmatus 
grows not uncommonly on rocks which are: barely un- 
covered at the ebb of the tide; but itis more frequent 
as a parasite on Fucus nodosus; and it occurs also on 
the stems of Fucus digitatus, attaining: in this .situa- 
tion a considerable size, perhaps twelve or fifteen inches 
long, while in general it is only about’six or eight inch- 
es, It is soft and limber, and does not become rigid 
by drying, being of a more loose texture than many 
other sea-weeds. 
F. edulis. “ The frond fleshy, flat, nerveless, simple; 
cuneiform, quite entire, rounded at the apex, attenua-~ 
ted at the base into a very short cylindrical: petiolus ; 
solitary seeds scattered all over the frond.”—This is 
uot uncommon in Scotland, and being thick and succu~ 
lent when young, is frequently preferred to F. palma 
tus, especially for roasting in the frying-pan. Like 
that species, it gives out a smell somewhat resem- 
bling that of sweet violets. When) fresh, it is of a 
deep opake blood-red colour; on maceration, it gives 
out a purple dye. Old fronds of a large size, perhaps: 
two feet.in circumference, are sometimes cast ashore: 
near Leith; these are of a dark colour; and very fullof; 
holes. These holes are supposed by the) fishermen: to 
be made by crabs, which, they assert, are very fond of 
this species. 
F. ciliatus. “The frond between. membranaceous 
and cartilaginous, flat, nerveless, generally lan¢eolate, 
branched in a pinnated manner, ciliated at its margins 
and surface ; cilia mostly simple, patent, subulate, pro- 
ducing tubercles at their apices.’—This is not very 
common on our shores: it is sometimes; however, mix-. 
ed with F. palmatus, and sold and eatemas dulse along: 
with that species. It is distinguished not: only by its» 
cilia or fringes, but its fine red colour, and almost pel- 
lucid substance. It was formerly known by the names 
of F. lanceolatus, and holosetaceus. ‘ 
F. pinnatifidus. “The frond compressed, cartilagi 
Be lh Soe a ; branches mostly alternate, doubly pe 
natifid; ramuli blunt, callous; capsules ovate, sessile; 
and naked seeds on the ramuli.”—In Scotland, this is 
sometimes called Pepper-dulse, from. its hot biting taste: 
in the mouth, On account of this’ quality, although its 
smell is not very prepossessing, it is sometimes eaten 
along with the common dulse.:. In. Iceland, ittis:belie- 
ved, itis still used in place.of a spice. It appears to be 
an annual, and its pungency, is considered: as greatest 
in the early part of the summer. It is very common 
on all our shelving rocky shores, growing along with’ 
F, palmatus and -crispus, and Corallina officinalis, » It’ 
is subject to considerable variations, particularly inco- 
lour ;_being frequently. olive yellow, but sometimes tin- 
ged with red, or dark red approaching to purple. ‘It 
is somewhat curious thatthis species, which is common 
to Seotland.and Iceland, should be found alsovin the 
Red Sea, and on the shores of Egypt. as 
. Un) treating of the oceanic fields of sea-weeéd), some of 
the uses of Fucus matans (including F. natans; baocifes! 
rus, and several others of Turner) have already been 
hinted at. The most succulent fronds:are selected, and 
FUCL 
repared as a pickle, like samphire, and the young and 
‘esate shoots sa eaten as a “en seasoned ——— ie 
of lemons, and ginger. This’ sort of sea-w 
is also in Si cet as a medicine, being accounted 
aperient and antiscorbutic, and employed by the native 
Americans to cure fevers. ie sre Hep ali 
Many of the Asiatic nations bordering onthe sea, use 
different species as food. ‘The superior orders employ 
them chiefly to give consistence: to sauces, or to mode~ 
rate the pungency of the hot spices which they use in 
such: profusion. : 
In the East 
is its character: “ Frond sub 
gelatinous, cylindrical, filiform, much»and irr ly 
branched ; branches patent, nearly of equal height, acu< 
minated, generally forked at their apices, with short 
divaricated segments ; tubercles hemispherical, sessile, 
scattered all over the frond.” - From the circumstance of 
its being used as an article of food, Gmelin, in his His- 
tory of Fuci, gave it the title of F. edulis, a name now 
appropriated to a very different one, allied to the 
matus, and-above described. I’. lichenoides is complete~ 
ly of a gelatinous nature: it is washed im fresh ‘water, 
and squeezed, so as to remove a considerable part of its 
mucilage and saltness ; after which it-is served up with 
a sauce prepared with lemon-juice and ginger. This 
is supposed to be one of the principal ingredients em~- 
ployed by the East Indian swallows in constructing 
those edible: nests which are -so much in repute not 
only im China, but ‘throughout India, and in request 
even at the luxurious tables of London. The most pure 
and transparent nests are now generally believed to-be 
almost entirely composed of the.gelatinous fui. 
table. The followin 
F, déenaxis employed in the Chinese:empire to Serve F, tenax, 
all the purposes of our.gum Arabic. and glue. It is a: 
small cylindrical filiform species, allied to F. acicularis. 
It was first described by ‘Turner in Annals-of Bota- 
ny, vol. ii. and is figured in the History of Fue, t. 125. 
It is gathered:on the shores of the inees of F’o-kien: 
and Tche-kiang; and ‘although of small size, it is found’ 
so plentifully, that about 27,0001lbs.-are annually import- 
ed at Canton, and‘sold at 6d.or 8d. per Ib. - As’ soon as 
gathered, it'is.dried-imthe sun ; and being*then compres-) 
sed, it will keep good for several years. When it is to be 
used, the saline .particles:and impurities are washedoff; 
it is then steeped in warm water, in which it dissolves, 
stiffening-as it cools intoavegetable gluten, which again 
liquefies om exposure'to heat. It seems probable that this 
is the principal ingtedientin the celebrated gummy mat- 
tercalled chin-chou, orhai-tsaijinChinaand Japan. L 
sheets of paper or-of coarse gauze are besmeared with it; 
they thus acquire additional transparency, and are usedin- 
windows or lanterns. Windows made merely of slips 
of bamboo: crossed diagonally, have frequently their lo- 
shaped:interstices wholly filled with the transpa~ 
rent gluten of the hai-tsai.. ' 
Tt is remarked by. Mr Turner, (Hist. Fuc. t. 216— 
218), that the common and well-known though very-vari-. 
able species, F. crispusand'mamillosus of our own shores, 
arer melted by boiling, and that they afterwards. 
forny'a: ine. This has not yet, however, been ap- 
plied’to any use, either by the cook or the artist. Une. 
fortunately they are not only of small size, but could 
not easily be: red in sufficient quantity. 
‘ Itmay be mentioned, on the authorityof Mr Bar- 
row, that at the Cape.a kind of gelatinous fucus, very: 
useful as food, is gathered, particularly from the shores 
of Reben ‘Island, ‘The leaves are described as sword= 
Indies, and: particularly in Ceylon, F. ¥. lichenoit! 
lichenoides (Turn. t. 118.) is in high estimation for the 4 
