SEA-WEEDS. 



149 



of a rich scarlet-crimson. It is not common on 

 the Scottish shores. 



One of the more thick and substantial of our 

 red sea-weeds, and one which is so constant in its 

 general appearance as to be of easy recognition, is 

 the Esculent Iridaea (Iridcea edulis), which, as its 

 name imports, has often been used as a vegetable 

 for the table. It is too tough to jbe a good food if 

 eaten raw ; and indeed when cooled, is inferior to 

 the true dulse, though it is often called dulse in the 

 south-west of England. It is there eaten by the 

 fishermen; and after having been pinched with 

 hot irons, it is said to have the flavour of roasted 

 oysters. It is not one of the sea-weeds in which 

 the Scottish peasantry take much delight, yet it 



