SEAWEED INIHSTKIKS OF .IAPAN. 



141 



long and about one-eighth of an inch thick, and are tied into bundles weighing aboul 

 (i to 10 ounces ; the bundles are packed in hales holding LOO kin (133 pounds), incased 

 in several layers of matting. The blocks, which are called haku-Tcanten (square 

 kanten), are not adapted for close packing, and make a very bulky bale; about 50 

 blocks weigh 1 pound. 



THE USES OF KANTEN. 



Kanten is pearly white, shiny, and semitransparent, having in block form a 

 loose, flaky structure, and is tasteless and odorless. In cold water it swells but docs 

 not dissolve, but in boiling water it is readily soluble and on cooling forms a jelly. 



In Japan kanten is used largely for food in the form of jellies (often colored), 

 and as adjuvants of soups, sauces, etc. It is also used for purifying sake, the native 

 wine made from rice. In foreign countries kanten is employed in a variety of ways. 

 although chiefly in food preparations where a gelatin is required, such as jellies, 

 candies, pastries, and many desserts, in all of which it is superior to animal isinglass. 

 It is also used for the sizing of textiles, the stiffening of the warp of silks, the 

 clarifying of wines, beers, coffee, and other drinks, the making of molds required 

 by workers in plaster of Paris, and sometimes in the manufacture of paper. In 

 China one of its uses is as a substitute for edible bird nests. The large consignments 

 of square kanten to Holland are doubtless destined for the schnapps factories. A 

 very important use in all civilized countries is as a culture medium in bacteriological 

 work; the product is known in the scientific world under the name agar-agar, which 

 is the Oeylonese equivalent of kanten. For this purpose a very pure grade of slender 

 kanten is required. 



The following chemical analyses <>f kanten have been made by Dr. (). Kellner, 

 formerly a professor in the Agricultural College of Tokyo University, and by the 

 Imperial Fisheries Bureau, respectively: 



OUTPUT, EXPORTS, MARKETS, AND PRICES. 



The quantity of kanten prepared in 1900 was 2,370,517 pounds, valued at 

 1,153,003 yen (or $576.5011); and in 1901, 2,177,867 pounds, valued at 1,068,463 yen 

 ($534,232). No later statistics of production are available, but judging from the 

 exports of L902, the output in that year was apparently larger than ever before. 

 probably reaching 3,000,000 pounds, with a value of $750,000. The exports for a 

 term of years and some detailed statisticsof production are shown in the accompanying 

 tables: 



