164 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



"' Wakame" ( Undaria pinnatifida) is dried and sold in hales, and is a common food 

 article in parts of Japan. Before being used it is washed with fresh water, and 

 then eaten as a salad, cooked with soy-bean sauce or put in soups. Yendo states 

 thai the peasants in northern Japan cut off the ripe sporophvls (fronds bearing' sacs) 

 and press them into a slimy liquid which is eaten after mixing with boiled rice, in 

 some places "wakame" is treated much like "ama-nori" before being eaten; that is. 

 it is put in a basket or tray with a wire mesh bottom and parched over a slow char- 

 coal fire. Another method of preparation, peculiar to the province of Shima, is to 

 cut the dried weed into 1-inch lengths and put them in cans or other vessels with 

 sugar. The thick root of " wakame," called "mehibi," is often dried, shaved, or 

 cut into thin slices, and eaten with sauce (miso). "Wakame" usually grows on 

 rocks in currents or where the water is not sluggish, at depths of 20 to 40 feet. It 

 is gathered in many provinces during winter by means of long poles terminating in 

 a radiating cluster of long teeth or prongs, the weeds being torn from their attachment 

 by a twisting motion. 



"Suizenji-nori" (Phylloderma sacrum). — This species derives its name from the 

 place where it is prepared. Suizenji is a park in Higo Province near Kumamoto, 

 belonging to an old lord of the famous Hosr>kawa family. In this park is a large 

 fresh-water pond, and at the lower end of this pond is a small lake from which 

 "■suizenji-nori" is gathered, and on the shore of which it is dried. 



This product is ordinarily eaten with raw fish (sushi mi); the dry weed is soaked in 

 fresh water, and after it has swelled boiling water is sprinkled over it and then soy- 

 bean sauce is added. In the time of the feudal system this preparation was regularly 

 presented to the local daimyo. 



"Awo-nori"( Entermnorphacompressa, E. i/ntestinaUs^ and E. linsa) grovfs in river 

 mouths where fresh and salt water mix, and is cropped from November to April, 

 being preserved by drying in the sun in sheets or bunches. Dr. O. Kellner gives 

 the following analysis of dried E. compressa: Water L3.60 per cent, protein 12. 41. 

 fat and carbohydrates 52.99, fiber 10. 5S, and ash 10.42. "Awo-nori" is eaten after 

 being gently heated over a charcoal tire and crushed or powdered; it has a very good 

 flavor, and is used chiefly as a condiment. The first two species are abundant on the 

 United States coasts. 



"Aosa" ( f'h-ii lactuca), the well-known sea lettuce of the United States, is much 

 used in Japan in the same way parsley and lettuce are often employed by Americans — 

 that is, as a garnishment for meats, fish, and salads. 



"Mini" {Codium tornentosum, ('. mucronatum, C. lindenbwgii). — These species 

 grow on rocks and stones along the shores of various provinces, and are cropped in 

 April or May. After drying they are preserved in ashor salt. They are prepared for 

 food by boiling or baking in water, and are put in soups; or. after washing, by mix- 

 ing with soy-bean sauce and vinegar. 



"Haba-nori" ( Phyllitis fascia). — This plant is prepared for use after the manner 

 of "awa-nori" (Porp/iyra), principally by peasants of the provinces of Awa and 

 Sagami. The voting fronds are dried in the sun in sheet form and subsequently 

 parched, powdered, and mixed with soy-bean sauce. 



"■ Matsuma" {Chordaria abiethm). — This species, which resembles a spray of fir, 

 abounds in northern Japan, and is consumed in large quantities by the peasantry. 



