170 



mi.I.KTIN (IK THK BUREAU < >K KTSHKRIES. 



was thr same as that which was imported at such a high price. From that time to 

 the present Irish moss has been prepared at Scituate, and in 1879 was the leading 

 marine production. By 1853 the price, which in 1835 was $1 a pound, had dropped 

 to 25 cents, and by 1880 to 3 or 3$ cents. About 1880 the average annual yield 

 was 5,000 barrels of dried weed, averaging 90 pounds to the barrel. 



The methods of conducting the business have changed but little in many years, 

 and the simple apparatus required remains the ijiuiie as in the early days of the 

 industry. Mr. T. M. Cogswell, of the Bureau of Fisheries, has furnished the data 

 on which the following account is based. 



A small part of the crop is gathered by hand, lint most of it is torn from the 

 rocks by means of rakes used from boats. The rakes are made especially for the 

 purpose, and have a 15-foot handle and a head 12 to 15 inches wide, with 24 to 

 2S teeth ti inches long and an eighth of an inch apart. 



The gathering season extends from 

 May to September. If the rocks are 

 not scraped too clean in the early 

 part of the season, it is said to be 

 possible to get two crops in some 

 of the warm, sheltered coves, where 

 the alga grows much faster than in 

 the more exposed places. 



The output in recent years has 

 varied considerably, owing chiefly 

 to the inclination or disinclination 

 to engage in the business. Some 

 years a large number of people seem 

 moved by a desire to gather the 

 weed, while other seasons only a few 

 go into the business. Occasionally 

 heavy storms do damage by tearing 

 the plant from the rocks and scat- 

 tering it along miles of beach. 

 There is said to lie a scarcity at 

 times, owing, it is supposed, to too active gathering the previous season, the rocks; 

 being almost completely denuded. 



In the preparation and curing of Irish moss fair weather and much sunshine are 

 prime requisites. When first brought ashore, the plants are washed in salt water 

 and then spread upon the sandy beach to dry and bleach. After twenty-four hours 

 in good weather they are raked up and again washed and again spread on the 

 beach to dry. Three washings are usually sufficient for complete cleansing, curing, 

 and bleaching, but as many as seven are sometimes given. After the final washing 

 the plants are left in the sun. the entire process requiring about two weeks of good 

 weather and warm sunshine. The plants gradually fade, and by the time the curing 

 is finished they are white or straw colored. Two more weeks are then required to 

 sort and prepare the product for shipping. 



Irish moss (Chondrus wispus). 



