FISHERIES OF THE NEW’ ENGLAND STATES. 285 
Trish moss (Chondrus crispus) is an edible seaweed found in many 
places along the Massachusetts coast, but more particularly in the 
vicinity of Scituate, where the catch in 1902 amounted to 500,000 
pounds, valued at $22,500. The total catch of the state was 690,000 
pounds, valued at $31,050. 
The apparatus used in gathering the ‘* moss” consists of a rake made 
especially for this purpose, measuring 12 to 15 inches across, and hav- 
ing from 2+ to 28 teeth 6 inches long, with a space of about an eighth 
of an inch between the teeth. These rakes have handles 15 or 20 feet 
long and are used from boats. But a small portion of the crop is 
gathered by hand. 
The product is usually held pending orders for shipment, and there- 
fore is distributed through a large and varied territory. The princi- 
pal cities to which it is shipped are Philadelphia, New York, Boston, 
and Portsmouth, N. H., but it is also utilized in smaller cities through- 
out the United States and Canada. <A small percentage of the crop is 
sold to wholesale druggistsand grocers; the larger portion is disposed 
of to brewers and to firms which make a specialty of brewers’ sup- 
plies, being used for clarifying and imparting body to beer. It is also 
used for making blane mange and jellies, and fora variety of purposes. 
The price in 1902 was 4 to 4} cents per pound, and in 1903 from 5 to 
5¢ cents. 
The variation from year to year in the supply of Irish moss seems 
to be governed largely by the inclination or disinclination of fishermen 
to engage in the business. Some seasons a large number of persons 
gather the seaweed, while in other years only a few are thus employed, 
with a consequent increase or decrease inthe product. At times, how- 
ever, severe storms on the coast doa great deal of damage to the fishery, 
tearing the seaweed from the rocks and scattering it widespread 
over long stretches of the beach. The method of gathering also is 
destructive. In some localities the rocks are almost completely 
denuded, leaving such a scant growth to produce the next season’s 
crop that the yield is necessarily light. 
If the rocks are not gleaned too closely 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 plant grows much faster than in the more 
open and exposed places. The season extends from May until Sep- 
tember 1, the first of the crop usually going on the market in August. 
It is shipped in barrels holding 100 pounds each, flour and sugar bar- 
rels being largely used for this purpose. Very little, if any, Irish 
moss is shipped in bales. 
In the preparation and curing processes good weather and plenty of 
sunshine are the prime requisites. The seaweed when brought ashore 
is washed and then spread upon the sandy beach, where it remains for 
twenty-four hours, after which it is raked up, put into tubs, and given 
