io postelsia 



plant is collected, made into sheets and 

 baked. The method of cultivation is 

 as follows: Slender, bushy twigs are 

 planted in regular rows in shallow and 

 brackish water. Enough space is left 

 between the rows to permit the passage 

 of canoes. Late in winter or early in 

 spring the Porphyra plants gather on the 

 twigs as purple leaf-like sheets between 

 tide marks. The tiny pieces are col- 

 lected with wonderfully expert fingers, 

 most of the work being done by girls or 

 women. They are washed for a time to 

 remove the mud and sand and are then 

 laid out upon reed mats which are placed 

 in the sun. The layer is made as thin 

 as possible, the plants adhering to each 

 other by their own gelatine. When 

 such a sheet is quite dry it is peeled off 

 from the surface of the mat, folded and 

 ready for market. When baked before 

 a gentle fire, Porphyra acquires a re- 



