XXX INTRODUCTION. 



colour, as well as rendering them of a thicker and 

 richer consistence. Sheep and goats are said, in 

 Norway, to be exceedingly fond of it, frequenting 

 the sea shore at ebb-tide, in order to obtain it— 

 whence it is there known as sou-soil or sheep^s- 

 weed. 



Iridaea edulis is sometimes eaten by the poor, 

 either raw or cooked in the frying-pan. Alaria 

 esculenta is said to be much eaten in Scotland, and 

 frequently exposed for sale in the markets, along 

 with the young fronds and stems of Laminaria 

 digitata and saccharina. The Chondrus crispus and 

 Gigartina mamillosa constitute the Carrageen or 

 Irish moss of the chemist's shop, which when 

 bleached white, and boiled into a jelly, forms a 

 nutritious article of food for invalids and delicate 

 persons. When properly prepared it is nearly as 

 agreeable to the taste as calf 's-foot jelly or blanc- 

 mange. The demand for this article has of late 

 years decreased — at one time the price was as high 

 as 2s. 6cl. per pound. Dr. Harvey states that it has 

 been tried as a size by the calico-printers, but he 



