IV. 
INTRODUCTION. 
33 
of them, and then I will admit the uses of these vegetables.” This I shall therefore 
now endeavour to do, by summing up a few of the uses to which Algae have been 
applied by man. 
Man, in his least cultivated state, seeks from the vegetable kingdom in the first 
place a supply for the cravings of hunger, and afterwards medicine or articles of 
clothing. As food , several species of Algae are used both by savage and civilized 
man, but more frequently as condiments than as staple articles of consumption. 
Many kinds commonly found on the shores of Europe are eaten by the peasantry. 
The midrib of Alaria esculenta , stripped of the membranous wings, is eaten by the 
coast population of the north of Ireland and Scotland ; but to less extent than the 
dried fronds of Ehodymenia palmetto,, the Dulse of the Scotch and Dillisk of the 
Irish. This latter species varies considerably in texture and taste according to the 
situation in which it grows. When it grows parasitically on the stems of the larger 
Laminarias it is much tougher and less sweet, and therefore less esteemed than when 
it grows among mussels and Balani near low water mark. It is this latter variety, 
which, under the name of “ shell dillisk,” is most prized. In some places on the 
west of Ireland, this plant forms the chief relish to his potatoes that the coast 
peasant enjoys ; but its use is by no means confined to the extreme poor. It is 
eaten occasionally, either from pleasure or from an opinion of its wholesomeness, 
by individuals of all ranks, but, except among the poor, the taste for it is chiefly 
confined to children. It is commonly exposed for sale at fruit stalls, in the towns 
of Ireland, and may be seen in similar places in the Irish quarters of New York. 
In the Mediterranean it forms a common ingredient in soups, but notwithstanding 
M. Soyer’s attempt in the famine years to teach this use of it to the Irish, they 
have not yet learned to prefer it cooked. Occasionally, however, it is fried. 
Chondrus crispus , the Carrageen or Irish Moss of the shops, is dissolved, after 
long boiling, into a nearly colourless insipid jelly, which may then be seasoned and 
rendered tolerably palatable. It is considered a nourishing article of diet, especially 
for invalids, and has been recommended in consumptive cases. At one time, before 
it was generally known to be a very common plant on rocky coasts, it fetched a 
considerable price in the market. Though called “ Irish moss,” it is abundant on 
all the shores of Europe and of the Northern States of America. It is, perhaps, 
most palatable when prepared as a blanc-mange with milk, but it should be eaten 
on the day it is made, being liable, when kept, to run to water. Its nourishing 
qualities have been tested, I am informed, in the successful rearing of calves and 
pigs partly upon it. 
Many other species, particularly various kinds of Gigartina and Gracilaria , yield 
similar jellies when boiled, some of which are excellent. 
Gracilaria lichenoides, the Ceylon Moss of the East, where it is largely used in 
soups and jellies ; and G. Spinosa , the Agar-Agar (or Agal-Agal) of the Chinese, 
are among the most valuable of these. They are extensively used and form 
important articles of traffic in the East. Another species of excellent quality, the 
Gigartina speciosa of Sonder, is collected for similar purposes by the colonists of 
Swan River. 
It was at one time supposed that the famous edible birds’ nests of China, the 
vol. in. art. 4. F 
