5 
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Moss Gathering on Block Island 
WAITING FOR THE TIDE TO RECEDE. 
GATHERING IRISH MOSS ON THE SOUTH BEACH. 
W AY out fif¬ 
teen miles 
from other 
land, like an emerald 
in a crystal setting, 
lies Block Island, a 
green strip of soil 
made fertile by the 
seaweed commonly 
called varic, which is 
tossed upon its shores 
by the tireless break¬ 
ers. These vegetable 
growths of the salt 
water have for many 
years furnished the 
basis of a curious in¬ 
dustry for the island¬ 
ers, who harvest the 
crop and by its sale 
realize a fair income 
for their labor, which 
differs from any other 
in the United States. 
Irish moss, as it is 
pretty generally 
known, is highly 
-p:4zed both for its medicinal value and also as a food. For the latter it is 
used principally as a jelly, or as a thickening substance for soups. With 
boiling in water for thirty minutes it dissolves into a perfectly clear jelly, 
strewn sand and the. 
s h a g g y appearing 
rocks, rich with the 
dripping harvest. The 
moss when freshly 
gathered is a deep 
purplish color, flecked 
with lavender and 
white. The leaves are 
semi-transparent and 
grow in small clusters. 
The men and boys 
often wade out waist 
deep with their bas¬ 
kets and knives in 
order to reach a par¬ 
ticularly well cov¬ 
ered rock or reef. 
Quickly they fill their 
baskets, holding fast, 
as every seventh wave 
splashes high and 
covers them with a 
dash of foam; then 
with their humid 
prize they make for 
the shore, where 
wheelbarrows and other receptacles await. If the bank is steep and difficult 
to reach, large sacks are-filled, slung over stalwart shoulders and carried to 
the top of the bluff, where ox carts convey them to the bleaching field. To 
HOMEWARD BOUND WITH A GOODLY LOAD OF MOSS. 
Will 
which, having no flavor of 
delicate, yet nutritious, it is 
One pound of moss 
which keeps equally 
well in all weather, 
and in that regard is 
superior to jelly con¬ 
taining animal sub¬ 
stance. Partly boiled 
and served with a 
dressing of oil, vine¬ 
gar, a dash of onion 
juice and red pepper, 
the sea moss makes an 
agreeable salad. In 
medicines it is largely 
used in emulsions and 
its own, takes easily any that is given it. Being 
especially valuable in the regimen of an invalid, 
make four pounds - of firm, transparent jelly, 
bleach the moss and prepare it for market it is first washed in fresh water and 
spread on the grass to dry. Every half hour it is turned with a rake in order 
that the sun may reach each leaf. The washing and drying is continued for- 
soothing draughts, as 
it is both cooling and 
healing. The poorer 
quality is dried and 
used in making mat¬ 
tresses, and also as a 
packing for steam 
pipes. 
The gathering of\^ 
this moss is largely^ 
subject to the tide, as 
the better grade comes£> 
from the huge rocks^; 
which are under cover 
when the water is 
high, so eagerly the 
time is watched when 
the tide recedes, leav¬ 
ing: clear the moss- 
SPREADING OUT THE MOSS TO BE BLEACHED IN THE SUN. 
Photographs by Helen Denton Van Baton. 
three days; then, if 
the weather is favor¬ 
able, the moss will by 
that time be ready for 
the . sorters. When 
entirely cured the 
moss is ’ of a creamy 
white color. 
A fairly industrious 
moss gatherer realizes ■ 
all the way from $1.50 
to $2.50 per day in re¬ 
turn for his labor, ac¬ 
cording to the season. ' 
The best months for j r* 
gathering are June, —5 
July and August, al¬ 
though the industry 
is followed more or 
less the year around. 
The supply of moss is 
inexhaustible, as that 
pulled or reaped from 
the rocks is replaced 
by a more luxurianj 
growth the? following 
year. Another va¬ 
riety of seaweed, 
known as kelp, is also 
gathered on the isl¬ 
and, where it is used 
to fertilize the soil. 
Harriet C. Quimby, 
