418       GATHERING  OF  CARRAGEEN  IN  MASSACHUSETTS. 
mistaken  for  0.  mammilosus.  The  pink  seeds  are  very  conspicu- 
ous when  held  between  the  eye  and  light.  When  fully  ripe,  the 
capsules  fall  away  entirely,  and  leave  the  frond  'full  of  holes. 
Greeville  concludes  his  admirable  description — parts  of  which 
are  included  in  the  above — by  remarking  that  "  it  is  difficult,  in 
words,  to  convey  any  idea  of  the  variableness  of  this  species." 
The  varied  uses  of  carrageen  in  manufactures  make  it  an  arti- 
cle of  considerable  importance  ;  and  the  present  high  prices  of 
glue  and  isinglass,  for  which  it  is  an  excellent  substitute,  have 
created  a  demand  for  it  heretofore  unknown.  Up  to  about  the 
year  1848  all  the  carrageen  consumed  in  this  country  was  im- 
ported from  Ireland,  which  gave  it  the  popular  name  of  Irish 
moss.  It  was  collected  on  the  southern  and  western  shores  of 
that  island,  and  was  converted  into  size  for  house  painters,  and 
also  esteemed  for  medicinal  and  culinary  purposes.  That  im- 
ported to  America  was  used  in  making  custards  and  blanc-mange, 
and  sometimes  sold  as  high  as  seventy-five  cents  per  pound,  re- 
tail. In  1849  several  parties  commenced  making  a  business  of 
gathering  and  curing  Chondrus  crispus  at  Scituate,  Plymouth 
county,  Massachusetts,  and  produced  the  first  considerable  quan- 
tity of  the  domestic  article  ever  sold  in  Boston.  This  is  still  the 
only  point  in  the  States  where  any  noticeable  amount  is  collect- 
ed, the  business  having  lately  been  largely  increased,  until  the 
annual  crop  is  not  far  from  500,000  pounds— equal  to  about 
6,000  barrels. 
Its  range. — Some  sea-weeds  are  cosmopolitan,  and  are  equally 
abundant  in  all  latitudes  ;  but  generally  algae  are  more  or  less 
local  in  their  distribution,  and  different  marine  floras  are  found 
in  the  different  parts  of  the  ocean.  The  degree  of  exposure  to 
light,  and  the  greater  or  less  motion  of  the  sea,  have  an  import- 
ant effect.  The  green  algae  occur  either  in  the  shallower  parts 
of  the  sea  or  in  fresh  water  ;  the  olive  color  is  characteristic  of 
those  sea-weeds  that  abound  between  the  tide-marks  ;  while  the 
red-colored  species  grow  in  the  deeper  and  darker  parts  of  the 
ocean. 
The  sub-order  Rhodospermeae,  in  which  Harvey  classes  the 
Chondrus  crispus,  seem  to  flourish  in  the  temperate  zone,  while 
Chlorospermeie  increase  as  we  pass  northward,  and  Melanosper- 
