420       GATHERING  OF  CARRAGEEN  IN  MASSACHUSETTS. 
width  as  the  water  becomes  deeper.  The  laminarian  zone  ex- 
tends to  a  depth  of  from  seven  to  fifteen  fathoms.  Here  the 
great  sea  tangle,  Laminaria  digitata — improperly  called  kelp  — 
abounds. 
Gathering  and  curing.- — The  mossers  begin  the  "pull"  of 
moss  late  on  the  spring  tide  of  the  full  moon  of  May.  This  is 
earlier  than  it  should  be,  for  moss,  like  the  grass  in  our  pastures, 
attains  but  a  feeble  growth  in  the  month  of  May.  This  prema- 
turely-gathered moss  suffers  a  great  loss  by  shrinkage,  and  can- 
not be  made  to  "  hold  its  color  "  when  bleached.  This  practice 
is  probably  owing  to  the  restlessness  of  those  mossers  who,  hav- 
ing no  gardens  to  plant,  or  but  small  ones,  become  weary  of  the 
idleness  of  winter,  and  are  anxious  to  resume  their  customary 
labor. 
Before  any  moss  is  pulled,  however,  the  "  bleaching  beds  "  are 
carefully  prepared.  For  these,  sandy  portions  of  the  beach  near 
the  creeks  are  selected.  The  stones  thrown  upon  the  old  beds 
by  the  action  of  the  sea  are  raked  off  into  something  like  wind- 
rows, which  divide  the  plats.  The  contents  of  the  shanties  are 
overhauled.  Hand-barrows,  pulling-rakes,  turning-rakes,  and 
washing-tubs  are  put  in  order  or  replaced  with  new  articles.  The 
boats  receive  careful  inspection.  A  coat  of  paint  or  an  applica- 
tion of  tar  is,  perhaps,  the  result.  These  boats  are  frequently 
loaded  to  the  water's  edge,  and,  when  the  supply  of  the  more 
adjacent  ledges  is  exhausted,  often  perform  trips  of  several  miles 
with  such  a  freight.  A  leaky  boat  would  be  unpleasant — not  to 
say  dangerous.  The  "navigation  "  is,  however,  generally  very 
safe,  notwithstanding  it  is  over  ledges  of  rocks  that  are  known 
to  all  mariners  as  extremely  dangerous  to  shipping. 
The  Chondrus-bearing  ledges  are  all  within  a  few  miles  of  the 
celebrated  Minot  Ledge  light-house.  Seven  shipwrecks  have 
been  counted  at  one  time  on  this  shore,  all  in  plain  view.  The 
light-tower  rises  ninety  feet  from  a  submerged  rock,  but  at  this 
writing  the  sea  breaks  against  it  so  high  that  at  times  it  is  en- 
tirely hidden  fronusight !  Yet  in  a  few  months  scores  of  men 
will  be  moving  about  among  these  rocks,  gathering  a  crop  that 
hardly  one  in  a  thousand  in  the  States  knows  anything  about ! 
The  tools  of  the  moss  gatherers  are  few  and  simple.  The 
