GATHERING  OF  CARRAGEEN  IN  MASSACHUSETTS. 
423 
anxiously  scanned  as  ever  in  hay  time,  and  on  the  approach  of 
rain  a  bustle  is  incident  that  is  only  equalled  by  that  of  the  hay- 
maker. The  moss,  if  dry,  is  snugly  cocked  up  like  hay,  and 
covered  with  canvas.  If  the  bad  weather  continues  some  time, 
it  is  as  fatal  to  the  carrageen  as  to  the  hay,  and  is  bound  to  turn 
out  a  damaged  article,  if  circumstances  are  not  the  most  favora- 
ble.   If  exposed  to  a  long  rain  it  rapidly  dissolves. 
At  the  spring  tides  the  beds  are  generally  covered  with  the 
freshly  gathered  moss,  looking  black  and  uninviting ;  but  as  the 
bleaching  advances,  the  peats  first  appear  to  turn  to  a  delicate 
red  color,  and  finally  assume  a  yellowish  whiteness  that  is  very 
pleasing  to  the  eye.  When  the  carrageen  is  properly  cured  it 
is  stored  in  bulk  in  the  shanties.  As  leisure  comes,  it  begins  to 
find  its  way  into  barrels.  This  is  a  time  of  temptation.  A  barrel 
of  well-cured  and  honestly  packed  moss  should  certainly  never 
exceed  a  hundred  pounds,  and  the  average  weight  should  be  less 
than  that.  They  frequently  are  made  to  weigh  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  pounds.  Specimens  of  our  beach  sand  have  doubtless 
been  admired  wherever  Irish  moss  has  found  a  consumer.  Some- 
times the  moss  gathers  dampness  at  packing  time,  which  is  the 
more  singular,  as  the  weather  is  generally  dry. 
The  careful  mosser  still  picks  over,  and  sorts  as  he  picks,  and 
his  moss  is  now  a  white,  clean,  and  salable  article.  A  boy 
u  treads  in  "  as  the  final  picking  goes  on.  The  nails  that  jingle 
in  his  pockets  to  the  tune  he  whistles  will  hold  the  hoops  and 
heads  in  their  places.  The  barrel  then  awaits  shipment,  per 
packet,  to  Boston. 
About  the  first  of  September  the  majority  of  the  mossers  close 
up  their  work  on  the  beach,  and  fit  out  for  the  herring  fishing. 
A  few  linger  and  cure  another  pull,  if  the  weather  favors. 
As  the  number  of  men  who  make  it  their  business  to  collect 
and  cure  this  plant  is  increasing  every  year,  the  question  is  often 
asked,  "  Will  it  run  out  ?"  It  is  not  certain  that  the  rocks,  like 
some  well-tilled  soils,  are  increasing  in  depth  and  fertility,  but  it 
is  certain  that  the  moss  grows  of  a  better  quality  and  quite  as 
quickly  the  oftener  it  is  pulled. 
Its  uses. — There  is  always  a  demand  for  a  prime  article  of 
Irish  moss  for  culinary  purposes,  but  the  amount  thus  consumed 
