atinous of consistence when served
at table, having been stewed for several hours until quite tender, and
then being eaten with butter, vinegar, and pepper. At the London
Reform Club Laver is provided every day in a silver saucepan at
dinner, garnished with lemons, to flank the roast leg of mutton.
Others prefer it cooked with leeks and onions, or pickled, and eaten
with oil and lemon juice. The Englishman calls this Sea Weed,
Laver; the Irishman, Sloke; the Scotchman, Slack; and the student,
_Porphyra_. It varies in size and colour between tidemarks, being
sometimes long and ribbon-like, of a violet or purple hue;
sometimes long and broad, whilst changing to a reddish purple, or
yellow.

It is very wholesome, and preventive of scurvy, being therefore
valuable on sea voyages, as it will keep good for a long time in
closed tin vessels.

The _Ulva latissima_ is a deep-green Sea Weed, called by the
fishermen Oyster Green, because employed to cover over oysters.
This is likewise known as Laver, because sometimes substituted by
epicures for the true Laver (_Porphyra_) when the latter cannot be
got; but it is not by any means as good. The name _Ulva_ is from
_ul_, meaning "water."

Sea Spinach (_Satsolacea--Spirolobea_) is a Saltwort found growing
on the shore in Hampshire and other parts of England, the best of all
wild vegetables for the table, having succulent leaves shaped like
worms, and being esteemed as an excellent antiscorbutic.

The Sea Beet--a Chenopod--which grows plentifully on our shores,
gave origin to the cultivated Beetroot of [507] our gardens. Its name
was derived from a fancied resemblance borne by its seed vessels
when swollen with seed to the Greek letter B (_beta_).

"Nomine cum Graio cui litera proxima primoe
Pangitur in cera doeti mucrone magistri."

"The Greeks gave its name to the Beet from their alphabet's
second letter,
As an Attic teacher wrote it on wax with a sharp stiletto."

By the Grecians the Beet was offered on silver to Apollo in his
temple at Delphi. A pleasant wine may be made from its roots, and
its juice when applied with a brush is an excellent cosmetic. The
Mangel Wurzel, also a variety of Beet, means literally, "scarcity
root."

Another Sea Weed, the Bladderlocks (_Alaria esculenta_),
"henware," "honeyware," "murlins," is edible, the thick rib which
runs through the frond being the part chosen. This abounds on the
Northern coasts of England and Scot