110 On the Cultivation of Herbs and Salads. 



Jerusalem-level, and before the Thames was banked in, there 

 can be no doubt that at high water the river flowed over this 

 ground for some eight miles, covering many hundreds of 

 acres, each tide depositing mud. This deposit is 4 and 5 

 feet deep, rather sandy, but quite free from stones ; and this 

 is the kind of soil to grow Jiquorice in. All ground for this 

 crop must be clear of stones, which would cause the roots to 

 be forked and crooked, and thereby diminish their value. 

 The subsoil ought to be sand or gravel, in order that no stag- 

 nant water might lodge about the roots during winter. To 

 prepare liquorice ground well, it should be dunged to the 

 amount of from 40 to 50 tons an acre — depending, of course, 

 upon the previous richness of the soil— and spade trenched to 

 the depth of 4 or 5 feet, and laid up in ridges till the spring. 

 In March the ridges can be levelled down, and prepared for 

 planting. 



The largest growers of liquorice now round London are at 

 Mitcham, and if any one is desirous of cultivating this plant, 

 he could not do better than apply there for stock. The un- 

 derground stems or rhizomes are what should be planted. 

 These grow horizontally about an inch below the surface, 

 and never descend nor come up. They sometimes push 3 

 and 4 feet in a year. They are furnished with eyes every 2 

 inches, which grow well the first year after planting. Every 

 November these underground stems must be forked up, cut 

 close off by the neck of the roots, and, if fresh plantations are 

 wanted, they are cut into lengths of two eyes each, and 

 wintered in heaps out of doors, covered over with straw and 

 mould, like potatoes ; but, if not required for planting, they 

 are sold at once for some of the inferior purposes of sweeten- 

 ing, as, for instance, for beer. These underground stems are 

 pithy, and not half so sweet as the roots. They are general- 

 ly the size of a quill, and if they are not removed every eye 

 grows along their whole length, and fills the ground with 

 worthless liquorice, completely choking the main crop. 



A liquorice plantation looks something like so many sapling 

 ash trees, about from 3 to 4 feet high, but sometimes they 

 reach 5 feet, throwing out leaves every 4 or 5 inches. The 



