12 THE LICORICE PLANT. 



The quality of root produced in the different countries is as follows, 

 viz : Asiatic Turkey, decidedly bitter ; Greece, bitter, but not so bitter 

 as Asiatic Turkey ; Sicily, sweet, but less so than Spanish ; Spain, rich 

 and sweet ; Italy, richest and sweetest of all. 



EXPORTS OF SPANISH LICORICE. 



Malaga has not up to the present time been considered an impor- 

 tant shipping point for root ; Seville, Alicante, Barcelona, and Bilbao 

 are nearer the producing districts, yet during the past three years a 

 marked increase in shipments from Malaga has taken place, as per sta- 

 tistics inclosed, while the shipments of licorice paste have materially 

 decreased. The value of this root does not in Spain admit of its being 

 increased in crop by cultivation, and the quantity gathered depends 

 greatly upon the severity or mildness of the winter. If severe it lessens 

 the quantity gathered. 



Again, if other crops are good, labor being scarce, less root is gathered j 

 consequently prices are higher. 



MANUFACTURE OF LICORICE PASTE IN SPAIN. 



There are one or two large French establishments in Spain for making 

 paste and stick licorice, one in Seville and the other in Saragossa, be- 

 sides a few small Spanish concerns also engaged in the manufacture of 

 licorice paste. 



H. C. MAESTOX, 



Consul. 

 UNITED STATES CONSULATE, 



Malaga, March 9, 1885. 



LICORICE IN WESTERN ANDALUSIA. 



REPORT BY CONSUL OPPENHEIM. OF CADIZ. 



In deference to directions given in Department dispatch dated Feb- 

 ruary 10, 1885, I have the honor to forward herewith such data as I 

 have been able to gather upon the subject of licorice production in this 

 district. 



I regret to have to say that the information is somewhat meager and 

 not likely to be of much value in the way of practical guidance to any 

 one wishing to introduce the licorice culture ; yet it seems to be all that 

 was obtainable in Seville, the point whence most of the root produced 

 in this district is exported. 



Here in Cadiz I could find no one at all conversant with licorice 

 culture or production, neither could I obtain any hint as to the existence 

 of the needed data in agricultural reports or text-books. 



From a practical botanist, at present temporarily absent from this 

 city, I expect to obtain data as to the plant's position in the Linnean 

 system of classification, its morphology, mode of development, &c., and 

 as soon as the information reaches me it shall be forwarded to the De- 

 partment to serve as a complement to what is herewith inclosed. 



The plant grows wild in this district and it is believed that it is not 

 cultivated in any part of Spain. 



A clayey alluvium produces the best quality of root, but alluvial soils 



