November t, 1881.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 
469 
PRUNING CONIFERS. 
(Field, 10th September 1881.) 
There is a prevalent notion that conifers do not like 
pinning ; and in many cases trees that would make 
good specimens get ruined from want of a little timely 
attention in this way during their earliest stages of 
growth. In forests, where trees are planted thickly, there 
and 
its 1 
hand 
bush 
lead( 
the process is slow, for conifers will 
from old hard wood like a deciduous 
ing all the lower branches stopped 
Leading side branch will straighten u 
good leader. In fact, we have many 
other varieties oi conifer that have b 
violent gales of wind, snapping the 
short off; yet by carefully stopping 
they have quickly formed a new leader 
of the two is hardly visible. When c 
for either ornament or profit, I wouh 
the careful use of the knife and saw 
able part of then- treatment; for a 
well-proportioned tree means a profitabl 
our older kinds of forest trees fonn s 
of timber in a given number of years 
newer kinds of conifers. 
J. G. 
A CHEAP FERTILISER. 
(Meld, 27th August 1881.) 
Sin, — Shortly before his decease, I received the follow- 
ing letter from Mr. J. J. Mcchi of Tiptree Hall : 
Dear Sir, — Very many thanks for your interesting 
and valuable pamphlet of American agricultural statistics. 
"What a fortunate thing for three-fourths of our popu- 
lation that they will not want bread, which they cert- 
ainly would do if dependent solely on home supplies. 
I have no fear of foreign competition, either in corn 
or meat, provided I am enabled, by capital and skill, 
to produce maximum crops in ordinary seasons. In 
Bucli an exceptional one as Hie last, neither skill nor 
capital were of avail. I hope America may escape such 
ft disaster. My crops promise well. Come down in 
July and see them, and take a crust and cheese, pcr- 
haps both " American." — Truly yours, J. J. Mechi. 
P. S. — The non-improvers will suffer by foreign com- 
petition, and will be forced " out of the market." Accord- 
ing to my estimate, at leant £100,000,000 is required 
in agricultural improvements by land-owners and tenants— 
I mean in agricultural improvements and investment of 
capital. 
What proportion of the £ 100,000.000 Mr. Mcchi con- 
ceited accessary to be oxpendi 1 in fertilisers, in order 
to put the liritish farmer in a position to compete 
with his American rival, cannot now be a-certaincd. 
Bt must, however, have been considerable; and tho 
question may fairly bo asked, From what sources are 
these fertilisers to como ? 
The estate from which its owners " calculate" upon 
extracting so much wealth 1ms evidently beeu tho bed 
of an extinct lake. Tho area is some 6,000 acres, or 
UUlo square milts. Kxeopt in one direct ion, where there 
is a small opening, it is surrounded with liills. The 
Opening, it is plain to l„- n, lms |„.,.„ caused by the 
lake breaking through its boiuubt, and rushing away to 
join tlie sister lake, Seneca. This lixi^t have occurred 
at a remote epoch, us the upper crust or covering oi 
118 
the bed of marl is fully 4ft. thick, and is composed < f 
rich vegetable mould, representing the growth and decay 
of ages. 
Underlying this is the marl or albemarle, as it is 
termed, though it is not white, but a rich grey. The 
deposit varies from 60ft. to 6ft. in thickness, and each 
100 acres lias been estimated to contain 2,000,000 tons 
of fertiliser, giving for the 6,000 acres some 100,000,000 
tons, which, it is claimed, sells here in the States for 
£2 a ton. On taking a piece in hand it is found to 
consist of myriads of minute shells, of various form= 
and sizes, which crumble into powder under the slightest 
pressure. The analyses of chemists show it to be com- 
posed of decayed vegetable and animal matter. About 
seventeen miles distance is Syracuse, the centre of the 
great salt industry in the States, and it is averred that 
salt has been found underlying the fertiliser. The water 
of tho lake was originally salt or brackish — a condition 
favourable to the rapid growth of these lacustrine shells. 
A_ word on guano, which I see is causing some dis- 
cussion in England. I have recently returned from an 
extended tour in Peru and Chilli, where I had occasion 
to investigate this subject thoroughly. The supply of 
some 800,000 tons a year may last five or six years 
longer. The quality will grow inferior year by year, as 
it has done since tho Chinchas were exhausted. In 
America the farmers and planters are ceasing to use 
it. The first say it is the source of the foot-and-mouth 
disease ; the second that it has destroyed the tine old- 
The value of the marl as a fertiliser depends, of 
>urse, upon the amount of phosphate of lime that it 
mtains, and some of the analyses estimate this at a 
iry high figure, by reason of its fossiliferbus ingredients. 
New York, July 20. J. H. 
LIQUORICE ROOT.* 
There are several districts in Spain, writes United 
States Consul Morston, from Malaga, to the Depart- 
ment of State, in which liquorice root is obtained, and 
large exports are made from Spanish seaports to the 
United States. France also consumes large quantities 
of this root in the manufacture of liquorice paste, and 
probably takes nearly as much of the United States. 
This root is used in the United States principally for 
sweetening in the manufacture of plug and other kinds 
of tobacco ; it is also used in the manufacture of drugs 
and in the preparation of medicines. It grows wild in 
the lower lands, in marshy-ground, and on the banks 
of rivers. Probably the best quality obtained in Spain 
is found in the provinces of Aragon, Murcia, and Toledo. 
The very best Spanish liquorice root is found near the 
margin of the Ebro, iu Aragon. The next in point of 
quality is obtained near Cordova. When it once takes 
root it is almost impossible to eradicate it. It grows 
in many countries, and varies in quality according to 
soil. Spanish liquorice differs quite materially in tho 
several provinces, the principal variations being that in 
some parts the bark is red, brown, or light colour, the 
inside varying from li^ht yellow to brown ; tho propor- 
tions of saccharine and starch vary also. Many kinds 
are fibrous, while others are almost as hard as wood. 
The ground is pulled at intervals of three, four or tivo 
years, according to circumstances, by digging trenches, 
pulling everything visible us long as possible until it 
breaks. After a year or' two it shows above the ground 
with a little stem ; in tho spring over this stem there 
are flowers. From the time this stem appears until the 
flowers have all fallen this root is not iu condition to 
extract, for the sup does not return to the root until 
then. Each year, till the ground is culled, the quantity 
of roots and tops increase* until the ground is unlit 
for cultivation of any kind. 
• From tin- Oil and Dvuij .Wipv, September 6,1881. 
