June 2 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
bertiana, parviilora, rudis, Hartwegi, Russclliana, macro- 
phylla, Montezumse, occidentalis, Sinensis, Sabiniana, Ge- 
rardiana, Coulteri, muricata, radiata, tuberculata, insignis, 
Benthamiana, ponderosa, Bungeaua, contorta, Massoniana, 
Cembroides, Fremontiana, osteosperma—all quite fresh and 
uninjured. Finns oocarpa, apulcensis, tenuifolia, leiophylla, 
lilifolia, patula, australis—either completely killed, or so 
much injured that there is little hopes of their doing any 
good. Cunninghamia sinensis, in the open borders, killed; 
plants against an east wall quite fresh. Sequoia semper- 
virens, gigantea—both considerably injured in last year’s 
growth, the foliage much browned and scorched ; but the 
plants are all giving indication of growth, and likely in a 
, few weeks to be quite green. 
3rd.— Podocarpe/E : Podocarpus pungens, killed ; and 
several other large-leaved species of this tribe. Podocarpus 
' Ivordiana, quite hardy in the open border. Dacrydium 
cupressinum, and Franklini—both growing against a south 
wall. 
4th.— Taxineje : PAyWoc/arfus tricliomanoides—quite fresh 
| against a south wall. Cephalotaxus drupacea, tardiva, For- 
r tuni, Torreya nucifera—have all stood well, and are likely 
to prove fine hardy trees. Ephedra vulgaris, altissima, 
macrostachya—are all fresh. 
In the general collection of trees and shrubs, all the new 
Rhododendrons sent from Sikkim by Dr. Hooker Avere left 
unprotected, and they appear none the worse, It. Dalhousiie 
and It. argenteum excepted. Bcrheris Darwini, B. Fortuni, 
and B. nepalensis have stood Avell, though the plants are 
I rather small; the‘two neAV varieties of Tree Box, brought 
from China by Mr. Fortune, seem quite as hardy as the 
other sorts; Cerasus allicifolia is considerably hurt in the 
open border, but a plant on an east Avail is not. Ceanothus 
papillosus and C. dentatus are slightly damaged in the open 
ground and on a Avail, but C. rigidus is not the least injured; 
this seems the best of the three. All the species and 
varieties of Arbutus have suffered slightly, except A. tomen- 
tosa; this seems quite hardy, and highly deserving of more 
extensive cultivation. All the species of Escallonia arc 
killed in the tops, both on the borders and Avails; the neAv 
j E. macrantha does not seem any hardier than the older 
sorts; Fabiana imbricata is fresh in the open ground, and 
beginning to shoAV flowers ; Garrya elliptica and G. macro- 
phylla are not injured this year, though last year they Avere 
both injured hy less cold, but it Avas in April. Fagus betu- 
loides andF. Cunninghamii are both very fresh and green on 
a south Avail; the beautiful Hedera Roegneriana is also quite 
green. Quercus glabra, Q.. glaberrima, Q. annulata, Q virens 
are all killed ; but the neAv Q. agrifolia is healthy and fresh, 
so is Q. Mirbelii, Avhich promises to be a fine sub-evergreen 
tree ; and Q. Mexicana is fresh on an east Avail. Eleagnus 
| reflexa on a Avest wall also looks fresh, and promises to be 
j quite hardy. Considering the intensity of the frost, and the 
dry bright sunshine Avhich accompanied it during many 
| days, the injury to plants, though considerable, is not great; 
| a much less extent of frost in the end of April or the begin- 
| ning of May will do far more damage, as the plants have 
| begun to grow, and the young shoots are succulent.— From 
a Paper read before the Edinburgh Botanical Society. 
Liquorice Culture. — A lew weeks ago Ave made 
some remarks, in answer to a correspondent, on the 
cultivation of Liquorice. Since then we have met vvith 
an interesting account of the method of cultivating it, 
and the profit arising therefrom, which was commu¬ 
nicated to the celebrated Stephen Switzer, by a planter 
at Pontefract, in the year 1730. As this will, no doubt, 
interest many of our readers, Ave publish it in full. 
“Pomfret, July 24, 1730. 
“ Mr. Switzer, —I received yours of the 12tli instant; 
and as soon as ever I could draAv it up, have sent you the 
best account I can of the methods used by our liquorice 
planters in the raising, curing, and vending their Avare, as 
also an account of the charges Avhich are naturally con¬ 
tingent thereto, as well as of the profits which they make 
159 
by it. I send it you only in a rough manner, so pray give 
it what model you think most suitable to your purpose. 
“ Planters of liquorice divide the roots into two several 
denominations. Those they call the stocks are the tops or 
crown buds; from thence the liquorice root is cut off. The 
runnefs are small running roots, Avith eyes about two inches j 
distant from each other, and run about tAVO inches beloAV ! 
the surface, three or four feet long. These runners ( before j 
planting) are cut into lengths, of about five inches long, 
three eyes to each plant, though tAvo eyes, if they are strong 
and good, Avill do, j 
“ If the ground has not been liquorice before, it must be 
trenched over two feet-and-a-half or three deep ; the roots 
in soft sandy earth will run six feet deep. The ground 
must be manured or covered over Avith rotten horse-dung, 
which must lie a month or more to consume before it is ! 
dug in. A little lime is requisite if the ground be strong; 
but that is done after the dung is dug in ; and the lime 
must be turned in about ten days before planting, or else 
it will ferment, and heave and thrust the roots out of the 
ground again. 
“Before planting, you are to line out your ground by a 
rod, of three feet long, for each bed’s breadth; and Avithin 
that space tread a narroAv alley the Avidth of a man’s double 
feet, or both his shoes going one by another, moving straight 
forwards by the line which makes this direction, and Avhich 
is about a spade’s breadth, Avith which, also, you are to throAV 
up the earth out of those alleys upon the top of the beds, 
the alleys to he about eight inches deep. Then draw up 
the sides of the bed with a strong rake, and (as gardeners 
term it) cog the beds with it, so as to make them round at 
top, which done, lay the beds in three toavs, one row on the 
middle of the ridge or bed, and the other tAvo on each side, 
a foot from the middle, and the buds in the rows at six 
inches apart, first a stock or crown bud, and then three 
runners betwixt. Then, with a large dibber, made of the 
upper part of an old spade, eight inches in length, as is | 
used to plant out garden beans, you are to plant out your 
buds and runners; and, beginning atone end of the ridge 
or bed, take your bud in your left hand, and the dibber in 
your right, make the depth of the hole the full length of 
your dibber ; then force the bud with your left hand to the 
bottom of the hole, and you are to close it by thrusting of 
the dibber down again sideways pretty near the same hole, 
as is done for cabbage plants, Ac. ; and so working towards 
the left hand, it Avill go on apace. Those aa'Iio practice such 
Avorks much, Avill do it expeditiously. 
“The sides of the beds must be drawn up just after the 
buds are planted, so as the holes Avhich the dibber left may 
be filled upr in order to cover the roots and keep out 
the Avet. 
“ The first year after liquorice is planted, you may sow a 
few onions and carrots upon the beds, not to stand, but to 
draw whilst young, and those but very thin; and as far as 
you can reach with your hand you may soav a few radishes ; 
and lettuces. In the autumn, you may also sow spinage, 
Avhich grows very fine for the spring folloiving, and which 
may be cut before the liquorice groivs much, especially on 
the ridge. The profits Avhich arise from hence may, in this 
one year, be Avell computed at .£12 10s. au acre, which we 
shall make appear by-and-by, when we come to state the 
debtor and creditor of this commodity. 
“ Liquorice at Pomfret, and other places, is never in per¬ 
fection till it has stood three years ; and many there be that 
let it stand four, if it look healthy and lively. For propaga- j 
tion, the runners for sets are sold by the stone, at the same 
price as liquorice itself is at the time; but the stock or i 
crown buds carry nearly double the price. The lops are j 
annual, growing the first year about a foot high; the second 
year tAvo feet; the third year four feet; and those lops are 
always cut off in frosty Aveather, which keeps the roots from 
tearing. The green is best to be cut off Avith garden shears | 
the firet year, because of its not being so strongly rooted as 
afterwards it will, when it may be mowed with a scythe. 
The floAvers come out in August and September; but it 
very seldom or never floAvers till the plants are three or four 
years old. They are blue, and hang out in small tresses, 
like the senna's, but above three inches long. The stocks 
are like those of raspberries, only smooth, and the leaves 
like seedling ashes. 
