CURIOSITIES  OF  LEECH  CULTURE. 
458 
Purchasers,  to  avoid  being  misled,  should  examine  and  satisfy 
themselves  of  the  actual  quality.  A  rough  test,  but  practically 
sufficient  for  all  purposes,  is  that  of  dissolving  and  filtering  the 
solution  to  observe  what  deposit  or  sediment  remains.  The  pure 
extract  of  liquorice  of  the  shops  sold  under  the  name  of  refined 
liquorice,  is  prepared  by  dissolving  it  in  water,  straining  and  in- 
spissating in  the  usual  manner. 
Caution  is  required  on  the  part  of  the  grocer,  that  he  does 
not  pay  <£8  per  cwt.  for  an  article  of  less  intrinsic  value,  and 
containing  less  glycyrrhizin,  or  pure  extract  of  the  root,  than 
can  be  obtained  for  100s. 
A  new  feature  in  the  trade  is  the  introduction  of  small  sticks, 
weighing  from  one  to  one  and  a  half  ounce,  sold  at  retail  at  one 
penny  and  one-half  penny  per  stick,  instead  of  those  of  larger 
weight  (two  and  three  ounces)  sold  at  a  sixpence  per  stick — 
London  Pharm.  Journ.,  July  1862,  from  The  Grocer. 
CURIOSITIES  OF  LEECH  CULTURE. 
Many  of  those  who  have  assiduously  cultivated  the  leech 
have  amassed  handsome  fortunes,  the  trade  being  very  remu- 
nerative. A  prosperous  merchant,  away  in  some  far  district  of 
Poland  or  Wallachia,  will  keep  some  two  or  three  hundred  of 
the  inhabitants  of  his  district  in  full  employment  collecting  for 
him,  paying  them  on  the  best  of  all  plans,  according  to  their 
labor—viz.,  so  much  a  dozen,  according  to  the  age  and  quality 
of  the  leeches  which  they  bring  to  the  depot.  The  animals 
must  be  all  gathered  before  the  heat  of  the  day  sets  in,  and  at 
once  carried  home  to  the  capacious  reservoirs  provided  for  their 
reception,  where  they  are  at  once  counted  and  paid  for. 
Packed  in  clay  or  in  bags,  they  are  at  certain  seasons  dispatched 
by  fleet  conveyances  to  Marseilles,  or  direct  to  Paris,  change  of 
horses  on  the  way  being  insured,  when  necessary,  by  liberal 
payments.  The  mode  of  packing  the  leeches- for  transport  is 
much  the  same  in  most  of  the  breeding  districts.  Some  are 
placed  in  boxes — first  a  layer  of  moist  white  clay,  then  a  layer 
of  the  little  animals,  and  so  on  till  the  chest  is  full.  Some  of 
the  merchants  pack  the  leeches  in  bags  as  soon  as  they  are  taken 
out  of  the  marshes.    Each  of  these  bags  contains  about  sixteen 
