AFebrSyT?895m'}         Cultivation  of  Licorice  Root.  73 
Russian  labor  at  starvation  wages,  the  first  question  naturally  is, 
would  it  pay  to  grow  it  in  the  United  States  ?  The  answer  to  this 
is :  if  it  is  intended  to  grow  it  as  root  dried  and  sold  in  competition 
with  this  wild,  imported  root,  probably  not ;  but  to  propose  and 
advance  such  an  enterprise  is  not  my  object. 
Licorice  root,  as  found  in  commerce,  is  dried  and  pressed  in  bales. 
The  root,  when  freshly  dug,  contains,  on  an  average,  50  to  60  per 
cent,  of  moisture.  This  must  first  be  dried  out,  which  is  done  by 
exposure  to  the  air,  much  as  hay  is  made,  requiring  frequent  turn- 
ings and  handling  to  prevent,  as  much  as  possible,  heating,  ferment- 
ing and  darkening  during  the  drying,  as  well  as  the  wetting  by  rain 
or  snow,  which  may  be  frequent  before  the  root  is  dry  enough  to 
press  for  shipment.  The  root,  when  nearly  dry,  and  danger  from 
further  damage  from  the  presence  of  moisture  has  passed,  is  piled 
up  in  large  stacks  until  ready  to  be  pressed.  Around  these  stacks 
are  dug  ditches  for  draining  the  ground,  and  after  a  heavy  shower, 
or  prolonged  period  of  rain  or  snow,  these  ditches  will  fill  with  a 
black  water,  containing  a  very  strong  taste  and  a  high  percentage  of 
the  extractive  matter  of  the  root;  this,  of  course,  deteriorates  its 
value  and  is  itself  waste.  When  dry  enough,  it  is  pressed  in  pow- 
erful hydraulic  presses  worked  by  steam,  so  as  to  reduce  the  bulk  to 
a  minimum,  and  so  save  freight  in  shipment.  The  bales  are  bound 
with  iron  straps,  and  sometimes  covered  with  canvas. 
The  plants,  which  supply  the  root  as  found  in  commerce,  have 
been  growing  for  a  long  time,  some  pieces  being  two  to  three  inches 
in  diameter  when  dry,  indicating  probably  a  growth  of  twenty  or 
more  years ;  but  these  very  thick  pieces  are  usually  rejected  as 
being  worthless  for  making  extract,  as  a  root  after  four  years'  growth 
begins  to  deteriorate  in  value  for  the  purpose  of  making  extract, 
because  of  becoming  too  woody  and  fibrous,  and  lessening  the  per- 
centage of  extractive  matter.  On  the  other  hand,  the  very  thin 
fibres  of  one  year  or  less  growth  are  equally  worthless,  yet  the 
the  shipper  works  in  as  much  of  both  kinds  in  the  bales  as  he  dare, 
to  say  nothing  of  adhering  soil  and  debris.  Root  of  three  years  is 
the  most  desirable,  if  it  could  be  obtained,  as  being  the  richest  in 
extractive  matter. 
It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  that  the  preparation  of  licorice 
root  for  market,  as  we  find  it,  is  a  tedious  and  expensive  process 
— first,  the  organization  of  the  business,  in  the  employment  of  clerks, 
