Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 January 1893 — Where Licorice Grows. [ARTICLE]

Where Licorice Grows.

On the banks of the Tigris and the Euphrates, in Arabia, the licorice plant is chiefly grown. These great rivers flow through flat, treeless prairies of uncultivated land. For three months of the year hot winds blow, and the temperature reaches 104 degrees. For six months of the year the climate * is moderate and salubrious, and for three months bleak and wintry, the thermometer going down to thirty degrees at night. The licorice plant is a small shrub, with light foliage, growing to about three feet high, where its roots can reach the water. It grows without any cultivation. No lands are leased for the purpose, and no objection is made to its being cultivated. It grows on red-earth soil, and also on light, almost sandy soil, where the wood is best, provided it has plenty of water, and the ground is not fifty yards from the actual river or stream. The wood, after once being dug up, grows better afterwards. The time of collecting is generally during the winter, but it is possible all the year round. The • root when dug is. full of water, and must be allowed to dry, a process which takes the best part of a year. It is then sawed or cut into small pieces from, six inches to a foot long. The good and sound pieces are kept and the rotten ones are used for firewood. It is then taken in native river boats to Bussorah, whence it is shipped in pressed bales to- London, and again from there to America, where it is used largely in the manufacture of tobacc o. The black lieorice sticks sold in drug stores come mostly from Spain and are made of pure juice, mixed with a little starch, which prevents it from melting in hot weather. The word “licorice” is of. Greek origin, and means ‘‘sweet root.”—[Boston Transcript.