The Licorice is one of the most important plants that are destined to be added to American agriculture, and it merits at our hands an early adoption on account of the facility of its culture, its great usefulness for various purposes, and the large profits it yields to the cultivator. When the high priced lands of England are profitably devoted to it, how much more profitable must it prove, where land is plentiful and cheap, and where, above all (as is the case in several of the Western States), the soil is naturally permeable, free from stones, and no manuring required. It is indeed mortifying to American pride to witness the many thousands now paid to Europe for an article like this, so simple in its culture that we ought to be the largest exporters of it, thus adding another item to our Granary of the World.

The Licorice is a deep-rooting perennial plant, of the Leguminosae, the roots creeping to a considerable distance. It has herbaceous stems four to five feet high, with composite dark green leaves.

The flowers, which are blue, come out in axillary spikes during July or August. It has long been extensively cultivated in Spain and from the commencement of Queen Elizabeth's reign it has been largely grown in various parts of England.

The soil for the Licorice should be a deep sandy loam, or other light soil, and be trenched by the spade, or by a subsoil plough, or by the aid of both, two to two and a half or three feet in depth, and well manured. The light permeable soils of our Western States, which are enriched by nature, are the soils pre-eminently suited to the most profitable culture of this plant.

The propagation is by cuttings of the root, and usually the small side roots are taken for this purpose, and made into cuttings six inches in length. The planting season may be either autumn or spring, as most convenient.

The cuttings should be planted in rows 2 1/2 to 3 feet asunder, and at the distance of 18 inches in the row. During the first season the plants do not attain a height of more than a foot, and the space between the rows may be used to grow onions, lettuce, beans, or similar vegetables. Keep the ground free from weeds, and, after the subordinate crop comes off, hoe and dress it well, when for economy a horse-hoe or cultivator may be used. During the second and third seasons, a crop of vegetables covering less width than the first may be grown, each year allowing additional space to the increasing stems of the Licorice. Every autumn the haulm should be cut and removed after it becomes withered. As this plant spreads its roots rapidly in every direction, they will form a complete mass, yielding immense crops.

At the end of the third summer's growth, the roots will have increased so as to be taken up, which is usually done by commencing at one side of the field and trenching over the ground. The roots can be immediately sold to the brewers, druggists, and other consumers and venders; or they may be preserved in sand till wanted for use. If, however, they are intended for transportation, they should be dried and tied in bundles.

Licorice is used very extensively in brewing porter, and in medicinal, and various other preparations, where saccharine matter of this description is desirable.