Licorice is a fairly hardy plant, but it thrives best in warm regions, where the season is sufficiently long to promote strong growth. Plants may be grown from seed, but propagation by means of cuttings made from the younger parts of the Rhizome, or so-called root, usually gives best results. The cuttings are set perpendicularly in deep, moist, sandy, or loamy soil, and should stand about 18 inches apart in rows so spaced as to allow for the cultivation necessary to keep the soil mellow and free from weeds.
The yield under good culture is said to average about 5,000 pounds of dry root per acre at the end of every third year. The relatively low price at which, the imported root can usually be obtained has so far prevented the development of commercial licorice growing in this country. Nearly 100,000,000 pounds of licorice root and an average of about 600,000 pounds of licorice paste are annually imported into the United States when trade conditions are normal.
Prewar prices for the imported root usually ranged from 4 to 5½ cents a pound in bales. The price in June, 1920, was 13 to 14 cents.
[LOBELIA.]
Lobelia (Lobelia inflata) is a native poisonous annual plant, occurring generally in open woods and pastures, but is most abundant in the States east of the Mississippi River. The leaves, tops, and seeds are used medicinally.
This plant thrives under cultivation in a rather rich, moist loam, and grows well either in the open or in partial shade. It grows readily from seeds, which are very small and must be sown on soil which has been well fined and exceptionally well prepared. The seeds are sown either in the fall or spring in rows 2 feet apart. It is best not to cover the seeds but to sow them on the surface of the soil, which is then firmed with a float or by resting a board over the row and walking upon it. Fall planting usually gives a better stand and a heavier crop. Shallow cultivation should be given until the plants begin to flower.
Lobelia is harvested when in full flower or as soon as some of the older seed pods are full grown. The plants may be cut with a mower if the cutter bar is set high enough to avoid including the large stems. The herb should be dried in the shade, in order to preserve the green color.
Small areas have given yields at the rate of 1,000 pounds of dry herb per acre. The prewar price paid to collectors for the dried herb was about 3 cents a pound. The prices in June, 1920, were, for the herb, 20 cents; for the seed, 75 cents a pound.