Licorice (_Glycyrrhiza glabra_) is an Old World plant, the culture of
which has not succeeded commercially in this country, although the
plant grows well in the arid Southwest and in California, where in some
localities it threatens to become a weed. Licorice is used to some
extent in medicine, and is said to be much in demand by manufacturers
of tobacco.
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.