Licorice Growing in California.

I have for some time been seeking far some information as to the method of preparation for market and sale of licorice roots.  I have a lot of them and have never been able to find a market, and do not know how they are prepared for market.

Licorice was first planted in California about 1880 by the late Isaac Lea, of Florin, Sacramento county.  Mr. Lea grew a considerable amount of licorice roots and gave much effort to finding a market for it.  He found that the local consumption of licorice root was too small to warrant growing it as a crop; that the high price of labor in digging the roots, and the high cost of transportation of the roots to Eastern markets would make it impossible for him to undertake competition in the Eastern markets with the Sicilian producers, unless, perhaps, he could build an extracting factory and market licorice extract, the black solid which is sold by the druggist, and which the Sicilians produce in large quantities.  The preparation of licorice root is simply digging and drying, but the preparation of the extract requires steam extractors and condensers.  California could produce licorice, for we have a good climate for it.  If it is grown on light, sandy loams, it could be pulled from the ground by the yard at rather small expense, and yet, one should not undertake the production unless he wished to put in much time and money in working up economical production and marketing in competition with the foreign product, produced by cheap labor and with the advantage of processes well known and established by long usage.  Experiments should be circumspectly undertaken, for licorice is one of the worst weeds in the world, and extremely difficult of eradication probably.

Growing Lentils.

Give information regarding the planting and raising of lentils.  Can they be grown in the Sacramento valley in the vicinity of Colusa, and at a profit?

Lentils are as easily grown in California as common peas, and will do well as a field crop if started during the rainy season, as they are hardy enough to survive our ordinary valley frosts.  With respect to lentils, it may be said that excellent as these legumes are for many purposes, they do not seem to be well known to American consumers, and therefore the amount to be grown is limited, until you know who will buy larger quantities of them at a good price.

Canada Peas for Seed.

I want to raise Canada peas for the seed.  In what month of the year is the best time to plant them; also how many pounds to the acre to be sowed broadcast on rolling land in Napa?

Broadcast from 80 to 100 pounds of seed per acre as soon as you can get the ground into good condition.  What you get will depend much upon how late spring rains hold this year.  We should only try a small area this year to see what happens, for you probably should have started earlier in the season.  On uplands it will always be a question whether your soil will hold moisture enough to mature a good seed crop.