Speaker 1: Section twenty one of Birds and All Nature, Volume seven,
Speaker 1: two February nineteen hundred. This is a LibriVox recording on LibriVox.
Speaker 1: Recordings are in the public domain. For more information not
Speaker 1: a volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Tavarish
Speaker 1: licorice Griziza labra, doctor Albert Schneider, Northwestern University, School of Pharmacy.
Speaker 1: But first he cheweth grain and liquorice to smell and sweet.
Speaker 1: Miller's tale line five O four Chaucer. The liquorice yielding
Speaker 1: plant is a perennial herb with a thick root stock,
Speaker 1: having a number of long, sparingly branched roots and very
Speaker 1: long runners of rhizomes. It belongs to the same family
Speaker 1: as the peas and beans leguminos. It has purplish flowers
Speaker 1: with the irregular corolla characteristic of the family. The pods
Speaker 1: are rather small, much compressed, each with from two to
Speaker 1: five seeds. The plant is, in all probability a native
Speaker 1: of the warm parts of the Mediterranean region. There are
Speaker 1: several varieties of Gliresa glabra, all of which are more
Speaker 1: or less extensively cultivated and placed upon the market. As
Speaker 1: to the exact habitat of licorice, there is some difference
Speaker 1: of opinion. According to some authorities, its native home is
Speaker 1: in the vicinity of the Sea of Azov. Diascaridis was
Speaker 1: among the first to give a description of the plant,
Speaker 1: and designated the Pontic lands and Cappadonia of Asia Minor
Speaker 1: as its home. The Romans named the plant glyrisa Celsius, Scribonius, Largus,
Speaker 1: and Plinius described it as Radix dulcis sweet root on
Speaker 1: account of its sweet taste. Galenus, the eminent Roman physician,
Speaker 1: made extensive medicinal use of the roots, as well as
Speaker 1: of the Jews. Alexander Tralianus also recommended licorice very highly.
Speaker 1: Although this plant enjoyed extensive use during the Middle Ages,
Speaker 1: it was apparently not included in the herbal list of
Speaker 1: Charlemagne Carl der Grosse. In the thirteenth century, licorice was
Speaker 1: highly prized in Switzerland as a remedy for land troubles.
Speaker 1: It was similarly used in Wales and in Denmark. Pieto
Speaker 1: di Crescenzi of Bologna thirteen o five was the first
Speaker 1: to give a full report of the occurrence and cultivation
Speaker 1: of licorice. The Benedictine monks of Saint Mikhaelis cultivated it
Speaker 1: extensively in the vicinity of Bamberg. The eminent authority Flukiga
Speaker 1: reports a peculiar practice by these monks. A new hand
Speaker 1: in the horticultural work was initiated by requiring him to
Speaker 1: dig up a complete root of a liquorice plant with
Speaker 1: all its branches, including the rhizome. This was by no
Speaker 1: means an easy task on account of the ramification of
Speaker 1: the roots and the extreme length of the rhizome. Glitzi
Speaker 1: risa is extensively cultivated in Greece, Italy, France, Russia, Germany,
Speaker 1: the Danubian provinces, Southern China, Northern Africa, and to some
Speaker 1: extent in England. In the Italian province of Calabria, licorice
Speaker 1: is planted with peas and corn. In the course of
Speaker 1: three years, the routes are collected, the jews expressed and
Speaker 1: route evaporated to the proper consis instancy for shipping. New
Speaker 1: crops are grown from cuttings of the rhizomes. There is
Speaker 1: an excellent quality of liquorice grown in the vicinity of Smyrna.
Speaker 1: The principal commercial varieties are grown in Spain, Southern Russia, Turkey,
Speaker 1: and Italy. Spanish and Russian licorice root is dried and
Speaker 1: shipped in bales or bundles. Spanish liquorice root is unpeeled
Speaker 1: and occurs in pieces several feet in length. Russian liquorice
Speaker 1: is usually peeled. Most of the liquorice used in the
Speaker 1: United States is obtained from Italy, Russia, and Germany. Some
Speaker 1: of the liquores found upon the market is quite fragmentary
Speaker 1: and very dirty. The liquorice raised in England is intended
Speaker 1: for home consumption and is placed upon the market In
Speaker 1: both the fresh and dried state. The fresh roots have
Speaker 1: an earthy and somewhat nauseous odor. The peel or bar
Speaker 1: of the roots contains tannic acid and a resinous oil,
Speaker 1: both of which are undesirable. Hence the peeled article is
Speaker 1: usually preferred. The characteristically sweet taste of the licorice roots
Speaker 1: and rhizomes is due to glycirizin and some sugar. Glycerizin
Speaker 1: is a glucoside which splits up into glucose, a substance
Speaker 1: closely akin to sugar and glyciretin, a bitter substance. The
Speaker 1: extract of licorice is prepared by crushing the fresh roots
Speaker 1: or rhizomes, then boiling repeatedly in water, expressing and then
Speaker 1: condensing the sap in copper kettles until it is quite
Speaker 1: hard when cooled. In Calabria, the condensed juice, while still
Speaker 1: warm and pliable, is rolled into sticks and stamped with
Speaker 1: the name of the locality where it was prepared. In
Speaker 1: those countries where the fresh roots cannot be obtained, the
Speaker 1: dried roots are crushed and then treated as above. The
Speaker 1: liquorice sticks prepared in this country usually have stamped upon
Speaker 1: them the initials on the manufacturing firm. Much of the
Speaker 1: evaporated juice is also placed upon the market in large
Speaker 1: lumps or masses. The pure licorice extract prepared as indicated
Speaker 1: above is a glossy black, very brittle with a glossy fracture.
Speaker 1: For shipment, it must be carefully packed to prevent its
Speaker 1: being broken into small bits. To reduce the brittleness, various
Speaker 1: substances are added as starch and gum. Arabic liquorice extract
Speaker 1: is a highly appreciated sweetmeat, but unfortunately it is often
Speaker 1: grossly adulterated with dextrin, starch, sugar, and gum arabic. Many
Speaker 1: of the liquorice drops, et cetera contain very little liquorice,
Speaker 1: but even the poorest article seems to be highly prized
Speaker 1: by the average child. Licorice extract in mass is known
Speaker 1: as licorice paste and is extensively employed in preparing chewing
Speaker 1: tobacco and in brewing beer, to which substances it imparts
Speaker 1: a peculiar flavor and a dark color. Licorice extract is
Speaker 1: a popular remedy for colds and sore throat, though its
Speaker 1: curative powers are certainly very slight. Physicians make extensive use
Speaker 1: of it to disguise the disagreeable taste of medicines such
Speaker 1: as quinine. It is an ingredient of many calf remedies.
Speaker 1: The finely powdered roots are dusted over pills to prevent
Speaker 1: their adhesion and to give them consistency. Licorice roots have
Speaker 1: the same properties as they extract, and may be similarly
Speaker 1: used when children prefer the dried roots obtained at the
Speaker 1: drug's store to the stick licorice or the licorice drops.
Speaker 1: This choice is in many respects a good one. The
Speaker 1: roots are at least not adulterated. But of course only
Speaker 1: the juice should be swallowed, a precaution which is not
Speaker 1: necessary to emphasize, as the fibrous nature of the wood
Speaker 1: makes it difficult to swallow. Even if a little of
Speaker 1: it is swallowed, no particular harm would be done as
Speaker 1: it is not in the least poisonous, though the fibers
Speaker 1: may act as an irritant to the stomach. As already indicated,
Speaker 1: there are several species of Glycerisa of which the roots
Speaker 1: and rhizomes are used, like those of Glycerisa glabra. But
Speaker 1: in addition to these, there are a number of other
Speaker 1: plants designated as licorice. Indian liquorice or the wild licorice
Speaker 1: of India. Abrus precatorius is a woody, twining plant growing
Speaker 1: quite abundantly in India. It is sometimes substituted for true licorice.
Speaker 1: Frickly licorice. Glycerisa echinata resembles true licorice quite closely. The
Speaker 1: wild licorice of America. Glycerisa lepidotta, is found in the northwest.
Speaker 1: Its roots are quite sweet and often used as a
Speaker 1: substitute for true licorice. The European plant known as rest
Speaker 1: harrow Oronis spinosa, so called because its tangled roots impede
Speaker 1: the progress of the harrow, has roots with an odor
Speaker 1: and taste resembling licorice. The roots are extensively employed by
Speaker 1: the country practitioners of France and Germany in the treatment
Speaker 1: of jaundice, dropsy, gout, rheumatism, toothache, ulcers, and eruptive diseases
Speaker 1: of the sculp. The name wild licorice also applies to
Speaker 1: Gallium circusans and Gallium lanceolatum on account of the Swedish roots.
Speaker 1: The wild licorice of Australia is Teocrium corimbosum. Licorice vetch
Speaker 1: Astragalus glysiphilus has sweet roots. Licoriceweed Scoparia dulchis is a
Speaker 1: common tropical plant which also has sweet tasting roots. End
Speaker 1: of Section twenty one.