Part 5

Glycyrrhiza is extensively cultivated in Greece, Italy, France, Russia, Germany, the Danubian Provinces, southern China, northern Africa, and to some extent in England. In the Italian province of Calabria licorice is planted with peas and corn. In the course of three years the roots are collected, the juice expressed and root evaporated to the proper consistency for shipping. New crops are grown from cuttings of the rhizomes. There is an excellent quality of licorice grown in the vicinity of Smyrna. The principal commercial varieties are grown in Spain, southern Russia, Turkey and Italy. Spanish and Russian licorice root is dried and shipped in bales or bundles. Spanish licorice root is unpeeled and occurs in pieces several feet in length. Russian licorice is usually peeled. Most of the licorice used in the United States is obtained from Italy, Russia, and Germany. Some of the licorice found upon the market is quite fragmentary and very dirty. The licorice raised in England is intended for home consumption and is placed upon the market in both the fresh and dried state. The fresh roots have an earthy and somewhat nauseous odor. The peel, or bark, of the roots contains tannic acid and a resinous oil, both of which are undesirable; hence the peeled article is usually preferred.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE.--_A_, flowering portion of plant; 1, flower; 2, 3, 4, parts of the flower; 5, stamens; 6, stigma; 7, ovary; 8, fruit; 9, one valve of pod with seeds; 10, 11, 12, different views of seed.

The characteristically sweet taste of the licorice roots and rhizomes is due to glycyrrhizin and some sugar. Glycyrrhizin is a glucoside which splits up into glucose, a substance closely akin to sugar, and glycyrretin, a bitter substance. The extract of licorice is prepared by crushing the fresh roots or rhizomes, then boiling repeatedly in water, expressing and then condensing the sap in copper kettles until it is quite hard when cooled. In Calabria the condensed juice, while still warm and pliable, is rolled into sticks and stamped with the name of the locality where it was prepared. In those countries where the fresh roots cannot be obtained the dried roots are crushed and then treated as above. The licorice sticks prepared in this country usually have stamped upon them the initials of the manufacturing firm. Much of the evaporated juice is also placed upon the market in large lumps or masses. The pure licorice extract, prepared as indicated above, is a glossy black, very brittle, with a glassy fracture. For shipment it must be carefully packed to prevent its being broken into small bits. To reduce the brittleness various substances are added as starch and gum arabic.

Licorice extract is a highly appreciated sweetmeat but unfortunately it is often grossly adulterated with dextrin, starch, sugar, and gum arabic. Many of the licorice drops, etc., contain very little licorice, but even the poorest article seems to be highly prized by the average child. Licorice extract in mass is known as licorice paste and is extensively employed in preparing chewing tobacco and in brewing beer, to which substances it imparts a peculiar flavor and a dark color.

Licorice extract is a popular remedy for colds and sore throat, though its curative powers are certainly very slight. Physicians make extensive use of it to disguise the disagreeable taste of medicines, such as quinine. It is an ingredient of many cough remedies. The finely powdered roots are dusted over pills to prevent their adhesion and to give them consistency.

Licorice roots have the same properties as the extract and may be similarly used. Many children prefer the dried roots obtained at the drug store to the stick licorice or the licorice drops. This choice is in many respects a good one; the roots are at least not adulterated, but of course only the juice should be swallowed--a precaution which it is not necessary to emphasize--as the fibrous nature of the wood makes it difficult to swallow. Even if a little of it is swallowed no particular harm would be done, as it is not in the least poisonous, though the fibers may act as an irritant to the stomach.

As already indicated there are several species of _Glycyrrhiza_ of which the roots and rhizomes are used like those of _G. glabra_, but, in addition to these there are a number of other plants designated as licorice. Indian licorice or the wild licorice of India (_Abrus precatorius_), is a woody twining plant growing quite abundantly in India; it is sometimes substituted for true licorice. Prickly licorice (_Glycyrrhiza echinata_) resembles true licorice quite closely. The wild licorice of America (_Glycyrrhiza lepidota_) is found in the Northwest. Its roots are quite sweet and often used as a substitute for true licorice. The European plant known as "rest harrow" (_Ononis spinosa_), so-called because its tangled roots impede the progress of the harrow, has roots with an odor and taste resembling licorice. The roots are extensively employed by the country practitioners of France and Germany in the treatment of jaundice, dropsy, gout, rheumatism, toothache, ulcers, and eruptive diseases of the scalp. The name, wild licorice, also applies to _Galium circaezans_ and _Galium lanceolatum_ on account of the sweetish roots. The wild licorice of Australia is _Teucrium corymbosum_. Licorice vetch (_Astragalus glycyphyllus_) has sweet roots. Licorice weed (_Scoparia dulcis_) is a common tropical plant which also has sweet-tasting roots.

A WINTER WALK IN THE WOODS.

ANNE W. JACKSON.

Last week I had the good fortune to be invited with two other girls to spend a few days in the country. We hailed the invitation with delight and accepted it with alacrity, for we all three love to get out into the woods and fields.

We started on Friday afternoon, going the first part of the journey by train. The sky was cloudy and the weather mild. We watched the moving pictures that sped by the car windows as eagerly as children.

After a half-hour's ride we arrived at a little "town" consisting of the station, one store, one house, one grain elevator, and a blacksmith's shop. Here our hostess met us with a surrey and pair, and we were soon driving along at a brisk pace, drinking in the fresh air and country scenery with pure delight. The person whose power of enjoyment in little things has become blunted, is greatly to be pitied. "Ours was as keen as though newly sharpened for the occasion; and nothing we saw, from the fields, trees, and hedges, to the setting sun, failed to give us pleasure.

A merry drive of three or four miles brought us to the farm-house, where we were cordially welcomed.

I should like to tell you about all the fun we had that night, for it was our hostess' birthday, and there was a surprise party, at which _we_ were as much surprised as she was. But as it is our walk I'm going to tell about, I must leave the events of our first evening unrelated.

The next morning we three girls decided to take a walk, as we were anxious to see what birds there were about. It was a gray day, threatening rain, and very wild for December.

The moment we set foot out of doors the distant "caw-caw" of the crows sounded like an invitation in our ears. How I love that sound! It is to the ear what a dash of color is to the eye.

We took the road to the right, where we saw some woods a quarter of a mile or more away.

Before we had gone far we heard a medley of bird notes coming from the fields on our left. We couldn't make out what they were, as they were some distance away, but I caught a note now and then that sounded like a fragment of the meadow-lark's song--just a faint reminiscence of it.

After passing two pastures and a cornfield on our left, we came to a piece of thin timber land. The road, which began to descend here, had been cut down somewhat, leaving banks more or less steep on either side. We went along slowly, stopping frequently to examine the beautiful mosses and lichens which abounded. We had seen no birds, with the exception of a woodpecker, at close range yet.

Presently we came to a turn in the road which led us up a slight rise of ground, bordered on both sides by woods. Arrived at the top of this hillock we loitered about looking at the many interesting thing that are always to be seen in the woods. All at once we were startled by a shrill scream, or cry, which sounded like some young animal being strangled, and behold! an immense hawk flew off over the tree-tops. It didn't fly very far though, and gave us more of its music at intervals.

The road from this point led down to a small brook spanned by a wooden bridge. Looking down toward this bridge, a gorgeous sight met our eyes. A flock of cardinals, half a dozen or more, were flying and sporting about among the low bushes near one end of it. What a delicious touch of color for a winter landscape! There were chickadees, too, hopping about among them in a most neighborly fashion. We watched them closely, quietly drawing nearer and nearer. Pretty soon they flew into the trees close by, and from thence deeper into the woods. We saw and heard many woodpeckers, both the downy and the hairy being very plentiful.

As the place where we had seen the redbirds was such a pretty one, we were in no haste to leave it, even after they had departed. So we perched ourselves on top of an old rail fence, and waited for some birds to come to us and be looked at. We hadn't been there very long before some tufted titmice came into the trees near us, and delighted us with their cheery notes and cunning ways. The "caw" of the crows was quite loud here and, with the added notes of the woodpeckers and chickadees, made it quite lively. Every once in a while a few drops of rain would fall. But this only added to the wildness of our surroundings, and seemed to put us farther away from the rest of the world.

Though we found our rural perch very enjoyable, we felt obliged to move on again, however reluctantly. So we crossed the bridge and climbed the hill beyond. A short walk then brought us to another turn, to the right, but on the left an open gate into the woods.

We lost no time in turning in here, you may be sure. We found many more birds inside the woods than we had along the road. Here were titmice, chickadees, plenty of nut-hatches white-breasted; hairy and downy woodpeckers, and also a third kind that we were uncertain about. Its upper parts looked like black and white shepherd's plaid, and the back of its head and nape were deep red. Its note was a sonorous _cow-cow-cow-cow-cow_. We heard brown creepers about, and saw many flocks of juncos.

When we came to the end of the woods we saw a pair of our cardinals flying about some low brushwood. It was like seeing old friends.

I must not forget to mention the blue-jay, who added his voice and brilliant color to the pleasure of our walk.

We had entered a cornfield, and as we advanced, flocks of little birds, mostly juncos, would start up before us and fly into the hedge or next field, twittering gaily. Twice we heard distinctly the goldfinch's note; but as the birds all flew up at our approach, we couldn't get near enough to distinguish them. It seemed very odd to hear this summery note amidst that wintry scene.

We crossed the cornfield and came to a fence, at right angles, following which took us in the direction of the road. Just as we came up to a few scattered trees, part in the field, and part in the pastures on the other side of the fence, we again heard our medley chorus of many voices, some of which had reminded us of the meadow-lark's. The members of the chorus who proved to be the meadowlarks' cousins, the rusty blackbirds settled in these trees and gave us a selection in their best style. Some of the solo parts were really sweet.

After climbing a rail fence we crossed a small pasture and looked in vain for a gate. Nothing but barbed wire. We finally made our escape through a pigs' corn-pen, from whence we emerged into another pasture where the grass was like the softest carpet to our feet. This pasture had a gate opening onto the road; so we were very soon back again at the house, with appetites for dinner fully developed.

We saw and heard no less than fourteen different kinds of birds during our walk. So those who desire to see birds need not despair of finding them because it is winter. Nature always has plenty of beautiful things to show us, no matter what the time of year.

My story ought to end here, but I must tell you about the tufted "tits" we saw next morning. The weather turned very cold that night, and in the morning a keen wind was blowing, so we didn't think many birds would be about. But hearing some chickadees in the yard, we ventured out, and went across the road, where we sat down in the shelter of a large corncrib.

From here we saw plenty of chickadees, titmice, nut-hatches, and other woodpeckers busily engaged in hunting their breakfasts. We had a fine opportunity of studying them with our glasses.

One bold "tit" stole a grain of corn from the crib and carried it off to the tree in front of us, where he took it in his claw, and proceeded to pick the choicest morsel out of it. Presently another tufted rogue flew up and there were some "passages of arms," and a flight into another tree, and in the midst of the fray, alas! the corn was dropped.

THE SCARLET PAINTED CUP.

PROF. WILLIAM KERR HIGLEY, Secretary of The Chicago Academy of Sciences.

These children of the meadows, born Of sunshine and of showers. --_Whittier._

The scarlet painted cup belongs to a large and interesting group of plants known as the figwort family (_Scrophulariaceæ_). The common name of the family is derived from the reputed value of some of the species in the cure of ficus or figwort, a disease caused by the growth of a stalked excrescence on the eyelids, tongue, or other parts of the body that are covered with a mucous membrane. The technical name is derived from scrofula, as some of the species are considered efficacious in the treatment of that disease. This family includes about one hundred and sixty-five genera and over twenty-five hundred species. They are common all over the world, reaching from the equator into the regions of constant frosts. It is claimed by some authorities that fully one thirty-fifth of all the flowering plants of North America are classed in this family.

Besides the painted cup there are classed in this group the mullen, the common toad-flax, the foxglove (_Digitalis_), the gerardias, and the calceolarias.

The foxglove, though causing death when the extract is taken in excess, is one of the most highly valued medicinal plants known. Nearly all the species of the family are herbs, without fragrance. Some of the species are known to be partially parasitic. True parasites are usually white or very light colored and contain no green coloring matter, which is essential when the plant is self-supporting. The parasitic forms of this family, however, do contain green coloring matter and are thus not entirely dependent on their host for the preparation of their food supply. The gerardias (false foxgloves) are frequently found attached to the roots of oaks, large shrubs, and even on the roots of grasses. It has also been shown that there is a cannibalistic tendency in some of the species of gerardia. They will not only fasten their sucker-like roots on those of other species, but also upon those of other individuals of the same species, and even upon the root branches of their own plants. This double parasitism is not rare.

The scarlet painted cup of our illustration (_Castilleja coccinea, L._) is a native of the eastern half of the United States and the southern portion of Canada. It prefers the soil of meadows and moist woods and has been found growing abundantly at an elevation of from three to four thousand feet.

The generic name was given this plant by Linnæus in honor of a Spanish botanist. The specific name is from the Latin, meaning scarlet. Nearly all of the forty species are natives of North and South America.

The flowers are dull yellow in color and are obscured by the rather large floral leaves or bracts, which are bright scarlet--rarely bright yellow--in color. These conspicuous leaves are broader toward the apex and usually about three-cleft. By the novice they are usually mistaken for the flower, which is hardly noticeable. The stem seldom exceeds a foot in height and bears a number of leaves that are deeply cut in narrow segments. The bright color of this plant has given it many local common names more or less descriptive. Prominent among these is the Indian paint brush.

A pretty myth tells us that the painted cup was originally yellow, but that Venus, when lamenting the death of Apollo, pressed a cluster of the blossoms to her parched lips and drank the dew from the flowers, the outer leaves of which have ever since retained the color of her lips.

THE YOUNG NATURALIST.

SAHARA SEA.--Much of the great desert of Sahara is below the level of the Atlantic. It is proposed that the water be let in. The space covered would be big enough to warrant us in speaking of it as an ocean. There would be islands in it, as there are places that are of considerable elevation.

So much water would make a difference in climate in all directions from the present desert. It is thought the vineyards of southern Europe would be injured, as they are dependent on the dry winds that come across the Mediterranean from the great desert. The rainfall in at least one-third of the inhabited parts of the globe would be affected by this great change in the amount of water on the surface. Ships would be able to sail to ports at the south of Morocco and Algiers where now are shifting sands and few people, and new cities would spring into being far to the south where the new coast line would be formed.

There are other low and barren spots on the earth's surface that are below sea level. They would form useful basins of water if the proper canals were dug. A company has been formed to let water into the Yuma desert in southern California, where 13,000 square miles of land with no inhabitants, lies below the sea level, some of it as much as 1,000 feet. A great desert in the middle of Australia is also low. If it were flooded it would make of Australia a great rim of continent reaching round an immense sea.

One scientist has advocated the making of the Red Sea into a great fresh water lake by changing the course of the Nile so as to make that sea its outlet instead of the Mediterranean. By preventing the flow of salt water from the north through the Suez canal, and building an embankment at the south, it has been estimated that the Red Sea would become fresh in the course of time.

The Red Sea project is not at all likely to be carried out, but those for California and the Sahara may soon be made effective. When the world of commerce comes to realize what the Sahara Sea will mean for its enterprise, there will be a lively prospect of much digging and plenty of fighting over the damages done to existing interests and the rights of the various European nations to the new seaboard that will be formed.

FEEDING.--One of the duties of the teamster is to see that his horses are well fed. Where the team must be on the road at five in the morning it is the business of the man who feeds them to get up at four to give them time to eat. Incidentally he rubs them down and gets his own breakfast in a leisurely manner. An Ohio man has an electric device which will give the teamster a chance to lie a little longer in the morning. He has arranged an alarm clock which may be set for any hour so that instead of striking the hour it will make an electric connection. This connection lets fall a bag that is placed the night before over the manger of the horse to be fed at that hour in the morning. The first sound that greets the ear of the horse is not the teamster coming to open the stable, but the rattle of oats into his feed-box, and he has ample time to eat and begin the operation of digestion before he sees the man who used to be so welcome. Possibly he will not greet the man so affectionately in the future when his coming means not food for a hungry stomach but a hard day's work. But those who know the horse best are inclined to believe that the horse will always greet his master affectionately in the morning regardless of the state of his stomach.

RUBBER.--The use of rubber has grown wonderfully in the last ten years. Every year a rubber famine is predicted, and every year someone announces that a substitute has been found that is just as good as the real article. The facts seems to indicate that neither the famine nor the substitute is really at hand. Rubber plantations are being extended in Mexico to meet the demands of the growing trade, but the bulk of our rubber still comes from the Amazon country in South America, and that country is almost limitless in its supplies of this article. It is true that the trees along the banks of the rivers have been tapped until their product is much inferior to what it once was, but this condition exists only for a distance of two or three miles along the river banks. There are plenty of magnificent trees standing untouched a little farther back. All that is needed to get more rubber is to get more men into these forests gathering it. The real difficulty is to get the men to do the work. The finest rubber forests remaining near the river fronts are along the Purus, one of the large rivers flowing into the Amazon from the south.

SUNSHINE CAUGHT.--For thousands of years men have tried to use the heat of the sun's rays in the place of fire. It is now claimed that Dr. William Calver of Washington has finished an invention which will bring into the space of a few inches all the rays of heat from the sun that would naturally fall upon one acre of ground. By bringing so many rays to a focus he gets such a powerful heat that iron and steel melt in it like icicles.

A magnifying glass or lens of almost any sort held in the sunshine makes a bright, warm spot. Dr. Calver's machine gets the same effect, only more powerfully. He has secured a temperature of several thousand degrees Fahrenheit. To make his machine useful for heating houses and making steam for factories he has invented a reservoir to store the heat gathered while the sun is shining, so that it may be used at night or on dark days. Men of science have been looking for such a machine for a long time, and if Dr. Calver and his friends are not much mistaken his invention will be as great a help to civilization as the harnessing of Niagara Falls for electric work. His laboratory is in the outskirts of Washington, D. C.

WASHINGTON'S MONUMENT.

GEO. P. MORRIS.

A monument to Washington? A tablet graven with his name? Green be the mound it stands upon, And everlasting as his fame!

His glory fills the land--the plain, The moor, the mountain and the mart! More firm than column, urn or fane, His monument--the human heart.

The Christian, patriot, hero, sage! The chief from heaven in mercy sent; His deeds are written on the age-- His country is his monument.

"The sword of Gideon and the Lord" Was mighty in his mighty hand-- The God who guided he adored, And with his blessing freed the land.