PEPPERMINT 



two to six inches deep often spreads out into shallow 

 runlets and wet, gravelly places. The blossoms are 

 tiny, pink, four-toothed, erect bells, set in small, green 

 calyx cups and clustered about the stem in whorls 

 which are gathered into interrupted blunt terminal 

 spikes. 



The odor of the plant is peculiar and penetrating, 

 its taste pungent. In medicine the oil is used as a 

 stimulant, it is also a popular flavoring for candy. 



The cultivation of the plant is a very considerable 

 industry both in this country and in Europe. Authori- 

 ties say that the plant may be grown on any land that 

 will produce good crops of corn, but its cultivation is 

 most profitable on soils of reclaimed swamps. The 

 crop is cut with scythe or mowing-machine, dried 

 like hay and then taken to a ''mint still," and the 

 oil extracted by distillation with steam. 



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