676 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



[February i, 1883^ 



beneath the soi], and the lighter pruning is done by the 

 boys. The best pruner cannot average more than tventy 

 full-grown bushes in a day. — A Planter. — (3ar(hntr>' 

 Chronicle. 



SEKICULTtTKE. 



If reports are correct the osage-orange will probably, 

 before long, ri\ al with the mulberry as food for silkworms. 

 Professor C. V. Riley, Entomologist attached to the Agri- 

 cultm-al Department ot the i'nited States of America, 

 has been trying to feed some varieties of these precious 

 worms on the leaves of this new tree for eleven con- 

 secutive years, and has invariably obtained the best quality 

 of silk. The tests made at the recent silk fair at Phila- 

 delphia seem to have established the fact that a larger 

 yield of silk can be obtained from worms fed on the 

 osage-orange than from mulburry-fed worms. The osage- 

 orange is a spreading tree called by botanists Maclura 

 anrantiaca. It is a native of the southern parts of the 

 United States, and attains, in its natural state, a height 

 of from 30 to 60 feet. It is, however, frequently kept 

 dwarf — and used as a hedge plant, for which purpose 

 its strong spines render it suitable. Its leaves are large, 

 entire, egg-shaped. Its flowers are inconspicuous, yellowish 

 green, and produce large roimd fruits from three to five 

 inches in diameter and of a fine golden colour, beautiful 

 to the eye, but scarcely eatable. Seedlings of this tree 

 were, we understand, introduced some years ago into the 

 Saharaupore Botanical Gardens, where there exist now 

 several trees of the kind of various sizes and ages in 

 healthy growth. In \new of the above proved value of 

 the tree in silk culture, the Superintendent of the Gardens 

 has been asked by our Department of Revenue and Agri- 

 culture to take steps to raise cuttings for distribution. 

 The Superintendent has expressed his readiness to do so, 

 and has informed the Department that he will, afe the 

 same time, forward a few cuttings for experimental plant- 

 ing in the Horticultural Garden at Lucknow. — L. — Asian. 



PEPPERMINT GROWING IN AMERICA. 



As is well known, the cultivation of Peppei*mint at 

 Mitcham is one of the chief crops in the famed medical 

 and herb gardens that abound in that neighbourhood. 

 Oil of Peppermint distilled from Mitcham grown plants is 

 celebrated throughout the world, and consequently realizes 

 the highest price of any Peppermint oil in the market. 

 Two qualities of Peppermint oil, however, are distilled at 

 Mitcham, fuinished by plants of totally different habits, 

 as seen growing in the Peppermint fields. They are dis- 

 tinguished as the "White and Black Peppermint, the first 

 being known to botanists as Mentha piperita var. officinalis, 

 and the second as M. piperita var. vulgaris. A field of 

 White Peppermint is of a bright green, the individual 

 stems of tbe plants being also of a lightish green-white; 

 the black form is of a much darker green, and the stems 

 are of a piuplish colour. It grows to a greater heiglit 

 than the wliite form, and is much more robust in habit. 

 The oil, though produced in greater quantity from this 

 variety, is not so highly valued, as it has a less delicate 

 flavour. Peppermint, besides being grown at Mitcham, is 

 cultivated to some extent in the counties of Lincoln, 

 Cambridge, and Herts, as well as in France, Germany, and 

 Southern India, and on a very large scale in America. 

 An account of the cultivation recently appeared in 2\>^ew 

 Remedies, from which the following notes are gathered. 



The account is descriptive of a visit to Wayne County, 

 in New York State. It is now upwards of fifty years since 

 Peppermint was first cultivated in that locality for its oil; 

 the first attempt in America being made in Massachusetts. 

 For many years it has also been grown in a few counties 

 iu Ohio, and in some parts of Upper Canada (Ontario). 

 Its growth in Michigan was first undertaken in 1855. and 

 has since steadily increased. Western New York, how- 

 ever, produces the largest quantity of oil, and it is said 

 that the products of that region are characterised by a 

 finer aroma than that produced in most other localities in 

 America. Of late growers and refiners have devoted special 

 attention to the selection of the best varieties of the plant. 

 and to the qualities of the product. In AVayne County 

 alone more than 3,000 acres of Mint are cultivated annually, 



with an average yield of about 201b. of oil to the acre, 



or a total yearly production of over 00,000 lb. 



It is estimated that the annual proiluction of oil of 

 Peppermint throughout the world is about i)U,0UU lb., which 

 would show that by far the lai-gest portion — certainly 

 two-thirds — comes from the Wayne Country, New York, 

 region. The Peppermint harvest commences in America 

 early in August, or as soon as the plant is in flower (by 

 which time it will have attained a height of about 2 feet 

 or upwards), and continues into September, warm or hot 

 weather being essential at harvest time that the plant 

 may produce oil abundantly. The first crop is the best, 

 the second year's of less value, and the thii'd year the 

 ground may be again ploughed, and the crop allowed to 

 spring up trom the broken roots. The yield in the third 

 year, when the ground is treated in this manner, is some- 

 what less than that of the fii-st year. After this the land 

 should be devoted for a time to some other crop. Not 

 only is the yield most abundant in the first year, but the 

 crop is more free from weeds than during the subsequent 

 years, and the oil is correspondingly purer. The weed 

 which causes most trouble is the Broom-weed, Mare's-tail, 

 or Fire-weed (Erecthite hieracifolia), a Composite yield- 

 ing a volatile oil which is bitter and pungent, and by 

 its presence impairs the naturally fresh, penetrating, and 

 delicious taste of the pure oil of Peppermint. 



The Mint is cut with a sickle, scythe, or mowing- 

 machine, according to the fancy of the cidtivator. After 

 cutting it is allowed to wither in the sun for five or sis 

 hours, and is then raked into " cocks," where it remains 

 a short time before being distilled. This process is found 

 to give a larger yield of oil, and to improve the odour 

 of the product. It is not every cultivator that is provided 

 with a stiil, but stills are found distributed about the 

 Peppermint region at convenient distances. Some are of 

 the most primitive character, while others are eonstructed 

 more elaborately. The apparatus and method dift'er from 

 that employed in Europe, where the fire is applied to 

 the still. In America the still consists of a wooden tub 

 or vat of heavy staves hooped with iron. The withered 

 Mint is packed into the vat by treading with the feet until 

 the vat is full, when a cover, made steam-tight with 

 rubber packing, is fastened down with screw clamps. A 

 steam-pipe connects the lower part of the vat with a 

 steam-boiler, and another pipe from the centre of the 

 cover connects the vat with the condensing worm. The 

 latter varies in size according to the capacity of the still, 

 but becomes progressively smaller towards the outlet. The 

 worm is so placed as to have a constant stream of cold 

 running water surrounding it. The steam from the boiler 

 being admitted to the vat at a pressure of 30 to 40 lb., 

 the oil of the Mint is volatilised and mixed with the steam 

 condensed in the worm. The mixed oil and water are 

 collected iu the receiver, where the difference in their 

 specific gravity causes them to separate. No attempt is 

 made to re-distil the water which separates, and a con- 

 siderable loss of oil which is held in solution doubtless 

 re.sults from this lack of economy. 



The oil is packed in tin cans, or glass demijohns, hold- 

 ing about 20 lb. each. The glass demijohns are much the 

 best when the oil is to be kept for any length of time, 

 as its good qualities are more fully retained, and it is less 

 liable to ttiscoloration. From the oil thus produced the 

 refiners and exporters make their selections, and upon 

 their judgment in selecting, skill in refining, and their 

 honesty, as well as the care used in excluding foreign . 

 plants from the crop, depends the quality of the oil found 

 in the market. It is very probable that most of the 

 adulteration which this oil undergoes takes place after it 

 has left the hands of the original refiners and dealers. 

 At the present time Wayne C-ounty, New York, grows, 

 refines, and exports the greater quantity of all the oil of 

 Peppermint grown in the United States and Canada. 



Oil of Peppermint is sometimes adulterated with 

 turpentine, and also with oil of Hemlock. Pure oil of 

 Peppermint, as exported from Wayne County, is colourless, 

 and resembles the English oil, except that its odour and 

 taste are somewhat less pungent and penetrating. The 

 oil deteriorates vnXh age, and the aroma becomes more 

 faint; after a certain number of years it thickens, and 

 the colour becomes of a yellowish tinge; exposed for a 

 long time to air it becomes resinous. — Gardener's' Chronicle, 



