284 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



of the farm, or had any other use except to pull over the farmers' eyes. Had 

 there been one or two farmers there, they might have told them, and saved 

 millions of dollars to the farmers of the country. There are other instances 

 ■where legislation has discriminated against the farmers and the laboring class 

 that I might mention, but suffice it to say that a true policy is one which will 

 foster and protect every industry until every man, woman and child, willing to 

 work, will be able to obtain every necessary of life, of which we have such an 

 abundaticc, and then we would not hear so much about overproduction. 



Again, it is our duty to diversify our crops, raising both the necessaries and 

 luxuries, as much as possible, and sell them at paying prices. Essential oils, 

 of which I shall treat at this time, belong to the latter class. In this county 

 wo liave raised of these oils from fifteen to fifty thousand pounds, at an average 

 price for peppermint, for the last fifteen years, of §3.00 per pound. But at the 

 present time it is only SI. 25, much below the cost of production, and tansy, 

 wormwood and pennyroyal are equally low. The first recjuisite for successfully 

 raising it is a rich soil and free from weeds. Some prefer turning under sod 

 for corn, and following it with mint, but I have the best success, in fall plow- 

 ing a clover sod, tlien cultivating as early in the spring as the ground will do 

 to work, to be followed with the harrow, which puts it in condition for mark- 

 ing, which I do by removing all but two legs from a wheeled cultivator and 

 attaching two large sized two-legged cultivator teeth, putting them two feet 

 six inches apart, and running them deep enough so that Avhen the roots are 

 planted the row will be somewhat lower than it is between, all of which 

 can be done very early iix the season, whereas if we plant after corn we have to 

 remove the stalks before plowing, which, if the weather is unfavorable, retards 

 the work very materially, which may jeopardize the success of the whole crop, 

 for as soon as the fibrous roots begin to grow the main root loses its vitality, 

 and will send forth few and sickly plants, which will never make a full crop. 

 The first requisite in planting is to secure good roots, and there has been many 

 plans resorted to to keep the roots from winter killing, but with only partial 

 success, the best of which is to plant what you want for roots the coming year 

 where it will be sheltered by woods on the south and west. 



The digging of the roots is usually done by plowing the rows, then shaking 

 the dirt from the roots with a fork and putting them in heaps and immediately 

 covering them with dirt to keep them fresh, as a very little drying will spoil 

 them. Tlie planting is done by arranging a sack so as to swing it upon the 

 shoulders wlien filled with roots, thus placing one foot on either side of the 

 furrow, then pulling the roots apart with the hands and putting them in in 

 a continuous line and covering them with the feet. A good liand will plant 

 an acre a day. If all the foregoing conditions have been complied with, 

 we have only to give clean culture to ensure a fair crop, and in doing this 

 we find we are aided materially by using a light harrow just before it comes up 

 and at intervals, until it is large enough to start a cultivator and hoe. We have 

 many styles of cultivators for this pur])ose, but all aim to have a tooth that will 

 run very flat, so as to cut all grass and weeds witliout throwing dirt on to the 

 young plants or ridging it up to prevent cutting it with a machine. The cul- 

 tivation continues from the time tlie first weed starts until the iirst of July, 

 when it is usually large enough to shade the ground, when it can be left until 

 it is in blossom, when we commence cutting, and when ])artly dry, haul to the 

 still, wlicre it is immediately distilled, and the oil put in cans ready for market. 

 The yield per acre is from ten to twenty-five pounds tlie first year, and from 



