THE ESSENTIAL OIL INDUSTRY OF MICHIGAN. -iOl 



The planting, cultivation and distillation may be briefly mentioned as 

 follows: Furrows are marked three feet ai)art, into which the roots 

 and runners (root-stocks) are stretched by workmen, who carry them 

 in sacks slung over their shoulders, so there shall be one or two living 

 runners everywhere in the row. These runners are about a quarter inch 

 in diameter and from one to three or more feet long, and are produced 

 from the "new" mint the same season it is planted. They grow very 

 thickly both above and just under the surface, meeting each other 

 between the rows, so that after the crop is mown and raked it has the 

 appearance nearly of a sod, on account of the young shoots of mint 

 which start from these runners. 



If the runners (or "roots," as they are generally, but incorrectly 

 called) are good, well planted, with favorable conditions, a sprout will 

 appear above the ground every two or three inches in the row in two 

 weeks after planting, and more will continue to come for a month 

 later. These runners have the same relation to the transmission of life 

 that seeds do in wheat and clover, whereas the nutrition for growing 

 the crop after the i)lant food in the runners is exhausted, is furnished 

 by very fine hairy rootlets which appear about a month after planting, 

 and winch fill the soil at a lower level than the runners, but being so 

 very fine have escaped the observation of many. There is a common 

 belief that the runners (half of which are just below the surface of the 

 ground) give nourishment to the plant, but this is a mistake. 



Soon as the rows are visible, cultivating and hoeing begin, and are 

 continued until July, when the last ''weeding" is done by hand. Culti- 

 vation should, however, cease when the true roots reach out into the 

 earth near the center between the rows, as they should not be disturbed 

 too much by the cultivators. If during the succeeding winter the run- 

 ners are not killed, there will be a "second"' or "old" crop grow spon- 

 taneously without resetting, covering the ground like clover. Some 

 farmers ]»low the ground over as soon as the first crop is harvested, and 

 harrow it the second year, treating it more or less as thev do the 

 first crop, while some let it lie undisturbed, simply pulling the weeds 

 by hand. Both |»lans have their advantages, but the replowing appears 

 generally to be bettiM-. as it keeps the soil more friable, and protects the 

 roots against winter-killing by covering them with earth, and also will 

 destroy grasshopper eggs, which are often deposited in the fall, and 

 which sometimes i)rov(' disastrous to the crop. It does not always 

 happen that the plowing proves advantageous, depending upon the 

 nature of the succeeding season. 



The process of distillation is very simple, although, as in every other 

 business, intelligent care, ]»r()mptness and the best a]>i»aratus and im- 

 plements are necessary for success. The mint after being mown is 

 aTlowed to dry as much as may be without endangering the loss of the 

 leaves and blossoms in handling, as they contain all the oil. After 

 being pro]>erly "wilted'," it is drawn direct to the distillery, where it 

 is {)laced in large wooden vats, holding from one to two tons each. 

 After a vat is filled a tight cover is closed over it and steam from a 

 large engine boiler is let into the bottom of the vat through a valve. 

 The oil is contained in microscopic cells in the leaves and blossoms, 

 througli \\hich the steam ]>assi's, and which are ru])tured by the heat, 

 and the oil thus escaping from the leaves is carried upward with the 



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