348 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



with the disk harrow or pulverizer and work the ground until thoroughly pulver- 

 ized; then go over with a smoothing harrow, which leaves the ground in good 

 shape for planting. The farmer is now ready to draw the roots, which must be 

 taken from the first year's growth of mint. After plowing out shake the dirt from 

 them and put them in small piles; then cover with a coat of dirt to keep from 

 spoiling. The ground must be marked with a shovel plow in drills thirty-two 

 inches apart and from four to six Inches deep. Then load the roots onto a wagon 

 and haul them to the field that has been prepared; drop them into the drills over- 

 lapping so that the plants will come up in solid rows. The earlier the roots can 

 be planted the better it is for the crop, as it gets the benefit of the early spring 

 rains and a longer time for rooting. 



As soon as the plant shows through the ground, so you can see the rows, start 

 the cultivator. Go over once a week, and if any weeds show in the rows com- 

 mence hand weeding and hoeing. It will be necessary to hoe and hand weed from 

 three to five times during the season to keep the ground stirred. Keep the culti- 

 vator going until the runners start. Then let the crop stand until just before har- 

 vesting; then go over the ground and pick out all the weeds so as to secure prime 

 oil. Harvesting begins about the last of August or first of September, when the 

 plant is in full bloom and shows a dark, copper colored leaf with an oily appear- 

 ance. When it is ready to harvest, select a hot, dry day; the hotter the day the 

 better for a good yield of oil. The first year's crop must be mowed with a scythe 

 and raked by hand; the second year's crop may be harvested with a mowing 

 machine and raked with a horse rake. I am not in favor of letting a crop stand the 

 third year, as the yield is small and the grade of oil inferior. To plow and replant 

 pays the best rent for land, and does away with weeds. The oil is obtained from 

 the leaves of the plant, so whatever tends to improve the growth of the plant 

 makes more oil when harvested. After mowing leave on the ground until the 

 leaves are well wilted. 



THE NEEDS OF OUR DISTRICT SCHOOLS. 



COM'R FOXWORTHY, AT WEXFORD COUNTY INSTITUTE. 



Our district schools need, in the training of the young entrusted to them, that 

 the knowledge acquired be practical, and capable of application. It is now an 

 acknowledged principle that knowledge is not power unless applied. Unless the 

 possessor of knowledge can apply it in some useful way in life, all his learning, 

 cramming and memorizing of text books will be time wasted. A boy that had 

 completed the second book of a so called arithmetic was asked to find the worth 

 of thirty-seven pounds of pork at seven dollars and fifty cents per hundred. After 

 puzzling his head awhile, he asked what page it was on. He was told it was not in 

 any book. "Then," he replied, "there is no use fooling with it if it is not in a 

 book." There is no need to spend time learning the location of some little unim- 

 portant hard named town or some harder named mountain in some still harder 

 named country that no one ever heard of but the man that made the book, when 

 the child could not give an intelligible answer, when asked for direction to a 

 neighboring town in his own county, or who could not locate his father's farm. 



FRUIT CULTURE FOR PROFIT. 



A. ADAMS, SHELBY, AT OCEANA COUNTY INSTITUTE. 



As to profits in the business I will give an illustration from personal experience. 

 I picked from ten year old peach trees last season an average of five bushels to 

 the tree at an average price of 65 cents per bushel, making the total net price per 

 tree $3.25. Allowing 108 trees per acre gives a net profit of $351 per acre — a v6ry 

 good profit. This is only a part of the story. These same trees have not yielded 

 a crop of fruit before in three years. My opinion is that any man who is indus- 

 trious and has means enough to secure five or ten acres of land in good location. 



