7S Some Minor Farm Crops. 



various causes, such as deficiency of moisture in summer, or 

 unsuitable manuring, or from the plant being grown too often 

 on the same land. The disease causes the leaves to fall off, and 

 the herbage becomes deficient for distillation. In the South of 

 France, in the neighbourhood of Grasse and Avignon, the plant 

 is also subject to attack by a minute insect which does con- 

 siderable damage. 



Cutting and Distilling. 



In most districts one crop only is obtained in each year. 

 The mint is cut from July to September, when the plants 

 flower, or earlier should the disease appear on the leaf. The 

 cutting is done by hand with a hook. In some districts in 

 France it is said that the plant is distilled immediately it has 

 been cut, but in the Mitcham district it is sometimes necessary to 

 leave it on the ground after cutting, owing to pressure of work 

 at the still ; and it is sometimes several weeks before distilling 

 can take place. It is carried to the distillery packed in Russian 

 mats. It is there unpacked and boiled with water in copper 

 stills for about six hours. The steam from the boiling mint 

 is condensed in a coil of metal pipes contained in a large vat of 

 cold water, and the condensed liquor runs into a separator at 

 the bottom of the vat. Here the oil rises to the surface, and 

 the water is drawn off. When the vessel is full the oil is 

 poured into cans and cleared hy filtration through " filter 

 paper." 



It is then stored in glass bottles known as " Winchester 

 quarts " (which contain about 5 lb. each) when it is ready for 

 sale to the wholesale druggists. 



The stills chiefly in use at Mitcham are the old-fashioned 

 fire stills, but these are being replaced in some of the distilleries 

 by a more modern form of steam still. Some of these in use ^ 

 at Mitcham contain two copper stills, each of 1,200 gallons 

 capacity, and each capable of taking a charge of 1 ton of fresh 

 cut peppermint and 400 gallons of water. The stills used both 

 in France and Italy are steam stills, and it is suggested that 

 apart from the effects of climate and soil differences in the 

 process of distillation may be responsible for slight variations 

 in the character of the oil. 



Cost of Production. 



The cost of gi'owing peppermint is very considerable, and 

 it is said that if a capital of 10/. per acre is considei'ed a fair 

 allowance for ordinary farming operations at least 20/. per acre 

 would be required for peppermint growing. The plants can 

 generally be obtained, though in limited quantities, at a cost of 



