180 MUCK CROPS 



year during the summer immediately follow- 

 ing the planting of the 'new mint/ These 

 runners spread over the surface of the 

 ground and also immediately under it, and 

 vary from i to 3 feet or more in length, ac- 

 cording to the richness of the ground. They 

 are, of course, grown outdoors with the reg- 

 ular crop of mint. 



"For planting, the ground is prepared as 

 for corn or potatoes or most other crops; 

 that is, it is plowed and harrowed so as to 

 make it as mellow as possible. Furrows are 

 then made 2% or 3 feet apart, into which the 

 runners are strewn so that the ends will 

 touch each other, there thus being one or 

 more runners everywhere in the furrow. 

 Planting is usually done by men who carry a 

 sack of roots strung over their shoulders. 



"From this they draw the roots, strew 

 them in the furrow, and cover them with a 

 swinging motion of their feet a half or i^inch 

 deep, the depth being immaterial except that 

 it should not be more than 2 inches, and i 

 inch is better. The runners, if healthy, and 

 if the soil is good, send up a shoot every 2 

 or 3 inches of their length. These shoots 

 beginning to appear above the ground a 

 couple of weeks after planting and con- 



