MEXISPEBMUM 



MENTHA 



1003 



MENISPfiRMUM (Greek, moonaeed). Menisperma- 

 n>. MOONSEED. As conceived by the early botanists, 

 lenispermum contained many species which are now 



fcn-ed to Cocculus, Abuta, Cissampelos, Tinospora, 

 ^namirta and other genera. The genus is now considered 

 > be bitypic, one species occurring in N. America and the 

 ther in Siberia, China and Japan. Moonseeds are twin- 

 ag woody vines, with alternate long-petioled Ivs., which 



130. Leaf of Menispermum Canadense 



are peltate near the margin, and axillary or super-axil- 

 lary panicles or cymes of small dioecious tis. : fr. a com- 

 pre'ssed berry-like drupe, containing a flattened crescent- 

 shaped or curved stone (whence the name Moonseed): 

 stamens 9-24, with 4-loculed anthers in the staminate 

 fls., 6 and sterile in the pistillate fls.; pistils 2-4, with 

 broad stigmas ; sepals 4-8, in 2 series ; petals 6-8, shorter 

 than the sepals. Both the Mooiiseeds are neat and inter- 

 esting vines, and are hardy in the northern states and 

 Ontario. Propagated readily by seeds ; or plants of 

 M. Canadense may be dug from the wild. Cuttings of 

 ripened wood may also be used. 



Canadense, Linn. COMMON MOONSEED. Fig. 1390. 

 Stems slender and terete, flocculent-pubescent when 

 young, but becoming glabrous, twining 10 ft. or more 

 high : Ivs. round-ovate to ovate-cordate, sometimes 

 entire, but usually angulate-lobed, the long petiole at- 

 tached just inside the margin : fls. green- 

 ish white, in loose, straggling panicles, the 

 sepals and petals usually 6, the stamens in 

 the terminal fls. 17-20 and in the lateral 

 ones 11 or 12: fr. bluish black, % in. indiam., 

 resembling small grapes. Rich soils in 

 thickets and lowlands, Quebec to Manitoba 

 and south to Ga. B.M. 1910. 



Dauricum, DC. In habit much like the 

 above: Ivs. smaller, deeper green, cordate 

 and angular: fls. in cymes, yellowish, the ter- 

 minal ones with 6 sepals, 9 or 10 petals and 

 about 20 stamens, the lateral ones with 4 

 sepals, 6 petals and about 12 stamens. East- 

 ern Asia. -Variable. Rarely planted in this 

 country. L. H. B 



MENTHA (from the Greek name of the 

 nymph Minthe). Labiatce. The term Mint, 

 often applied to various species of the La- 

 biata3, is most frequently used to designate 

 plants of the genus Mentha. This genus 

 is characterized by its square stems and op- 

 posite simple leaves, in common with others 

 of the order, and especially by its aromatic 

 fragrance, its small purple, pink or white 

 flowers, with regular calyx, slightly irregu- 

 lar corolla and four anther-bearing stamens, crowded m 

 axillary whorls and the whorls often in terminal spikes. 



Some of the species hybridize freely, producing in- 

 numerable intergrading forms which make the limita- 

 tion of certain species difficult. Many forms have been 



described, and the synonymy is extensive. About 30 

 species are now recognized, all native in the north tem- 

 perate zone, 12 being native or naturalized in North 

 America. Six species are cultivated more or less for 

 the production of aromatic essential oil, which is found 

 in all parts of the herb ; and especially in minute globules 

 on the surface of the leaves and calyx. 



Peppermint, the most important economic species of 

 Mint, ranks as one of the most important of all plants 

 in the production of essential oils. It was originally . 

 native in Great Britain and possibly in continental 

 Europe, but is now widely naturalized, growing' in many 

 places on both continents like a native plant. There is 

 no record of it in America previous to its introduction 

 to Connecticut in the early part of the eighteenth cen- 

 tury. From there it was taken to western New York 

 and to the Western Reserve in Ohio, and in 1835 "roots " 

 were taken from Ohio to Pigeon Prairie, in Michigan, 

 where the industry has grown to larger proportions than 

 anywhere else. Peppermint is now cultivated commer- 

 cially in southwestern Michigan and adjacent parts of 

 northern Indiana, Wayne county, New York, and in 

 Mitcham, Surrey and Lincolnshire, England, and in 

 Saxony. 



Peppermint plants may be grown on any land that 

 will produce good crops of corn, but its cultivation is 

 most profitable on muck soils of reclaimed swamps. It 

 is an exhaustive crop, and on upland is rarely included 

 in the rotation more often than once in five years. On 

 deep, rich muck soils it is often grown consecutively 

 6 years or more with no apparent diminution in yield. 

 Peppermint is propagated by pieces of running root- 

 stocks, commonly called "roots." These are planted, 

 as early in spring as the ground can be prepared, in 

 furrows 30 inches apart. On upland two or three crops 

 are usually grown from one setting of the "roots, "but in 

 the swamp lands the runners are plowed under after 

 harvest, continuing the crop indefinitely. Clean culti- 

 vation is required between the rows, and often it is 

 necessary to hoe the plants or pull weeds by hand, espe- 

 cially on land that has not been well prepared. Fire- 

 weed, horseweed, ragweed and other species with bitter 

 or aromatic properties are very injurious to the oil if cut 

 and distilled with the peppermint. 



The crop is cut either with scythe or mowing machine 

 in August or early September, when the earliest flowers 

 are developed and before the leaves have fallen. In 

 long, favorable seasons a second crop is sometimes har- 

 vested early in November. After cutting, the plants 

 are cured like hay, then raked into windrows and taken 

 to the stills, where the oil is extracted by distillation 



1391. A Mint Still. 



with steam. A "Mint still" (Fig. 1391) usually consists 

 of two retorts (used alternately), wooden or galvanized 

 iron tubs about 7 ft. deep and 6 ft. in diam at the top, 

 each with a perforated false bottom and a tight -fitting 

 removable cover, a condenser of nearly 200 ft. of block 



