MENISPKR.MUJI 



MENISPfiRMUM (Greuk, nwoii.seed). MenispermA- 

 cecv. i\Iu<-'NsEKi>, As conceived by the early botanists, 

 Menisperniuni contained many species wliicli are now 

 referred to CocciiUis, Abuta. Cissampelt>s, Tinospora, 

 Anamirta and other genera. Tlie jj:enus is now considered 

 to be bitypic, one species oconrring in N. America and the 

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

 ing woody vines, with alternate loufj-petioled Ivs., which 



MENTHA 



lOO:; 



13C0. Leaf of JVIenispermum Canadense (,X3a). 



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

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

 pressed berry-like drupe, coutainin^j; a riatteued crescent- 

 shaped or curved stone (whence tlie name Moonseed); 

 stamens 0-^-1, with 4-locuIed anthers in the staminate 

 fls., (i and sterile in the pistiUate tls.; pistils 2-4, with 

 broad stigmas; sepals 4-8, in 2 series; petals 0-8, shorter 

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

 esting vines, and are hardy in the northern states and 

 Ontario. Propagated readily by seeds ; or plants of 

 M. Oannclen-se may be dug from the wild. Cuttings of 

 ripened wood may also be used. 



Canadense, Linn. Common Moonreed. Fig. 1390. 

 Stems slender and terete, Hocciil<^iit-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, straugling panicles, the 

 sepals and petals usually (i, the stamens in 

 the terminal fls. 17-20 and in the lateral 

 onesIlorl2: fr. bluish black, V in. indium., 

 resembling small grapes. Kich snils in 

 thickets and lowlands. Quebec to IVlanitoba 

 and south to Ga. B.M. 1910. 



Datlricum, DC. In habit much like the 

 above: Ivs. smaller, deeper green, cordate 

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

 minal ones with ('» sepals, 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 

 L-<^iii3try. L. IX. B 



MENTHA (from the Greek name of the 

 nymph Minthe). Labiiitiv. The term Mint, 

 often applied to various species of the La- 

 biatje, 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 in 

 axillary whorls and the whorls often in terminal spikes. 



Some of the species bybridize 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 tfm- 

 perate zone, 12 being native or naturali/.ud in N'nrili 

 America. Six species are cultivated juon- or Irs.s U<v 

 the production of aromatic essential oil, wliicU is toutid 

 in all parts of the herb; and especially in minute glolmlc^ 

 on the surface of the leaves and calyx. 



Peppermint, the most important economic species of 

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

 in the production of essential oils. It was originally 

 motive 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 i">< 

 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 tbe W'\stern Reserve in Ohio, and in lS;i.j "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 adjai-ent parts of 

 northern Indiana, Wayne county. New York, and in 

 Miteham, Surrey and Lincolnshire, England, and in 

 Saxony. 



Peppermint plants may l>e grcnvn on any land that 

 will produce good crops of corn, but its cultivation i-i 

 most profitable on muck soils of reclaimed swamps. It 

 is an exhaustive crop, and on upland is randy included 

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

 deep, rich muck soils it is often grown coTisecutively 

 years or more with no apparent diminution in yield. 

 Peppermint is propagated Iiy 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, fi:>d 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 fiowers 

 are developed and before the leaves have fallen. In 

 long, favorable seasons a second crop is sometimes har- 

 vested early in November. After ciitting, the plants 

 are cured like hay. then raked into ■^vindrows and taken 

 to the stills, whi-re the oil is extracted by distiilati<in 



1391. A Mint Sti 



with steam. A "Mint still" (Fig. 13911 usually consists 

 of two retorts (used alternately), wooden or galvanized 

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

 each with a perforated false bottom and a tight-fittiug, 

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



