— 73 — 



the oil can be obtained. Places such as Clyde, Lyons, Newark, 

 Palmyra, etc., do not belong to the real producing places; here the 

 oil supplied by the farmers is the object of speculation. The actual 

 producing districts are at least 5 to 6 miles further up country. The 

 average farmer is not a well-informed person, and believes the word 

 of the speculator. 



It is certain that the cultivation of peppermint is again on the 

 increase, and the farmers predict that if the prices keep at their 

 present level, Wayne County will again resume its former position, 

 and produce the finest oil in the world. 



Not a single acre in Wayne County has been planted with American 

 mint, as the cultivation of this herb has been completely neglected. 

 Only here and there some small spots are planted with it, and not 

 a pound of American peppermint oil is placed on the market under 

 this name. 



Black mint yields the highest percentage of oil, and according to 

 the farmers it is the only one found in Wayne County for the pro- 

 duction of peppermint oil. With proper care an acre yields 30 to 

 50 lbs. oil. The farms which are under cultivation have a healthy 

 appearance, and farmers who have attempted the cultivation this year 

 are most hopeful as to the results. As a matter of fact, roots were 

 almost unobtainable, until an enterprising farmer and oil - speculator 

 imported a parcel of roots of black mint from Canada, and sold them 

 at the enormous price of $ 1 per rod(?). About 10 rods of roots 

 are required for planting one acre. The high price of the roots in- 

 duced many farmers to give up the idea of planting mint, and a large 

 proportion of this year's cultivation has chiefly taken place with the 

 view of obtaining roots for next year. This alone shows that in 

 1905 an increased cultivation will have to be reckoned upon. 



A large number of farmers who have now only planted one half 

 to one acre, will not have the herb distilled, but will keep the roots 

 for next year. 



It is not possible to form a correct estimate of the land planted 

 with mint in Wayne County, as the distillation has almost ceased to 

 exist as an industry since six years, and the farms are spread over a 

 large district. It was necessary to ride across many miles of country 

 in order to find actual peppermint farms; on many mint -lands which 

 some years ago where thriving well, other cultivations have since then 

 been taken up. 



According to our observations, the total area cultivated with pepper- 

 mint in Wayne County may possibly amount to about 445 acres. 



As the farmers assume that they will obtain on the average 30 to 

 50 lbs. of oil from one acre, it follows that the new yield of black 

 mint oil in 1904 will be about 14,000 lbs. 



