— 52 — 



The first step consisted of this, that the firm sent a representative 

 to Liverpool, to make inquiries about the comsumption in England, 

 which at that time is said to have amounted to 1 2 000 lbs. per year. 

 Another agent was sent to the West to ascertain the annual production, 

 with the result that Wayne County N. Y. did not produce enough, 

 Ohio too much, and the plantations in Michigan about the above- 

 mentioned quantity of the English consumption. The agent of the 

 firm now bound the producers of the States of New York and Ohio, 

 under a high penalty, to plough up their peppermint fields, destroy 

 the roots, and neither plant mint nor sell roots or oil for a period of 

 five years. In consideration of this the producers received an allowance 

 of 1,50 dollar per acre. The firm secured by contract the entire oil 

 production of St. Joseph County, Mich., at the price of 2,50 dollars 

 per lb. for a period of five years. The extension of the plantations 

 and the sale of roots were also forbidden by contract. The producers 

 carried out their engagements for three years, after which time the 

 New York firm no longer laid stress upon the observance of the 

 contracts, as it had meanwhile made a fortune out of the monopoly. 



Since that period the area devoted to the cultivation of pepper- 

 mint in Michigan has constantly extended, and Northern Indiana 

 with the principal producing centres St. Joseph, Steuben, and La 

 Grange County, also places continuously important quantities of oil on 

 the market. In Ohio the cultivation has been given up, and in the 

 State of New York the production has for years been cut down, until 

 recently it has again acquired larger dimensions. Whilst in the year 

 1889 in Wayne County 3325 acres were planted with mint, the cultiv- 

 ation gradually declined until in 1899 it amounted to 300 acres, but 

 it rose again to 933 acres in 1905. 



The foregoing Report mentions finally that the good prices of oil 

 of the last few years have induced many planters in the most diverse 

 places to extend the cultivation of peppermint. This is not only the 

 case in Michigan and Indiana, but also in the State of New York. 

 For this reason a larger production of oil may be anticipated for the 

 next few years, if favourable conditions prevail, and this is bound to 

 have a depressing effect on the quotations. 



The state of the market must therefore be kept under close observ- 

 ation, for the expenses of the cultivation amount to 12 to 14 dollars 

 per acre, and those of the oil- distillation to 25 cents per lb. oil, so 

 that the market-price of the oil may readily again fall below the cost 

 of production. 



Peppermint Oil, Japanese. The confidently expected drop in 

 the prices has up to now been prevented by speculative enterprise. 

 Japanese exporters are said to have sold large parcels of oil and 



