IOI 



After cutting, the peppermint is slightly dried, but not to such an 

 extent that the leaves fall off, and is then distilled as quickly as pos- 

 sible. Some operators distil the plants in the green state, as they fear 

 that drying will cause loss of oil. About 330 lbs. of dried peppermint 

 yield 1 lb. of oil; the output per acre equals from 12 to 50 lbs. of oil. 



Various kinds of distilling apparatus are in. use, but they all consist 

 of a boiler, 2 wooden vats, a condenser and a receiver. The vats 

 are used for receiving the herb and are alternately filled and emptied. 

 They are 6 ft. high, with a diameter of 5 ft. A steam -tube leads 

 from the boiler through the bottom of each vat, so that the steam passes 

 through the distilling material from below. In large distilling plants 

 the vats contain 2000 to 3000 lbs. of dried herb. 



According to the Journal of the Board of Agriculture 1 ), from 

 500 to 1000 acres are under peppermint in England. In this country 

 black mint yields twice as much oil as does white mint, and as a 

 result the cultivation of the latter has been supplanted to a consider- 

 able extent. Peppermint grows best at a height not exceeding 200 ft. 

 The principal production is in the districts of Ewell, Cheam, Carshalton, 

 and Mitcham; smaller quantities are also obtained in certain parts of 

 Sussex, Kent, Hertfordshire, and Lincolnshire. In England also the 

 plants are grown from roots, not from seed. The land having been 

 ploughed and manured during the winter, the plants are dibbled in 

 in May. A plantation lasts from 4 to 5 years, the best output being 

 in the second year. After 4 or 5 years the land is not used again 

 for mint growing for some years. 



The harvest begins early in September, when a red rust or "snuff" 

 appears on the leaves. After some slight drying the plants are dis- 

 tilled for about six hours. The oil-yield per acre ranges from 8 up 

 to 25 lbs. 



The particulars following, relating to the production in Japan con- 

 tained in the Bulletin, are taken from the article on Japanese Pepper- 

 mint by Naojiro Inouye which appeared in our Report of November 

 1908, p. 199. 



Petitgrain Oil, Paraguay. Business in this article has been 

 unusually quiet. On the one side the offers were not particularly 

 liberal, but on the other the demand was also halting, and even the 

 present prices, although extremely advantageous, call forth very little 

 interest. The fact that according to the report of the German Consulate 

 in Asuncion the exports were as follows 



1908 30274 kilos 

 against 1907 10872 „ 

 and 1906 9698 „ 



') Journ. of the Bd. of Agric. 15 (1908), No. 5. 



