OIL OF PEPPEEMINT. 



567 



ticulars on the cultivation of peppermint, in December, 184:9, 

 which may appropriately be introduced in this place : — 



As an agricultural production, the ciilture of peppermint in the United 

 States is limited to few localities ; this county and the adjoining ones, Seneca 

 and Ontario, comprise the largest hed. In the year 1846 about 40,000 lbs. of 

 oil were produced. In Lewis county, in this state, it is grown, though to a less 

 extent ; the amount of oil produced there in 1846 was estimated at 4,500 lbs. 

 In Michigan about 10,000 lbs. are annually produced ; Ohio furnishes about 

 3,000 lbs. and Indiana 700 lbs. per annum. The entire crop in the United 

 States, in the year 1846, is estimated in round numbers at 58,000 lbs. 



The above comprises all the localities of any importance in the United States, 

 and the above estimates of the annual product of oil were made from correct 

 data for the year 1846, since which time the cultivation of mint has rapidly de- 

 creased in consequence of a speculative movement by a New York company, 

 who in the spring of 1847 purchased nearly all the mint then groM^ing in this 

 State, and stipulated with the growers not to raise it for two years thereafter, 

 •which condition was generally observed on the part of the growers. The pre- 

 sent year (1849), on account of the drought, has not realised the expectations 

 of those engaged in its culture, although the amount of oil produced is much 

 larger than the product of the two preceding years. In this mint district, 

 8,000 lbs. have been raised; Lewis county furnishes 1,000 lbs.; Michigan, 

 8.000 lbs. ; Ohio, 1,000 lbs., and Indiana 500 lbs. So that the entire crop of 

 1849 will not materi;tHy vary from 18,500 lbs. 



I have consulted several of the principal dealers in mint oil, whose oppor- 

 tunities have been ample to form a tolerably correct estimate of the amount of 

 oil annually consumed, and their opinion fixes the total consumption, for the 

 various purposes for which it is used in the United States and in Europe, at 

 from 20,000 to 30,000 lbs. annually. 



The price of mint oil is extremely fluctuating. Like other ixnstaple com- 

 modities,''the value of which depends upon their scarcity or abundance, it never 

 has assumed a constant and standing value, but its price has generally been 

 deranged by speculation and monopoly. It has happened that the amount of 

 oil produced was for several years greater than the annual consumption, pro- 

 ducing an accumulation in the market, and reducing the price to the very low 

 rate of 75 cents per pound ; on the other hand, when the article was scarce, it 

 readily sold for 5 dollars 25 cents per pound. The average price for fifteen 

 years has been about 2 dollars 50 cents, per pound. This year (1849) it readily 

 sells for 1 dollar 50 cents., (6s. 6d.). 



Peppermint began to be cultivated in this vicinity as an agricultural product 

 about the year 1816, but for several years the want of a proper knowledge of 

 its culture, and the expense and difficulty of extracting the oil, prevented its 

 extension beyond a few growers, who, however, realised fortunes out of the 

 enterprise. Almost any kind of soil that will successfully rear wheat and maize 

 is adapted to the growth of mint. Rich alluvions, however, seem to be most 

 natural, as would be inferred from the fact that the wild herb is almost uni- 

 formly found growing upon the tertiary formations on the margins of streams. 

 The rich bottom lands along our rivers and the boundless prairies of the West 

 are eminently adapted for its successful culture. It is believed by those best 

 acquainted with the subject, that its cultivation must be ultimately confined to 

 the western prairies, where it will grow spontaneously, and where the absence 

 of noxious weeds and grasses, incident to all older settled lands, renders the ex- 

 pense of cultivation comparatively light, and where the low price of land will 

 be an important item in the amount of capital employed, the expense of mar- 

 keting being slight in comparison to that of the more bulky products of agri- 

 cultural industry. 



The method of cultivation is nearly uniform. The mode of propagation is 

 by transplanting the roots, which may be done in autumn or spring, though 

 generally the latter, and as the herb is perennial, it does not require replanting 

 till the fourth year. To ensure a good crop and obviate the necessity of extra 

 attendance the first season, the ground intended for planting should be fallowed 

 the preceding suuimtT, though this is not necessary if the land is ordinarily 



