June i, 1892.] THT TROPiCM. AQRICULTURIST. 937 
Hall, of Three Elvers, and "llalls Big Marsli of 
Florence " is the largest piece i f land in America 
devoted to raising pepperuiint. The farm is eight 
miles southeast oi Three Bivers, and contains some 
900 acres, of which acres are put into mint 
each year and alternated with clover to keep up 
the strength of the soil- Mr. Hall has four large 
distilleries with total capacity of some five hundred 
pounds of oil daily. The largest still house is situated 
in the centre of a 600 acre field ; it contains four 
stills, and is surrounded with mint fields as far as 
the eye can see. 
The cultivation of the plant is accompanied with 
more than ordinary care and the success of the crop 
depends largely upon the attention it receives, as 
well as the season. The groun-l is ploughed in 
August, September, or October, then thoroughly har- 
rowed, and the following spring it must be harrowed 
again, then marked and planted. Old roots from 
"first" crop are removed from the ground in spring, 
and planted in rows three feet apart ; a man carries 
the roots in a sack on his back, throws them into 
the rows, and they are then " kicked in." 
Two or three crops are gathered from each plant- 
ing, the first and second crops are the best, and 
twenty (lounds of oil to the acre is a good yield ; 
the third crop is very apt to be " weedy" and the 
yield only about ten pounds to the acre 
From the time the mint appears above the ground 
until it is gathered, it should be constantly culti- 
vated and hoed to keep it free from weeds, which 
are the bane of the peppermint grower's existence 
The plants matiu-e from the middle of August to 
the first of September, soon as the blossom i - out ; 
the " second " crop mint comes first, then the " first " 
crop, and lastly the " third." It is cut with a mower 
and by hand with a scythe, and if weedy the weeids 
must be stored out by hand. The plant stools out 
and spreads, but "first" crop is in quite distinct 
rows ; the second year it grows from the runners 
which fill in the rows making it a more solid mass, 
and in the "third crop" this is still more apparent. 
After cutting, the mint is allowed to partly dry 
or " cure," and is then raked into cots like hay 
and drawn to the still house, where it is immedi- 
ately distilled. 
The process of distillation is not complicated but 
interesting. The still is a lai"ge wooden tub with 
tight hinged top, a steam supply connection at the 
bottom and outlet to the condenser at the top of 
one side. The condenser used by Mr. Hall is a very 
effective and unique piece of apparatus, the worm 
instead of being in a coil is in longitudinal sections 
about 14 feet long, which lap under each other, the 
top about 6 inches in diameter and tapering to some 
2 inches at the bottom or outlet, and is made of 
tin. The cooler consists of a tin trough about 8 
inches in diameter with perforated bottom, the length 
of the condenser, over which it sets, and through 
the perforations a constant stream of water is kept 
flowing over the tin condensers. 
The mint is drawn to the still house in waggons, 
pitched into the still, the packer " packs the tub," 
the top is fastened down and the steam turned on 
for about an hour or until exhausted ; this is told 
by pulling out a plug in the top of the still. Across 
the inside bottom of tlie still is a frame with chain 
connections that run to the top; by means of a 
-heavy crane, which is connected to these chains, 
the oxhauslcd mint or "charge" is lifted out of 
tho still and carried away on a waggon. The "mint 
straw," as it is called, "is dried in the sun and used 
as fodder for shocp and cattle. 
The quality of the oil produced depends entirely 
on the mint used, and the freedom from admixtures 
of "weeds" or other foreign substances. 
Careless and lazy farmers raise poor mints as well 
as poor vvlioat, and whether it bo "first," "second," 
or " lliird ' crop inint. thorough cultivation is an 
important consideration in producing good oil ofpoper- 
mint. livorylhing lluit comes from a still is by no 
means pure oil, and experience is a most impor- 
tant factor in judging of its quality. 
iHnough has been written aliout" tests for oil of 
poppcrmiut to till a huge volume, but oue of es- 
perienoe in the business will judge of the quality 
of a can of oil almost as soon as he places his 
nose to the opening. It may be necessary to ex- 
amine it for water or castor oil and alcohol and 
possible other adulterants, or to see that none of 
the menthol has been removed, but the natural 
flaroiif of pure oil of peppermint is what the man 
of experience first seeks. — I'hannaceutical Journal'. 
ANOTHER SUBSTITUTE FOR JUTE. 
Wonderful are the uses of the cotton plant V Foi:-, 
merly it was grovvu for i.he cotton alone, and the 
seed vvas looked upon as a nuisance, to be got rid 
of in the cheapest way possible, not even being 
thought worthy of use as a manure, and both it 
and the hulls were regarded as dangerous food for 
stock. Now the value of the seed is almost as great 
as the cotton itself. As an oil producer, a food for 
stock, and a fertilizer, it is in constant and grow-- 
ing deniarid, and it has even beeii suggested that it 
would pay to develop seed-growth at the expense of 
the cotton, making that merely a secondary pro- 
duct. Up to this time the stalks have retained their 
old-time valueless character, but this also appears 
now to be nearing its end-, for it is proposed to 
utilize the fibre contained in them for making bag- 
ging Tiie difficulty in the way has hitherto been 
the absence of a machine to break them and draw 
out the fibre. This appears now to be overcome, 
and another source of profit opene i to the cotton- 
planter, as we learii from the following paragraph, 
taken from the rrogrtisire Fanner : — 
"The' following from Augusta will be read with 
nterest by all our readers : 
" Wil iam E. Jackson, a well-known lawyer of 
this city, has solved the Jute-bagging problem 
that has agitated cotton circles for so long. Jack- 
son has perfected mechanical appliances for making 
bagging from cotton stalks, and he has just returned 
from New York with a roll of bagging. 
"Expert cotton men say that it is in every res- 
pect equal to jute bagging. He will buy the bare 
stalks from the farms, and can afford to pay about 
$2 a ton laid down. An annual stalk yield will 
bale three years' cotton crop. The machinery com- 
pri.'ies heavy corrugated rollers, with vasts of run- 
ning water, carding machines, and bagging looms. 
It is estimated that in making bagging from cottoii 
stalks two million dollars annua'ly will be put into 
the pockets of farmers for what is now oleai'ed from 
the fields at an expense. 
" Augusta will be headquarters for the company's 
mill and officer , the demand for the products of 
which will extend from Virginia to Texas. Jackson 
had the roll of bagging which is exhibited woven 
by the jute-bagging looms of J. C. Todd, at Pater- 
son, N. J., and he says that experts pronounce it 
equal to its jute rival. Cotton-stalk bagging is less 
inflammable, and is only a shade darker than jute. 
Cotton circles here are jubilant." — Southern Planter. 
SUGAR IN INDIA. 
Papers resp^ cting the sugar production of India 
have Tbeen received from the Secretary of State for 
India, from which the following partictilars have 
been extracted : — ■ 
On the 8th Blay, 1889, Messrs. J. Travers and 
Sons, Limited, wrote to the Under Secretary of 
State for India— 
" The average production of India is given as a 
ton of sugar per acre, and the produce (with the ex- 
ception of the thre6 modern mills in Madras) is of 
the most wretched' Character. 
"In the West Indies (which are also backward) 
sngar growers obtain two tons of sugar per acre, or 
double the Indian average, and, with modern ma- 
chinery, properly crystallised sugar can be made 
direct from the cane juice at a cost on the spot (that 
is, without carriage) of Ss. to 10s. per cwt. 
" It is no doubt the competition of such direct 
cane sugar fron\ Mauritius which is leading to the 
closing of retiueiies in Bcutjal, if, as wo jmagiuo, 
