COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION OF THYMOL FROM HORSEMINT. 5 
appears that a crop of 10,000 pounds will remove from one acre of 
land the following quantities of nutrient materials: Nitrogen, as 
ammonia, 38.5 pounds; phosphoric acid, as P 2 5 , 14.5 pounds; and 
potash, as K 2 0, 59.5 pounds. The materials removed from the soil 
could be replaced by the use of 800 pounds per acre of fertilizer hav- 
ing the following composition: Nitrogen, as ammonia, 4.81 per cent; 
phosphoric acid, as P 2 5 , 1.81 per cent; and potash, as K 2 0, 7.43 per 
cent. 
Since some disposal must be made of the distilled herb it is probable 
that this material if returned to the soil would restore most of the 
nutrient materials removed and at the same time add vegetable 
matter to the land. It is advisable, however, to compost this 
material and to apply it to the field only after it is well decomposed. 
The exhausted material has been found to contain an average of 50 
per cent of water; and if proper allowance is made for the water 
content a ton of this material would yield the following quantities of 
nutrient materials: Nitrogen, as ammonia, 13.3 pounds; phosphoric 
acid, as P 2 5 , 5.4 pounds; and potash, as K 2 0, 21.2 pounds. 
HARVESTING. 
In harvesting the crop excellent results were secured by the use 
of a 1 -horse mowing machine, which was made adaptable for the 
purpose by placing shoes under each end of the cutting bar, so that 
the plants were cut about 6 inches above the ground. As soon as 
it is cut the herb should be gathered and hauled to the distilling 
plant, since it has been found that by allowing the plants to dry in 
the field there is considerable loss of oil. A large loss of leaves also 
results, owing to their rapid drying and shattering off in handling. 
Care must be taken in harvesting that the rooted layers about the 
plant are not torn loose; otherwise, a large percentage of the plants 
left in the field will die. The lower branches of the plant which 
spring from the stems near its base grow downward and strike root 
by natural layerage, and since in a large number of cases the old 
root dies after the first year the plant is perpetuated by these layers. 
In light soils these roots are easily torn loose and the death of the 
plant results. On this account the use of a rake for getting up the 
cut herb is undesirable, and forks should be used for that purpose. 
Considerable work, extending over a period of several years, has 
been done in order to determine the proper time for harvesting the 
herb and also to ascertain the yield of oil and thymol at the different 
stages of growth. In 1911, 16 tests were made with plants in the 
budded stage and a like number with plants in full flower, to determine 
the percentage of yield of oil and thymol in these two stages. The 
average yield was as follows: In the budded stage, 0.36 per cent of 
oil, with 64 per cent of total phenols ; from the plants in full flower, 
