THE AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACY. 
163 
from the fact that it is so largely grown in England and America, and on the 
Continent of Europe. At Mitcham, Surrey, 219 acres were grown in 1864, and 
at Market Deeping, in Lincolnshire, 150 acres in 1881, and the annual yield of 
the oil from all parts of the world has been estimated at 90,000lbs. 
Peppermint camphor, or menthol, is also greatly in demand, and is 
obtained from the oil at a low temperature, in crystalline form. This ought 
yet to become one of our colonial products. It would be interesting to 
compare the yield, as well as quality, of the oil produced here with that 
obtained at Mitcham. It is well known that this oil varies considerably in 
quality and commercial value, according to the conditions under which it is 
grown, that of Mitcham being nearly three times as valuable as the finest 
American. The season, too, affects it ; usually in a warm and dry season the 
yield is loz. from every 5lb. of the fresh flowering plant, and if wet and cold 
•it may be reduced one-half. Mr. Slater’s estimate of the yield of the best 
peppermint is only a quarter of the first am >unt; so that it is probable the 
average here might still be raised. 
Mr. E. M. Holmes, of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, gives the 
following interesting account of the mode of cultivation of the plant at Market 
Deeping, Lincolnshire:— “ A rich, friable soil, retentive of moisture, is selected, and 
the ground is well tilled 8 to 10 inches deep. The plants are propagated in the 
spring, usually in April and May. When the young shoots from the crop of 
the previous year have attained a height of about 4 inches, they are pulled up 
and transplanted into new soil. They grow vigorously the first year, and throw 
out numerous stolons on the surface of the ground. After the crop has been 
removed, these are allowed to harden, or become woody, and then farmyard 
manure is scattered over the field and ploughed in. In this way the stolons 
are divided into numerous pieces, and covered with soil before the frost sets in. 
If the autumn is wet, they are liable to become sodden, and rot, and the next 
crop fails. In the spring the fields are dressed with Peruvian guano. In new 
ground the peppermint requires hand weeding two or three times, as the hoe 
cannot be used without injury to the plants. The average yield of peppermint 
is about 165 cwt. per acre. The first year’s crop is always cut with the sickle, 
to prevent injury to the stolons. The herb of the second and third year is cut 
with scythes, and then raked by women into loose heaps ready for carting. 
The field is then gleaned by boys, who add what they collect to the heaps. 
The plants rarely yield a fourth crop on the same land. The harvest usually 
commences in the beginning or middle of August, or as soon as the plants 
begin to flower, and lasts for six weeks, the stills being kept going night and 
day.” 
Lavender (Lavendula vera D.C.) — The growth of lavender is also much 
restricted on account of the deficient labour supply. Nearly three acres were 
once planted. In Surrey there are about 300 acres under cultivation, while at 
Market Deeping it has been given up on account of a fungus attacking it. As 
the plants at present do not produce seed, propagation is effected by slips. It is 
very noticeable how dependent the yield of oil is upon the weather at home. The 
average amount is from 12 to 301bs. of oil per acre, but if the weather is wet 
and dull, instead of dry and sunny, about the time of flowering the yield mav be 
reduced one-hall:. This colony has the advantage of a more equable climate" and 
a greater amount of sun, so that the chances are in its favour. As a matter of 
fact some of the oil produced here has been considered superior to the finest yet 
obtained anywhere. The soil, too, is of the right sort, being a sandy loam, with 
a calcareous subsoil, where it is grown. Considering that the best French oil is 
only worth about one-sixth of tlie English article, and that here the conditions 
