LEDGER AND THE ROAN 331 
any form whatever without seeing those open sunny 
banks hot with pennyroyal that He on the side of 
Roan Mountain. And how many know the refresh- 
ing quahty of a sprig of pennyroyal on a hot summer 
day. To chew this, or one of the pungent mints that 
also grow here in abundance, can sometimes add 
a mile or two to the day's walk. There are oil stills 
in the mountains south of Asheville, but it happened 
to be these of the more northern regions that one 
first and most often happened upon, and about which 
cling so many fragrant memories. Pennyroyal and 
ginseng are by no means the only herbs gathered in 
the mountains. Indeed, the higher Appalachians are 
a principal source of supply for a great variety of 
medicinal herbs, many tons of which are yearly 
shipped to all parts of the country and to Europe. 
In the season you are always meeting the herb col- 
lectors, either gathering herbs from the immense 
wild gardens where they grow or "toting" them 
down the mountains in great bags on their backs. 
One remembers gardens of balmony on the Grand- 
father Mountain, where after the collectors had gone 
you would not notice that any had been removed, so 
dense was the growth. The herbs are taken home 
and dried and exchanged at the country stores, that 
carry on a lively traffic in this industry which keeps 
many a mountain family in the necessities of life. You 
see the herbs, each in its season drying everywhere, 
spread out on the roofs, on the porch floors and — 
under the beds. 
The curious names of some of the places in the 
