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ATLANTIC, IOWA 
WINTER AND SPRING 1947 
Featuring Unusual New Plants 
Mountain Mint, a gocd honey plant, promises to 
be a profitable crop for cultivation. 

This; species ; fof Mountain Mint, pycnanthemdn@ ik 
pilosum! may become an important source of es- © 
sential oils. Preliminary tests indicate that a 
much heavier yield of oil can be distilled from 
this plant as compared to the yields obtained 
from other mints now in cultivation. It contains 
both menthol and thymol in such abundance as 
to indicate a substantial profit, 
Mountain Mint is an abundant source of nectar. 
It blooms heavily in August and September and 
is very attractive to the bees. A single large 
plant may have 100,000 or more florets. Its 
strong, pleasant, mint odor makes it a most de- 
sirable plant for herb gardens. 
It is native to the middlewest, the natural habitat 
being partially wooded hillsides. It has been re- 
ported: as{ a $durice of surplus honey in some lo- 
calities along the ‘Mississippi river. 
Mountain Mint responds well to cultivation on 
our grounds. It requires extra work the first sea- 
son in transplanting and cultivation to get it started 
but apparently a planting will last a number of 
years. It grows three to four feet tall. 
Larger tests of this plant are planned to make 
sufficient oil available for extensive study of the 
ingredients. The plant is likely to become a 
very profitable cultivated crop once facilities for 
distillation are available. In the meantime, as a 
good hdnéy plant and interesting herb, we an- 
ticipate that many will want to try growing this 
plant and thus’determine the localities where it 
is best adapted. 
