THE  PEPPERMINT  PLANTATIONS  OF  MICHIGAN. 
37 
year  the  stalk  or  stem  of  the  Mint  is  coarse,  and  the  leaves  not 
so  abundant  as  before,  so  that  the  second  crop  is  not  so  produc- 
tive as  the  first. 
The  third  year  there  is  nothing  to  do  but  to  harvest  and  dis- 
till the  Mint.  The  stem  is  coarser  than  before,  and  the  leaves 
still  less  abundant.  The  weed  this  year  abounds,  and  if  not  re- 
moved and  destroyed  (a  task  involving  much  labor),  half  or  more 
of  the  product  of  the  field  is  weed,  and  the  yield  of  oil  and  herb 
consequently  reduced  to  one-half,  or  less  than  one-half,  that  of 
the  first  year. 
The  fourth  year,  the  field  is  plowed  up  early  in  the  spring. 
This,  in  a  measure  kills  the  weed,  (this  "  renewing,"  as  it  is 
called,  is  sometimes  done  the  third  year,  and  every  following 
third  year  until  the  field  is  employed  for  other  crops,)  the  bro- 
ken roots  send  up  new  and  tender  shoots,  and  a  fair  crop  is 
again  obtained  without  any  further  labor  than  plowing  the 
field. 
The  fifth  year,  without  any  further  attention,  produces  a 
crop  equal  to  the  second  ;  after  which,  the  field  is  pastured  and 
reclaimed  for  other  crops. 
The  first  year  produces  the  best  quality  of  oil,  the  highest 
yield  per  acre,  and  the  greatest  yield  to  the  quantity  of 
herb. 
Some  few  Mint-farmers  raise  the  plant  from  the  seed,  care- 
fully cultivating  the  ground,  and  protecting  the  young  shoots 
from  the  early  frosts,  the  Mint  not  being  cut  until  the  second 
year  of  its  growth  from  the  seed.  Those  who  operate  in  this 
manner,  usually  re-set  their  fields  every  two  years,  planting 
them  with  new  Mint,  raised  in  a  nursery,  from  the  seed.  Others 
still,  plant  the  roots  in  the  fall,  after  the  crop  is  gathered,  cul- 
tivate and  hoe  it  in  the  spring  following,  until  it  reaches  the 
height  of  a  foot  or  so.  After  the  crop  is  gathered,  the  Mint 
stubble  is  again  plowed  under,  and  harvested  the  second  season 
without  cultivating  or  hoeing. 
The  weed  which  has  been  mentioned  is  the  only  one  the  plan- 
ter has  to  contend  with  after  the  first  year's  cultivation,  and 
there  is  no  means  of  entirely  subduing  it.  After  the  first  year, 
the  Mint  roots,  which  naturally  tend  to  the  surface,  and  the 
stems,  which  naturally  tend  to  seek  the  earth,  and  root  in  it 
