68         THE  CROP  OF  OIL  OF  PEPPERMINT  IN  MICHIGAN. 
was  paid  to  irrigation.  In  some  fields  at  Cannes  there  were  com- 
plete networks  of  irrigating-tubes,  substantially  laid  in  cement. 
A  constant  warfare  is  waged  upon  insects,  and  each  plant  has  its 
particular  borer,  grub,  or  bug.  Continual  vigilance  is  the  price 
of  success. 
The  heat  in  summer  is  intense,  though  tempered  by  the  sea- 
breeze  ;  and  the  winter  is,  at  times,  as  rigorous  as  at  Washington 
or  Richmond. 
Male  labor  costs  35  to  40  cents  per  day,  and  female  15  cents. 
— Lond.  JPharm.  Journ.  Nov.  1,  1865,  from  American  Gar- 
dener's Monthly. 
THE  CROP  OF  OIL  OF  PEPPERMINT  IN  MICHIGAN. 
By  Frederick  Stearns. 
Referring  to  a  paper  on  the  culture  and  production  of  oil  of 
peppermint  presented  to  the  Association  a  few  years  since,  I  beg 
now  to  offer  the  following  statistics  in  regard  to  the  annual 
crops  for  the  four  years  of  the  rebellion. 
The  figures  refer  only  to  St.  Joseph's  County,  the  small  quan- 
tity produced  in  a  few  other  counties,  on  isolated  plantations, 
not  tending  to  increase  them  materially  : 
The  crop  for  1861, 
•                 •  * 
.    15,000  lbs. 
1862, 
•                 •   ■  • 
.    18,000  lbs. 
1863, 
.    24,00.0  lbs. 
1864, 
.    11,000  lbs. 
Average  value  per 
pound,  1861,  . 
$2.25. 
u             u  it 
1862,  . 
2.75. 
it                u  it 
"     1863,  . 
3.00. 
a             a  tt 
"     1864,  . 
5.00. 
1861,  '2,  and  '3,  were  favorable  years  for  its  growth,  and  the 
enhanced  price  led  to  a  greater  production  ;  while  1864  was  more 
unfavorable ;  the  drouth  affected  it,  and  there  was  not  so  much 
mint  set  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  laborers. 
Mint  farmers,  who  would  grow  from  30  to  60  acres,  now  grow 
5  to  10,  though  there  are  occasional  large  growers. 
The  quality  of  the  oil  averages  about  the  same  as  indicated  in 
the  former  paper ;  if  any  change,  it  is  for  the  better. 
