1 Srpr., 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 211 
again, as only the roots are required for commercial purposes. In two or 
three years the new plant will have made numerous roots and offshoots. The 
orris does best in a poor soil, and requires no manure. When gathered, the 
roots are spread out to dry and ripen in the field, and are then trimmed into 
shape, at the same time being sorted into various qualities. Sometimes the 
roots are bleached with fumes of burning sulphur, and find a ready sale for 
the turning of beads. Orris is chiefly used in the form of powder for various 
purposes in perfumery, but an otto may be obtained from it by distillation; it 
is, however, very expensive and not much used, as, in a concrete state, it reaches 
the extravagant price of £40 per lb. Orris is likely to find suitable soil and 
climate in Southern Queensland, as some of the Iris tribe seem to do well about 
Brisbane. 
Parcuourt.—This plant, although a native of South-eastern Asia, seems 
to have a wide range of climate, as it can be successfully grown in the vicinity 
of Brisbane. As it cannot stand frost, it is hardly likely to be profitably 
grown south of, say, Bundaberg; but is worth a trial, as it produces on distillation 
a powerful smelling oil of a dark-brown colour, worth about 86s. per lb. 
One hundredweight of herb will yield about 2 1b. of oil, which is the 
densest perfume known, and occupies the lowest note in the scale of odonrs. 
The dried leaves are also a marketable commodity, and find a ready sale 
in the London market. 
Patchouli is cultivated to some extent in Singapore, where the whole 
plant is reaped within a few inches of the ground, one stem being left to keep - 
the root alive. About six months after reaping, the plants will yield a second 
cutting, having in that time attained a height of about 2feet. A third cutting 
may also be obtained, after which the old plants are dug up and new ones 
grown from cuttings. 
The plant strikes readily from cuttings, which, from the writer’s experience, 
are better if taken from fairly matured wood than from young shoots. 
Cuttings may be struck at any time between March and September, those 
planted before the winter being transplanted, if necessary, in the spring. If” 
planted about 2 feet apart, and 4 feet from row to row, it would admit of 
horse cultivation, as the plantis of upright growth. 
Perrermine (Mentha piperita)—This plant is successfully cultivated in 
many countries, as, for instance, Japan, America, and England, and has found 
suitable soil and climate even in Victoria. 
Tt is a very hardy plant, and although preferring a temperate climate will 
stand a good deal of heat, provided the season be a moist one. Except under 
yery favourable conditions, it cannot withstand drought for any length of time. 
Tn cool localities it does not necessarily need a moist situation, provided the 
soil be of. a deep porous nature, such as the red volcanic scrub soils of our coastal 
ranges. In the early stages of its growth peppermint is very like the common 
spearmint, and strangers on first seeing a patch of it have been known to 
remark, ‘By Jove! Mint sauce.” It has actually been used for that purpose 
by the unskilled domestic to the disgust of the partakers of the accompanying 
roast lamb. 
In England there are cultivated two kinds of peppermint, known to 
commerce as “white” and “black,” from each of which a fine oil is produced, 
although that extracted from the former is the more valuable to the extent of 
about 10s. per 1b. The “black” mint, however, has the advantage of being 
the hardier and standing cold, heat, and drought better than its ally. It also 
produces from one-fifth to one-fourth more oil per acre than the white mint 
under similar conditions. 
