The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom / Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c.

by P. L. Simmonds

The production of cinnamon, clove, and cassia oils, have already been noticed in speaking of those spices.

In Malabar, a greenish sweet-smelling oil is obtained, by distillation, from the roots of Unona Narum, an evergreen climber, which is used medicinally as a Stimulant.

OIL OF PEPPERMINT.—Mr. De Witt C. Van Slyck, of Alloway, Wayne county, New York, furnished me with the following particulars on the cultivation of peppermint, in December, 1849, which may appropriately be introduced in this place:—

"As an agricultural production, the culture of peppermint in the United States is limited to few localities; this county and the adjoining ones, Seneca and Ontario, comprise the largest bed. In the year 1846 about 40,000 lbs. of oil were produced. In Lewis county, in this state, it is grown, though to a less extent; the amount of oil produced there in 1846 was estimated at 4,500 lbs. In Michigan about 10,000 lbs. are annually produced; Ohio furnishes about 3,000 lbs. and Indiana 700 lbs. per annum. The entire crop in the United States, in the year 1846, is estimated in round numbers at 58,000 lbs.

The above comprises all the localities of any importance in the United States, and the above estimates of the annual product of oil were made from correct data for the year 1846, since which time the cultivation of mint has rapidly decreased in consequence of a speculative movement by a New York company, who in the spring of 1847 purchased nearly all the mint then growing in this State, and stipulated with the growers not to raise it for two years thereafter, which condition was generally observed on the part of the growers. The present year (1849), on account of the drought, has not realised the expectations of those engaged in its culture, although the amount of oil produced is much larger than the product of the two preceding years. In this mint district, 8,000 lbs. have been raised; Lewis county furnishes 1,000 lbs.; Michigan, 8.000 lbs.; Ohio, 1,000 lbs., and Indiana 500 lbs. So that the entire crop of 1849 will not materially vary from 18,500 lbs.

I have consulted several of the principal dealers in mint oil, whose opportunities have been ample to form a tolerably correct estimate of the amount of oil annually consumed, and their opinion fixes the total consumption, for the various purposes for which it is used in the United States and in Europe, at from 20,000 to 30,000 lbs. annually.

The price of mint oil is extremely fluctuating. Like other unstaple commodities, the value of which depends upon their scarcity or abundance, it never has assumed a constant and standing value, but its price has generally been deranged by speculation and monopoly. It has happened that the amount of oil produced was for several years greater than the annual consumption, producing an accumulation in the market, and reducing the price to the very low rate of 75 cents per pound; on the other hand, when the article was scarce, it readily sold for 5 dollars 25 cents per pound. The average price for fifteen vears has been about 2 dollars 50 cents, per pound. This year (1849) it readily sells for 1 dollar 50 cents., (6s. 6d.).

Peppermint began to be cultivated in this vicinity as an agricultural product about the year 1816, but for several years the want of a proper knowledge of its culture, and the expense and difficulty of extracting the oil, prevented its extension beyond a few growers, who, however, realised fortunes out of the enterprise. Almost any kind of soil that will successfully rear wheat and maize is adapted to the growth of mint. Rich alluvions, however, seem to be most natural, as would be inferred from the fact that the wild herb is almost uniformly found growing upon the tertiary formations on the margins of streams. The rich bottom lands along our rivers and the boundless prairies of the West are eminently adapted for its successful culture. It is believed by those best acquainted with the subject, that its cultivation must be ultimately confined to the western prairies, where it will grow spontaneously, and where the absence of noxious weeds and grasses, incident to all older settled lands, renders the expense of cultivation comparatively light, and where the low price of land will be an important item in the amount of capital employed, the expense of marketing being slight in comparison to that of the more bulky products of agricultural industry.

The method of cultivation is nearly uniform. The mode of propagation is by transplanting the roots, which may be done in autumn or spring, though generally the latter, and as the herb is perennial, it does not require replanting till the fourth year. To ensure a good crop and obviate the necessity of extra attendance the first season, the ground intended for planting should be fallowed the preceding summer, though this is not necessary if the land is ordinarily clean. The ground should be prepared as for maize, as soon as possible in the spring furrowed, and roots planted in drills twenty inches apart, and covered with loose earth, two inches deep, the planter walking upon the drill and treading it firmly. The proper time to procure roots is when the herb is a year old, when from six to eight square rods of ordinary mint will yield a sufficient quantity of roots to plant an acre, and the crop from which the roots are taken will not be deteriorated, but rather benefited by their extraction. As soon as the herb makes its appearance it requires a light dressing with a hoe, care being taken not to disturb the young shoots, many of which have scarcely made their appearance above the ground. In the course of a week or two the crop requires a more thorough dressing, and at this stage of growth the cultivator may be used with advantage, followed by the hoe, carefully eradicating weeds and grass from the drills, and giving the herb a light dressing of earth. Another dressing a week or two later is all the crop requires.

The two following years no labor is bestowed upon the crop, though it is sometimes benefited by ploughing over the whole surface, very shallow, in the autumn of the second year, and harrowing lightly the following spring, which frequently renews the vigor of the plant and increases the product.