Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1886-01-14
PEPPERMINT.
WHENCE THE WORLD GETS
MOST OF ITS SUPPLY.
A Peculiar Wayne County, on. 4. y In-
dustry---Method of Cultivation
and DistiIlating the Oil or
Peppermint.

A letter from Lyons, N Y, to the
New York Post says that the peppermint
industry there is the greatest II the
world, and that Hiram s. Hotchkiss now
seventy-tive years old, is the peppermint
king, the bulk of this crop going through
his hands. Continuing, the writer sss
The mint is raised chiefly IN the Tow MS
of Huron, sodus, daien, Msrion, Arcadia,
Williamson, Lyons and Rose. The loan
soil of the fiat lands Of these towns is
naturally adapted to it, but the richness
of the plant in oil varies SO greatly that
producers cannot mix their crops for dis
tilling, taking pro-rata share of the oil,
as dairymen can mix their milk in com
mon pool at the cheese factory, and take
a pro-rata share Of the cheese. The mint
acreage of the county this season is esti-
mated to be about 1000 acres, and this
area is said to be only about half what it
would have been if the season had been
favorable. Mr.. Hotchlxiss estimates the
total product Of oil this year to b worth
$120,00O. In fairly good season it
rises to $3.50, 900, with available soil to
increase it much beyond this amount
The crop is now, of course, all in, and
much of it has been sent on its way to
the candy factories, the bakeries snd the
aching stomachs of the world
Peppermint long ago ceased to be
looked upon as weed in these parts. It
is a legitimate agricultural product,
planted and attended as Systematically as
crop of wheat or potatoes. The method
of cultivation is as follows: In April, as
early as the season will permit, the
ground is ploughed and dressed as if a
crop Of corn was to be planted on it.
Then the field is marked off in rows by a
plough or other marker, making sufi-
GENTLY deep furrow in the soil, the rows
being thirty inches apart. In these fur
rows mint roots, secured from the previ-
GUS years growth, are laid along continu-
ously, and are then covered over. The
mint sprouts grows 50 readily that
in two weeks after the roots are laid, if
the weather be favorable, it is out of the
ground an inch or so and is sufficiently
high to warrant the first stirring of the
soil between the rows by horse cultiva-
tor. At the end of four weeks the plant
it, thereby freeing It Of weeds and brace
ing it up for the seasons growth. By
the 4th of July it has been given the
benefit of the horse cultivator and two
hoeings. Thereafter, leaving all weeds
behind, it grows to height Of about
twenty inches, and by the middle
Of September it has gathered into
its cells all the essential oil it is ca
pable of containing, or that it can find In
the soil at its feet and in the sunlight
overhead. When ripe it is harvested as
hav used to be gathered before moving
machines and horse rakes were invented.
1t is moved with common scythe, is al
lowed to "curen on the ground, is then
raked with a hand rake. and put up into
cocks. whence. it is hauled in ordinary
hay riggings to the distilleries. There is
no hurry about the harvest for the pur-
pose of avoiding frost, for the latter does
not perceptibly impair the quality of the
oil nor diminish the yield. Too great
exposure to cold is guarded against, how
ever, by harvesting as soon as convenient,
or the mint is ready to cut. No care is
taken to separate ordinary weeds or grass
from the mint, for they contain no oil, OF
not enough to be perceptible in the pep
permint oil. Rayweed, smartweed, and
others that contain strong oils are culti-
waited out while the mint is growing. Mint
farmers of experience have found that
this one, like other crops, must be s'rota-
tedn after two or three years, and that the
soil ought to be given at least three years
rest from mint before there is return to
it. If too early return is made, there is
apt to be trouble from grub that preys
on the roots and lower stalks of the
plant. Any cereal crop is used to rotate
the mint crop with.
Distillation follows close upon the har-
vesting. The apparatus for this branch
of the business is simple and compare
lively inexpensive. Some of the larger
mint farmers have their own distilleries,
but usually the crop is hauled to some
central neighborhood where distillery
IS to be found. Each farmers crop is
distilled separately, on account Of the
yariableness in the oil richness of the
plant, as stated above The dry mint is
pitched with common hay-fork into a
tub, usually six feet deep by five in diam
eter,. constructed strong enough to with
stand an outward pressure Of about twelve
pounds to the square inch A steam
tight lid is fastened on, and then steam is
put on to cook the herb. The oil passes
off in the steam and condensed by worm
in the ordinary process of distillation. It is
then stored in demijohns IS be delivered to
Mr.. Hotchkiss or other dealers. 1t re-
quires about three-quarters Of an hour to
distil tubful packed down as close as
possible, and the way they tell when the
batch is done is by smelling of the
steam. When there is no smell of pep
perrnint in it the oil inside has been all
carried off.
The oil is sent to market from here in
wholesale quantities, but small part Of
each years product is put up in phials