The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-04-26
Worlds Largest Mint Field.
New York Times.


 There is plot of ground in Southern Micii- san which. probably. not many generations ago formed part of the lake of that name In course of time 1t became . fresh-wates swamp. as valueiess . piece of property a might be found. Today it is a prosperous. fer tile farm. upon which one of the most in- teresting industries of the world fs conducted on a large scale. This change was made pos sible by the march of modern science. which has carried farming, all other things. along with 1t. Ditch digging reclaimed this swamp. the ditches serving first as drains, later for irrigating purposes. @
 Campania Farm. as 1t has been nanisd by Its owner, Congressman Todd is about two miles wide. and is fiat a duck pond. There fences around 1t. but the ditches are laid with mathematical precision. At the exact centre of the farm are the buildings, from which the whole is operated and in which live as many people as are found fin many villages.
 As the visitor draws near the farm he sees stretching before him what appears to be . lake of green. crinkfy waves. which at night fall is covered with thick vapor. He be- comes conscious of smarting in tho eyes and fingling sensation in the nose. Memories of the big peppermint drops and sticks of striped candy cf childhood pass through his mind.
 He is. in fact. entering the largest mint field in tho world. where Is raised most of the pcpbciHtHt tHdt is ustu III tno HfHuutdCture oi oil for navoring confections in the United States,
 |. Campania Farm Is a busy place. The work men all live the grounds. It Is conducted on model plans. 4 large boarding house ac- commodities 100 men. and Congressman Todd has his Summer house near by. There are ice houses. farm buildings. warehouses. and a library. and a ciubroom for the workmen. There is a barn which is said to be the larg- est in the world. This barn solved one of the earliest problems. and the most embarrassing which confronted Mir Todd when he set out to conquer the swamp and reclaim 1t from the wastes and make 1t useful. This the question to what was to be done with the hundreds. and later thousands. of tons of mint hay after the oil had been extracted from 1t. He determined upon an experiment. He purchased 1000 acres of farm land in the northern part of Michigan and put out to A pasture a herd of 500 short horn cattle Tn the Fall the herd was brought south and housed for the Winter in the big barn.
 The experiment proved successful. as the peppermint plants are excellent fodder when dried. Besides there the advantage of giving employment to the workmen fin the Winter months.
 be- The barn is built on unique plans. It is in the shape of a star there being half dozen arms radiating from a six-sided rotunda in the centre.
 Mint grows from roots similar to hops end spreads by runners. The entire ground is soon covered after the roots are planted, and a5 soil which is suitable for mint is also good for weeds a large crop Of these must be tireless1y extracted. After the season is well advanced and cultivation is longer prac- ticable the wedding Is done by hand. and the amount of labor required is very large.
 At harvest time the mint is combed and carded in one direction by means of a power full two-horse rake. It is full of snags and crinkles, like a head of toused hair. Mowers are then run in the opposite direction and the plants cut.
 The best yield. in quality comes from the first years crop as the oil is made from the leaves and the tender ends of the stems, but th second and third years crops are said to be the most profitable. they do not need replanting. nor so much wedding. Each Fall the ground Is plowed six inches deep and the crop comes without resetting.