People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 July 1893 — PEPPERMINT PLANTS. [ARTICLE]

PEPPERMINT PLANTS.

Flfteen Thousand Tons Cultivated Yearly in the Wolverine State. More than one-half of all the oil of peppermint, spearmint and tansy used in the world is said by the New York Post to be produced and distilled in Michigan. The center of the industry is St. Joseph county. Peppermint plants weighing fifteen thousand tons when dried are cultivated every year in the state. From these the essential oils are distilled. Early in spring the roots are planted in furrows from two to three feet apart. In a day a good workman will plant an acre with them. A few weeks later the rows meet and cover the entire ground. In September the plants mature. They are then covered with fragrant purple blossoms and the time has arrived for mowing. After lying in the sun to dry they are raked into heaps and taken to the distilleries, of which there are about one hundred and fifty in the state. It is estimated that three hundred and fifty pounds of dried peppermint plants produce one pound of oil. The yield per acre is fifteen pounds of oil. Distilled peppermint brings from one dollar and twentyfive cents to five dollars per pound in the home market. The industry,was originally established in Mitcham, Eng., about one hundred and fifty years ago. Early in the present century a beginning was made in this country in Wayne county, N. ¥., and in St. Joseph, Mich. To-day ninetenths of the entire product of the world is made in the United States. The rich alluvial soil so abundant in Michigan, together with its desirable climate, has enabled the state to take precedence over any other state oi country in this industry.