MINT, a genus of perennial herbs (Men tha) of the family Menthacee. Many species have been described, of which 12 are either native or naturalized in America, character ized by square stems, opposite simple leaves, small, purple, white or pink, two-lipped, axillary flowers, in whorls which often form terminal spikes. All are noted for the fragrance of their foliage, due to the presence of an essential oil, for the production of which half a dozen spe cies are more or less cultivated. The following are the most important ones: _Spearmint (M. sPscata), peppermint (M. pipers:a), pennyroyal (M. pulegium), (M. citrata) and Japanese mint (M, arvensis, var. piper ascens). Spearmint is the species most used as a culinary herb in the form of mint sauce served mainly with roasted lamb. Peppermint is largely employed in flavoring candy and for the production of menthol. Bergamot mint is chiefly used in perfumery. Medicinal properties have been attributed to all of them, and they have all been cultivated upon a com mercial scale to supply the various demands. Besides these cultivated species, which are frequently found as escaped plants near gardens, there are several other species, of which the following are perhaps best known: Round-leaved mint (M. rotunclifolia), a native of Europe, naturalized rather interruptedly in the coast States from Maine to Texas; water mint (M. aquatica), with hairy stems, rather rare in wet places in New England and south ward to Maryland; whorled mint (M. saliva) and its close relative, corn mint (M. arvensis), which are found in damp fields in New Eng land; and wild mint (M. canadensis), which extends northward from the Northern States across the continent. All are recognizable by their resemblance to other members of the genus, especially by their odor. Several other related plants of other genera are called mint, among them being mountain mint (Koellia spp.), also popularly known as basil. The numerous species are widely distributed throughout the United States and Canada, and have a mint-like flavor and odor. Catnip
(Nepeta cataria) is often called cat mint, and several species of Monarda, especially M. punctata, are known as horse-mint.
The half-dozen cultivated mints are man aged alike. They will grow on any soil that will produce good crops of potatoes, but since they are considered exhausting crops are In cluded in the rotation only once in five or more years, Upon reclaimed swamps, however, which are considered best adapted to their cultivation, they are generally allowed to remain consecu tively for five years or even more without change of crop. The land having been plowed, harrowed and otherwise fitted, small pieces of the root-stock are dropped at inter vals of a few inches in shallow furrows about 30 inches apart. All through the season the land is kept scrupulously free from weeds, especially of smartweed, fireweed, ragweed and horseweed, which seriously injure the prod uct if included in the *be from which the oil is distilled. Hand-weeding is commonly practised after horse cultivation is stopped by the luxuriant vines. About midsummer, or when the earliest flowers appear, the tops are cut, either with scythes of sometimes with mowing machines, and cured like hay. They are then stored under cover for distilling. This process is usually conducted with steam, which enters the still below, passes upward through the mass of hay, carrying the essential oil with it, and condenses in coils of pipe chilled by running water. After condensation, the oil and water separate by gravity. After standing for a greater or less length of time, crystals of menthol (q.v.) appear in the oil of peppermint. The annual yield of oil per acre sometimes exceeds 50 pounds, and some times a second profitable cutting of the crop may be made in autumn. Having once been planted the crop takes care of itself from year to year. The most important producing centre is in southwestern Michigan and northwestern Indiana. Perhaps next is Wayne County, N. Y. Other important mint fields are at Mitcham. Surrey and Lincolnshire, England, and in Saxony, Germany.