Salt Lake Herald-Republican | 1918-05-26 | Page 35 | Growing Black Mint New Industry Here

I GROWING BLACK MINT NEW NEM INDUSTRY HERE HEREBy HEREDy By Dy Associated Press WASHINGTON May ray 25 The The feasibility teas tea of ot beginning tho the culture of at black mint In this country for the production production production pro pro- of ot menthol crystals and oil Is th the subject of a special report by Vice Consul E. E R. R Dickover of at Kobe Japan as an the result of ot inquiries from the United States Several attempts to Import black mint plants have been frustrated bythe bythe by bythe the long IonS journey across the Pacific during which the plants died Once an arrangement was made with a steamer purser to care for the plants and they arrived in good condition bu but were killed b by cllon in entering tho the country Tho consulate now Is attempting to obtain mint seeds a a. I difficult task since the plant is culI cultivated cultivated cul cul- I almost entirely from slips I Two widel widely different climatic areas area are devoted de to the tho cultivation of or mint in Japan corresponding to the northera northern northern north north- ern era Pacific coast of or the United States and to Virginia and North Carolina About 02 n 2 per cent of or the Japanese mint Is grown on the Hokkaido island where the average winter temperature is 2 22 degrees and the summer temperature tempera tempera- I ture 60 degrees degree with of ot 38 Inches The remaining 8 S per cent of ot the Japanese crop is grown on Nippon where the average temperatures are arc 38 and 75 degrees and ln the rainfall 45 Inches The mint plant requires a. a light well drained soil The roots are planted at the end ot of November The The- plant attains full growth during the summer summer summer sum sum- mer months and Is cut In late hate Jul July during August and In ear early September Septem Septem- I ber tho the third cutting yielding th the greatest percentage of or oil oU and menthol crystals Steaming and pressing In barr barrels prepares the tho leaves lea for tor the factories where the oil is extracted by a proc process sf and nd of or freezing freezing- pressing