stant and standing value, but
its price has generally been deranged by speculation and monopoly.
It has happened that the amount of oil produced was for several
years greater than the annual consumption, producing an accumulation
in the market, and reducing the price to the very low rate of 75
cents per pound; on the other hand, when the article was scarce, it
readily sold for 5 dollars 25 cents per pound. The average price for
fifteen vears has been about 2 dollars 50 cents, per pound. This
year (1849) it readily sells for 1 dollar 50 cents., (6s. 6d.).

Peppermint began to be cultivated in this vicinity as an
agricultural product about the year 1816, but for several years the
want of a proper knowledge of its culture, and the expense and
difficulty of extracting the oil, prevented its extension beyond a
few growers, who, however, realised fortunes out of the enterprise.
Almost any kind of soil that will successfully rear wheat and maize
is adapted to the growth of mint. Rich alluvions, however, seem to
be most natural, as would be inferred from the fact that the wild
herb is almost uniformly found growing upon the tertiary formations
on the margins of streams. The rich bottom lands along our rivers
and the boundless prairies of the West are eminently adapted for its
successful culture. It is believed by those best acquainted with the
subject, that its cultivation must be ultimately confined to the
western prairies, where it will grow spontaneously, and where the
absence of noxious weeds and grasses, incident to all older settled
lands, renders the expense of cultivation comparatively light, and
where the low price of land will be an important item in the amount
of capital employed, the expense of marketing being slight in
comparison to that of the more bulky products of agricultural
industry.

The method of cultivation is nearly uniform. The mode of propagation
is by transplanting the roots, which may be done in autumn or
spring, though generally the latter, and as the herb is perennial,
it does not require replanting till the fourth year. To ensure a
good crop and obviate the necessity of extra attendance the first
season, the ground intended for planting should be fallowed the
preceding summer, though this is not necessary if the land is
ordinarily clean. The ground should