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PEPPERMINT
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PEPPERMINT , an indigenous perennial See also:herb of the natural See also:order See also:Labiatae, and genus Mentha (see See also:MINT), the specific name being Mentha piperita, is distinguished from other See also:species of the genus by its stalked leaves and oblong-obtuse spike-like heads of See also:flowers. It is met with, near streams and in wet places, in several parts of See also:England and on the See also:European See also:continent, and is also extensively cultivated for the See also:sake of its essential oil in England,' in several parts of See also:continental See also:Europe, and in the
a
a, Flowering See also:branch (about a nat. See also:size) ; b, See also:flower showing See also:form of
calyx See also:teeth (enlarged).
See also:United States. Yet it was only recognized as a distinct species See also:late in the 17th See also:century, when Dr Eales discovered it in See also:Hertford-See also:shire and pointed it out to See also:Ray, who published it in the second edition of his Synopsis stirpium britannicarum (1696). The medicinal properties of the plant were speedily recognized and it was admitted into the See also:London See also:Pharmacopoeia in 1721, uncles the name of Mentha piperitis so See also:pore.
Two varieties are recognized by growers, the See also: In See also:America the oil is liable to be injured in flavour by aromatic weeds which grow freely among the See also:crop, the most troublesome of these being Erigeron canadense, and Erechlhites hieracifolia. When pure the oil is nearly See also:colour-less and has an agreeable odour and powerful aromatic See also:taste, followed by a sensation of See also:cold when See also:air is See also:drawn into the mouth. It has a specific gravity of o.84 to 0.92, and boils at 365° F. Mitcham oil, when examined by polarized See also:light i11 a See also:column 50 mm. See also:long, deviates from 14.2° to 10'7° to the See also:left, the See also:American 4'3°• When oil of peppermint is cooled to 4° C. it sometimes deposits colourless hexagonal prisms of menthol, C1oH2,O, which are soluble in See also:alcohol and See also:ether, almost insoluble in See also:water, and fusible at 92° F. The oil consists chiefly of menthol and a terpene called menthene, C1oHls. Oil of peppermint is often adulterated with a third See also:part of rectified spirit, which may be detected by the milkiness produced when the oil is agitated with water. Oil of See also:rosemary and rectified oil of See also:turpentine are sometimes used for the same purpose. If the oil contains turpentine it will explode with See also:iodine. If quite pure it dissolves in its own See also:weight of rectified See also:spirits of See also:wine. Peppermint oil is largely distilled at See also:Canton, a considerable quantity being sent to Bombay, also a large quantity of menthol. The species cultivated in the neighbourhood of Canton, is Mentha arvensis, See also:var. glabrata. See also:Pepper-mint is chiefly cultivated in the See also:province of Kiang-si; and according to native statements as much as 4o piculs of oil of peppermint are sent annually to ports on the See also:coast. In See also:Japan also the See also:distillation of oil of peppermint forms a considerable See also:industry, the plant cultivated being M. arvensis, var. piperascens. The oil, under the name of hakka no abura, is exported from See also:Hiogo and Ozaka, but is said to be frequently adulterated. The menthol is obtained by subjecting the oil to a See also:low temperature, when it crystallizes out and is separated. The two varieties of M. arvensis just
named yield much more menthol than M. piperita. It is remarkable, however, that the M. arvensis, var. javanica, growing in See also:Ceylon, has not the flavour of peppermint but that of See also:garden mint, while typical form of M. arvensis grown in See also:Great See also:Britain has an odour so different from peppermint that it has to be carefully removed from the See also: It is also powerfully antiseptic. These two properties make it valuable in the See also:relief of toothache and in the treatment of carious cavities in the teeth. They also render the drug valuable in certain forms of See also:dyspepsia and in See also:colic generally, " soda-mint lozenges " being a See also:familiar form. The characteristic See also:anti-spasmodic action of the volatile See also:oils is perhaps more marked in this than in any other oil, and greatly adds to its See also:power of relieving pains arising in the alimentary See also:canal. The volatile oil of spearmint is also See also:official in Great Britain and the United States, being given in the same doses and for the same purposes as oil of peppermint. It is of less value medicinally, not containing any appreciable quantity of menthol, the See also:place of which is taken in the oleum menthae viridis- xxl. 5the pharmacopoeial name—by carvone, C1oH14O, found in See also:caraway oil, and isomeric with See also:thymol. The following mode of cultivation of peppermint is adopted at Market Deeping. A See also:rich friable See also:soil, retentive of moisture, is selected, and the ground is well tilled 8 to 10 in. deep. The See also:plants are propagated in the See also:spring, usually in See also:April and May. When the See also:young shoots from the crop of the previous See also:year have attained a height of about 4 in. they are pulled up and trans-planted into new soil. They grow vigorously the first year, and throw out numerous stolons on the See also:surface of the ground. After the crop has been removed these are allowed to harden or become woody, and then See also:farm-yard manure is scattered over the field and ploughed in. In this way the stolons are divided into numerous pieces, and covered with soil before the See also:frost sets in. If the autumn is wet they are liable to become sodden, and rot, and the next crop fails. In the spring the See also:fields are dressed with Peruvian See also:guano. In new ground the peppermint requires See also:hand-weeding two or three times, as the See also:hoe cannot be used without injury to the plants. Moist heavy See also:weather in See also:August is See also:apt to cause the foliage to drop off and leave the stems almost See also:bare. In these circumstances See also:rust (Puccinia menthae) also is liable to attack the plants. This is. prevented to a certain extent by a rope being drawn across the plants, by two men walking in the furrows, so as to remove excessive moisture. The See also:average yield of peppermint is about 165 cwt. per See also:acre. The first year's crop is always cut with the sickle to prevent injury to the stolons. The herb of the second and third year is cut with scythes, and then raked by See also:women into loose heaps ready for carting. The field is then gleaned by boys, who add what they collect to the heaps. The plants rarely yield a See also:fourth crop on the same land. The See also:harvest usually commences in the beginning or See also:middle of August, or as soon as the plants begin to flower, and lasts for six weeke, the stills being kept going See also:night and See also:day. The herb is carted See also:direct from the field to the stills, which are made of See also:copper, and contain about 5 cwt. of the herb. Before putting the peppermint into the still water is poured in to a See also:depth of about 2 ft., at which height a false bottom is placed, and on this the herb is thrown and trodden down by men. The lid, which fits into a water-See also:joint, is then let down by pulleys and fastened by two bars, any excess of. pressure or temperature being indicated by the water that is ejected at the joint. The distillation is conducted by the application of direct See also:heat at the lowest possible temperature, and is continued for about four and a See also:half See also:hours. When this operation is completed, the lid is removed and a rope is attached to a See also:hook on the false bottom, which, as well as the herb resting on it, is raised bodily by a windlass and the peppermint carried away in the empty carts on their return See also:journey to the fields, where it is placed in heaps and allowed to rot, being subsequently mixed with the manure applied in the autumn as above stated. The usual yield of oil, if the See also:season be warm and dry, is said to be 1 oz. from 5 lb of the fresh flowering herb, but, if wet and unfavourable, the product is barely half that quantity. The yield of a See also:charge of the still is estimated at from 1 lb 12 oz. to 5 lb. The oil improves in mellowness even if kept as long as ten or fourteen years. The green colour sometimes See also:present in the oil is stated to be due to a quantity of water larger than necessary having been used in the distillation; on the other hand, if the herb be left in the still from Saturday to See also:Monday, the oil assumes a See also: In See also:Germany it is grown in the neighbourhood of See also:Leipzig, where the little See also:town of Colleda produces annually as much as 40,000 cwt. of the herb. In the United States peppermint is cultivated on a most extensive See also:scale, chiefly in See also:south-See also:west See also:Michigan, the west districts of New See also:York See also:state, and See also:Ohio. The yield averages from To to 30 lb per acre. In Michigan the plant was introduced in 1855. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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