Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is a well-known perennial of the mint family which is very frequently found growing wild in moist situations throughout the eastern half of the United States. It is widely used for seasoning meats, and the leaves and flowering tops, as well as the volatile oil distilled from the whole herb, form marketable drug products.

Spearmint is easily grown in any fertile soil which is fairly moist. Its culture and the method of distilling the volatile oil are the same as for peppermint. To prepare the dry herb for market the leaves and flowering tops are collected when the first flowers appear and before the leaves begin to fall and are carefully dried in the shade. The demand for the dry herb is small, but the annual market requirement for the oil is about 50,000 pounds.

On ordinary soils the yield of oil varies from 10 to 20 pounds per acre, according to stand and season, but on muck lands the yield is usually only a little less than that of peppermint. Before the war the wholesale prices for the oil ranged from $1.50 to $5, averaging about $3.30 a pound. The price in June, 1920, was $12 a pound. The dry herb, which formerly brought from 3 to 4 cents, is now quoted at 6 to 12 cents a pound.

For further information on the growing of spearmint, see Farmers' Bulletin 694, entitled "The Cultivation of Peppermint and Spearmint."