PRICES OF PEPPERMINT OIL.
The price of peppermint oil was very low for a few years prior to 1900, the enormous production of 1897 resulting in a great drop in price. The lowest price paid for it was in 1899, when it brought only 75 cents per pound. As a result of the low price a great many mint farmers restricted the area of their mint plantations or altogether abandoned peppermint cultivation. The smaller output of the following seasons again sent prices up, and in 1902 the oil sold as high as $4.75 a pound, which price was maintained until early in 1903, when it gradually declined, until toward the end of that year it reached $2.20 per pound.
The following table[8] gives the highest and lowest prices of peppermint oil in bulk from 1873 to September 16, 1905:
| Year. | Highest. | Lowest. |
| 1873 | $3.15 | $3.15 |
| 1874 | 5.25 | 3.75 |
| 1875 | 5.50 | 3.20 |
| 1876 | 3.75 | 2.40 |
| 1877 | 3.00 | 1.75 |
| 1878 | 2.00 | 1.50 |
| 1879 | 2.65 | 1.45 |
| 1880 | 2.87 | 2.60 |
| 1881 | 2.85 | 2.35 |
| 1882 | 2.50 | 2.25 |
| 1883 | 2.60 | 2.20 |
| 1884 | 3.00 | 2.50 |
| 1885 | 4.37 | 2.75 |
| 1886 | 3.60 | 2.75 |
| 1887 | 2.75 | 1.90 |
| 1888 | 2.40 | 1.75 |
| 1889 | 2.30 | 1.80 |
| 1890 | 2.40 | 1.80 |
| 1891 | 2.50 | 2.45 |
| 1892 | 2.50 | 2.15 |
| 1893 | 2.45 | 2.15 |
| 1894 | 2.45 | 1.70 |
| 1895 | 2.00 | 1.70 |
| 1896 | 1.85 | 1.20 |
| 1897 | 1.25 | .90 |
| 1898 | .90 | .80 |
| 1899 | .90 | .75 |
| 1900 | 1.10 | .80 |
| 1901 | 1.80 | 1.10 |
| 1902 | 4.75 | 1.70 |
| 1903 | 4.75 | 2.20 |
| 1904 | 3.75 | 2.65 |
| 1905[9] | 3.45 | 2.25 |
The good prices of the past few years have caused many farmers to look again to peppermint as a profitable crop, as noted in increased areas under cultivation in many localities. This is the case not only in Michigan and Indiana, but also in New York, where for many years the peppermint industry has been declining. Thus, if favorable conditions of growth prevail, an increased production may be looked for within the next few years, which will have the effect of again depressing prices.
As is the case with other products the prices of which are subject to great fluctuations, the condition of the market for peppermint oil needs to be closely observed. The cost of cultivation per acre has been stated at from $12 to $14, and, with a charge of 25 cents per pound of oil for distillation, the market price may easily fall below the cost of production.