This Missourian Greatest Producer of Wormwood Oil in America--April 5, 1902

This Missourian Greatest Producer of Wormwood Oil in America by Oscar Long April 5, 1902--The Sunny South pg. 5 With the disposal of the annual product for this year, Leander S Drew, of Lodi, Mo. closes the work of a half century as a producer of the oil of wormwood. From the plants grown on 100 acres of valley land the oil is distilled and this queer husbandman bears the unique distinction of being the greatest producer and of having the largest wormwood farm and distillery in the United States. The farm lies between the shores of Crystal lake and the main traveled road extending from Lodi to Prairie du Sac. The distillery and residence are hidden away behind a blufflike hill and are found at the end of a large winding road, guarded by the massive farm gate. So secluded it is and so unexpectedly comes the wayfarer upon the quaint surroundings taht one might surmise he was approaching a Kentucky domicile where moonshine was created beyond the pale of the wandering revenue collector. Back from the residence the distillery is located half hidden by a clump of bushes and trees. The wormwood plants are grown upon the farm much like oats or other cereals of like nature and they stand from two to three feet high and have the appearance of being covered with mildews. As soon as the unattractive blooms of a purple color make their appearance the work of cutting and distilling begins. By means of an ordinary moving machine with a dropper attachment the plants are cut down and dropped in buckets for the summer sun to wilt. As soon as they have lost some of their freshness and become placid, they are loaded upon great wagons in the meadow and hauled to the distillery,where a big iron fork comes down into the load like the fangs of an enormous serpent. By means of a rope and pulleys the fork with its load is hoisted upward to a little car on a track and is rolled then to a large vat. When there a jerk is given to the trip rope and the bunch of wormwood is dumped into the large vat provided for it. The operation is repeated again and again until the vat will hold no more, every corner being filled with the shrubby, aromatic plants. In the engine room there is a boiler as large as one found on a locomotive, straining every nerve and rivet with compressed steam. By twisting a valve the steam is given vent into the mass of wormwood so tahtever stem and leaf of the bitter aromatic plants receive the baptism of scalding vapor. They wilt like snow before a noonday sun and soon yield the oil contained in them. From the vat the steam passes into the condensing pipes. But it is ladened with the oil from the plants. The pipes are submerged into cold ater in an immense cement basin, and there the oil collects drop by drop to find its way through an opening and to be collected in a vessel provided for that purpose. Although the oil and water come forth together, yet the separation of the two is comparatively a small matter and no more difficult than gathering the globules of cream from a quantity of milk. The oil being of less specific gravity as compared with water, collects at the top of the receptacle provided for the liquid as it comes from the condensing pipes. The can into which the drops of oil fall is provided with a spout which reaches almost to the top of the vessel which is filled with water, making it appear like a gardener's water pot. The water being heavier than the oil collects at the bottom and forces the oil out through the spout. There comes a time when the can will hold no more of the separated oil, and this is known by the bitter liquid escaping through the opening, where the water is permitted to flow away. The oil is then poured into shipping flasks and sealed up to be carted off to the commercial world. As soon as all of the oil has been collected from the plants in the vat, the ugly iron fork is sent down in its depths to bring forth the worthless stearming stems and leaves. This work was ordinarily done with a stable fork and by hand, but the slow process and unpleasant odor made is so disagreeable that more improved methods had to be resorted to. The odor of the steaming rubbish is sickening to the person working with it. Day after day the cutting, the hauling and steaming goes on until the waving fields have been reduced to a valuable product to be shipped far and wide for the benefit of man's demands. Years ago when the soil was new and the seasons not so devoid of moisture, the wormwood seed were sown broadcast and they were permitted to grow like wheat, oats or grass. With climatic changes it has been found advisable to plant the seed in rows and cultivate for at least a year, thus attaining more and better oil plants. In time the plants cover the space between the rows, so that the space is filled with a thick growth of shrubbery and a good crop is secured for several years afterwards. But the land has to be plowed up about every six years and the ground allowed to rest for a season. Then it is reseeded again. There is a bit of interesting local history connected with Mr. Drew and his wormwood farm His father, the late Leancer Drew, was born and educated in Vermont for the practice of medicine, and soon after completing his studies went to the state of Wisconsin as a surgeon in the regular army. That was long ago, when Baderdom was still a territory, and it was necessary to maintain forts in several parts of the state in order to keep the Indians in subjection. For a whle he was stationed at Fort Winnebago and other military points, but as soon as the land was secured from the red man and opened to settlement he entered a rich tract on the banks of Crystal lake, in that part of the country. The rude hut still stands and has been occupied ever since it was erected in 1844. Mr. Drew built a new residence a few years ago, which is (missing) his home. (missing) after entering the land the pioneer (missing) a portion of it in wormwood, following the vocation of his fater, Dan-(missing) Drew, who was a producer of the (missing) for thirty-five years in Vermont. The growing of the plant with the medicinal properties, the youn Wisconsin physician learned, was more profitable then dispensing medicine to the indivual inhabitants of a sparsely settled (missing), and so fostered the unique in-(missing) which has ever since prospered. (missing) years ago the son took up the farm and has greatly improved the production of manufacturing the oil. (missing) in the history of the farm the (missing) is hauled on wagons in Milwaukee and sold or shipped to New York or Europ. Alonza Waterberry, of Lodi, once halled 600 pounds to the Cream City and Mr. Drew accompanied the shipment to New York, where the contents of the big jug was converted into gold. From the season's output of 500 pounds the product has grown to 2,000 pounds, sometimes above or below this mark. In the United Startes there are about fifty farms producing wormwood, two of which are operated by Mr. Drew. Although a half hundred farmers are engaged in raising and producing oil of wormwood, yet they cannot supply the home demand. Large shipments are made annually from Europe to this country, and large tracts of land in Europe are devoted to the wormwood culture. The discovery of the absinthe by the two old Swiss women has stimulated the oil trade, for the "green-eyed beauty" is produced from the product of this plant. In the past fifty years the price of wormwood oil has advanced from $1 to $6 per pound. On account of the widespread use of absinthe as a soothing intocixant it is not anticipated that the price will ever touch the dollar mark again. The oil is used in preparing liniments and other remedies of like character. It has a penetrating property possessed by no other oil, and when applied goes direct to the seat of suffering.