Caraway (_Carum carvi_) is a European biennial herb of the parsley
family. It grows and fruits well over a considerable portion of
the United States, especially in the North and Northwest, but its
cultivation in this country seems never to have assumed commercial
proportions. The seeds are used medicinally, but are mainly utilized
for flavoring cakes, confectionery, and similar products. On
distillation with steam, the seeds yield an aromatic oil, which is more
used in medicine than the seed itself.
Soil of a somewhat clayey nature and containing a fair proportion of
humus and available plant food is particularly suited to caraway, but
the plant generally grows well in any good upland soil which will
produce fair crops of corn or potatoes. Seeds should be sown in early
spring in drills about 16 inches apart, and from 6 to 8 pounds of seed
are sown to the acre. Frequent shallow cultivation throughout both
growing seasons is desirable in order to keep the soil mellow and free
from weeds, as a weedy crop at harvest time usually means a product
inferior in quality.
As soon as the oldest seeds ripen, which is usually in June of the
second year, the crop should be harvested. The plants may be cut with
a mower and should be left in the swath until they have lost most of
their moisture, when they may be built up into small cocks, or they may
be brought in from the field and the curing finished in a barn loft.
If on handling in the field the seeds shatter extensively, the crop
should be brought in in tight wagons. When drying is finished the seeds
are thrashed out, cleaned, and stored in bags which contain about 100
pounds each.
Returns from experimental areas indicate that a yield of about
1,000 pounds of seed per acre may be expected. One hundred pounds
of seed will usually yield 4 to 6 pounds of oil. The average annual
importation of caraway seed for several years has been about 2,000,000
pounds, valued at about 9 cents a pound. The war reduced the annual
importations of oil of caraway from 30,000 to 9,000 pounds and
increased the value from 80 cents to about $4.25 a pound.