of Kalamazoo." To provide a ready supply of raw mint for extraction, Todd established two gigantic plantations, called "Mentha" in Pine Grove Township and "Campaignia" near Fennville. The latter was the largest mint plantation in the world at that time. In all the company would come to itself grow and harvest approximately 10,000 acres annually planted to peppermint, spearmint, and other aromatic herbs. Todd and his company developed scientific methods for testing various qualities of mint distillates which allowed a means of grading the oils and were leaders in developing disease resistant strains following the emergence of the fungal-borne verticillium wilt in 1924. Todd returned to continue his education in the 1920s and in 1922 he graduated with a Master's degree with honors in Chemistry from the University of Michigan. Political career Todd's father was a supporter of the Republican Party — during the 19th Century frequently the more liberal of the two old parties in the United States. Albert consequently cast his first vote for that political organization. The two parties began to realign in the late 1870s, however, with the Republicans coming to favor large commercial interests, high tariffs on imported goods, and strict adherence to the gold standard. Disheartened by the evolving political line of the Republican Party, Todd first shifted his allegiance to the Prohibition Party, an organization which advanced a broad reform platform beyond its desire to ban the manufacture and use of alcoholic beverages. He would remain a leading supporter of the Prohibition Party of Michigan for nearly 20 years, even running an unsuccessful campaign for Governor under that party's banner in 1894. Todd won just under 19,000 votes in the 1894 Gubernatorial campaign, discouragingly finishing in fourth place behind the candidates of the Republican, Democratic, and People's parties. Still bitten by the political bug, Todd sought to run for Congress in a special election held in 1895 to fill a vacant Michigan seat — this time attempting to join forces between his Prohibition Party and the People's Party, with which he shared similar views on many issues. The Michigan legislature, dominated by Republicans, immediately passed legislation prohibiting such "fusion," a matter which was ultimately litigated and narrowly resolved in Todd's favor. Despite the legal victory, Todd was narrowly turned back at the polls in the 1895 campaign. Undeterred, Todd again ran in the 1896 campaign for the 3rd Michigan Congressional District seat, winning