Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1868-02-13
CULTIVATION OF FINDERS.

We have been kindly furnished, by gentleman
of this District, with the following article on tn
subject of the cultivation of "pinders'' or "pea
nuts. The article was written by Mr.. D. MacMil
Ian, of New Hanover county, N c., where mucl
attention is given to the cultivation of this crop
and was read before the Agricultural Society of tina
county:
Gentlemen: In compliance with your require
ments, / give my experience and observation a
also the n,odus operandi, in growing the peanut
The first thing to be considered in increasing tht
production OF any commodity is the supply ant
demand So far, the demand in our country ex
ceeds the supply, by from seventy. five to ohe hun
hundred and fifty thousand bushels, as about tina
quantity is annually imported. This demand
should be supplied at home, which is very nea
the sum total Of the crop Of this country the pres
ent year. So the present crop might be nearly
doubled without producing a surplus. Should
however, the production exceed the demand, the
consequences of all other excesses would necessari
ly follow, as there is but little, if any export de
mand.
The next consideration is the adaptability O
Soils With us the light lands, on which the oak
hickory and rosemary pine were the natural or or
iginal growth, are those on which we succeed best
BY the analysis of soils and the application of fer
tilizers to supply deficiencies, any land properl,
drained, may be made to produce them, whether
profitable or not has yet to be ascertained. :
The preparation of soils, the minutia of cultiva
ton, harvesting, &c., cannot be fully entered into
in communication of this kind Suffice it to say
the soil should be well prepared by plowing ane
cross plowing until it is well puverized, then check
off the rows thirty inches each way, plant in the
checks, say two kernels in hill, cover about two
inches deep. Time of planting from the 18th Of
April to the 18th of May. AS soon as we'll up, ploW
them each way, which We do with what we call g
pea-sweep, going once in row. the second or first
crossplowing, the hoes follow and this process is
continued until the vines meet, which is about the
18th of July. The object in view is to keep them
free from weeds and grass, and keep the soil vel
pulverized, so the pea will meet no impeachment
in taking hold in the ground. The old habit Of
covering the vines is abandoned as injurious.
On stiff lands some prefer planting on beds like
cotton, say three feet apart and giving fifteen to
eighteen inches between the hills then cultivate as
cotton, only level
The next consideration is harvesting, or, as We
term it, digging This is done with plow pre-
pared for the purpose, which is run under the vine,
cutting the tap root and so loosenng the soil that,
with the aid Of rake, they are taken up, shaken
and stood to cure as other forage. When sufficient
ly cured, which takes usually two days, they are
put up in stacks for short time, then removed
and placed under shelter. The next process, and
the most tedious, is picking them from the vines,
which is done mostly by hand however, machine
has been invented for that purpose which acts ad-
mirably well, and is being used to some extent by
many Of our farmers '~