Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-01-17
The CnItivatiOn Of Peanuts.

The extraordinary number of peanuts
that have been brought to market this
fall, SAYS the Southern Farmer, induced
us to make some inquiries concerning
the cultivation, and the uses to which
they are applied. The crop is one very
easily grown, yielding a large product
and commanding good prices.
The price this season has been lower
than for several years past ranging from
sixty to eighty cents per bushel, accord
ing to quality but even at that price
there is perhaps no other crop yielding
so much profit The soil best adapted to
the ground pea is a moderately rich loan,
neither very heavy nor very light. A sun
soil will not admit the stems bearing the
fruit TO penetrate it with facility, and
sandy soil is too thirsty. Again, If the soil
is too rich, the tendency Of the plant Is to
run to vine instead Of the formation OF
fruit Any soil the requisite texture, ca,
pable Of producing five or six barrels Of
corn 10 the acre. is well adapted to the
growth of the ground peas without the adj
dition of any manure. But should manure
be used at all, it should be in small guam
titles.
The ground is prepared by laying it off
in rows three feet distant, and very slightly
ridging, as in culture of cotton. When
manure is applied, it should, as IN case OF
cotton, be put in the drill. Through the
entire cultivation, the chief object should
be 10 keep the ground clean Of grass, as
level as possible. The slight ridge on
which the seed are planted will be nearly
or Quite worked down by the first hoelng.
As The vines extend over the surface il Is
necessary to keep the ground well stirred
with trowel. hoe or other implement that
does not turn il over. A couple Of Plow-
ines ard occasional working with the hoe
is regarded sufficient amount Of cultiva-
tion-less than what is required for cot
ton, and not exceeding that Of the corn
crop.
As soon as the vine is killed by frost, the
harvesting should commence. The first
operation is TO run a Golfer close TO the
vines on each side, for the purpose Of
loosening the earth. The plants are then
taking up with hoe, and laid bottom ups
ward on the ground to dry. There they
are to remain for several days until they
are cured-the time being longer or shorter,
according TO the state Of the weather. IL it
rains il will do the crop no injury. When
sufficiently cured, the vines should be
packed away in a barn, or under any good
shelter, where the fruit may be picked at
leisure.
A fair crop may be regarded as about
seventy-fve bushels per acre. and Is fire.
quently as much as a hundred. Some Of
the farmers in the lower counties raise as
much as FIVE hundred or a thousand bush
els. The crop has TO some extent taken
the place Of cotton, requiring much less
manure, and being more profitable,
A great advantage attending the cult
walton consists in the value Of the peas re.
naming in the ground after the crop Is
gathered. The hogs are turned on the
field, where they thrive rapidly. So rich
IL the nut in nutritious matter, that many
farmers think the portion remaining in the
ground after digging, Is equal in value, as
food for hogs, TO the entire crop Of corn the
land would have produced