Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-03-07
AND AMERICAN.
FARM AND GARDEN.
THE CULTIVATION OF THE EANU

We offer no apology to our readers for re
publishing the following article on the cult
walton of the peanut. No agricultural pro
duct has advanced so rapidly in public ia
vor, and none is likely to retain its popular
ity more permanently. In the Northern
States the consumption of the peanut ha
increased wonderfully, at least one thou
sand per cent since the war; and even il
the city of Nashville the number of peanu
stands has been multiplied ten fold during
the last decade. So valuable has this croI
become that the lands in our State bes
adapted to their growth have been regularly
increasing in value, while all other farmin!
lands have gone down, or at best remained
stationary. The best peanut land in Perry
county is worth one hundred dollars Del
acre.
The varieties designated in the following
article as Virginia and Carolina are un.
known in our State. We have the White
and the Red. The latter is by far the best
II is not only more prolific, but more re-
liable. The price for prime at present, in
the city of Nashville, is one dollar and
seventy-fve cents per bushel. Hickman
county harvested for the year 1871 more
than 100000 bushels.
Mention is made Of following peas with
peanuts. Clover which is almost universal
ly grown in the State of Tennessee by all
good farmers, will put the land in better
condition than pea vines, not only because
Ofthe increased amount of green stuff that
may be plowed in, but because the roots of
the clover penetrate the earth to a great
depth, and insures a better drainage of the
soil. Neither is it necessary to apply lime.
The soils in Middle Tennessee are HIGHLY
calcareous, if lime is needed. We are dis
posed to doubt the statement that the pea
nut will not fruit except on a calcareous
soil. An analysis given in the Agricultural
Report for 1870 shows that the peanut con-
taius a very large amount Of heterogeneous
compounds, and the ash consists almost
wholly Of soluble phosphates (phosphates
Of soda and ammOnia,) with a small
amount Of common salt. If there is any
truth in the theory of Lebig, that the ash
Of plant indicates what manures should
be employed for the production ofthat plant,
manifestly phOsphates or superphosphates,
and not carbonates are to be employed.
Ordinary line is the hydrated carbonate
Of lime and is not demanded to make I'D
the constituent elements of the peanut.
The beneficial effects resulting from the APP
plication of lime from oyster shells are to be
attributed to the phosphates to be found in
the composition of such lime and to the IN
leached ashes which are mingled with it.
The following article is from the Report of
the Department of Agriculture for 1868:
THE PEANUT.
ThOughthe peanut has been cultivated in
Virginia TO some extent from areInOte date,
it is only since the war that the crop has be-
come OF primary Importance in the section
of the State peculiarly adapted to its pro-
~ 1ctiOr. The greater part Of Eastern V.r-
ginia was, 10y turns, occupied by both of the
cOutending armies; and as nearly every
farmer raised peanuts enough for his family,
and some to spare, their merits became ex-
tensively known among the soldiers; so that
when the armies were disbanded knoWl-
edge of them was carried to every part of
the country. 1t is doubtless to this cause,
more than TO any other, that we are TO
SIS ribe the extraordinary impulse given to
their culture within the last few wears. So
rapid has been its extension that the crop Of
each successive year has been three-fold
greater than that of the year preceding, and
at prices fully maintained. The crop Of
1868, in Virginia, is estimated to have az
gTegated about three hundred thousand
bushels, the average price of which was
about 1915 per bushel.
The preparation of the soil, however, is
shrOuded in no mystery, while the subse-
quent culture is almost as simple, and
scarcely more expensive than that of corn.
This may be inferred from the fact that
some planters put as much as a hundred
acres in peanuts, and not few from thirty
to fifty acres, in addition TO other crops. To
attain the best success, the planter should
not be lacking in any one essential, and in
order, therefore, to treat the subject intelli-
gently, it will be presented under several
heads.
ANY soil that can be put in friable con-
dition, and kept in that state, will produce
peanuts; but that which is best adapted to
their growth IS a light, gray soil, without
being very sandy. The color Of the pods
always partakes Of the color Of the soil, and
as the brightest pods always bring the most
money, so lie gray land is to be preferred.
When harvested they are perfectly clean,
scarcely particle of soil adhering to them.
Not so with red or chocolate colored lands
They leave stain on the pods, Of which
they cannot be Invested even by washing
a practice frequently resorted to for the pur-
pose ofgetting fancy article. When taken
to market the bright nuts will command
from ten to fifteen cents more per bushel
than the brown, though equal in all other
respects. The gray soil is therefore to be
selected when there is freedom Of choice,
but the brown soil, when OF the right tex
ture, is equally productive.
l., cita for DiaDfiuO rpfnreuNa