The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-03-05
TIE BUSINESS IN PEAN us.
Where they Grow aud How they are Pre-
pared for the Market.

pared for the Market.
The peanut business is large enough to
DO interesting. Successfully cultivated, thew
are more profitable than cotton or tobacco, and
tho farmers Of Virginia, North Carolina. FloriGa
and Tennessee are turning their attention to
them. virginia Is the great peanut State and
from the counties on the James river there are
yearly shipped to Northern markets thousand.
Of bushels. These nuts are large. and Of nne
flavor From North Carolina come the smaller
or Africa" peanuts, and some are really I'M
ported from Africa. These are small. aud of
inferior favor. Formerly the cleaning. shelline
and sorting were done by hand. but now ma
chinery does the work better.
Il pay for the nuts In the m lr<et from 81 to
$50 bushel," said Mr. Velines, a Washington
street dealer to a SUN reporter. and buy
most OF them OF commission merchants on tho
wharves, for nnd IL does not pay to snip them
myself. When the nuts come to us they are No
YOU see them In this bag, dirty, mixed with
vines, many OF them h1ht or broken, shucks
and meats all together. Now, II you will come
IN stairs I'll show you the process through
which we put them"
There was on the fourth moor Of the establish
msnt a large wooden cylinder ten feet long,
four feet In diameter ma open at the
ENDS. IL was revolving rapidly, and Into one
enu from large hopper Mfe pouring a steady
stream OF dirty peanuts; and from the other end
stream OF clean ones-the dirt ruhned OF bv
aurition. They. fell into hopper In the door
and disap 1esred.
There Is fan Just below the floor" sdi Mr..
Nellines, which blows al the dirt. and chan,
aud vines. and shucks out from the nuts. and
the mass passes into bags below. he nuts run
down to a travelling wooden arpon below, where
they are assorted hy gitls Before we 81 down
| want YOU to see the shelters. We used to pay
from i've to ten cents pound To nave them
shclltd by hand, ana n good shelter could not
average more than hfty pounds a day. Now
can shell NOCO mounds day for a cent pound.
here are the shelters. Into these hOppers are
put all the poorer and smaller nuts. and, as you
see, they pass into the shelter. which cuts MP
the shells. Meats and shells pass down to the
The meats are then passed through graduated
sleeves, worked 10y hand. and assorted into ave
different sizes that bring from nvs to fourteen
cent. pound. without TINS asserting they
would only cell Tor seven cents pound. We
shall soon do all the asserting by machinery"
On the third floor four Italian Girls stood be-
fore the travelling aoron, snd. a. The nuts came
into view. they deftly picked out the bad on 3,
out OF sight. On the door relow there was a
large inclined table, upon which a stream of
large. bright peanuts was falling. Three girls
picked out the few bad nuts that had csc ped
the finger, Of the girls above ! he nuts nassed
from ths table into large sacks, and were ready
for le.
The noorcr ones that Won saw tho girls pick
out shove" sail Mr.. Nrlhpes. q" are again taken
w stars aud sbelled auI sol to the cOniec-
TONERS Ihe meats are good. ~ course. Tho
snells ARE ground into sfn n pieces, and we sell
sverv hiI for cent 10 cent and : half pound.
Iney GO to Philadelpnit and lidtimore, and 1
think are used m N king ia.d, for there l.
good deal " nutriment ~ peanut shell Her ."
pointing to furnace, " where we roast the
peanuts. That cyln1er holds ten bushels. After
the nuts are III y cletued and assn rted the best
sell for from III 90 70 $50 "A hushel."