The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1880-03-31
Peanuts.-NO. III.

HeanutS.-NO. Ill.
Col. r. Irby, in Rural Messenger.
In about ten days or two weeks
after planting the plants begin to ap-
pear. AS soon as the grass appears
or the ground TO bake, turn the earth
from the plants with a Dixie or Watt
plow with the small mould-board at
tached. Let the hoe hands follow,
loosening the soil around the plants
and removing every sprig Of grass,
which is especially injurious to the
plant at this stage. After thorough
wedding, level the middle OF the fur
rows by using Double Malta shovel
plows, which will throw little dirt
TO the plants and give them start.
Only one wedding is generally given,
but if the land is rich, and the grass
shoots up rapidly, another may be
given. When the plants average
about six inches in diameter, just be-
fore blooming, the crop should be
laid by or receive its last working.
Many lay by later, but l think the
crop is injured by late working.
The Dixie pillow with the small board
attached is the best for laying by the
crop. Throw out each row, two iur-
rows right and lett. After this. let
the crop alone. Further work will
do more harm than the grass.
After throwing the dirt from the
plants and wedding with the hoe,
drill two or three hundred pounds OF
plaster on the vines as a top dressing.
Afterwards keep down grass with
cultivator and hoe. The hoes should
not pass under the vines after the
fruit roofs put forth from them.
Pull out grass and weeds by hand.
For harvesting the crop prepare
small polls or sticks seven feet long,
sharpened at both ends, for stalking
the vines Two fence rails or poles
will be needed toevery three or four
sticks. Some use-small logs, three
inches in diameter and two feet long
four to each stack. The object in the
poles or logs is to raise the peanuts
from the ground and allow clrcula-
tion beneath the stack. Seed pea.
nuts should be dug in September and
allowed to lie on the ground and
then housed. Should you wish to
preserve the vines for forage land it
is most excellent), your crop should
be dug in October before frost, but
if you are willing to sacrifice your
forage, thereby getting the largest
possible yield Of nuts, the digging
had better be postponed till after frost.
The best implement to use in digging
the crop is the two-horse Dixie plow,
with the mould-board removed, with
one horse to draw it. With this run
down on one side allowing the wing
of the point to pass partially under
the vines and on the return let the
point cut the tap root which 1t will
do efectually, at the same time
throwing the plant out Of the ground.
Peanuts should never be dug when
the ground is wet, as the dirt adheres
to the nut, and it is almost lmpossl-
bile to remove it, especially if the soil
is anywise stiff. Having everything
favorable lay off the rows for your
shocks and pass your plows aown
them blowing up one, two, or three
rows, especially fyour field is large SO
as to allow a wagon to pass downthem
loaded with sticks and rails used in
making the shocks. Hands should fol-
low 1.-THE plowt to shake the dirt from the
peas and remove them to one side CIV
ING a clear track for the wagon. One
man makes the holes and another one
Jobs down the sticks and the third
places the rails on each side close TO
the sticks. All the rows between the
shocks are then plowed up, hands toll
lowing the plows aud shaking the DIRT
from the vines aud nuts and replacing
the vines in the places they were
taken from. Ii your vines have been
killed by frost and are perfectly dry,
YOU can commence shocking at once.
A cardinal rule in shocking is, that
they must never be touched II they
are at all damp from dew or rain.
When the vine has been killed by
frost, the leaves invariably fall OF,
which gives more air to the shock
and enable the nut to cure, but IT you
have dug your crop before frost to
save the vines Tor forage, they should
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