The Opelousas courier., 1883-11-24
PEANUTS.
IKtere sting informal ON AS0ut Thi,
Bet known IF Nlfs.

"a
Bet known If Nlts.
A representative of a. New York house
which deals extensively in peanuts gives
this foI6wing information about this
toothsome dainty:
The nut comes from three sections in
the South. One is in Virginia, one in
Tennessee, and the third in North Caro-
lima. The nuts are grown more or less
all over the South, but not in quantities
of commercial Importance. Kansas
raises some very good ones, which are
disposed of in Kansas City market. Some
are grown in Mississippi, which go to
New Orleans. They are dirty, rough
looking and almost unstable up here.
The Virginia grown arc the most valuable
now. Formerly those which came from
Wilmington were 50, but the method of
handling has deteriorated. This high
rank they owed to a man named Nixon,
who took great pains in picking, grad
ing and packing. He prepared four
brands. The same process is now
adopted in Virginia with gratifying re-
suits. BY the best handlers dark or dis
colorcd nuts are thrown out; they are
nearly uniform in size, and care is taken
to prevent dirt from getting in. The
districts which produce them in that
State is Norfolk and east of Petersburg,
and is chiefly comprised in the coun
ties of Prince George, Sur
rey, Isle of Wight and South
ampton. The production depends
upon the soil, and the limits of growth
in these and adjoining counties can be
traced with definiteness IN a geological
map. When a certain soil ceases the
growth of the peanut stops, Until 1870
there was a very small quantity of this
nut in the market, nor did its sales be-
gin to increase much until 1874. Ten
nessee has a region of about half way be-
tween the north and south lines of the
State, lying on the Tennessee river,
where a great deal is grown. Itincludes
much of Perry, Humphreys and Hick-
man counties, beside some i'll other coun-
ties. They are nearly oil shipped from
four landings on the riyer-Dennison,
| BIRTHS, Mouse Tail and Cuba. | have
| seen brought down to one of these land
ings in one night {, 1000 bags, each hold
ing five bushels. The crop is chiefly
grown there in the valleys of the small
creeks which run into the Tennessee.
Every season they are inundated by the
| backwater, which deposits its solid par
ticles on the soil. thus acting as manure,
and on these bottom lands the plant is
grown. It requires a soft soil and a good
| degree of moisture, but not too much,
otherwise the nuts become putty. These
farms are perhaps $50 yards wide by
three-quarters of a mile long. The floods
come with much regularity. In North
Carolina the crop is q IN in the nesgh-
borhoed of Wilmingtc1, lying along the
sounds or inlets there, In New Hanover,
Fender and Brunswick counties.
The crop is very impoyerishing to the
soil. The system of husbandry down
there requires improvement. In Ten
nessee the plants are placed so that they
can be artificially cultivated, but this is
not the case in Virginia and North Caro-
lima. Hoeing is done by hand and at q
great expense. The crops are large and
bring the farmer more than he can get
from anything else. They raise in Ten
nessee from twenty-five to 1876 bushels an
acre, and sevcnty-fre is a frequent crop.
Tn Virginia many produce 100 bushels.
AT from seyenty-ive cents to $1.25 per
bushel YOU will see that this is a very
profitable crop. 1t is three times the
quantity you can obtain of wheat, and at
something near the same price. One ex-
pense Of the farmer in Virginia is hand
picking. This costs him ten cents a
bushel, and is necessary in order to get
the best price, but it is likely to be SUI
perseded by other processes. He puts
the nuts up in four-bushel bags instead
of using ve-bushel ones, like the Ten
nessee planter. The crop is first touched
the goth of September, and down to that
time nearly the product can. be injured
by frost. They are plowed up and chill
dren afterward stack them. They stand
Eve or six weeks, when they are picked.
! Some come into the market about the
middle Of October or the 1st of NoVem-
Der. When first picked they are very
oily, but gradually dry up, and the pro
cess of d~esiccation keeps on as long as
the nuts last. In the South they are. gen
orally eaten raw, but in the North they
are commonly roasted. The former
way is certainly the most wholesome,
No injury will result to the stomach aftel
eating a large quantity of the unroasted,
while those which have been submitted
to the fire are indigestible. Their use il
rapidly extending. a few years agc
there was but little of this commodity
eaten except in the cities, but now it i
devoured everywhere. Gircuses need {
great many, and eonfeetioners make mucl
peanut candy. The small towns ane
cities of the South are beginning to con
sumo them. They are known as groune
nuts and ground peas in North Carolina
in Georgia and Alabama they are callet
pinders, and in Tennessee COOLERS. Tn
plant was imported originally iron
Africa, and Tennessee obtained them iron
emigrants from the Old North State.
No other products are made from tn
pIant except oil, and even that has no
been extracted for the last four or fv
wears. Cottonseed oil has entirely driver
II out; it was used as q substitute TO
olive oil. to whichdt did not bear mucl
resemblance. .Duffng the late war It wa
largely used as d lubricant by the Con
federate States. Their supply of othe
oils was cut Of, and they were forced t
take peanut oil, which was manufacture
by one person III North Carolina. Their
are ffyc kinds Of peanuts known 70 II
trade-the Virginia, white Tennessee
North CeroIina, red Tennessee and span
III. The latter is grown in Virginia
and has nothing Spanish about It but 4
name. ITS fruit is small, regular an
nrettv. The white Tennessee md th
Virginia are almost exactly the saInt
These Are further varied In price by th
fact whether they are hand-picked {
M 5sfravornsa hpfvqnn VirUini