Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-09-14
PEANUTS.
How They Are Cultivated. Harvested
and Prepared for the Consumer

No Great loss WITHOUT some small gam"
. found IN the history Of the peanut, says
Norfolk. Va, letter to the New York
TvEa.rr A quarter Of century ago the
raanr.t was to a great extent luxury
aver the greater part Of the Union. The
--s+ie beau who brought his "girl" to
tovr for the circus, and the city youth
mo took his cheap and lofty seat in the
bestre. thought their treats deficient IN
lass thew INDUCED IN peanuts-by no
means an everyday indulgence. Now,
ike oysters inland, this fruit takes its
r1ace among the cOmmOnest Of edibles-a
Ias-lIt due almost wholly to the civil war,
and one Of the new developments in South
arn agriculture.
formerly Eastern North Carolina pro
4rced all the peanuts grown IN the United
fa-as. and called them "go0DeTs.. mere
"a story Of North Carolina regiment IN
80 confederate army which early in the
vrqr was sent into Northern virginia.
Harchirr along one day, as hungry as
naval these men came upon a neId OF
c1ayar-something none OF them mad ever
go, before. and, mistaking II for pea
mis-. they broke rGzEs ,ieApsd tae Ieace
and began tearing Up tne roots 81 Ins
plant Bitter was tEcl dlsapp ny,
the name of "gOOber-gruDDers. me
Federal soldiers, who had known peanuts
only as a holiday treat, found them IN
quantities in certain regions, and ac-
a1-1rs5 q new enjoyment OF them, Nhen
nov vent home they demanded them OF
bedealers. who found that the crop was
net Iarre enough 10 supply the demand.
II ia dlEcClt TO get anything WIN
~--1--ress out CT North Carolina. But
h. ,trginiaus are Quicker, and began to
meet the call by widening their little gar
don matches into great fields. Now two
binds of the :, 900 bushels expected OF
Lisvrzr's crop will come from the Old
Dar-iricC The counties engaged are
0uthaMptcn, NansemOnd, Isle Of Wight,
urrv. Sussex, Prince George, Princess
Anne, Gloucester, Norfolk, and, too less
degree. Warwick and Charles City. All
ofthese lie in what is known as the tide
wafer section OF the State-dOWn IN the
o1theastern corner. Tennessee raises
10000 bushels, while the CarOlinas give
about 10000. Maryland and Delaware
produce small amounts.
TIE CULTIVATION OF THE CROP.
The peanut is not indigenous, but was
Brought from Africa with the slaves
came over with the conquered. The Afri-
can MT is now unmarketable in the Uni
Ell states, but is used in enormous guam
titles in Marsellles, France, as one of the
sources Of ''OliYe" oil, along with Indian
cotton seed, etc. Transplanting to Anne
rican soil changed the character of the
nut and greatly improved il for eating.
made il larger and reduced the excess
{ oil. Tie soil required for the best sue
cess with this crop is one light and dry,
upon which thirty 20 forty bushels OF
Taxed lime. or $50 bushels Of common
mari, 10 the acre, have been spread.
In March the land is plOwed, well
RACED and cleaned Of grass, ridged
I'd cent dsEn." Planting takes place
rom the ist to the 10th OF May, the seed
Seingplsced in rows abCutfourteen inches
apart and covered by a stroke Of the foot.
Tie seed, in order to be good, requires
very careful watching in curing, 10 avoid
heating sufficient to kill the germ
and should, therefore, be selected and
tested with great care. Soon after the
plant comes up il is attended to repeat
edIv. at intervals OF ten to fifteen days,
with cultiyatOr and hoe, upon the thor.
CugEress Of which work largely depends
the character Of the harvest. Some use
the horse cultyatOr altogether, abandon
uE the roe. The blossom is yellow and
pretty. Almost simultaneously with its
appearance, shOotsf Orn upon the plant
nj make their way into the ground
They are called 'pins," and bear the
axes place between oct. 10 and2 Q, snd
0nsists in throwing tia vines out CT the
ground with 2ieW made for the purpose
On the same day, rs soon as dried, the
vines are shskeri Tse OF soil and stacked
in the field Tito ss5hCCks." In from ten tC
twenty days both vine and nuts will be
completely cured and ready for mar
ket. The vine makes good feed for stock
and is an excellent article for fertilizing
mn n :
price Of digging the pea, and farmers
sometimes give it in payment for that
work. In making and tending the shocks
skill is required to prevent Overheating
and mould.
Peanuts are Of two kinds, distinguished
Is the punching and the running
vines, denOting the manner Of theil
growth. but no separation is kept in tn,
market. In Tennessee is produced tbs
''red' nut, a variety Of which the origin
is unknown. at least to Norfolk. The ten
dency ~ the husk in this variety is L
grow long and thin, and to contain more
than tWO-sOmetimes four or fiVe-ker-
nels, the skin OF which is a rich Chestnut
red, much darker than the color Of tn,
sea1Oard variety. The nuts. as fast al
picked off the shocks in the field, ar,
placed in bags holding four bushels each
and are sold TO cleaning factories in Nor
folk, Petersburg, Smithfield and else
where, chiefly along the lines OF the Nor
folk and Western and SeabOard anC
Roanoke Railroad. The Norfolk factories
are the largest in the world and consume
twice the amount of all the rest put to
gether.
FACTORY PROCESSES.
The bags, as they come from the farm
are hOsted 10 the top floor Of the factory
where their contents are sorted into foul
no n FnSv obi 90
Upon the care with which this is done de
ponds in a large measure the profit of the
business. The peanuts of each class are
LAen poured into hOppers, which carry
taem into cleaning machines on the flOOl
below. differing from one another some
what according to the grade they treat
Each OF these machines consists Of al
IRON cyliader about u feet long by feet
10 diameter. tri1e smaller at one enc
tlan at the other, so that there may be a
steady overflow outward. These cylin
Cers revOlve with considerable rapidity
ana enclose a continuance by which the
cargo Of nuts is carried around
Win still greater speed, and, al
certain point in each revOlu
uou- thrown across the cylinder with
some force. This jar dislOdges all the soil
remaining in the creyices of the rough
"dFA OF the husk. while the friction of nut
against nut polishes the husk to the re-
CURED fitness for market. A blower at
cached 20 each cylinder carries the disa-
sTeeable and dangerous dust into a chin.
Ley nue. Localities and seasons vary in
respect 70 the degree Of hardness of the
lta-lusk produced, and the treatment in
I2ils1lng must be adapted to the kind OF
material IN hand. If too much force is
eAert6d, the husk may be broken, or il
may be abraded and thus made unfit for
roasting. 10 which the presence Of the ex-
.5Ilal enamel put on by nature is essen
ud-. from each cylinder the polished
peanuts pour steadily upon a moving
broad belt OF table, divided lengthwise BY
-Ael partitions into three divisions. Down
edcn side division flows the stream Of nuts
received from the cylinders, and passes
leAeaIn the fingers Of negro girls, who,
Win amazing Tapidity, pick out all
small detective and discolOred specimens
aul toss them into the central cOmpart-
Meht, where they are carried on to fall
mo a receptacle by Themselves, while
1Ie perfect ones remain as selected stock.
mere are many OF these tables in the
l-s and the busy girls raise in wild
--eIls strains or plantation and camp
meeting melodies, which sound very
strange amid the noise Of the
machinery and the rustic Of the
moving nuts. The picking is not
Lafd work, and the girls like it.
sumo nave been IN the factory several