Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-09-07
PEANUTS ARE SCARCE.
But . Big Crop IL Expected and Small
Boys VIII Rejoice.

Boys WIN Rejoice.
them before" said wholesale jobber in that
circus delicacy yesterday. Ordinarily many
hundred thousands Of bushels are carried over
for the nuss win keep good almost indefinitely;
when the time arrives, in October, for the
gathering Of the new CROP You see, last
season was very bad one for peanuts, and the
crop was almost . failure in Virginia"
''The country depends for its supplies Of pea
nuts chiefly upon Virginia, does it not?" asked
the STAR reporter.
II think may fairly say yes. There are
2,5OO,000 bushels of them grown in that state
annually-more, reckon, than the entire crop
Of other states put together. Tennessee pro-
duces about 100000 bushels and North Caro-
lima $4,000 bushels. Michigan, Georgia aud
California also raise peanuts largely. but the vir
glnla peanuts are the finest of all and bring the
highest price. The business of growing them
has really become a vast industry in the lower
counties of the state and the area Of farming
land devoted to them is becoming larger every
year, as the husbandman learns the profit they
can be made to yield. The greatest peanut
market, OF course, is Norfolk. Petersburg
comes second and Smithfield third In these
towns there are many big factories employed
In the business OF rendering marketable the
nuts that are sent in by the farmers They are
first thoroughly winnowed and screened to
cleanse them and finally are sorted, the bad
on either side Of revolving belts, upon which
the nuts are thrown. Afterward they are
packed in bags Of 20 or 100 pounds each and
shipped to the iobbers in the cities.''
How about the peanut crop this fall?''
Our reports say that 1t promises admirably,
aG To 60
had from Virginia last year were not so good as
usual. Prices are going down little, but best
hand-picked peanuts bring ~ cents pound
at retail today by the bag. Spanish peanuts
bring more, of course. They are still con-
sidered fancy article, though more of them
are grown in southern Virginia every year.
Here are few. You see they are about one
third the size of ordinary peanuts; confection-
ers use them mostly. because they are sweeter.
The very big nuts are never so sweet or we'll
favored as the little ones. Take the red Ten
nessee nut, for instance. 1t has frequently five
or six large kernels in one shell, but the meat
Is rank California peanuts are big, like every
thing else grown In that state, and they are
not bad; but none have come to this market for
many years, so far as l know"
Where did the peanut come from origin
ally?"
ORIGIN OF THE PEANUT.
From Africa undoubtedly. / have heard
1t said the negroes brought the first ones over,
as they are supposed to have fetched the banjo
also, in the primitive shape of a gourd with
strings; but do not know whether this is true
or not But probably you yourself are able to
remember the African nuts which fifteen years
ago were brought to this country in great
quantities. They were small and round, each
shell containing but single kernal usually.
The American peanut is simply the African
peanut modified by the conditions of soil in
this country. Plant our peanut in Africa and
fraf lnv,xx
can type from which it was produced.
VIRGINIA RAISES THE BEST PEANUTS
because it has the soil best adapted to the pur-
pose; but what are the elements in a soil that
render it available for peanuts nobody seems
to be able to tell very definitely. Sometimes
the b1lge water in the hold Of a peanut-laden
vessel from Africa would soak into some of the
bags and to strike a nut that had been moist
ened with this rotten liquid was horror long
to be remembered. That was years ago, now
ever. Now the American nuts have driven the
African out of the market altogether and the
latter are regarded almost a curiosity here
In Marseilles, at any time, you may see huge
stacks OF peanuts from Africa on the wharves,
whittier they are brought by vessel to
be made into pure Give OIL Peanuts are
much used for making alleged olive oil; prob
ably not less than three-fourths of the olive oil
consumed in this country is made of peanuts
and cotton seed. Cargoes of peanuts are even
sent over lIom Amerlcd 10 De relmpOrted as OIL
The only way to distinguish peanut from olive
oil is to pour nitric acid into it; the peanut or
cotton seed oil will char, but the real olive OH
VIII not Most OF the peanuts grown in Africa
nowadays are sent to France through the port
OF Marseilles and expressed for OIL In many
big cities of the United States peanuts have be-
come a recognized article of commerce and
are quoted each day on change like corn or
wheat"
Are peanuts often sold by the bag, roasted?"
asked the newspaper man.
ROASTING PEANUTS.
eyes" replied the jobber. "Grocers and
others who purchase by the bag prefer them
ready cooked. We do the roasting ourselves
in big cylinders that will hold twenty or thirty
bushels at o time. The cylinders revolvc at a
moderate rate of speed above the fire, while
large iron wings inside the cylinders remain
stationary, the result being that the nuts are
kept thoroughly stirred all the time From
time to time they are tested by tasting, until
they are just right. Then they are taken out
and put in bags, ready for sale. To roast a
peanut properly is a science worth studying"
NM @