Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-11-30
Nha: AIS the Peanut?

AIS
A published recommendation that SC
great q state rs Texas come down TO the
"peanmt business might remind one
somewhat of the old and familiar orato-
rical utterance: "What g fall was
there, my countrymen?" But there is
millions in it, nevertheless, and Texas is
not supposed to be- commonwealth SO
overburdpued with false dignity as TO
necessi,ate the standing back even on
small things. SO considered, when it is
possible 10 convince her that those small
things as IA whole NAV be made TO foot
up into millions OF revenue. Talk req
sonuhly of millions that might be scoopet
in, and YOU are very apt to be on a
theme II calculated TO interest the peo-
pie of Texas. such is the theme, in our
opinion, that We have up for our leader
in the present Issue OF the Fort Worth
GAZETTE
Texas Farm and Ranch for November
- says: at has been observed 10y
drvotrrs Of the peanut that of late the
price has been going up and the quality
gong down until both are now uusatis-
factory 10 the consumer. The total Wis
iDl- supply in the CuIted States on 0cto-
Ter ! VAS only 20 900 bugs. The new
crop, which is estimated Mt a heavy
yield VIII not he ready Tor market until
about January ! so That half the presen:
winter must lie passed under this un-
usual scarcity. The average cousump-
ton of this country is estimuted ut 600,-
600 bags per anuum, or 81, 0cU begs per
month. The supply October ! is only
sufficient for about twelve days at the
ordinary rate of consumption. There
should lie more peanuts grown
So say we-there should be more pea
nuts grown. t''pre we called upon to
explain why more are not grown we'd
point to the fuct that the main efforts at
growing peanuts are made in regions
hose characteristics are not entirely
suited 20 the reGu rpments of the crop.
The peanut (ArrhIs hvpogme, some
times called gOober AMI sometimes
ground nut, is undoubtedly native of
Mexico. White, in his Gardening for
the South. admits this, page l4G, though
not e few writers put il down as an i'm
portntiou from Africa brought by the
early negroes carried from that country
10 SERGE as slaves for tins. To any sensl-
be person the alleged African introduce
ton cannot Go otherwise than appear Us
the merest nonsense. Where is the
thinking man who could suppose for
moment That those naked barbarians,
already prisoners of war and condemned
10 d,ath in their own country, and who
looked To no better fate from their trans
fer 10 our slave dealers, would have
brought agricultural SEEDS with them?
We well know II is claimed for many
Introduced plants that they were brought
by the negroes from Africa. but doubt
less in every case the original representa-
tion was "A pure fraud. some fellow go.
hold of thu new things and wanted 10
put them upon the market, and since
there was, in those early DAYS, more talk
among Southernrrs about Africa than
nbour any other foreign section of the
world. he affixed that peculiar African
introduction as good selling card. We
have plenty of thai same kind OF thing,
even now old products known TO many
Of US for half a century suddenly pop to
the surface every now and then IS gu in-
PRODUCTION from some other country,
and sail out on regular boom through
the papers under new name. of course.
While within the past half century we
may hav5 made grand progress in agri-
culture running to all its brauches, the |
person who has lived through that period |
will not be able to convince himself that |
we have made any very great improve |
ment on human nature.
The peanut was doubtless cultivated |
crop for Mexico in the days of the Mou- |
tuzumus Some OF the old Spanish |
writers in their enumeration of the pro-
ducts of the nav country Mexico men,
lion "a corn that headed under the |
soIl''; and since nothing in the "coru''
barley or wheGD line ha3 since been |
found at all harmGBizing with that men
riou, the natural inference must be that !
these oil secretaries OF the first Spanish |
expedition into Mexico referred 10 the
PEANUT.
This matter relative to the nativity of !
tho peanut has interest for us only in so
far Us IL proves that Texas approaches
nearer 70 being the natural home OF the
PRO net than any other state in the
Uiou. That the peanut can be made a
success in Texas we well know from
numerous small garden tests made by
our prop,e, hence, under all tie circum-
stances, one cannot do otherwise than
wonder why TeNns has not long since
hal her foot into the regular peanut
producing industry, building up for her
self the reputation III that particular line
which she undoubtedly deserves.
There can rHist 10 reasonable doubt
of The fact that Texas has within her
borders some OF the finest peanut lands
known to ;hr world. Her every natural |
condition Is 50 favorable for the crop that
the sound reasouer can come TO bur one
Couclusion: if II Is possible 10 make
peanut culture profitable anywhere,
Texas ought TO be able 10 GENE il on the
very top OF the wave.
The lands 10 which we refer are sandy
loans. Almost any Of our lands, if
made friub!e u - liberal addition of
vegetable matter, VIII produce fine
Yields of peanuts, vet lands more or less
sandy arveur TO suit the crop best All
our 'blark sanity lnuds will produce
il TO perfection, though there exists
That the coloring matter in
those lands would be something against
il on the market on account Of q derkish
shade that might he impaired 10 the
rods; but the So, Ond- bottom sandy lands
along our streams, AS along the Trinity,
Tor instance, being of lighter color
oouId not work that possible trouble: in
deed they are exactly the same charac-
ter OF lands as produce the great bulk Of
tie peanuts grown within the United
strtvs. The NIrGiuiu peanut lands ARE
like our Trinity second bottom