Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-07-16
PEANur CULTURE IN TEXAS.

ng in recent issue of TIE GAZETTE, to
he effect that Capt Mike Norton of the
Railroad news company has this year, on
his Brazos plantation, 200 acres in peanuts
(goobers), and that the crop is giving every
promise of an enormous yield. When,
some months ago, we offered through these
columns somewhat exhaustive ARTICLE on
peanut culture, giving it as our firm con-
giction that the crop might DE made a
splendid thing for Texas, we had no idea Of
learning at this early day that the crop had
been put to the test on scale so grand as
mentioned above. But that's the right way
TO settle all such questions.
Capt Norton's success is no surprise to
us, whatever. For many years we lived in
the midst of the peanut-producing regions
of Tennessee, cultivating the crop there.
OF course that enabled us to well study the
requirements of the peanut, and when later
we were afforded an opportunity OF study
ing Texas we were enabled TO see clearly
that Texas possessed every requirement of
the crop In our article referred to we
ventured the opinion that at no distant day
Texas would be supplying the whole civil
lied world with peanuts, and Capt. Nor
toms tie = would seem to indicate that we
could not have been far wrong.
The peanut is not at all an expensive crop
10 grow and get ready for market. Its cul-
ture is no more difficult or costly than that
of sweet potatoes. The harvesting costs q
little more, hat not so much as cotton.
Some kind Of machinery for harvesting and
preparing the peanut for market might DE
easily invented no doubt, but as yet there
seems to be nothing of the kind. The pea
nut raisers of Tennessee, Virginia and
North Carolina do all the work by main
strength. as we say. but even on this plan
The harvesting and preparation is not very
expensive. A turn plow is run around the
rows. throwing the dirt of and leaving the
plants standing On barred ridge In some
raseS hands follow the plow, pulling the
punches up by hand, shaking out the loose
soil and laying them along the furrow to
? taken up and carted 10 the drying shed.
In other cases (the best plan we think,
one man follows the plCw with a prong hoe
potato digger and striking down at the
side of The barred ridge pulls the hill over.
He can do this almost as fast as he can
walk Another person follows him and,
grasping the vines of each hill, shakes out
The loose soil. There is always more saw
ing in this plan than n the other, as simply
pulling up the punches leaves good many
nuts in the ground, but pulled out with
prong hoe nearly all the nuts come out
hanging to the vines.
The vines are carried to a shed and spread
up1n scaTolds TO dry. Scaffolds are usually
arranged one above the other, hence a sim
pie shed may be made TO accommodate i'm
mense quantities. When the nuts are
thoroughly dry they are picked from the
vines by hand and sacked for market.
The e is no hurry about this picking-it
may extend on all winter, if necessary
Oh ap labor, as that Of women and children,
is usually employed for picking off the nuts.
The peanut crop IS very profitable one,
and one that always finds ready market
And hen there is another source of profit
attached TO the crop-the vim es, after the
nuts have been removed, make fine hay
much relished by stock.
Gather the crop as you may, there will be
goodly quantity of nuts left Tin the ground,
OF course, but even these need not be lost.
Turn your hogs in and they will find every
one of them. We know of nothing calcu-
lated TO sooner make 4 hog stick up his
bristles than a run on the present patch
after the crop has been gathered.
An well-drained Texas soils are adapted
10 successful peanut culture. The very
lreek bottoms These are rich and friable,
having in their composition enough sand
aud decomposed vegetable matter to fully
meet every requirement. The lands next
best are our black sandy soils, though the
nuts of these soi.s might not be the very
best grade, owing to dark color. Any of
our prairie lands will produce the crop very
we'll, provided there is a good deal OF vege-
able matter worked into them. If heavy
crop of peas or weeds should be turned in
This fall the land will he all right for pea
nuts next spring. But the land must be OF
\ character not to bake and pack seriously
while the crop is on, as this would inter-
fere with free penetration into il of the
fruit runners.
As already intiHated. a very black land
is something against the crop, not as TO
yield. but color a very dark colored nut
Is not so popular on the market as ore of
lighter sh,de.
The peanut is strictly 4 Southern crop.
L cannot he raised ~ the extreme North,
therefore it is crop that can be met by no
general competition. And really when we
80 fairly into its production in Texas we
shall have 10 competition at all. for our
soils are naturally rich enough for it, while
those where it is now grown must be
brought up to its requirements by heavy
addition of fertilizers. We can easily down
every region that must resort to heavy fer
tilizing for the crop Then it is just the
kind of crop that Texas is needing-some-
thing that. while it brings good returns to
The planter, also gives employment 10 thou
sands in a certain class who usually find
little or nothing 10 do. This work of pick
ing could come in after cotton picking was
over, besides there are hosts among US who
would be ready to go into a shed and pick
of peanuts, who would not or could not 90
out into the field and pick cotton.
In our former article we stated that the
average Texan might look upon the peanut