Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-04-11
BIG MONEY INVESTED IN IT
In His Native City of Norfolk Things
Some Persons do Not Know-Nof-
folk, Its Markets and Ports.

eight houses in this country. ali in Viz
glnia, who deal in this product, and Of
these ours 10 the oldest and largest,
do ng business of one hundred and
ninety thousand 70 two hundred and
nifty thousand bags yearly. bag
weighing one hundred pounds and
holding four and one-haif buehels.
making very large output, and We
carry $500, 900 worth OF stock all the
time. But the only profit in our busl-
ness lies in big sales and big stock 10
draw from. Pli venture to say that
half the people in this country don't
know how peanuts grow. In fact, I've
had commission merchants ask me II
they grew on trees or bushes.
How Peanuts Grow.
The fact - they grow IN the ground
like potatoes aud other tubers. They
are planted IN May and are dug and
ready Tor the market in November and
December. The best are grown IN Nir-
gina, the fancy article beng known as
hand picked Virglnlas. Virginia raises
seventy per cent OF the entire product.
Tennessee and North Carollna raise
some, but the Tennessee product il Of
inferior quality anu does not roast well.
Tne peanut product OF the country is
from 100000 TO 100000 bags yearly.
The crop OF this year is less than that
OF last year by forty per cent and the
price Is going up rapidly though the
stock is poorer IN quailty. We sell To
the wholesale grocers, confectioners
and commission houses, our business
extending through the United States
and Canada, with large shipments TO
Cuba and Europe. Many of the most
ex tensive cotton ana tobacco planters
in Virginia are giving up their land To
peanuts. They are brought into Nor
folk by the boat and tram load, and
the peanut industry Is now, next TO
cotton, the largest business IN that
city. When the stock reaches us from
the plantation II IS full of DIRT, sterAs
and 'pops,' aud the loss in refuse is
large.
The Dirt Is Removed.
We place the stock first in immense
revolving cylinders which shake all the
dirt out ana also cut Oft the STEMS and
roots. Then they go to the fans where
the refuse and stems are blown out,
and thence 10 the po Ishers. which
make item smooth and white. We
employ S25 coiorcd women, who cit ~
long, moving tables, picking the bad
nuts from the good. In the cylinder
rooms the dust is 50 thick that the men
are obliged TO wear wet sponges over
their noses to prevent the dust from
entering their lungs. II is remarka-
ble thing about our business that no
part Of the stock is wasted. Mnch OF
the SO X is shelled at the factories and
these smells are utilized by the
trade, after being ground, IN the
making of pepper, coffee aud other
spices. The bad shells and nuts are
bought by the farmers, who use them
as horse bedding and manure. 1t Is
said 10 be q most excellent manure. IL
is called "trasn" and consists of stems.
broken nuts and DIRT. and sells for
three cents \ bag. sixty pounds to the
bag. The ground smells are treated
chemically and parched 10y spice mer-
chants. We shipped one-nalf million
bushels of shells to Germany last year.
They were TO be used IN the manufac-
ture OF pepper.
Oils From the Peanut
The goods known as Spanish are
sent to Englani largely, where the OIL
OF the nut is extracted AMI used in lieu
of olive oil in preparing the cheaper
grades of sardines. The oil is also used
tor medicinal purposes somewhat like
cod liver oil. The nut Is very healthy,
and - said 10 aid digestion. Anether
coarser oil Is used for mechanical pur-
poses instead of the more expensive
cottonseed OIL. A very good Hour Is
also made from tie nuts. Ii 10 used in
the making of pastry and the like.
The unrossted nuts ke p from three to
four years easily. There are three
grades, the 'faucy farmers fancy,
good and 'pickups.' The bunch
nut" i. n very large variety and but
few are Iaiscd. The fancy hand
picked yIrgiuias are particularly fine
variety. | guess that's all know
about peanuts. bur I'll say that few
people realize the extent of the busi-
ness.
Norfolk and surroandinss.
"Norfolk is a town of $4,000 inhabit-
ants, the principal business interests
being cotton, peanuts. ehIpbulld-
ing, coal. strawberries and oysters;
6 500. 900 tales of cotton were handled
IN Norfolk last season. We have a
harbor in which the biggest chips sfioat
can turn around. Lines of nisilships
run out of Norfolk 70 Brazilian and
other South American porfs. We have
the finest navy yard and dry docks in
the world, and IL was only last week
that the great steel cruiser Raleigh
Was launched there. The music Of
hammers in those yards is one of the
most inspiring sounds you can imagine.
All the monitors on the James fIyer
are now being repaired there. There
are lines of pslatssl steamers 10 Wash
ington and Baltimore.
The city a also q great shipping point
for western -four. which 10 sent abroad
from Norfolk, and 1t Is the greatest
coal center IN the south. In the sea
con. car after car of strawberries are
sent 10 New York snd BoslHn. and We
do an immensely bigger oyster trade
than Baltimore. Our Linhaven oys-
tiers are the best IN the world. Ihe
place . surrounded bx deiightfsi re-
sorts-Fortress MSnpoe and others. Ia
spite Of the big business Interests. a bss
brilliant society. / look for Norfolk 70
become the chief city OF the south"
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