St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1893-10-21

"What kind Of soil il required?' For
peanuts . light soil Is the best, one in
which sand largely predominates;
mulatto clays likewise suit them very
well. The object in planting them on
light-colored lands il not because they
will not make. . profitable crop on
darker lands, bat because the nuts be-
come stained by the coloring matter Of
the soil (sometimes red. at others
black), which Injuries, not the NUT, bat
the sale. At the same time that they
require soil light in color, they also.
from their peculiar habit of growth.
require . coll that il also light in
texture: IL must also be = warm free
growing soil, and we'll drained. The
peanut II . Luminous plant and resem-
bles clover in its composition and its
feeding habit A field Of peanuts just
making theie appearance above the
ground is . very pretty sight. The
growth is upright until the plant has
attained height of eight or ten inchos,
then the peashaped yellow blossoms
appear. and the plant falls over and
makes its Subsequent growth in . pro-
cumbent position; right here is where
the peculiar habit of growth asserts It.
self.
As the yellow blossoms make their
appearance on the upper side of the
stem, the ovary or pod in miniature,
makes its appearance on the under side
of the stem, curving downward toward
the ground which iteventually reaches
and enters, and there the ovary en-
larGes till It forms perfect, well-de
veloped peanut
Should . rock or other hard sub
stance rs . baked soil intervene, 50
that the ovary can not thrust its point
into the ground, the point or ovary
withers, shrivels up. and comes to
naught; it must perfect itself in the
ground or not 1t all. Il is this singu-
lar process that makes an open. porous
soil an absolute necessity in success
full peanut culture. II the soil is not
absolutely loose. it must be made "a
approximate this condition by FIRE.
quent cultivation.
We come now to varieties" The
matter Of varieties is IN important
one insomuch that the cultivation diff.
fers with the different growths, OF
habits Of growth Of the different
varieties. We have here the ''large
white" . good. productive nut on
strong soils and with favorable sea
sons; but this variety usually has more
''pops," or ''puffs" Il. e.. defective
fruits, the pod being full size but full
of-emptiness.) than has either of the
other varieties The ''small white" z
very prolific pea with comparatively
few puffs, is almost the only pea that
can be found on the market; it is more
generally known rs the ''Vir.
ginia" pea NUT II Is the almost uni
versal absence OF puffs (almost every
nut being we'll filledD that makes them
popular with both dealers and con.
sumers. Both the above varieties lie
nat ON the ground. the ovaries Il. G.,
nut in embryo) striking down into the
yielding soil from one end Of the stems
to the other. The red is earlier than
the white; il has very few pufFs, bears
. smaller number Of pods than any Of
the others, but what IL does have are
larger, fine, and well filled. Unlike
the white, it Is Of an upright growth
and makes its nuts from the roots ex.
clusively, instead Of from the top OF
the stems, n Il in the case with the
white. On account of its upright
groth, IL is much easier cultivated than
il the white, making It the goober PAL
excellence for the-laxy man. The
''Spanish" Il much smaller than either
Of the others, but what il lacks in size
it more than makes up numberA-cor'
respondent Of Journal of Agriculture.