Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-04-25
PEANUTS FOB FOOD.
IN AMERICA AND AFRICA.
Eurepean savants Havs Found Out That
They Are observation-disclosures 0rits
and Meal.
Cwasninston starr

rations by the army OF Germany. the
Department OF State IS informed. In that
country the oppressive cost OF gigantic
military establishment makes demand for
the cheapest possible food for soldiers.
This requirement is met by the "soooer'
which Is more nutritious than the best
beefsteak, and highly-digestible when pro-
perly prepared.
Such, at all events, are the conclusions
arrived at by DIR. Nordlinger and other
German savants who have been investi-
eating the subject. They have found that
peanut "cake"-the residue after oil mas
been expressed from the nuts-is highly
concentrated food, suitable for human
beings. 1t is calculated to be OF great
value to the peasant and Industrial classes
Of Europe which have suffered from
long and nearly exclusive diet OF bread
and potatoes. Hitherto 1t has only been
employed as forage for cattle. sheep and
horses. The problem confronting the ex-
perimenting scientists was 10 convert
this crude material into paiatable. nutri-
tious, and wholesome human food, cheap
and easily cooked. This they have per-
fectly accomplished. producing several
preparations suitable for different pur-
poses. which have already been placed
on the market. One of these Is peanut
grits-the coarse stuff dried, purified,
bolted, and packed in one-pound boxes
In this form II Is used for soups and
cakes or as a vegetable.
Peanut -four Is similar to the grits, ex-
cept that the material Is ground ana
bolted like ordinary flour. Another prepa-
ration is In the shape Of dry. light. and
palatable biscuits or CRACKERS" The new
food is especially recommended for the
use of persons afflicted with diabetes.
Also a fairly acceptable substitute for
coffee Is made from peanuts.
ROASTED.
One interesting fact ascertained by the
German savants Is that peanuts raw or
roasted are not nutritious at all. for the
reason that the digestive functions re-
fuse to assimilate them, THE chewed
particles pass through and out of the body
almost unaltered. 1t Is the same way
with almonds and with nuts in general.
The "goober' has to be thoroughly cook
ed in order to be profitable as an article
of diet. Boiled peanut grits. for example.
are perfectly digestible, even by sick peo-
pie.
For the sake Of test. peanut soup
was fed to 120 patients in public hospital.
More than half of them found the new
food enjoyable. and ate 1t gladly when
ever IL was offered. Others consumed 1t
without complaint, while about dozen
disliked 1t extremely. being affected with
stomach-ache or vomiting after taking il.
They complained that 1t had rancid
taste. But all throve well on 1t. Such
being the case with invalids. some OF
whom were suffering with dyspepsia and
other digestive weaknesses, this cheap
and nutritious diet ought to be most
valuable for persons in robust health
rlxr far ualI call in
men, and inmates of prisons and asy-
lums.
EXPERIMENTS WITH MEAL AND
GRITS.
The German military authorities.
promptly accepting the suggestion offered
by the savants, have been making expert |
ments with peanut meal and grits. served
to the garrisons at Frankfort and else
where. They have reported favorably TO
the Ministry of War at Berlin, and, II |
further trials are equally satisfactory, the |
new food will be adopted as an element |
of the rations and field sausage of the |
army. 1t is likely, also, to find accept |
ance in the navy. One important quality |
is its sustaining power, enabling the con- |
sumner TO endure much fatigue. In this |
particular II surpasses even the hitherto /
unequalled sofa bean" Of China and /
Japan.
,NUTRITIvE VALUE.
But the most conclusive evidence In |
favor bf the peanut Is furnished by |
analyses made by German chemists of |
high authority. They have compared 1t |
In respect to nutritive value with other |
food, vegetable and animal. Pease are |
more nutritious than .eefsteak; white |
beans are more nutritious than pease;
sofa beans are more nutritious than /
white beans; peanuts are more nutritious |
than sofa beans In a pound Of peanut /
grits there Is nearly twice as much nutri- |
ment as in a pound of pease. One pound |
OF peanut meal is nearly equal in nour- |
fishing power to three pounds of beef |
Peanut meal only costs cents a pound |
in bulk.
MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS.
At present the most important use OF |
peanuts Is In the manufacture of oil. The /
American "goobers" are larger sweeter,
and better favored than any grown In |
the world. but they are not so rich in oil /
as the African. the finest OF which comes /
from Senegambia and the east coast. In |
East Africa and India great quantities Of |
peanuts are threshed out by machinery,
only the seeds being exported. SO as to |
save bulk. At the oil-mills the kernels |
are ground and then pressed. The best |
OF the product Is used for salad oil, the |
poorer quality Is employed In making |
soap and as an ingredient of oleomar- |
garine. The residue. or cake" fetches |
$50 ton. The shells Of the peanuts con- |
stitute about e per cent Of their weight. |
and are utilized In Germany as material |
for paper. Only portion Of the so-called |
olive-oil' sold In this country is really /
what 1t pretends to be. The balance is |
made from peanuts mostly. The best pea.
nut-oil costs only 81 a gallon, furnishing
ms cah1 Ia
ant. Comparatively few people know the
oinerence any way. Cargoes OF peanuts |
are actually sent across the ocean from
America, to be reimported as "olive-oil."
The easiest way to distinguish the real |
from the false Is to pour a drop or two
OF nitric-acid into the sample to be tested.
Peanut-oil thus treated will clear but
olive-oil will not
THE FINEST COOLERS.
This country depends for supplies of
peanuts chiefly upon Virginia. In that
State 100000 bushels of them are grown
annually-more probably than the crops
OF all other States put together. Tennes-
see comes next with COG. 000 bushels North
Carolina. Georgia, Michigan. and Caiifor-
MIA also raise peanuts largely. but the
virginia "goobers" are finest Of all and
ietch the highest price. The business Of
growing them has become q vast Industry
IN the lower counties. and the area OF
farming land devoted to them is becoming
greater every year as the husbandman |
learns the profit they can be made to
yield.
THE GREATEST MARKETS.
The greatest peanut market in the | ,
United States 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.
ana then are sorted. the bad ones being
picked out by young girls who stand on
either side Of revolving belts, upon which
tne nuts are thrown. Finally they are
packed In bags of 100 pounds each. and Z
shipped to Jobbers In various cities The !
!oooers sell them raw or roasted, the lat
yer 70 grocers mostly. They do the cook
ing In great cylinders that win hold 7
twenty or thirty bushels at a time. The Z
cylinder revolves at a moderate rate Of :
speed. while big iron wings" inside of IL
remain stationary, the result being that
tne peanuts are kept thoroughly stirred. =