The Opelousas courier., 1895-06-08
QUEER GROWTH OF PEANUTS.
They Start in the Air and A~fterwRrd Bur-
row Into the Ground.

They Start in the Air and Afterward Bur-
row Into the Ground.
Most residents of the north have
wholly ideas about the way
in which peanuts grow. If questioned
on the subject nine persons out of ten
would probably declare with conf
dence that this favorite luxury of cir
cus-going youth is a root development,
much as potatoes are. That peanuts,
when ripe, are dug out of the earth is
true, but they began operations in the
air and never have anything to do with
the roots of their parent vine. From a
bulletin issued by the department of
agriculture is CLEANED the following
information on this interesting sub
ject.
1.-THE blossom of the peanut is at the
End Of a long, pedicel-like calyx tube,
the ovary being at the base. After the
fall of the flower the peduncle, or
'spike," elongates and bends down
ward, pushing several inches into the
ground, where the ovary at its ex-
tremity begins to enlarge and develops
into n pale, yellowish, wrinkled,
slightly-curved pod, often contracted
in the middle, containing from one to
three seeds. Should the spike" by ac-
cident not be enabled to thrust it's
point in the ground within a few hours
after the fall of the flower it withers
and dies.
''More or less abundantly scattered
ove the roots of the peanut plant are
warts of about the size of a pin head,
or larger. These tubercles, as they
are usually called, play a very
important part in the life history of
the plant. Within them, while in
a fresh Or growing state, may be seen,
by the aid Of a good microscope, myri-
ads of very minute organisms. These
bacteria like bodies live partly on the
substance supplied from the roots, but
at the same time they take from the
air and elaborate for the use of the
plant considerable quantities of nitro
gen. Nitrogen is the most expensive
element that must be supplied to plants
in fertilizers. The organisms livingin
these porous tubercles take it abun-
dainty from the air, of which it com
prises about five-sixths, and supply it
to the plant without any cost. In this
way a total amount of nitrogen is often
acquired by the plant far in excess of
the amount analyses show to be pres
ent and available in the soil.
like many other extensively Guilt
waited plants, the peanut has not been
found in a truly wild state and hence
it is difficult to fix upon its habitat. So
widely has it been cultivated in east
ern countries that some botanists
have attempted to trace it's spread
from China to Japan, thence through
the East India islands to India, and
thence to Africa, where, in the seven
teenth century, it vas so extensively
cultivated and had become such an i'm
portant article of native food hat the
slave dealers loaded their vessels with
it, using it as food for their cargoes of
captives. But the weight of authority
seems to be in favor of accepting it as
a native of Brazil, thus adding the
peanut to the four .other plants of
commercial Importance that America
has contributed to the agriculture of
the world, namely, cotton, Indian
corn, potato, and tobacco. Though it
may be q native of the western con-
tinent, it early became a largely cult
waited plant in the warmer portions Of
the old world, occupying a distinct
place in the agriculture of those coun-
tries long before it's merits were recog-
nized in the land of it's .origin."-Chi-
cago Journal.