The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-04-09
MONEY IN PEANUTS.
Ten Million Dollars Spent Annually In
America for This sFruit.'

|
America for This "Fruit."
A man incidentally asked street
vender if his peanuts were first-class,
and the response to the inquiry was
surprising, says the Chicago Tribune.
"No," said the vender. ''You do not
get first-class peanuts in this country
in this way. The best peanuts are used
for other purposes. They are made
into meal and grits by scientific men,
and in Germany they arc prepared for
sick people in the hospitals The pea
nuts you get in candy IRE the very
poorest grade. And some of tho burnt
| almonds which you get arc nothing
more than fourth-rnte peanuts"
'Whcrc did the peanut come from?"
From Central and South America,
They grow there in long pods, and tho
| pods contain from four to five kernels.
They were carried to the old world In
the early days, and in the seventeenth
century they constituted the chief
staple of Africa. You will find if you
look it up that the slave dealers Of
Africa in those days used to load their
ships with peanuts to be used us food
for their human cargoce. The negroes
who were imported from Africa to this
country brought over the peanut and
they were scattered md first grew in
Virginia. And now this country is rails
ing the crop, and, owing TO American
shrewdness, the nut is ground and used
for various purposes mud shipped NIL
over the world.
Il reckon you know, the vendcr con-
tinued, that peanuts in certain cond,-
When specially prepared they rank
with beans and peas. The peanut is
said to contain 90 per cent. of protein
and 40 per cent. of fat What is known
as peanut meal contains SO per cent of
protein and s per cent. of fat 1t is the
cheapest of all food materials"
In 1sG1 and 1865 peanut oil was man
ufactured largely in four southern
states. and was employed as substi-
tute for olive oil. In fact, one drug
gist admitted, some of the ''oliyc oil"
sold now in this country is nothing
moro than peanut oil. Ncnrly all of tho
olive oil sold in the United States is
mixed with part of the pcsnut. Pea
nuts furnish from so to 30 per cent. of
the weight Of their kernels in oil.
Sometimes peanut oil is used for light
ing, an6again 1t is utilized to advun-
tagc in the making of soap and rs n
lubricant in machine shops.
The American peanut is lnrger and
better favored than any other, but it
does not contain SO much oil as the At
rican nut. The "cake1 which is left
after extracting the oilmakcs excellent
feed for cattle, and Is used very largely
for that purpose in Germany, where it
sells for $50 to S33 ton. This country
owes to Germany the suggestion it has
received in relation to the edible quail
ties of peanuts, and the department of
agriculture is now investigating the
method of Germany in the way in
which that country has handled the
nut, and the result is to be published
by the department for the benefit of
the farmers
The United States now produces
100000 bushels of peanuts annually,
or SS,000,000 pounds. The total worlds
| supply amounts to about eco, 600
pounds. The expectation from Africa
and India to Europe during the last year
amounted to nearly 400, 900, 600 pounds.
Of this quantity 222 600, 600 pounds were
delivered at the port Of Maraaillcs,
Franco, the bulk of it being pressed for
oil.
It is estimated that $4,000, 900 worth
of peanuts are eaten every year in the
United States. and most of the ouanti-
ty, it is said, is consumed between
meals and at odd times.