Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1895-03-08
DOOMED THE PEANUT
A MERCHANT SAYS THAT Is ONE Os
THE THINGS DONE BY THE WAR.


Of July and Circus Days.
Il don't suppose there arc many people
who know that the ever popular peanut
came originally To this country with the
first cargo Of slaves that landed on our
shores" said n dealer In nuts and fruits,
but such is the interesting fact. The
peanut Is n native Of Africa, and In its
wild state Is rs full Of oil almost as IA fat
postum. Cultivation and change Of soil
have greatly reduced its olcaginous quail
ity, although the nuts raised In North Car
olina sccreto enough oil yet TO make them
! I'm demand In France, whore they combine
with their African progcnitor and cotton
seed to mako great deal of the olive oil
we find In our restaurants and groceries
And / don't believe there are many
people outside Of those who have It who
over heard of the peanut habit. You don't
like raw peanuts, do you? thought not.
No one does until he acquires tho habit,
and then he wants his raw peanuts Just as
regular rs he wants his tobacco provided
no chews or smokes, and II he has tho
peanut habit tho chances arc no Is not a
tobacco chcwcr Tho funny part Of the
peanut habit Is that 1t prevails only among
veterans Of the lato war who served either
| In Virginia or Tennessee or North Caro-
| lima. These are tho states where the bulk
| of tho peanut crop Is grown.
Perhaps you can remember how things
werc before tho war. II you can't, will
| tell you that the peanut then was chiefly
holiday luxury to the great mass Of people
In this country. The day when tho circus
was In town, or when the county fair was
showing its pumpkins and four minute
horse trots, or when tho great and glori-
Gus Fourth of July had como around
again, were about tho only occasions when
the popular yearning for the peanut was
In any measure satisfied On these mem
orablo occasions the nut was shucked and
masticated until It couldn't rest. 1t was
only In tho towns and large villages that
the favored few could have peanuts with
them always. Before the war there wasn't
peanut rooster in the whole country out
side OF the big towns and Cities and the
rural dealers bought their stock already
roasted and delivered TO them In big,
coarse bags Today every crossroads from
Maine TO California has It's peanut stand
and It's Wheeling steam rooster, and the
great American nut has no better stand
Ing on circus day or Fourth OF July than |
1t has on any ordinary day OF the year, ex-
OopO eiidV titIO ~ BItllcE COICtltrhllOH OF |
energy rs TO It's shocking and chewing on |
these red letter days.
Now, then, q largo proportion Of the |
soldiers who went TO Virginia, Tennessee |
and North Carolina wero from tho rural |
districts Of the north. So when they got
among tho peanut patches they were
motaphorically speaking, right in clover
At first they roasted at their campnrcs the
peanuts they pulled from the patches, but
1t wasn't long before they not only nc
quircd taste for them raw, but actually
preferred them that way. The result was
that the boys discovered after awhile that
they hankcrod after their peanuts pretty
nearly rs much ms they did for their to-
bacco, and after they got homo they
brought tho longing with them. What
has been tho consequence Tho demand
for peanuts increased so much Immediate
ly after tho war that tho crop didn't begin
10 supply It, Wide awake farmers saw tho
point, and garden patches where peanuts
had been grown for nobody knew how
long wcro abandoned for broad fields,
which wcro planted with tho popular nut,
and today Virginia, Tennessee and North
Carolina ore growing something like
5000, 600 bushels OF peanuts year. re-
suit duo almost entirely to tho civil war
and tho contracting Of the peanut habit
by the soldiers of both armies
Naturally the returned soldiers loud
call for peanuts soon placed the nut within
their reach and that Of the rural popula-
ton IT, the further limit Of Way Back, and
the nut ceased forever TO be simply holt
day luxury Tho floor Of tho backwoods
grocery is now Uttered nightly with the
shucks Of peanuts hot from revolving
Al. I'll. 1
Fourth OF July IN the oldcn time, and the
old soldier can get his supply of raw pea
nuts Mt Way Back Corners Just as fresh
and regular almost ms If he were still on
the old camp ground, yanking the nuts
from their native soil.
'While tho Virginia peanuts are the
BEST their popularity was threatened o
couple OF years ago Consumers began to
Of their having a peculiarly dis
agreeable taste and smell, and they did
too What caused this was mystery TO
-ho trade for long timo. FINALLY u was
earned that sometimes tho shells of o
growing crop are diseolored by prolonged
spell OF wet weather, and, hs one thing
hat recommends the Virginia peanut ss
: favoritc In the market IL IT, clean, white,
ylistCning shell, a process Of cleaning the
damaged crop was invented In It certain
chemicals wcrc used that imprcgnated the
neat Of tho nut while cleaning the sholl.
When this was discovered tho artificial
cleansing Of peanut shells was discon.
inucd until tho difficulty In the process 3
ould be rcmcdicd, which has been done
Norfolk Is the greatest peanut cen
er in the world, about 1000 900 bush I
Is being handled there during tho year :
I is a pretty sight to sec peanut planta- a
ion when tho vines are In blossom The :
blossoms arc bright yellow and tho vines :
vivid green. No. the nut docs not grow Il
rdit ple blossom. As soon as the blossom /
ppcars, though, fine branch forms on ?
he vine and shoots down into the ground
The peas, as the nuts arc called on tho
lantations, form on the shoot beneath tho
round, like potatoes. When the crop Is =
altered In October the vines arc plowed n
p, and tho nuts hang TO their roots -
ines and all are piled In cocks In the a
cid, aud in 20 days tho nuts are ready 30 a
Q pulled off, placed In bags and taken to \
he factories There they are cleansed OF :,
irt assorted into different grades and
olishcd In revolving cylinders, when they h