The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1907-04-20

PRICE OF PEANUTS
NO LONGER JOKE
Increases One Hundred and
Twenty-Five Percent
Poor Crop in Virginia Coupled With
Shortage OF Labor Cause the
~ Present Rise.
SOME FIGURES ON SUBJECT

Peanuts are advancing to an al
most prohibltiye price. For several
months the price has been crawling
up, and Mr.. John Scott, of the Pa
ducah Peanut company. gave reasons
for the advance in the popular goo
Der peas.''
Since November 1, the harvest
time of last years crop. the price has
advanced 125 per cent. or to be more
specific. the price has gone from 40
cents a bushel to s136 a bushel. In
considering this price only the best
grade is included, but the other
grades are affected to some extent.
1t is not to any corner that this
rise is due. but last year at harvest
time the excessive rains so inter-
fered that acres and acres were lost.
and the crop of the United States is
estimated at 1.250.0O0 bags against
$500. 900 bags the preceding year
And then the crop is of an inferior
quality, too
Next to Petersburg and Suffolk,
Virginia, Paducah ranks first and
the change of price has been felt by
the local cleaners. The price on the
best grade is now SIC. per pound
against SIC. at the same time last
year. and Mr.. Scott anticipates the
price will soar to 10hc. pound by
July Is. thus establishing new
high point the last being in 1883,
when the price went to t2Kc, but
corner wac the cause OF this flight.
Before the new crop comes in in
November, Mr., Scott thinks he is
safe In predicting the price will dou-
BILE again.
Paducah receives about 55 per cent
OF the produce from Tennessee, but
last year this state had full crop.
it being Virginia where the greatest
loss was felt.
Labor Conditions Help.
Labor conditions enter into the
rise, too. as It Is almost impossible
in the producing belt to hire help and
make any margin OF profit for the
grower. In Virginia a great number
of men have been employed at excess
siye wages to construct the buildings
for the exposition and the farmers
have been In pinch for laborers to
plant this years plant Heretofore
the peanuts have been picked from
the vines by hand after being re-
moved from the ground, which was
an expensive way as wei as de-
cidedly Slow one But a machine
has been invented that removes the
"goobers' with great rapidly. What
success this machine will make is yet
to be ascertained, but should it prove
successful 1t will revolutionize the
industry.
While In quality the United States
product ranks first OF all. In quaint
ty II ranks after the states of the
northern African coast. and 65 per
cent of the peanuts used last year
we're imported from Japan, Turkey.
Spain and Africa.
Estimates place 10000 900 as
the sum spent by people of the United
States annually for the commodity
Most Of the product OF the other
countries is used in Germany and
France, where oil is extracted and
peanut -four is made. which com
prises one of the chief rations of the
German army. still, the crop Of
this country will average an increase
of cents pound over the imported
stock.
Spanish peanuts are affected in the
increase. Priced at Q cents pound
now. 1t is almost certainty they
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