The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-08-16
THIS WOMAN TRIED PEANUTS
RECORD or SEVEN YEARS ON A
NORTH CAROLINA FARM.

NORTH CAROLINA FARM.
Mrs. Csss's Story Of How she, . widow
with Little Property, Brought UP Her
Six Children and Developed o Front.
able Farm-The Problems She Solved.
To bring up and educate six small children
on fifty acres OF poor land In North Carolina
was the task Mrs. Jennie r. Cass set for
herself seven years age. Besides the farm
house Of five rooms and Its cheap furnish
ings she had one mule and one horse. both
too old to have their ages recorded; a COW
and a calf. twenty-five chickens and three
razorbaok pigs. The ploughs. wagons and
other farm implements were about as old
as the horse and mule and In just about as
good condition.
4The children Just had to be educated. 30
I set to work TO do it. Mrs. Cass told the
reporter. sMy husband had been Ill a long
time and all Of his little insurance money
went to pay bills hat had been contracted
on that account.
Excepting the FIVE years that / taught
school in the northern part Of New York
! State I had lived on a North Carolina farm
all my life, 80 / knew what I was UNDER
taking. As the farm was free Of debt and
there was enough provender to last the
stock until the next harvest. I was sure that
hard work and economy would carry me
through the interval.
sThe first step was to decide what crop
I would depend on to bring In money. As
my husband had raised peanuts with moro
profit than tobacco. Of course I had q lean
ing that way. though / was not willing to
give my time n work TO raise twenty
or thirty. bushels to the acre.
Among the books and papers I read on
the subject Of peanut culture none idme SO
much good as the little bulletin sent out by
the United States Agricultural Department.
Most of the peanut ~raisers I had known
about had made q point Of planting their
land one year in corn and the mex in pea
nuts. That was the only effort at rotation
Of crops, SO far as I knew. When I read
that this wal injurious, imp0verishing even
the best land. I set out to try the rotation OF
crops recommepdsd by the bulletin.
"Instead Of plantng forty acres Of peanuts
and ten acres in other farm products, o
my husband had always done. I reversed
the order Of things. When the crop Of that
year was harvested I sowed every inch OF
land I could In winter oats and rye.
"The next spring when that grain was
| cut the ten acres which had been planted
In general farm orops were prepared and
planted in peanuts. After planting enough
corn and potatoes to supply the farm I
sowed the balance Of the land in oowpeas.
THAT first crop Of peanuts averaged
twenty-six bushels to the acre. The day
after the crop was carried from the field I
had the ploughs in and that ten acres put In
winter oats. I had found that oats suited
| my land better than rye. Also I had dis
covered that oats make better green food
for working stock than rye.
>aOf course every practical farmer knew
this. but as I had never attempted to be q
practical farmer I had to learn It for myself
The next spring I doubled my acreage In
peanuts and also the amount Of fertilizer
to tho acre. The result was an increase In
the yield Of from twenty-six bushels an acre
to sixty bushels, full measure.
"The third year I began to experiment
not only with fertilizers but also with Diff
ferent varieties Of peanuts. After select
ing an acre Of a. good land a. I had on the
farm I planted rows Of seeds Of different
varieties Of peanuts. using different kinds Of
fertilizers and dividing the field into two
equal sections Igave one section fat culture
and the other asraised culture.
ct was a dry year and the yield Of the
two methods Of culture differed with every
variety of seed and with each kind of fer
~tilizer. very much in favor OF the fat Gull
ture. The Spanish nuts cultivated fat
yielded almost three times as much as thoee
planted on beds. The Virginia running
| variety came next. yielding not quite double
when cultivated fat.
an harvesting that year I kept the Diff
ferent varieties separate and found that
while the Spanish had yielded the greater
number of bushels the Virginia running
brought the higher price. As I was tn the
business to make money. naturally the next
year my acreage Of the best paying variety
was increased.
aThe reason for this difference in price
is not only in the taste and size OF the Vir-
ginia nut but also In the beauty Of Its appear
ance. When not stained BY the soil the pod
lie almost white. which gives II an appear
anoe Of cleanliness lacking in many vari-
cites Of peanut.
at Is not 80 oily as the Spanish variety
and neither Is II 90 prolific nor does Il weigh.
30 much to the bushel. As II has a large,
spreading vine It cannot be planted as
closely as many other varieties, but at the
same time the branches bear pods almost
the entire length.
Il now devote my attention to thoee two
NdTlctioc, pidululB tWCuty hCTeb Oh INC
Virginia running variety and Ave acres Of
Spanish. The Virginia nut Is much In de-
mand by. sellers Of the best parohed peanuts.
while oonfectioners all over the world so
far as I ave been able to learn prefer
good Spanish nuts.
For the last two years my five acres
Of Spanish nuts have averaged n hundred
bushels to the acre. That variety has a
relatively small. upright vine. forms small
pods near the taproot and oan be planted
much closer together than any other variety.
Another desirable feature Is that all peas
adhere to the vine when II Il harvested.
II Is also one Of the very best varieties to
be picked by machinery. "a the pods are
small and Of uniform size.
According to my experience I should
say that any soil that will produce good
Indian corn win grow peanuts successfully.
My own and Is a sandy loan With q light
clay subsoil, and I am careful not to out
into that subsoil any oftener than I must.
Clay Is apt to stain the shells and render
the nuts less marketable.
There should be five months without
frost to insure a good crop. and the most
favorable weather IL an early spring fol-
lowed by o warm summer with moderate
rainfall and no DIR dahf. Beoauae of the