The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1908-03-05
THE PEANUT SECTION
1t Takes In Portions of Virginia
and North Carolina.
ENORMOUS CROPS IT GROWS.
Nineteen Counties In the Two States
Produee an Average Of Twelve Mb-
lion Bushels a Yesr-The Way the
Toothsonne Goober Grows.


Suffolk, Va, is the greatest peanut
shipping point in the world. More Of
the delicious COOLERS are raised In
Nansemond county, Of which Suffolk
is the capital, than in any other coun-
ty on earth.
If one takes the map and draws
pencil mark around nineteen counties
in southeastern Virginia and northeast
ern North Carolina he will put a fence,
SO to speak, around the greatest pea
nut section of the world. Those coun-
ties are: In Virginia, Nansemond, Nor
folk, Isle of Wight, Southampton, Srs-
sex. Greenville and Prince George; In
North Carolina, Pasquotank, Perqul
mans. Gates, Hertford, Chowan. North
ampton, Halifax, Edgecombe. Martin,
Pitt. BERTHE and Washington.
This territory, which Is within ra'
dius of $50 miles from Norfolk, pro
duces 100000 bags Of peanuts every
year. Every bag contains four bush
els, so that 12,000.0O0 bushels Is the
average annual production. The ship
ping centers of this belt are Sufolk,
Norfolk, Petersburg and Smithfield, all
in Virginia. Some peanuts are raised
in Tennessee and California, but the
crop of those states is a bagatelle as
compared with the production OF the
yirginia-North Carolina territory.
The shelled peanuts are planted
about the middle Of May by means OF
d drill, similar to corn drill, which
drops one or two kernels In a place
about twelve inches apart. The soil
that raises the best peanuts Is light,
sandy loan. 1t need not be rich. In
fact, a great deal Of Virginia land that
was considered In the antebellum days
too poor to raise anything on is now
producing great quantities of peanuts.
Very little cultivation Is required.
Peanut lands are usually plowed only
once or twice when the plants are
small TO choke out the grass.
The digging time is October, when
the peanut leaves turn yellow. A plow
Is run under the peanut vines and
throws up the goobers after the fash
ion Of digging potatoes In the north.
Poles seven or eight feet tall are stuck
into the ground, and the vines are
shaeked around them, with the peanuts
next to the pole, so that the leaves and
vines form protection from the
weather. II the weather be bright and
cloudless while the peanuts are curing,
so much the better. If rain sets In, the
hulls become blackened and mildewed,
which lessons the value Of the crop.
Formerly all peanuts raised were
picked from the vines by hand. Now
machines similar to thrashers separate
fully rs per cent Of the peanuts from
the vines. No machine has been In
vented, however, that will do this
work perfectly. The tendency Of ma
chimes is to crack the hulls, and pea
nuts with cracked hulls are likely t
spoil.
When the peanuts are separated from
the vines the farmer sacks them ant
hauls them to factory, and his worl
ends there. Delivered at these 81
called factories" his nuts bring 3 to
cents a pound leach bushel containing
twenty-five pounds) for the best grade
and ~ cents to A cents a pound TO
lower grades. The nuts still have on
oauarous cont of dirt
At the factory" they are dumpe
first into drum where the dirt Is rt
moved and a powder is mixed wit
them to brighten and polish them. a
the same time two fans separate th
light and shriveled nuts from the pc
feet ones. The nuts are then dumpe
on slowly revolving tables. where nj
gro women and girls continue th
process of separating the good froI
the bad.
When the nuts are cleaned and sep
rated they are carefully sacked an
graded according to quality and al
then sold at Az to 6la cents pound
jobbers oil over the country. From Il
jobbers they find their way to stre'
venders, candy manufacturers and ia
tories that make peanut butter ar
salted peanuts Exchange.