Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-07-13
PEANUTS.
The Despised Nut Yields a s12,000,o00
Crop.


gredient in the vegetarian meats"
which are much more widely consum-
ed than most people imagine. Some
of these meats" by the way, are
made to initiate Dreaded lamb chops
with sticks Of macaroni for bones.
Peanuts are employed largely In the
confectionery trade and enter into
the composition Of many fancy cakes,
such as macaroons, as :. substitute for
almonds. Peanut butter (likewise
much affected by the vegetarians) Is
manufactured by the ton, and put up
in neat packages is greatly esteemed
for automobile lunches.
Now that the pestiferous boil Vice.
vii Is running the cotton over such
wide areas in the south many plant
ers are turning their attention to pea
nuts as a money crop. Although $12,-
100000 worth of "goobers" were
raised in this country last year the
supply Is still not nearly equal to the
demand-a condition sufficiently prov
ed by the fact that we are importing
great quantities Of peanut oil from
Europe. This, too, although there
are tens of thousands Of acres af
waste lands in the southern states
which are only waiting to be tickled
with a hoe in proper manner In or
der to yield enough peanuts to fur
nish all the oil we want plus liber-
al supply for export.
America gave to mankind the to-
bacco plant, the potato and Indian
corn. II seems also, according to bot
anists, to have contributed the pea
nut, when appears to have come
Originally from the tropics of the new
world. It was introduced into our
own country in early colonial days,
but did not become of commercial
Importance until about 1870. From
that time on utilization Of the nut
gradually increased, but during the
last ten years 1t has risen by leaps and
bounds.
Most persons think of peanuts as
they appear on fruit stands or In the
little wagon Of peripatetic venders,
but as a matter of fact they are dis
posed Of in a great variety Of ways
and for many other purposes.
The blanching process is applied
only to the finest grades of peanuts,
which after being shelled arr eoasted.
It is next requisite to deprive the ker-
nels of their thin brown skins, after
which the halves are broken apart,
the tiny germs are removed by ma
chine specially constructed for the
purpose, and the peas are put up In
attractive packages for market. Pea
nut meal, made from such blanched
peas, finely ground, is particularly es-
teemed for the manufacture of al
mond macaroons and other small
cakes.
With a little experience and the
aid of a small meat grinder anybody
can make good peanut butter for
home use. AS for peanut candy. a
very desirable kind can be made by
simply boiling shelled peanuts with a
thick syrup consisting Of two pounds
of granulated sugar and one large
cupful of water, together with tea
spoonful of lemon juice. When the
syrup begins to boil add two pounds
of unroasted peanuts and cook slowly
until the peas are tender and the syr-
up sufficiently hard to break when
cold. The cooking process should
continue for about an hour, when the
mixture may be poured out on but
tered platters to cool.
The cultivation Of peanuts was un-
til recently confined almost wholly to
areas in Virginia, Tennessee, the Car
olinas and Georgia, but during the
last ten years has spread throughout
the south Atlantic states, and even as
far west as California. Properly
speaking, the fruit is a pea rather
than a nut The plant, however, has
the popularity Of ripening its fruit or
nut beneath the surface Of the soil.
When the small yellow blossom fades
and falls the stem that supported 1t
elongates and thrusts the sharp
pointed ovary downward into the
ground, where the pod develops.
Potato digging machines are usu-
ally employed nowadays for loosening
the peanut vines from the soil when
the pods are ripe. Then the vines are
placed in small stacks, heaped up
about a central stake to cure. AS a
rule the picking Of the pods Is done
by women and children, who get
about 10 cents a bushel for their
work An expert picker can handle
from eight to twelve bushels a day.
Machines, however, are now coming
into use for the purpose.
From the fields the peanuts go to
the factory" where they are clean
ed and separated into grades In ad-
dition, the best ones are treated to
polishing process which renders their
appearance more attractive. mod
ern m peanut factory is a building of
four or five stories, supplied with
power, lighted with electricity and
provided with elevators and bins for
handling and storing the uncleaned
nuts.
When the peanuts are received at
the factory they are first weighed and
then elevated to the top floor Of the
building. During the cleaning and
grading process they descend by
gravitation through fans and grad
ers (to classify them according to
size,) are agitated in the polishing
drums together with a small quantity
of marble dust to whiten and polish
them, and finally are passed on slow
ly moving belts between lines Of wo-
men, who pick out and remove all
refuse and empty pods.
The peanut vine or straw from
which the nuts have been removed Is
Of considerable value for the feeding
of live stock. The ash from the shells
used in the factory as fuel Is valuable
as a fertilizer, containing as much as
8 per cent of phosphoric acid, 9 per-
cent Of potash and per cent Of lime.
The thin brown envelopes Of the peas
have a feeding value almost equal to
that of wheat bran. 1t is an interest
ing fact by the way, that the famous
Smithfield hams and bacon come
from hogs that are partially fed on
peanuts, the practice being to turn
the animals into the peanut fields af-
ter the crop has been gathered, al
lowing them to CLEAN the pods that
were lost in harvesting.
The peanut plant, like the bean
and the garden pea. has the power OF
collecting nitrogen from the atmos-
-.