The new South-news., 1909-03-27

native OF Brazil. but this belief has
good deal OF the nature OF guess
although a number Of species are said
TO be indigenous 10 that country. lt
has. however. a footing on all of the
FIVE great continents of the world.
being found ia both torrid and tom
rcrato regions, which appears 20 In
dicafe that II has bccn IN existence
Tor vast number Of years. as IL takes
very long time for such produce
20 become so widely distributed IL
has been suggested that the pcanu,
had IFS origin away back IN the re-
mote period when most or the space
covered by the Atlantic Ocean was n
continent that has been NAMED AT
lan'is." This. Of course. is merely
speculation
The peanut comes 20 us under SOW
cral names IL II called in different
localities ground nut" ''gooher." F"
"oarthnut" and '.pindcr." In foreign
lands. whore Il has numerous aliases.
Il has made its way into the hearts
land s,omachs) Of all classes of poo
pie. few OF whom know that the an
nual crop in our country amounts to
four million bushels OF tho value Of
ten million dollars II has been an
important crop since about 1866.
The peanut Is a peculiar plant. IT
docs not grow on vines or stalks
above ground. like tho tomato. for
example. nor does II cling TO tho roots
81
potato. II has way Of propagat-
ing itself. unlike anything elise in the
fruit. vegetable or nut line and Il
seems TO be n sort OF combination be-
tween the thrcc--nut. fruit and veg
e;ahlc. II resembles nut in appear
ance. as almost everybody knows.
being In she'll II also resembles
a vegetable. the pea. for " Is In
pod. and there are from one to three
nuts In the peanut pod n belongs
10 the clover family. and gathers
nitrogen from the air by means OF its
roots. lIkc beans and peas. Tho pea
nut foliage is greedily eaten by sheep.
cows and mules Ton for ton. It Ia
considered ms valuable for hay as
good clover. A ton Of well cured
peanut vines will make as much milk
as ton OF the best clover hay.
In Georgia. for example. peanuts
are planted In May and bloom IN June
and July. having a beautiful purple
flower. not unlike the blossoms OF
the pea. Immediately after bloom
ing. the plants begin To peg as the
natives term the process The pea
nut vino runs along on the ground
and at each end OF the Joints
In the running vino peg forma'
ton In seen issuing from the points
This peg" II about ~ large A. {
small match. and bends downward
from the vine and pegs" pushes ol
punches its wny into the mellow
earth. and the peanuts arc formed
under the surface Of the soil on these
little pegs" or shoots. Tho peanuts
method of propagation is entirely
original. and. as has been mentioned,
different from that OF any other
known plant.
The soil best adapted for the pea
nut Is a shady loan. light In color.
free from vegetable matter. unless
II be thoroughly decomposcd PED
nut soil is literally as mellow a. an
ash-heap. and the experienced peanut
raiser prepares his earth thoroughly
by eliminating every spear Of grass
and every weed, for peanut culture
cannot be markedly successful un-
less this IL done
Tho seed II FIRST shelled by hand
for planting, ~ machincry-shellcd
seed II moro or less injured In she'll
ing. Two peanuts are planted In
each hill. twelve TO fourteen inches
apart, and tho rows are about two
and q half feet apart.
Tho planting II done BY . one
horse peanut planter, very much like
the one-horse corn planter. The seed
II planted from two TO four inches
deep. II tho earth 10 At all weed )
or grassy a cultivate: IL run between
the rows. oven before the vino has
appeared above ground.
Az soon a. the plants are well ur
the "HaIlock" or Breed" weeder
or some similar implement Is run
generally diagonaIly. across the rows
both ways. for the purpose Of keeping
the ground very mellow and prevent.
Ing the growth OF grass or weeds.
After the peanut blooms the soil
must not be disturbed. and before
the "peyging" takes place the vine,
have usually covered all the space be.
tween the hills and between the rows
In October. before frost. the nnts
are plowed out or loosened up by
means OF specially made pIows. After
the vines have laid In the sun a fe~
hours to wilt, the workers with pitch
forks lift them with the nuts cling
Ing to them. and they are stacked
Care is taken to turn the nuts inward
so that the vines shelter or cover
them. II this Is not done the former
may become discolorcd by being er
posed to the Esn or rain.
After a few weeks the workers ar,
sent into the fields to pick the pea
nuts from the vines. and for doin,
hCU