The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1909-01-16
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FARMING IN
3 THE SOUTH
PEANUT CULTURE.
Observation-Disclosures of Planting
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Preparation for Market.

The Louisiana State Board of Agri
culture and immigration and the Elk
pertinent Station has issued the fol
lowing on peanut culture, prepared by
w. R. Dodson, Director, Agricultural
Experiment Stations:
In view of the frequent inquiries re-
garding the cultivation of peanuts, the
following condensed statement has
been prepared giving the most peril
nent facts secured from the Louisiana
Experiment Stations and other expert
ment stations in the South
Varieties-The large peanuts usual
Iv seen at the confectioneries are the
Virginia" or Tennessee" red" or
| white" varieties. The Virginia or
Tennessee red is more popular on the
market and these seem to be better
! suited to Louisiana conditions than the
| two white varieties. The Spanish"
peanut has a smaller pea and has a
more erect habit of growth, and the
peas adhere to the vines with greater
tenacity in the harvest than is char
acteristic with the other varieties. The
| Spanish peanut is, therefore, easier to
harvest for forage or market than the
other varieties. The Spanish variety
is not quite as rich in oil as some of
/ the large varieties. The so-called
Mammoth" varieties are not desira-
bic SO far as the indications of the ex
periments at the Louisiana Stations
] go. The yields are small and many
of the pods are not we'll filled The
Spanish is generally preferred for for
age and possibly for other purposes,
on account of less labor involved in
harvesting.
SoiI-Almost any we'll drained soil
| in Louisiana will produce fair crop
Of peanuts The sandy soil with a
moderate amount of humus is prefer
red. Stiff soils frequently produce good
crops, but it is difficult to harvest the
pea satisfactorily and free it from dirt.
Red soils, containing a large quantity
| of iron, color the pods and injure the
market qualities Soils containing a
large amount of stable manure or de-
composing vegetable matter are liable
to produce excessive vines and a
small yield of peanuts.
Time Of Planting-Peanuts should
not be planted until all danger of
frost has passed. They may be plant
cd as late as the middle of June and a
good crop made.
| : Of 10 No.
soil as for ordinary staple. crops. As
clean culture is desirable, land that is
| comparatively free of weed and grass
seeds is to be preferred.
Planting-Very slight ridges should
be prepared in ordinary soils, in the
| more sandy soils, the fiat row should
be used. The rows may be arranged
from two and half to three feet
apart The closer rows have i1~>-l
found to give the largest yields. '1fhe
hills in the row should be from SIX
inches to a foot and ha4f apart Us
ually the short distance is used with
the small varieties and the poor land
and the maximum distance with the
large varieties and the richer land.
Generally two peas are planted to the
hill. In early planting cover some
what deeper. It is the general prac-
tice to shell the peas before plant
| ing. Good results are secured by sim
| ply breaking the pods, but they do nor
come up as quickly when planted this
| way as when shel1ed before planting
Planting the whole pods delays germi-
nation and generally prevents securing
frst-elass stand. It will require
from one to two bushels of peas in
the hull to plant an acre.
ultiVation-Frequent shallow cul-
tivation up to the time that the vines
begin to bloom gives the most satisfac-
tory results. No special precautions
are necessary in the cultivation of the
crop. After the blooms begin to ap-
| pear the vines should be disturbed as
! little as possible, though the midd1es
may still be cultivated lightly with
| any implement most convenient.
Notwithstanding. should be-
gin as soon as large per cent of
the peas have. matured. If the work is
delayed and unfavorable weather pre-
walls there will be greater loss from
the termination of the peas as they
mature than will be compensated for
by the maturity of the later formed
peas. The common method of har-
vesting is to off-bar the row with a
| turnploW. Then lift out each hill sep
arately with ground fork, shaking
the bunch to release the adhering
dirt. Two or three rows are punched
together and curing is very much af-
ter the order commonly followed in
w1ndroWing hay. When a considera-
bic crop is produced they are shock
ed in small shocks around a stick driv
en- in the ground, making the shocks
Judge MacFarlane of Pittsburg has
L or hal Il 1t