The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1911-03-02
The Peanut,
It's Culture, Harvest
and Sale.

up readily when taken hold O
with the hand. Following thiI
blowing, each man takes two
rows, shakes out the dirt and puts
four rows together in piles. The
poles are set by n man deeply
in ground and thoroughly lamp
ed; IL inches from the ground
two sticks about two inches wide
and one inch thick and fifteen
inches long are nailed to this post,
crosswise, one over the other. The
peanuts are stacked by starting
the foundation on these sticks
until you get the base of your
stock. Now, place the nuts next
to pole and the vines outward.
They will dry thoroughly and
cure the vine nicely. The stacks
should be capped with crab grass
to prevent the water from run
ming down the pole, which often
causes the hulls to mill-dew;
though this does not effect the
sale here materially. This method
of harvest is quickly and easily
done, and especially when the
hands become accustomed to it.
Here the poles are set 500 after
peas are laid by, at odd. times.
After the peas are sacked, sow
this field to rye, wheat or oats
and harrow crosswise to turn
under for next crop to follow.
The next is the ~threshing. In
this section many threshers are
run by contract. The owner of
the thresher and engine, (either
steam or gasoline; steam being
preferable) will go to the field
and plant thresher in convenient
place to peas, where they are
threshed at a given price per
four-bushel sack. Threshers are
made of different sizes and capa-
cities, ranging from 100 to GOO
bushels per day. The price per
sack paid varies according to con.
ditions, etc, generally from 10 to
1919 per bushel goes to the
thFesher. -
The Spanish peanut weighs sc
pounds to the bushel and brings
this year $1.15 to $1.25 and up
for commercial peas, $1.65 up.
for good seed peanuts, which are
select stock.
I have had considerable expert.
ence running peanut threshers
: as we'll as growing pnanuts and
think they are a crop that should
be grown in rotation all through
the South, as no crop pays bet
ter for expense of culture and
harvest.
AS to Sale and Manufacture
These 4 bushel sacks. weighing
100 to $50 pounds, according to
quality and solidity of the nuts,
are takdn to what is called a fac
tory, where the peas m shelled
by machinery, graded, and re-
sacked and are sold to buyers in
various cities for many uses. A
great many Of these shelled peas
are used in the penny peanuts
slot machines and for making pea
nut candy, sailed peanuts, pea
nut waters, etc. Nc doubt many Of
them are used in making oil,
some of which is also distribut-
ed to the commercial trade in
many firms.
To make peanuts is one thing
and to manufactur them is
another. The Smelling plant is a
paying one, where enough pea
nuts are raised to justify it, but it
is not necessary to a community
before they can raise the Spanish
peanut. These will command the
price, and here we have a fac
tory and ship many cars direct
to other markets. Sometimes the
factory is taxed beyond it's capa-
city, again at times other markets
offer other inducements.
1t is a commercial commodity.
Make peanuts and they will sell
as readily as cotton. Don't make
these so-termed .ancy, three and
four kernel, red skinned nuts.
The machinery is served for grad
ing and set for Smelling.
The Spanish pea and even the
Virginia pea has no market in
my town; they are shipped only
to Norfolk and Suffolk, Va,
where a special section of Vir-
ginia is admirably adapted to the
growth and factories or the roast
ing trade offer Inducements.
L. Trueblood, Weldon, N. c., in
Southern Ruralist.