The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1912-01-26
TEXAS PEANUT INDUSTRY
ITS CULTIVATION AS A Crop AND
ITS VALUE.
THE ''HOCGING DOWN" SYSTEM
Some Farmers Have Reported as
Much as Forty Bushels Per Acre,
A Great Hog Fattener.

College Station, Tex.-C. NJ. Evans,
superintendent OF agricultural exten.
sion, Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Texas, College Station,
Texas, says:
In a number Of sections Of the state
this year peanuts have been grown
quite extensively and have yielded
under proper cultivation as high as
90 bushels per acre. The section OF
the state growing the largest acreage
this year is probably the sandy sec.
ton around Cisco, Cross Plains, His.
ing Star and DeLeon, and although
this was a dry season, a number OF
farmers have reported more than 40
bushels per acre Of thrashed peanuts.
AT the present prices of nuts this
makes a very profitable cash crop.
The most profitable system OF har.
vestinS peanuts, however Is by the
"hogging down system, using nova
bic hurdle fences. BY using lx4 lum.
wa anu buS HululSS I"blS Z
feet long and 40 inches high you can
build enough OF this movable feuC-
ing for few dollars to fence one
eighth OF an acre. A man can load
this on WagOn-gO out and fence
an eighth of an acre IN two hours.
After the hogs have harvested this
patch 1t is an easy matter and takes
less time than two hours to switch
the hurdles over, fencing the next
patch. BY this method OF cashing the
crop, experiments have shown that
| you can get 81 per bushel in pork
value when hogs are selling at pres.
ent prices. While hogs can and will
do fine on peanuts alone, you will get
better results by feeding a little corn
milo maize or kaffir corn to balance
| the ration in connection with the pea
nuts.
If the spanish variety is planted
the vines stand upright and before
harvesting with the hogs you can &C
in with an ordinary mower and Gu;
from one to two tons of hay per acre
This hay when properly cured is
equal to second grade alfalfa hay and
at present prices Of feeding stuffS
should sell for from $18 to $50 pei
ton. If a system of stock farming il
followed the hay crop can be made t
pay for the expense Of producing tht
crop.
Peanuts prefer sand. and though
they do we'll on rich land, will still
make a profitable crop on quite thil
soil.
Peanuts are very hard on land 1
everything Is removed; however. 1
the hogging down method Is used TIT
fertilizer in the soil will be maintain
ed and often actually increased, TIL
portion of the plant which adds fer
tility to the soil is the little knots o
nodules found on the roots OF tn
growing plants. These knots contain
numberless bacteria which have tn
power of taking fertilizer nitrogen
from the air and fixing it III the sol
This makes peanuts good crop Il
rotate with cotton and corn. II 1t 1
desired to harvest the nuts for thrash
ing this should be done by RUNNING
shallow sweep or pillow underneat
the nuts, cutting the roots so as t
leave most Of these nodules in tn
ground. Peanuts do not do wei
where cotton dies, as a bacterial dis
ease known as the cotton root rot a.
fects them the same as 1t does cottor
alfalfa, sweet potatoes, etc.
Peanuts are one Of the best DIR
farming crops and can be grown pro
itably in any part OF the state excep
probably on sticky black soils.
there is moisture enough in the groun
In the spring to bring the plants u
they will stand the drought all sun
; mer and then set crop OF nuts
sufficient rains come during the lat
summer or rail-.
To aid in securing a stand in Or
spring it is best to soak the nuts
the shell "a hours before planting
Plant the whole nut and II you al
troubled with moles or gophers 1t
best to soak the seed in kerosen
soap emulsion. This can be made
follows:
Dissolve all the soap possible
boiling water. While the water
vet hot stir in kerosene oil as long g
II emulsifies or until free Oil Is see
floating on top of the mixture n
free oil should be on top OF the mi
ture as this will weaken the seed.