The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-10-05
UNCLE SAM GIVES ADVICE ON PEANUTS Tells How the Crop Should
 Be Harvested MAKE HASTE SLOWLY Care Should Be Taken to Prevent Them From Shriveling-Methods
 of Digging to Prevent
 Injury

Washington, October 4.-lSpeciaL) Pointers on Peanuts" might well be the title of a paper just issued by the de- partment of agriculture, addressed and dedicated to more especially to the boys of Alabama, Mississippi Louisiana and other commonwealths blessed by the pres ence of the goober in their midst. The paper strongly advocates the organization of boys clubs for the cultivation of the feative peanut, and says that several peanut butter companies have offered prizes to producers of super-excellent crops.
 Under the title, How to Harvest Your Peanuts" the paper gives the following instructions:
 Peanuts are usually ready for digging when the vines turn yellow and the lower leaves begin to fall off, but this Is not always the case. It is a good plan to pull up d few hills over the field, and examine the pods to see if they are well filled.
 '.There is a tendency among beginners to dig peanuts before they are mature, but this should be avoided. When the crop is dug too soon the percentage of pops or thrilled pods Is large and the nuts shivel up, thus making an inferior product A few of the early nuts will sometimes sprout long before the main portion of the crop is matured. but it is better to sacrifice these than to harvest too early.
 "When peanuts are grown on a small scale they are sometimes pulled by hand, but this is not a desirable method as most all of the root, with its nitrogen nodules, is removed The plants should h. Htt in mol a ton of the root is left in the ground. One of the simplest implements is the I common turning blow, with tho mold l board removed, to prevent covering the plants. If the share is sharp and the I blow is properly regulated the root can l be cut off at any desired depth. Another | simple digger consists of a Ushaped bar 1 of steel attached to Georgia blow stock. 1 The bar Is sharpened on the front edge l and four to five Iron fingers are at- 1 tached to the back edge to separate the vines from the soil This implement can l be regulated to cut off the root wherever desired. Probably the best digger is tho regular peanut digger. which is made on the same principle as the potato digger. l The potato digger is satisfactory If the l scat bars are made longer and placed l farther apart so as to allow the vines | to pass over the elevator without clog ging. By means of a lever attached to 1Ie u1BBlfk DOlill lit ildtnillt tdu bt regulated so as to run any depth de- sired.
 Curing and Stacking After the peanuts are dug they should be left lying on the ground Tor few 1 hours or just long enough to wilt. This will ordinarily require from two to six hours, depending upon the weather con dtions When the vines nave wilted they are shaken from the soil and taken up 1 by hand or fork and piled in a circle | around the stacking pole. This circle should be large enough 10 allow the | stacker plenty of room to work, The poles used should be about seven feet | long and large enough to support a small | stack. Set the poles between the peanut
 rows and bring up five or six rows of | peanuts to each stack TOW. Put the poles in the ground about 15 to IS inches | deep and nail on two crosspieces to 10 | inches from the ground. These pieces may be any scraps of lumber of 12 to IS | inches in length. Start the stack by di- viding a few punches of peanuts and | hanging them over the ends of the cross pieces This keeps the nuts off the l ground and the stock high in the middle. 1 insuring drainage off of the water. The | vines are stacked with the nuts to the | pole to prevent exposure to the l weather of the pods and injury by birds | Near the top of the pole the stack Is
 
 | bunch of grass or weeds.
 Tn some sections the vines are allowed ] to cure on the ground and then raked 1 up into piles and stacked in much the same way as cowpea hay is cured. This l is a bad practice because the nuts dry out too quickly, causing them to shrivel and those the outside of the stack l turn black. For first-class product | the nuts must cure slowly and without exposure to the weather. Stacking by | hand, as described Is the best method and should be followed when the nuts are intended for market.
 "It Is a good plan to select the seed for the next seasons planting. at the time
 the peanuts are dug. Select vines with a large number of well-filled pods.. clus- tered close around the base of the eplant A spreading plant. with pods along the branches, usually has a large percentage of pops or poorly filled pods. Stack the seed peanuts separately and pick off the nuts by hand to prevent cracking or breaking of the pods. Store the seed in a dry place, preferably where there Is no danger of freezing.
 Picking or Threshing
 "The peanuts should be allowed to stay in the stack for four or five weeks before being removed from the vines. During this period the nuts are curing slowly and without shiveling or moulding. The hay is also of more value when cured in this way. In removing peanuts from the vines three methods are employed
 Hand picking is still followed when a small acreage is grown, but under most conditions machine should be used. Tn Virginia peanut picker Ca machine de-
 signed especially for this purpose) is
 most generally used. There are several types of pickers on the market, and it is
 question of choice as to which one to use. As rule the type of machine all
 ready in use in the community will have | to be employed by the club members
 The ordinary grain thresher, with spe- l cial cylinder for peanuts, Is also used in | some sections. Whatever method is used ! 1t is important to have the nuts removed
 with as little breaking of the pods as | possible and to have nuts well cleaned
 After removing the nuts from the | vines they should be redeemed If much | dirt and trash is found. Place the nuts l fiji standard peanut bags which hold about I four bushels of Spanish, nuts. These bags | should be clean and uniform in size and | shape. Store the peanuts in dry build | ing away from mice and rats until ready 1 for market. Do not put the nuts on the | market during the rush of the selling I season as the price is usually low at l that time.
 "If you will follow these directions