Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1916-04-21
SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA WILL
HAVE BIG PEANUT ACREAGE
Experiments Made Last Year by the
Durant Cotton OIL Company
Prove Feed Value Of
the Products.

Throughout this part of Oklaho-
ma there is Increasing interest in the
peanut crop. oil mills that were
driven by the high price OF cotton
seed to make experiments last year
on peanuts have been encouraged by
the results Of their departure. They
have all demonstrated the value of
peanut oil and peanut meal for feed
ing purposes. The coming season
promises to see a large increase in
the peanut acreage of Oklahoma. II
may even result this season in an
overproduction of peanuts as meas
ured by the demand at the price that
has prevailed in the past by the reg
ular peanut trade.
In addition to the reduction in the
volume of peanut oil as a result of
the curtailment Of mills in kurope
working on Africsn-grown peanuts,
the high price of animal fats and the
scarcity of cotton seed are factors
in the creation of demand for more
peanut oils.
A factor in the peanut industry is
the relation of profit TO the farmer
as between peanuts and cotton. Pea
nnts in this State yield an average
of forty bushels to the acre They
also yield about ton of hay Of fine
quality. The maximum value of pea
nuts for oil making is about soc a
bushel, or $24 an acre. The value
of the hay is $12 ton. or about So
or $12 an acre. On the. basis of
one-third of bale of cotton to the
acre, the lint and seed together will
yield about $22 TO the acre. This
shows an advantage on the side Of
the peanut. Farmers claim that the
cost of producing an acre o. peanuts
is about he same as that for grow
ing an acre of cotton.
While the showing of profit is
good on the peanut side of the argu-
.ment, there is going tc be some difti-
cultp in arranging credits for the
peanut farmer as compared with the
cotton farmer. Cotton farming has
long been fastened upon the South
by the bankers insisting that cotton
be planted. 1t is fortunate that the
oil mill people and the banks are
close together in this section, rs the
Influence of the oil mills may be ex-
pected to aid the farmers in securing
proper lines Of credit for the peanut
crops.
The quantity of peanuts that may
be utilized by the cottonseed oil mills
is indefinite. In Texas the mills
crush about 100000 tons of cotton
seed annually. This yields about
rs, 100000 gallons of oil 1t would
require 100000, 900 bushels Of pea
nuts to yield similar amount of oil.
That peanut meal Is the best feed
for dairy cows or for fattening pur-
poses, or for any other animal, is be-
ing demonstrated almost daily. 1t is
known that last fall the Durant Cot
ton Oil Company began purchasing
peanuts and crushed over 800 tons
in its mills here and 1T Roswell The
feed has been stored away by Mana
ger Pendleton and he has been SELL
ing it this winter. A short time ago
he sent 500 pounds to p. A. Norris
/ of Ada, one of the nest known men
in the State, and who has a hobby
which is the operation o. a modern
up to date creamery and dairY. Mr.
Norris is wealthy and merely runs
the dairy as pastime. He has es.
tablished a system so that each
morning he can tell just how much
each COW produced the dsy before
He used the peanut feed, Kept tab on
its production, and after few days
trial wrote Mr.. Pendleton for an en-,
tire car of the feed, which is about
fifteen tons.
The peanut meal is aHout the
same as seed cotton meal--that is
it can be fed for the same purpose
and just as soon as its feed qualities
are recognized it is going tn be on'
of the standard feeds of the country
MI. Pendleton arTshel 800 ton:
last fall and he will dispose oe the
entire lot before the summer is gone
This is the only mill in this see
tion of the country that was eqrip
ped to crush the peanuts last year
and just as soon rs the neal is re:'
ognized as being wnat is claimed tol
it the peanut is going to find very
eady market throughout the entire
country.