Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1917-10-01
COTTON KING But CONSIDER The PEANUT
Exnpt tr the Potato its Annual Value Exceeds That Of Any Vegetable Crop
Grown mThs Cosunhy-Heps whip the Boil WesvA-keeps the OIL Mills
.eeig Where the Cotton Sesd Product Has HAD to Go.

WASHINGTON, d. c., Oct. 1.-While
cotton is still king in the South, the pea
mt promises to dispute or to share It's do
minion in some sections as part of we'll
balanced farming practice. The State OF
Texas, for example, has planted GOO, 600
acres 10 peanuts, more than doubling the
acreage Of last year, according to figures
inst issued by the United states depart
ment of agriculture. The prospective crop,
On the same authority, is more than TO-
OOO,OuO bushels for the whole South. Tex
As already had the largest acreage in 1916,
though in 1909 it stood sixth, with most
Of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast states
ahead. Georgia jumped from 10000 acres
last year to 100000. The Increase in Tex
as has been an index Of the increase
throughout the lower South, though the
proportionate increase elsewhere has not
been SO great. For the South "a a whole,
however, it is remarkable that the acreage
has increased from less than a million and
a quarter acres to more than two million
acres.
The peanut may have been held in light
CStCCu III TIT fSOHuiuA tAisu q VI ~
association with circus and clown. or be-
cause the expression ''pcanut politics. has
designated a low form of partnership. Yet
this crop has long been important IN North
Carolina, Virginia and Georgia, with Suf-
folk, Va, rs the headquarters Of the In
dustry. Here the price of peanuts Is TO a
large extent established. for the whole
country, and at prevailing prices peanuts
are in competition with cotton.
BEATING THE BOIL WEEvIL-
The boil wccvil drove many q Texas far
mer. to peanuts. From what seemed TO be
q hopeless situation the peanut has rescued
him, and at the same time rescued the oil
min men who were on the verge of shut
down with their supply Of cotton seed d.
ninished. The department of agriculture
had long been advocating a change from
the single crop stadard set by cotton. As
long rs cotton was the only money crop
the arguments fell ON deaf ears. but backed
up by the boH weevil. the campaign began
to bear fruit. The farmers began TO give
part Of the cotton acreage to peanuss. This
presented = new problem and the oil mill
men begun TO ask questions.
They founod thai many of the growers
were s'hdNp@~d5wn' the peanuts; that Is,
they .wsre turning tho hogs into the fields
to16arvcst the nuts, and were marketing
the crop ION the hoof." The department of
agriculture had proved that a 40-bushel
crop of Spanish peanuts would produce
more than 400 pounds of pork to the acre,
and supplied in good ration that needed
only . little topping off with corn to hard
en- the meat. Furthermore, If the peanut
hay is harvested before the hogs are turned
in, the hay alone almost pays for the grow
ing Of the crop, because it furnishes a pal
atable pod to which ali kinds Of stock will
turn sgd Axly from any other kim Of hay.
And As{ were not enough. the peanuts
in common with other legumcs. bear
nodules on their roots which gather nitro
gen from the air and put il in the soil.