The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-07-15

the enemys trenches F miles away.
 The oil from the peanut also forms an important part of our food supply and it has already doubled in value on account of the war. It is eaten largely in France, where it competes with olive oil and takes the place of butter and lard. Olives and sardines may be packed in 1t and it forms the founda- ton of oleomargarine and artificial buffers of various kinds. We now find that the meal mixed with white flour makes q palatable and highly nutri- tious bread. and that it may be used Tor crackers and cakes Peanut butter can take the place of cows butter, and peanut meal, which is a by-product of the oil, makes the best of stock food and adds thereby to our dairy and meat supplies.
 Both the peanut and soy bean are crops peculiar to the south. They are comparatively new and both promise to have place close to cotton and corn in the development of the near future l shall speak of the peanut crop first, growing faster than Jonah's gourd which sprang Up in a night. At the last census it was 100000 bushels, and five years later it had jumped to about 40,000,000 bushels. There has been an enormous increase since then. The crop last year was worth over S40,oo0.000, and with the high prices of today no one can tell what the crop of this year will sell for.
 Before the war we were importing about 45,O0OOO0 pounds of nuts and l. S0o'000O0o gallons of peanut oil from Hamburg, Delft and Marseille The nuts brought almost s2,O00,00O and the n vol TJNd NnnN oil was used mostly for the making of butterine and other lard substitutes The war shut off these imports, and in 1915 the manufacture of peanut oil was taken up on a large scale The pro- duction in 1916 was 5000, 900 or 4.000, = coo gallons. We now have the additional demand for munitio1s, and it will prob ably be doubled this year. The peanut Is being grown commercially in all of the states of the south with the ex- ceptton of Kentucky The most inl- portant states are Virginia, North Caro- lima, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Texas
 Down here in Texas the area planted to peanuts Is rapidly increasing. Two years ago it was only 30,00O acres. Last year 1t was over 275,000 acres, and this year the farmers say that the crop will be 300,000 acres more The same is true of other parts of the south. In 1909 the production of the whole country was about 2o000,0o0 bushels, and it was all most double that in 1915. This year we shall raise more than 30 000o, ,o00 bushels of peanuts, and the prospect is that this is
 only the beginning of an industry, whicl will run into the hundreds of millions of bushels per annum, and will have a money value that will compare favorably with the greatest crops of the union. The Texas farmers tell me that peanuts and cotton, acre for acre, as far as the value of the crops is concerned, are now running neck and neck with the chances in favor of the peanut. They are raising the latter on the demonstra- tion farms and are producing better re- suits every season.
 The Texas industrial congress is of fering rewards for the best yields of peanuts raised after it's directions. The chief prize last year was won by girl of fourteen. She raised 230 bushels of