The Green Forest tribune., 1917-11-23

v be used for this purpose.
 It is not advisable to use anything for topping out the small stacks that will prevent the circulation of air. A heavy cover or covering of green or wet hay will invariably cause the pea nuts to spoil.
 Curing in barns is not advisable either when curing peanuts for market or where the entire plant Is fed to stock, as the crop will cure better in small stacks than when stored in bulk. After the nuts have been cured in the stack from four to six weeks, those intended for feeding purposes may be stored in barns or sheds.
 Where stakes are difficult to secure and labor is scarce peanut growers sometimes rake the peanuts into wind rows with a hayrake and stack them like hay. In doing this they should cure a little longer before stacking than when they are to be stacked in small stacks around stakes. If the weather is dry during the curing and stacking and hogs can be turned into the field to save the peanuts left, there is very little loss by this method
 Picking and Thrashing.
 Peanuts should cure in the stack at least three or four weeks before pick ing or thrashing, in order to allow the pods to become dry and the peas firm.
 Peanuts are still picked by hand in some sections, especially when the grower has only few acres. Hand picking is a very laborious and dusty task The expense of picking by hand is greater than by machinery. and as it is difficult to get enough labor for handwork machines are used by prac- lically all large growers.
 1 Two types of machines are used for picking peanuts from the vines. The common grain thrasher with special cylinder for peanuts gives quite satts- factory results in removing Spanish peanuts from the vine. The principal objection to cylinder machines is the tendency to break the pods, but by running the cylinder about 400 revolu tions per minute and by feeding prop erly the breakage can be reduced to q very small percentage. If the peanuts are to be Shelled soon after they go on the market, the breaking of the pods is not very objectionable, When oats or wheat are grown in localities where peanuts are raised, cylinder machine can be used for all of these crops by having two cylinders, one for grain and one for peanuts.
 The peanut picker works upon an entirely different principle from the cylinder machines The picking is done by dragging the vines over hori- zontal frame covered with wire mesh. The nuts drop through the wire and at the same time rubber brushes at- tached to an endless chain act on the lower side of the screen to remove the nuts In addition to removing the pods from the vines these machines have cleaning and stemming devices which remove the dirt and the small stems from the pods. The picker type of machine does not break or iniure the pods. and for this reason it is especially desirable for picking pea nuts that are to be sold in the pod or stored through the summer months.
 Storing on Farm.
 The farmers safeguard in the mat ter of prices obtained for peanuts lies largely in his ability to hold at least a portion of his crop through the 1 gH1 Ia to hold their crop for q time rather than place it upon the market during the autumn, when the prices are gen ] orally lowest. In order to do this, suit able storage facilities are necessary.
 Frequently the bags of peanuts are simply piled in an open shed or in q barn. where they are not properly pro- tected. Occasionally the bags are stacked upon the ground in the field without even the protection of a can vas cover. Neither of the methods mentioned should be followed because the peanuts would be injured by moiS- ture and subject to the ravages of rats. mice and other rodents. A build ing suitable for storing peanuts need not be expensive, but should protect them against injury by moisture and rodents and provide sufficient ventila- ton. A building constructed of rough lumber with an iron roof is satisfac- tory for storing peanuts, provided it is built up from the ground and all open ings for ventilation are screened to | keep out mice and rats.
 Storing in Warehouses.
 In many sections of the South pea nut growers can secure storage space in large commercial warehouses. It would be much better to store the crop in such houses than to put them in makeShift structures where they would be subject to injury by moisture and mice and rats. Where no satis- factory storage facilities are available it is best to market the crop as soon as it Is ready. in order to prevent seri- ous loss.
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