The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1919-12-18
THE HIGH THRONE
OF KING COTTON
MAY BE OCCUPIED FOR A TINE
BY A WORTHY CONSORT-
PROFITABLE

Better farming in the south na%
follow in the wake Of the boil weevii'
Adoption of long talked-of systems o.
diversified farming, stock raising and
soil-building may be forced upon the
farmers of the cotton belt as a re-
suit of the incursionS of this voracicus
and implacable enemy of King Cotton.
And with these changes and improve
merts, and the consequent eradlca-
ton of this destructive pest. cotton
NAV again be enthroned under con:F-
tions which will insure more pros
porous reign.
The Value of Peanuts
The boil weevil is expected to b. in
full force next year in the best cot
ton growing sections of the Carolinas,
and the forehanded farmer may profit
by engaging in peanut culture on an
extensive scale.
DR.. w. w. Long, director of exten-
sion. Clemson Agriculture College OF
South Carolina, says: "The value OF
the peanut, both as money crop and
for feeding on the farm, renders it
especially desirable as a part of the
rotation wherever conditions saitaIls
to its development exist"
And such conditions are found in
man ysections of the southeast, anu
are especially favorable in the coastal
plains regions of North and South
Carolina.
In some parts of the south peanuts
have already supplanted cotton on
many farms heretofore devoted al
most exclusively to the growing Of
that staple. 1t is shown by recent
reports from the boil weevii territory
of Georgia that the peanut is one Of
the most profitable crops that can be
grown in the place of cotton.
Professor H. C. Thompson United
States bureau of plant industry. says:
"Peanut growing is desirable in the
cropping system in some parts OF the
cotton belt. The commercial value OF
the crop increased from S7,277O,515 in
1899 to s17,271 ,929, il. 1909, and the
increase since 1909 has been even
greater than before that year. These
facts do not represent the full value
of the crop. for they do not take into
account thousands of acres of peanuts
grown for hog feeding purposes.
The Peanut as a Nitrogen Gatherer.
"The peanut plant, IN common with
other legumes, has the power of COL
lecting nitrogen from the air and
storing it in nodules on its roots"
says Pof. Thompson. "For this rea-
son the peanut is a very desirable
soil-improvfng plant. 1t should be
borne in mind, however, that in order
to benefit the soil the main portion
of the roots should be left in the
ground. The nitrogen gathering bac-
terra are usually present, even where
the soil is planted for the first time"
Importance of Lime in the Soil.
Authorities agree that. peanuts re-
uuire an abundance of lime to insure
proper ripenfng and the filling of pods
and the testimony of practical peanut
growers bear them out in this state
ment. ~"
Where the soil contains limestone
or shells it may not be necessary to
apply lime, but on most sandy soils
and on land that is the least sour
from one to two tons of pulverized
limestone per acre should be applied
broadcast after the land is plowed and
thoroughly mixed with the SOIL by
harrow.
DR.. Long says: "It is necessary to
lime the soil for peanuts unless 1t is
definitely known that there is an
abundance in the soil. In this state
at least 900 pounds of burnt lime or