The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1919-11-20
PEANUTS PROFITABLE CROP
TO BEAT BOIL WEEVIL.
Continued from page 8, column 6.


in the drill.
II the Little Runners are planted
the rows should be three feet wide,
and the seed nuts dropped about Six
teen inches apart in the drill.
Before the nuts are up, If the
ground has been packed or crusted by
rain, a peg or spring tooth harrow
run lightly over the seed bed may be
of benefit. The nuts may be plant
ed in April or May, after the ground
has warmed up, and is sufficiently
moist to insure termination.
The first and second workings are
given with a Little-Jo harrow, run
astr:de of the plants. The animal
pulling the harrow may step on the
plants occasionally. but this will pot
injure them very much. When the
plants are about four inches broad,
it is customary to cleft side them,
that is throw the dirt away from the
plants, and if any grass is present,
this will present good opportunity
to get it out with hoe.
The plants are then sided with a
sweep, run fiat, and when necessary
the sweep is used again. The middles
are kept free of weeds and grass.
This description of cultivation may
seem alarmingly laborious. but it evil
dently not so hard to carry out, for
many farmers told me that four or
five workings, without the aid of
hoe, made their crop of peanuts. A
general rule seems to be to keep the
ground soft so that the vines may
send down their pegs into the earth,
and to keep down the grass and
weeds that appear. Grass in peanuts
means extra hard work in gathering.
Flat cultivation is necessary both on
account of making full crop, and be-
cause it is easier to gather.
c. Harvesting. The time Of har-
vesting depends upon the variety
planted. and the date of planting. The
white Spa an'sh nuts have shorter
growing season than the Runners.
The condition of the nuts and vines
show the experienced farmer when to
begin to harvest When the nuts
nearest the body of the plant have
filled out, and the leaves begin to
shed, it is time to commence to gather
the crop. If gathering is delayed too
long, the full prime nuts near the
body of the plant will be lost. since
the stem that attaches them to the
plant rots after maturity. Again, the
white Spanish nuts will sprout in the
ground if left too long after they
have matured
Too early harvesting of either va
riety will also cause a loss, since the
nuts must be allowed to become full
and mature as far as possible. All
will not fill out at one time, so some
will certainly be lost. Experience
alone will show exactly when best to
begin the harvest.
The first operation is to plow up
the nuts with a peanut plow. There
are plows made especially for this
purpose that are very satisfactory.
The nuts and vines are plowed up
by running the wing of the peanut
point under first one side and then
the other side of the plants. The
vines with nuts attached are then
shaken free of dirt, either by hand or
with pitchforks. About eight to
twelve rows of nuts are thrown to-
gether in a row, thus making cheap
row." Along this "heap row" the
vines and nuts are stacked. They
may be stacked Immediately after
pIowing up, but most farmers prefer
to let them sun for half day. The
gathering of the peanut crop should
be done in dry fair weather.
The stacking Of the vines is done
so that they may be thoroughly cured,
and be least damaged by rains. Six
hands will stack three to five acres
a day. Before harvesting time suf-
ficient number of poles are prepared,
three or four inches in diameter, and
about seven feet long, having the top
end sharpened. These poles are
put in the ground with post hole
digger or shovel about twelve to eigh-
teen inches deep so the wind will not
blow over the stacks. At twelve to
eighteen inches from the ground two
cross arms four feet long are nailed
at right angles to the stack pole, and
at right angles to each other, thus
forming support for the vines that
will keep them from the ground, and