Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-05-02
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
BY DR.. ANDREW NJ SOULE

period requiring most work is dur
ing harvest, which Games in the
hot days Of August and early Sep
TENDER.
Peanuts need loose soils. In the
Piedmont region the gray lands map
ped as Cecil and Appling sandy
loans are probably the best suited,
as a whole. Tight clay lands are not
so good because of the difficulty of
harvesting when the soil is dry. Wet
lands are not satisfactory.
Some people growing peanuts for
the first time are under the impress
sion that no fertilizer is needed in
the production of the crop. In the
sections that have grown peanuts to
sell for some time, it is recognized
that peanuts are ''hard 'on the land"
and need some fertilization. If
grown without fertilization and the
nuts and vines both removed, the
the next crop.
The following formulas are sug'
gested:
For good loamy lands, acid phos-
| phate.
For light landS, Iz-U-Z.
For thin soils, 1922.
| Lime is reported very beneficial
| to peanuts in other states but has
not been used much in Georgia. In
the Piedmont it will probably not
show the returns that an equal
amount of money invested in acid
phosphate would.
The White Spanish variety is best
adapted for our market and soil
conditions. This variety can be
planted either shelled or in the pod.
If shelIed, only two and a half to
three gallons of seed are needed per
acre, in the pod, about two bushels,
Good fresh machine-shelled peanuts
are satisfactory as seed but old nuts
partly cracked and broken are to be
avoided. Seed should not be shelled
until a short time before they are
to be used. Good uniform seed are a
necessity, so a test for termination
is desirable.
North Carolina or runner" pea
nuts are suited well for hog grazing
but are inferior to the Spanish for
Smelling or for crushing.
Land for peanuts is usually pre-
pared as for cotton to be planted on
the level. 1t should be free of trash
and settled enough to make a good
seed bed. Peanuts should not be
planted on high bed nor have
much dirt thrown to them at any
stage. 1t is well to run a harrow
or weeder over the land just before
planting.
The rows are laid off sand fer
tilizer applied as in planting cotton,
except the rows should be closer to-
gether and the fertilizer mixed with
the soil better than is necessary
with cotton. Rows two or three feet
wide are advised. The nuts should
be planted four to six inches in the
row. To make large yield of Span
ish peanuts, a large number of
plants are needed per acre. When
unshelled seed is used soaking in
water several hours before planting
will hasten termination.
The cultivation of peanuts is sim
liar to that of cotton, except very lit
tie dirt should be thrown to the
plants. A weeder is valuable in the
early stages for killing out the
young grass before it gets start.
When this implement is used just
before planting and following each
rain thereafter the crop can be kept
clean without hoeing. When the
plants begin to spike down, the
Weeder should not be used again
but instead flat sweep to run out
the piddles. No dirt should be
thrown to the plants at this time.
The proper time for harvesting
peanuts is when the majority of the
nuts mature. Good judgment of the
farmer will be needed to determine
this time. Some people judge by
the tops turning yellow and others
by the inside of the hull becoming
dark after the kernels have filled
the pods. 1t is always wise to pull
up a few punches in different parts
of the field in examining for ma
turity.
To get the nuts out of the ground
some kind of pillow is needed to cut
the taproot below the bunch of nuts
ana to loosen the soil enough for
the plants to be taken up without
much effort. The plants can be pull
ed by hand, but this method is both
slow and tiresome. A middle burster
with wings taken off or a special
pillow made for harvesting peanuts
is needed. One furrow to the row
is usually sufficient
After removing from the soil the
peanuts need to be cured in stacks.
The method Of drying them out in
the sun quickly is a mistake. With
such treatment the kernels shrink.
losing weight and value. If put
in stacks after the vines have wilt
ed we'll and allowed to remain there
until we'll cured, the kernels will be
plump and heavy.
A stack is made about a pole and
the nuts are always turned toward
the center. The pole should be sew
ell to eight feet long and set in the
soil firmly. Two pieces of lath are
nailed crosswise about eighteen
inches from the ground and several
punches of peanuts are laid across
these to start the stack. Then the
stack is made by turning the nuts
toward the center and building up
gradually. When six to seven feet
high the stack is capped with a
bunch OF dry grass or a peanut vine.
After curing out thoroughly the
stacks are taken up and carried to
a central place and the nuts picked.
Picking by hand is slow and is not
practical on a considerable acreage.
The two ways of marketing the