Peanut Oil.--Roasted Peanuts.--Peanut Candy.--Peanut Coffee.--
Peanut Chocolate.--Peanut Bread.--Peanut Soap.--Peanuts as a
Food for Stock.--Peanut Hay. 55
APPENDIX.
A. Statistics. 65
B. Costs. 67
C. The Peanut Garden of America. 67
THE PEANUT PLANT;
ITS CULTIVATION AND USES.
CHAPTER I.
DESCRIPTION.
=Origin.=--The native country of the Peanut (_Arachis hypogæa_) is not
definitely ascertained. Like many other extensively cultivated plants,
it has not been found in a truly wild state. Some botanists regard the
plant as a native of Africa, and brought to the New World soon after its
discovery. Sloane, in his history of Jamaica, states that peanuts formed
a part of the provisions taken by the slave ships for the support of the
negroes on the voyage, and leaves it to be inferred that the plant was
introduced in this manner. De Candolle, in _Géographie Botanique
Raisonnée_, and his latter work on _L'Origine des Plantes Cultivées_,
strongly inclines to the American origin of the Peanut. The absence of
any mention of the plant by early Egyptian and Arabic writers, and the
fact that there is no name for it in Sanscrit and Bengalese, are
regarded as telling against its Oriental origin. Moreover, there are six
other species of _Arachis_, natives of Brazil, and Bentham and Hooker,
in their _Genera Plantarum_, ask if the plant so generally grown in warm
countries may not be a cultivated form of a Brazilian species.
If, as seems probable, the Peanut is really a native of America, then
this Continent has contributed to the agricultural world five plants
that have exerted, and will continue to exert, an immense influence on
the industries and commerce of the world. These are: the Potato, Cotton,
Tobacco, Indian Corn, and the Peanut. Of these five, the Peanut, the
last to come into general and prominent notice, is destined to rival
some of the others in importance.
Whatever may have been its origin, the Peanut plant has gradually made
its way over an extended area of the warmer parts of both the Old and
New World, and in North America has gained a permanent foot-hold in the
soil of the South Atlantic and Gulf States. Nor has it yet reached its
ultimate limits, for cultivation and acclimation will inure it to a
sterner climate, until it becomes an important crop in latitudes
considerably further north than Virginia. This is indicated by its rapid
spread within the past few years. Remaining long in comparative
obscurity, it was not until a recent period that the Peanut gained
prominence as an agricultural and commercial staple, but since it fairly
started, its progress has been rapid and sure.
=Natural History.=--There are some peculiarities about the Peanut plant
that make it interesting to the naturalist. Its habit of clinging close
to the soil, the closing together of the leaves at sunset, or on the
approach of a storm, the beautiful appearance of a field of it when full
grown, and the remarkable wart-like excrescences found upon the roots,
are some of its more notable characteristics. Its striking preference
for a calcareous soil is another of its peculiarities, the Peanut
producing more and better crops on this kind of soil than on any other.
The Peanut belongs to the Natural Order _Leguminosæ_, or pod-bearing
plants, and this particular member of it is as unlike all the rest with
which we are acquainted, as can well be conceived. No other grows so
recumbent upon the soil, and none but this produces seed under ground.
The botanical name of the Peanut is _Arachis hypogæa_. The origin of the
generic name _arachis_ is somewhat obscure; it is said to come from _a_,
privative, and _rachis_, a branch, meaning having no branches, which is
not true of this plant. The specific appellation, _hypogæa_, or
"under-ground," describes the manner in which the pods grow. The
following is a partially technical description of the plant:
Root annual, branched, but not fibrous, yellowish, bitter, and warty;
Stem procumbent, spreading, much-branched, somewhat hairy towards the
extremities; Leaves compound, leaflets obovate, mucronate, margin
entire, ciliate when young, smooth and almost leathery with age, leaves
closing at night and in rainy weather; Flowers papilionaceous, yellow,
borne upon the end of an axillary peduncle. After flowering, the
forming-pod is, by the elongation of its stalk, pushed into the soil,
beneath which it grows and ripens; Legume, or pod indehiscent, woody
and veiny, one to four-seeded; Seed, with a reddish coat, the embryo
with two large, fleshy cotyledons, and a very short, nearly straight,
radicle. Figure 1 represents a portion of the Peanut plant.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.--PORTION OF THE PEANUT PLANT, showing
how the minute pods from above-ground flowers are forced into the soil
to grow and ripen.]
=Varieties.=--While no botanical varieties of _Arachis hypogæa_ have
been described, its long cultivation in different countries in unlike
soils and climates, has produced several cultural varieties. Taking the
Virginia Peanut as the typical form, there may be named as differing
from it, the North Carolina Peanut, having very small but solid and
heavy pods, that weigh twenty-eight pounds to the bushel. The Tennessee
Peanut is about the size of the Virginia variety, but has a seed of a
much redder color and less agreeable flavor. There is a Bunch variety,
that does not spread out like a mat over the soil, but grows upright
like the common field pea. This last kind has been raised to some extent
in Virginia, but has never become popular with planters, and is fast
passing out of cultivation. It is possible that the Bunch Peanut is a
representative of the plant in its wild state. It produces fewer seeds
and less vine than any other kind. The flat or spreading Peanut shows a
tendency to sport in this direction, and in any large field of peanuts,
quite a number of plants will be found that have the bunch form, and
such are always barren or seedless hills.
The small-podded, or North Carolina Peanut, is not at all popular with
pickers, because it takes a great many more to make a basketful, and,
unless they are paid an extra price for picking this sort, they cannot
make as good wages. Nor do our planters seem to like it very well,
finding it more trouble to handle than the larger variety. Hence it is
but little cultivated in Virginia.
The Peanut in its travels has also acquired a variety of names, such as
ground-pea, earth-nut, goober[1] or guber, and pindar. Also "currency,"
"cash," "credit," and other expressive titles. Of all these names,
"Peanut" is the most generally used, but Ground-pea would be the more
descriptive name.
=Possible Range.=--From a somewhat careful study of the climatic
requirements of the Peanut plant, and of the isotherms of summer
temperature, we are satisfied that it would thrive as far north as the
northern limit of the zone of the vine. This for the United States, as
delineated in Mitchell's Physical Geography, starts on the Pacific Coast
in the latitude of British Columbia, turns suddenly south along the
Cordilleras to Colorado, then trends as suddenly northward to the
northern limits of Iowa, strikes eastwardly along a line to the south of
the great lakes, and enters the Atlantic in the vicinity of Cape Cod. If
our view is correct, the Peanut will thrive on any suitable soil within
the limits of the United States lying to the south of this line. This
would make the cultivation of the Peanut possible in by far the greater
part of the entire country. In fact, there is no doubt but that it may
be grown successfully wherever Indian corn will thrive luxuriantly. Any
section having a growing season of five months exempt from frost, may
raise the Peanut. This gives the crop a much wider range than has been
thought possible. It does not require a long period of extreme heat to
mature it. The seeds are mostly formed in the cooler weather of the
latter part of summer and the first of autumn. Planted in June,
cultivated until August or a little later, and harvested the last of
September, it can be perfected in four months, though the Virginia
planter takes five months for it. Any good calcareous soil, west of New
Jersey and southward, that is not too elevated, will grow the Peanut.
=Analysis.=--This, perhaps, is not a matter of much practical importance
to the planter. The best peanut soil and the proper fertilizer had been
found out before an analysis of the plant had been made. Still there are
some advantages in knowing what are the prominent elements that enter
into the composition of this, or any other, cultivated plant, and an
analysis is accordingly given.
An analysis made by Doctor Thomas Antisell, chemist to the Department of
Agriculture at Washington, and published in the Report of that
Department about the year 1869, gives the following as the composition
of the Peanut plant:
In one hundred parts of the husk and nut taken together
Water 2.60
Albuminous, fibrous matter and starch 79.26
Oil 16.00
Ash 2.00
Loss .14
------
100.00
In one hundred parts of the husk and seed separated:
_Seed._ _Husk._
Moisture 2.51 2.61
Albuminous matter and farina 79.71 traces.
Cellulose 85.48
Ash 1.77 11.90
Oil 16.00
----- -----
99.99 99.99
"The ash of the seed," it was stated by the same authority, "consists of
salts wholly soluble in water, composed of the phosphates of alkalies,
with traces of alkaline, chlorides, and sulphates. The ash of the husk
differs, in consisting chiefly of common salt, phosphate of lime and
magnesia."
The analysis of the ash of the Peanut, furnished to the _American
Agriculturist_, by H. B. Cornwall, Professor of Analytical Chemistry in
the John C. Green School of Science, College of New Jersey, Princeton,
and published in that Journal for July, 1880, gives the following as the
mineral elements of this plant:
PER ONE HUNDRED PARTS OF ASH.
Silica 1.06
Potash 44.73
Soda 14.60
Lime 1.71
Magnesia 12.65
Phosphoric acid 17.64
Sulphuric acid 2.53
Chlorine 0.15
-----
95.07
In this analysis neither the carbonic acid nor carbon were determined.
It was further stated that the kernels yielded 2.08 per cent. of
ash.
These analyses, the one of the ash, and the other of the seed and husk
in their natural state, are sufficiently full for the purpose in view,
and serve admirably to show the principal elements required in the
growth of the Peanut plant. We see that albuminous matter and starch
form a very large per cent., over three-fourths, of the seed. Of course
an article so rich in fat-forming ingredients, must be well suited for
the food of man or beast. This explains why hogs fed on peanuts take on
fat so readily. Nothing will change the appearance of a poor hog sooner
than a diet of peanuts. The amount of oil in the seed--sixteen per
cent., makes the Peanut one of the best oil-producing plants in the
world.
Of the mineral constituents, potash forms by far the largest part--44.73
per cent. Soda, magnesia, and phosphoric acid also enter quite largely
into the composition of this plant. It will be noticed that common salt
plays some part in the make-up of the Peanut.
Some may wonder at the small amount of lime reported to be present in
the ash. This may be explained by stating that lime is not _per se_ a
manure, but a powerful chemical agent when applied to the soil, reducing
inert matter into plant food. Lime appears to be the driving-wheel in
the laboratory of the soil. Its presence is essential, but it does not
do all the work itself. Of marl, the best fertilizer yet discovered for
the Peanut, the principal ingredient of value, is carbonate of lime.
Some of the Virginia marls range as high as seventy and eighty per cent.
in carbonate of lime. This form of lime is very valuable for all
agricultural purposes. Like its more caustic relative, it plays the part
of a solvent and liberator, refines and vitalizes the soil, and causes
other ingredients to perform their part in building up the framework of
plants.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] While "goober" may be one of the names of the Peanut in some
localities, the plant so-called in Georgia is _Amphicarpæa monoica_, a
native leguminous plant with two kinds of flowers, one set always
subterranean, and the other above ground. The under-ground flowers bear
woody, rounded, one-seeded pods, with a seed closely resembling a
bean.--ED.
CHAPTER II.
PLANTING.
=Soil, and Mode of Preparation.=--A warm soil is required by the Peanut.
A light, porous soil in which sand predominates, but not too sandy, warm
and dry, and yet not too dry, but containing some moisture, and open to
capillary circulation, suits the Peanut best. In all cases the soil most
suitable for the Peanut must contain a certain amount of calcareous
constituents. The color of the soil should be gray, with few or no
traces of iron to stain the pods. As a rule, the brightest pods bring
the most money, and as the color of the pods is always influenced by
that of the soil in which they grow, it becomes a matter of importance
to select that which is of the right description. Land of the above
nature and color may be regarded as first-class for this crop. But let
it be distinctly borne in mind, that unless it contains a goodly
per-centage of lime in some form, in an available state, no land will
produce paying crops of pods, although it may yield large and luxuriant
vines. Of all the forms of lime, that supplied by the marls of the
seaboard section appears to be the best.
But any soil that can be put into a friable condition, and kept so
during the period of cultivation, will produce salable peanuts, provided
it contains enough lime to insure solid pods. If it is known that a
piece of land will produce sound corn, at the rate of from five to ten
barrels per acre, the planter may rest satisfied, without further
experiment, that it will yield from forty to seventy-five or eighty
bushels of peanuts. As the cultivation extends, and more land is needed
for this crop, much of it is being put upon clayey soil, and when well
cultivated, it generally produces heavy peanuts. Indeed, more pounds per
acre may be grown upon some stiff lands than on any light soil, however
calcareous. But clayey land, or such as is dark or tenacious, will
impart a stain or dark color to the pods that is objectionable to
buyers, and hence soils of this nature are generally avoided. A
tenacious soil is also colder and more inert than a light one during the
earlier part of the summer, and as the Peanut plant requires a rather
long term of warm weather to insure full growth and maturity, a warmer
and quicker soil is preferable. Buyers, however, are not now quite so
particular as formerly in regard to color, and hence there is more
inducement to plant on any ground that will yield good, solid peanuts,
and it is being more frequently done.
But the actual or prospective peanut planter, who has an ash-colored or
grayish soil, which is sandy and non-adhesive, is fortunate. If he will
keep it well limed and trashed, or else rotate every fourth or fifth
year with the Southern Field Pea, or other green crop, and marl, he will
have land that will continue to produce paying crops of the brightest
and most salable peanuts. There is an abundance of good peanut land all
along the Atlantic seaboard, from New Jersey to Florida. Doubtless there
is much of it in the Mississippi Valley, even as far north as the lake
region, and on the Pacific coast from Oregon southward. There is no more
reason for confining the cultivation of the Peanut to the narrow belts
at present occupied, than there is for limiting tobacco to the States
of North Carolina and Virginia.
The quantity of lime or marl to use at one application depends very much
on the nature of the soil and the amount of vegetable matter it
contains. Generally, fifty bushels of lime, or one hundred and fifty
bushels of marl is a safe application, but if the soil is quite thin,
and contains but little vegetable mould, more than this at one time
would be attended with risk. The safer plan is, to make several small
annual applications of both marl, and vegetable matter, continuing this
until a hundred and fifty bushels of lime, or two hundred and fifty, or
three hundred bushels of marl have been applied. After this, no more
calcareous matter will be needed in fifteen or twenty years. Land will
bear large quantities of marl with perfect safety, if kept well stocked
with some vegetable matter to subdue its caustic effects. But as most of
the best peanut soil is deficient in this respect, the planter should
begin cautiously, using small quantities until he has deepened his soil
and supplied it with vegetable mould by trashing the land or turning in
green crops.
In choosing land for a peanut crop, some attention should be paid to the
previous crop. The Peanut requires a clean soil, one clear of roots,
brush, stones, or rubbish of any kind, and hence it should follow some
hoed crop, such as corn, cotton, or tobacco. In Virginia, corn land is
generally preferred, and, as in the tide-water section, much of this
land has been heavily marled, it commonly produces well.
The preparation of the soil for the Peanut is the same as for corn, or
any similar crop, except that more pains should be, and generally are
taken, to get it in fine and mellow tilth. If it breaks up rough and
turfy, as much land previously in corn is apt to do, it should be
harrowed or dragged until it is fine. Generally, Virginia planters do
not plow quite so deep for peanuts as they do for corn. This practice
the writer believes to be unsound. Land should be plowed deep at the
outset for all crops, whatever their nature or manner of growth. Deep
plowing is a corrective of dry weather, and as drouth sometimes tells
heavily on the Peanut plant, as was the case in the season of 1883, it
is always well to plow deep, and give the moisture of the subsoil a
chance to rise upward, and reach the roots during a dry spell. The
formation of a fine, mellow seed bed, is all the preparation a peanut
soil requires, previous to planting time, apart from the application of
manures, which is spoken of elsewhere.
=The Seed.=--With the peanut crop, more than with almost any other, good
seed is a matter of paramount importance. The seed sometimes fails to
germinate well; before this fact can be discovered, and the ground
re-seeded, unless the first planting was made quite early, the best
season for planting will have passed, and the crop planted late will
never be so good as it might have been. On the other hand, a very early
planting doubles the risk of failure, in fact almost challenges failure
by committing the seed to a soil too cold for germination and a quick
growth. It is highly important, then, to have good seed, and to wait
until both weather and soil are favorable for speedy germination and
growth.
In order to determine whether the seed will germinate well or not, let
the planter begin to test them early in the spring. Let him take a dozen
or two kernels that appear to be in quality a fair average of the whole
lot of seed on hand, place them in a tumbler with some dampened cotton,
or a piece of sponge, and set the tumbler in a warm place, where the
heat is uniform, and high enough to start the germ in a few days. In a
day or two, if the seeds are good, they will begin to swell, and the
embryo plant will soon begin to grow. Thus, according to the number of
seeds that have germinated out of the number tested, the planter can
calculate the probable per-centage of good seed. A glass of peanuts
growing thus in dampened cotton, presents an interesting study, and is a
pretty ornament for the sitting room.
But the planter must not rest satisfied with one trial. As soon as the
out-of-door temperature will admit of it, he should try quite a number
of the seeds in the open ground. Selecting a warm, sunny spot, he should
plant from fifty to one hundred kernels, and shelter the place as much
as possible from the cold winds. If these germinate well, the seed may
be relied upon as good, and no further trial need be made. It is in this
way that the Virginia planter tests his seed every season. About the
first of April there is a great testing of the seed peanuts, and,
although nearly every planter endeavors to save his own seed, the
quantity of doubtful seed is generally great enough to cause a brisk
demand for good seed at advanced prices. The method of saving seed
peanuts will be given in a subsequent chapter.
Some weeks before planting time, the Virginia farmer, who plants from
fifty to a hundred bushels of peanuts, starts about having them shelled
and assorted, preparatory to planting. This must be done with care, and
females are mostly employed to perform this work. The pods are popped
open with the fingers and thumb, care being taken not to split or bruise
the kernel; all shrivelled and dark colored kernels are rejected. After
they are shelled, the seed must be put into bags or baskets, a small
quantity in each parcel, and set where there is a free circulation of
air, until wanted for planting. If a large quantity is bulked together
after being shelled, or if put in a close box or barrel, even in small
quantities, they are liable to heat, and be prevented from germinating.
This fact is the result of some costly experience on the part of many
planters. Thus it becomes necessary to handle the seed with great care
and circumspection throughout. From a bushel to a bushel and a half of
peanuts in the hull, or pod, is estimated to be enough to plant one acre
of ground, the quantity depending on the quality of the seed and the
distance apart they are to be planted.
=Time of Planting.=--In Virginia, the first twenty days in May is
regarded as, in the main, the most suitable time for planting. Some
plant as early as the last week in April, and the seasons frequently
favor this early start, and the crop does well. More, however, plant in
June than in April, and sometimes planting is delayed until the middle
or last of June. On warm and dry land, there is no great risk in
planting the first week in May, but on colder land, the planter should
wait until the ground has been warmed by the sun, say the latter part
of the same month. If the farmer has reason to hope for a week or ten
days of mild, fair weather, he may risk a planting quite early, as in
that time the seed ought to germinate, and come up sufficiently to make
it sure that it will grow. Once up, the plant will hold its own, and
though cold rains or winds may retard its growth, and cause it to turn
yellow, it will start anew with the first spell of sunny weather, and
rapidly change color to its normal green. The above dates apply to the
latitude of Virginia. In the far south, peanut planting begins early in
April, while north of Virginia, the first half of June would, in most
seasons, be quite early enough to commit the seed to the earth. It
should not be done anywhere until all danger from frost is passed for
the season. A very slight frost will destroy the Peanut.
=How to Plant.=--I come now to consider the mode of planting. Here no
very inflexible rules can be given. Practice varies greatly, almost
every planter differing more or less from his brother planters. The
chief points are, to get the seed into the ground at suitable distances
apart both ways, to have the seed, after it is planted, raised slightly
above the general level, and to have the soil so free from clods that
there will be nothing to hinder the young plant from pushing through
after it has started. Any mode of planting that will secure these ends
will effect the purpose.
If the ground has been once plowed in the early spring, let it be plowed
again only a few days before planting time, and if at all rough, or
cloddy, have it harrowed until in fine tilth. When ready to plant, draw
furrows the same as for corn, two and a half or three feet apart. If
the land is fresh and strong, and never before in peanuts, make the rows
at least three feet apart. After a year or two on the same ground,
peanut vines will not grow so large as at first, and need not be so far
apart, either from row to row, or from hill to hill. When the land is
thin, some plant as near as twenty-seven inches from row to row, and
twelve inches from hill to hill.
If any fertilizer is to be used, let it be put in the furrow before the
ridge is formed; a man or boy following the plow and spreading the
fertilizer by hand. A small ridge is then formed by lapping two furrows
over the drill with the turn plow, after which the knocker and dotter
follow, one leveling the ridge, and the other dotting the row by making
little depressions in the soil the proper distance apart for the seeds.
[Illustration: Fig. 2.--THE KNOCKER AND DOTTER COMBINED.]
=The Knocker and Dotter.=--Sometimes the knocker and dotter are combined
in one, and it is withal a unique implement. Always home-made, it
partakes of all the native roughness and varied ingenuity of the
Southern planter. The engraving, figure 2, will illustrate the mode of
constructing this implement. Two pieces of timber are sawed from a log
to serve as wheels, such wood being selected as does not split easily.
The diameter of the wheel is made the same as the desired distance
between the hills, and three wooden pins are inserted equi-distant in
the circumference, so that the wheels will make three dots, or signs,
for planting, at each revolution. These wheels are connected by an axle,
and set the same distance apart the rows are to be asunder. Two shafts
are pinned to the axle, and braced in front of the wheels to keep them
steady. A piece of heavy scantling, or a log of wood, six inches in
diameter, is secured to the under side of the shafts just in front of
the wheels. This is the knocker, and serves to level the ridge before
the wheels. Properly adjusted, it does beautiful work, and leaves a
flat, smooth ridge, in fine condition for the seed. The wheels pass
along on the leveled ridge, making the dots, as shown in figure 2.
Handles are fixed to the implement to enable the plowman to keep it in
proper place, and for convenience in turning. One horse is fastened to
this implement, and two rows are prepared for planting at the same time.
This utensil would be troublesome to use in an orchard, or on stumpy
ground. Peanuts, however, should always be planted on open ground clear
of all impediments. Instead of the knocker and dotter combined, many
planters omit the wheels, and make a separate implement with one wheel
and a handle, to work by hand, as represented in figure 3. This can be
run among trees and stumps. It resembles a wheelbarrow without the body.
[Illustration: Fig. 3.--THE DOTTER.]
Hands--women, children, or men, follow the dotter, dropping a seed in
each mark or depression, and carefully covering it with the foot, by
pressing enough soil into the hole to just fill it. The holes are made
one and a half to two inches deep, and the hands are cautioned not to
get the seed covered deeper than that. One inch is deep enough to plant,
if the soil is moist, but if quite dry the seed may be put deeper.
Proceeding in this way, covering first with one foot and then with the
other, the planters get on quite rapidly, although the hills are so near
together. The planting is not at all tedious after one gets the knack of
it, and is light and pleasant work. Some planters put two kernels
instead of one in each hill, to insure a stand, but this practice
increases the cost considerably, and is by no means general. After the
seeds are planted they are very slightly, if at all, above the common
level. In a week or ten days from the time of planting, the seeds will
begin to heave or crack the ground, which shows that the germ has
started, and greatly relieves the anxiety of the planter. Then, by
counting the number of signs in a hundred hills, the farmer readily
calculates what kind of a stand he will probably have.
=Fertilizers.=--We have already intimated that a calcareous soil is
indispensable to successful Peanut culture. If the soil is not
calcareous by nature, it must be made so artificially. Hence the proper
fertilizer to use is one that contains a large per cent. of lime in some
of its forms, as the carbonate, the phosphate, the nitrate, or the
sulphate, or the chloride of calcium. Recently, the sulphate of lime
(gypsum), has been employed, even on limed or marled land, and its use
has been attended with good results. Animal and nitrogenous manures are
not suited to the crop. Such fertilizers produce a heavy growth of
vines, but there will be no full, solid pods unless lime in some form is
also present. Marl has been found to be the one specific fertilizer for
the Peanut plant--better than any other form of lime; and the chief
element of value in marl has been shown to be the carbonate of lime.
Some Virginia marls contain as high as seventy-five or eighty per cent.
of the carbonate, and all of them range over twenty-five or thirty per
cent. Now, marl is plentiful and cheap all along the Atlantic seaboard,
from New Jersey to Florida, the beds lying side by side of, and
intersecting, the very land that is the best adapted to the Peanut--a
rare and fortunate coincidence, that planters are learning to fully
appreciate. And were it not that the New Jersey land-owner finds it more
profitable to raise fruits and vegetables for the two great cities that
lie on either hand of him, even he would find the Peanut to be a paying
crop. With his warm, light sand and green marl, he could easily raise
them. I mention this as one of the possibilities of the Peanut, though
not likely to be realized for the reason named.
=Replanting.=--In about two weeks from planting, if the weather has been
mild, the young plants should be large enough to show where replanting
is necessary. The planter goes along the row, making slight depressions
with his heel at all the missing hills, drops a pea therein, and covers
it with the foot, the same way as at the first. Instead of making
depressions with the heel, some use a long stake, an inch or two in
diameter, to the lower end of which is affixed a piece of plank,
fastened two inches from the end, and four or five inches long (fig. 4).
This is used for punching the holes, and the piece of plank near the end
prevents it from making the impression too deep. This is another of the
inventions of the Virginia Peanut-planter; so true is it that "necessity
is the mother of invention," a new crop calls for new devices for its
successful and profitable cultivation.
[Illustration: Fig. 4.--STAKE.]
In replanting, it is well to put two or more kernels to the hill, as the
season will be getting late, and no time should be lost in securing a
good stand. There can be no subsequent replanting with any profit.
=Moles and other Depredators.=--The Peanut-planter has to contend with
many enemies. In many cases moles are exceedingly destructive to the
planted seed, burrowing along the rows, and eating the seed, hill by
hill. Often raccoons, foxes, and squirrels grabble them up. And
everywhere the larger birds, such as crows, doves, and partridges come
in for a share of the seed, and annoy and hinder the farmer very much.
There is no remedy but ceaseless vigilance. The planter must go armed at
every turn to protect his crop. Sometimes planters tar the seed to
prevent the moles, etc., from destroying them. It perhaps has some
tendency to check the depredations, but does not prevent them entirely.
Coal tar is oftenest used for the purpose, a half pint being enough to
smear a bushel of seed. The seeds are afterwards rolled in dry earth to
prevent adhesion and trouble in planting. Traps, guns, and scarecrows
are resorted to with varying success, but if the depredators are
numerous, the planter is generally the vanquished party.
=The Critical Period.=--The first four or five weeks after the planting
of this crop is its most critical period, and nothing but a good stand
and the approach of warm weather will relieve the planter of his
anxiety. At the first, many fears are reasonably entertained that the
seed will not germinate well. And even should a pretty fair per-centage
of the seed come up, cold and rainy weather may still seriously retard
the growth of the plants, or the numerous depredators that have been
named may so far reduce the number of hills as to greatly curtail the
yield per acre. The very young Peanut is among the tenderest of plants,
and a very slight mishap will serve to destroy or permanently injure it.
Several days of cold weather at this period will make the struggling
plants look pale and sickly, and if warm suns are too long delayed, many
plants will fail altogether.
Backward springs are a great drawback in the cultivation of this crop,
and cause many farmers to delay planting until it is certain warm
weather cannot be many days off. If the planter could always be sure of
his seed, this would be the better plan, but if these late plantings
fail to come up well, the season is too far advanced for replanted seed
to make a crop. Further north than Virginia, however, it would, we
think, be decidedly better to put off planting until both soil and air
are warm enough to insure quick germination, and then, instead of
replanting the missing hills with Peanuts, plant beans or field peas
instead. If the planter can get through the first month successfully, he
lays aside his fears, and enters upon his work with renewed hope and
energy. To a recital of this work--the work of cultivation, we now
invite the reader's attention.
CHAPTER III.
CULTIVATION.
=First Plowing and Weeding.=--Usually, the cultivation of the Peanut
begins by first siding the rows with a turn-plow, small mould-board
attached, by which the soil is thrown from the plants, and lapped into a
small ridge in the middle of the balk. Care is taken to run the plow
quite near to the plants, so as to leave as little as possible for the
hoe to do. The hoes follow the plow, removing the grass between the
hills, if any, and loosening the soil about the plants. Sometimes,
however, in case the plants begin to get quite grassy very early in the
season, the sides of the ridges are first scraped off with the hoe, the
operator moving backward, and clearing off one side at a time. This
removes the grass pretty well, but does not loosen the soil about the
plants. If this method is pursued, the plow should be put on in a week
from that time, to break the hard crust that will have been formed, and
to let in the air and heat to the roots of the plants.
If the first plan is followed, the missing hills may be replanted, if
the former replanting has had time to come up, but otherwise the ground
about the missing hills should not be disturbed. This, however, should
depend upon the time at which the weeding begins. If very late, it is
useless to replant.
The time for the first weeding must depend somewhat on the nature of the
soil and the quantity of grass that may have sprung up since planting.
Usually the first working should begin by the time the plants are two
weeks old, but if the land is mellow and there is but little grass, the
work may be put off a week longer. But if rains have occurred and a
crust has formed, and especially if grass is coming on rapidly, the
planter should not wait for the plants to attain a certain age and size,
but should proceed to work the crop as soon as the plants are clearly
out of the ground, and have put forth one or two branches. Any practical
farmer who knows how to plow and weed young corn, will not be likely to
err very far in working a crop of peanuts. The operation is simple
enough, the two points being to clear away the grass and make the soil
fine and loose around the plants. Any plan of working that will secure
these ends, will accomplish the purpose.
=Subsequent Workings.=--The second plowing may be done with a
cultivator, running twice in the row. This will level the ridge in the
middle of the balk, make the soil loose and fine, and bring the loose
earth up close to the plants, which will make easy and nice work for the
hands with the hoes unless there is a great deal of grass. The second
plowing and weeding is the most important working the crop receives, and
it is highly important that it be done well. By this time (last of
June), the days are long and hot, the grass everywhere is growing apace,
and the Peanut must be kept growing too. The plants have now attained a
size ranging from that of a saucer to that of a breakfast plate, and
there will be some hand-picking of grass necessary, because some of it
will be found growing too near the plants to be cut away with the hoe.
If there is very little grass, the work goes on smoothly enough, the
hoes proceed quite rapidly, three hands keeping up with one plow, and
finishing about two acres a day.
The third plowing may be given with a shovel or cotton-plow, or with the
cultivator, again running twice in the row. The hoes need not follow at
this plowing, but may wait until the fourth plowing, done usually toward
the middle or last of July, or about the time the vines are a foot in
diameter, and are sending down their peduncles, or stems, on which the
young pods are forming. The plants begin to blossom by the first of July
or before, and continue to flower for more than a month. The pods begin
to form very soon after the flower appears, and by the time of the last
weeding great care must be taken not to cut the stems. For this reason
the hoes cannot proceed as fast as at the last weeding, and if there is
much grass growing up through the vines to be hand picked, this working
is tedious and laborious enough, and tires to the utmost the patience
and endurance of the laborer. In fact, this is the worst period in the
cultivation of the peanut crop. The weather is hot, close, and
enervating; the frequent stooping and picking makes it doubly laborious;
and, on account of the size the vines have attained, the plow must
necessarily leave a wider surface for the hoe to go over. All this makes
greatly against the hoe hands.
It is no wonder, then, that, with laborers, many of whom are disposed to
shirk their duty, the last working is too often poorly and inefficiently
done. With more reliable labor, such as is to be had in the Northern and
border States, better success would be easily attainable.
The third weeding is the last working with the hoe that the crop
receives, and next to the last usually given it with the plow. The
Virginia planter, as a rule, stops weeding by the first of August, or as
soon as the vines have well met along the row, and have sent down a
goodly number of young pods. If there is any subsequent removal of
grass, it is done by picking it out by hand, in order not to interfere
with the pod stems. But after the last weeding, say in a week or ten
days, one more plowing is usually given, generally with the cultivator
or shovel-plow, run once in the row. This throws the soil up under the
extremities of the vines, leaving the row of plants on a nice flat bed
and a water furrow in the middle of the balk.
The reader will observe that the cultivation required for the Peanut is
such as will keep the soil mellow and loose on the surface and clear of
grass, especially about the vines or plants. Any method of weeding and
plowing that will secure these ends, will serve the purpose.
Accordingly, there is a considerable diversity of practice in this
particular, both as to the mode of plowing, times of working the crop,
and implements used. The cultivation, however, is as easy and simple as
that commonly bestowed on Indian corn or beans, but must be a little
more thorough and painstaking. That is all. None need shrink from
planting this crop through any apprehension that they will not work it
properly. The three essential points are: keep the soil loose, the grass
down, and do no harm to the young pods as they are forming on the vine.
=Implements.=--This topic has been, in a measure, anticipated, allusion
having already been made to the implements to be used in the cultivation
of this crop. A few additional remarks, however, may not be out of
place.
The weeders should be armed with the best steel hoes, with factory-made
helves of ash, light and slightly flexible. The superiority of this
hoe--usually called the "goose-neck hoe" in Virginia--over the old style
of weeding hoe, with the heavy and stiff home-made helve, cannot be
estimated, except by those who have tried both. The same hand can
perform an eighth more labor in a day with the light steel hoe, and do
it better, and with more ease to himself. The "goose-neck" will last two
or three seasons, costs but little more than the other kind, comes ready
for work, and is, therefore, very cheap. The blades should be kept sharp
by repeated filing.
With us the first plowing is generally done with the turn-plow, with a
small mould-board attached, throwing the earth into the balk. For the
second plowing, the cultivator or cotton-plow, is used, either one of
which does fine work on smooth land, and makes it quite easy for the hoe
hands. The third plowing is commonly performed with the cultivator, but
if the ground is rough, the turn-plow will answer better. It is not
common, however, to plant peanuts on very rough ground. For the fourth
and fifth plowings the cultivator or shovel-plow is used. But should the
crop get very grassy, (which should never be permitted), the turn-plow,
with large mould-board attached, is used, in order to cover up as much
of the grass as possible. This makes a large and objectionable ridge in
the balk, but it is the best way to conquer the grass when it gets too
strong a hold. The hoes follow the plow, and scrape off the remaining
grass, except that near the plants, into the balk. Bunches of grass that
have grown up among the vines have to be pulled out by hand. Thus, it
will be seen that there is no plow made especially for cultivating the
peanut crop, the same plows and implements that are used for other and
general farming purposes answering equally well for the cultivation of
this crop also.
=When Cultivation should Cease.=--When the peanut vines have interlocked
considerably along the rows, and have almost, or quite met across the
balks, it is high time to cease cultivating them. When the vines are
large, the cultivator or plow will tear and bruise them more or less,
sometimes breaking off large branches, and, of course, destroying a
number of pods. If there is not room for the plow to pass without
pulling out the young peanuts and harming the vines, it should be taken
off the field and the crop left to take care of itself. So long as the
vines remain small, the crop may be worked to some extent, provided
always that care be taken not to molest the stems that have penetrated
the soil. Every one of these that is harmed now is a peanut lost. In
Virginia, two months--June and July--covers the period of cultivation
for the peanut crop, and it cannot be extended much beyond this time
without some risk. In fact, a crop that has been faithfully worked
during this time will not require anything more, and any extra labor is
as good as thrown away.
=Insect Enemies.=--Fortunately for the planter of peanuts, there is
scarcely an insect that does them any material harm. At least, such has
been the case, so far, in Virginia. What subsequent years may bring, is,
of course, unknown. But up to the present, no insect has ever caused any
extensive injury to this crop. It is true that ants do sometimes destroy
a few hills on certain soils, by sucking the cotyledons of the plant
before it has attained any considerable size and strength. But this is,
by no means, general. Even the voracious and ubiquitous Colorado Beetle
manifests no taste for this plant, although it has had abundant
opportunity to test its edible qualities. To the credit of insects
generally, be it said, they are not omnivorous.
=Effects of Cold.=--The effect of severe and prolonged cold on the
Peanut plant in the early part of the season, is often quite manifest.
Cool nights and cold rains are much dreaded, they cause the plants to
turn yellow and look sickly. The vines make little or no growth, the
leaves become spotted and curled, as if they had been touched by fire,
and the whole plant gets into that unthrifty looking state denominated,
in the local parlance of the planter, "the pouts." But let a few days of
warm sun occur, and all is speedily changed. The plants assume a fresh
and lively green, and their growth is now rapid until they reach
maturity.
=Effects of Drouth.=--A very dry spring would cause the Peanut to come
up badly, and would, therefore, seriously affect the crop. Such an
occurrence, however, is very rare in Virginia, as well as in the country
generally, and is not regarded with much apprehension. If the plant is
once well established in the soil, being tap-rooted, it can stand a good
deal of dry weather. It takes a long period of extremely dry weather to
materially injure this crop. Such a season did occur in 1883, and the
consequence was a great many blasted pods and a short crop. Generally,
moderately dry summers are looked upon with favor by the planter,
inasmuch as seasons of this kind enable him to keep the crop clean of
grass at much less cost. Just here we would repeat what we said in
Chapter II, in relation to deep plowing preparatory to planting. With a
soil deeply broken in the outset, the Peanut will withstand successfully
any period of dry weather ever likely to occur in this country. It has
been noticed that the crops that suffer the most from drouths are those
planted on land not well prepared, or in orchards of growing trees,
which necessarily extract a great deal of moisture from the soil. Even
in a season as severe as that of 1883, peanuts planted on a deep, mellow
soil out of the reach of trees, did well, and were well seeded and
filled. Deep preparation of the soil, then, is a corrective of drouth
for this crop, as well as for any other. With this simple precaution, no
great apprehension need be entertained of the effects of dry weather.
Let the planter but do his part in preparation and cultivation, and
nature will be sure to respond with liberal, if not overflowing crops.
The corn-planter has more to fear from dry weather than the
peanut-planter.
=Appearance at this Period.=--The appearance of a thrifty crop of
peanuts at the time of maturity, or a little after the last weeding, is
simply magnificent. The vines have now met in both directions, and the
whole field, from a little distance, looks as if covered with a carpet
of velvet-plush. Nothing obstructs the view. The vines lie close on the
soil, and the eye reaches every nook and corner of the field, and takes
in the whole panorama at one glance. Few other crops afford so clear or
so pleasing a prospect. Indian corn, in the tender green of summer, is a
beautiful object to look upon, but it shuts out all view of distant
parts of the farm. The golden wheat, as it bends to the passing breeze,
is also beautiful, but one must go around it and not through it. A field
of cotton, as the open bolls display the snowy lint, is a sight to
please the admirer of nature, but it lacks the setting of green that is
always pleasing to the eye. The peanut crop surpasses them all in
beauty. It presents an air of freedom, of repose, of life, and of
security from harm, of which no other can boast.
Such is the crop to which we have invited the reader's attention, and
the planting and cultivation of which we have endeavored to describe.
Having proceeded thus far, let us pause a moment, as the writer has
done, time and again, to survey the beautiful prospect of a field of
peanuts in full maturity. There it is, a literal carpet of living green,
covering acres on acres of mother earth, and beneath its velvet folds is
quietly growing the wealth that is to make its owner independent, and by
means of which the planter's family is to secure most of the necessaries
and comforts of life. No crop outside of the market gardens, yields so
much actual cash per acre as this. No wonder, then, that it readily
becomes popular with all who try it, and that it never loses ground
wherever introduced under favorable circumstances.
An interval of about two months now elapses, during which the crop
requires no attention. The seed pods are filling and maturing, and the
whole plant is ripening for the harvest.
CHAPTER IV.
HARVESTING.
=When to begin Harvesting.=--We come now to the laborious and often
difficult work of harvesting the peanut crop. We say difficult, for
often rainy or other unpropitious weather at this period, makes it
exceedingly hard to save the crop in good condition, and prevent the
pods from becoming dark or spotted. Ordinarily, the harvesting should
not begin so long as mild and growing weather continues, even though
October may be far spent. It is important, of course, to get as many
firm, matured pods on a vine as possible, and the longer the weather
holds favorable for this, the more pods, as a rule, will there be.
If, however, the crop has been planted early, and the leaves begin to
fall from the vines, it is better to start the plow and dig the crop at
once. When the Peanut plant gets fully matured, it is very apt to begin
to cast its leaves, especially on ground that has been planted in
peanuts often before. After the leaves fall off, the vines are of very
little value as hay, and as most planters consider them excellent
provender, they make it a point to harvest the crop in time to secure
good hay. For the same reason, effort is made to dig and shock the vines
before a killing frost occurs. Frost spoils the vines for fodder, though
it does no harm to the pods, unless it be for seed. Some suppose that
seed taken from frost-bitten vines will not come up well.
In the latitude of Virginia the usual time for digging the peanut crop
is the second and third weeks in October. That is, the great bulk of the
crop is dug about this time, though some start the first week in that
month, and others wait until the close, unless driven to start earlier
by the weather. In rare cases, some planters dig by the twenty-fifth of
September, but it is generally believed that all who start thus early
lose more in weight and yield than they gain in time or price. Six or
ten days of mild weather at this stage of the crop, will make an
appreciable difference in the yield, and if the peanuts can remain in
the ground until the latter part of October, there will be very few
saps, or immature pods. But, in whatever latitude the planter may
reside, the general rule should be, to dig before a killing frost
occurs.
=Mode of Harvesting.=--In Virginia, the general practice is as follows:
First, plow the peanuts with a point having a long, narrow wing, and a
small mould-board, so that the vines will be loosened without having any
earth thrown upon them. The plow passes along on both sides of the rows,
just near enough for the wing to fairly reach the tap-root, which it
severs. Care is taken to put the plow deep enough to pass under the pods
without severing them from the vines. This is important, as most of the
detached pods are lost, and if the work is slovenly done, the loss will
be great.
Hands with pitchforks follow the plow, lift the vines from the loose
soil, shake them well to get the earth off, and then lay them down,
either singly or in small piles, to remain a day or two to wilt and cure
in the sun. This is light work, and can be done rapidly, two hands being
enough to keep up with one plow. If rain is feared, it is best to lay
the vines down singly after shaking them, for, when in piles, if rain
occurs, and the weather is warm, the pods are apt to speck and mildew
before the vines can dry out. A rain falling on the pods after they are
dug, and before they are shocked, does no harm, if the sun comes out
soon to dry them before they can mildew.
[Illustration: Fig. 5.--SHOCK STANDING.]
[Illustration: Fig. 6.--SHOCK REMOVED.]
Instead of leaving the vines on the ground a day or two to cure, many
shock them up at once. If the vines are perfectly dry, this is as good a
plan as any. But if the weather should be warm, and the vines are wet
with dew or rain when put up, they will be sure to heat, and the pods
will turn dark. In cold weather the vines may be shocked both green and
wet without risk.
The method of shocking the Peanuts will be understood from figure 5,
which represents a shock as it stands in the field. A shock as it is
taken down for picking is shown in figure 6. The vines are first laid
together in piles, about as much as one can handily carry on the fork at
one time, three rows being put in one. The stakes, which have been
previously prepared, are then set in the ground proper distances apart,
and two billets of wood, four or five inches in diameter and two feet
long, are placed beside each stake to keep the vines off the ground. A
handful of vines is then laid, pods up, on one side of the stake for a
bed, and the same on the other side. After this the vines are put on,
pods down. The first are inverted to keep the pods off the ground,
though this is a matter of trifling importance, if the billets of wood
are large enough. The successive handfuls of vines are laid up with
care, keeping the shock level, lapping the vines, and placing them on
every side to make the work even. As the work progresses the vines may
be pressed down with the hands, and the shocks are finished off round at
top, the better to shed the water. No cap or covering for the shocks is
used, though much would frequently be saved, could a cheap one be had. A
board nailed on the top of the stakes would protect the top layer very
much, and yet the planter who should adopt it would doubtless be laughed
at.
A fast hand can put up fifty or sixty shocks a day, with a boy to bring
up the vines and assist in planting the stakes. Some shockers use the
fork to lay up the vines, especially toward the top. The shocks are put
up one in a place wherever needed, so as to make the work convenient for
the carrier. Some, however, put three or more shocks together, as suits
their fancy, in which case fence rails are usually employed to build
the shocks upon.
The above method is generally practised, but there are many variations
in almost every detail. We have endeavored to give a clear idea of a
safe method.
=Why Cured in the Field.=--Perhaps some reader unacquainted with the
cultivation of the Peanut, may ask: Why all this trouble to shock and
cure the crop in the field? Why not pick the pods from the vines as soon
as they are dug, and cure the peanuts on scaffolds, or elsewhere, and
cure the vines on the ground, like hay?
We answer, because the pods cure better in the shock than in any other
way. They get dry sooner, and make heavier and brighter peanuts than
could possibly be the case, were they gathered at once, and spread, even
in very thin layers, on scaffolds to dry. Besides, as rain on the pods
when they are about half cured, or during the process of curing, would
be very harmful, it is found best to protect the pods by covering them
in shock. They can get more air in shock than if spread on a scaffold,
and a free circulation of air about them is important. A scaffold close
enough to hold the pods would exclude the air in every direction, except
from above. When shocks are put up well, the pods are very effectually
protected, except a few on the top, and in about ten days are cured nice
and bright, and ready to be picked off. The shocks may remain in the
field many weeks, subject to repeated rains, without material injury. Of
course rains of several days continuance would damage the peanuts more
or less. It is best therefore, on this account, and because of the
numerous depredators that prey upon the crop while it remains in the
field, to house it as soon as sufficiently cured to render it certain
the pods will not heat and spoil when in bulk.
=Depredators.=--The creatures of the animal kingdom that levy their tax
on the unwilling planter, and come in for a share--and often a large
share--of the peanut crop, are of many kinds, and numerous in all. Of
quadrupeds, the deer, fox, raccoon, squirrel, and sometimes even the
dog, are more or less destructive; the raccoon, squirrel, and fox are
particularly so, beginning their inroads early in the fall by scratching
up the immature pods, and continuing their thefts daily and nightly as
long as any remain in the field. In some localities, these animals are
exceedingly annoying, and occasion great loss unless their depredations
can be checked.
Next to the animals named, birds are most destructive, while the peanuts
are in shock. Such birds as the blue-jay, crow, partridge, yellow
hammer, wild turkey, and blackbird, coming, as some of them do, not
singly, but in companies and flocks of hundreds and thousands at a time,
carry off vast quantities, unless the planter is always on the alert,
gun in hand, ready to meet them at every turn. Near the James, and other
large rivers, it is a common occurrence to see, not thousands only, but
tens of thousands of blackbirds in a single field at one time. They
often go in flocks covering acres on acres of ground, and with their
ceaseless activity and endless trilling, present an appearance of which
city-bred people can form no adequate idea. Of course they destroy a
vast amount of peanuts in a short time, unless speedily driven off.
There are also several species of field rats and mice, together with the
domestic rats and mice that get into the shocks to feed on the pods,
where they remain until disturbed by the pickers. Everything seems fond
of the Peanut after it is made, and if the planter escapes the insect
enemies in the summer, the exemption is more than offset by the numerous
and voracious depredators of the fall and winter.
And against most of them, there is no effective remedy, the planter
cannot watch his crop all the time, and traps are hardly worth using. It
is true, something may be done with steel traps for such animals as the
fox, raccoon, and squirrel. But for the rest, despatch in removing the
crop from the field, is the only certain preventive. Even then the
planter does not entirely escape, for rats and mice follow him within
doors, and riot in luxurious living so long as a single shock remains
undisturbed. Perhaps no crop the Southern farmer grows is subject to
heavier or oftener repeated losses than the Peanut. Yet, despite it all,
it is a crop that often pays very handsome returns. It has been, and is,
the sheet anchor of many an East Virginia farmer, and if prices hold up,
will continue to be, so long as there are lands here that will produce
thirty bushels of peanuts to the acre. This is but the minimum; the
maximum is not known; a hundred and thirty bushels per acre has been
attained.
=Detached Peanuts.=--In the process of digging and shocking peanuts,
many pods must necessarily become detached from the vines. Some of
these remain in the soil, out of sight, and numbers more are scattered
over the ground, from one side of the field to the other. If the vines
are fully matured, and have changed color or shed their leaves, and
especially if frost has touched them, the pods come off much more freely
than if the vines are still green, or scarcely done growing. Generally,
the detached pods are the best of the crop, being those first matured,
and which are therefore solid and heavy.
Of course these peanuts must not be lost. Women and children are
employed to pick them up at so much per bushel. If it is found that many
pods remain in the ground, a cultivator or light plow is run along the
rows to bring them in sight. In this way the most of the loose peanuts
are saved. Still, numbers will be left in the ground. The planter is at
no loss, however, to secure these also, which he does by turning his
fattening hogs on the ground as soon as he can remove the crop from the
field. Hogs are exceedingly fond of the Peanut, and as soon as they find
them out, they will continue to root for them as long as one can be had.
Frequently, every square yard of large fields, will be burrowed over by
the hogs in their search for the detached peanuts. No crop the planter
grows will fatten a hog so quickly as the Peanut. Thus in the harvesting
of this beautiful and profitable crop, nothing is allowed to be lost.
=Saving Seed Peanuts.=--It now remains to say something of the method of
saving seed peanuts. Every step in this process must have in view one
principal point--keeping the pods from becoming the least heated, either
in shock or in bulk. Perfect and continued ventilation must be secured.
The vines should not be shocked while green, nor the pods kept in large
bulk after being picked off. Neither should the vines be touched by
frost, either before or after being dug.
It is customary to dig and shake the vines as usual, and leave them in
the field four or five days, or a week, before they are either piled or
shocked. In this time, if the weather is fair, the vines will be so
nearly cured that not enough moisture will remain in them to create a
heat, even in very warm weather, and they may then be shocked with
perfect safety, after which they should remain in the field until
thoroughly dry. Rain falling on the vines while they are lying in the
field, does no harm, except it be to turn the pods a little dark, which
circumstance makes no difference with seed peanuts.
When the seeds are picked off, keep them in baskets until ready to
spread them in a cool, dry room, where they will be exposed to a free
circulation of air. In no case should they be in bulk. Spread them
thinly in some loft, where the air will reach them, and where they will
be secure from rats and mice. They may be stored in sacks the same as
for sale, and laid in an airy room to remain all winter. They should not
be kept in a room where there is a stove, or one subject to currents of
hot air.
These suggestions embody all that need be done to secure good seed. If
peanuts are fully cured when picked off, and are not kept too close,
they will prove good seed, unless there is some radical defect of the
germ or vital powers. Keep them from heating, and they will germinate
and grow as readily as corn. Every planter may, and should, save his own
seed. According to the number of acres that he thinks of planting, let
him provide two bushels of seed (or forty-four pounds in the hull), for
each acre, and he will have enough and some to spare.
CHAPTER V.
MARKETING.
It requires as much judgment to market a crop well, as it does to raise
and harvest it, and often more. Unfortunately, the majority of planters
are sadly deficient in that knowledge of commercial life, which would
make them masters of the situation. Too often they are bound by lien or
mortgage, or else they have run up a heavy bill at the country store,
and when the crop is made and ready for market, they are obliged to sell
forthwith. Generally too, this is the very time when prices are lowest,
and so the planter is obliged to part with the fruits of his labor at
the most unfavorable rates, and allow the middlemen to pocket the
profits. It is only by careful economy and prudent management, on the
part of each planter for himself, that this evil is to be corrected.
Without entering into the details of commercial affairs, we will
endeavor to show the planter how he may go into market with his crop,
prepared to command the best prices. To this end, it is essential that
he have his crop in the best marketable condition, remembering that a
good article always sells well.
=Picking off the Peanuts.=--This part of the work, usually done by women
and children, may make or spoil the sale of the entire crop. If stems
are gathered with the pods, and good, bad, and indifferent are all
lumped together, with leaves and trash thrown in for good measure, a
great deal of assorting and cleaning will subsequently be required, or
else the sale of the crop will be impaired to the extent of one or two
cents to the pound. In picking, the stems should be rejected, and the
saps and inferior pods, if gathered at all, be kept apart from the rest.
Only the best, brightest, and soundest pods should go into the A, No.
1's, and these, if clean of earth and trash, will always bring top
prices. The saps also will sell, at lower rates. It is the neglect of
these few precautions that so sadly curtails the bill of sale of many a
planter. If planters would offer pickers extra inducements for clean
pods, this difficulty would, to a great extent, be obviated. When the
same price is paid for all, without regard to the manner of picking, a
premium is offered for slovenly work, and the careless get better paid
than the painstaking.
In picking, the pops should be refused altogether, and the saps and very
dark pods go by themselves. Many planters, however, leave the saps on
the vines, saving the best only. The saps, however, will sell, either in
pod or shelled, and if numerous, will more than pay for picking them. It
is, therefore, so much gained. It must be confessed, however, that the
presence of a good many saps on the vines, makes them much more valuable
as feed.
Just here let us explain that "pops" are pods that have attained full
size and firmness, but which are minus the seed. Dry weather, and the
lack of calcareous manures in the soil, will cause many pops. "Saps" are
immature pods, the last to form on the vine, and which might become good
peanuts if they could have a longer period of growing weather. The
presence of pops in the marketable peanuts is very detrimental to their
sale, and hence should be carefully rejected in picking. Saps also are
detrimental, but to a less extent than pops.
=Price paid Pickers.=--The price paid pickers varies somewhat from one
season to another, according to the quality of the peanuts, and the
market price received for them. Hands commonly board themselves, and
receive so much per bushel for picking. Of late years, the price has
stood pretty uniformly, at twelve to fifteen cents per bushel. The
peanuts are either measured or weighed. If weighed, twenty-four pounds
are counted as a bushel in the first part of the season, the extra two
pounds being taken to make up for the subsequent loss in weight. If a
hand is boarded by the owner of the crop, he gets but ten cents a bushel
for picking. A fast hand will pick from four to six bushels a day, the
children are just as likely to do this as grown people. Hence, at this
season of the year, women and children earn what is considered pretty
fair wages. Under the most favorable circumstances, the best hands will
pick seven bushels a day. Very much depends, however, on the quality of
the peanuts, and something also on the weather. In very dry weather, the
stems come off with the pod, and pickers cannot do as well.