The Bulletin. 5 



Climate and Soil. — It has been ascertained that peanuts will grow in 

 any climate in which Indian corn will. A season of five months free 

 from frost is necessary for the maturing of the crop; however, it has 

 been proven that they do not require a very warm climate. As the 

 American nuts are sold chiefly on the streets, the color of the hulls 

 greatly affects the sale; consequently, a warm, rainy fall is very inju- 

 rious to the crop, as it turns the hulls dark. The season best suited to 

 producing the most marketable stock is a spring and summer of mod- 

 erate rainfall, and a very small rainfall during September and October. 

 Any soil which can be put into a mellow, friable condition to a depth 

 of four or five inches will grow peanuts. However, a gray, sandy loam 

 produces nuts of the best quality, as red or dark lands are apt to dis- 

 color the hulls. A soil rich in iron is not good for peanuts for the same 

 reason. The best American trade demands a bright, pretty hull, and 

 the farmers have to cater to that demand. The deeper and more thor- 

 oughly pulverized the soil is before planting, the better the results to be 

 obtained. However, a soil very rich in humus and other ammoniated 

 materials is not so well suited, as it has a tendency to produce too many 

 vines and pops. 



Seed Selection. — The subject of careful selection of seed for farm 

 crops is fast becoming one of vital importance to the farmers at large. 

 All experiments have proven that plants from carefully selected seed 

 will give a much larger yield than from seed taken indiscriminately 

 from the barn. We have no crop which shows more marked increase 

 from carefully selected and saved seed than the peanut, and yet a large 

 majority of the peanut growers pay no attention whatever to this point. 

 In order to get the best yield of good merchantable nuts, it is abso- 

 lutely essential to get a stand from the first planting. Keplanted peas 

 never pay, as they do not mature with the first crop — if they produce 

 anything — and, on account of being dug before maturity, are apt to turn 

 brown or mildew, and thereby injure the sale of the good nuts. For 

 this reason every peanut farmer should make a special effort to plant 

 seed of as great vitality as possible. As the large varieties are graded 

 according to size and color, great care should be taken to keep up the 

 size of the nuts when they are grown for market. This can only be 

 done by carefully selecting the seed and breeding for size. In saving 

 peanuts for seed several points should be kept in mind : 



First. The experience of the best farmers of North Carolina and 

 Virginia has been that peas dug before they are thoroughly mature have 

 greater germinating power. If the kernel is mature the skin is naturally 

 full and tight. When planted in warm, moist soil the swelling of the 

 kernel is apt to be quite rapid, and in many cases the skin does not 



