6 The Bulletin. 



become elastic rapidly enough to prevent its being burst before the ger- 

 mination has advanced sufficiently. On the other hand, where peanuts 

 are dug before they are thoroughly mature the skin on the kernel is 

 slightly wrinkled on account of the shrinking of the kernel. This 

 wrinkled skin provides for the rapid swelling of the kernel referred to 

 above and prevents premature bursting. 



Second. They should always be dug before the frost kills the vines. 

 If the frost kills the vines it seems to injure the germ also. 



Third. They should be allowed to dry some after they are shaken out 

 before stacking. It is better to allow them to get quite dry before stack- 

 ing, as there is danger of their taking a heat if stacked green, especially 

 if a few days of warm, rainy weather follow digging. 



Fourth. They should be put under a shelter as soon as dry enough to 

 shake in the hull, or picked off by hand and spread in a dry, airy place. 

 It is always better to have seed peas picked by hand, as there is danger 

 of the machine breaking the hull and skin. 



Fifth. As the large varieties have to be shelled for planting in the 

 spring, it is necessary to be careful not to break the skin on the kernel. 

 Some people use a popper, made of a limber piece of wood, between the 

 ends of which the hull is broken. This should be used by particular 

 hands, otherwise the skin will be broken on a large per cent of the nuts. 

 It pays to go over them carefully after they are shelled and get out all 

 inferior and broken nuts to insure a good stand. 



Fertilization. — The peanut belongs to the family of leguminous plants, 

 as will be shown on examining the roots, on which are an abundance of 

 the small nodules or tubercles. As plants of this family have the power 

 of getting nitrogen from the atmosphere, it is not necessary to use a 

 fertilizer with a large content of ammonia for them. The tendency of 

 too much ammonia, or nitrogen, is to produce too much vine and too 

 many pops (hulls without kernels). The mineral elements — potash and 

 phosphoric acid — are essential for the development and maturity of the 

 fruit, and if these elements are not already present in the soil in suf- 

 ficient quantities they must be supplied by the use of acid phosphate 

 and kainit, or some other potash salt. If peanuts are grown in rotation 

 with some other crops which have been well fertilized, and there is some 

 humus in the soil, large crops can be produced without the use of com- 

 mercial fertilizers. 



Lime is very essential for the successful production of the large varie- 

 ties of peanuts. They will not grow well on an acid soil, and lime has 

 a tendency to counteract this acidity, so prevalent along the Atlantic 

 Coast. It also makes available the elements of plant food already pres- 

 ent in an unavailable condition. The kind of lime to be used depends. 



