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not be extended beyond the period when the peanuts begin to form, and 

 especially must this caution be observed in the case of the trailing or 

 white peanuts. Level cultivation is far better for the white peanut and 

 equally good for the red. 



Many years ago it was thought that a necessary requirement in the 

 cultivation of the white peanut was to cover the bloom. This practice has 

 long been discontinued, for it not only does no good, but it does much 

 damage and decreases the yield of the crop. The "spikelets" form above 

 ground after the fall of the flowers, but the ground should be soft enough 

 to permit the sharp thorn-like points to penetrate the surface. When 

 once beneath the surface the ovary at the end of the "spikelet" begins 

 to enlarge and ripens into a pale, yellowish, wrinkled pod, slightly curved, 

 sometimes contracted in the middle, and containing generally two, some- 

 times three and rarely four kernels. A dry spring is always desirable 

 for planting and cultivating, but when the "spikelets" begin to push down 

 into the ground frequent showers are indispensable to' a large yield. 



HARVESTING — The harvesting must always take place before 

 frost, for the nuts and haulm are both greatly injured, if not ruined, by 

 frost. If the fall should be wet, or the peanuts mature very early, many 

 of the first formed nuts will be ruined by sprouting. Dry weather should 

 always be selected for harvesting. It cannot be done when the ground 

 is wet, for then the dirt will adhere to the nuts and ruin them or at least 

 greatly detract from their market value by injuring their color. 



The crop of white peanuts is harvested by running a furrow on each 

 side of the row with a bull-tongue plow or a pea-digger, so as to dislocate 

 the roots. Care must be taken not to detach the nuts from the vine in 

 running the side furrow. After the plow has been run on each side of 

 the row (and it is sometimes necessary to run twice on a side) then lift 

 the vines gently with the hand, carefully shaking the dirt off, and lay 

 them on the ground. Let them remain in this way, if the sun is shining, 

 from six to eight hours. The vines will wilt like clover, when they may 

 be brought together and stacked. The stacks are made around a pole 

 planted in the ground and rising some eight feet above the surface. A 

 platform made of old rails rests upon logs placed around the pole and 

 upon this the stack is built. The platform protects the nuts and vines 

 from the moid and dampness of the ground. In stacking, the nuts should 

 be put on the inside next to the stack-pole, but not so close as to prevent 

 the air from circulating freely from the bottom to the top of the stack. 

 To make the stack entirely secure it should have a capping of hay or corn 

 fodder. Put up in this manner the nuts will keep securely all the winter 

 should it be desired. 



The red nuts are more easily harvested than the white, as they have 

 but few roots and the nuts adhere closely about the stem. In loose land 

 they may be pulled up without running a furrow on each side of the row, 

 though to do this will make the work much easier. There are but few 

 red nuts now grown in Tennessee. An over-production of them for a few 

 years reduced prices below the cost of the labor required in producing 

 them. 



Usually the nuts are allowed to stand in the stacks about four weeks 



