PEANUT 201 



planting and cultivated in. Use lime at the rate of 

 30 bushels per acre, or marl at 100 to 150 bushels per 

 acre, if there is plenty of humus in the soil; otherwise 

 apply in smaller quantities, adding also humus from 

 year to year. By proper rotation, Peanuts will assist 

 to continually improve the land, since they gather 

 nitrogen from the air, and store it in the ground. But 

 in most of the Peanut sections the soil has been im- 

 poverished by a too steady drain upon it. 



Distances are chiefly according to variety, though 

 the fertility of the land should be considered. Rows 

 from two to three and one-half feet apart ; hills in the 

 row, six inches to two feet. The Virginia are usually 

 grown eighteen by thirty-six inches ; the Spanish, six by 

 twenty-four inches. 



Depth. About four inches. 



Sow when frosts are past, in the North about June 

 1, two seeds to the hill. Or start under glass in pots 

 in April, and set out when frosts are past. 



Seed is best shelled, taking care not to break the 

 skin of the kernel. The Spanish, however, is frequently 

 planted in the shell, which is merely broken in two. 



Culture should be level; it is a mistake to hill. 

 The chief object is to keep down weeds and preserve 

 the surface-mulch until the vines cover the ground. 



Dig before frost, which will injure the nuts. 



Dry the nuts carefully, and store in bags away from 

 frost and moisture. 



