A TREATISE ON NUT CULTURE. 143 



The trees make a most beautiful and imposing grove, being truly tropical 

 in their appearance. As they are planted only about twenty feet apart, they 

 cast a thick, unvarying shade. They are evergreen, as is most tropical foliage, 

 and their gracefulness, with the great height they attain, makes them a desir- 

 able addition to a home in the far South. The diameter of the tree ranges from 

 one foot to four, and they attain a height of one hundred and twenty-five feet, 

 having as many as four hundred nuts on them at one time. 



These beautiful palms add greatly to the attractive appearance of the 

 tropics, the long feathery leaves that undulate so gracefully in the breeze which 

 sighs among them, the "everlasting green " of their coloring, their tall state- 

 liness and their symmetry, beautify the whole country where they grow especi- 

 ally Southern Florida, where they grow in such profusion. 



The Cocoanut tree begins bearing six years after the planting of the ripe 

 nut, and after that time it is never without fruit in all stages of growth. It 

 continues bearing for about twenty-five years and after the first year, during 

 which it needs protection from the wind, its cultivation gives no trouble. 



PEANUT; GROUNDNUT. 



This nut is extensively grown in the Atlantic Coast States, thriving in the 

 low, moist, sandy grounds, and is a very important crop in Virginia. 



PEANUT CULTIVATION. 

 By Dr. John Morris, in Baltimore News. 



There is a new industry now being introduced in the State of Washington 

 which might be successfully initiated in our own State, viz: The cultivation of 

 the Peanut. From experiments in Germany it has been ascertained that the 

 Peanut contains more nutritive material than any other form of food, more 

 than milk, butter, eggs, lard, bacon, beef, etc. The American Peanut contains 

 forty-two per cent, of oil. The Germans express this and sell it at about sixty 

 cents a gallon. It is sweet and nutritious and much better for salads than the 

 cotton-seed oil which we import from Italy under the name of olive oil. After 

 expressing the oil the Germans prepare four forms of food from the Peanut. 

 Flour, which contains the husk, etc.; grits, similar to our preparation of corn; 

 plain biscuits and a diabetic biscuit- which, being free from sugar, is used in 

 cases of diabetes. 



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