IMPORTANCE OF PEANUTS 377 



native to the New World which have found their way into 

 cultivation. The plant produces many leafy stems, from 12 

 to 18 inches tall. The leaflets are three in number and about 

 1 inch long. The flowers, which are produced in the axils of 

 the branches, are small and yellow. After the flower falls 

 away, the stem on which it grew elongates and enters the 

 soil, and the pod or nut then forms below the surface. For 

 this reason, peanuts can be grown best on loose soils. 



503. Importance. While we ordinarily think of peanuts 

 only as we commonly see the roasted nuts for sale on the 

 street corners, the seed is largely used in the manufacture 

 of oil and other articles, and the vines make excellent forage 

 for stock. The value of the peanut crop of the United States 

 in 1917 was estimated at $106,000,000, more than double 

 the combined values of the buckwheat and flaxseed crops 

 that year. It is largely produced along the Atlantic coast, 

 the sandy lands there being particularly adapted to it. 

 The larger portion of the market crop is grown in Virginia, 

 North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Texas. In recent 

 years, the production of peanuts has very greatly increased, 

 the acreage in 1917 probably being at least three times as 

 great as that in 1912. 



504. Cultivation. Peanuts grow best in a fairly fertile 

 sandy loam soil which has been well prepared. They should 

 be planted in rows 30 to 36 inches apart after the soil is 

 thoroughly warm in the spring, generally after corn has been 

 planted. The seed of the larger varieties is usually shelled 

 before planting, but the Spanish peanuts are often planted 

 without shelling. The one-row planter is commonly used. 

 The common rate of seeding is 1 peck of shelled Spanish 

 peanuts or 5 pecks in the shell, while IJ^ pecks of shelled 

 Virginia peanuts will plant an acre. After the plants are up, 

 frequent shallow cultivation should be given to keep the soil 

 loose till the pods begin to form. The ground should not be 

 disturbed again till harvest. 



