MISCELLANEOUS INFOEMATION. 6(^7 



tlie view of gettincr the largest possible amount from every acre 

 b3^ heavy aucT continual manuring. 



The Cultivation op Peanuts. — The extraordinary number of 

 peanuts that have been brought to market this fall, says the 

 Southern Farmer, induced us to make some inquiries concerning 

 their cultivation, and the uses to which they are applied. The 

 crop is one ver}- easily grown, yielding a large product, and com- 

 manding good prices. 



The price this season bas been lower than for several j'^ears past, 

 ranging from sixty to eighty cents per bushel, according to quality ; 

 but even at that price there is perhaps no other crop yielding so 

 much profit. The soil best adapted to the ground pea is a 

 moderately rich loam, neither very heavy nor very light. A stiff 

 soil will not admit the stems beai'ing the fruit to penetrate it with 

 facility, and a sandy soil is too thirsty. Again, if the soil is too 

 rich, the tendency of the plant is to run to vine instead of the 

 formation of fruit. Any soil of the requisite texture, capable of 

 producing five or six barrels of corn to the aci'e, is well adapted 

 to the growth of the ground pea without the addition of any 

 manure. But should manure be used at all, it should be in small 

 quantitie.S. 



The ground is prepared by laying it ofi" in rows three feet 

 distant, and very slightly ridging, as in culture of cotton. When 

 manure is applied, it should, as in case of cotton, be put in the 

 drill. Through the entire cultivation, the chief object should be to 

 keep the ground clean of grass and as level as possible. The 

 slight ridge on which the seed is planted will be nearly or quite 

 worked down by the first hoeing. As the vines extend over the 

 surface, it is necessary to keep the ground well stirred with a 

 trowel, hoe, or other implement that does not turn it over. A 

 couple of plowings and occasional working Avith the hoe is re- 

 garded a sufficient amount of cultivation — less than what is 

 required for cotton, and not exceeding that of the corn crop. 



As soon as the vine is killed by frost, the harvesting should 

 commence. The first operation is to run a colter close to the 

 vines on each side, for the purpose of loosening the earth. The 

 plants are then taken up with a lioe, and laid bottom upward on 

 the ground to dr3^ There the}- are to remain for several days 

 until they are cured — the time being longer or shorter, according 

 to the state of the weather. If it rains, it will do the crop no 

 finjury. When sufficiently cured, the vines should be packed away 

 in a barn, or under any good shelter, where the fruit may be picked 

 ■at leisure. 



, A fair crop may be regarded as about seventy-five bushels per 

 ;Mcre, and is frequently as much as a hundred. Some of the 

 farmers in the lower counties raise as much as five hundred or a 

 tliousand bushels. The crop has, to some extent, taken the place 

 of cotton, requiring much less manui'e, and being more profitable. 



