LEGUMES FOR SEED 



235 



with thick, angular, pale-green, hairy stems and spreading 

 branches, and has the peculiar habit of maturing its fruit 

 underground." After the blossom falls, the ovulary is pushed 

 into the ground through the elongation of the peduncle or 

 "spike," where it develops into the well-known pod, one to two 

 inches long, and containing one to four, usually two, seeds. 

 The cinnamon-yellow roots are abundantly supplied with tuber- 

 cles. 



284. Composition. The peanut kernel is characterized by 

 its high percentage of fat, and when the oil has been extracted, 

 the resulting meal is characterized by its high percentage of 

 protein, as shown in the following table: 



Food Constituents in Different Parts of Peanut Kernel 



285. Varieties. Peanuts may be classified according to their 

 habit of growth into running and bunching varieties ; according 

 to the redness of their skin (testa) into white and red varie- 

 ties; and according to the size of the pods. In general, two 

 well-defined types are recognized: those with large pods, usu- 

 ally sold for roasting, as "Virginia hand-picked" peanuts, and 

 those with small pods, known as Spanish peanuts. The Span- 

 ish variety has a relatively small, upright vine, which permits 

 closer planting than in the running, large podded varieties. 

 The Spanish peanut is not ordinarily sold in the shell, but is 



