LEGUMES FOR SEED 237 



15 to 17 pounds of kernels, while a bushel of Spanish peanuts 

 weighs 30 pounds and yields about 20 pounds of kernels. 



Peanuts are produced principally in the South Atlantic 

 states, and in Alabama and Tennessee. About one-half the total 

 production comes from southern Virginia and North Carolina. 

 The production is increasing rapidly, it having trebled in the 

 past decade. 



287. Adaptation. The peanut requires at least five months 

 without frost, a hot, moist summer, and, for good market quality, 

 but little rainfall during harvest. A loam soil containing an 

 abundance of lime and not too large quantity of humus is best. 

 Where lime is deficient there will be a large proportion of 

 empty pods or "pops," and where humus is excessive the plant 

 has a tendency to "run to vine." A sandy soil free from iron 

 produces the best market quality, because pods are less likely 

 to become stained, but does not necessarily produce better yields 

 than soils containing more clay. The Spanish variety may be 

 grown for forage on any soil on which maize can be grown 

 south of the thirty-seventh parallel of latitude. 



288. Soil Amendments. If the soil is deficient in lime, one 

 ton of quick lime or three tons of marl may be applied per acre. 

 Applications of stable manure when needed are best applied 

 to the previous crop, which should be a cultivated one, such as 

 maize, cotton, or tobacco. Phosphoric and potassic rather than 

 nitrogenous commercial fertilizers are indicated. Neverthe- 

 less, fertilizer formulas sometimes include cotton seed meal as 

 well as acid phosphate and kainit. 



289. Planting. The soil is prepared as for maize or pota- 

 toes, although perhaps with rather more care. The furrow may 

 be opened with a small plow two to three and one-half, usually 

 three, feet apart. The seeds are generally planted by hand four 

 inches to two feet apart in the row. The Arkansas Station 

 concludes that for the Spanish variety the best yields will be ob- 



