238 THE FORAGE AND FIBER CROPS IN AMERICA 



Lained from rows 30 inches apart with the peanut four to twelve 

 inches apart in the row. In some cases peanuts are planted in 

 hills so they may be cultivated both ways. The seeds are cov- 

 ered one and a half to two inches deep with a hoe or with the 

 foot. Only one plant in a place is desired, but in some cases 

 two seeds are planted. Planting should occur as soon as all 

 danger from late frosts is over. 



"Spanish peanuts intended for grazing by hogs may be planted at any time 

 after danger of frost is over on to the first or middle of July in north 

 Arkansas, and as late as the middle of August in the southern part of the 

 state. The time and methods of planting this variety of peanuts for hog feed 

 is quite adjustable, and the crop may be associated with almost any system 

 of cropping practised in the South. The most profitable practises with this 

 variety consist in growing the peanuts with some other crop, as corn, or after 

 some crop has been harvested." x 



290. Seed. For planting, two bushels of seed in the pod are 

 required per acre. Considerable care is required in harvesting, 

 storing, and selecting suitable seed for planting, otherwise the 

 germination is likely to be low. In the case of the larger varie- 

 ties, the pods are removed before planting by hand, care being 

 taken not to break the skin. The Spanish variety may be planted 

 without shelling or after merely breaking the pods in two, al- 

 though this is not a desirable practise. 



"A test made at Fayetteville in 1900 gave 98 per cent, germination from 

 shelled, 91 per cent, from pods broken in two, and 78 per cent, from whole 

 pods. The plots planted with the whole pods were very slow in sprouting, 

 and some were about five weeks in appearing above the ground. The broken 

 pods did better, but were not so prompt to germinate as were the shelled nuts. 

 An attempt to hull several varieties of peanuts in a cowpea huller was very 

 unsuccessful with the larger Virginia and Tennessee varieties, but gave sat- 

 isfactory results with the Spanish. About 20 per cent, were split by the pea 

 huller, but their loss were more than compensated for by the time gained. 

 Could some means have been devised for cheaply separating the split from 

 the whole peanut the work would have been quite satisfactory." 2 



291. Cultivation. The cultivation of peanuts is similar 

 to that described for field beans. It is desirable to have the 



1 Arkansas Sta. Bui. No. 84 (1904), p. 128. 



2 Arkansas Sta. Bui. No. 84 (1904), pp. 122, 123. 



