196 Effective Farming 



When grown for the nuts, a light, sandy or loamy soil is 

 preferred. Such soils are easy to keep in good tilth, a condi- 

 tion necessary in order that the pistil can enter the soil easily. 

 When grown on the red soils so prevalent in the South, 

 the hulls are likely to be stained, which injures the market 

 value of the nuts. If grown for stock-feeding, however, the 

 staining of the shell is of no consequence. 



The land to be planted to peanuts should not be weedy and 

 for this -reason it is well to have the crop follow a cultivated 

 one like cotton or corn. Fertilizers are used with good results. 

 Phosphoric acid seems to be the chief ingredient necessary and 

 potash next. The nitrogen-content is generally rather low. 

 The usual mixture when potash can be secured cheaply con- 

 tains about 2 per cent nitrogen, 8 to 10 per cent phosphoric 

 acid, and 6 per cent potash. From three hundred to five hun- 

 dred pounds an acre is the general application. Like some other 

 legumes, peanuts do very poorly on sour soils and in the region 

 in which they are most grown an occasional liming is profitable. 



The upright varieties are usually planted in rows thirty 

 inches apart and the spreading varieties in rows thirty-six 

 inches apart. In the rows the former are spaced seven or eight 

 inches and the latter, at least twelve inches. The small-podded 

 varieties are usually planted in the pod ; the larger ones are 

 shelled. Special planters are in use in regions where the pea- 

 nut industry is extensive. About two bushels of seed an acre 

 are required when the nuts are planted in the pods and about 

 a half bushel when shelled nuts are planted. From one and 

 one-half to two inches is the usual depth of planting, but this 

 varies somewhat with the soil and the time of planting. 



Peanuts should be dug before frost. September and October 

 are the months when most of the harvesting is done. The usual 

 method is to remove the moldboard from a plow and run this 

 plow along each side of the row with the moldboard side next 

 to the row. This cuts off the roots without turning a furrow. 

 The plants are then lifted with forks or by hand and thrown. 



