ARACHIS HYPOG.EA (pEA-NUt) 5 1 



the labour is then paid for by a portion of tiie iiarvest, or 

 j)l()Ughing- in is compensated for by the cleaning" \\hich the 

 land woidd otherwise have needed for the principal crop. 

 Another fad which must not be lost sight of is that the 

 pea-nut is an improving crop, living at the expense of 

 atmospheric nitrogen and accumulating an appreciable store 

 of organic matter. When jjloughed in as a green manure, 

 the mineral principles are restored to the soil, and even 

 the reaping of the crop cannot exhaust the soil, as all the 

 dry leaves and stalks remain on the fields. The price 

 obtained compensates for the materials withdrawn by the 

 harvesting (materials which have only a relativelv small 

 value), and the greater part of the nitrogen mav be returned 

 to the soil by the stems and leaves left on the fields. This 

 crop is then seriously worth consideration and should give 

 very profitable results when grown in a mixed cultivation. 

 The climate most suited to the cultivation of the pea-nut 

 is one whose mean shade temperature is from 25° to 27° C. 

 Lower temperatures retard its development and higher ones- 

 are dangerous. In these countries it mav be planted at 

 any time of the }ear, but it thrives best in the main season 

 and should therefore be planted at the vegetative check. 



The most favourable conditions are a warm summer, with 

 rainfalls at intervals, and relatively dry weather at harvest. 

 As we have already remarked, too damp a soil is un- 

 suited to the pea-nut, and too frequent rains can only be 

 detrimental. Sowing is begun immediately after the first 

 rains. The soil must be sufficiently moistened to allow the 

 seed to develop, and one of the marked advantages of this- 

 trailing plant is that it enables the soil to retain its moisture. 

 Its branching stems cover the ground, and, except in cases 

 of prolonged drought, by intercepting the sun's ravs pre- 

 vent the water from evaporating. 



It is impossible to calculate a limiting value for rainfall ; 

 there are other factors to be taken into consideration in 

 the growth of the plant. 



Before sowang, the ground must be worked and cleaned' 



