52 ARACHIS HYPOG^A (pEA-NUT) 



of weeds; in working on a large scale the plough must 

 be used. Manuring is not absolutely essential, but spread- 

 ing manure will always favourably affect the growth of 

 Leguminosaj, and it is worth while spreading the field with 

 a mixture of guano phosphates and ash. When the pea- 

 nut is a subsidiary crop, the ground is already half pre- 

 pared through the planting of the previous crop, and it 

 only needs cleaning for sowing to be carried out. When 

 the soil is well loosened small holes are made by hand, or, 

 if it is too hard, with a spade, and a couple of stripped 

 seeds are placed in each. In the interspaces of canes two 

 parallel rows of holes are dibbled 50 to 60 cm. apart : one 

 row in the middle of each interspace can also suffice, and 

 with creeping varieties the ground will be sufificiently 

 covered in this way. 



It is always advisable to strip the seeds in order to be 

 able to judge their quality better. Sowings from well- 

 selected seeds of good quality always show a marked 

 superiority over those selected carelessly. In West Africa 

 the inferior equality of the sowings is said to be the cause of 

 the degeneration observed in the seeds of certain districts. 



Care must be taken that the young plants are not over- 

 run by weeds until they are sufficiently sturdy to resist. 

 Two months after sowing the ground should be hoed, not 

 only to clean it, but to break up the surface soil in order that 

 the ovaries may penetrate more easily. If hoeing is carried 

 out during fruiting, care must be taken not to sever the 

 peduncles which unite the pods to the stalk. 



The stems are erect or creeping, according to the variety, 

 and sowing should be carried out to correspond ; that is to 

 say, in one row with creeping varieties and in two with 

 varieties having erect stems. 



The distance to be allowed between plants will depend 

 on the varieties, but if the ground is to be covered more 

 quickly the\' ma^' be planted closer. At the same time, this 

 tendency must not be exaggerated or the plants ^\■ill suffer. 



Eight to ten davs after sowing, two pale-green cot^■led()ns 



