54 ARACHIS HYPOG^A (PEA-NUT) 



mure or less peculiar to the different regions where the crop 

 is grown. In operations on a large scale ricks are con- 

 structed which are protected from animals by a barrier of 

 prickles, and from rain by a straw thatch. Women and 

 children separate the pods from the stalks by hand when 

 dry, or sometimes by threshing, but the first method is more 

 usual. When labour is readily obtainable and the pea-nut 

 grown as a secondary crop, as in Mauritius, the pods are 

 detached, washed, dried on gunny, and finally placed in 

 sacks. In that case the dead leaves are not used as fodder, 

 but are left on the fields. 



Varieties. — The varieties of pea-nut may be arranged 

 in two classes : those with erect and those with trailing 

 stems. 



The varieties with trailing stems may be named Aracliis 

 africana ; those with erect stems .4, asiatica. The former 

 bears fruits along the whole length of its stem, and the 

 latter only on its lower portion, around the collar of the 

 plant. 



It would serve no purpose to enumerate all the variations 

 in these two varieties, especially as the same varieties often 

 have different names, according to the countries where they 

 are grow^n. At the same time, we shgll mention the American 

 varieties with erect stems, the characteristics of which we 

 have studied, and the Mauritian variety, which is said to 

 be the best as regards yield, but which is not really in- 

 digenous there. 



Yield. — The yield may vary ^\ithin fairly wide limits, 

 according to the variet\- and the general conditions of growth. 



In Senegal, M. Adam says one cannot reckon on an 

 average of more than i,ooo kilos per hectare, allowing for 

 good and bad years. On the other hand, in certain parts of 

 Senegal the yield may be from 3,000 to 4,500 kilos per 

 hectare. 



In Algeria the hectare brings in from 2,400 to 4,000 

 kilos of seeds (2,200 to 3,500 lb. per acre). 



