ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 549 



Mr. Butts averaged, one year with an- 

 other, not less than one hundred bushels 

 to the acre. Last year from ten acres 

 h? sold thirteen hundred bushels of prime 

 peanuts, entirely exempt irom "pops," 

 and worth three dollars per bushel. 



PEANUT, Cultivation.— Having select- 

 ed the ground, it is to be plowed with 

 a one-horse plow, in March or April, 

 to a depth not exceeding four or five 

 inches. The advantages of shallow cul- 

 ture will be apparent from the fact that 

 the peduncles continue to penetrate the 

 earth until a firm bed is reached on which 

 to deposit the nut; and the still further 

 fact of the increased facility afforded in 

 harvesting, as will appear when we come 

 to treat of that branch of the subject. 



About the 10th to the 20th ot May 

 is the time for planting. If the land is 

 thin and needs manuring, open furrows 

 three feet apart, and strew in a hundred 

 to a hundred and twenty-five pounds of 

 Peruvian guano, or from a hundred and 

 fifty to two hundred pounds of super- 

 phosphate of lime. The former is gen- 

 erally used, because of the greater cer- 

 tainty of getting a pure article, but noth- 

 ing can be better than the latter when 

 well prepared. The furrow is then to be 

 ridged over and the whole surface thrown 

 into three-feet beds, which should be re- 

 duced to within two or three inches of 

 the general level of the field. Then mark 

 off the rows, and at distances of eighteen 

 inches plant two seeds, covering them an 

 inch to an inch and a half deep— not 

 more. 



In ten days to two weeks, according to 

 the weather, the young plants begin to 

 come up. As it is very important to get 

 a good start, the missing hills should be 

 replanted at the earliest possible moment. 

 It is the custom of some planters to put 

 an extra quantity of seed in every fourth 

 or fifth row, to furnish plants for trans- 

 planting, if needed ; if not needed, they 

 can be thinned out. 



As soon as the grass makes its appear- 

 ance give a light plowing, throwing the 

 earth from the vines, and following with 

 the hoe, thoroughly removing all the 

 grass from the row. Plow again as soon 

 as the grass reappears, this time using a 

 double-shovel or cultivator, and the hoe 

 as before directed. If the season should 

 prove to be very wet, a third working may 



be necessary, making use of the cultivator 

 and hoe again. 



Next comes the time for laying by, the 

 vines having extended nearly half way 

 across the space between the rows. This 

 is done by running a mold-board once in 

 the middle between the rows, and draw- 

 ing the earth up to the rows with the hoe, 

 care being taken not to cover the vines 

 and to disturb their position as little as 

 possible, as the fruit will now be forming. 

 It will be necessary also to guard against 

 making the bed too high. When there 

 is grass in the row it must be pulled up 

 by hand. Soon after this the vines will 

 cover the whole ground, and repress every 

 other growth, unless it may be a chance 

 weed that escaped notice at the former 

 working. 



PEANUT, Harvesting.— The time for 

 harvesting the crop is from the 15th to 

 the 30th of October, immediately after 

 the first frost. When the crop is forward, 

 or when it is an object to get a portion of 

 it early in the market, the operation may 

 be commenced in the latter part of Sep- 

 tember; but the longer the vines continue 

 to grow, the greater will be the number 

 of sound pods. Select a time when the 

 weather is settled and favorable, and with 

 three-pronged hoes loosen the vines 

 along the rows. Hands follow the digger, 

 pull up the vines, shake the dirt from 

 them, and leave them in the same place. 

 In dry weather they will be sufficiently 

 cured in two days to be shocked. Show- 

 ery weather, though it may somewhat 

 delay the curing, does no injury. 



One of the advantages of shallow cul- 

 ture becomes apparent in harvesting. 

 When the fruit is deposited only a few 

 inches below the surface, the vine is 

 detached from its position with little or 

 no loss; when the depth is greater, the 

 stems or pedicles are liable to be broken 

 off. 



In shocking, provide stakes seven teet 

 long, made sharp at both ends ; then lay 

 two fence rails on the ground as a founda- 

 tion, but with supports underneath to 

 afford free access to the air. The stakes 

 are stuck in the ground at convenient 

 intervals between the rails, the stacks 

 built up around them, and finished off by 

 a cap of straw to shed the rain. The 

 diameter of the stack is made to conform 

 to the spread of a single vine. 



