MISCELLANEOUS CROPS 615 



to market his crop at the least cost and the greatest profit. If, in 

 addition, the same relative improvement can be secured in the rice 

 itself, if varieties which yield from 80 to 90 per cent of head rice in 

 the finished product can be successfully introduced, American rice 

 growers will be able to command the highest prices for their product 

 in the markets of the world. In view of the success in this direction 

 of the Kiushu rice experimentally introduced by the Department of 

 Agriculture, more than a hundred tons of this rice have been ordered 

 from Japan by Louisiana planters for the season of 1900. (F. 

 B. 417.) 



(Additional References. F. B. 110; Tex. E. S. B. 122; Hawaii 

 E. S. B. 21, 24; Hawaii Press B. 19.) 



THE PEANUT. 



Botanically the peanut belongs to the same group of plants as 

 do the beans and peas, but it possesses the character of maturing its 

 fruit or nut beneath the surface of the soil rather than above ground, 

 as do most other leguminous plants. The technical name of the pea- 

 nut is Arachis hypogea, the name indicating the characteristic habit 

 of the plant to mature its fruits underground. The peanut is known 

 under the local names of goober, goober pea, pindar, ground pea, 

 and groundnut. The names goober and goober pea are more properly 

 applied to an allied species having no true stem and only one pea in 

 each pod which has been introduced and is frequently found growing 

 wild in the Gulf Coast States. Properly speaking, the peanut is a pea 

 rather than a nut, the term nut having been added on account of its 

 flavor, which is similar to that of many of the true nuts. 



The small yellow flowers of the peanut are borne in the little 

 pocket where the leaves are attached to the stems, and as soon as pol- 

 lination has taken place the visible portion of the flower fades and 

 falls, after which the short, thick stem that supports the lower por- 

 tion of the flower elongates and the sharp-pointed ovary is thrust 

 downward into the soil, where the pod develops. Should the ovary 

 fail to reach or penetrate the soil no pod will be formed. 



During recent years the area of production of peanuts has 

 greatly increased, especially throughout the warmer parts of the coun- 

 try. The value of the peanut, both as a money crop and for feeding 

 on the farm, renders it especially desirable as a part of the rotation 

 wherever conditions suitable to its development exist. 



Soil and Climatic Requirements of the Peanut. The soil best 

 suited to the peanut is one of a sandy, loamy nature, preferably light 

 or grayish in color rather than dark. Soils that are dark and those 

 carrying a considerable percentage of iron or other mineral are likely 

 to stain the shells of the peanuts, thus rendering them less desirable 

 for the trade. For agricultural purposes, however, the staining of 

 the shells is of little consequence, as it does not materially injure 

 them for stock feeding. In fact, soils that contain considerable clay 

 and lime or are loamy in character produce heavier nuts and some- 

 times greater yields than do lighter soils. As a rule the peanut does 

 best on a sandy loam with a well-drained clay subsoil, but the crop 

 may be grown under a wide range of soil conditions. Soils that be- 



