618 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



cultivation. The following spring, the clover may be turned under, 

 the land planted to corn, and the rotation repeated. 



Another plan would be to devote the land one year to sweet pota- 

 toes or to a crop of early Irish potatoes followed by cowpeas. In this 

 rotation stable manure should be applied to the crop of corn or cotton, 

 and the commercial fertilizers with the peanut and potato crops. Pea- 

 nuts should, if possible, follow some well-cultivated crop which has 

 been kept free from weeds. 



Stable or barnyard manure should not be used as a fertilizer the 

 same year that the land is planted to peanuts, owing to the great 

 number of weed seed that are contained in the manure. The use of 

 manure also has a tendency to cause the plants to produce abnormal 

 tops and a large percentage of poorly filled pods, known to the trade 

 as "saps" or "pops." The proper time for applying stable manure 

 is with the crop grown the previous season, thus giving it time to be- 

 come incorporated with the soil and reduced to the proper condition 

 for the peanut crop. 



Commercial Fertilizers. The peanut responds to the use of com- 

 mercial fertilizers. However, a reasonable amount of humus in the 

 soil is essential. If properly handled, the peanut crop is not ex- 

 haustive of soil fertility ; in fact, the plant is a great nitrogen gath- 

 erer, as may be observed by the large number of nodules upon the 

 roots. On the other hand, if the entire plant, including the root, is 

 removed and no part returned to the soil the peanut becomes almost 

 as exhaustive of soil fertility as corn. By feeding the straw and 

 other refuse from the crop to cattle, hogs, and work animals and 

 applying the manure thus obtained to the land the fertility may be 

 retained or even increased. 



The nitrogen-gathering bacteria are usually present in abun- 

 dance, even where the crop is planted for the first time, but should 

 the nodules not be abundant artificial inoculation would prove an 

 advantage. On soils that are adapted to the production of peanuts it 

 will not be necessary to employ commercial fertilizers in large quan- 

 tities. The alluvial and overflow lands found along the rivers of the 

 Southwest seem to be well supplied with all the elements necessary for 

 the production of peanuts. On the sandy hill lands of this region it 

 will be necessary to add fertilizers and lime in varying quantities. 



A commercial fertilizer adapted to the production of potatoes is 

 as a rule suited for the growing of peanuts. A mixture which con- 

 tains from 2 to 3 per cent of available nitrogen, 5 to 7 per cent of 

 available phosphoric acid, and 6 to 10 per cent of potash is desirable ; 

 this should be applied at the rate of from 200 to 800 pounds to the 

 acre, according to the needs of the land. Most growers follow the 

 practice of scattering the fertilizer in a narrow strip where the row 

 is to be planted, often using a one-horse fertilizer distributer for the 

 purpose. It is important that the fertilizer be thoroughly mixed 

 with the soil. 



Importance of Lime in the Soil In order to insure the proper 

 filling and ripening of the pods, peanuts require an abundance of 

 lime in the soil. Where the soil is of a calcareous nature, containing 



