MISCELLANEOUS CROPS 619 



limestone, shells, or lime in its more active form, it may not be nec- 

 essary to make a regular application, but on soils that are deficient in 

 lime or inclined to be in the least sour, from 600 to 1,000 pounds of 

 fresh-burned lime should be applied to an acre every four or five 

 years. The presence on the land of certain weeds, such as the com- 

 mon sorrel and the sedges (which have three-cornered stems), indi- 

 cates sourness and insufficient drainage; to correct this an applica- 

 tion of lime will be necessary in addition to ditching or tile draining. 

 The lime should not be put on at the same time as the commercial 

 fertilizers, but rather during the previous autumn, or at the time of 

 plowing the land. Where deposits of marl are found this may be 

 used as a substitute for lime. In Virginia the marl is hauled and 

 scattered broadcast upon the land during the winter months. 



Wood ashes are desirable as a fertilizer for peanuts, as they con- 

 tain both potash and lime. Unleached wood ashes may be applied 

 broadcast at the rate of 1,000 to 1,200 pounds, 25 to 30 bushels, to 

 the acre. 



Lime should be used on land that is to be planted to peanuts, 

 unless it is definitely known that there is an abundance of it already 

 present. In the river valleys of the boll-weevil district there appears 

 to be an abundance of lime present in the soil. 



The Peanut as a Nitrogen Gatherer. The peanut plant, in com- 

 mon with other leguminous plants, has the power of collecting the 

 free nitrogen of the atmosphere and storing it in little nodules upon 

 its roots. For this reason the peanut is one of the more desirable of 

 our soil-renovating and soil-improving plants. It should be borne in. 

 mind, however, that in order to benefit the soil the nitrogen so gath- 

 ered should not be removed, but that the main portion of the roots 

 should be left in the soil. 



The Seed and Its Selection. A good grade of seed is just as 

 important with the peanut as with corn, wheat, or any other crop. 

 There is perhaps no other farm crop except corn that is so greatly 

 influenced by the character of seed planted as the peanut. The,very 

 best peanuts of the previous season's crop should be selected for seed, 

 and of these only the most mature and perfect peas should be used. 

 Seed should be saved only from well-ripened and mature plants and 

 should be properly cured and kept dry during the winter months. 

 Good seed produces a more even stand of plants, which in itself 

 returns a greater yield. 



The seed should not only be selected from plants that are ma- 

 ture, but from those producing a large number of mature pods as 

 well. By doubling the number of well-filled pods on each plant the 

 yield for each acre will also be doubled. Many millions of bushels 

 have been added to the corn crop of the country simply through the 

 selection and improvement of seed. What has been done with corn 

 is possible with the peanut, and where we now have an average yield 

 of 34 bushels to the acre it is reasonable to expect this to be increased 

 to 50 or 60 bushels through seed and cultural improvements. 



Planting Shelled or Whole Seed. In planting the large-pod va- 

 rieties it is desirable for several reasons that the seed be shelled. In 



