622 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



of narrow and broad shovels, sweeps, and hillers, making it possible 

 to adapt it to the requirements of a wide range of conditions will do 

 more efficient work. 



Some growers follow the practice of running a light roller over 

 the plants after the final cultivation, the object being to flatten the 

 stems upon the ground in order that the little pods forming on the 

 extremities of the stems may reach the soil. This practice may in- 

 crease the yield, but it will also increase the percentage of "saps," or 

 unfilled pods, and it is doubtful if anything is gained by the practice. 



Harvesting. No fixed rule can be given by which to determine 

 when to remove the peanut crop from the ground, and each grower 

 must be his own judge in the matter. In general practice the grow- 

 ers aim to dig before the first frosts, in order that the peanut vines 

 may have greater value for stock food. To the southward, where 

 frosts do not appear until quite late, the vines assume a yellowish 

 appearance during the latter part of the season, which indicates the 

 ripening of the peas. If digging is deferred too long, the first-formed 

 peas are likely to burst their shells and start growing; this is espe- 

 cially true if there is a period of rainy weather late in the season. 

 The aim should be to dig at the time the vines have upon them the 

 greatest number of mature peas. Where a large acreage is grown it 

 will be necessary to begin harvesting as soon as the earliest peas are 

 ready, in order to complete the work before unfavorable weather 

 sets in. 



Methods Employed for Lifting the Plants. Under ordinary 

 circumstances the peanut vines are plowed from the ground with a 

 one-horse turning plow and afterwards separated from the soil by 

 hand. Many growers employ either a two-horse plow similar to that 

 frequently used for digging potatoes or a turning plow with the 

 mold-board removed to prevent a furrow being turned. Behind the 

 digger or plow a gang of workmen shake the vines and peas free 

 from the soil and throw them in small bunches. In this manner 

 a team and driver accompanied by eight or ten hands will dig from 5 

 to 7 acres a day at a cost of about $2.50 an acre. 



It has been found by experiment that the regular machine po- 

 tato digger drawn by two or three horses driven by one man will dig 

 from 8 to 12 acres a day and do the work in a much cleaner and bet- 

 ter manner than the old plow and hand method. This machine not 

 only removes the peanuts from the ground in a more perfect man- 

 ner but also shakes off the soil, leaving the vines lying loosely upon 

 the surface of the ground. By the hand method a few pods become 

 detached from the vines, while with the machine potato digger 

 scarcely a pod is lost. Almost any of the machine potato diggers 

 may be used for digging peanuts, but where the vines of the "run- 

 ner" peas are exceptionally heavy there may be some difficulty in 

 getting the vines through the machine. This difficulty may be over- 

 come by providing disks or cutters to cut away the ends of the vines 

 in front of the machine. 



Special machines are now being offered which are intended to 

 dig, clean, and bunch the peanuts. By setting any of these machines 



