THE PEANUT 183 



The results are less satisfactory. Small or single seeded varieties 

 are seldom hulled before planting. 



The ground should be very mellow and well stirred so as to 

 produce a good seed bed and should be entirely free from weeds at 

 planting time. The distances between rows should be enough to 

 allow of thorough cultivation, which is kept up until the vines 

 spread well over the ground. A good crop to precede planting of 

 any field should be one which is well tilled, or which otherwise 

 keeps the weeds under control. Peanuts are often planted after 

 the harvest of the oat crop in June. Farther north corn or 

 potatoes may have been on the field the preceding year. A syste- 

 matic rotation should be maintained rather than growing peanuts 

 on the same field continuously. Stable manure should not be ap- 

 plied the same year that peanuts are grown on the field. Com- 

 mercial fertilizers, if used, should contain all three of the essential 

 elements in the proportion of three of nitrogen, seven phosphoric 

 acid and six of potash. From 200 to 800 pounds of this mixture 

 may be applied to an acre, depending on the natural fertility of 

 the soil. Lime may be applied at the rate of one-fourth to one- 

 half ton per acre. 



If peanuts are turned under, they add nitrogen to the soil, as 

 the crop, when accompanied by the bacteria, is a strong gatherer 

 of nitrogen. If the crop is entirely harvested, as by cutting for 

 hay and then allowing hogs to root out the underground parts, the 

 soil will not be improved in its fertility by the growth of the crop. 



The crop should be mature before the first fall frosts. The vines 

 may be lifted with special machines, or may be pulled by hand 

 when the soil is loose. They are piled up in slender shocks around 

 rigid posts or poles to cure and after the nuts are removed the fod- 

 der is fed to the stock. Care in curing keeps the nuts of a better 

 color, and the price is correspondingly higher. Better forage is 

 also produced by a little pains in curing them. The process is 

 rather slow, as the stems are fleshy. 



The removal of the nuts from the vines after curing may be 

 either by hand or by machines. The hand method is still much 

 practiced in some sections, as better results are obtained, but the 

 expense is somewhat greater. 



The nuts must be kept thoroughly dry and protected from any 

 dampness to maintain a bright color of the shells. For nuts that 

 are to be sold without shelling, a cleaning process to remove all 

 dirt is required. 



