PEANUT S— CONCLU S I ON 



1587 



means of providing suitable forage for 

 range stock during tlie sliort winter pe- 

 riod. 



The demand for peanuts to be used in 

 the preparation of human foods is con- 

 stantly increasing. 



The United States is a heavy buyer of 

 peanut oil that is produced abroad, while 

 there are thousands of acres of waste 

 lands in the Southern states that would 

 produce enough peanuts to keep the cot- 

 ton-seed oil mills running and furnish 

 more than enough oil for home con- 

 sumption. 



The peanut is a soil builder and reno- 

 vator. If included in the crop rotation 

 and properly handled, peanuts are not 

 exhaustive of soil fertility. 



While the average yield of peanuts is 

 only about 34 bushels an acre, with prop- 

 er methods a yield of 60 bushels of peas 

 and 1 to IVn tons of forage may reason- 

 ably be expected. There are authentic 



records of yields of 160 bushels of Span- 

 ish peas, together with 2 tons of forage, 

 per acre. 



The peanut vines, after the removal of 

 the first-class peas, have a feeding value 

 practically equal to the cost of the field 

 culture of the crop. An acre of flrst- 

 class peanuts, calculating the yield at a 

 ton of vines worth from $8 to $10, and 

 60 bushels of peas worth ?40 to $60, will 

 give an income of from $48 to $70. The 

 cost of growing an acre of peanuts is 

 variously estimated at from $12 to $25, 

 including seed and fertilizers. These fig- 

 ures show a net return of from $.36 to 

 $45, which is above the average for the 

 crop as now grown in the United States, 

 but decidedly lower than may be ex- 

 pected under favorable conditions and 

 proper cultural methods. 



W. R. Beattie, 



A.ssi.stant Horticulturist, Bureau of Plant In- 

 dustry. U. S. Department of Aerioulture. 

 Condenspd from Farmer's Bulletin 356. 



Production of Peannts in the United States 



*This table shows that the production of peanuts is practically confined to the 

 Southern states. 



Peannts — -Acreage, Production, and Valne 



STATE 



Uoited States. 



Alabama 



.Arkansas 



California 



Florida 



Georgia 



Louisiana 



Mississippi 



Missouri 



New Mexico. . . . 

 North Carolina. 



Oklahoma 



South Carolina . . 



Tennessee 



Texas 



Virginia 



All other states. 



Acreage 



1909 



869,887 



100,609 



10,192 



99 



126,1.50 



160,317 



48 



2.5,020 



13,997 



130 



126 



195,134 



1.564 



7.. 596 



18,9.52 



64,327 



145,213 



413 



1899 



516,654 



78,878 



5,233 



433 



69,452 



100,589 



225 



3,107 



5,853 



271 



I 



95,856 



> 2.205 



7,162 



19,534 



10,734 



116,914 



207 



Production (bushels) 



1909 



19,415,816 



1,573,796 



168,608 



2,991 



2,315,089 



2,569,787 



2,047 



412,037 



284,791 



3,220 



1,375 



5,980,919 



31,880 



1.54,822 



547,240 



1,074.998 



4,284,340 



7,876 



1899 



11,964,109 



1,021.708 



78,237 



15,461 



967,927 



1,435,775 



4,516 



45,713 



95,738 



6,679 



10 



3.460,439 



'50,428 



131,710 



747.668 



184.860 



3,713,347 



3,893 



Value 



1909 



$18,271,929 



1,490,654 



183,364 



2,889 



2,146,862 



2,440,926 



2,669 



422,232 



317,236 



4,040 



2,177 



5,368,826 



34,984 



144,211 



386,765 



1,075,110 



4,239,832 



9,152 



1899 



$7,270,515 



583.223 



69,632 



12,650 



699,713 



935,749 



4,306 



44,785 



89,350 



6,407 



12 



1,852,110 



'30,190 



106,018 



392,648 



178,. 542 



2,261,148 



4,032 



• 1910 Census Abstract. 



'Includes Indian Territory. 



The acreage of peanuts in 1909 was 

 869,887, representing 0.2 per cent of 

 the total improved farm acreage in the 

 country as a whole. In the South the 

 proportion of the improved farm acreage 

 that was devoted to peanuts was 0.6 per 

 cent. The total acreage of peanuts in 



the United States in 1909 was G8.4 per 

 cent greater than in 1899. and the produc- 

 tion in 1909, 19,416,000 bushels, was 62.3 

 per cent greater than 10 years before. The 

 value of the crop in 1909, $18,272,000, 

 which formed 0.3 per cent of the total 

 value of all crops, was more than two and 



