162 CHAPTER X 



acres, an increase which has not diminished during the last few 

 years. The average yield in the Union is about 1,000 pounds 

 per acre. The Transvaal produces nearly three times as much 

 as the rest of the Union. It is a crop fast becoming an impor- 

 tant one in the lowveld of the Transvaal and Natal, particu- 

 larly in the Zoutpansberg, Waterberg and Barberton districts, 

 where climate, soil and labour conditions are favourable. It 

 can also be grown successfully in parts of the middleveld, e.g.. 

 Western Transvaal and Western Free State. 



Prices paid during the Great War have given a decided 

 impetus to the industry. At present local factories are being 

 supplied wdth nuts grov^^n locally, but the greater part is im- 

 ported from Mozambique. 



It is a crop likely to play a more important role than 

 hitherto in South African agriculture, since large areas of land 

 well suited to its cultivation, in parts where labour is cheap 

 and easily procurable, can still be obtained at relatively lev? 

 prices. 



Being a legume, its value to the soil should not be over- 

 looked. 



Description. — It is a summer annual somewhat resemb- 

 ling some of the clovers in appearance, except that instead of 

 being tri-foliate, it has four leaflets. In the running varieties 

 the plant is decumbent, and in the bushy types fairly erect. 

 The flowers are yellow and sessile. After the ovules are fer- 

 tilised the peduncle elongates, bends downwards carrying the 

 sharp pointed ovary below the surface of the ground, where it 

 matures. If the ovary is unable to penetrate the soil, as is 

 often found on soils liable to form crusts, it withers and natu- 

 rally fails to mature. 



The pod is large, oblong, reticulated and indehiscent, hav- 

 ing one to several ovate seeds. The shell is the pericarp, and 

 the thin reddish membrance surrounding each seed is the testa. 



Types. 



(1) Large-podded — 



" Bush " or " bunch," e.g., Virginia Bunch. 

 " Kunning," e.g., Virginia Runner. 



(2) Small-podded— 



" Bush " or " bunch," e.g., Spanish. 

 " Eunning," e.g., North Carolina and African. 

 Virginia Bunch is the variety most commonly grown in 

 the Union. The Kaffir has brittle peduncles, consequently 



