PEANUTS. 165 



stage the leaves assume a yellowish colour, and the majority of 

 the nuts will have reached maturity. As the leaves are very 

 nutritious and make very good hay, the crop should be harvested 

 before the leaves are lost by frost. 



In the Transvaal lifting is done mostly by hand. A better 

 method is found in barring the rows, i.e., throwing a furrow 

 away from each side of the plants, so that they remain on a 

 narrow ridge and can be more easily lifted by hand, or by a 

 special implement somewhat like a potato digger, which un- 

 earths them. The peanut plough cuts the taproot of the plant 

 well below the crop of nuts, and in varieties like Virginia 

 Bunch, in which the peduncles are tough, the whole plant is 

 thrown out with the nuts adhering. Another method is to 

 remove the mouldboard from a turn-plough and run the share 

 under the row on each side at depth so regulated as not to sever 

 the pods from the branches, the side from which the mould- 

 board has been removed being kept next to the row. The 

 plants are then stacked on poles, the nuts inside and off the 

 ground, until dry, or simply cocked. They are then stacked, 

 hand picked when thoroughly dried, and bagged. The re- 

 mainder of the plants is then stacked for feed. 



If left in the ground too long, particularly during wet 

 weather, the seed in the pods is apt to germinate. 



Harvesting conditions in South Africa are usually very 

 advantageous, since the crop is lifted after the rainy season is 

 over. 



Yields. — A bag contains 70 lbs. of pea-nuts and fifteen 

 bags to the acre is considered a fair yield in the Transvaal, 

 although yields up to twenty-five bags are not uncommon. 



At the Experimental Farm, Potchef stroom , the following 

 yields were obtained : — 



Yield of Nuts 

 Variety. per acre in pounds. 



Virginia Bunch 1,500 



Tennessee Red 1,400 



South African variety 1,360 



Spanish 1,160 



Uses. — As a fodder, the stems and leaves are highly nutri- 

 tious and readily eaten by stock even when very dry. In the 

 Southern States of America pigs are often fattened by pastur- 

 ing off the crops and allowing them to root out the nuts. 



The chief use is made of the seeds and their products as 

 human food. They are eaten, roasted, used in confectionery; 



