200 VEGETABLE GROWING. 



about on the level of the land. The seed should be 

 planted about an inch deep ; if the soil is sandy or 

 light it will be better to plant deeper. 



A handy implement called a dotter is used by pea- 

 nut planters to mark the place where seed is to be drop- 

 ped. It is made by fixing pegs or blocks to the rim of 

 a wheel. The blocks or pegs are put as far apart as 

 the hills are to be. Often the wheels are made by 

 sawing off the end of a large tree ; with two of these 

 two rows may be dotted at once. The blocks or pegs 

 make a small pit in the ground, into which the seed is 

 dropped one at a time. Some planters drop two seeds 

 in a dot, but this is not usually necessary, if the seed 

 is quite certain to grow. As a laborer drops the seed 

 he covers it with his foot. 



In about two weeks after planting, the field should 

 be examined and any missing hills replanted. 



The time of planting depends on the weather, but it 

 is some time between the middle of April and the mid- 

 dle of May. 



CULTIVATION. 



The field is put into thorough tilth before planting, 

 and is kept in this way so as not to give the weeds a 

 chance to get the crop down. A week or ten days after 

 the field has been planted, it should be plowed or cul- 

 tivated ; some use a small turning plow to throw a light 

 furrow onto the row and then drag it down again, thus 

 killing the weeds and keeping the soil mellow and 

 without damaging many peanut plants. It does not 

 matter so much what kind of an instrument we use so 

 long as we keep the soil mellow and deep and do not 

 allow weeds to grow. In many sections it is better to 

 plant the field in checks. One thing should be kept 

 in mind constantly ; that weeds are very difficult to be 

 cleared out after the vines have begun to bush. 



