PEANUT. 203 



the nuts become so cheap that they cannot be picked 

 by hand. Passing the hay through a separator, is 

 said to improve it. 



After the nuts have been picked they should be 

 cleaned. This is done at factories. This process throws 

 out all pops and saps, and also removes the dirt and 

 sand. It would undoubtedly pay to have one of these 

 recleaners in every neighborhood, and to be able to 

 put the product on the market in the best shape pos- 

 sible. As soon as the crop is recleaned, it should be 

 sacked in bags holding about a hundred pounds, or 

 four bushels. They can be stored in this way and put 

 on the market at any time. 



The yield is from thirty to fifty bushels per acre. 

 Many crops are reported as being greater than this ; 

 some reported as high as a hundred bushels per acre. 

 The eleventh census gives the average yield for the 

 United States as seventeen and six- tenth bushels. Be- 

 sides the nuts, from one to two tons of excellent hay is 

 usually obtained. 



After the crop has been removed, hogs should be 

 pastured on the field to feed on the nuts that were not 

 gathered. 



VARIETIES. 



There is considerable variation in the varieties that 

 are grown in various States of the Union, but the in- 

 formation regarding them is not easily obtained, nor 

 can one obtain the different varieties readily. The 

 plant is susceptible of great and easy variation, conse- 

 quently a fine subject for plant- breeding. 



The popular Virginia varieties are large podded, 

 while the Tennessee varieties bear smaller pods and 

 are earlier. A variety known as the African peanut 

 has. a small pod, while the kernel more nearly fills the 

 pod. The Spanish peanut is more like the American 



