DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT 



439 



Where Peanuts Are Grown. At present peanuts are culti- 

 vated as a commercial crop a few hundred miles north of the cotton 

 belt (Fig. 187). Eastern Virginia and North Carolina led in the 

 cultivation of the crop up to a few years ago, but recently the crop 

 has made a remarkable increase in Alabama, Georgia, and Texas. 



FIG. 187. Map of the United States, showing the area adapted to the production of peanuts 

 (From Farmers' Bulletin 356.) 



The following table gives the production in bushels of the leading 

 States and the per cent of increase during the twelve years from 

 1909 to 1921: 



Production of Peanuts in the United States 



Description of the Plant. The peanut plant is a vine, which 

 may be long and prostrate in some varieties, or short and upright in 



