ANNUAL LEGUMES 



303 



A few hours after harvesting the peanuts should be stacked about a 

 pole. These poles should be driven firmly into the ground and pieces 

 nailed at right angles to them just above the ground in order to keep the 

 vines from the ground as much as possible. The stacks should be small 

 and conical and stacked as loosely as possible so that air will pass through. 

 It is not advisable to store peanuts in the barn until thoroughly cured. 

 Then the forage part may be stored after the nuts are picked. 



The nuts should not be picked from the vines until they are thoroughly 

 dry and solid, else they will shrivel and become unfit for market purposes. 





Harvesting and Curing Peanuts, 1 



On the other hand, picldng should not be delayed too late in the season on 

 account of ravages from crows and mice. 



Hand-picked peanuts command the highest price, but owing to the 

 dusty, irksome labor involved, picking machines are coming into general 

 favor. There are two kinds on the market: one is a cylinder type used 

 mostly for Spanish peanuts; the other machine drags the vines over a 

 horizontal wire mesh, thus removing the nuts without breaking them. 



Peanuts must be kept continually dry or they become discolored. 

 After picking they are usually covered with dust and kept in a dry, well- 

 ventilated place until stored in bags ready for market. 



1 Courtesy of U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin 431. 



