77 



horticulture, the annonaceous fruits will unquestionably come 



to have a high place in the horticulture of the continental and 



insular tropic regions of the United States. 



College of Hawaii, 

 Honolulu, Hawaii 



"PEANUTS!" 



By Byron D. Halsted 



Peanuts have been grown in the experiment grounds for the 

 past two seasons and a few plants have occupied space in the 

 greenhouse, that we might get in closer touch with this peculiar 

 crop. 



The peanut while young does not appear to be fond of its job, 

 as one may judge from the poise of its wings (cotyledons) and the 

 unkempt conditions of its tail feathers (plumular leaves). But 

 later on when it gets its second wind, it goes forward with a fair 

 degree of speed and decorum barring a seeming absurdity in 

 locating its fruit underground. 



In the peanut the parts seem to have been assembled with 

 much trepidation and one wonders what may be added (or taken 

 away) before the end is reached. As an instance, the leaflets 

 seem to be unfinished at their tips and furthermore it is here 

 that a "burn" is quite sure to locate and give the foliage the sug- 

 gestion of maturity and the advent of autumn long before its 

 time. Again the leaf has an air of decapitation, ending, as it 

 does, in a pair of flaunting leaflets, there usually being but two 

 pairs when all are counted. Still further the stipules are so long, 

 hairy and closely appressed that one wonders whether they are 

 worn for looks or to hide an abashed stem. 



In about thirty days after planting the flowers make their 

 appearance and are like gold-foil spangles among the nondescript 

 stipules. Some day some one may have something more to say 

 concerning these auriferous blooms, but for the present attention 

 must be drawn to the fruits that follow. 



To start again the peanut as one gets it at the store or entrance 

 to the park for either home or street or menagerial consumption 



