164 SUCCESSFUL FARMING 



planting, while on heavy soils from three-quarters to one and one-quarter 

 inches is sufficient. 



Seed Selection and Preparation. — Selecting a good grade of seed is 

 just as important in peanut culture as it is with corn or any other crop. 

 Seed should be selected only from mature plants and from those producing 

 the largest number of pods. It must be properly cured and kept thoroughly 

 dry during the winter. It is not safe to use seed older than the preceding 

 crop. 



Seed from the large pod varieties should always be shelled before 

 planting. Shelled seed is surer and more rapid of germination than seed in 

 the pod, and insures a better stand. Machine-planted seed must be shelled. 



The small or Spanish varieties may be planted in the pod with but 

 little disadvantage. Some growers make a practice of soaking the pods for 

 a few hours before planting in order to soften them and hasten germination. 

 Soaked seed must be planted at once, however, or it becomes useless. 

 Shelled seed should not be soaked. 



Preparing the large varieties for seed entails much work, as they must 

 be shelled by hand. The smaller varieties, however, are usually shelled by 

 machinery, although some loss is experienced by this process. 



Varieties. — Peanuts are divided into large-podded and small-podded 

 varieties, according to their size. The Virginia bunch and the Virginia 

 runner are the two most grown large varieties. These varieties are the 

 most used when roasted and sold for human consumption. They have 

 about the same weight per bushel. 



The Spanish peanut is much used for forage and for shelled purposes. 

 Its range of growth is wider than that of the Virginia variety. 



Other varieties are the African, the Tennessee Red and the Valencia. 

 They are all small varieties. 



Cultivation, Harvesting and Curing. — Peanuts should be cultivated 

 in much the same manner as beans, corn or similar crops. Cultivation 

 should begin as soon as the crop is up and continue until the vines spread 

 over the ground. The soil should be kept loose and free from weeds. Pea- 

 nut pods have the peculiar habit of burrowing in the ground when they 

 begin to form. For this reason the dirt should be worked towards the vines 

 in the last cultivation and the vines should not be disturbed after the 

 process of burrowing begins. 



The same implements may be used as for cultivating corn and beans. 

 A one-horse weeder is the general form of cultivator used. 



Harvesting should occur just before frost, as frost will injure the forage 

 as well as the peanuts. Peanuts may be plowed from the ground with a 

 common turning plow, but the use of a potato-digging machine is a much 

 better method. The initial expense of such a machine is about $75, but it 

 lasts many years and does the work much more efficiently than it can be 

 done otherwise. If dug by plow the soil must be shaken from the roots by 

 hand, whereas the machine shakes off the soil as it digs. 



