516 



PEANUT 



PEANUT 



Other fertilizess which are suggested for pea- 

 nuts are acid phosphate 80 pounds, cottonseed 

 meal 300 pounds, kainit 240 pounds. Another for- 

 mula recommended is acid phosphate 100 pounds, 

 dried blood 185 pounds, muriate of 

 potash 65 pounds. Since the peanut 

 is a leguminous plant, drawing its 

 nitrogen largely from the soil air, 

 the fertilizer used need not be highly 

 nitrogenous, although in each of the 

 formulas given there is much nitro- 

 gen ; the cottonseed meal in the first 

 carries a considerable percentage, 

 while dried blood in the last also 

 contains nitrogen. A dressing of 250 

 to 500 pounds to the acre of either 

 of these mixtures should be suffi- 

 cient. The North Carolina Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture is using a fer- 

 tilizer analyzing 7 to 8 per cent of 

 available phosphoric acid, 4 per cent 

 potash, and 1 to 2 per cent nitrogen. 



Planting. — By the use of a small 

 turning plow two furrows are thrown 

 up in the form of a back furrow or 

 ridge over the line of the furrow 

 first opened, in the method employed 

 in preparing land for the reception 

 of sweet - potato sets. After the 

 ridges are thrown up they are 

 knocked off either by the weeder or 

 by using a board scraper fastened to 

 the back teeth of an ordinary Planet 

 Jr. or Iron Age cultivator. The 

 planter follows on the ridges, drop- 

 ping the seed at intervals of about 

 eight inches, two seeds in a place, 

 and placing the seeds deep enough to 

 be on the same plane as the general 

 level of the surface of the field. The 

 ridges are brushed down to about two 

 inches in height and the seeds are 

 planted about two inches deep. On 

 soils that are likely to be grassy or 

 weedy seeds are dropped somewhat 

 farther apart, about twelve inches, 

 and two or three seeds in a hill. If 

 the seeding is to be done by hand, 

 the common practice is to employ a 

 wheel-marker with pegs set on the 

 rim of the wheel large enough to 

 make marks in which the seeds can 

 be dropped at proper intervals and 

 depths. Covering is then accom- 

 plished by treading on the ridge or 

 scraping the earth in with the foot. 



Cultivation. — Cultivation should 

 begin as soon as planting is com- 

 pleted, so as to keep weeds in subjec- 

 tion. The first cultivation can be 

 done with a narrow-toothed cultiva- 

 tor run comparatively close to the vines, so as to 

 kill as much grass as possible. Some growers 

 employ a weeder and run crosswise of the rows 

 after using the cultivator between the rows. 



». 738. Three leading lypes of 

 American-grown peanuts: (A) 

 Spanish; (B) Carolina; (C) 

 Virginia No. 1. 



There is objection to this, however, as the young 

 plants are brittle and easily broken, and the 

 weeder frequently does considerable damage. As 

 the season advances and the plants gain size, 

 broader teeth are used on the culti- 

 vator and a cente? tooth of some size 

 is employed to open a water furrow 

 between the plants so as to leave a 

 ridge two to three inches high of 

 loose, friable soil. This is important, 

 for as soon as the plants have shed 

 their bloom the forming nut is thrust 

 into the loose soil for further de- 

 velopment. The importance of keep- 

 ing the soil well up around the plant, 

 as well as loose and friable, is 

 apparent. It is also important that 

 the cultivation should not be close 

 enough to the plant to disturb the 

 roots or the forming nuts. In ordi- 

 nary practice the plants are not "laid 

 by" until about the last of July or 

 the first of August through the 

 Virginia peanut region. 



Harvesting. — In late years, since 

 the value of peanut hay has become 

 more generally recognized, the har- 

 vesting of the crop has been pushed 

 forward. The earlier the hay is cut 

 the more valuable it is. If gather- 

 ing is delayed until frost touches the 

 plants, a large proportion of the 

 leaves are lost and the value of the 

 hay is very materially lessened. It is 

 the practice to begin harvesting 

 sufficiently in advance of the normal 

 date for killing frost to have the 

 crop entirely in shock before such 

 frost occurs. The common method is 

 to throw a furrow away from the 

 row of plants on either side. Men 

 follow with forks and lift the plants 

 out of the ground, gently shake the 

 sand from them, and throw them 

 into heaps, placing five or six rows 

 in one general windrow. Another 

 squad follows the diggers and places 

 the plants in shocks. (Fig. 739.) For 

 these, poles seven or eight feet in 

 height, free from projecting limbs or 

 knots, and sharpened at both ends, 

 are provided. One end of the pole 

 is thrust into the ground eighteen 

 inches or two feet to hold it firmly 

 in position. Around the base of this 

 pole a few cross-pieces are laid on 

 the ground to keep the vines from 

 coming in direct contact with the 

 soil. In some instances a whorl of 

 branches is left on the poles to ac- 

 complish this end. In other instances 

 narrow strips of boards are nailed at right angles 

 to one another across the pole to support the 

 vines. The plants with the nuts attached, which are 

 thrown into windrows by the diggers, are taken 



