PEANUT 



PEANUT 



517 



up, gently shaken and placed with the nuts all 

 inside the heap around the pole, making a nar- 

 row, upright shock about two and one-half feet 

 in diameter at the base, and of nearly uniform 

 diameter until near the top, where it is quickly 



Peanut ricks. Guxing peanuts in the field. 



drawn in and capped with grass or hay. These 

 shocks are about five feet in height. The nuts are 

 allowed to remain in shocks until thoroughly cured 

 or until they are ready for picking. In some 

 instances the shocks are lifted and carried to suit- 

 able buildings or sheds where the picking is done, 

 but in the majority of cases the picking is done 

 in the field, this work being accomplished largely 

 by hand (Fig. 740), although in the last few years 

 a number of satisfactory machines have been 

 invented for this purpose. 



The nuts are thoroughly cured, and are then 

 placed in sacks and sent to a cleaning factory, where 

 they are put through a number of processes for 

 removing all adhering sand or dirt, blanching the 

 shells of those which are slightly discolored, and 

 polishing those of high grade which are to go on 

 the market for roasting purposes. 



Yield. 



. The average yield of peanuts in Virginia and 

 North Carolina is about forty bushels per acre. 

 Some growers make an average yield of one hun- 

 dred bushels per acre with select types of large 

 nuts, and yields of one hundred to one hun- 

 dred and forty bushels per acre are reported 

 for the Spanish nuts. 



Enemies. 



There are no serious enemies to the peanut 

 crop as yet. Plants are sometimes destroyed 

 by cutworms. The nuts may be attacked by 

 weevils if kept a long time, a trouble that 

 occurs chiefly in warehouses and confection- 

 ary establishments. 



Uses. 



Peanuts are put to a great variety of uses. 

 Every one is familiar with the roasted nuts for 

 eating out of hand. Great quantities are thus 

 consumed. In addition, the nuts are manufac- 

 tured into a great variety of confections and can- 

 dies, while the vines, either with or without the 

 nuts, are valuable for stock-feeding, and the growth 

 of the plant is important in soil-renovation. 



Peanut butter. — Of late, peanut butter is receiv- 

 ing wide advertising and is finding a ready market. 

 It does not soon become rancid, can be carried to 

 sea and can be had in packages to suit the most 

 exacting demands. While it will probably never 

 become a ri\ral of butter, it has a legitimate use 

 and is likely to become a staple commodity. 



Salted peanuts have in late years become an 

 important competitor of the salted almond, and be- 

 cause of the difference in cost the peanut is likely 

 to find a greatly increased use as a confection of 

 this class. 



Peanut oil is one of the best known vegetable 

 oils, but because of its high food value, quality and 

 keeping properties, it has found little use in the 

 arts. It is used chiefly as a substitute for olive oil. 

 Marseilles is the great peanut oil factory of the 

 world, the supply of nuts being drawn largely 

 from Africa, India and Spain. This oil is not manu- 

 factured in the United States, but the discussion of 

 it here is just now receiving considerable attention. 

 This is due to the fact that the owners of cotton- 

 oir mills recognize the importance of the peanut 

 as an oil-producing plant, in general adapted to the 

 same soil and climatic conditions as cotton. With 

 the oil mills in the field the next step is the pro- 

 duction of the nut in suflScient quantity to provide 

 a supply to the mills and at a price which shall be 

 remunerative to the farmer and at the same time 

 leave a margin of profit to the millman. Although 

 the subject is being extensively discussed, only one 

 experiment to demonstrate the profit and loss in 

 the venture has been carried out. This has demon- 

 strated that the work can be done without loss, 

 but it has not been sufficient to show the advantage 

 of careful manufacturing on an extensive scale. 

 [See Oil-Bearing Plants.] 



As a forage crop. — The peanut vines make hay 

 possessing a feeding value for cattle, mules and 

 horses equal to that of clover hay. The yield of 

 hay when the crop is well manured and cultivated 

 ranges from one to three tons per acre. The value 

 of the forage is each year becoming better recog- 

 nized, and more careful attention is being given to 



Fig. 740. PicUng peanuts, separating tbe nuts from tbe vines. 



harvesting the nuts in such a way as to preserve 

 the hay in the best condition for feeding purposes. 

 For best results the vines should be cut or dug 

 before frost has touched the leaves. If frosted, the 



