204 THE PEANUT— THE UNPREDICTABLE LEGUME 



sible. The windrows may be combined into one large row for about 

 every 10 to 14 rows. 



Stacking is usually practiced in most of the peanut belt. It is done as 

 soon as the plants are wilted and before they are dry enough to be brittle. 

 If left on the ground very long, dew and sunlight tend to discolor the pods, 

 and the leaves lose the green color and may shatter, which lowers the 

 hay quality. The vines are stacked around poles, which are firmly placed 

 in the ground so that the stack will not blow over. The poles are usually 

 2 to 4 inches in diameter and about 8 feet tall. The poles are placed in the 

 ground about 18 inches deep. Greater depth makes it difficult to pull up 

 the poles at picking time. If a shallower depth is used, the poles may blow 

 over. Two slats, about 3 feet long for runners and about 18 inches long for 

 Spanish, are nailed at right angles to the poles 14 to 18 inches above the 

 ground. The slats form two crosspieces on which the first layer of vines is 

 placed. The crosspieces prevent the vines on the bottom of the stack from 

 resting on the ground and allow air to circulate, thus facilitating drying. 

 The center of the stack must be kept open and higher than the edges. The 

 pods cJf the bunch type of peanuts are placed toward the center. The 

 runner types are usually placed on the poles with pitch forks and no at- 

 tempt is made to place the nuts so that they are not exposed. Twelve to 

 14 rows of peanuts are placed in the stack row and a sufficient number of 

 poles are allowed to take care of the stack row. The distance between 

 stacks will depend on the amount of peanuts on the ground and usually 

 will vary from 40 to 50 feet. Successive layers of vines are placed on the 

 stack pole. As the stack nears completion, it is gradually drawn to a point 

 and a few vines are pressed down over the top to complete the stack. A 

 little dry grass frequently is placed on top of the stack to help shed water. 

 In some cases paper or other type of covering is used. 



Peanuts are as a rule stacked in the field where the crop is grown, 

 but sometimes the vines are hauled to a central point where the stacks 

 are built close together. 



The number of poles required per acre is shown in table 31. 



The practice of field curing in the windrow is quite common in the 

 southwestern producing areas. In the Southeastern States it is also some- 

 times used. In some instances, it is modified by putting the vines in small 

 cocks. The practice works fairly well if weather conditions are favorable 

 for curing, but serious damage may occur if there is much rain before the 

 crop is dry enough to pick. When this system is used, there is always a 

 discoloration of the pods and the hay is of little value. In the Virginia 

 and North Carolina area, this system is not used because in those areas 



