208 THE PEANUT— THE UNPREDICTABLE LEGUME 



rush the job, which results in loss of nuts in the hay and an unnecessary 

 amount of trash is in the nuts. Only dry pods should be picked. Damp 

 weather causes difficulty in picking. 



After the peanuts are picked, they should be stored thinly or stirred 

 from time to time until dry. Peanuts should not be stored in bulk until 

 they are fully dry. 



Peanut hay is a valuable by-product of the peanut crop. Its quality 

 depends on proper harvesting date and method, and also on proper curing 

 and picking. The hay should be baled immediately after threshing. 



Hay left in the field after threshing is exposed to weather and rapidly 

 deteriorates. Usually hay from vines treated with sulfur to control leaf 

 spot is higher in quality than that from untreated plants. The amount of 

 hay varies with the variety and general conditions. Spanish peanuts 

 usually yield from 1 to 1^ tons of hay per ton of nuts, and runner peanuts 

 1^ to 2 tons per ton of nuts. 



Many peanuts are grazed by hogs each year in the Southeastern 

 States. Hogs are used to glean the fields. Frequently peanuts are planted 

 with alternate rows of corn and peanuts are hogged off after the corn is 

 harvested. In many instances peanuts are planted solid for hogging. In 

 most cases the runner-type peanut is used for hogging. The Spanish is 

 earlier than the runner and is used for early hogging, usually from the 

 middle of August to the first of October. Runner peanuts remain in good 

 condition in the ground much longer than Spanish. They are usually 

 hogged from October through January or February. The yield of pork 

 per acre varies with the time of harvesting. Early in the season from 2J^ 

 to 3 pounds of peanuts are consumed per pound of pork. As the season 

 advances the pounds of increased growth per pound of peanuts decreases 

 until in February the figure may become as low as from 5 to 6 pounds of 

 peanuts per pound of pork. 



Hogs should not be turned on the peanuts until the majority of the 

 nuts are ripe. Hogs do not like immature peanuts and usually will not eat 

 them. Therefore, if the hogs are turned on when the peanuts are too 

 green, they root up many of the vines and waste the immature nuts. 

 Hogs do not like decayed nuts and will not eat them if they can get any- 

 thing else to eat. 



