Virginia and North Carolina, and the land well suited for its 

 production, but in many sections they have been too long grown 

 on the same land without a rotation of other crops. A ccording to 

 the census reports, the area devoted to growing pea nuts in 

 1899 in Virginia was 116,914 acres, and the product was 

 3,713,347 bushels, the average yield per acre being 31 bushels. 

 In North Carolina, in the same year, 95.856 acres were devoted to 

 the crop, and the yield was 3,460,439 bushels. These yields 

 are too small to be profitable, and fall far short of what can 

 easily be made. Fifty bushels to the acre can readily be made 

 by planting in a proper rotation and by fertilizing scientifically. 

 One hundred bushels per acre have been frequently grown. 

 Too often the practice is to follow pea nuts with pea nuts, year 

 after year, until the land will not produce a crop worth gather- 

 ing. At best, the only rotation is pea nuts followed by corn, 

 and then by pea nuts again. This is too short a rotation. A 

 more profitable way would be to grow cow peas or soy beans, 

 and then follow with pea nuts, and after this crop plant sweet 

 potatoes. A dressing of 3001bs. to the acre of acid phosphate 

 should be applied to the cow pea crop, and a mixture of lOOlbs. 

 of acid phosphate, 3001bs. of cotton seed meal, and 651bs. of 

 muriate of potash, or 301bs of kainit to the acre should be 

 applied before planting the pea nuts. A dressing of "-.'5 bushels 

 of lime to the acre should be given every three or four years. 

 We are satisfied that if such a system as we suggest be followed, 

 it will result in a much heavier average yield of nuts, and the 

 fertility of the land will be maintained and enhanced " 



I understand that the ordinary " ground nut " as at present 

 grown in Natal takes about six months to ripen its crop, and 

 leaves the pods or nuts scattered at some distance from the 

 stem, but there is another variety which I think originated in 

 America, which ripens its crop in three or four months, and 

 bears the pods much closer to the stem, thus saving consider- 

 able labour in harvesting the crop, which is, perhaps, the most 

 expensive part of the work. Of course a light sandy soil is 

 necessary for the growth of the plant, and if the nuts can be 

 shipped clean and without any adhesion of soil to the shell a 

 higher price is obtainable for them than can be got from the 

 oil crushers. 



Coffea. sp. — Several years ago we received from Mr. It. 

 Beningfield plants of an indigenous coffee plant from the East 

 Coast ; these plants have flowered and borne fruit, and appear 

 to be Coffea zanguebarice or very near to it ; both the leaves and 

 also the berries of these plants are smaller than those of the 

 ordinary cultivated coffee plant, and . the berries have a rather 

 peculiar odour. I am told, however, that the berries are used 

 by Europeans as ordinary coffee is used. "We have also a plant 



