Quality in Peanuts— By T. J. Steed, 



Geor- 

 gia 



A CROP THAT IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE TO THE SOUTH— THE NINE KINDS THAT ARE REALLY WORTH 

 GROWING AND THEIR PARTICULAR MERITS FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES —WHAT TO GROW IN THE HOME GARDEN 



Bunch type ; Vir- 

 ginia d U C e 



twenty 

 bushels of corn, or one- 

 third of a bale of cotton 

 per acre, will usually pro- 

 duce from thirty-five to 

 fifty bushels of peanuts 

 per acre of bush varieties 

 grown close together; the 

 yield of the running vari- 

 eties is not quite as high. 

 The usual price paid for 

 peanuts in this section is 

 from$i to $i.5oper bushel. 



Peanuts will succeed on 

 any soil, even a very thin 

 one without fertilizer; but 

 I would not advise plant- 

 ing anywhere without a 

 little fertilizer. A moder- 

 ately rich friable clay loam, 

 which is never packed 

 very hard by heavy rains 

 is probably the best; stiff 

 clay also produces heavy 

 well-filled pods, but a less- 

 er quantity because the 

 spikes or peduncles which 

 carry the pods cannot push 

 themselves into stiff soil 

 very well. And remem- 

 ber, those that don't get 

 into the soil don't make 

 pods: Very light sandy 

 soil may be put in fairly 

 good shape for making 

 heavy well-filled pods, by 

 spreading from a thous- 

 and to fifteen hundred 

 pounds of lime per acre 

 over the soil in the early 

 spring when plowing up 

 the soil. 



A rich nitrogenous fer- 

 tilizer is not only not 

 necessary, but injurious 



HOME-GROWN 

 peanuts are more 

 desirable than the bought 

 kind and cost practically 

 nothing. They can be 

 raised successfully all 

 through the South and up 

 to New York. The 

 Southern farmer can grow 

 '. peanuts for stock feed 

 ' much cheaper than he 

 can grow corn for the 

 same purpose and they 

 are equally as good for 

 ♦ stock, and better for hogs 

 on account of the oil 

 they contain. The yield 

 of peanuts is aboutdouble 

 that of corn, land that 

 willpro- 



unless the crop is grown for hay only. 

 Use a commercial fertilizer containing from 

 6 to 8 per cent, of phosphoric acid, 6 to 

 io per cent, of potash and from i to 3 per 

 cent, of nitrogen. The poorest soil requires 

 the most nitrogen, of course. Apply the 

 fertilizer at the rate of from four hundred 

 to a thousand pounds per acre, and in the 

 drill rather than broadcast. 



During the early spring the soil should 

 be plowed, broadcast, at least a foot deep, 

 so the long main root can penetrate the soil 

 freely and deep. Mark out or lay off the 

 rows with an eight-inch shovel plow, from 

 eighteen inches to three and a half feet, 

 for the bush varieties, and from three to five 

 feet for the running varieties, distance to be 

 judged according to the grade of the soil 

 and variety planted. The fertilizer should be 



\ 



Typical pods an 

 Jumbo. 



d peas: 1, Sure Crop. 2, North Carolina. 3, Tennessee. 4, Spanish 

 6, Virginia. 7, Improved Valencia. 8, Improved North Carolina 



238 



drilled in the furrows thus marked out, and 

 covered with a five- or six-inch shovel or 

 any small plow that will not ridge up the 

 rows above the level of the soil. When 

 using more than eight hundred pounds of 

 fertilizer per acre, mix it with the soil by 

 running a small plow through the furrow 

 containing it. This should be done a week or 

 ten days before planting. 



Plant any time from April to June here 

 in the South, but those planted during the 

 first part of April usually give the best 

 result. In the North plant as early as 

 possible. The seed germinates quicker and 

 better when shelled, although those with 

 thin hull, such as Spanish, Sure Crop, 

 North Carolina and Virginia germinate 

 satisfactorily when not shelled. Unshelled 

 seed must be planted thicker to insure a 

 good stand; if too thick 

 plants can be easily thin- 

 ned. From six to eighteen 

 inches is the proper dis- 

 tance in drill for bush 

 peanuts, and from sixteen 

 to thirty-six inches for the 

 running varieties. 



One to three bushels of 

 unshelled peanuts will 

 plant an acre, and from 

 four to six ounces of un- 

 shelled peanuts will sow 

 a hundred feet of row. 

 The seed is best covered 

 about an inch and a half 

 or less. Planting may be 

 done by special machines. 

 And certain types of corn 

 and cotton planters can be 

 easily converted into pea- 

 nut planters. 



Just as soon as the plants 

 are large enough, begin cul- 

 tivation. For the first 

 plowing use a small shovel 

 and scraper, or a small 

 sweep that will run shal- 

 low and not throw too 

 much soil to the plants. 

 Level ploughing is essen- 

 tial for the running va- 

 rieties, but for bush kinds, 

 deep ploughing which 

 banks the soil up to the 

 bushes is needed. Con- 

 tinue cultivation until the 

 plants have made sufficient 

 growth to prevent the 

 weeds and grass from mak- 

 ing headway. I usually 

 give bush peanuts three to 

 four ploughings, and I use 

 a larger plough at each 

 succeeding cultivation. 



Harvest before any frost, 

 so that the vines can be 



