PEANUTS 



1579 



Fig. 4. Peanut Digger. 



after the final cultivation, the object be- 

 ing to flatten the stems upon the ground 

 in order that the little pods forming on 

 the extremities of the stems may reach 

 the soil. This practice may increase the 

 yield, but it will also increase the per- 

 centage of **saps," or unfilled pods, and it 

 is doubtful if anything is gained by the 

 practice. 



Harvesting 

 Proper Time for Digging the Crop 

 No fixed rule can be given by which 

 to determine when to remove the peanut 

 crop from the ground, and each grower 

 must be his own judge in the matter. In 

 general practice the growers aim to dig 

 before the first frosts, in order that the 

 peanut vines may have greater value for 

 stock food. To the southward, where 

 frosts do not appear until quite late, the 

 vines assume a yellowish appearance dur- 

 ing the latter part of the season, which 

 indicates the ripening of the peas. If 

 digging is deferred too long, the first- 

 formed peas are likely to burst their 

 shells and start growing; this is espe- 

 cially true if there is a period of rainy 

 weather late in the season. The aim 

 should be to dig at the time the vines 

 have upon them the greatest number of 

 mature peas. Where a large acreage is 

 grown it will be necessary to begin har- 

 vesting as soon as the earliest peas are 

 ready, in order to complete the work be- 

 fore unfavorable weather sets in. 



Methods Employed for Lifting the 

 Plants 



Under ordinary circumstances the pea- 

 nut vines are plowed from the ground 

 with a one-horse turning plow and after- 

 wards separated from the soil by hand. 



Many growers employ either a two-horse 

 plow similar to that frequently used for 

 digging potatoes or a turning plow with 

 the mold-board removed to prevent a 

 furrow being turned. Behind the digger 

 or plow a gang of workmen shake the 

 vines and peas free from the soil and 

 throw them in small bunches. In this 

 manner a team and driver accompanied 

 by eight or ten hands will dig from five 

 to seven acres a day at a cost of about 

 $2.50 an acre. 



It has been found by experiment that 

 the regular machine potato digger drawn 

 by two or three horses driven by one man 

 will dig from 8 to 12 acres a day and do 

 the work in a much cleaner and better 

 manner than the old plow and hand meth- 

 od. This machine not only removes the 

 peanuts from the ground in a more per- 

 fect manner but also shakes off the soil 

 and leaves the vines lying loosely upon 

 the surface of the ground. By the hand 

 method a great many pods become de- 

 tached from the vines, while with the ma- 

 chine potato digger scarcely a pod is lost. 

 A machine of this character is shown 

 in Fig. 4. 



Special machines are now being offered 

 which are intended to dig, clean, and 

 bunch the peanuts. By setting any of 

 these machines to the proper depth it is 

 possible to sever the main root of the pea- 

 nut just below where the pods are formed 

 and thus leave considerable of the ac- 

 cumulated nitrogen in the soil. It is esti- 

 mated that the nitrogen left in the soil 

 by this system has a fertilizing value of 

 from $3 to $4 an acre. 



Curing Process and Care of Crop After 

 Digging 



After the peanut vines are loosened 

 from the soil they are allowed to lie 

 either spread upon the ground or in small 

 bunches for three or four hours, and are 

 then placed in small stacks around a 

 central stake to cure. If the peas are al- 

 lowed to lie exposed to the weather for 

 any length of time after digging, the 

 pods become discolored and loose in 

 weight. 



A better grade of peanut hay will be se- 

 cured if the vines are placed in the small 



