June, 1009.] 



513 



OILS AND FATS. 



THE ORIGIN AND DOMESTICATION 

 OF THE PEANUT OR GROUNDNUT 

 (ARACHIS HYPOGCEA) IN THE 

 UNITED STATES. 



By S. A. Andrew. 



(Fiom Tropical Life, Vol. V., No, 2, 

 February, 1908.) 



Part I. 



The origin of the peanut is the subject 

 of much controversy, though it is consi- 

 dered by many that it is probably a 

 native of Brazil. Whether this state- 

 ment be true or not, it is certain that 

 it was cultivated extensively in foreign 

 countries before its merits were recog- 

 nized in the land of the origin. The 

 merits of this now important crop were 

 recognized by slave-dealers who loaded 

 their vessels with it as food for their 

 passengers. It was not extensively cul- 

 tivated in the United States before the 

 war between the States. The scarcity 

 of rations during the latter part of that 

 historic struggle fixed the highly nutri- 

 tious qualities of this peer among nuts 

 on the attention of the individual mem- 

 bers of the various armies then in the 

 field, and immediately after the war 

 much attention was given to its cultiva- 

 tion, especially in the South. At the 

 present time, 7,000,000 bushels of nuts 

 are produced annually with a commer- 

 cial value of at least $15,000,000, and it is 

 safe to say that those grown exculsively 

 as food for hogs, and which are not 

 gleaned at the time of harvest, would add 

 another $3, 000,000 to the value of this crop. 

 At the present time a large proportion 

 of the nuts are eaten, not as a regular 

 part of the daily ration, but at odd 

 times by all classes of our citizens. 



The peanut is admirably adapted for 

 the production of oil, and might be used 

 advantageously for various other com- 

 mercial purposes, but the demand for 

 it as human food has been such in the 

 past as to effectively prevent this. 

 Since there is almost an unlimited area 

 of country admirably adapted to its 

 growth, not only in the United States, 

 but in foreign lands as well, and since 

 its cultivation is not difficult, there is 

 no reason why it should not be grown 

 extensively enough to meet all demands. 

 The highly nutritious value of the 

 peanut, and its favour among all people 

 who are familiar with it, lend colour to 

 the belief that its cultivation under the 

 best modern practice will long remain 

 a profitable business. This should sti- 

 mulate and encourage many farmers, 



who are favourably situated, to devote 

 a portion of their land to this import- 

 ant crop. Moreover, the peanut has 

 some special advantages which make 

 its utilization as a rotation crop pecu- 

 liarly desirable. It belongs to the family 

 of legumes, and has, therefore, the 

 power of gathering atmospheric nitro- 

 gen from the air in very considerable 

 quantities. It produces also a rich and 

 nutritious hay valuable for the main- 

 tenance of live stock. Since it is adapt- 

 ed for growth on rather thin and 

 sandy soils as a rule deficient in vege- 

 table matter, its power of largely ob- 

 taining its own nitrogen from the 

 inexhaustible stores of the air is a 

 most desirable attribute. 



Composition. 

 The richness of the peanut as a food 

 is better appreciated when it is stated 

 that the kernels contain about 29 per 

 cent, of protein, 49 per cent, of fat, 

 and only li per cent, of carbohydrates. 

 Peanut vines with the leaves contain 

 between 11 and 12 per cent, of protein, 

 5 to 6 per cent, of fat, and 22 to 32 per 

 cent, of carbohydrates. They are thus 

 more nutritious than timothy hay, and 

 should rank with that made from red 

 clover. Peanut meal, which is the 

 residue after the oil has been extracted, 

 is a footstuff of high value, and is appre- 

 ciated and extensively used in foreign 

 countries. It contains something like 52 

 per cent, of protein, 8 per cent, of fat, 

 and about 27 per cent, of carbohydrates, 

 and, therefore, ranks above cotton 

 seed-meal, which is one of the most 

 richly concentrated meals found on the 

 market to-day. Like other legumes, the 

 peanut contains considerable amounts 

 of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, 

 the latter two, of necessity, having to 

 be largely supplied to the soil in a com- 

 mercial form. But on the whole, the 

 peauut, as seen from the foregoing 

 statements, is one of the most desirable 

 and satisfactory crops which can be 

 grown. 



Soil and Climate, 

 The peanut prefers a rather sandy, 

 loamy soil, which should contain enough 

 vegetable matter to make it light and 

 porous, and also to prevent its becoming 

 too dry. Since the trade demands a 

 light-soloured shell, nuts of equal 

 flavour and quality grown on other soils 

 do not find a ready sale; and it may 

 be proper to state at this time that the 

 peanut can be grown on a very wide 

 range of soils, provided they contain 

 a sufficient amount of lime, This infor- 

 mation should encourage many, who 



