Oils and Fats. 



516 



[June, 1009. 



only wish to grow limited areas, either 

 for grazing down by hogs or for home 

 use, to experiment with this important 

 crop. There is an abundance of good 

 peanut soil throughout the Atlantic 

 seaboard. This area extends from New 

 Jersey to Florida, and there is also much 

 land on which this crop can be culti- 

 vated profitably in the Mississippi valley. 

 Only a small proportion of the available 

 land is now being tilled. 



The peanut will thrive under a great 

 variety of climatic conditions provided 

 there is a season of at least five months 

 free frcm frosts. It has been thought 

 by many that the peanut only grows 

 well in a warm climate, but this is an 

 error, since the nuts develop chiefly 

 during the cool weather in the late 

 summer and early autumn. The 

 weather conditions most favourable to 

 maximum production are an early 

 spring, warm, even summer temper- 

 atures, with a well-distributed rainfall, 

 and a comparatively dry autumn. Of 

 course, climate has an influence on the 

 character and composition of the nuts, 

 since it has been demonstrated that in 

 tropical countries a larger per cent, of 

 oil is obtained. As to any other influ- 

 ences which climate may exert, but 

 little is knoAvn, and the subject has 

 not been as extensively investigated 

 as the importance of this crop would 

 seem to justify. 



Fertilizers. 

 Since the peanut is adapted for growth 

 on a soil which is not naturally rich 

 in any of the essential elements of 

 plant food, the proper fertilization 

 of the crop becomes a matter of the 

 utmost importance. It was found at 

 the Tennessee Experiment Station that 

 60 bushels of peanuts with a ton of 

 hay would remove from the soil about 

 85 lb. of nitrogen, 15 lb. of phosphoric 

 acid, 32 lb. of potash, and 47 lb. of lime. 

 Of this amount, about 41 lb. of nitrogen, 

 6 lb. of phosphoric acid, 20 lb. of potash, 

 and 42 lb, of lime were found in the 

 hay, and since the vines would either 

 be left on the ground or fed to stock, 

 and the resulting manure applied to 

 the land, the peanut is seen to be a com- 

 paratively easy crop on the land so 

 far as soil exhaustion is concerned. 

 Besides, as has already been pointed out, 

 it gathers a large percentage of its 

 nitrogen from the air. Since it has 

 been amply demonstrated that the yield 

 of the crop may be greatly increased 



by judicious fertilization, and since 100 

 bushels should be a fair average ciop 

 rather than the low yields now obtained, 

 the importance of using sufficient 

 amounts of all the essential elements to 

 increase crop production and counteract 

 the call made on the soil by the plant 

 during the various stages of its growth 

 becomes apparent. 



The needs of a crop of peanuts may 

 be appropriately supplied by using 

 1,200 1b. of high-grade acid phosphate, 

 400 lb. of dried fish, and 400 lb. of 

 muriate of potash. This would give a 

 mixture containing 1*6 per cent, of 

 nitrogen, 10 2 per cent, of phosphoric 

 acid, aud 10 per cent, of potash. It 

 may be stated that this ration has been 

 found one of the most satisfactory to 

 use on this crop. Another mixture 

 which has been tried quite extensively 

 is 1,300 lb- of acid phosphate, 300 lb. of 

 dried blood, and 400 lb. of muriate of 

 potash. This mixture would contain 

 about 2 per cent- of nitrogen, 10*4 per 

 cent, of phosphoric acid, and 10 per 

 cent, of potash. 



(To be continued.) 



THE SUNFLOWER : ITS ECONOMIC 

 VALUE. 



(From the Journal of the Department 

 of Agriculture, Western Australia, 

 Vol. XVIII., Part 1, January, 1909.) 



The common sunflower (Helianthus 

 annuus) is a plant of considerable eco- 

 nomic importance and is largely culti- 

 vated in Europe, Asia, and America for 

 its seeds. According to the Agricultural 

 Ledger, 107, No. 1, an area of 210,000 acres 

 is devoted to sunflower culture in 

 Europe alone, the average return being 

 roundly stated at about fifty bushels of 

 seeds per acre. In Russia, where the 

 sunflower is most extensively cultivated, 

 the seeds are eaten raw or cooked, or 

 used for the extraction of oil, which is 

 said to be excellent for table use and 

 may be substituted for salad or olive oil, 

 for all domestic purposes. The seeds are 

 also of considerable value as food for 

 birds, and are largely used in America 

 for fattening poultry. The oilcake 

 which remains after expression of the 

 oil forms a valuable cattle food, being of 

 great nutritive value and easily digested, 

 while the leaves and stalks also possess 

 highly nutritious properties. 



