Edible Products. 



108 



[August, 1911. 



tilth, especially on the surface. It is 

 not advisable to use farmyard manure 

 on the land in the same year as the nuts 

 aie to be planted, as by this means a 

 large number of the seeds of weeds are 

 introduced; this manure also causes the 

 nuts to form large quantities of foliage 

 and a high percentage of poorly filled 

 pods. A green dressing may, however, 

 be grown and turned in some few 

 months before planting. It is probable 

 that a moderate dressing of lime, at the 

 rate of 1,000 to 2,000 lb. of freshly burnt 

 lime to the acre, would prove advant- 

 ageous on all soils except those con- 

 taining an excess of this substance. 



In the West Indies, the seed is planted 

 in rows lg to 2 feet apart, and the plants 

 are from 1 to l\ feet apart in the rows. 

 The greater distances apply to the trail- 

 ing varieties. The nuts are shelled, and 

 one or two are planted in each hole. 



The plot should be kept free from 

 weeds, but should not be disturbed 

 after the nuts are beginning to form. 



When the nuts are ripe, the plants 

 are dug up and the pods removed by 

 hand. They are then dried in the sun 

 and stored in sacks or bags. 



A thresher for removing the nuts in 

 their shells from the vines is made 

 at the Ellis Keystone Agricultural 

 Works, Pottstown, Pa. ; the General 

 Southern Agent is Mr. - G. C. Burgess 

 of Petersburg, Va,, from whom full 

 information can be obtained. It is 

 probable that other machines are also to 

 be obtained, but this is the only one 

 concerning which information has reach- 

 ed this office at present. (See Agricul- 

 tural News, Vol. X., p. 41.) 



Results of the Trials for 

 Three Years. 

 The results obtained in 1007 were of a 

 very preliminary nature, as the area 

 planted was very small in each case. In 

 consequence, little could be done beyond 

 observing how the plants germinated 

 and grew, and obtaining as much seed 



as possible for planting in 1908. A few 

 points of interest are, however, worthy 

 of record. 



In St, Vincent, the Tennessee Red 

 variety germinated very badly, and 

 practicallly no nuts were obtained from 

 it. The Dixie Giant plants were attacked 

 by a rust fungus identified then as 

 Uromyces sp. It is, however almost 

 certainly the same as Uredo arachidis. 



In St. Lucia, the Dixie Giant variety, 

 which was the only one grown, yielded 

 nuts which were found to germinate in 

 the ground before they were properly 

 ripe. This indicated the necessity for 

 planting in that island at such a time 

 as should allow the nuts to ripen after 

 the end of the wet season. 



In Dominica, the two American varie- 

 ties made a good start and gave a satis-" 

 factory yield of cured nuts. It may 

 also be noted that the 'African' variety 

 which was grown in a larger plot of | 

 acre gave a yield of 443 lb. of cured nuts, 

 or an estimated yield of 3,569 lb. of 

 cured nuts per acre. 



In Montserrat, the results obtained 

 were not very promising,; the nuts pro- 

 duced by the Dixie Giant variety were 

 considerably shrivelled. 



In Antigua, the foliage of both im- 

 ported vaiieties was attacked by cater- 

 pillars. These were kept in check by 

 the use of a mixture of Paris green and 

 lime in the proportion of 1 to 6. The 

 soil of the plot was heavy, and did not 

 appear very suitable to the plants. 



In St. Kitts, the Dixie Giant variety 

 grew well until October, when heavy 

 rains fell just as the young nuts were 

 forming. The rain caused renewed 

 growth, and this resulted in the loss of 

 many of the nuts. 



In Nevis, the plants of both varieties 

 dried off. This suggests the probability 

 that they were attacked by a root 

 disease. 



The results of the trials conducted in 

 1908 and 1909 are summarized in the 

 following table:— 



