4 BULLETIN 1401, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
the latter loses its identity as a variety as soon as it reaches the 
cleaning mill and becomes known merely as a " Virginia." The 
Runner, grown chiefly in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida is a large- 
podded peanut like the Virginia. It is supposed to have developed 
from the African variety, its appearance having changed somewhat in 
its new environment. The Runner was formerly grown primarily for 
crushing and for hogging-ofF, 6 but is lately being used to an increasing 
extent as a substitute for the Virginia in peanut butter and in peanut 
bars. 
Imported peanuts in America come largely from China and Japan. 
During recent years, at least, Oriental peanuts appear to have been 
grown from carefully selected Virginia-type seed. So closely do the 
imported nuts resemble those grown in Virginia that even experts 
have no infallible way of distinguishing the imported nuts from the 
domestic when shelled. Unshelled Japanese peanuts, however, are 
usually distinguishable by the bleached appearance of the shell. 
In the Boston market, unshelled Virginias encounter a slight com- 
petition at times from peanuts imported from Spain, which have long, 
jointed pods, containing three or four kernels, and which closely 
resemble the domestic Valencias. Shelled peanuts similar to the 
Spanish type grown in the South have recently been imported from 
Spain in comparatively small volume. 
Peanuts from Java are occasionally seen in New York City and in 
Pacific coast markets. They are slightly larger than the domestic 
Spanish, but are used for the same purposes. 
HARVESTING AND CURING 
Peanuts are harvested, as a rule, in September and October, before 
the first frosts in order that the vines may have greater value for 
stock food. The vines have a slightly yellowish appearance when the 
plants are ready for digging, although the yellow tinge is more pro- 
nounced in the Spanish type at maturity than in vines of the Virginia 
type. Spanish peanuts frequently mature somewhat irregularly, and 
at times early formed nuts may sprout before the bulk of the crop 
is ready to harvest. A test for maturity that is frequently made is 
to dig a few plants and crack a number of pods. If the inside of 
the shell shows darkened veins the peanuts are sufficiently developed 
to dig. Soft white finings in the pods are a certain indication of 
immaturity. Such pods may seem fully formed outwardly, but if the 
crop is dug and stacked at this stage many of the kernels are likely 
to shrivel. And the trade objects seriously to shriveled peanuts. 
Peanuts may be dug with an ordinary plow provided with a peanut 
point and with the moldboard removed, with a potato-digging ma- 
chine, or with a special peanut digger, of which there are several 
types on the market. In Virginia and in the Southeastern States it 
is customary to dig the vines in the morning, shake off the dirt, and 
after allowing the vines to dry, to shock or stack them in the after- 
noon. The stacks are built around poles or split stakes about 7 feet 
high, thrust firmly into the ground. Stout crosspieces are nailed 
about 8 inches from the ground to keep the nuts off the damp earth 
and to provide ventilation. The vines are stacked evenly around the 
poles with pods to the center, pressed down occasionally, and capped 
• Hogging-off is the practice of turning hogs into peanut fields to eat the peanut vines and root out the nuts. 
