MARKETING PEANUTS 19 
The entire sample is weighed, the foreign matter is removed, the pods 
are hand shelled, and the weight of the sound mature kernels is 
determined. The damaged kernels are weighed, and if more than a 
reasonable amount are found the buyer makes a rather heavy deduc- 
tion from the prevailing price for good stock to cover the cost of 
picking out the damaged goods by hand in the shelling plant. 
Now that the dividing lines between the various grades are well- 
established, closer scrutiny is given to the quality of farmers' stock 
when it is bought. The grower whose peanuts are carefully picked 
before delivery receives a higher price for his stock, while the careless 
grower is penalized. 
The new policy is also better for the buyer, who now seldom 
resorts to the old " hit-or-miss " plan of purchasing. Formerly, 
scant attention was paid to the shelled-goods value of the farmers' 
stock. With no well-defined grades as a basis of trading, confusion 
often resulted. Growers were frequently dissatisfied, because they 
felt that they had not received a price commensurate with the quality 
of the goods delivered. On the other hand, after shelling various lots 
the buyers have sometimes felt that they paid too much for the stock. 
Thus the availability of a definite, well-understood basis for determin- 
ing values has been generally greeted with approval. 
Unless the peanuts are to be shelled at once, cracked or broken 
pods are extremely undesirable in a lot of farmers' goods of any 
variety, as the kernels in the damaged pods are susceptible to mold 
and weevil attack, and it is difficult to pick out moldy or weevily 
kernels as they pass over the screens and belt-conveyors in the shelling 
plant. Further, as nuts in broken pods often arrive at the shelling 
machine already shelled, the kernels are frequently broken in the 
cylinder and are useful only for crushing or stock feed. 
Those who pay attention to careful harvesting, picking, and grading 
receive good dividends in the higher percentage of No. 1 nuts obtained. 
A 30-pound bushel of farmers' stock Spanish peanuts should shell out 
about 21 or 22 pounds of kernels. In the Virginia- North Carolina 
section approximately 16 or 17 pounds of these will be No. 1 grade, 
3 to 3}4 pounds will be splits or No. 2, and the remainder will consist 
of No. 3 grade. In Georgia and Alabama the yield of No. 1 stock 
usually reaches 16 to 17 and sometimes 18 pounds per bushel, No. 2 
will average 3 to S}4 pounds, and No. 3's and pick-outs will total 
about 1 pound, In Texas the quantity of No. 1 nuts may reach 16 
pounds, but will frequently total less than 15 pounds, and sometimes 
as low as 12 pounds to the 30-pound bushel. The Texas outturn, 
moreover, owing to the almost universal use of threshers, usually 
shows a higher percentage of No. 2 and No. 3 peanuts than does the 
output of the other Spanish-growing areas. 
IMPORTANCE OF LARGE SIZE 
It is often said that the percentage of large sizes in the production 
of Virginia-type peanuts has apparently been decreasing in recent 
years. On the other hand, the demand for large shelled peanuts, 
owing to the growth of the salting industry, has been increasing 
rapidly. In fact, leading salters claim that they have been obliged at 
times to use large-size orientals heavily, to fill their orders, because 
the supply of extra large Virginias has not been sufficient for their 
needs. 
