48 BULLETIN 1401, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE 
in the shell have again increased, indicating that both shippers and 
receivers are actively endeavoring to push the sale of this type of 
goods. 
SHELLED PEANUTS 
Shelled peanuts reach the public through a wide variety of channels. 
The introduction of peanut butter and penny vending machines for 
salted peanuts some 20 years ago, provided new outlets for peanuts, 
which nave steadily been expanded. Candy manufacturers have 
found that shelled peanuts can be combined with chocolate and 
sugar in a wide variety of forms, and new kinds of candy in which 
the peanut is a principal ingredient are constantly placed on the 
market. These important uses for peanuts are discussed in more 
detail .later. In addition to salters, candy manufacturers and 
peanut butter concerns, wholesale grocers, large bakers, large retailers, 
and chain stores buy shelled peanuts heavily, through jobbers, 
brokers, or direct from the South. 
PEANUT OIL 
Indirectly, manufacturers of shortening, oleomargarine, nut mar- 
garine, salad oil, and soap, and other users of vegetable oils have 
during some years used large quantities of peanuts in the form of 
peanut oil. 
PEANUT-FED HAMS 
Even more indirectly, people consume thousands of tons of peanuts 
in the form of pork. Large areas of peanuts are raised especially for 
hogging-off, and during years of low prices or poor quality the hogs 
are fed very large quantities of peanuts which would otherwise have 
been shelled. "Peanut-fed hams" from several sections have 
obtained a considerable reputation. 
SPECIAL METHODS OF DISTRIBUTION 
There is perhaps no important article of food of such high food 
value as the peanut, of which so little is known by the general public. 
Little attempt has been made to advertise the peanut, or to bring it 
directly to the attention of the housewife. Many leaders in the 
peanut industry feel that if the industry is to expand, a campaign of 
education is essential, and that housewives must be told how easily 
raw peanuts can be prepared for use, and in how many foods and con- 
fections they can be employed. 20 
Marketing by parcel post has been tried out in a small way by 
shippers of Virginia-type peanuts. A circular giving various recipes 
was often inclosed with the individual lots of peanuts, which usually 
ranged from 1 to 5 pounds in weight. The success of parcel-post 
marketing lies in " repeat" orders, as advertising and other initial 
costs often more than absorb the profit on the first order. 
For disposing of large quantities of raw peanuts other channels 
of distribution must be sought. At the present time it is difficult 
to obtain raw peanuts, and especially raw shelled peanuts, through 
ordinary retail channels. Yet recent experiments have shown that 
there is a definite demand for raw shelled peanuts on the part of the 
housekeeper if they are made available. 
20 Recipes for the use of peanuts in the home can be found in U. S. Department of Agriculture Yearbook 
Separate 746, The Peanut, A Great American Food, by H. S. Bailey and J. A. LeClevc; also in U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture Yearbook, 1917, pp. 289-301, 
