15 
separated from them in the cleaning factory. The greatest 38 
objection to the work of peanut thrashers in the past Is that 
they broke too many of the shells, in many cases breaking 
the kernels as well and rendering them unsalable. This :><) 
breaking of the shells is a more serious damage than might 
appear at first thought, as the keeping qualities of the nuts 
depend upon their not becoming broken. There are a number 40 
of insects which attack peanuts while in storage, especially 
during the summer months, and these can not injure the kern- 
els unless the shell is cracked or broken. 41 
The picking of peanuts is paid for at so much per bag of 
about 4 bushels, 35 cents a bag being the ruling price. In 
some sections the owners of the picking machines do the 
work for every tenth bag, or where they provide a baling 
machine and press the peanut hay into bales they take every 
eighth bag, but none of the hay. Hand picking is paid for at 
the rate of from 40 to 50 cents a hundred pounds. 
SACKING AND HANDLING PEANUTS AFTER PICKING. 
As the peanuts come from the picker they are placed in 42 
sacks and either hauled direct to the cars or stored for later 
delivery. The standard peanut bag is about the same as the 
ordinary 5-bushel oat bag, and holds about 4 bushels, 90 or 
92 pounds of Virginias and 110 to 120 of Spanish. As the 
bags are filled they are sewed and tied at the corners to facili- 
tate handling. If the peanuts are not to be sold immediately, 
they are often taken from the bags and stored in bins or in 
slatted cribs where they will get air. The storage room 
should be proof against rats and mice. 
The peanut vines, if properly cared for after the removal of 
the peas, make an excellent hay. The best plan is to have a 
baling press working while the thrashing or picking is being 
done and press the vines into moderate-size bales. 
The peanut-picking machines break the hay considerably, 
but by careful handling in baling the leaves and stems can be 
worked into the bales together in the proper proportions. The 
feeding value of peanut hay renders it worth while to take 
special precautions in curing and handling it. One important 
point in curing peanut hay is to get the vines into the small 
stacks soon after digging them; also to avoid having the hay 
become wet by rains. 
