13 
MACHINES FOR DIGGING PEANUTS. 
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Some of the regular machine potato diggers have been 
found quite satisfactory for harvesting peanuts, but as a rule 28 
these implements have not sufficient clearance to allow a 
heavy growth of peanut vines to pass through. At present 
very much larger machines are being perfected and especially 29 
adapted to the work in the peanut fields. The machine or 
elevator potato diggers require about four strong mules to pull 
them, but may be so regulated that the sharp point of the 
digger will cut off the roots just below where the peanuts are 
formed, carry the vines with the peas attached up and over the 
elevator device, and deliver them on the ground behind the 
machine with practically all of the soil shaken from them. An 
outfit of this kind will dig from 8 to 12 acres daily and require 
about 20 hands to stack the vines behind it. In land that is 
weedy there is always difficulty in harvesting the crop, regard- 
less of the kind of implement used for digging. 
METHOD OF STACKING PEANUTS TO CURE. 
As already mentioned, the proper method of curing peanuts 
is to stack them, vines and all, around stakes set in the field 
where the crop is grown. Before starting to harvest the crop 30 
provide the small poles to be used as stakes around which to 
stack the peanuts. These stakes should be 7 feet in length by 
about 3 or 4 inches in diameter, and may be either split out of 
large logs or simply small saplings with the bark upon them. 
From 12 to 35 of these poles will be required for each acre, 
according to the stand and growth of vine; the rule, however, 
is about 22 stacks to the acre. Have the poles hauled and piled 
where they can be conveniently distributed through the peanut 
field when the rush of harvesting comes on. 
As a rule 11, 13, or 15 rows of peanuts are placed in a single 
row of stacks. The digging machine is started in the center, 
on the row where the stacks are to stand, and is worked out- 
ward until the necessary number of rows are lifted. After 
the machine has gained sufficient headway the poles are dis- 
tributed at distances varying from 12 to 20 paces and set in the 
ground by means of a pointed bar, a peg and maid, or by a port- 
hole digger, and tamped in place. The stake should be set int« i 
the soil sufficiently deep to prevent the stack blowing over. 
On the other hand, they should not be set so deeply as to pre- 
vent their being easily lifted with the stack at thrashing 
time. 
