^Ma0rch,imm'}      Cultivation  of  Sesamum  and  Ground-Nuts.  143 
CULTIVATION  OF  SESAMUM  AND  GROUND-NUTS  IN 
CHINA. 
Sesamum  is  best  grown  on  high  dry  ground,  and  is  most  in  danger 
from  excess  of  moisture  ;  it  does  not  require  watering,  and  dew  alone 
is  sufficient  moisture  to  nourish  it.  In  making  beds,  therefore,  the 
centres  should  be  higher  than  the  sides,  so  as  to  allow  the  water  to 
run  off.  In  the  first  month  of  every  year  it  is  sown  broadcast,  not  in 
lines,  and  whether  thickly  or  sparsely  is  immaterial.  In  about  ten 
days  it  puts  forth  shoots,  in  two  months  and  a  half  it  is  fit  for  har- 
vesting. At  harvest  time  the  latest  seeds  are  not  yet  ripe,  but  the 
harvest  cannot  wait,  or  the  other  pods  would  fall  off,  and  the  seeds 
drop  out  on  the  ground.  The  plants,  root  and  all,  are  carefully  taken 
out  of  the  ground,  put  on  a  cement  floor,  and  threshed  with  a  flail. 
There  are  two  kinds,  black  and  white.  Sesamum  does  not  require 
manure  generally,  but  in  the  worst  soil  ashes  and  ox  manure  may  be 
used.  -About  27  ounces  sown  to  an  acre  yield  about  550  lbs. 
Ground-nuts  are  best  grown  in  a  soil  of  coarse  sand  and  mud.  They 
should  be  set  deep,  and  the  ground  pressed  down  firmly  over  them. 
The  ground  is  ploughed  about  April,  and  trenches  dug  about  10 
inches  apart,  into  which  ashes,  lime,  and  rubbish  are  thrown.  The 
seeds  are  sown  10  inches  apart,  and  as  each  is  put  in  the  sides  of  the 
trench  are  turned  over  it  with  the  foot  and  stamped  down  firm. 
Every  ten  days  or  so  the  ground  is  weeded,  and  in  about  two  months 
the  sprouts  are  sufficiently  long,  and  are  sprinkled  with  liquid  ma- 
nure. In  four  months  they  come  into  flower ;  the  flower-stalk  then 
bends  over,  and,  as  the  flower  falls  off,  the  flower-stalk  buries  itself 
in  the  ground,  and  produces  seeds,  ground-nuts,  which  become  ripe 
about  the  Shuangchiang  festival  (October  23).  When  the  harvest, 
however,  takes  place  after  this  date  more  oil  can  be  got,  and  a  better 
price  obtained  for  it.  Ground-nuts  are  harvested  by  ploughing  them 
up  with  an  ox-plough,  when  the  stalks  and  seeds  clinging  to  the 
plough  are  gathered  into  a  heap.  For  the  remainder  which  are  still 
left  in  the  ground  two  men  sift  the  earth  with  a  large  bamboo  sieve. 
The  pods  are  dried  perfectly  dry  in  the  sun,  until  the  thin  skin  which 
covers  the  seed  can  be  broken  by  rubbing,  when  they  can  be  stored. 
If  they  are  not  quite  dry  they  shoot  again,  and  are  useless.  Oil  is 
pressed  from  ground-nuts,  and  the  refuse  made  into  ground-nut  cakes; 
40  lbs.  sown  to  an  acre  yield  about  666  lbs. — Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans., 
Dec.  22,  1888,  p.  492. 
