8 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. {1 Juzy, 1899. 
rapid germination. If the land is too wet, or if heavy rains come after 
planting, then the*seeds rot, and of course fail to grow. Again, if the land is 
too dry, many will not germinate, and the crop is poor and uneven. With the 
first crop I planted, there were a few misses, owing to-dry weather; the 
planting was late, being in November, but still the crop was heavy. 
The second crop was planted in September, just as I thought a nice little 
shower had come to germinate them, but I was disappointed, for it set in dry, 
and there were many misses ; yet even then I had a fair crop. With the present 
crop, which is pot yet harvested, I managed to hit the right time, and it was a 
ee to see the dark-green rows after they came through the ground, 
ooking so beautiful. 
THE PEA or Eartu Nor. 
The land must be kept quite clean with scarifier and hoe whilst they are 
growing vertically ; for immediately the stems fall over and send rootlets into 
the ground producing nuts, all cultivation must cease, weeds or no weeds. 
The leaves of the plant are much like those of clover, but larger. ‘The 
flowers are yellow. A farmer visiting me asked why I was growing clover in 
rows. I asked him if it was a clover flower on them, and he then saw his mistake. 
When the plants are well covering the land, a patch of peanuts is a sight worth 
looking at. 
When the crop is ripe, which is about the time of the first frosts in this 
climate, the tops or haulms must be cut off with a reaping-hook (it cannot be 
done with a scythe), and taken away for fodder for horses or cattle, who eat it 
greedily. The plough is then run under the rows of roots, which are picked 
up with the nuts on them, to be thrown in small heaps to dry for a day or two. 
They are then carted away to some shed or barn to be picked over at leisure on 
wet days. 
The above is, however, not one-third of the crop. The land must be harrowed 
and ploughed as many times as the farmer likes, with a small crowd of children 
following with baskets to pick up the nuts. By this means one-third more of 
the crop may be sayed. The best way to get the other one-third is to let the 
pigs root over the field. 
Once they get a taste of them, they will work hard at it all day, with®=the 
exception of intervals to get a drink. I adopted this plan with my first crop. 
I had some trouble in getting them to begin on the first day, but after that, 
