The Peanut Plant: Its Cultivation And Uses

by B. W. Jones

Fig. 3.—THE DOTTER.

Hands—women, children, or men, follow the dotter, dropping a seed in each mark or depression, and carefully covering it with the foot, by pressing enough soil into the hole to just fill it. The holes are made one and a half to two inches deep, and the hands are cautioned not to get the seed covered deeper than that. One inch is deep enough to plant, if the soil is moist, but if quite dry the seed may be put deeper. Proceeding in this way, covering first with one foot and then with the other, the planters get on quite rapidly, although the hills are so near together. The planting is not at all tedious after one gets the knack of it, and is light and pleasant work. Some planters put two kernels instead of one in each hill, to insure a stand, but this practice increases the cost considerably, and is by no means general. After the seeds are planted they are very slightly, if at all, above the common level. In a week or ten days from the time of planting, the seeds will begin to heave or crack the ground, which shows that the germ has started, and greatly relieves the anxiety of the planter. Then, by counting the number of signs in a hundred hills, the farmer readily calculates what kind of a stand he will probably have.

Fertilizers.—We have already intimated that a calcareous soil is indispensable to successful Peanut culture. If the soil is not calcareous by nature, it must be made so artificially. Hence the proper fertilizer to use is one that contains a large per cent. of lime in some of its forms, as the carbonate, the phosphate, the nitrate, or the sulphate, or the chloride of calcium. Recently, the sulphate of lime (gypsum), has been employed, even on limed or marled land, and its use has been attended with good results. Animal and nitrogenous manures are not suited to the crop. Such fertilizers produce a heavy growth of vines, but there will be no full, solid pods unless lime in some form is also present. Marl has been found to be the one specific fertilizer for the Peanut plant—better than any other form of lime; and the chief element of value in marl has been shown to be the carbonate of lime. Some Virginia marls contain as high as seventy-five or eighty per cent. of the carbonate, and all of them range over twenty-five or thirty per cent. Now, marl is plentiful and cheap all along the Atlantic seaboard, from New Jersey to Florida, the beds lying side by side of, and intersecting, the very land that is the best adapted to the Peanut—a rare and fortunate coincidence, that planters are learning to fully appreciate. And were it not that the New Jersey land-owner finds it more profitable to raise fruits and vegetables for the two great cities that lie on either hand of him, even he would find the Peanut to be a paying crop. With his warm, light sand and green marl, he could easily raise them. I mention this as one of the possibilities of the Peanut, though not likely to be realized for the reason named.

Fig. 4.—STAKE.

Replanting.—In about two weeks from planting, if the weather has been mild, the young plants should be large enough to show where replanting is necessary. The planter goes along the row, making slight depressions with his heel at all the missing hills, drops a pea therein, and covers it with the foot, the same way as at the first. Instead of making depressions with the heel, some use a long stake, an inch or two in diameter, to the lower end of which is affixed a piece of plank, fastened two inches from the end, and four or five inches long (fig. 4). This is used for punching the holes, and the piece of plank near the end prevents it from making the impression too deep. This is another of the inventions of the Virginia Peanut-planter; so true is it that "necessity is the mother of invention," a new crop calls for new devices for its successful and profitable cultivation.

In replanting, it is well to put two or more kernels to the hill, as the season will be getting late, and no time should be lost in securing a good stand. There can be no subsequent replanting with any profit.

Moles and other Depredators.—The Peanut-planter has to contend with many enemies. In many cases moles are exceedingly destructive to the planted seed, burrowing along the rows, and eating the seed, hill by hill. Often raccoons, foxes, and squirrels grabble them up. And everywhere the larger birds, such as crows, doves, and partridges come in for a share of the seed, and annoy and hinder the farmer very much. There is no remedy but ceaseless vigilance. The planter must go armed at every turn to protect his crop. Sometimes planters tar the seed to prevent the moles, etc., from destroying them. It perhaps has some tendency to check the depredations, but does not prevent them entirely. Coal tar is oftenest used for the purpose, a half pint being enough to smear a bushel of seed. The seeds are afterwards rolled in dry earth to prevent adhesion and trouble in planting. Traps, guns, and scarecrows are resorted to with varying success, but if the depredators are numerous, the planter is generally the vanquished party.

The Critical Period.—The first four or five weeks after the planting of this crop is its most critical period, and nothing but a good stand and the approach of warm weather will relieve the planter of his anxiety. At the first, many fears are reasonably entertained that the seed will not germinate well. And even should a pretty fair per-centage of the seed come up, cold and rainy weather may still seriously retard the growth of the plants, or the numerous depredators that have been named may so far reduce the number of hills as to greatly curtail the yield per acre. The very young Peanut is among the tenderest of plants, and a very slight mishap will serve to destroy or permanently injure it. Several days of cold weather at this period will make the struggling plants look pale and sickly, and if warm suns are too long delayed, many plants will fail altogether.

Backward springs are a great drawback in the cultivation of this crop, and cause many farmers to delay planting until it is certain warm weather cannot be many days off. If the planter could always be sure of his seed, this would be the better plan, but if these late plantings fail to come up well, the season is too far advanced for replanted seed to make a crop. Further north than Virginia, however, it would, we think, be decidedly better to put off planting until both soil and air are warm enough to insure quick germination, and then, instead of replanting the missing hills with Peanuts, plant beans or field peas instead. If the planter can get through the first month successfully, he lays aside his fears, and enters upon his work with renewed hope and energy. To a recital of this work—the work of cultivation, we now invite the reader's attention.