class="tdr">100.00

In one hundred parts of the husk and seed separated:

"The ash of the seed," it was stated by the same authority, "consists of salts wholly soluble in water, composed of the phosphates of alkalies, with traces of alkaline, chlorides, and sulphates. The ash of the husk differs, in consisting chiefly of common salt, phosphate of lime and magnesia."

The analysis of the ash of the Peanut, furnished to the American Agriculturist, by H. B. Cornwall, Professor of Analytical Chemistry in the John C. Green School of Science, College of New Jersey, Princeton, and published in that Journal for July, 1880, gives the following as the mineral elements of this plant:

PER ONE HUNDRED PARTS OF ASH.

In this analysis neither the carbonic acid nor carbon were determined.

It was further stated that the kernels yielded 2.08 per cent. of ash.

These analyses, the one of the ash, and the other of the seed and husk in their natural state, are sufficiently full for the purpose in view, and serve admirably to show the principal elements required in the growth of the Peanut plant. We see that albuminous matter and starch form a very large per cent., over three-fourths, of the seed. Of course an article so rich in fat-forming ingredients, must be well suited for the food of man or beast. This explains why hogs fed on peanuts take on fat so readily. Nothing will change the appearance of a poor hog sooner than a diet of peanuts. The amount of oil in the seed—sixteen per cent., makes the Peanut one of the best oil-producing plants in the world.

Of the mineral constituents, potash forms by far the largest part—44.73 per cent. Soda, magnesia, and phosphoric acid also enter quite largely into the composition of this plant. It will be noticed that common salt plays some part in the make-up of the Peanut.

Some may wonder at the small amount of lime reported to be present in the ash. This may be explained by stating that lime is not per se a manure, but a powerful chemical agent when applied to the soil, reducing inert matter into plant food. Lime appears to be the driving-wheel in the laboratory of the soil. Its presence is essential, but it does not do all the work itself. Of marl, the best fertilizer yet discovered for the Peanut, the principal ingredient of value, is carbonate of lime. Some of the Virginia marls range as high as seventy and eighty per cent. in carbonate of lime. This form of lime is very valuable for all agricultural purposes. Like its more caustic relative, it plays the part of a solvent and liberator, refines and vitalizes the soil, and causes other ingredients to perform their part in building up the framework of plants.

FOOTNOTE:

CHAPTER II.

PLANTING.

Soil, and Mode of Preparation.—A warm soil is required by the Peanut. A light, porous soil in which sand predominates, but not too sandy, warm and dry, and yet not too dry, but containing some moisture, and open to capillary circulation, suits the Peanut best. In all cases the soil most suitable for the Peanut must contain a certain amount of calcareous constituents. The color of the soil should be gray, with few or no traces of iron to stain the pods. As a rule, the brightest pods bring the most money, and as the color of the pods is always influenced by that of the soil in which they grow, it becomes a matter of importance to select that which is of the right description. Land of the above nature and color may be regarded as first-class for this crop. But let it be distinctly borne in mind, that unless it contains a goodly per-centage of lime in some form, in an available state, no land will produce paying crops of pods, although it may yield large and luxuriant vines. Of all the forms of lime, that supplied by the marls of the seaboard section appears to be the best.

But any soil that can be put into a friable condition, and kept so during the period of cultivation, will produce salable peanuts, provided it contains enough lime to insure solid pods. If it is known that a piece of land will produce sound corn, at the rate of from five to ten barrels per acre, the planter may rest satisfied, without further experiment, that it will yield from forty to seventy-five or eighty bushels of peanuts. As the cultivation extends, and more land is needed for this crop, much of it is being put upon clayey soil, and when well cultivated, it generally produces heavy peanuts. Indeed, more pounds per acre may be grown upon some stiff lands than on any light soil, however calcareous. But clayey land, or such as is dark or tenacious, will impart a stain or dark color to the pods that is objectionable to buyers, and hence soils of this nature are generally avoided. A tenacious soil is also colder and more inert than a light one during the earlier part of the summer, and as the Peanut plant requires a rather long term of warm weather to insure full growth and maturity, a warmer and quicker soil is preferable. Buyers, however, are not now quite so particular as formerly in regard to color, and hence there is more inducement to plant on any ground that will yield good, solid peanuts, and it is being more frequently done.

But the actual or prospective peanut planter, who has an ash-colored or grayish soil, which is sandy and non-adhesive, is fortunate. If he will keep it well limed and trashed, or else rotate every fourth or