planting. With a soil deeply broken in the outset, the Peanut will withstand successfully any period of dry weather ever likely to occur in this country. It has been noticed that the crops that suffer the most from drouths are those planted on land not well prepared, or in orchards of growing trees, which necessarily extract a great deal of moisture from the soil. Even in a season as severe as that of 1883, peanuts planted on a deep, mellow soil out of the reach of trees, did well, and were well seeded and filled. Deep preparation of the soil, then, is a corrective of drouth for this crop, as well as for any other. With this simple precaution, no great apprehension need be entertained of the effects of dry weather. Let the planter but do his part in preparation and cultivation, and nature will be sure to respond with liberal, if not overflowing crops. The corn-planter has more to fear from dry weather than the peanut-planter.

Appearance at this Period.—The appearance of a thrifty crop of peanuts at the time of maturity, or a little after the last weeding, is simply magnificent. The vines have now met in both directions, and the whole field, from a little distance, looks as if covered with a carpet of velvet-plush. Nothing obstructs the view. The vines lie close on the soil, and the eye reaches every nook and corner of the field, and takes in the whole panorama at one glance. Few other crops afford so clear or so pleasing a prospect. Indian corn, in the tender green of summer, is a beautiful object to look upon, but it shuts out all view of distant parts of the farm. The golden wheat, as it bends to the passing breeze, is also beautiful, but one must go around it and not through it. A field of cotton, as the open bolls display the snowy lint, is a sight to please the admirer of nature, but it lacks the setting of green that is always pleasing to the eye. The peanut crop surpasses them all in beauty. It presents an air of freedom, of repose, of life, and of security from harm, of which no other can boast.

Such is the crop to which we have invited the reader's attention, and the planting and cultivation of which we have endeavored to describe. Having proceeded thus far, let us pause a moment, as the writer has done, time and again, to survey the beautiful prospect of a field of peanuts in full maturity. There it is, a literal carpet of living green, covering acres on acres of mother earth, and beneath its velvet folds is quietly growing the wealth that is to make its owner independent, and by means of which the planter's family is to secure most of the necessaries and comforts of life. No crop outside of the market gardens, yields so much actual cash per acre as this. No wonder, then, that it readily becomes popular with all who try it, and that it never loses ground wherever introduced under favorable circumstances.

An interval of about two months now elapses, during which the crop requires no attention. The seed pods are filling and maturing, and the whole plant is ripening for the harvest.

CHAPTER IV.

HARVESTING.

When to begin Harvesting.—We come now to the laborious and often difficult work of harvesting the peanut crop. We say difficult, for often rainy or other unpropitious weather at this period, makes it exceedingly hard to save the crop in good condition, and prevent the pods from becoming dark or spotted. Ordinarily, the harvesting should not begin so long as mild and growing weather continues, even though October may be far spent. It is important, of course, to get as many firm, matured pods on a vine as possible, and the longer the weather holds favorable for this, the more pods, as a rule, will there be.

If, however, the crop has been planted early, and the leaves begin to fall from the vines, it is better to start the plow and dig the crop at once. When the Peanut plant gets fully matured, it is very apt to begin to cast its leaves, especially on ground that has been planted in peanuts often before. After the leaves fall off, the vines are of very little value as hay, and as most planters consider them excellent provender, they make it a point to harvest the crop in time to secure good hay. For the same reason, effort is made to dig and shock the vines before a killing frost occurs. Frost spoils the vines for fodder, though it does no harm to the pods, unless it be for seed. Some suppose that seed taken from frost-bitten vines will not come up well.

In the latitude of Virginia the usual time for digging the peanut crop is the second and third weeks in October. That is, the great bulk of the crop is dug about this time, though some start the first week in that month, and others wait until the close, unless driven to start earlier by the weather. In rare cases, some planters dig by the twenty-fifth of September, but it is generally believed that all who start thus early lose more in weight and yield than they gain in time or price. Six or ten days of mild weather at this stage of the crop, will make an appreciable difference in the yield, and if the peanuts can remain in the ground until the latter part of October, there will be very few saps, or immature pods. But, in whatever latitude the planter may reside, the general rule should be, to dig before a killing frost occurs.

Mode of Harvesting.—In Virginia, the general practice is as follows: First, plow the peanuts with a point having a long, narrow wing, and a small mould-board, so that the vines will be loosened without having any earth thrown upon them. The plow passes along on both sides of the rows, just near enough for the wing to fairly reach the tap-root, which it severs. Care is taken to put the plow deep enough to pass under the pods without severing them from the vines. This is important, as most of the detached pods are lost, and if the work is slovenly done, the loss will be great.

Hands with pitchforks follow the plow, lift the vines from the loose soil, shake them well to get the earth off, and then lay them down, either singly or in small piles, to remain a day or two to wilt and cure in the sun. This is light work, and can be done rapidly, two hands being enough to keep up with one plow. If rain is feared, it is best to lay the vines down singly after shaking them, for, when in piles, if rain occurs, and the weather is warm, the pods are apt to speck and mildew before the vines can dry out. A rain falling on the pods after they are dug, and before they are shocked, does no harm, if the sun comes out soon to dry them before they can mildew.