ON THE LAND.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 9183, 6 April 1910, Page 2

ON THE LAND.

THE CULTIVATION OF PEANUTS

The cultivation of the peanut is a com- c parativcly simple- matter. The seed bed c should be finely pulversied to a, depth of t it least sin. Rake up the land m the i spring as soon ae it is in proper physical ' condition to work, and then harrow and roll, or use a smoothing-board, so as 1 to obtain a level surface. Keep the land A free from weeds until planting time by t occasional stirring. This will tend to v increase the supply of moisture in the soil, liberate plant food, and ensure a s vigorous growth of the crop as soon as t germination takes place. > The importance of selecting seed with c care- cannot be emphasised too strongly. The wonderful results obtained in the im- 1 provement of corn and various other crops indicate how much may be accom- 1 plished if the practice of seed selection 1 is extended to the peanut. The seed should be selected from prolific plants, and should be carefully housed to pro- . vent its exposure to unfavourable weather conditions. Only well-developed and perfectly mature seed should be planted, and it is very important that the seed bo selected before the plants have been injured by frost They should be allowed to thoroughly cure in the open air, and shouid then be stored in sacks in a dry, airy loft, where they will neither heat nor coliect moisture. About two bushels of seed in the pot should be allowed for each acre of land. The time of planting depends largely upon weather conditions. Most of the crop is planted from April 1 to Juno (in America), but planting may be done any time after danger of lulling by froet is past. The seed is usually sown in drills, especially on land that has been well handled the previous year, and is comparatively free from weeds. Tho rows, as a rule, are 3ft to 3j.it apart, and tho kernels arc placed from 15in to 18in in the drill, depending on the fertility of the land. Planting is now generally done with an implement somewhat on the order of a cotton-planter. In fact, machinery is fast superseding hand labour in tho cultivation of the crop, which is an advantage in many respects, since tho woik car. be done more perfectly, quickly, and economically by machinery. The peanut crop is sensitive to the interference of weeds, and the land should therefore be kept, scrupulously c.ean. .t is important that the work be done early in the season, since the runners must not bo disturbed after they form and spread. Aβ a rule, ihe pods are laid by the middle of July or the first ot August (in America), and hence cultivation ceases about that time. It is al the more important, therefore, that land intended for the crop should first of all bo thoroughly freed of weeds, and cultivated by means of surface working implements, with sufficient efficiency and thoroughness to keep the ground mellow and free from trash until the time when cultivation ceases. Aβ to the method of planting in the lowlands, ridge cultivation may sometimes vrove the most desirable, but, as a. i rule, the peanut should not be planted in a led. This statement is made advisedly, and as the result of both observation and experimental investigation. Peanuts must be harvested before frost falls, as it injures both the vines and the kernels. The crop is generally harvested by means of a- plough with a mouldboard, and which has a sword-like cutting share attached to the side. The knife passes under the row without injuring the nuts, and cute the roots. Men following behind tho plough with pitchforks shako the nuts from tho soil, and pile them in windrows. Other labourers follow, and stack them around poles 7ft high, which aro set at convenient places in the field. Care is taken to see that the vines do not come in contact with tho soil, and the nuts aro placed on the outside of the stacks. After the stack has been completed, it is carefully covered with straw and grass as a rooting to keep off tho water during rainy weather. After curing m those stacks for a period of 20 days or more, the peanuts arc ready to be picked. This work _is usually performed by women and children, who aro paid so much per bushel. It ie slow and tedious work, and one o! the greatest expenses of the peanut grower. After tho peanuts are picked, they should be cleaned before being sacked, as they will command a hotter price. Most of tho work of cleaning, of course, is done at the factory, which is proper, because of the facilities now available for the work. The peanuts, as a rule, arc put in bags which l.old about four bushels, or 1001b. Many attempts have been inado to devise a machine which would pick peanuts, but most of those on the market at the present time cannot bo regarded as altogether satisfactory, and it is likely a. large part of tho hand labour now necessary in preparing peanuts for the market will have to bo continued for some timo io come, though inventive genius will probably find a way out of this difficulty in the course of time. LAYING RECORDS. Tho Irish Department of Agriculture has obtained records for tho year 1903 from 125 flocks, representing over 5000 hens. The general average of all these flocks was 120 eggs per hen per annum. One lot of Barred Plymouth Rocks (varying in number in the course of tho year from 20 to 36) gave an average of 201,and there were six lots of different breeds that averaged over 180. On tho other hand, there were ten flocks that gave under 80 eggs per hen. Dividing them according to breeds, the results were as under: —

THE NEW NITROGENOUS MANURES. ( Our English agricultural correspondent ' writes:—"Reports of trials of the new manures containing nitrogen derived from the atmosphere are now becoming numerous. The best managed that I have seen yet reported are some carried out for' four years for the Aberdeen and North of Scotland Agricultural College by Mr. Hcnclrick, B.Sc., lecturer on agriculture. Using equal quantities of superphosphate and sulphate of potash on all plots, ho compared the results of adding on separate plots nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, calcium cyanamidc, and nitrate of lime respectively, in quantities containing equal amounts of nitrogen, tho last two being the new manures. Calcium cyanamidc, by the way, is now called nitrolim. It hassometimes been called lime nitrogen, thus causing confusion, between it and nitrate of lime. Taking the results of _ three years on barley and oat crops, as ' the only years in which both the new manures were tried under satisfactory circumstances (a wet harvest having | spoilt tho experiments in 1907), nitrate of lime comes out first and nitrolim second in all three with respect to yield of grain. An average of twelve experiments in one season nitrolim proved slightly inferior to sulphate of ammonia. In another year nitrate of lime also was tried, and it came out first, followed by sulphate of ammonia as second, and nitrolim as third." Mr Hcnclrick , s conclusions arc as follows : — l.That calcium cyanamidc (nitrolim or lime nitrogen) and nitrate of lime have both proved themselves active and effective nitrogenous manures. 2. That calcium cyanamide has shown itself equal to nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia as a manure for grain crops.

3. That nitrate of lime has proved itself rather more ofl'ectivc, v/oight for weight of nitrogen, than nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, or calcium cyanamide. This is probablj' due to the fact

that it contains lime in combination with the nitrate. The results might bo different on soils well supplied, with lime.

4.-That no noticeable injury was caused to germination by applying calcium cyanamide at the time of seeding. There does not appear to be any necessity, therefore, for applying this manure before the seed, when it is used in dressings of about lewt per acre. 5. That both calcium cyanamido of lime and nitrate of lime possess disadvantageous properties which may limit their use. Neither is suitable for mixing with soluble phosphates.

6. That nitrate of lime absorbs moisture so readily that it will require to bo protected from the air when stored, and will not be suitable for use in our ordinary manure mixtures. 7. Thtit the most suitable method of using nitrate of lime is as a top-dressing. When so used its hygroscopic nature will bo an advantage, and, taken along with the rapidity with which it works and its powerful forcing action, will make it the most useful manure we possess for certain purposes, such as forcing on a crop which is suffering from insect attack. HONEY FERMENTING. Mr Thos. Stirling, Leeston. Christchurch : I shall be very pleased to- answer any specific questions on the management of bees you may put, but cannot undertake in these columns the writing of a treatise on bee-keeping. The reason of honey fermenting is that there is too great a percentage of water in it. Either it has not been thoroughly ripened in the first place, or, haying boon rip_ened, it has been exposed in a damp situation and absorbed an excess of moisture. I would advise you to got Bulletin No. 18, on "Bee Culture," from the Department of Agriculture. Christchurch, and also one of the textbooks therein mentioned. You cannot bo successful unless you study some goow work cessful unless you study some good work on the subject.

AvcragcAvcrageAverago for all of Best of Worst Flocks. Flock. Flock. Breed. Eggs. Eggs. Eggs. White Leghorns... 134.6 171.6 69.8 Brown Leghorns... 143.6 181.8 113.3 Black Minorcas.,. 122.1 189.0 81.2 Buff Orpingtons... 132.8 188.6 86.7 White Orpingtons 122.2 126.5 122.8 White Wyandottes 129.2 171.9 88.0 Fiaverollcs ... 122.6 165.4 68.0 Brd. Plym. Rocks 109.0 201.1 69.8 Houdans ... 99.2 134.4 82.7 Light Sussex ... 97.0 102.3 89.0 Mixed pure breeds 135.7 184.8 117.9 Mixed flocks ... 117.1 196.3 71.3