The Peanut Plant: Its Cultivation And UsesJones, B. W.
Science
The Peanut Plant: Its Cultivation And Uses
Jones, B. W.
Peanuts
It requires as much judgment to market a crop well, as it does to raise
and harvest it, and often more. Unfortunately, the majority of planters
are sadly deficient in that knowledge of commercial life, which would
make them masters of the situation. Too often they are bound by lien or
mortgage, or else they have run up a heavy bill at the country store,
and when the crop is made and ready for market, they are obliged to sell
forthwith. Generally too, this is the very time when prices are lowest,
and so the planter is obliged to part with the fruits of his labor at
the most unfavorable rates, and allow the middlemen to pocket the
profits. It is only by careful economy and prudent management, on the
part of each planter for himself, that this evil is to be corrected.
Without entering into the details of commercial affairs, we will
endeavor to show the planter how he may go into market with his crop,
prepared to command the best prices. To this end, it is essential that
he have his crop in the best marketable condition, remembering that a
good article always sells well.
=Picking off the Peanuts.=--This part of the work, usually done by women
and children, may make or spoil the sale of the entire crop. If stems
are gathered with the pods, and good, bad, and indifferent are all
lumped together, with leaves and trash thrown in for good measure, a
great deal of assorting and cleaning will subsequently be required, or
else the sale of the crop will be impaired to the extent of one or two
cents to the pound. In picking, the stems should be rejected, and the
saps and inferior pods, if gathered at all, be kept apart from the rest.
Only the best, brightest, and soundest pods should go into the A, No.
1's, and these, if clean of earth and trash, will always bring top
prices. The saps also will sell, at lower rates. It is the neglect of
these few precautions that so sadly curtails the bill of sale of many a
planter. If planters would offer pickers extra inducements for clean
pods, this difficulty would, to a great extent, be obviated. When the
same price is paid for all, without regard to the manner of picking, a
premium is offered for slovenly work, and the careless get better paid
than the painstaking.
In picking, the pops should be refused altogether, and the saps and very
dark pods go by themselves. Many planters, however, leave the saps on
the vines, saving the best only. The saps, however, will sell, either in
pod or shelled, and if numerous, will more than pay for picking them. It
is, therefore, so much gained. It must be confessed, however, that the
presence of a good many saps on the vines, makes them much more valuable
as feed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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