great testing of the seed peanuts, and,
although nearly every planter endeavors to save his own seed, the
quantity of doubtful seed is generally great enough to cause a brisk
demand for good seed at advanced prices. The method of saving seed
peanuts will be given in a subsequent chapter.

Some weeks before planting time, the Virginia farmer, who plants from
fifty to a hundred bushels of peanuts, starts about having them shelled
and assorted, preparatory to planting. This must be done with care, and
females are mostly employed to perform this work. The pods are popped
open with the fingers and thumb, care being taken not to split or bruise
the kernel; all shrivelled and dark colored kernels are rejected. After
they are shelled, the seed must be put into bags or baskets, a small
quantity in each parcel, and set where there is a free circulation of
air, until wanted for planting. If a large quantity is bulked together
after being shelled, or if put in a close box or barrel, even in small
quantities, they are liable to heat, and be prevented from germinating.
This fact is the result of some costly experience on the part of many
planters. Thus it becomes necessary to handle the seed with great care
and circumspection throughout. From a bushel to a bushel and a half of
peanuts in the hull, or pod, is estimated to be enough to plant one acre
of ground, the quantity depending on the quality of the seed and the
distance apart they are to be planted.

=Time of Planting.=--In Virginia, the first twenty days in May is
regarded as, in the main, the most suitable time for planting. Some
plant as early as the last week in April, and the seasons frequently
favor this early start, and the crop does well. More, however, plant in
June than in April, and sometimes planting is delayed until the middle
or last of June. On warm and dry land, there is no great risk in
planting the first week in May, but on colder land, the planter should
wait until the ground has been warmed by the sun, say the latter part
of the same month. If the farmer has reason to hope for a week or ten
days of mild, fair weather, he may risk a planting quite early, as in
that time the seed ought to germinate, and come up sufficiently to make
it sure that it will grow. Once up, the plant will hold its own, and
though cold rains or winds may retard its growth, and cause it to turn
yellow, it will start anew with the first spell of sunny weather, and
rapidly change color t