st 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.

[Illustration: Fig. 5.--SHOCK STANDING.]

[Illustration: Fig. 6.--SHOCK REMOVED.]

Instead of leaving the vines on the ground a day or two to cure, many
shock them up at once. If the vi