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Then the nuts are poured onto a picking table, where women grade them and pick the bad kernels from the good by hand. Chinese shelled nuts are noted for their uniformity of size. Baskets of the good nuts are then inspected and poured into a pile, from which they are scooped into bags. Peanuts for export from China are usually packed in 100-pound sacks. The customary Chinese unit of measure is the picul, 133% pounds, and when peanuts are put up for sale in China, straw bags holding a picul, which may already have been used for rice, are employed.

Japanese peanuts also are carefully hand picked before bagging and are remarkably uniform and attractive in appearance.

In addition to the Virginia-type peanut, which is exported and which is called by the Chinese "the foreign peanut," a considerable acreage in China is planted to a smaller variety, closely resembling our Spanish-type peanut, which was introduced into the country long before the Virginia-type nut. In addition to being eaten roasted or raw, it is steamed with salt water and kept in weak brine

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FIG. 40.-Harvesting peanuts in China. The vines have been pulled from the sandy soil, and coolies are shoveling over the entire field, screening out every pod not removed with the vines. Note the piles of dirt remaining from the screening operations

until used. Only occasional shipments of these Spanish-type peanuts from China have been made to America. For local use the Virginiatype peanuts are either roasted or salted, and large quantities are crushed for oil.

CHINESE PEANUT OIL

Peanut oil is said to be one of the necessities of Chinese life. It is used both as a cooking fat and for lighting. At times it is mixed with bean oil for lighting. Occasionally it serves as a lubricant. A little modern oil-crushing machinery has been introduced at large centers of export, but the bulk of the oil is still obtained by the use of crude native presses. Peanut oil is frequently pressed out in the interior of China and brought to the shipping port in woven wicker baskets lined with many coats of paper, made waterproof by smearing with pigs' blood. The size containing 160 pounds of oil is a popular one, but many other sizes, both larger and smaller, are used. Figure 41 shows a large number of baskets of crude peanut oil waiting to

be carried, on the backs of mules by two-wheeled carts, or on bamboo poles placed on the shoulders of coolies, to the port of export or to a collection center. During the period of heavy movement to the United States a large volume of peanut oil left the country in ship's ballast and other tanks. Small shipments are usually exported in second-hand kerosene cans. Two cans of 371⁄2 pounds each are shipped in a case. The oil-cake residue is used both for fertilizer and for feeding to domestic animals.

The local Chinese demand for peanut oil is most accommodating in nature. The course of world prices, rather than the actual shortage or oversupply of oil and oil materials in China, is said to govern the attitude of the trade. If prices elsewhere are perceptibly higher than they are in China, exchange, tariff rates, and other things considered, peanuts and peanut oil are exported and the Chinese

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FIG. 41.-Peanut oil in native wicker, paper-lined baskets, awaiting shipment from crushing point in interior of China

turn to other oils or other food products as substitutes. On the other hand, if prices abroad are not favorable to export, the Chinese population uses practically all the peanut oil that can be had. Normally, at least half the Chinese peanut crop is available for export, either as peanuts or as peanut oil.

IMPORTANCE OF JAPANESE TRADERS IN ORIENTAL PEANUT MARKETING

The yield in Japan, where rather exact statistics of production are maintained, has ranged between 60,000,000 and 30,000,000 pounds during the past six years. The acreage planted to peanuts in Japan has decreased steadily during recent years, as many farmers are inclined to plant their land to other crops which promise a greater profit. About 80 per cent of the crop is grown in prefectures in the immediate vicinity of the city of Tokyo. Exports leave Japan chiefly from the port of Kobe.

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The Japanese are shrewd business men, and directly following the war handled a considerable share of the export traffic in Chinese peanuts, as well as the trade in Japanese-grown stock. Much of the peanut and peanut oil business in Shantung fell into the hands of Japanese traders as the successors of the Germans at Tsingtau, and large quantities of both oil and nuts were exported to the United States by way of Kobe, Japan. As a result, Kobe became one of the leading oriental peanut and peanut-oil markets, and the center in Japan of the importation, shelling, grading, and reexportation of Chinese goods. During the past few years, however, a great increase has been noted in the shipments made direct from Chinese ports, notably Tsingtau, and Kobe has been much less prominent in the peanut industry than formerly.

ASIATIC PEANUTS IN THE UNITED STATES

Following the armistice, high prices prevailing in American markets brought in a heavy influx of Asiatic goods. The low prices at which they were sold made the use of shelled oriental peanuts general west of the Mississippi. In addition, oriental peanuts were found in many of the leading consuming markets of the country and sold for the same purposes as Virginias-to be used in the manufacture of peanut candy, peanut butter, salted peanuts, and the like. Not only were unshelled oriental peanuts dominant in the vending trade west of the Continental Divide, but some importers are reported to have treated bleached Japanese peanuts with marble dust and chalk and sold them in eastern markets. Even before the war the peanut needs of the West for Virginia-type stock were very largely taken care of by oriental goods.

The tremendous receipts of Asiatic peanuts and peanut oil caused widespread alarm among the southern peanut growers and shippers. At their insistence, a tax of 3 cents per pound on peanuts, both shelled and unshelled, and 26 cents per gallon on peanut oil, was included in the emergency tariff act, effective on May 27, 1921. The previous import duty had been three-eighths cent per pound on unshelled and three-fourths cent per pound on shelled peanuts, and 6 cents per gallon on peanut oil. The importation of oriental peanuts and especially of peanut oil was greatly restricted by the imposition of this duty.

The duties prescribed by the emergency bill continued until September 21, 1922, when the present tariff act became effective. As provided in this bill, peanuts coming into the country now carry a duty of 3 cents per pound on unshelled and 4 cents per pound on shelled peanuts. The peanut oil duty is now 4 cents per pound.

Compared with net imports, mostly shelled, of 131,724,212 pounds for the fiscal year 1920, net imports of peanuts had fallen to 10,616,864 pounds by the fiscal year ended June 30, 1922, although the following fiscal year they advanced to over 45,000,000 pounds, and during the fiscal year 1924 to over 50,000,000 pounds. In the same way, net imports of peanut oil, which had reached a total of 165,390,713 pounds (equal to 2,757 carloads of 60,000 pounds each) in the fiscal year 1920, had fallen to 2,650,278 pounds (about 44 carloads) during the year ended June 30, 1922. In the following fiscal year they increased to 7,500,000 pounds, and in the year ended June 30, 1924, to more than 10,000,000 pounds.

GRADES FOR SHELLED ASIATIC PEANUTS

Oriental peanuts are graded on the basis of the number of kernels of a given size in an ounce. The largest nuts commonly imported are called 28/30s, meaning 28 to 30 to the ounce.

Next smaller in

size are the 30/32s, which together with the 28/30s are used by salters. These large sizes constitute the bulk of the imports. The oriental size comparable to and competing with our No. 1 Virginia and No. 1 Runner peanuts is called 38/40s. These smaller peanuts are kept out, to a considerable extent, at present market quotations by the 4-cents per pound tariff.

GRADES FOR UNSHELLED ASIATIC PEANUTS

Cleaned Asiatic peanuts have been sold in this country under various designations. At present the usual method is by the count per ounce, as with shelled goods. Most sales are made on the 12/13 to the ounce grade, corresponding in size to the domestic jumbo, and on 11/12s, which are slightly larger.

BASIS OF SALE FOR ORIENTAL PEANUTS

Formerly a majority of the Asiatic receipts were brought to this country by importers and sold either c. i. f. (cost, including insurance and freight to) or f. o. b. a Pacific coast port. Recently an increasing tendency has been observed for the larger users of imported peanuts to buy directly from dealers in the Orient. In either case, the goods are bought subject to inspection upon arrival, for experience has shown that mold may develop in transit and that nuts occasionally heat while on the way.

When American users purchase Asiatic peanuts of brokers on the Pacific coast the terms may be net cash, with inspection at the coast port, or credit may be allowed. Trade acceptances are usually issued in the latter event. Cash in 30 days is the credit basis generally extended, although terms of 60 or 90 days have occasionally been allowed. A few large importers who regrade and recondition their shipments, sell on a straight "usual terms" basis, allowing inspection at destination. Reserve stocks of oriental peanuts are usually maintained on the Pacific coast, and goods are even carried in bond for Canadian or other foreign trade. Seattle and San Francisco are the centers of activity in oriental peanuts on the Pacific coast.

INSPECTION OF IMPORTED STOCK

Inspection of oriental peanuts may be made for any or all of the following points: Count, rancidity, vermin, mold, splits, uniformity of size, and general condition (flavor, moisture, etc.) The samples on which the inspection is based may be obtained from 5 to 10 per cent of the bags scattered among the various layers or stacks throughout the lot, peanuts being taken from the centers as well as the sides of the bags. The percentages for count, rancidity, and splits are determined by actual count. Mold and vermin are usually detected by casual examination.

At times oriental peanuts, which have been subjected to heat or moisture, do not blanch properly but develop spotting during the roasting process. In consequence, dealers who purchase oriental peanuts for salting and confectionery purposes often make a "spot

test" before accepting the goods. This is accomplished by cooking the peanuts in vegetable oil at about 275° F., removing the skins by hand, and counting the spotted nuts.

IMPORTS FROM SPAIN

Spain was formerly an important source of unshelled peanuts, shipping nuts with long, jointed pods, which resemble our domestic Valencias or Tennessee Red Skins. The nuts are cleaned, graded, and packed in burlap bags containing about 110 pounds. The grades are based on the number of kernels in the shell, and the 3 to 4 grade, the largest size, brings the highest price. During the latter part of the war, the necessity for conservation of fats and oils caused the Spanish Government to place an embargo on the exportation of peanuts from that country, but light receipts have since come in at Boston, which is the chief port of entry in the United States for Spanish-grown peanuts in the shell.

Shortage of our domestic crop of shelled Spanish, and accompanying high prices, brought from Spain, during 1924, shipments totaling over 1,000,000 pounds of shelled peanuts closely resembling the Spanish peanut grown in this country. Practically all of these shelled peanuts from Spain were imported at New York City.

OTHER SOURCES OF SUPPLY

During the year ended June 30, 1920, 5,892,519 pounds of peanuts were imported from the Dutch East Indies, which produce a heavier more oily nut than that grown in China; and some other years in the past have also shown sizeable receipts from Java. During the year ended June 30, 1924, 1,939,211 pounds of peanuts were brought in from Java and Madura. Shipments from British Africa came to the United States during several of the war years.

India, Senegal, Nigeria, and Gambia are among the world's heaviest peanut-producing countries, but few nuts from these sources have been marketed in the United States.

FOREIGN OUTLETS FOR AMERICAN PEANUTS

The export trade has never claimed a very large proportion of the shipments of American peanuts, and for several years the total exports have steadily lessened. In 1924, less than 2 per cent of the total shipments of cleaned and shelled peanuts were exported, and in very few years have the exports amounted to as much as 6 per cent of the domestic movement.

Canada is by far the largest receiver of peanuts going out of the United States, taking some 85 per cent of our exports. Both Virginia and Spanish peanuts formerly went in large volume to Canadian cities, especially in the eastern half of the country, to be salted, made into peanut butter and candy, and to be sold in the shell, roasted; but recently Canada has taken principally unshelled Virginias. High prices of American peanuts in 1923 and 1924 caused Canadian importers to substitute Chinese and Java peanuts- for them to a considerable extent.

During the past four years Cuba has generally ranked next in volume to Canada as an importer of American peanuts, and occasional shipments have been made to Jamaica, Bermuda, and several LatinAmerican countries. Practically all of these are said to be peanuts in the shell, for roasting.

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