Groundnut

Ground-nut, Earth-nut, Monkey-nut, or Pea-nut, the short, oblong, cylindrical pod of an annual leguminous piant of tropical and sub-tropical countries, Arachis hypogcea. After flowering, the flower-stalk bends down and buries the young pod, which ripens under ground. It has a reticulate surface, and contains one or two seeds. In sandy soil this plant will yield from thirty to thirty-eight bushels of nuts per acre. The seeds taste like almonds, and are largely eaten in many countries, over three and three-quarter million bushels being raised annually in the southern United States. On pressure the seeds yield a large quantity of a bland, yellowish, non-drying oil, an excellent substitute for olive oil. The nuts are largely imported to Marseilles for their oil, chiefly from the west coast of Africa, about 90,000 tons being received annually. They are familiar to English children as "monkeynuts" and to Americans in "pea-nut candy."