Martha Dove, age 14, of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, for her question:

Is the peanut related to peas or nuts?

Peanuts come in nut style shells and the nutritious little nuts inside have a delicious nutty flavor. But the remarkable plants that bear them are not related to any of the nut bearing trees or shrubs. They are qualified members of the plant family Leguminosae, which makes them cousins of the peas and beans and all the other delicious, nutritious legumes that the vegetable world offers us. ~`e ~e ~e

In most peanut territories, the crops already are harvested and the bushy plants with their loads of crisp shelled seeds are hanging upside down to dry in airy attics and sheds. After about two months, the peanuts still attached to their dry, twiggy vines are properly cured. They will be stripped and most of them roasted in their shells. In an oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit, it takes about 20 minutes to add that deliciously rich toasted flavor to the rather bland fresh nuts.

The nuts are seeds that come in pods like peas, beans and other cousins of the legume family. However, no other legume goes through such a remarkable procedure to prepare its seeds for next year's crop. A single nut may be planted, or the whole pod if the shell is papery thin. The plant needs a slightly acid soil and a warm summer lasting four or five months, plus regular showers that bring about 20 inches  of rain through the growing seasons. These suitable peanut conditions are supplied naturally from Virginia southward through the eastern United States, along the Gulf states and in parts of Texas.

Several varieties of bush type and vine type peanuts are planted and harvested in these moist, long summery regions and nowadays people are pampering them to grow even farther north. The pretty plants are bright green and their dainty little leaves are arranged in pairs along graceful stems. They keep opening large yellow, pea type flowers that last only a few hours. This is just long enough to fertilize the inconspicuous little flowers that grow in the lower leaf axils.

The fertilized flowers sprout long peduncles, pale threads that dip down and bury their tips in the soil. This is the time to bank soft loose humus and compost around the base of the plants. For the peduncle tips plan to develop their peanut seeds in the soil. This remarkable member of the pea family spends most of the long, moist warm summer developing its unusual seed pods underground.

Every year, most of us consume about four pounds of peanut food in some form. And we couldn't do better. Those nutty peas are rich in meaty proteins, all the B vitamins, vitamins E and A, plus iron and phosphorus. Delicate peanut oil is either squeezed or dissolved from the nuts. And, if we prefer our peanut butter without extra additives ,we can use a blender or a fine grinder to mash it from whole roasted peanuts. This fresh homemade peanut butter has a super superb flavor.