THE PEANUT

Hokitika Guardian, 28 March 1933, Page 3

THE PEANUT

A SCIENTIFIC CONTROVERSY

Men. with ■ fruit-harrows in- the streets are limited to the sale of

fruit ’ and: contain vegetables (wrote the : -Sydney correspondent > of - tne “Melbourne - Af gUiS” on • Match 16)-.

The permits vary in -accordance witn

the. , areas-fin which- the “barrows operate. A few barrow-men added -to tiie -attractiveness of their -stock- by introducing piles cf almonds -and"peer nuts. Tile Town. Hall authorities have their own -views, and they are for excluding nuts, me vendors cling to the homely peanut, alleging that .it is -a vegetable. -Scientists-' deliver their Opinions, but ordinary people are ■ leit in much the same position as before. One -scientist ■ says that -the peanut cannot be classified as a vegetable' because Pi .vegetable “is something that ' one eats- with meat. - The strict-vege-tarians, who are somewhat numerous, ' rise jn indignant protest. They eat I vegetables -and eat no meat. This disposes of that-explanation. The ordinary citizen does not concern himself with nice classifications. He wantspeanuts, and seed no logical reason why lie should not buy them from a barrow r-s he buys bepn’s and peas, tomatoes, onions,- brussels sprouts, and so forth. Thus we now “have the great peanut question as a relief from the discussion of world affairs. ’The fact that the:. peanut matures below the surface of the soil is alleged by some Solous to, have an important bearing upon' its claims to he • c-1 a r red as 'a- vegetable. •