BUCKWHEAT. 



A WHEAT. 



The berries of several different shrubs in said to be substituted {or 

 those of the R. ooUarrtnu; a circuuutanee which U fortunate, if any 

 more harmless are mad* to replace them. Buckthorn berriea are 

 themselves used to adulterate cubebs. 



BUCK WHKAT (Poly'gonum fagopy'nim) U said to be found wild 

 in Persia. The cultivation uf it, according to some authorities, was 

 introduced into Europe by the crusaders; according to others, the 

 Moon introduced it into Spain from Africa; and hence it hai in France 

 the name tU tamoi*. The name of buck-wheat is a corruption of the 

 German bueh-weiaen, which signifies beech-wheat, from the resem- 

 blance of the seed to that of the beech tree. It is called wheat beoauw, 

 when ground, it produces a fine farina, which resembles that of wheat 

 in appearanos. The botanical name of the genus, Polygonum, U taken 

 from the angular form of the seed, and the specific name, fagopyrum, 

 from it* resemblance to beech-mast Buck-wheat grows with a strong 

 herbaceous, cylindrical, and branching stem of a reddish colour, about 

 8 feet high. The leaves, which are ivy-shaped, are placed alternately 

 on the stems. The flowers grow in bunches at the end of the branched, 

 and are succeeded by black angular seeds, formed of four triangles, 

 being thus nearly regular tetrahedrons. The plant is an annual, awl 

 the flowers appear very soon after it is out of the ground. They con- 

 tinue to blow and bear seed in succession till the frost destroys the 

 plant. Being a native of a warm climate, the smallest appearance of 

 frost in spring, while the plant is tender, entirely destroys it Hence 

 it is never sown in northern climates till all danger of frost is over, 

 which in many parts of England is not till the middle of Hay ; but its 

 growth is so rapid, that it may be reaped in September, at which time 

 the principal part of the blossoms will have ripened their seeds. No 

 advantage would be gained by leaving it longer on the ground, for 

 even if the frost did not kill the whole plant, the earliest ripened seeds 

 would be shed and lost; and the last blossoms would not produce 

 perfect seeds. 



The cultivation of buck-wheat has never been very extensive in the 

 variable climate of Britain. It is not so well adapted to cold wet soils 

 as to warm sands ; nor is it so certain a crop as oats or barley on lauds 

 which are suited to the growth of these grains. For countries where 

 there are very poor light lands with a hot dry climate, unfavourable to 

 the growth of oats, and not rich enough for barley, buck-wheat is a 

 great resource; and without it, many tracts of poor land w.mM 

 scarcely be capable of supporting a population. As a principal crop, 

 therefore, it is confined to some parts of the south of France and 

 other countries similar in soil and situation. Aa a secondary and 

 occasional crop, it often occurs in Switzerland, Germany, and especially 

 in Flanders, where it enters as a regular part of their varied and com- 

 plicated rotations. Under particular circumstances, it might bo intro- 

 duced with advantage into many parts of England where it is now 

 unknown. The only counties in which it ia cultivated to a moderate 

 extent at present are Norfolk and Suffolk, where it is called branl: If 

 a small patch of buck-wheat is occasionally met with elsewhere, it ia, 

 in general, mainly for the sake of encouraging game, particularly 

 pheasants, which are extremely fond of it 



When buck-wheat is cultivated as a regular part of a rotation, it is 

 generally after the land has been considerably exhausted by former 

 grain crops, and manure cannot be had in sufficient abundance to 

 recruit it It will then produce a better return than oats, and leave the 

 land in a better state, especially in warm and dry seasons. On richer 

 and better soils it may be occasionally a good substitute for barley, 

 when the land cannot be properly cleaned and tilled sufficiently early 

 in spring ; for it allows a full month more to prepare the ground ; and 

 in this one month, if it be hot and dry, a good tillage may produce 

 nearly all the advantage of a summer fallow. Buck-wheat, on good 

 land, will produce nearly as valuable a crop an barley, though it is 

 certainly more precarious; the seeds sown with it will probably 

 produce more grass or clover than they would if sown with barley ; 

 for buck-wheat, sown thin, as it always should be in this case, does not 

 choke the grass, but shelters it from the scorching rays of the sun ; 

 and as it draws the land less than any other grain, it leaves it in better 

 heart for the clover. It has been strongly recommended to be sown 

 on good, clean, light land, after winter tares have been either fed off 

 by sheep or cut green for hones. By this means, the root weeds, 

 which had bean smothered by the tares and ploughed up immediately 

 after the tares were off, will not hare time to spring up again : the 

 rapid growth and the shade of the buck-wheat effectually keep them 

 down, and prevent the annual weeds from going to seed. Thus a crop 

 is obtained between the tare* and the wheat, and the land m kept 

 perfectly clean. Thk is mentioned by Arthur Young, in the Survey 

 of Suffolk,' as a siieosasfnl practice, and strongly recommended. Buck- 

 wheat may be ploughed into the ground in a green state. For this 

 purpose, it is sown tolerably thick, and when the plant is in its greatest 

 vigour and in full blossom, a roller is passed over the crop to lay it 

 level with the ground. The plough, with the addition of a skim 

 oouKer, turns it neatly into the furrows and completely buries it It 

 on decays from to own moisture, and the decomposed parts being 

 incorporated with the soil greatly add to its fertility. 



On poor sandy reclaimed soils, especially if they are trenched to a 

 epnsidcralJe depth, bock-wheat may be sown with great advantage for 

 the purpose of bang ploughed in as a preparation for the first crop of 

 turnips. The turnips fed off by sheep penned on them will enrich and 



consolidate the ground sufficiently fr a crop of corn or 

 grass seeds. A bushel and a half, or at m<t two bushels, is an ample 

 allowance of seed for an acre; the cost of it U at most 8. or 10*. 

 When buck-wheat hi ploughed in for manure, care must be taken to 

 consolidate the surface of the land, if it be light, by rolling or other 

 means, for the decaying items leave it very loose and hollow ; but if 

 the soil is tenacious, the air which is let in mellows it and makes it 

 rniniMe. which is a great advantage. Provided the soil be stirred to a 

 considerable depth, so that the roots of the buck-wheat may strike 

 deep in search of nourishment, however poor or light it may 

 however dry the weather, it will produce a good crop of seed. It only 

 wants a few showers at first, and at the time when the seeds \ 

 be formed. It continues to put forth blossoms for a long time, and if 

 the first-formed seeds should not be so full as might be wished, the 

 latter may probably make up for it The careful husbandman mut 

 examine the plants at different periods, and reap when he tinda the 

 greatest quantity of ripe and full seeds. It is not possible by any 

 management to have all the flowers come to seed in perfection : hut 

 under favourable circumstances from four to five quarters of good seed 

 may be obtained from an acre of well-tilled land. 



Manure in seldom or never laid upon land upon which buck-wheat is 

 sown, because even where manure is abundant it is reserved for other 

 crops supposed to require it more. It is asserted by many that manure 

 makes the buck-wheat run to haulm anil diminishes the crop of seed. 

 That this may be the case with injudicious additions of dung, we are 

 nut inclined to dispute ; but if the land be tilled to a sufficient depth, 

 if the manure be well prepared and intimately mixed with the soil, 

 and if the buck-wheat be sown thin in proportion to the richness of 

 the land, wo have no doubt that it will not only grow high and 

 strong and blossom well, but also give an abundant crop of seeds. 

 The reason why crops run to straw and are deficient in 

 when the land is moist and has been highly manured, is. that the 

 manure ploughed in and covered only with a few inches of soil excites 

 an extraordinary vegetation in the young green plant, which makes it 

 shoot out a strong vigorous stem ; but by the time of flowering, the 

 dry weather has exhausted the rich ni.iUtiire of the manure, and 

 the plant, pushing its roots downwards in search of food, finds a less 

 fertile soil below, out of which it cannot draw the materials to form a 

 full and plump seed. But when a soil ia naturally rich, or artificially 

 made so to a considerable depth, a strong and high stem is generally 

 the forerunner of a great bulk of seed, as is often seen in those cats 

 \\liicli are scattered thinly among winter tares, the straws of which are 

 like reeds, and the grain, if allowed to ripen, is always both heavy and 

 abundant. 



Buck-wheat is sometimes cut in its tender state for soiling rattle. It 

 U said to increase the milk of cows greatly : it is also occasionally 

 pastured by sheep. There is a diversity of opinion on its qualities, 

 some speaking highly of it, and others asserting, and with some 

 appearance of truth, that it is not eaten by sheep or cattle in pre- 

 ference to any other plant, and that it has a atupifying and Intoxi- 

 cating effect when eaten in any great quantity. Upon the whole, 

 we are inclined to think that its value is chiefly as an addition to the 

 variety of plants cultivated for tlieir seeds, and as a cheap vegetable 

 manure. 



1 luck wheat may be reaped with the sickle or mown with the s 

 or it may be pulled up by the roots. The latter method is i 

 mended by some, aa less likely to hed the seed when fully ripe. In 

 dry weather it is recommended to cut or pull it very early in the 

 morning or late at night, when the dew is on it, and not to move it 

 much in the day. It may be tied up in sheaves, or put into small 

 heaps, as is done with peas. In either case birds must be carefully 

 scared away, or they will take a large share of the produce. 



Buck-wheat as a grain may be given to horses instead of oats, or 

 mixed with them. No grain seems so eagerly eaten by poul- 

 makes them lay eggs so soon and so abundantly. The meal, when it ia 

 ground, ia excellent for fattening cattle or pigs. The flour ia fine and 

 white, but from a deficiency in gluten does not make good fermented 

 bread. It serves well, however, for pastry and cakes : crumpets made 

 of buck-wheat flour eaten with butter arc a favourite dainty for chil- 

 dren in Holland. A hasty pudding is also made of the flour, with water 

 or milk, and eaten with butter or sugar. 



On a careful consideration of the reasons for and against a more 

 general cultivation .if Luck-wheat in our northern climates, it appears 

 to have certain qualities which make it well worth attention. Aa it 

 belongs to a different natural family in the vegetable kingdom, it ia 

 probable that it may be a useful change when the land has been too 

 long crop]H<d with gramineous plants. It may impart to the soil, or 

 abstract from it, some principled by which its power of producing 

 other crops may be increased. This can only be teamed with cei i 

 by repeated experiments ; but some considerable effect may be expected 

 from the powerful salt* which we know ore found in the ashes. Its value 

 as a manure ia indisputable ; the only thing required is an accurate 

 calculation of the comparative expense of its application with that of 

 bones or any other purchased manure, taking quality and quantity into 

 consideration. A few experiments on an extensive scale, and made 

 with that attention to minute circumstances which U so often neglected 

 in agricultural experiments, and repeated with perseverance, might place 

 the cultivation of buck-wheat in a new point of view. 



