AGRICULTURAL TEXT-BOOK. .. - - 145 



into small bundles, which are fastened by merely twisting the 

 tops; and let it stand till dry. If cut with a scythe and left 

 upon the ground, the seed is apt to shell out; the straw dries 

 slowly ; and much sand and dirt adhere to the grain. It should 

 be thrashed at once as it is drawn into the barn, otherwise it 

 will again absorb moisture, and heat. The best mode of thrash 

 ing is with horses, a machine being apt to break the grains. It 

 must be cut before the whole is fully ripe. 



345. The crop varies from 10 to 30 or 40 bushels; 20 to 25 

 being probably the average. It appears to depend much upon 

 the state of the weather when in the fullest blossom. 



346. The legal weight of a bushel of buckwheat in Michigan 

 is 42 Ibs. 



347. MILLET. Under this name five plants of differing 

 genera, which are cultivated for their seeds, are comprehended. 

 They are all true grasses. 



(A.) Common Millet, Panicum miliaceum. 



(B.) Indian or Grand Millet, Sorghum vulgare. 



(C.) Guinea Corn, Sorghum cernuum. 



(D.) Bengal Grass, or Italian Millet, Setaria italica, 



(E.) German Millet, Setaria germanica. 



Th 3 first (a,) is most generally grown in the United States ; 

 the others being rarely met with. The second and third (b) 

 and (c,J belong to the same family as Broom corn, (Sorghum 

 saccaratum.) In other countries they are used as food for men 

 and animals, and the straw or stalks as fodder. 



The Indian Millet (6,) furnishes the bread of the Arabians and other 

 people of tbe East, as well as of those of Africa. It is also eaten in 

 Italy, Spain, South of Germany, and the West Indies. It matures per 

 fectly in the neighborhood of Detroit. In its mode of growth it 

 resembles Indian corn, but the seeds are different. In this country it 

 is scarcely worth cultivating except as a curiosity, as it requires the 

 ame labor as corn, while its produce is smaller, and of an inferior 

 quality. 



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