New Jerfey, Raccoon. 273 



are opened, dry them aftefwaras, and theh clean 

 them within ; this makes them as hard as bones : 

 they are fometimes wafhed, fo that they always 

 keep>their white colour. 



MOST of" the farmers in this country, fovv 

 Buck-wheat, in the middle of July; it muft not 

 be fown later, for in that cafe the frofl ruins it ; 

 but if it be fown before July, it flowers all the 

 fummer long, but the flowers drop, and no feed 

 is generated. Some people plough the ground 

 twice where they intend 'to fow buck-wheat; 

 others plough it only once, about two weeks be- 

 fore they fow it. As foon as it is fown the field 

 is harrowed. It has been found by experience, 

 that in a wet year buck- wheat has been moft like- 

 ly to fucceed : it ftands on the fields till the frofc 

 comes on. When the crop is favourable, they 

 get twenty, thirty, and even forty bufliels from 

 one. The Swedijh churchwarden Raghil/on\ in 

 \vhofe houfe we were at this time, had got fucli 

 a crop : they make buck-wheat cakes and pud- 

 ding. The cakes are commonly made in the 

 morning, and are baked in a frying pan, or on 

 a (tone: are buttered and then eaten with tea or 

 coffee, in (lead of loaded bread with butter, or 

 toaft, which iheEng/i/b commonly eat at brcakfoft. 

 The buck- wheat cakes are very good, and ere 

 likewife uiual at Philadelphia and in other llnglijh 

 Colonies, efpecially in winter. Buck-wheat is 

 nn excellent food for fowls ; they eat it greedily, 

 and lay more eggs, than they do with other food; 

 Logs are likewife fattened with it. Bv.ck.-v/heat 

 ftravv is of no uTe ; it is therefore left upon 'the 

 field, in the places where it has been tbrfafhed, or 



VOL. I. T it 



