224 BRiriSri HUSBANDRY. [Cli. XVI. 



almost every -[ilant ; the first week in June is therefore the most usual 

 time, but many farmers choose two or three scjiarate periods. It remains 

 during a long time in blossom; the grain therefore ripens so unequally, 

 tJiat the latest portion will sometimes be the most productive ; but wlien- 

 ever any part is ready for the scythe, the whole should be immediately cut. 

 Indeed, if showers occur with hot vveatlier while the crop is in the swallie, 

 a great sliare of the unripe seed will come to perfection, and the plant has 

 the advantage of sustaining the rain better than any other grain-crop : it is 

 therefore generally left upon the ground wiiile the others are secured. 



The product in grain may be thus supposed to be uncertain, and can 

 hardly be rated at more than from 2j to 4 quarters per acre. The purpose 

 to which it is applied is chiefly for seed ; though it is frequently grown in 

 gentlemen's preserves for the supj)ort of the pheasants, and, when given 

 to poultry, is thought to impart a peculiarly fine flavour to their flesh. It is 

 also sometimes coarsely ground and used along with potatoes in the fatten- 

 ing- of pigs, which thrive well upon it, and it is occasionally — though very 

 rarely — bruised for horses ; in which apj)lication it is said that two bushels 

 will afford as much nutriment as three of oats*: the weight is, however, 

 nearlv the same, being about 461bs. per bushel. Cows fed with it are 

 found to yield a large increase of m.ilk, and tlie butter that is made from it 

 is very sweet and pleasant-flavoured f- Pigs are also very fond of it. A pre- 

 judice is, however, generally entertained against it, from an idea that cattle 

 dislike it when it is in blossom ; and it is said that sheep when fed with it, in 

 that state, stagger and tumble about as if drunk J. In Holland and Ger- 

 many, it forms, besides these uses, a considerable portion of the food of 

 the boors; and in North America, after being bolted and dressed into fine 

 meal, the flour is made into cakes, which are regarded as a great delicacy §. 

 In those countries buck-wheat is, indeed, looked upon as an important corn- 

 crop ; and we cannot help thinking that its cultivation upon our poor sandy 

 soils might be advantageously extended along vvitli that of rye, and confined, 

 upon such land, to their ])roduction in a rotation with vegetable crops, to the 

 exclusion of every other species of grain. 



Buck-wheat, it is thought, may also be advantageously sown in a small 

 proportion with clover, lucerne, or sainfoin; but v.e should fear its being 

 rather prejudicial to the growth of those crops, and they are not fit for those 

 moory soils which best agree with it. The hay made from it is likewise said 

 to be very nutritive ; but, unless it be cut early, it is harsh, and not relished 

 by cattle : it is also tedious in the making, and it is, therefore, seldom used 

 in that state ; or, if made, it should be eaten before Christmas. The crop 

 when allowed to stand for corn is usually mown, and thrashed out in the 

 usual manner; but the straw, though also praised as food, is more generally 

 used as litter. 



* Stevenson's Survey of Surrey, p. 241 ; Malcolm's ditto, vol. iii. p. 87. The latter 

 gentleman indeed says, tliat if it be given to horses more abundantly, or if they be led 

 upon it without intermission, it is apt to biing on humours in the blood ; it should there- 

 fore be chiefly used on fatiguing journeys or in wet weather. 



f Surveys of Perth, p. 190 ; and Malcolm's Sussex and Surrey, vol. iii. p. 88. 



J Young's Survey of Sussex, ]>. 128. 



6 The mode of making them is, — to mix up the flour over night with yest and water : 

 this being kept warm diiring the night near the wood-embers rises by morning to a light 

 and frothy consistence, or batter: small portions of which are spread upon a flat iron, or 

 griddle, suspended over the fire, or placed upon a tiivet, which is slightly rubbed over with 

 hog's lard between the baking of each cake. The bread is very liglit, and the cakes, 

 which resemble oiu- cnmipets, are eaten hot with butter, and are almost universally 

 served up to every breakfast table. Vancouver's Hampsh., p. 174. 



