Small Grains 157 



In the Southeast the water is turned into the field as soon 

 as the seed has been sown and the soil is kept wet for four to 

 six days. The water is then removed. In a few days the 

 area is again flooded and kept wet for about three weeks or a 

 month, when the irrigation is stopped and the fields hoed. 

 When the jointing of the plants begins, the fields are again 

 hoed and flooded, the water being allowed to remain on the 

 ground until about a week before the harvest. 



Upland strains of rice are grown without irrigation. The 

 seed is planted in rows from two and one-half to three feet 

 apart and the plants are given several cultivations and one or 

 two hoeings during the season. 



BUCKWHEAT 



92. Distribution and characteristics of buckwheat. Buck- 

 wheat belongs to the dock family and, although not a cereal, 

 has for many years been cultivated like them, and for this 

 reason is generally described in connection with wheat, oats, 

 and rye. The flowers are white, tinged with pink. The 

 seeds are three-sided and resemble those of the dock. The 

 plants start to bloom about four weeks after planting and 

 continue blooming until killed by frost. Thus at harvest 

 time the plants contain both flowers and mature seeds. 



New York and Pennsylvania produce about two-thirds of 

 the buckwheat grown in the United States. The average 

 production for the whole country is about 15,000,000 bushels ; 

 of this, New York produces about 6,000,000 bushels and Penn- 

 sylvania 4,000,000. Michigan, Maine, West Virginia, and 

 Virginia are next in production, in the order named. 



The chief use of buckwheat is for flour for making griddle 

 cakes. The grain is sometimes fed to live-stock, especially 

 poultry. Buckwheat middlings and bran, by-products from 

 the manufacture of buckwheat flour, are used as cattle feed. 

 Buckwheat is often planted by bee-keepers, the flowers being a 

 source of nectar for the bees. 



