BUCKWHEAT. 



BUCKWHEAT. 



buckwheat is in May, when there is no longer 

 any danger to be apprehended from the frosts ; 

 for so tender is this vegetable at its first ap- 

 pearance, as to be unable at an earlier period 

 to withstand the vernal cold. The slightest 

 frost in their infant state would infallibly cut 

 off the young shoots ; and as, from this circum- 

 stance, it must be sown at a season when dry 

 weather may be expected, the crop, on that 

 account, not unfrequently fails. The produce, 

 which varies with the seasons (and this is ra- 

 ther an uncertain crop), ranges from two to 

 four quarters per acre. It is commonly grown 

 in England in preserves, as food for pheasants 

 and partridges. It is an excellent food for 

 poultry; pigs thrive upon and are fond of it 

 (it is commonly given to them mixed with po- 

 tatoes); and when bruised, it is good food for 

 horses, two bushels being equal, for this pur- 

 pose, it is said, to three of oats (a bushel 

 weighs about forty-six pounds). Cows, when 

 fed with it, yield a large increase of milk. 

 Sheep, when fed upon the plant when in blos- 

 som, stagger and tumble about as if drunk. It 

 is sometimes made into hay, which is nutritive, 

 but tedious to make, and should be consumed 

 before the winter. It is often grown on poor 

 exhausted soils, and ploughed in when in 

 bloom; in this way it increases very materially 

 the fertility of the soil, and is a mode often 

 practised in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and in 

 Scotland. Mr. Ballingal has given an account 

 of his experiments with it upon a clay loam 

 recently limed ; from the result of which he 

 warns his brother farmers that it is " needless 

 to attempt to grow it upon damp soils, or to 

 expect full crops upon lands exhausted by 

 over-cropping." (Trans. High. Soc. vol. ii. 

 p. 125.) 



In reaping buckwheat, many farmers prefer 

 pulling it, as less likely to shed the seed. The 

 morning, or late in the evening, should be 

 chosen for this purpose, when the dew is upon 

 the plant. M.Vauquelin found 100 parts of its 

 straw to contain 29-5 of carbonate of potash, 

 3-8 of sulphate of potash, 17-5 carbonate of 

 lime, 13-5 carbonate of magnesia, 16-2 of silica, 

 10-5 earth of alum, and 9 of water. 



Vast quantities of this grain, says Mr. Main, 

 are annually imported into England from Hol- 

 land and other northern countries, for the use 

 of the gin-distilleries, who also consume con 

 siderable quantities of British growth, which, 

 not being kiln-dried, as most of the Dutch grain 

 is found to be, is more valued. The average 

 quantity of buckwheat imported into England 

 is about 10,000 quarters annually. It pays the 

 same duty as barley. (M'Cullocfis Com. Die/.) 

 For illustrations of the varieties of buckwheat, 

 see PI. 3. 



Buckwheat is extensively cultivated in the 

 United States, the species usually sown being 

 the Polygonum fagopyrum of botanists. The 

 grain affords a favourite article of food. It 

 generally thought to be a severe crop upon 

 land, and for this reason is seldom sown on 

 highly improved ground. Rough and hilly 

 distHJpts are considered peculiarly favourable 

 to tn* culture of buckwheat, which is admira- 

 bly adapted to subdue new or wild lands. Be- 1 than that of pure wheat; and, though of a 

 sides the Climbing Buckwheat (Polygonum { darker colour, it is thought to be equally nou- 



scandeni), found in the Middle States and else- 

 where, twining round bushes in moist thickets, 

 &c., eight or ten additional varieties are enu- 

 merated in the United States. (Flora Cestrica.') 

 Buckwheat comes to maturity so quickly, 

 that it is usual to sow it upon the same ground 

 from which wheat or other grain crops have 

 been taken. It flourishes best in a mellow, dry, 

 loose, sandy soil, but even on the poorest land, 

 so that it be not moist, it will produce a tole- 

 rable crop in from three to four months after 

 sowing. When intended for seed, it is best to 

 put in the crop early enough to allow the grain 

 to become perfectly matured before frost. For 

 this purpose June or the first of July is soon 

 enough in the Middle States. In the state of 

 New York, buckwheat is frequently stfwn in 

 August along with winter wheat, affording a 

 ripe crop in the fall, without injury to the 

 wheat, which grows along with and succeeds 

 it. When sown broad-cast, the usual manner, 

 a bushel of buckwheat is generally put upon 

 the acre. Half the quantity is said to answer 

 when put in with a proper drill machine. 

 When harvested, it is usual to mow it with the 

 scythe, and allow it to remain some time 

 before it is taken from the field. Being very 

 liable to heat, it is advisable to put it into 

 small stacks of about four to six loads each. 

 Larger stacks, or close housing, would subject 

 it to spoiling. The quantity of produce varies 

 greatly, according to circumstances of soil and 

 season. In the northern part of Pennsylvania 

 and still farther north, it is so often nipped 

 before maturity by autumnal frosts, as to be a 

 precarious crop. From thirty to forty-five 

 bushels per acre may be considered an average 

 yield in a favourable season, but sixty or eighty 

 bushels are not unfrequently produced. Its 

 'flowers bloom and fade successively for a long 

 time. It is thought that the crop would be 

 much more productive, if the same uniformity 

 in blowing and ripening existed that is observed 

 with other grains. The buckwheat flour most 

 preferred in the southern cities, where it com- 

 mands a higher price, is that which comes 

 from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It is 

 common, especially in New Jersey, to grind 

 up with the buckwheat a fifth or sixth part of 

 Indian corn, a peculiar kind of which, being 

 very soft and white, is raised for the purpose. 

 The form in which it is brought to the table is 

 almost universally that of flat cakes, made of 

 batter raised by means of yeast, or, what is still 

 preferable, and requires but a few minutes in 

 the preparation, adding a seidlitz powder to the 

 mixture of flour and water, which causes the 

 batter to rise at once, from the carbonic acid gas 

 disengaged. These cakes are soft and spongy, 

 and absorb a large quantity of butter, which is 

 always put on while they are very warm. Con- 

 sidering the large amount of butter used, they 

 cannot be regarded as economical food, except 

 where butter is very cheap. Persons troubled 

 with feeble digestion should never eat buck- 

 wheat prepared in this way. In Tuscany, 

 buckwheat is mixed with barley, ground, and 

 the flour made into bread, which possesses the 

 property of retaining its moisture much longer 



