No. 14. 



Indian Wheat. 



237 



(Hartland, Vt.,) and that after he left, a few 

 grains were found in tlie trougli in some re- 

 spects resemblint^ buck-wheat; and that these 

 being sown, produced the grain now known 

 by the name of Indian Wheat. It produced 

 30 or 40 bushels to the acre on ordinary land, 

 such as will not bear a good crop of any 

 other grain; and sometimes yields 75 to 100 

 bushels to the acre." 



" Our farmers differ much as to the quanti- 

 ty of seed that should be sown. Some put 

 on a bushel, some not more than eight quarts. 

 I should say from 16 to 25 quarts. It may 

 be sown any time till July. It requires from 

 two to three months to come to maturity ; if 

 sown too early it will be in danger from late 

 frosts. About the middle of June is the usu- 

 al time of sowing here." 



"The land should not be too rich. On 

 common land without manure it succeeds 

 well. Poor sandy land that is not worth 

 cultivating in any other grain produces a fair 

 crop. The ground should be prepared as for 

 rye or oats. If the land be poor, it should be 

 left as smooth as possible that the grain may 

 be cradled low ; as it generally branches out 

 near the ground, especially when sowed thinly 

 or on poor land. The average weight is 48 

 to 501bs. per bushel. It is used for various 

 kinds of bread stuff"; also for feeding hogs, 

 horses, cows, &.c. When floured as it should 

 be, it makes good bread if eaten when new, 

 whether warm or cold. It will mix well 

 with rye and Indian meal for coarse bread. — 

 It is thought by some to be equal to corn for 

 fattening hogs, bushel for bushel; but I think 

 this is a'^mislake. I have known no experi- 

 ments to test its value. It is fed to horses by 

 some persons, but probably oats by weight 

 are preferable. On the whole I think it a 

 very valuable kind ot grain, especially in pla- 

 ces where the land is naturally poor or has 

 become exhausted by long continued cultiva- 

 tion." 



We have another letter before us, which 

 states; "I suppose the right name of this 

 grain to be Indian-wheat. It has been culti- 

 vated a number of years in Vermont, and in 

 some parts of New York; but where it origi- 

 nally came from, I cannot tell. I broke up 

 last year about 2 1-8 acres of a piece of pas- 

 ture land ; sowed one bushel and two quarts, 

 \ and obtained one hundred bushels, which was 

 ■the greatest yield I have heard of. It has 

 been raised on almost all kinds of land. I 

 sowed it last year on the 10th of June. I 

 think it should be gathered when three 

 fourths of the grain are ripe. It will pro- 

 duce from twenty to twenty-five pounds of 

 flour per bushel. It is used as an article of 

 food considerably in these times of scarcity, 

 and is much used for fattening swine." 



Such are the accounts we have received 



of the cultivation of this article of produce, 

 which is comparatively new among us. We 

 have been informed on authority on which 

 we rely that it has this year yielded seventy- 

 five bushels to the acre ; but the circumstan- 

 ces under which this product has been ob- 

 tained, have not come to our knowledge. It 

 would be wrong to calculate upon any such 

 amount as usual or probable. That which 

 we have tested weighed 491bs. to the bushel. 

 A farmer with whom we are acquainted, 

 who has used it in his family, has obtained 

 351bs. of flour to a bushel of grain. A grain 

 weighing this much, and yielding in a poor 

 soil, without manure, even 25 or 30 bushels 

 to the acre, must be pronounced a valuable 

 acquisition. It is advised by some farmers 

 to use it for horses ; but one writer says, he 

 has known it to produce a stupefying effect. — 

 Young says, a bushel goes farther than two 

 bushels of oats. In fattening swine it is said 

 that eight bushels of buck-wheat will go as 

 far as twelve bushels of barley-meal. We 

 give these statements entirely upon the au- 

 thority of others, having had very partial ex- 

 perience in the use of it for feeding. Buck- 

 wheat cakes, which are almost a standing 

 dish in Pennsylvania and Maryland, when 

 well made, and eaten warm, are much es- 

 teemed by most people ; are deemed nutri- 

 tious; and have the advantage of not turning 

 acid upon the stomach. 



The plant is cultivated in many places ex- 

 tensively for its advantages in feeding Bees ; 

 its blossoms containing a large quantity of 

 honey and remaining a long time open, diffe- 

 rent plants in the same field, and different 

 parts of the same plant opening in flower at 

 different times. One writer says "the 

 Aaw/m of buck-wheat is more valuable than 

 clover if cut while in flower." It is of little 

 value as food for animals after the seed has 

 ripened. 



One person says he has seen hogs after 

 having eaten heartily of it become so inebri- 

 ated as to be unable to walk without reeling. 

 How tar the use of it for swine would under 

 such circumstances comprorait those good 

 men, who have signed the temperance pledge, 

 is a nice question in casuistry, which we 

 shall leave to them to decide. Perhaps they 

 will construe their obligations in this matter 

 as applying to the furnishing the means of 

 intoxication only to human swine. 



On its value as a green dressing and for 

 the purpose of ploughing under, and as a 

 protection of the young wheat,- we shall have 

 something to add a future and more conveni- 

 ent season. — N. E. Farmer. 



Try to spend your time usefully both to 

 yourself and others. 



