i86 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



bee-keeping friends will find that the in- 

 creased yield will amply repay for all extra 

 labor performed. 



My own practice is to plow as soon as 

 possible after corn -planting — usually 

 about June first — and then harrow occa- 

 sionally to get the land clean and fine by 

 sowing time. This is very important in 

 dry seasons, the mellow surface retaining 

 the moisture, as was clearly proven dur- 

 ing the extreme drought of last summer, 

 where fields treated in this way came up 

 finely and produced fair crops, while 

 neighboring fields, turned over just be- 

 fore sowing, scarcely sprouted at all, and 

 the crop was an entire failure. Buck- 

 wheat thrives well on a wide range of 

 soils, and will give a tolerable crop, in 

 some cases, on fields which would scarce- 

 ly produce any thing else of much value. 

 If manure is to be applied, it is best put 

 on the previous year; yet fair crops may 

 be grown on very light and quite inferior 

 soils without manure. Bringing the soil 

 into fine tilth, and rolling the land after 

 sowing the seed, especially on light, drv' 

 soils, will improve the growth of the crop, 

 and increase the average product. It is a 

 cleansing crop, of the nature of a fallow, 

 subduing or choking out troublesome 

 weeds. Instances have come under our 

 observation where dock, sorrel, charlock, 

 and even quack-grass and Canada thistle, 

 have been pretty well subdued by crops 

 of buckwheat. ( )ne reason why this crop 

 kills out or subdues weeds and grass is, 

 that the land for growing it is plowed and 

 harrowed in midsummer, by which pro- 

 cess the roots of the weeds and grass are 

 exposed to the scorching raj-s of the sun; 

 and then, after the seed is sown, it grows 

 so rapidly that it gets the start of all other 

 vegetation, overshadomng and smother- 

 ing everj-thing that springs up. 



Besides furnishing food for man, buck- 

 wheat is an excellent food for almost all 

 domestic animals, and has been highly 

 recommended b}- experienced farmers for 

 feeding purposes. It is also valuable for 

 bee pasturage, being in blossom at a sea- 

 son when honey producing plants are 

 scarce — not so nuich on account of the 

 quality of its honey, but for the fact that 

 it keeps the bees breeding late in the sea- 

 son, putting them in better condition for 

 successful wintering I have sometimes 

 thought, that being near to a considera- 

 ble area of this crop, has had nmch to do 

 with my sticcess in wintering, when others, 

 in less fortunate localities, have lost heavi- 



Buckwheat may be sown from the mid- 

 dle of June to the middle of July in lati- 

 tudes north of forty degrees. It runs the 



risk of being injured by early frost, if 

 sown much after the 4th of July. It is 

 visually cut with the cradle, and to avoid 

 loss of grain by shelling when very ripe, 

 it may be cut when damp, as in the morn- 

 ing or evening. Being slow to dr}' out, 

 it should never be stacked or mowed 

 away in large quantities together. A bet- 

 ter way is to thrash it as it is drawn in, 

 on a dry warm day. The average yield 

 is from 'fifteen to thirty bushels per acre. 

 Under favorable circumstances, and in 

 favorable seasons, from thirty to forty -five, 

 and even fifty bushels, have been obtained. 

 — L. M. Rogers in Gleanings for 18S2. 



THE BUCKWHEAT FIELDS OF \EW YORK. 



The Large Yields Result in Honey of Superior 

 Quality. 



Through my vicinity here in the east- 

 ern part of Schoharie County, and 

 through a large part of Albany County, 

 buckwheat is raised very extensively; and 

 one not accustomed to seeing very many 

 buckwheat fields, can not but enjoy the 

 beautiful sight and fragrant smell of the 

 thousands of acres of buckwheat, while 

 in full bloom. It is a ver\- common thing 

 for farmers through this vicinity to raise 

 200 to 500 bushels of buckwheat; and 

 while passing through a portion of 

 Albany County last fall I was shown a 

 farm, and saw the ground, where 1000 

 bushels of buckwheat were harvested. 

 Through this country it is one of the most 

 paying crops that the farmer raises; and 

 to give you some idea of the amount of 

 buckwheat raised, I will give the amount 

 of bushels ground at our mills the past 

 .season in our villiage: i5,ocx) bushels at 

 West Berne, three miles east; the same 

 number at Berneville, six miles east; 

 14,000 bushels at East Berne, ten miles 

 east; upward of 40,00c bushels at Scho- 

 harie, TyYz niiles west; 10,000 bushels at 

 Central Bridge, 5 miles northwest; be- 

 sides thousands of bushels were shipped 

 away upon our railroads that were not 

 ground the past year. The buckwheat 

 crop has been a paying one; in fact, it is a 

 paying one every year; but more so the 

 past year, as it has commanded a higher 

 price in market. The flour at one time 

 brought as much as 14.00 per 100 lbs.; 

 and as three bushels, upon an average, 

 will make 100 lbs. of flour, and the bran 

 is worth from 1 16 to $10 per ton, you see 

 that it is a good crop for the farmers to 

 raise, as they often get from 30 to 50 



