CULTIVATION OF PLANTS. 



fall, without injury to the wheat, which grows with, and suc- 

 ceeds it."* The quantity of seed to the acre is determined by 

 the method of planting if sown broadcast, as is usual, a bushel 

 is sufficient if in drills, half that quantity will answer. 



The harvesting of buckwheat, and its subsequent manage- 

 ment, is similar to that of the other grains. It may be cut by 

 the scythe; after which it should remain in the field a suitable 

 time, previous to being housed. As it is very liable to heat, 

 it is recommended to put it in small stacks of four to six loads, 

 instead of large stacks, or being placed in the barn. 



The produce varies greatly under different states of soil and 

 culture. From thirty to forty-five bushels may be reckoned 

 as an average yield in a favourable season though from sixty 

 to eighty bushels are not unfrequently raised. It is in flower 

 throughout the summer, and would yield much larger crops if 

 there was uniformity in its ripening. 



This grain is used for a great variety of purposes. In the 

 old world, it is mixed with other grains, and (as it affords a 

 nutritious meal, not apt to sour on the stomach,) it forms a large 

 portion of the bread used by the labouring classes. In our own 

 country, for culinary purposes, it is used chiefly for making 

 what is termed buckwheat cakes an article celebrated through- 

 out the Union. 



The seeds of buckwheat are given advantageously to cows, 

 poultry and hogs; properly prepared, it is very nourishing. 

 The stem or straw of the buckwheat, if cut in season, is said to 

 afford an excellent and agreeable fodder for cattle, especially 

 milch cows. An intelligent and observing agriculturist near 

 Baltimore,t says that for milch cows it is better than the best 

 timothy hay; they eat it with equal avidity, and if it has not 

 been exposed too long to the vicissitudes of the weather, it will 

 prove equally nutritious. It promotes the secretion of milk; 

 and when cut and boiled or steamed, it makes a most accept- 

 able slop. 



It is of an enriching nature not an exhauster of the soil, as 

 some have supposed having the quality of preparing for wheat 

 or any other crop. The principal value is not so much in the 

 seed it yields, as the great good it does the land by shading it 

 from the sun. One of the purposes to which it has been ap- 

 plied, from time immemorial, and for which, from the rapidity 

 of its growth, it seems well adapted, is the ploughing of it down 

 green as a manure for the land. 



"We cannot too much recommend, after our old and con- 

 stant practice, the employment of this precious plant as a ma- 



* Complete Farmer, page 148. 



t E. P. ROBERTS, Esq., late editor of the Farmer and Gardener. 



