202 BUCKWHEAT 



is in the form of griddle cakes, very common in country districts. A 

 considerable portion of the crop was formerly fed to stock, and is 

 used thus at present when the price is low. 



When buckwheat is ground about 50 to 60 per cent is recovered 

 as flour, about 25 per cent middlings, and a somewhat less percentage 

 of hulls. The middlings are highly prized as stock feed, but the 

 hulls have little value. 



Buckwheat is consi iered to have special merit as a poultry feed. 

 Beekeepers have long recognized it as producing an abundant and 

 superior grade of honey. 



Buckwheat straw has little feeding value, but is considered 

 valuable as a mulch. It rots down so quickly that an old stack of 

 buckwheat straw is often hauled directly on the land as manure. 



Buckwheat as Green Manure. Owing to its growth on poor 

 land, buckwheat is often recommended as a green manure crop. It 

 may be sown after a rye crop is plowed down, and either harvested 

 or turned under. Rye and buckwheat may be sown together in July, 

 the buckwheat harvested and the rye allowed to grow and be plowed 

 down as green manure the following June. This may be repeated 

 year after year on the same land, gradually increasing the humus 

 supply of the soil, and meantime paying expenses with the buckwheat 

 crop. In Virginia crimson clover is sown with buckwheat in the 

 same way. 



QUESTIONS 



1. How important is the buckwheat crop? Where grown? 



2. What wild plants is buckwheat related to? 



3. Compare the plant with other cereals. 



4. Describe the flowers. 



5. Describe the grain. 



6. How does it compare with wheat in composition? 



7. Name and describe the three principal types. 



8. Of the common buckwheat what are the three principal varieties? 



How distinguished? 



9. Where is Tartar buckwheat grown? 



10. Describe the climate favorable to buckwheat. 



11. What advantages does a short-growing period and a long-blossoming 



period give to buckv at? 



12. Why is buckwheat gro.. n poor soils as a general rule rather than 



on good soils ? 



13. Does it respond to fertilizer? 



14. Compare time of sowing with other cereals. 



15. Describe method of harvesting. 



16. Give the principal uses of buckwheat. 



17. What is its value as a green manure crop? 



