B.HK V] 



BUCK-WHEAT. 



935 



numerous excellencies, perhaps as many to good farmers, as any otlier grain or pulse in 

 use. It is of an enriching nature, having tJie quality of preparing for wheat, or any 

 other crop. One bushel sows an acre of land well, which is but a fourth of the expense 

 of seed-barley." Its principal value is not so much in the crop as in the great good it 

 does the land by shading it from the heat of the sun. When the wheat fallow can be 

 perfectly cleaned before the middle of June, it is far better to sow the ground with buck- 

 wheat than let it be bare ; the wheat crop, whether the dung be laid on before or after 

 the buck- wheat, will be one third better than without it. (J. M.) 



6112, There are different species in cultivation, and P. tataricum {fig. 807. a.) is said by some to be nearly 



as productive as P. Fagop^rum. Von Thaer, 

 however, is of a different opinion. In Nipal 

 P. emargin?ltum (6) is cultivated. According 

 to M. Decandolle, the farmers of Piedmont, 

 especially in the valley of Lucerne, chiefly 

 employ the P. tataricum ; because it ripens 

 more quickly, and is therefore less likely to 

 suffer from cold summers, or from being sown 

 on the sides of the mountains. The Pied- 

 montese distinguish the P. Fagop^rum by the 

 name of " Formentine de Savoie," and the 

 P. tataricum by that of " granette," and 

 " Formentine de Luzerne" ITie principal 

 objection to the latter is, that its flowers ex- 

 pand irregularly and unequally, and that the 

 flour is blackish and rather bitter. The P. 

 Fagopyrum is, however, cultivated in the 

 richest parts of Europe as a food for domestic 

 fowls or other birds, rather than for the use 

 of man. Cakes made of the flour of this spe- 

 cies, we are told by Thunberg, round, coloured, 

 and baked, are sold in every inn in Japan. 

 Loureiro states, that P. odoratum is cul- 

 tivated throughout the kingdom of Cochin 

 China, as an excellent vegetable for eating 

 with broiled meat and fish. {Bot. Reg.) 



6113. In the culture of the buck- 

 wheat the soil may be prepared in dif- 

 ferent ways, according to the intention 

 of the future crop ; and for this there is time till the end of May, if seed is the object, 

 and till June if it is to be ploughed in. It will grow on any soil, but will only produce 

 a good crop on one that is tolerably rich. It is considered one of the best crops to sow 

 along with grass seed ; and yet (however inconsistent) Arthur Young endeavours 

 to prove that buck-wheat, from the closeness of its growth at the top, smothers and 

 destroys weeds, whilst clover and grass-seeds receive considerable benefit by the shade 

 it affords them from the piercing heat of the sun ! ! 



6114. The season of sowing cannot be considered earlier than the last week of April 

 or first of May, as the young plants are very apt to be destroyed by frost. The mode is 

 always broad-cast, and the quantity of seed a bushel per acre ; it is harrowed in, and 

 requires no other culture than pulling out the larger weeds, and guarding from birds 

 till the reaping season. 



6115. Buck-wheat is harvested by mowing in the manner of barley. After it is 

 mown, it must lie several days, till the stalks are withered, before it is housed. It is in 

 no danger of the seeds falling, nor does it suffer much by wet. From its great suc- 

 culency it is liable to heat, on which account it is better to put it in small stacks of five 

 or six loads each, than in either a large one or a barn. 



6116. The produce of the grain of this plant, though it has been known to yield seven 

 quarters an acre, may be stated upon the average at between three and four ; it would 

 be considerably more did all the grains ripen together, but that never appears to be the 

 case, as some parts of the same plant will be in flower, whilst others have perfected 

 their seed. 



6117. The use of the grain of buck-wheat in this country is almost entirely for feeding 

 poultry, pigeons, and swine. It may also be given to horses, which are said to thrive 

 well on it ; but the author of The New Farmers Calendar says, he tliinks he has seen it 

 produce a stupefying effect. 



6118. If has been used in the distillery in England ; and it is a good deal used in that way, and also as 

 horse-corn, on the Continent. Young says, a bushel goes farther than two bushels of oats ; and mixed 

 with at least four times as much bran, will be full feed for any horse for a week. Four bushels of the meal, 

 put up at 4cwt. will fatten a hog of sixteen or twenty stone in three weeks, giving him afterwards three 

 bushels of Indian corn or hog-peas broken in a mill, with plenty of water. Eight bushels of buck.wheat 

 meal will go as far as twelve bushels of barley meal. 



6119. The meal of buck wheat is made into thin cakes called crumpits in Italy, and even in some parts of 

 England ; and it is supposed to be nutritious, and not apt to turn acid upon the stomach. {Withering.) 



6120. The blossoms of this plant afford a rich repast to bees, both from the quantity of honey they con- 

 tain, and from their long duration. On this account it is much prized in France and Germany, and 

 Du Hamel advises bee farmers to carry their hives to fields of this crop in the autumn, as well as to heath 

 lands. 



3 () I 



