AND RURAL ECONOMIST. 149 



into small stacks of five or six loads each, than either a large 

 one, or in a barn. 



Mr. Loudon observes, ' that the use of the grain of buck- 

 wheat in Great Britain is almost entirely for feeding poultry, 

 pigeons, and swine. It may also be given to horses, which 

 are said to thrive well upon it ; but the author of the New 

 Farmer's Calendar says he thinks he has seen it produce a 

 stupefying effect. Young says that 'a bushel of buckwheat 

 goes farther than two bushels of oats, and mixed with at 

 least four times as much bran, will be found sufficient for a 

 horse a week. Eight bushels of buckwheat meal will go as 

 far as twelve bushels of barley meal.' 



The meal of buckwheat is made into thin cakes, called 

 crumpets, in Italy, and in some parts of England. Buck- 

 wheat pancakes are likewise common, and thought to be 

 wholesome as well as palatable, in many parts of the United 

 States. Buckwheat blossoms afford rich food for bees, and 

 are useful as well from the quantity of honey which they 

 enable the bees to make, as the long time they continue with- 

 out fading or ceasing to be fragrant. On this account the 

 buckwheat plant is highly prized in France and Germany ; 

 and Du Hamel advises bee-keepers to carry their hives to 

 fields of this crop in autumn, as well as to heath lands. 



The Farmer's Assistant says, ' We cannot recommend the 

 culture of buckwheat on lands which are suitable for more 

 valuable crops; but on light smooth lands, particularly, the 

 farmer may find his account in keeping a field of a few acres 

 for a yearly crop of buckwheat, as well for family use as for 

 assisting in fattening his swine, &c. A bushel of gypsum to 

 the acre, or perhaps less, applied yearly to the ground, would 

 be found to keep it rich enough for good crops.' 



RICE. {Oriza Sativa.) This is a genus of plants, con- 

 sisting of several species, which, however, may be divided 

 into two varieties, viz. mountain rice, which grows in dry 

 elevated soils, and marsh rice, sown in low swampy districts. 

 The former kind was raised by Mr. Bordley on dry sandy 

 land, near Annapolis, in Maryland. It is perhaps possible 

 that this plant may be gradually introduced into the north- 

 ern states, and made to grow in dry and elevated ground. 

 This is much to be desired, as rice is the cheapest nutriment 

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