174 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



the soil saturated will do. To be on the safe side, the water should stand 

 3 to 6 inches deep and to prevent stagnation, there should be a constant 

 inflow and outflow. Large fields impede complete drainage and uniform 

 ripening. Hence, small fields are the best. At harvest time, the water 

 is drawn off and as the soil is rarely sufficiently dry at this time heavy 

 machinery cannot be used. The sickle is the implement commonly used 

 in harvesting rice which is then bound, when it is dry, and shocked on the 

 dry ground. Ten to twelve days will completely cure the grain. The pri- 

 mitive methods of flailing and treading out have given place to the use of 

 the steam thresher. As the rice comes from the thresher it is known as 

 "paddy, " or "rough rice. " It is passed through the mill to remove the 

 hulls, or chaff, which are restored to the soil as a fertilizer, or are used as a 

 mulch for garden and orchard. Rice straw is sweet and has an excellent 

 flavor, much relished by stock, who eat it readily. As fashion demands 

 rice with a fine gloss, it is usually polished, although its food value is 

 diminished and an exclusive diet of polished rice induces a disease known 

 as beri-beri. 



Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum). The buckwheat is a member of 

 the family Polygonacea and, therefore, not a true cereal, but for con- 

 venience, and because its fruit is grain-like, it is usually considered along 

 with the grain-producing plants. There are two other species of buck- 

 wheat occasionally cultivated in this country and in Asia. 



Description. The roots of the buckwheat consist of a true primary 

 roots with several branches. The stem ascends to a height of two to 

 three feet, and bears alternate, triangular, heart-shaped, or halberd- 

 shaped leaves with semicylindrical sheaths or ocrea. The white flowers 

 are borne in corymbose racemes and are dimorphic with long styles 

 and_ short styles respectively which prevents self-pollination. The sepals 

 which alone are present bear eight, honey-bearing, yellow glands inter- 

 posed between the eight stamens. The ovary is surmounted by three 

 styles and the ripe achene is three-angled, smooth and shining. The 

 grain incloses a single seed with a curved, dicotyledonous embryo 

 surrounded by a starchy endosperm. 



Buckwheat is adapted to temperate climates with cool, moderately 

 moist summers. The fruit does not set properly in dry, hot weather. It 

 does well on poor soils. The principal use of buckwheat is in the manu- 

 facture of pancake flour. The whole fruit is sometimes fed to cattle, 

 hogs and poultry. The middlings (hulls mixed with bran) are utilized 



