HARVESTING AND THRESHING 



109 



Sowing the Seed. In northern latitudes the seed should 

 be sown from May 20 to July i and at the rate of 3 pecks 

 of Silver Hull or 4 pecks of the Japanese variety per acre. 

 The seeds of the Japanese are larger, hence a heavier seed- 

 ing is necessary to secure the same number of plants per 

 acre. The late sowing of the buckwheat is done in order 

 to carry the blossoming period beyond the hot winds and 

 sunshine of July which are disastrous to the crop at the 

 blossoming stage. Blossoms appear when the plant is 

 partially grown and continue until the time of harvest. 



Fig. 58. A field of Silver Hull buckwheat in blossom. 



Much of the green buckwheat ripens while the buckwheat 

 is in the shock. 



Harvesting and Threshing. Buckwheat can be 

 harvested with the binder but when so cut it should not 

 be bound but laid off in unbound sheaves. For this pur- 

 pose the old-fashioned self-rake reaper can be used to 



