210 ECONOMIC PLANTS 



in Europe rye is sown in midsummer, mowed for green 

 fodder in autumn, and left to produce a grain crop the 

 following spring. It may also be pastured judiciously 

 in spring without harm; when handled in this way it 

 generally produces a good crop of small but very mealy 

 grain. 



Rye straw, being tougher and longer than that of 

 the other grains, is much used for plaiting, for the 

 manufacture of horse collars, for packing material, and 

 commands a higher price than that of the other small 

 grains. 



Buckwheat. - - This grain is a native of the Volga 

 basin, the shores of the Caspian Sea and central Asia. 

 It is said to have been brought to Spain by the Moors 

 and thence spread over western Europe, but another 

 account ascribes its introduction there to the crusaders. 

 The seed is gray or black and triangular, resembling 

 the beechnut, from which the Germans named it 

 beech-wheat, which the English corrupted to buck- 

 wheat. 



Buckwheat is usually classed as a grain, but it must 

 not be thought of as belonging to the grass family, as 

 do the other grains. It belongs to the smartweed family. 



Buckwheat is sown broadcast or in drills. If the 

 former, about a bushel of seed is required; if the latter, 

 only three quarters of a bushel. It will grow well on 

 light, poor soils. When green-manured, it furnishes a 

 large quantity of humus to enrich the soil. 



Bees utilize the nectar in its flowers for honey, and in 

 some parts of the United States it is sown on this 

 account. As a supplementary food for man in the 

 form of griddle cakes, it is a very palatable and nutri- 

 tious article of diet. 



