SEPTEMBER. 
805 
lost in this operation, and in that of turning it to dry in the 
sun when cut. As I have said, the drier it is, the more 
seeds are shed, so that in carting and removing it to the barn, 
very much is unavoidably v^asted. To obviate this in some 
degree, many farmers thresh it on the ground v^here it grew, 
either on a moveable flooring of boards, or on the bare earth, 
though of course much earth and dirt must be mixed with it. 
C. — Do not the seeds that remain on the ground spring 
up in the succeeding summer ? 
F. — So much so, that a good crop may be obtained from 
merely this unintentional sowing. But this fact, the diffi- 
culty of getting the soil clear of the plant, is, with many, an 
objection to the raising of it, notwithstanding its productive 
return. If, however, the land be stocked down with grass- 
seed at the time buckwheat is sown, it will be rather an ad- 
vantage than an injury; as whatever plants might spring 
the succeeding year, would of course be mown down with the 
grass, before the seed was perfected, and tend to increase the 
herbage, cattle being very partial to the plant. It is an an- 
nual, so that one mowing would effectually eradicate it. 
C — Is this grain ground in the same manner as wheat ? 
F. — Yes ; but in a separate hopper : it is bolted, and 
what remains consists of two parts, the three-sided brown 
husk, and a pale yellow skin, which enveloped the flour ; 
the latter is called the bran ; mixed with boiling water, it 
forms a glutinous, bitterish mass, which is eagerly devoured 
by hogs, and proves nutritive. The husk is thrown into the 
mill-stream as totally useless. The American housewives 
chiefly use buckwheat flour for making pancakes, eaten pip- 
ing hot, and agreeable to many palates. 
C. — Though the nights are frosty, the days of this month 
are very pleasant ; the sun has much power yet, and many 
Lepidoptera are abroad enjoying it. Vanessa Antiopa, and 
the different species of Grapta, in particular, are numerous 
