This will grow well on almost any soil; even that too poor for most
other crops will yield very good buckwheat--though rich land is better
for this, as for all other crops. The heat of summer is apt to blast it
when filling; hence, in the middle states, it is not best to sow it
until into July. It fills well in cool, moist weather, and is quite a
sure crop if sowed at the right time. On poor land, one bushel of seed
is required for an acre, while half a bushel is sufficient on rich land,
where stalks grow large.
The blossoms yield to the honey-bee very large quantities of honey, much
inferior to that made of white clover; it may be readily distinguished
in the comb by its dark color and peculiar flavor. Ground, it is good
for most animals, and for fowls unground, mixed with other grain. It
remains long in land; but it is a weed easily killed with the hoe; or a
farmer may set apart a small field for an annual crop, keeping up the
land by the application of three pecks of plaster per acre each year. It
is very popular as human food, and always made into pancakes. The free
use of it is said to promote eruptive diseases. The India buckwheat is
more productive, but of poorer quality. The bran is the best article
known to mix with horse-manure and spade into radish beds, to promote
growth and kill worms.