126. _BUCKWHEAT, or BRANK, is a black and triangular grain, produced by a
plant of the persicaria tribe_ (Polygonum fagopyrum), _with somewhat
arrow-shaped leaves, and purplish white flowers._
Although buckwheat may now be considered as in some degree naturalized in
this country, and as growing wild near our fields and dunghills, it was
originally introduced from the northern parts of Asia, and was first
cultivated here about the year 1600. The flowers appear about July, and the
seeds ripen in October; and so tender are the plants, that a single night's
sharp frost will destroy a whole crop.
As a grain, buckwheat has been principally cultivated for oxen, swine, and
poultry; and although some farmers state that a single bushel of it is
equal in quality to two bushels of oats, others assert that it is a very
unprofitable food. Mixed with bran, chaff, or grains, it is sometimes given
to horses. The flower of buckwheat is occasionally used for bread, but more
frequently for the thin cakes called crumpets. In Germany it serves as an
ingredient in pottage, puddings, and other food. Beer may be brewed from
it; and, by distillation, it yields an excellent spirit.
The best mode of harvesting this grain is said to be by pulling it out of
the ground like flax, stripping off the seeds by the hand, and collecting
these into aprons, or cloths tied round the waist.
Buckwheat is much cultivated in the domains of noblemen and gentlemen
possessed of landed property, as a food for pheasants. With some farmers it
is the practice to sow buckwheat for the purpose only of ploughing it into
the ground, as a manure for the land. Whilst green, it serves as food for
sheep and oxen; and, mixed with other provender, it may also be given, with
advantage to horses. The _blossoms_ may be used for dyeing a brown colour.
The principal advantage of buckwheat is, that it is capable of being
cultivated upon land which will produce scarcely any thing else, and that
its culture, comparatively with that of other grain, is attended with
little expense.
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