Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 1, 1802).djvu/409

377&#93; BUC first pour cold water on the seed, and stir it well, in order to bring the light and imperfect grains to the top, which are tiirown away with the water. Then the wet corn is put in sacks, where it is suffered to remain from ten to twelve hours : thus, after swelling a little, it is roasted over a slow fire in iron pans, and continually stirred till die grain becomes tolerably- hard, so that it feels tough and elastic between the teeth. In this manner, the husks soon crack, and may easily be separated from the kernel, in one of the plainest do- mestic implements, a wooden mor- tar, or a bruising machine made of the hollow trunk of a tree. By this process, the grain acquires a yellow transparent appearance, and is much improved in taste. From the fresh blossoms of these plants, Dambourney dyed wool, prepared with bismuth and tin, of a beautiful brown colour; and, from the dryed flower-bundles, different shades of green. Those of the Siberian species, in particu- lar, yielded a fine yellow, which, on boiling the wool still longer in the dye, changed into a golden tint, and at length assumed a bril- liant yellow. There is a third species of buck- wheat, the culture of which has lately been strongly recommended by Professor Pallas, and Dr. Wi- thering; and which we shall presently describe. Buck-Whkat, the Climbing, black bindweed, or climbing snake- weed ; the Polygonum convolvu- lus, L. a native vegetable, grow- ing about corn-fields, gardens, and hedges ; it flowers in June and July. Its seeds are as good as those of the two preceding species, are produced in greater quantity, BUC [377 may be more easily collected, as they ripen more uniform' y, and the plants bear cold better than the exotics before mentioned. Ac- cording to Linnaeus, cows and goars eat it, but sheep, swine, and horses, refuse it. Its culture in fields is, however, attended with this inconvenience, that its creeping stalks 'must be supported by brush-wood, and it is consequently better a iapted for be- ing cultivated in garJens. It is remarkable, that most Bri- tish and foreign writers indiscrimi- nately recommend the cu.ture of the buck-wheat, likewise, on ac- count of its Mowers, which are very grateful, and beneficial to bees ; and that Dr. Darwin, in particular (see page 230 of this Encyclopaedia), mentions a species of buck-wheat, the Polygonum melampyrum, of which we can find no account in the botanical works of this country: with de- ference to his profound knowledge of natural history, we are almost inclined to think, the Doctor alludes to a very different species of buck- wheat (perhaps cow-wheat) that is not cultivated in Britain. BUCKING, one of the opera- tions performed in the whiten- ing of linen cloth, or yarn. — See Bleaching. BUCKRAM, is coarse linen cloth, stiffened with glue, and used in the making of garments, to keep them in proper form. It also serves for wrappers to cover cloths, serges, and other articles of mer- chandize, in order to preserve diem from being soiled, and prevent their colours from lading. In ge- neral, old sheets and pieces of cloth are converted into buckram ; but sometimes new pieces of linen cloth are used for that purpose. Buckram