Vol. XV. No. 363. 



THE AGllICULTURAL NEWS. 



101 



part of the pulp from the coffee beans, and subjected the latter 

 to alcoholic- acetic fermentation that i-&i.sed the temperature to 

 4.3° C. Then he exposed them to the action of atmospheric 

 oxygen, and finally thoroughly dried them. While the seeds 

 that had also undergone acetic fejrmentation as.'sumed a 

 yellowish white colour, and on roasting gave a beverage 

 Avithout aroma, those th'it had only undergone alcoholic 

 fermentation remained a beautiful green, and made aromatic 

 coffee. In the case of coffee, fermentation, besides killing the 

 seeds, has the object of softening that portion of the pulp 

 which still remains adhering to them after the greater part 

 has been removed, and thus facilitating the washing and dry- 

 ing. Fermentation should, however, not be carried too far, 

 for the acids have an injurious effect. 



FERMENTATION OF TOBACCO. — This process is of the 

 same type as the others described above, as is cer- 

 tainly proved by the alterations of colour it produces in 

 the leaves. It has been demonstrated that during such 

 fermentation there is a decrease in the amount of tannic 

 substances; it is to be supposed that in the longer fermenta- 

 tion processes, used in the case of the finer tobaccos, the 

 uitrogenou.s compounds are also attacked. The latter have 

 a great influence on the quality of the tobacco, and by the 

 prolonged action of the acids in tobacco fermentation an 

 appreciable part of the nitrogenous compounds would be 

 transformed into amido-derivatives, and the latter would be 

 eventually converted into ammonia, nitric aciil, and organic 

 acid,*, b_y the agency of micro-organisms. {Monthl;/ Bulkt'ni 

 of Agrivultuial. Intelligence and Plant Di»faxi'x, May, 191o.) 



FIVE ORIENTAL SPECIES OF BEANS. 



In connexion with the interest being developed in the 

 AVest Indies as to the cultivation of lieans as a crop, a Bulletin 

 of the United States Department of Agriculture, No. 119, 

 contains interesting information su|)plied by C. V. Piper, 

 Acrostologist in charge, and W. J. ]\[orse. Scientific Assistant, 

 with respect to new species of beans introduced from the East 

 into the I'nited States. The bulletin records information 

 about five annual species of beans on which experiments have 

 been conducted. These five are the adsuki {Phaxfolus angti- 

 laris), the rice bean iP calcaratvs), the mung bean (P. aM-eu»\ 

 the urd bean (P wungu), and the moth bean (P. aconilifohw). 

 Of these, the mung is cultivated more or less extensively in 

 all parts of Asia where it will mature, and also in South-east 

 Africa; the urd and the moth beans are cultivated only in 

 India; the adsuki is almost confined to Japan and Korea; the 

 rice bean is cultivated in China and India, and also in Japan 

 and the Philippines 



The writers say that as producers of seed for both human 

 and animal food there are possibilities in these crops well 

 worthy of further investigation. The adaptations of these 

 beans are very similar to those of the cowpea, all requiring 

 Lot weather for their satisfactory development. 



(1) The adsuki hesin I P. ancfularis) is much cultivated 

 for human food in Japan and Korea, and, to a small extent in 

 China and Manchuria. The plants are summer annuals, 

 bushy in habit, growing from 1 to 2^ feet high, according to 

 variety and soil. As seed producers they are not only prolific 

 but ripen evenly, and the pods do not split open readily. In 

 Japan among the most common cakes are those made wholly 

 or in part from adu.ski bean meal. This meal is eaten in 

 soups and gruels of various kinds, ft is also used for making 



various kinds of cakes and confections. The use of beans to 

 make sweetmeats seems to be a purely Japanese invention, 

 and the adsuki beans are also eaten popped like corn, and. 

 candied by boiling in sugar. They afford a food rich in 

 protein, which might well become popular in other countries- 

 besides Japan. A valuable feature of this bean lies in its 

 large yield of seed. Owing to their texture the beans are 

 easily ground into meal or flour, and for such purposes are 

 superior to any other bean. The flavour too is very delicate, 

 lacking any objectionable taste. 



(2) The rice bean (P. ca'caratus) is cultivated in Japan, 

 China, India, .Java, Mauritius, and the Philippines. The- 

 plant is an annual of somewhat twining habit, producing 

 branches 3 to 6 feet long. It is very productive of seed, but- 

 the habit of the plant, and the ea.sy shattering of the pods- 

 make it difficult to harvest. 



(3) The mung bean (P. aureus) is cultivated throughout 

 the .southern half of Asia and in the adjacent Malaj'aa 

 archipelago, and through the eastern portion of Africa. la 

 Bombay it is a crop of some importance, about "200,000 

 acres being grown each year. The seeds are used almost 

 exclusively as human food, and the straw is fed to cattle- 

 In Jamaica, it is stated, that both this species and the urd 

 have been introduced by Hindoo labourers, and that the 

 plant is there largely used as a green manure crop under the- 

 name 'Jerusalem pea.' The mung is of an erect habit, growing- 

 to a height of 1 to 4 feet, and some sorts twine slightly at; 

 the tips of the branches. As a field crop the mung is- 

 comparable to the cowpea and the soy bean, but as a seed 

 producer it is far inferior to these. 



(4) The urd bean (P. mungo) is very similar to the- 

 mung, but is easily distinguishable by the shorter, stouter, 

 hairy pods, and larger oblong seeds. As a forage crop it 

 is inferior to the mung. The pods, however, do not shatter 

 so readily, and little of the seed is thus lost. It is stated 

 that the urd is utilized as a green manure crop in Trinidad 

 under the name of 'woolly pyrol', and that the Hindoo- 

 labourers cultivate this plant for food. As human food, 

 however, the seeds seem far less desirable than other species, 

 and as a forage crop it does not compare favourably, under 

 American conditions, with the cowpea or the soy bean. 



(5) The moth bean (P. aconitifolius) is cultivated a.* 

 a crop only in India: there it is apparently of considerable 

 importance. Recent authorities give an area of 300,000 

 acres of this species as grown in Bombay, and an area in the 

 north-western Provinces and Oudhs of 211,000 acres. The 

 bean is nearly always planted mixed with other crops. The 

 plants produce numerous, slender, trailing branches from 

 a .short stem. A well grown plant makes a dense mass, 18 

 to 24 inches in diameter, and 12 to 15 inches high. In 

 India the moth bean yields as much seed as the mung, 

 the average yield per acre being said to be about 

 11 bushels, but under the conditions in Virginia and Texas, 

 where e«periments have been made with it, a very small yield 

 of seed was obtained. Owing, however, to its numerous 

 -slender .stems it produces a very fine quality of hay. It was 

 observed, too, in the course of the Texas experiment that 

 this bean showed a fine quality of resistance to drought,, 

 which quality is also noted by writers on Indian agriculture,.. 



The Bulletin from which the foregoing information has 

 been obtained contains capital illustrations of the five species, 

 of beans mentioned, from which it would seem that they all 

 possess beans of elongated, round shape, in fact the picture 

 of one or two of them remind a West Indian of the appear- 

 ance of a very common wild West Indian Phaseolus^. 

 P. gemiereCus. 



