450 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



plant ; in 191 o the outlook was so hopeful that a project for 

 constructing oil mills was suggested. Unfortunately the bean 

 was not taken up by farmers, who preferred to cultivate maize, 

 as it was an easier crop to produce. Thus no extensive culture 

 of the bean was attempted, and the subject was dropped. 



In other parts of the Empire, for example the West Indies, 

 British East Africa and West Africa, trials of soya-beans have 

 proved successful, but in no district have promising early 

 experiments been followed by tests on larger areas. It is 

 obvious that, unless a large acreage is devoted to the produc- 

 tion of the crop, it is impossible to erect oil mills on the spot 

 with a view to commercial enterprise, or to export beans on 

 such a scale that they can assume any economic importance. 



In certain parts of India, for example Burmah, soya-beans 

 are grown on a large scale and are consumed by the natives. 

 Work has been done by Woodhouse ' and Taylor to encourage 

 a more extensive use of the bean, and to obtain varieties rich 

 in oil which are suitable for local conditions. When an attempt 

 is made to export the beans, only low prices can be obtained, so 

 at present the financial outlook for the grower is not very 

 hopeful. 



In England several tests * have been made on soya-bean 

 growing, but in most cases no adequate returns have resulted, 

 the seed, even when it was produced, failing to form mature 

 plants the succeeding year. In 191 3 the Royal Botanic Society 

 obtained a few seeds of a variety which flourished in Central 

 Europe, and from these seeds increasingly large crops of the 

 beans have been raised in England. Experiments on this 

 variety are still in progress in different parts of the country. 



From agricultural tests performed, it is permissible to note 

 the following points : 



(i) In order to be successful with soya-beans, it is neces- 

 sary to acclimatise the plants, growing crops on a larger scale 

 from locally produced seed. 



(2) Tests by the United States Department of Agriculture 

 on five hundred varieties of soya-bean show that it is of utmost 

 importance to choose the variety according to the local con- 

 ditions of climate and soil. 



(3) No extensive experimental plot has been grown in any 

 of the districts in the British Empire which have proved favour- 

 able to the growth of the soya-bean in small areas. Until a 

 test on a large scale is performed, it is impossible to predict 

 whether the crop will overcome difficulties caused by lack of 

 labour and cost of initial outlay. 



* Agr. Journ. India, 8, 391, 1913 ; Memoir Dept. Agr. India, Bot, Sec, 5, 

 iii, 1912 ; Agr. Journ. India, 9, p. 308, 1914. 



* Journ. Bd. Agr., 22, 1916, 



