114 SOY BEANS IN BENGAL, BIHAR AND ORISSA. 



combining the upright habit with the capabilities of producing the 

 higher orders of branching possessed by the Bengal twining types 

 (I — IV). It should be noted that the production of pods in the 

 best of the types at present under cultivation compares favour- 

 ably with that of the field peas of which the weight of seed per 

 plant has not been found to exceed 150 grams per plant, and is 

 distinctly superior to that of other Indian Kharif pulses except 

 Rahar (Cajanus indicus). 



3/. — Seeds (Morphology). 



In shape the seeds are usually elliptic in outline, the thick- 

 ness being less than the breadth ; but the seeds vary in thickness 

 from the much flattened seeds of the black twining varieties 

 (types I, II) to the Nepali variety which is round in section. 



The size and weight of the seed vary considerably, the 

 lowest weight per hundred seeds being less than 4 grams in the 

 case of the twining types I — IV, and as much as 24 grams in the 

 case of Nepali. Hooper (it) observed that black seeds collected 

 frbm the hills are heavier than those collected in the plains. Our 

 observations also show that the black seeded variety (t} T pe I A) 

 obtained from the hills which appears to be practically the same 

 type as that cultivated in the plains (type I) has a weight per 

 100 seeds of 0"25 grams, but after one season's growth it has 

 been reduced to 5*5 grams per 100 seeds, as compared to an 

 average of 3 "9 for the plots of the local variety. The greeny 

 yellow (type 3 A) and pale chocolate (type 4 A) varieties intro- 

 duced from the hills have behaved similarly, but these differ 

 from the yellow and chocolate varieties of the plains in vegeta- 

 tive characters. The early black twining type (type I) obtained 

 from Patna has increased in weight from 3"2 grams per 100 to 

 3*9 grams under cultivation at Sabour. The weight of 100 seeds 

 in some of the American varieties such as Barchet, Pekin and 

 Pingshu has remained approximately constant, whereas others, 

 such as Duggar, Hollybrook and Mammoth have decreased in 

 weight more or less considerably during the past season. The 

 Nepali type has decreased in weight from 24 '4 grams to 12*8 



