CHAPTER XXII 

 SOYBEANS 



THE soybeai} is the most productive as regards seed of 

 any legume adapted to temperate climates. This fact 

 alone gives the crop a high potential importance and in- 

 sures its greater agricultural development in America. At 

 the present time the soybean is most largely grown for 

 roughage, but the high value of the seed for human food, 

 as well as animal feed and for oil, will in all probability 

 result in its being more and more grown for the seed. 



626. Agricultural history. The soybean, or soja-bean, 

 is a plant of ancient cultivation in Japan, China, Korea 

 and Manchuria, and to a much less extent in northern 

 India and in the highlands of Java. As grown in these 

 countries, it is used mainly for human food, the beans 

 being prepared in various ways. A large amount of the 

 beans are utilized by first extracting the oil. In this 

 case the bean cake is used both for cattle food and as a 

 fertilizer. 



The soybean was first cultivated in the United States 

 in 1829, but it apparently attracted but little attention 

 until 1854, when two varieties were brought back from 

 Japan by the Perry expedition. Other varieties were 

 introduced from time to time, among them the Mammoth, 

 which was introduced previous to 1882. It is largely due 

 to the introduction of this variety that the soybean has 

 become an important crop in the United States, as a very 

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