188 Agricultural Chemistry. 



Beans thrive best on clayey soils, well stocked with lime, potash 

 and phosphoric acid. Several varieties are consumed, green or 

 mature, as vegetables and are valued for their high protein con- 

 tent. The soy-bean was introduced from Japan and soy-bean 

 meal finds some use as an animal feeding-stuff. It resembles the 

 bean in its habits of growth. 



Peas require much lime, and on rich soils they tend to produce 

 luxuriant vines at the expense of seed. The fresh seed is prized 

 as a vegetable and cured peas are valuable for pig feeding. It 

 may be said that the leguminous crops in general thrive on soils 

 poor in nitrogen but well supplied with the other elements of 

 fertility. 



Cotton-seed is one of several miscellaneous seeds of agricul- 

 tural value. The seed is enveloped by the lint of the pod, or 

 "boll," of the plant. American cotton yields about 300 pounds 

 of lint and 600 pounds of seed per acre. The seed is rich in 

 phosphoric acid, nitrogen and potash and the crop requires ma- 

 nurial applications of these constituents in the order given. Cot- 

 ton-seed oil is extracted from the seed by pressure and also by the 

 use of naphtha as a solvent. The outer coating, or hull, of the 

 seed is generally removed previous to pressing, in which case the 

 residue is known as "decorticated cotton cake," or, when ground, 

 as "cotton-seed meal." A high proportion of hulls produces a 

 dark colored meal and lowers its digestibility and food value. 

 The meal is somewhat valued for feeding because of its high pro- 

 tein content, but because it contains some toxic substance, its use 

 is necessarily restricted. It is also used as a fertilizer, supplying 

 nitrogen in a form gradually available to the crop. Incidentally, 

 it supplies considerable amounts of potash and phosphoric acid. 



Flax seed, or linseed, thrives under much the same environ- 

 ment as that required by wheat. Where grown for fiber, the 

 crop requires a moist, temperate climate, such as is found in Ire- 

 land, the northern United States and Canada; but seed pro- 

 duction requires warmer climates. The crop produces an ave- 



