8 



BULLETIN 439, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



North Carolina is about 25 bushels, although many fields produce 35 

 bushels or more to the acre. 



The growing and handling of soy beans are accomplished almost 

 entirely by machinery in this country, the ordinary farm equipment 

 meeting all the requirements of this crop. In large bean-growing 

 districts, special harvesters for gathering the seed in the field are 

 used quite successfully. The cost of production varies from $7.50 to 

 $12 per acre, depending on the methods employed in growing and 

 handling the crop. The market price per bushel of seed for sowing 

 purposes varies in different sections, ranging from $1 in large seed- 

 producing sections of the South to $2 or $3 a bushel in the Central 

 and Middle States. 



Fig. 2. — Outline map of the United States, showing by double hatching the area to which the soy bean 

 is especially adapted for growing for oil production. The area where the soy bean is less certain of profit- 

 able production for oil purposes is shown by single lines. 



The first extensive work in the United States with the soy bean 

 as an oil seed was entered upon about 1910 by an oil miU on the 

 Pacific coast. The beans, containing from 15 to 19 per cent of oil, 

 were imported from Manchuria, and the importations, most of 

 which are used in the manufacture of oil and cake, have gradually 

 increased, as shown in Table V. The oil was extracted with hydraulic 

 presses, using the same methods employed with cottonseed and 

 linseed. It found a ready market, as a good demand had been 

 created for this product by soap and paint manufacturers, which 

 up to this time had been supplied by importation from Asiatic 

 countries and England. The soy cake, ground into meal, was 

 placed on the market under a trade name and was soon recognized 

 as a valuable feed by dairymen and poultrymen. The use of the 



