274 TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



and is considered a valuable source of nourishment for chil- 

 dren. The milk may be further treated with magnesium 

 chlorid to precipitate the proteids, which are then collected 

 by filtration, pressed, and dried into a product known as soy 

 bean cheese. Soya sauce or shoyu sauce is a much more 

 important product of the soy bean. This material is prepared 

 from a mixture of boiled and pulverized soy beans, and 

 roasted, pulverized wheat with salt and water. The whole 

 mass is fermented with rice wine ferment in large vats for 

 from I to 5 years, being stirred at frequent intervals. The 

 product is a dark brown or almost black sauce, resembling 

 beef extract in appearance but of a more pungent quality. 

 Soya sauce is widely used in this form by the Japanese and 

 serves also as the basis for Worcestershire sauce and other 

 meat sauces used in Europe and America. The moist cake 

 residue obtained in the manufacture of soya sauce is of very 

 different composition from the soy-bean meal derived from 

 oil factories. The residue which comes from the soy factories 

 contains 15 per cent, moisture, 24.5 per cent, ash (nearly all 

 of which is common salt), 17.25 per cent, protein, 18 per cent, 

 fat, and 24 per cent, carbohydrates. This material may be 

 used as a stock feed after washing out the salt in water. The 

 soy bean crop matures in from 85 to 130 days after seeding 

 and the yield varies from 25 to 40 bushels of beans per acre. 

 Kapok oil is obtained from the seeds of kapok {Eriodendron 

 anfractuosum) , a tree native to the East Indies, West Indies, 

 Malaya, Central America, and Africa. The hull of the kapok 

 seed is easily removed from the kernel. The seed yield about 

 18 per cent, of oil of a greenish-yellow color and agreeable 

 flavor. This oil is used in the Tropics for food purposes. 

 Large quantities of the seed are imported into Holland, where 

 the oil is expressed for use in soap and as a substitute for 

 cottonseed oil. If the seed is not thoroughly decorticated be- 

 fore grinding and pressing, the oil has a reddish color. Its 

 properties are very similar to those of cottonseed oil. 



