188 REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS 



very difficult to say whether the names are final or fully correct. A 

 few seem to be different from translations given in Giles. 



There is also an alphabetical list of incompletely known species 

 of Chinese plants : as 'Aconitum' Pft^. 



There is also a Chinese index : but this does not seem to be 

 arranged on any plan and so its utility is much lessened. In fact it 

 would be difficult to know on what principle the list has been arranged. 



Further the references contained in this index do not seem to be 

 complete ; for instances we have ^ 180, 299 : but we have noticed it 

 also on p. 302 : and so on. 



Finally there is an alphabetical romanised and Japanese index. 

 The book is well printed, and were the arrangement of the Chinese 

 index more clear this book would be a greater help to readers of 

 Chinese books. M. 



Beans and Bean Products. By Shih Chi Yen, of the Biology 

 Department, Soochow University. 



A foreword by Professor Gist Gee shows how much the Chinese 

 have to teach us about economy in the use of food products, and this 

 pamphlet gives a very full account of. the varied uses to which the 

 many beans of China are put. 



First in order come the soya beans, the primary use of which is 

 for oil production. Bean oil constitutes one of the most important of 

 China's exports. The method of cultivation is dealt with here, and 

 is followed by an account of the method of preparing bean curd (found 

 also in Miss Love's paper on Household Industries in Soochow). 

 Other preparations are to po yeh, dried curd, curd soaked in oil, 

 ju fu, tsao ju fu, and salted curd caked. Bean sauce and soy are 

 fully treated ; the latter is universally used and relished in the Far 

 East, and has even penetrated to Europe. Sprouts and the method 

 of extracting bean oil, which has often been described, are next and 

 last on the list of Soya Bean products. 



The green bean (phaseolus mungo) which has been described by 

 Hosie in his Manchuria, produces congee and pudding made with 

 rice and sugar. The small red beans have the same uses ; from the 

 skin of the latter a red dye for colouring paper is also extracted. 

 Hyacinth beans (dolichos lablab) and asparagus (vigna cantiang) are 

 eaten as vegetables, and medicine is also made from the flower and 

 seeds of the former. There remain the broad bean (vicia faba) which 

 is especially important in Kiangsu. This is eaten chiefly as a 

 vegetable, but are also popularly cooked with prawns. 



