January, 1910. jf 



27 



Edible Products, 



The cylinder and shaft are run in 

 opposite directions, so as to complete 

 the stirring of the beans, in order that 

 each bean shall get an equal amount 

 of polish. The cylinder is driven at the 

 rate of ten revolutions per minute, and 

 the shaft at sixty to eighty. At this rate 

 of work; the machine in operation at 

 Park estate, which is a four-pedal 

 machine, polishes one bag of cacao of 

 200 lb. in ten to twelve minutes. This is 

 a record unattainable by the present 

 method, in which the polishing is done 

 by means of the human foot, The 

 machine may be had in various sizes, 

 from those which may be worked by 

 hand to those which are engine-driven. 

 The beans are fed into the polisher and 

 damped (just as at present) before start- 

 ing and, on removal, are placed either 

 in the sun on trays or direct into the 

 drier. Thus it will be seen that with a 

 polisher and a drier the cacao planter 

 is now enabled to hold his own against 

 the uncertainty of the weather, the 

 excessive rainfall in some districts at 

 the reaping season, or the indolence of 

 the labourer. 



INDAIN SOY BEAN 



(From the Indian Trade Journal, Vol. 



XV., No. 189, November 11th, 1909.) 



The Indian* press in echoing the repeat- 

 ed allusions made by this Department 

 to the importance of the trade in the 

 Manchurian soy bean, and to the menace 

 offered by it to India's business in other 

 oilseeds, is in some danger of doiug 

 injustice to the Agricultural Depart- 

 ment which is working in the back- 

 ground. The Oommerical Intelligence 

 Department has done no more than to 

 draw the attention of the public and 

 of other Departments of Government 

 to those trade developments which 

 is its function to mark, and to bring 

 together such relevant data as were on 

 record. As soon as this was done it was 

 found that India's knowledge of the soy 

 bean was not limited to the indigenous 

 variety known as Glycine Soja (or Q. 

 ussuriensis), but that the Agricultural 

 Departments in several provinces had 

 practical experience of the cultivated 

 plant. As long ago as 1885 the seed was 

 tentatively grown as a possible food 

 crop by the Agricultural Department 

 at Nagpore; and the Annual Report of 

 the agricultural stations in the Central 

 Provinces, which has just issued, con- 

 tains a reference to the cultivation of 

 a small plot and to the absence of a local 

 damand. Other provinces also made 

 some experiments. In those days the 

 merits of the soy beau as a source of oil 

 4 



were scarcely recognised, and no demand 

 for it on this account existed in west- 

 ern countries. Consequently the culti- 

 vator found small profit and the agricul- 

 tural authorities as little encouragement 

 in their attempts. But the crop was 

 never quite lost sight of ; and, so soon as 

 a foreign demand for the seed appeared 

 and was brought to the notice of the 

 Agiicultuial Department, it was able to 

 supply small samples of the produce 

 grown in India. These were sent home 

 and have through the kind offices of one 

 of the leading European firms in India, 

 been technically reported on. The result 

 of the analyses is shown below ; and it 

 may reasonably encourage further 

 efforts to establish the soy bean as a 

 commercial and technical crop. 



The samples in question were supplied 

 by the Director of Agriculture, Bombay, 

 and were grown from seed of Japanese 

 origin at the Manjri Experimental Firm. 



Analyses of Fourteen Samples. 

 Sample No. Moisture per cent. Oil per cent, 



2 



11-31 



16-80 



3 



11-18 



19*42 



5 



10-86 



20-28 



6 



11-12 



19-12 



7 



11-00 



19-30 



8 



10-93 



19-34 



9 



11-21 



16-44 



10 



10 '75 



20-46 



11 



9-90 



22-48 



12 



11-74. 



17-26 



14 



11-15 



20-36 



17 



11-37 



21-22 



18 



12-06 



1918 



19 



1128 



21-95 



The crusher to whom the samples were 

 submitted added the following com- 

 ment : — 



" Eleven of the fourteen samples are, 

 in our opinion, distinctly good, and 

 those showing above 20 per cent, oil very 

 good indeed and better in this respect 

 than the best Sakura Manchurian beans. 

 No. 11 (the best resultant) we are analys- 

 ing fully for albuminoids, but shall not 

 have the result for a few days. We beg 

 to add that the Manchurian soy beans 

 contain on an average about 19| per 

 cent, oil, of which about 6 per cent, is 

 left in the cake. 



"The present value of Sakura beans 

 (with 1 per cent, franchise for admixture) 

 is £6-12-6, and for Harbin beans (with 2 

 per cent, franchise for admixture) £6-10. 



" We will forward to you the full 

 analysis of sample No. 11 as soon as we 

 receive it." 



For purposes of comparison we give 

 below the range of oil content quoted 



