January, 1912.1 



15 



Oils and Fats. 



slopes of the Himalayas from Kashmir 

 to Darjeeling. Their weight indicates 

 the plant to be the same as is known 

 in China as the smaller-seeded of fthe two 

 races called together Hei Tou (Black 

 Bean); one hundred seeds weigh 4 to 

 6 grammes. This has been cultivated 

 for a long time by the natives of India. 



It is observed, moreover, that the 

 races of this small black Soy bean that 

 are grown in hilly places like Kashmir, 

 Simla, and Darjeeling nave heavier seeds 

 than those grown in the plains of the 

 United Provinces and Patna. The aver- 

 age weight of one hundred seeds of five 

 samples from the hills is found to be 6'5 

 grammes, whereas the average weight of 

 one hundred seeds of eleven samples from 

 the plains is 5 grammes only. This illus- 

 trates the fact that the plant growth is 

 affected by the situation. 



D. The Brown Races. 



1. The large Brown Soy Bean.— There 

 is a sample fiom Kalimpong, Darjeeling, 

 of large globose seeds (100 seeds = 24 66 

 grammes) ; this is the heaviest of all the 

 samples of Soy beans in the Museum 

 collection. 



2. The small Brown Soy Bean.— They 

 are flattish, elliptical in shape and are 

 grown in the Himalayas from Kashmir 

 to Darjeeling. The weightof one hundred 

 seeds varies from 7 to 8'5 grammes ; the 

 average weight in five samples is 8 

 grammes. 



E. The Mottled Races. 



There is only one sample of this yellow 

 and brown race obtained from Shillong. 

 The seeds are elliptical in form and one 

 hundred seeds weigh 10*15 grammes. 



Both the brown and mottled races have 

 their epidermis only so coloured, the 

 interior being yellow. They are not 

 described in the above quoted reports. 

 They appear to have been cultivated for 

 a long time by the natives of Assam and 

 the lower Himalayas, The colour of the 

 brown seeds is called " khair," from its 

 resemblance to the colour of cutch or 

 catechu. 



Composition. 

 In Church's "Food Grains of Iudia" a 

 typical analysis is given of Soy bean 

 presumably cultivated in the couutry. 

 It contained :— 



Water ... ... 110 



Albuminoids... ... 35'3 



Pat ... ... 18-9 



Non-nitrogenous extractive 26 



Fibre ... ... 42 



Ash ... ... 4-6 



Many analyses have been made of the 

 bean grown under various names and in 

 different countries. Several analyses are 

 quoted in Konig's " Chemie der mensch- 

 lichen Nahrungs- und Genussmittel," 

 Vol. 1., pp. 595-600 and 1481. An examin- 

 ation of the results shows that the 

 percentage of oil in the absolutely dried 

 seeds from different countries varies as 

 follows : — 



Chinese beans ... 17*60 to 26*18 

 Japanese ... 12-36 „ 25*55 



Java ... ... 18-37 „ 26-18 



Grown in Europe... 15'16 „ 21*89 

 Grown in N.America 18-42 „ 19-52 



Composition of the Seed.— The average 

 of eight analyses from China is 19 89. 

 The average of six analyses from Java 

 is 21 '62. The average ot forty-two ana- 

 lyses from Europe is 18 98,being f rom Ger- 

 many fourteen analyses with an average 

 of 19*74 ; from Austria eleven, average 

 19*44 ; from Hungary six, average 19*16 ; 

 from Russia nine, average 17-93; from 

 Prance two, average 15*40. 



In examining the Indian-grown seeds 

 there is not much variation from the 

 type except a slight decrease in oil in 

 seeds from Burma and the United Pro- 

 vinces. Soy beans are especially rich in 

 proteids and oil. The oil content is 

 rather remarkable, and at once distin- 

 guishes the bean from all other pulses. 

 Edible leguminous seeds give about 2 

 per cent, of oil, except the Chick pea. 

 (Cicer arietitum) which gives between 

 4 and 5 per cent. 



Dr. J. W. Leather in 1903 analysed the 

 seeds of seven samples of Soy bean from 

 Japanese seeds cultivated at Manjri, 

 near Poona. The amount of oil in them 

 varied from 14*92 to 23*95 per cent., being 

 on the dry weight 15*97 to 24-41 per cent, 

 with an average of 19*9U. In 1902 Dr. 

 Leather examined five samples grown on 

 the Dumraon Farm. They yielded from 

 14-27 to 19-72 per cent, of oil on the air- 

 dried seeds. 



(To be continued.) 



