March, 1912.] 



209 



Edible Products, 



cold climates and shallow soils and 

 ripening in sixty, or even fifty, days ; 

 moreover, some varieties are very rich 

 in starch, while others are rich in 

 proteids ; some throe hundred distinct 

 varieties are now under cultivation in 

 the Americas and Europe. 



In the Philippines the great fault in 

 regard to maize seems to be that the 

 people usiug it do not appreciate the 

 fact that it must be cooked at least 

 twice as long as rice. Naturally a seed 

 very rich in oily and proteid substances 

 is more difficult to digest than one con- 

 taining practically nothing but starch. 

 If the Philippine people would realize 

 that corn is really a better food than 

 rice, kilo for kilo, and that the only 

 thing necessary to make it both palat- 

 able and nutritious is thorough cooking, 

 they would, I believe, enter upon a new 

 era in the general welfare of the people 

 as well as a new era in the general agri- 

 culture of the Archipelago. There are, 

 of course, faults with the present system 

 of cultivation of maize in the Philippines, 

 and again there is chance for great im- 

 provement in the varieties now used, 

 which can be brought about either by 

 the introduction of new varieties from 

 abroad, or by the up-breeding of the so- 

 called native sorts, or by both. 



A new feature of the case is presenting 

 itself ; the leaves of maize may be 

 stripped from the stalks as soon as the 

 seed has begun to harden in the ear, 

 and these leaves when baled form a 

 valuable forage, which will find a ready 

 market at the military posts where 

 horses or mules are stationed. An 

 American farmer in Nueva Ecija finds 

 that in his experience here this fodder 

 excels all others. Thus the Philippino- 

 farmer can not only supply his family 

 and domestic animals with a most 

 nutritious food and sell the surplus 

 grain at a good profit, but he can also 

 dispose of the heretofore practically 

 unutilised portions of the plant, to wit, 

 the leaves, tops, and husks. 



One feature of the maize question of 

 the Philippines which requires attention 

 on the part of both producer and the 

 wholesale merchant is the storage of the 

 grain in bulk. This matter is now being 

 studied by the Bureau, and we may say 

 that there appears to be do great diffi- 

 culty in storing the grain, provided that 

 proper weevil-proof cylinders or tacks 

 are used, and provided that the maize is 

 thoroughly dried before putting into 

 these storage receptacles. Fumigation in 

 storage, while not always practicable 

 for the small farmer, presents no serious 

 difficulties to the merchant. 

 27 



Soy Beans. 



Probably every tourist who has visited 

 any of the cities of Japan or China has 

 noticed in the markets these peculiar 

 blocks of a grayish white, jelly-like 

 substance, and wondered whether they 

 were really good to eat, but comparative- 

 ly few have ever tried there the three or 

 four varieties of vegetable "cheese" 

 prepared from the soy bean.* Just across 

 the China Sea our neighbours of Cochin 

 China and Indo-China are now, and have 

 been for a loner period, relying to a con- 

 siderable extent upon the soya or soy 

 bean to give a variety in their diet. 



Experts in threpsology the new 

 science of nutrition, seem to be 

 in accord on the fact that in dietary 

 matters two kinds of food are at least four 

 times as good as one, and four kinds of 

 food are probably eight times as good 

 as two ; in other words, it is physio- 

 logically very unsafe for a human being 

 to depend upon one, or even two, kinds 

 of food. Most people are now familiar 

 with the principles of this new science, 

 and even school children know that the 

 " daily ration " must be "balanced "as 

 to proteids and carbohydrates. 



The soybean contains comparatively 

 little starch, but this lack is made up 

 for by the very large amount of protein, 

 or vegetable albumen, which is the basis 

 of the so-called cheeses, or casein pro- 

 ducts made from this legume. By grind- 

 ing the seed to a fine meal and dissolving 

 this in water, a kind of vegetable milk 

 is formed which may be passed through 

 a coarse filter and then coagulated usu- 

 ally with a minute quantity of some 

 harmless mineral powder ; upon coagul- 

 ating, this " cheese " may be allowed to 

 slightly ferment, thus forming a grayish 

 or yellowish substance, or it may be 

 dried rapidly without fermentation, or 

 cooked and then partially dried. By 

 the latter method a solid, very nutri- 

 tious substance resembling goat's-milk 

 cheese is obtained. A kind of condensed 

 milk and a sort of thick cream may also 

 be prepared from a concentrated solu- 

 tion of soybean flour. 



* At least five preparations are commonly 

 made in Japan from the soy bean. These are 

 natto, tofu, miso, yuba, and shoyu. 



Natto is prepared by boiling the beans in 

 water for five hours to render them very soft. 

 The hot mass is then wrapped in small portions 

 in straw, and the bundles securely tied at both 

 ends, are placed in a cellar in which a fire has 

 been kindled. The cellar is then closed for 

 twenty-four hours and the cooked beans allowed 

 to ferment in the warm, moist atmosphere. The 

 fermented product is a thick, viscid mass and 

 has a peculiar but not putrid odour. 



