October, 1908.] 



323 



Edible Products, 



other hand the average of tannin (7 per 

 cent.) is considerably lower. In respect 

 of the percentage of tainnin these teas 

 from the Kearsney Estate are intermedi- 

 ate between the Indian and China teas. 

 The amount of extractive matter is also 

 less than in the Indian teas, and approx- 

 imates to that of the China samples. 



As is well known, it is the caffeine to 

 which the valuable stimulating proper- 

 ties of tea are due, whilst the pre- 

 sence of much tannin is generally consi- 

 dered to be detrimental. 



The other group of Natal teas, compris- 

 ing all the remaining specimens, is char- 

 acterised by unusually high percentages 

 of caffeine and tannin. The amount of 

 caffeine ranges from 4"0 to 4 - 8 per cent., 

 with an average of 4*3 per cent., whilst 

 the percentages of tannin vary from lO'-I 

 to 13-0 with an average of 11*1 per cent. 

 The abnormal amount of tannin (13 per 

 cent), present in the Pekoe tea from the 

 Clifton Estate is probably due to the 

 fact that the sample had not been pro- 

 perly fermented, and was more or less 

 green. So far as the amount of extrac- 

 tive matter is concerned, this group 

 agrees closely with the Kearsney teas. 



The difference in the figures furnished 

 by these two groups of specimens is very 

 striking, and may be due to some modi- 

 fication in the processes of manufacture^ 



It was to be expected that Natal tea 

 would show a general similarity to 

 Indian tea, since the original seed was 

 obtained from Assam. This similarity 

 can be seen in the figures for the major- 

 ity of the specimens and in the average 

 results, but in the case of the Kearsney 

 teas the small percentages of extractive 

 matter and tannin approximate more 

 nearly to those obtained for China teas. 



These results show that the cultivation 

 of tea in Natal and its pieparation 

 deserve very full study with a veiw to 

 the production of a tea of characteristic 

 quality. The best of these teas combine 

 the qualities of the teas of China and 

 India.— Bidletin of the Imperial Institute, 

 Vol. VI., No. 1, 1906. 



THE SOY BEAN AS A FORAGE CROP. 



General Characteristics and 

 Origin, 



The Soy Bean {Glycine hispida), previ- 

 ously, but incorrectly, called soja 

 bean, is a leguminous plant, native of 

 south-eastern Asia. De Candolle says 

 that it originally occurred in the wild 

 state in the region " from Cochin China 

 to the south of Japan and to Java." It 



has been cultivated from very ancient 

 times, and in some countries, notably 

 Japan, it is a very important food 

 plant, and its cultivation has reached 

 such an advanced stage that innumer- 

 able varieties and forms have been 

 developed. Professor Rein says it is 

 the most important legume in extent 

 of varieties, uses, and value grown in 

 China or Japan. It is supposed to have 

 been used for food in China even before 

 the time of Confucius. Although it has 

 been grown in China and Japan for such 

 an extended period, its cultivation seems 

 to have spread very slowly to the sur- 

 rounding countries. Its introduction 

 into India seems to have taken place in 

 comparatively modern times. More 

 recently it was brought to Europe, 

 where it was grown in botanic gardens 

 for more than a hundred years without 

 attracting attention as a plant of much 

 economic importance- Aiton says in 

 his Hortus Kewensis that it was first 

 brought to England in 1790. In 1875 Pro- 

 fessor Haberlandt began an extensive 

 series of expriments with this plant in 

 Austro-Hungary, and in awork published 

 in 1878 he gave the results of his studies 

 and strongly urged the cultivation of 

 the soy bean as a food plant for both 

 man and beast. Although he succeeded 

 in exciting a great deal of interest in its 

 cultivation while making his experi- 

 ments, and distributed a considerable 

 amount ot seed, very little seems to 

 have come of it ; for at his death, which 

 occurred in 1878, the interest nagged, 

 and the soy bean has failed to obtain 

 the place as a staple crop which he 

 prophesied for it. 



In our own country the soy bean has 

 been grown for a great many years, 

 chiefly in the South, but it is only within 

 the last fifteen years that it has received 

 much attention as a forage crop. Recent- 

 ly it has been the subject of considerable 

 experimentation at a number of the ex- 

 periment stations, and its great value 

 as a crop has been very clearly demon- 

 strated 



The term "soy" applied to this bean 

 is derived from a Japanee word " shoyu," 

 denoting a certain preparation from the 

 seeds which is a favourite article of diet 

 in that country. The term ''soja" is 

 often used in connection with this plant, 

 but Professor Georgeson, who spent 

 some time in Japan, and who, since his 

 return to this country, has experiment- 

 ed extensively with this plant, says : — 



The term soja, often applied to this 

 bean, is misleading, inasmuch as the 

 species named by Siebold and Zuccarini 

 {Glycine soja) is not cultivated there 

 (Japan), or at least rarely cultivated, 



