Edible Products. 



324 



[October, 1908. 



though wild in the south ; and later this 

 species was confounded with the culti- 

 vated species, G- hispida, Moench., 

 whence the origin of the term soja as 

 applied to the cultivated bean. 



Recent works on Japanese botany seem 

 to substantiate this position, though it 

 is still a matter of doubt as to what 

 botanical name probably belongs to the 

 cultivated species. 



The soy bean is an erect, annual plant, 

 with branching, hairy stems, trifoliate, 

 more or less hairy leaves, rather incon- 

 spicuous pale lilac or violet coloured 

 flowers, and broad, two to five-seed- 

 ed pods, covered, like the stem, with 

 stiff, reddish hairs. The seeds vary in 

 colour from whitish and yellowish to 

 green, brown, and black; and in shape 

 from spherical to elliptical and more 

 or less compressed. Under favourable 

 conditions the plant may reach a height 

 of 4 feet or more. In Professor Haber- 

 landt's experiments in Austro-Hungary 

 the plants bore about 200 pods and 450 

 seeds each, and though this is probably 

 considerably above the average, _ it 

 shows them to be remarkably prolific. 



The fact that the flowers are self-polli- 

 nated makes the yield entirely inde- 

 pendent of insects, and renders the soy 

 bean free from an important obstacle 

 in the way of the introduction of many 

 legumes into new regions. A crop of 

 seed is insured wherever conditions are 

 to allow the plants to make the proper 

 vegetative growth and reach maturity. 



Varieties, 

 The different varieties of soy bean are 

 distinguished largely according to the 

 colour, size, and shape of the seed, and 

 the time required tor the plants to reach 

 maturity. They also differ more or less 

 in the habit of growth and in the 

 character and degree of the hairiness of 

 the various parts of the plant. The 

 names applied to the varieties here in 

 the United States usually refer to the 

 time of reaching maturity and the colour 

 of the seed ; as, for example, " Early 

 White," " Medium Late Green," "Medium 

 Black," etc. The early varieties gener- 

 ally fruit heavier in proportion to the 

 size of the plant than the later ones, 

 and hence are better to grow for seed, 

 while the medium or late varieties are 

 better for forage on account of the larger 

 yield of fodder that may be obtained. 



The "Early White" soy bean is an 

 excellent variety to grow when a crop 

 of seed is desired, particularly in the 

 North, where the growing season is 

 likely to be short. It is not a good 

 variety to grow for hay or soiling, how- 



ever, on account of the small size of the 

 plants and a tendency to drop the leaves 

 early. " Medium Early Green " is one of 

 the best varieties to plant for hay, as it 

 yields heavily and r etains its leaves well. 

 For soiling or for ensilage " Medium 

 Early Green, " Medium Early Black," 

 or the "Late" green or black varieties 

 may be used, according to the length of 

 the season and the time at which the 

 crop is to be used. In the New England 

 States the "Medium Early Green" 

 variety is generally preferred, while in 

 the Central States "Medium Early 

 Black" seems to be the favourite. In 

 the South the "medium" or "late" 

 varieties are used, some preferring one 

 and some another. For green manuring 

 the large medium or late varieties are 

 best; "Medium Late Black" being excel- 

 lent for this purpose. 



Conditions op Growth, 

 It is believed that in Japan than in 

 northern climates, soils of a rather 

 strong character are best adapted to the 

 soy bean. It is usually sown about the 

 end of May, and when used for hay is 

 cut early in August. In both Europe 

 and America it has been found to thrive 

 best on soils of medium texture that 

 are well supplied with potash, phos- 

 phoric acid, and lime. It succeeds very 

 well, however, on comparatively light 

 soils, often giving an abundant crop on 

 soils too poor to grow clover. Professor 

 Haberlandt found that good results 

 could be obtained in Europe on a very 

 great variety of soils, and similar results 

 have been obtained in the United States. 

 Professor Georgeson has obtained fairly 

 good results in Kansas on very poor soils, 

 and under very adverse conditions as to 

 the moisture. In South Carolina the 

 soy bean gives excellent crops on sandy, 

 limestone, or marly soils, and also on 

 drained swamp or peaty lands that are 

 well marled. Experiments in both 

 Europe and America show that the soy 

 bean possesses excellent drought-resist- 

 ing qualities, enduring dry weather 

 much better than the ordinary field or 

 garden beans. 



The soy bean requires about the same 

 temperature as corn. Professor Haber- 

 landt found that the earlier varieties of 

 soy bean would mature in Europe rather 

 farther north than the earlier varieties 

 of corn. In the United States the rela- 

 tion of the soy bean to temperature has 

 not yet been thoroughly tested, but it is 

 very likely that the northern limit will 

 be found very near to that of corn. 

 Professor Brook says that the earlier 

 sorts will mature in Massachusetts with 

 as much certainty as will the earlier 

 varieties of corn. As a general thing, 



