Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
November,  1897.  J 
Soy  Bean. 
589 
crude  fiber  and  fat,  and  lower  in  extract  matter.  From  the  analysis 
of  the  beans  it  will  be  seen  that  there  are  about  two-fifths  protein 
and  one- sixth  fat,  with  but  very  little  fiber  present,  making  them 
almost  as  rich  in  crude  protein  as  the  best  cotton-seed  meal,  with  a 
higher  percentage  of  fat.  They  contain  three  times  as  much  crude 
protein  and  nearly  three  and  a  half  times  as  much  fat  as  oats ; 
nearly  three  and  one-half  times  as  much  protein  and  about  three 
times  as  much  fat  as  corn,  and  almost  twice  as  much  crude  protein, 
and  over  twelve  times  as  much  fat  as  peas;  all  of  which  show  them 
to  form  one  of  the  most  concentrated  of  our  feeding  stuffs. 
Digestibility. — The  chemical  analysis  alone  will  not  prove  the  feed- 
ing value  of  a  forage  crop.  Soy  bean  meal  has  a  high  percentage 
of  digestibility.  It  contains  almost  two  and  one- half  times  as  much 
digestible  protein,  and  over  five  times  as  much  digestible  fat  as  the 
common  roller  process,  wheat  bran,  and  its  digestibility  is  decid- 
edly higher  in  everything  but  the  fat  than  that  of  cotton-seed  meal. 
The  experiments  which  confirmed  these  statements  were  made  on 
cattle  and  sheep,  chiefly  the  latter. 
As  a  Soil  Renewer. — One  of  the  great  advantages  in  growing 
leguminous  forage  crops  lies  in  the  benefit  which  the  soil  derives 
from  the  nitrogen  and  other  important  elements  of  plant  food  that 
are  left  in  it  by  the  crops.  Soils  that  have  become  impoverished  by 
continuous  cropping  with  small  grains  of  other  nitrogen-using  crops 
may  be  restored  to  fertility  by  the  use  of  leguminous  crops,  as,  for 
example,  the  clovers,  cowpeas,  vetches,  lupines,  and  the  soy  bean. 
The  value  of  a  crop  as  a  soil  restorer  depends  upon  the  amount  of 
available  plant  food  which  it  adds  to  the  soil,  and  also  upon  the 
effect  which  the  roots  have  upon  the  mechanical  condition  of  the 
soil.  Leguminous  plants,  through  the  aid  of  the  root  tubercle 
organisms,  are  able  to  add  to  the  available  nitrogen  of  the  soil,  and 
hence  are  extensively  used  in  restoring  those  deficient  in  that 
element. 
The  soy  bean  is  highly  valued  in  Japan  as  a  nitrogen  gatherer 
and  is  extensively  grown  in  rotation  with  cereal  crops.  When  the 
soy  bean  was  first  introduced  into  the  United  States  it  did  not  form 
root  tubercles,  owing  to  the  absence  of  the  tubercle  organism  from 
the  soil,  and  it  has  been  grown  for  several  years  in  some  localities 
without  the  appearance  of  any  tubercles.  In  other  cases  the  tuber- 
cles have  developed  in  great  abundance  a  ter  a  short  time.    At  the 
