The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-11-28
SOY-BEAN INDUSTRY EXPANDING
Steady Increase in Crop Acreage
Growing Demand for Soy Beans as
FOOd-Harvesting Machine Intro
duced.
manufacturers Record.l

| With Food Administrators Herbert
Hoover approving recipes for prepar-
ing soy-bean fritters, croquettes and
soy-bean loaf; with cottonseed- oil
mills crushing soy-bean seed for oil.
and with Southern agricultural mis-
sionaries prescribing the plant as
adapted to even a sickly soil--these
varying uses suggest a widening fu-
ture Tor the soy-bean industry. AS
the largest soy-bean producing State
In the United States, the North Caro-
lima crop will probably exceed j.
ooo,oOO bushels for the season Of
1917.
The acreage devoted to this crop is
20 per cent. in excess of the acreage
Tor 1916. DR.. c. +. Williams, chief
or the division of agronomy of the
North Carolina Department Of Agri-
culture, and an international author
lty on the subject. notes a marked in
terest in sOy-bean culture throughout
the South. The stimulus in growing
the bean for commercial purposes
mas been particularly keen i'm South
Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Geor-
gia, Louisiana and Texas. The pos
sibilities of this crop, as guaranteed
by the results achieved in the Tar
Heel State, have attracted other
southern States to the industry.
But the demand for the product
far exceeds the supply, and conse-
quently foreign countries are being
uratted upon for wholesale importa-
tions.' Notably, the oil mills of East
crn North Carolina imported a cargo
OF 100000 bushels recently from
Manchuria for the purpose of convert
ing the beans into OIL A single mill
crushed 105, 900 bushels of this car
go, and four other factories are crush
ing the products from this foreign
shipment just now.
The soy-Dean harvester, an inven-
ton of North Carolina farmers. is an
Invaluable contribution to the growth
of the industry. The North Caro-
ma Extension Service is author of q
bulletin just issued descriptive o.
,hese harvesting devices These ma
chimes thrash the beans from the
vines as they stand i'm the fields. The
Cime-saving attachment on this ma
chine is the beater, which thrashes
me beans from the standing stalks.
FIVE types of harvesters are man
u1actured in North Carolina, and che
neaters on these machines have vary
ing numbers of fingers Some of the
beaters revolve parallel 10 the row
while others revolve at right<aneles
o the row. In the manufacture OF
the harvesters some employ mowine
machines. while others are mounted
on cart wheels.
The Pritchard harvester is the in
Vention of George e. Pritchard Of
Elizabeth City. The machine weighs
1000 pounds, and is manufactured in
three sizes. The body of the har-
rester is feet long and "A inches
vide. The beater is chain driven
md revOlves across the rows. This
type of harvester retails for S135..
Agronomist w. r. Pate, compiler of
ihe bulletin on bean harvesters
;ays: During the past few years the
growth of the soy beans i'm North Car
ohha Tor hay, pasturage, soil improv-
ing and seed purposes has increased
very rapidly. This has been true be-
cause Of their high food and fertiliz-
ing value; their adoption in rotations
practiced in North Carolina. and the
favorable climate and soil condition.,
generally found throughout the State
one OF the first problems to be work
ed on after the soy-bean growinr
mad well begun was that of divisine
machines suitable for harvesting the
seed cheaply and rapidly"
of the North Carolina yield OF SOY
beans for 1916, 111.0O0 bushels were
sold to Gamers for canned products.
Dr. Williams states: "A number of the
canned products in which soy beans
entered have been tried by us, ana
we have found them very palatable.
ana. of course. highly nutritious" In
for the past two years nave been di-
rected To the North Carolina Depart