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History of Soy
Introduction of Soybeans to Illinois (1)
by Theodore Hymowitz (2)
Events leading to the planting of the first soybeans in Illinois and the subsequent distribution of the seed throughout the United States are documented. In December 1850 the Auckland left Hong Kong for San Francisco. The ship came across a Japanese junk floundering on the sea. The Japanese crew was removed from the junk and placed on board the Auckland, which continued on to San Francisco. In March 1851 Dr. Benjamin Franklin Edwards obtained soybean seeds from the Japaanese and brought the seeds to Alton, Illinois. Mr. John H. Lea of AIton planted the soybeans in his garden in summer 1851. These events took place 3 yr prior to the famous introduction of soybeans from Japan into the United States by the Perry Expedition.
In the 1984/85 crop year, the United States produced about 56% of the world's
soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. Over 65% of the United States soybean production comes from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin (Bader 1985). Since 1924, Illinois has been the principal soybean producing state (Probst and Judd 1973).
The earliest research publications on soybeans in Illinois were
Bulletin No. 43 (Hopkins 1896) and Circular No. 5 (Davenport 1897), Agricultural
Experiment Station, University of Illinois, Urbana. However, these publications
did not address the issue as to when, where, and by whom soybeans were first
grown in Illinois. My paper documents the events leading to the planting of
the first soybeans in Illinois — at Alton — by John H. Lea in 1851
and the subsequent distribution throughout the United States of seeds from
this planting.
Soybean Introductions Prior to 1851
The soybean, a domesticate of China, was first introduced to
North America in 1765 by Samuel Bowen, a seaman employed by the East India
Company, who brought soybeans to Savannah, The Colony of Georgia, from China
via London. Bowen grew the soybeans on his plantation, "Greenwich," and made soy sauce and vermicelli from them for export to England (Hymowitz and Harlan 1983). In 1769 the American Philosophical Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge, Philadelphia, acknowledged the receipt of a sample of "Chinese vetches" (i.e.
soybeans) from Bowen (Lesley 1884). Whether Bowen's soybeans were planted in
Philadelphia is not known. Unfortunately, when Bowen died in London on 30 Dec
1777 (Gazetteer and New Daily Advertiser 1777) his soybean enterprise in Georgia
ended.
The second soybean introduction to North America was by Benjamin Franklin (Hymowitz
and Harlan 1983). In 1770 he sent seeds from London to the botanist
John Bartram in Philadelphia. Dr. James Mease (1804) stated that
the soybeans grew well in Pennsylvania and ought to be cultivated.
Professor Thomas Nuttall (1829) reported that he grew soybeans in
the Botanic Garden, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and that they thrived.Unfortunately,
he did not indicate where he obtained the seeds. "H." (1831) received
a few soybean from Nuttall and grew them in Milton, Massachusetts.
"E." (1846) wrote that Dr. Emerson of Philadelphia received soybeans
from a friend in China. Most probably there were other soybean introductions
into the United States during the first half of the 19th century.
However, the results were either not reported or if they were reported
they were printed in local newspapers, discussed in personal letters,
or presented orally at horticultural society meetings.
Next Page
(1) Received 28 March 1986; accepted 20 July 1986.
(2) Crop Evolution Laboratory, Department of Agronomy, University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801.
Economic Botany, 41(1), 1987, pp. 28-32 @1987, by
the New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458
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