It is the property of cowhage, when rubbed upon the skin, immediately to penetrate it, and to cause an intolerable itching. Hence it is sometimes wantonly employed for mischievous purposes; and hence also it is found very troublesome to cattle and domestic animals, in places where the plants grow. Notwithstanding this, it may be swallowed in safety, and, if taken into the stomach and intestines, is said to be an useful remedy for the destruction of worms. As a medicine, it is mixed with syrup or treacle into the form of an electuary. 197. _SOY is a dark-coloured sauce, which is prepared from the seeds of a Chinese plant_ (Dolichos soja), _that has an erect and hairy stem, erect branches of flowers, and pendulous bristly pods, each containing about two seeds._ There is a joke amongst seamen, that soy is made from beetles or cockroaches. This probably originates in the seeds of the plant from which the sauce is manufactured having some fancied resemblance, in shape and colour, to a beetle. These _seeds_ are used in China and Japan as food. They are made into a kind of jelly or curd, which is esteemed very nutritious, and which is rendered palatable by seasoning of different kinds. The liquid which we know by the name of _soy_ is thus prepared:--After the seeds have been boiled until they become soft, they are mixed with an equal weight of wheat or barley meal, coarsely ground. This mixture is fermented; and a certain proportion of salt and water being added, the whole is allowed to stand for two or three months, care being taken to stir it every day; and, by the end of that time, it is ready for use. Soy is chiefly prepared in China and Japan; but that imported from Japan is considered preferable to any other. The quantity annually vended at the East India Company's sales is from eight hundred to two thousand gallons, at an average price of sixteen or eighteen shillings per gallon. 198. _BEANS_ (Vicia faba) _are well-known seeds, originally introduced from Persia, of which there are several kinds or varieties; some of these are cultivated in fields, and others in gardens._ _Field_, or _horse-beans_, as they are frequently called, are small and somewhat round. The cultivation of them is pursued to a considerable extent. They are esteemed, in many respects, an advantageous crop to the farmer, and will thrive on any land where the soil is sufficiently stiff. They are usually sown in the month of February; sometimes in the autumn; but, in case of severe frost, all the plants that are not well and deeply covered with snow will perish. There is also much uncertainty in the crop, owing to the state of the weather in the spring and summer; and particularly to the ravages of small black insects, myriads of which are frequently seen to crowd the tender tops of the plants.