Introduction
The Eldon C. Beagle papers date from 1939 to 1983, with the majority produced from 1960 to 1983. There are 45 records boxes consisting of 56.25 linear feet of materials. The materials in the collection are in fair to good condition. University of Maryland graduate library student Jean Davin created an initial survey and box list in 1997. Project Manager Fred Stielow compiled her notes into a preliminary finding aid in 2003. Archivist Sara Lee updated the finding aid for the web in 2020.
Biographical Sketch
Eldon C. Beagle was born on March 22, 1923. He was married and had one son who worked with him on rice hull utilization issues.
From 1945 to 1970, Beagle ran family businesses in feed milling, production of agricultural and industrial products and by-products, rice by-products marketing, trucking, mining, and diversified farming. Beagle companies handled the majority of rice by-products sales in for approximately 20 years. During these years, Beagle developed processes, technologies related to marketing and production of rice husk products on a commercial basis. He acquired patents for processes concerned with the utilization of rice husks. He was involved in all facets of storage, drying, transportation, milling, parboiling and distribution of rice, and assisted in the design and development of rice by-product plants throughout the United States.
In addition, Beagle was a pioneer in utilization of almond by-products, operated commercial charcoal production and marketing facilities, ran professional salvage operations, operated nonferrous quarrying, managed a 200 truck/trailer fleet (general transport, dump trucks, logging and lumber trucks), engaged in general farming, designed and built combine harvesters and seed processing plants, and ran an export/import company that handled all Pacific offshore sales of alfalfa products.
Beagle went on to work as an international consultant from 1970-1982. He was engaged by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Agricultural Industries Service of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Asian Development Bank, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and agricultural businesses. He was particularly involved with organizations in Asia, but had considerable contact with Western European organizations. Beagle’s consulting expertise centered on rice and rice hulls; post-harvest processing, milling, and utilization; marketing-distribution of agricultural by-products; biomass energy; and conversion technologies, process and equipment. Such work bridged to other materials, especially straw and almond products.
Scope and Content Note
This collection reflects Beagle’s professional career as an agricultural businessman and, especially, as consultant to the U.S. Department of Agriculture; the Food and Agricultural Industries Service, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO); United Nations Industrial Development Organization; United States Agency for International Development (USAID); and agribusinesses around the world. The content of material relates to his areas of expertise centered in rice and rice hulls (also includes a few references to straw and almonds); post-harvest processing, milling, and utilization; marketing-distribution of agricultural by-products; biomass energy; and conversion technologies, process and equipment.
Although some material dates to 1939, the bulk of the records fall between the 1960s and the early 1980s. They include a mixture of correspondence; government and United Nations (UN) publications; bibliographies on rice hull/furfural research, as well as published articles, studies, research papers, and personal journals. Business correspondence includes incoming requests for reports that he authored, outgoing inquiries to national and international companies in the rice hull/biomass industry, and reviews or critiques of industry related reports. In addition, there are commercial pamphlets on machinery and services related to rice hull utilization; a variety of government, UN, and commercial publications; files on the work of individual countries in the area of rice hull utilization; and bibliographies on rice hull/furfural research as well as published articles, studies and research papers.
Beagle’s papers contain a great deal of international content. The collection features a combination of printed materials from international businesses (catalogs, pamphlets etc.); communications among Beagle and foreign companies and governments; publications from international conferences; and reports about the condition of the rice hull industry overseas. The bulk of the records relate to international projects in the Philippines, India, Egypt, Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Australia and Japan. In addition, there are also materials relating to Italy, Indonesia, Burma, Korea, Pakistan, Malaysia, Panama, Liberia, Mexico, Singapore, Turkey, Puerto Rico, Germany, England, Romania, Canada, Spain, South Africa, Tanzania, Taiwan, Somalia, and Iran.
Series Description
Series I. Subject and Correspondence File, 1939-1983.
This series comprises the majority of the collection. Materials consist of subject and correspondence files. Folders are organized in Beagle’s original, roughly alphabetical order.
Series II. Rolodex Files, 1960-1983.
Four shoe-box sized containers hold cards with the telephone numbers and addresses of his contacts.
Series III. Personal Logs and Exhibits, 1960-1982.
Handwritten notes and accounts reflect consulting and research activities in various locations.
Series IV. Publications, 1960-1982.
This series contains manuscripts and other publications bound in 7 volumes. These are authored by Beagle and others.
Container List
Series I. Subject and Correspondence File, 1939-1983.
| Box | Title/Description |
|---|---|
| 001 | A – Agpaoa |
| 002 | Alaska Village Cooperative – Athens, Ohio |
| 003 | Bangladesh |
| 004 | Badger Company – Bibliographies – Berliner Research |
| 005 | Belgium – BUS |
| 006 | Cabantuan – Cruz |
| 007 | Dalton –Duvant Company |
| 008 | Ebraugh – Euryza Company |
| 009 | Ebraugh – Euryza Company |
| 010 | FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization—See also: United Nations) |
| 011 | Far Best Company – Freivalds |
| 012 | Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA) – Furfulal |
| 013 | Gasification – Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) |
| 014 | Guyana – Hodam and Associates |
| 015 | Houston – Imbert |
| 016 | India |
| 017 | University of North Carolina (UNC) – International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) |
| 018 | International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Library, Los Banos, Philippines |
| 019 | Italy – Japan – Johns |
| 020 | Ke-Ming-Dao (KMD) – Lathrop |
| 021 | League of International Food Education – Malaysia |
| 022 | Mexico – Miscellaneous |
| 023 | Morse Laboratory – Naphire |
| 024 | Oregon Field Sanitation Committee |
| 025 | Pakistan – Patents |
| 026 | Patents |
| 027 | Patents – Ralston-Purina |
| 028 | PMD – Rice |
| 029 | Rice |
| 030 | Rice Millers’ Association – Schule |
| 031 | Saracco-Tann – Soil Incorp. |
| 032 | Soil (Silica) – Stamitt systems |
| 033 | Stanford University – Steel Huller |
| 034 | TPI – Turkey |
| 035 | Straw – To Be Filed |
| 036 | To be Filed – University of California, Davis |
| 037 | UCD, Gasifier – (Rice pamphlets) – United Dairy Association |
| 038 | United Nations (various organizations) |
| 039 | United Nations – Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) |
| 040 | United Nations (UN) – USDA |
| 041 | Von Roll Company – Wolf, Ralph |
| 042 | Waste Utilization – Zurn, Inc. |
Series II. Rolodex Files, 1960-1983.
| Box | Title/Description |
|---|---|
| 043 | Cards |
Series III. Personal Logs and Exhibits, 1960-1982.
| Box | Title/Description |
|---|---|
| 044 | 30 volumes |
Series IV. Publications. 1960s-1982.
| Box | Title/Description |
|---|---|
| 045 |
Seven volumes of publications, including the following authored by Beagle: • “Gasifier-Stirling: An Innovative Concept”, draft report, 1982 • “Rice Husk Conversion to Energy”, 2 copies and draft, 1976 • “Annotated Reference List for State of the Art Small Scale Gas Producer – Engine Systems”, Final Report, USDA Forest Service, March 1981. • “Gas Producer-Engine Systems for BioMass and Agricultural Waste: Do They Have a Future?” University of California, Davis, (no date) |
Selected Bibliography
Sources Used for Finding Aid:
Beagle, E C. Rice-husk, Conversion to Energy. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1978.
United States, Agricultural History Branch. Century of Service: The First 100 Years of the United States Department of Agriculture. (Washington, DC: Centennial Committee, USDA, 1963).
Related Manuscript Collections (MS) at the National Agricultural Library:
MS 51 – Dorsett-Morse Oriental Agricultural Exploration Expedition Collection, 1914-1945.
MS 70 – Henry M. Beachell and Charles N. Bollich Rice Research Field Notebooks, 1932-1991.
MS 120 - Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog Collection, 1773-2020.
MS 245 – USDA Division of Cereal Crops and Diseases Photograph Collection, 1898-1951.
MS 280 – Collection of Expedition Photographs from the Office of Plant Exploration, 1910-1945.
MS 469 – Lowell Dean Hill Collection, 1905-2016.
Related Collections at Other Institutions:
National Archives and Records Administration contains a number of collections relating to rice research. The online finding aids catalog may be found as follows:
54.3.7 Records of the Division of Cereal Crops and Diseases (1879-1956) accessed here: https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/054.html#54.3.7
188.8.7 Seeds and Rice Section (1942-1946), Records of the Office of Price Administration accessed here: https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/188.html#188.8.7
310.5. Records of the Southern Regional Research Center (1939-1969), Agricultural Research Service accessed here: https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/310.html#310.5.3
331. Agricultural Machinery & Equipment: Rice Hulling & Polishing Machinery (Pakistan).
Records of Allied Operational and Operation Headquarters, World War II, 1907-1966. Metals and Minerals File, 1948-1950. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/441840
For Further Research on rice utilization:
Appropriate Technologies Under Pressure: Cases of the Cotton Textile Industry and Post Harvest Rice Processing. Dacca: Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, 1979.
Aye, U. Promotion of Low-Cost and Effective Technology Suitable for Use by Small Farmers in Land Preparation and Post-Harvest Rice Operations in Harvesting, Threshing, Drying, Storage and Milling in Bangladesh, Nepal and the Philippines. Bangkok: F.A.O, 1980.
Furfural and Its Derivatives. Chicago: Miner Laboratories, Furfural Department, 1925.
Houston, D F. Rice: Chemistry and Technology. St. Paul, Minnesota: American Association of Cereal Chemists, 1972.
Kaupp, Albrecht. Gasification of Rice Hulls: Theory and Praxis. Golden, Colorado: Biomass Energy Foundation Press, 2000.
Larson, Nellie G., and Kyle Ward. Rice Hulls and Rice Straw, 1907-1955: A List of References. Washington, D.C: U.S. Department of Agriculture Library, 1957.
Natarajan, B. Post-harvest Technology Problems of Rice in Tamil Nadu. Madras, India: The Institute, 1981.
Ruiten, H T. L. Physical Properties of Paddy and Milled Rice. Manila: Southeast Asia Cooperative Post-Harvest Research and Development Programme, 1979.
Staackmann, Milton, and Thomas C. Goodale. Rice Hull Utilization: Final Report. San Maxteo, California: URS Research Co, 1970.
Taqi-ul-Hassan, Technical Report on Manufacture of Activated Carbon from Rice Husk. Lahore: Directorate of Industries and Mineral Development, Punjab, 1985.
Velupillai, L, and M P. Mailander. Rice Hull Utilization for Energy - Review of the Technologies. St. Joseph, Michigan: American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 1987.
Ward, Kyle. Rice Hulls and Rice Straw, 1907-1944: A List of References. Washington, D.C: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1946.