Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1871-10-07
How Peaches are Canned.
From tho Hearth and Home.

Bile many housckeepers eSpend in
fussing with a basket or two of
peaches, we doubt iii is not upon
the whole cheaper to buy the canned
fruit than TO put it up at home. The
quantity of fruit canned annually is
immense. At the establishment we
are about to describe, four thousand
baskets of peaches are disposed of
daily. As there are over sixty can
ming establishments in Baltimore,
and others at different points in
| Delaware, it will be seen that the
business is one of no little import
ance. In a recent visit to the peach
growing districts We visited "Rouud
Top" in Kent County, Nd, the
property of o Harris, Esq. This
place is a long distance from rail-
roads, but has daily communication
with Baltimore by steamer. The
orchard comprises 1913 acres, the
greater part Of the trees being in full
bearing. The canning establishment
is in the center Of the orchard and
from 1t there is nothing to be seen on
every hand but pesch-trees. The
buildings, being in use only a few
weeks in the year, are rather rough
in appearance, but are so arranged
that the work goes on with great
rapidly and regularity. The princi-
pal buildings are two long, two-story,
wooden structures, placed parallel
to each other, with a roadway be-
tween. The two are connected about
midway of their length by means of
a broad bridge. The wagons, as they
come in from the orchard, stop under
this bridge to unload; the baskets
are passed up TO hands stationed up
on it, who take the yellow peaches
into the upper story Of one house
and the white ones to the other.
The internal arrangement of both
houses is the same, and the process
in both are identical. The pairing is
all done by hand j.; various machines
have been tried, but none have vet
been found to work satisfactorily.
Some five hundred women and girls
are engaged in the establishment, the
majority of them in pairing, The
fruit is halved, the stone removed,
and then pared. Understood fruit,
and that which Is too soft, is thrown
aside, to be used IS 'pie-fruit." The
women are paid six cents q bucket
full for pairing, and in this as in other
steps of the process the accounts are
kept by the use of checks. The par
ed fruit is passed through an open
ing to the floor below, where it goes
into hopper-like receptacles, from
which it is filled into The cans. As
fast as the cans are filed they go to
an inclined platform, which stands
by the side of a tank of hot syrup,
which is of a strength to make the
fruit sweet enough for the table
about a pound of sugar to the gallon,
we think. The syrup is ladled into
the cans, allowing it sufficient time
to fill all the spaces among the fruit.
The cans are next washed ana wiped,
to remove the syrup, the cover plac-
ed on, and passed over to the tin
smiths. The soldering is done very
rapidly; each cover has a slightly
turned edge, which drops into a
groove in the top of the can; one
sweep of the soldering iron around
this groove e1eCtpally closes the
can The covers have q small hole
punched In the center this is to al.
low the escape Of the air, which i.
expanded by the heat Of soldering
Were it not for this, the work couid
not be performed near 30 rapidly, n,
the expanded air would force it;
way through the melted solder and
render the work imperfect. Wher
the cover is secured, thia little vent.
hole is closed by a drop of solder.
The tinsmiths work by the hmm,
dred, and make, according to skill
from eight dollars to twenty dollars
a day Some very rapid worker:
have been known TO make as mucf
as forty dollars in a day. After the
soldering the cans are placed upon {
circular iron rack, which is Fai,eC
by a crane and lowered into a circu,
lar vat of water, which can be rapid.
Iy brought to boiling by turning or
steam The cans being immersed
the heat of the water is gradually
raised. If there is any imperfectioi
in the soldering Of the cans it NAV
now be detected, as the small ouan.
tity ofsir within the cans, being ex.
banded by heat, will escape in The
form ofsmall bubbles. If any imper
lect can is observed it is removed
The boiling is continued until the
fruit is thoroughly cooked through
when the rack is raised from tht
vat and the cam taken to the store
house. Labelling and packing il
cases is done later in the season
Mr., Harris expected that his stool
would amount to a million of cans
OVer-ripe and small peaches are can
ned without pairing. They are M
up III large cans, and sold 10 bakers
hotels, ETC., as PiG-fruit.
None of the fruit raised at thi.
orchard is shipped, but all is canned
During the hight of the season tn,
hours of work begin early and enc
late; but while there is q press o
work, there is no confusion, In,
whole being SO 81 stematized BY Mr.
Harris and his intelligent sons tina
each person has his or her prope
place and duties.
The large force of employees, main
ly women, has to be boarded ant
lodged, and the arrangements 70
this seemed tn be very complete ant
comfortable. Such a horde of wo
men picked up by advertisement 81
large cities will Of course contail
more or less Of characters that ma,
be cAlled-to put 1t mildly-unlove
", and it requires no little tact an
ilrmness to keep peace at all times
The women earn from six to ten dol
lars a week, and are furnished wit
very good board for the moderat,
price Of two dollars. A third o
more of these workwomen were ne
groes of all shades of color, from tn,
purest African to the lightest mulat.
to. These have a portion of th,
building to themselves. Their favo