Wilmington daily commercial., 1873-09-30
FIRST EDITION.
THE DELAWARE cANNERIEs.

Peninsula has been both remarkable and rapid,
Prior to 1850 the business was unknown. Abont
that time Messrs. Richardson 4 Stetson under
took to provide few families with canned fruit,
and begun operations with an old cook steve and
few other simple appurtenances. Since that
time the eanneries have spread over the whole
Peninsula, and have become one of the main
sources OF revenue in our productive economy,
aud the simple cook stove has been laid aside
for engines and boilers which cost thousands Of
doarp. .u Ni-
In the early days Of the canneries the market
for such goods was exceedingly poor, bnt
| 1t has been gradually built up for fruit
preserved by this process, as for every other
commodity, and although at first great difficulty
| was even met with in the disposal of the first
two Thousand cans the product of the first year
| the trade has been built up to such an extent
that half million cans can now be as readily
disposed of as the number we have just mem
| toned. Baltimore firms largely control the mar
ket and the price of canned fruit is deter.Dined
in a great degree by the sale of the raw material
of which when the price is sufficiently depressed
the packers in that city buy up large quantities,
and from superior facilities in respect OF obtain
| ing hands, are able to can largely at short no.
/ tice and thus, necessarily, poor fruit s thrown
upon the market iDjuring to greater or less ek-
tent our own produce, and depressing the price
| OF the superior article put up blythe Delaware
| firms.
1t must be borne In mind that fruit is preserv-
| ed by two processea-by canning and by what is
known as the Alden process. With the frat
every reader ia familiar, but the latter is still
| some what of q novelty. 1t is the
| important discovery OF Mr.. Chas. Alden.
| who has shown that rapid and moist currents of
| warm air will, under certain circumstances, con
vert the starcby ingredients to aacharine and
bind the retained moisture in the uncorruptihg
chemical condition known as Hydrate, thus rem
dering the fruit incorruptible without drying.
| The preparation of the following description
| of some OF the larger establishments on the
peninsula has involved no little trouble. To
obtain the facts a COMMERCIAL representative has
personally visited the places named, and what
| follows is the result OF his observations
THE EsTABLIsHMENT OF RICHARDSON ROBBINS,
Situated at Dover, is the oldest, best equipped,
| and most complete of all which we visited in
our trip. This concern is under the personal
| supervision of the firm aud every possible con-
| venie1ce which ingenuity could devise to make
| every thing run smoothly, and rapidly has been
added, rendering it the model establishment of
| the Peninsula. Eighteen years ago, in 1866, this
| firm began their career in the peach cannery on
| Loockerman St. from which place they removed
| to an npretentious-looking building on Main st.
| A few years ago. this establishment becoming
| too limited for their growing business, they
| bought the property which at present they occu-
py, aud since that time, as it became necessary,
| have made additions to their buildings until
now it is probably the most valuable canning
tive operations in the late spring when the
| smaller berries begin to make their appearance,
| although we were Informed by Mr.. Richardson
that asparagus generally engaged their first at
| tention. -I-
Strawberries raspberries, blabkberries, &c,
| &C., are canned as the season advances, after
| which the busiest aud to them most important
| part Of the year begins and peaches, pears,
| ounces, tomatoes come on, In rapid succession,
and the establishment. is finally exclusively de-
voted TO canning and preparing the first named
| fruit for market. Orders come in from all parts
of the country-more by far than they can pos
sibely fll.
The process by which the Fruits prepared is
very simple and the time consumed wonderfully
eoouonized by system and order.
The establishment s now GAINING about ten
thousand quarts (cans) per day, and it is expect
ed that during the season one half million cans
will be ready for shipment 10 al parts of the
country To accomplish this about two hundred
hands have been employed ip the factory, var
iously distributed among the sexes and OF all
ages. We are informed that they have orders
for six Thousand cans Of the extra peaches alone
more than they can till The women and boys
engaged in the establishment earn on an aver
age about one dollar per day, while the men are
paid prices varying from two to three dollars.
The pay roll for one week was about fifteen hum
dred dollars. After the fruit packed during the
summer is disposed Of, the firm are engaged in
canning meats, which are put upin small cans
and used principally in making sandwiches. This
meat is not shipped to Europe, as has been stat
ed in some of the papers, but is used EXCLUSIVE
ly in the United States.
There is besides Messrs. Richardson Il Robbins
another packing establishment st Dover-that
of
I'M CHAMBERS.
This gentleman has been engaged in the fruit
packing business about three. years, having es-
tablished at Dover In 1870. This establishment
is situated directly on the railroad, and conse-
quently near the depot. The building Is large
and convenient structure Of three stories, and all
the arrangements very complete. One hundred
and ten hands are employed here constantly,
consisting largely Of women, girls and boys, who
are paid ten cents per bucket for pearing and
pitting peaches, aud receive eight cents for
skinning and preparing the same quantity of
tomatoes In addition to these, there are six
cappers, who receive each %. so per day, and the
paOkes will earn from'on to oneland half dol
lars for each day of ten hours. With this sup
ply of force, Mr.. Chambers is packing five thou
sand cans per day, and expects to have ready for
market at the close Of the season 100000 cans
of different grades of fruit
The pay roll OF this establishment amounts to
about $500 per week, and we were told by Mr.
Chambers that $4,000 worth of fruit was disposed
OF during the same time. Qiihces,pears and ber-
Ies of every description are packed as the season
advances. Although this establishment has not
attempted, as yet the caaning Of meats, Mr..
Chambers expects to make trial the coming
winter. He will probably also make a small
quantity of applejelley The buildings will be
considerably enlarged next year. aud capacity
for packing on much more extensive scale be
added.
Mr.. Chambers is in receipt of extensive orders
from the South and West, houses from Chicago
to New Orleans being large dealers in this COM
modify. From the West this year however, the
orders are not so large as formerly on account Of
the establishments which are in operation there
for the fret time, especially in California where
they are beginning to engage largely in the BUSH
ness :
Our next visit was TO the establi ishment of
Js. COLLINS & co, AT LEBANON.
This is certainly the largest and most extern
sve concern in this State or on the Peninsula
The firm, last year, in looking about for suita-
BILE place in which to establish themselves, se-
lected Camden, but not being able to obtain land
at what they thought to be reasonable rate,
selected their present site, which is considered
very desirable one for the water facilities which
thsy can have here being situated Immediately
upon the bank OF the st. Jones creek. Here
they have erected a mammoth building, and en-
gagged heavily in the packing business.
Suitable buildings have been erected for
boarding and lodging those who come from a
distance, and everything is constructed on the
largest scale. When first established, the firm
found great difficulty in obtaining sufficient
number of hands, and with characteristics energy
Immediately sent to Germany and actually i'm
ported hfty-eight hands at a cost of $500 de-
Iivered in Philadelphia.. In transporting them
Zoo, kI,ak nit al of