The Newtown bee., 1877-11-01
Subscription Price, SLOO A Year

ing prices the factory takes the overplus. The packing companies are ono imp"f- i tant factor in the solution of the utr,. i ti0n of n cheap food supply for The mil 1 ion. An almost inconceivable amount of wholesome food is gathered and nur ke,ed at cheap rates thalwould other. wise be lost. In many ways this indus. try stimulates the production of fruits and vegetables in districts remote from large markets It gathers up the fraG. ments so that nothing is lost.
 Your readers will be interested In a description of the canning process as carried on by the Dudley Packing Com pany at their factory. The capital cai- ed for in factory that will use upa thousand bushels of tomatoes Il day is about $l5,000 The company began with tomatoes because the demand for them is very large, and they can he grown in quantity at short notice Seeds were distributed during the Winej and Spring, and the farmers pledged them. selves to cultivate at least 1l5 acres of to.
 matoes, and the price was fixed at 30 cts. a bushel. It was regarded as an expeli.
 ment, many 0t the farmers doubling
 whether the crop would pay at thnl price The company engaged to !nke all that they would raise. Both p.rtea
 have kept their engagements, and not only has the factory consumed all The
 tomatoes produced in this vicinity. but
 large quantities have been brought from
 New Jersey by steamer and rail for pack
 ing here. The yield on good land, Well
 cultivated, has reached, in some cases,
 4O0 bushels to the acre, which pays fair
 y for rather bulky crop.
 The company furnish crates. holding
 just bushel, open al the top, and fur
 nished with projecting posts at the c,,f. ners, so that they can be packed one crate on top of another without damag.
 ing the fruit. The payments are iii cash
 on delivery of the goods.
 no HiSt optTalipu III tEe canning pro. long, three feet wide and two deep, and stands upon the platform, outside of the building, near the door. This tank is ' filled with water, and kept near the boil ing point by steam. A sieve of irnu wire fits into the top of the tank. ana T. receives two bushels of tomatoes for I
 charge. A jet of steam is tursed into n the water, and the tomatoes remain is it .s q half minute, when they are raised by
 the sieve, which turns on hinge and '' are dropped into two boxes at the lower
 end of the tank. Two men manage the y sculding tank, and boy dIstributef tne >o fruit among inc peelers within.
 Thirty six women and girls attend tr '0 this department. They are arranged Il -, the sides of troughs, elevated sufficient!
 for convenience, each workman havin! .~ nail and box for the deposit of lh u skins and refuse. Each tomato is peelr
 and cleaned Of all decay and gree
 around the stem. The price paid fo p' this work is 2 cents a pail and th V. days work is from 30 to 40 pails to eac - operative, according to her skill and at ,',, tivly The pals are carried by boys o C the steamer, which is upon an elevate , platform, and discharges into the hopp
 for packing. The overseer of the s"a, ''' CT carefully examines each pailful, "s ''h' is spread out, for any neglect among Il 'u' peelers. and removes the unripe portit
 if any is found, She also gives che
 for each pallful, which the boy retuy E 10 the operative, and these checks A N the certificates of the amount of lab Ns performed.
 From the steamer the tomatoes fall - to a hopper, and then into the stuff
 which is cylindeE worked by tread
 -, The cans used here are quarts and 2 .ta, inns, of which large stock is kept
 nand in the loft above the packing ras''
 The cans are passed down to the pael - hy trough which is kept eonstsn 'I full. The filling is done through h , abou, an inch md half in diameter .,r. the top of each can. This hole is pla e,. over ;he end of the suffer, and witt -,o,o slight pressure of the foot upon ,,r. trentile, the packer fills his can. and n
 lv excludes all ai' and water. The T M step in the process is regulating the aaa for soldering. Some of the csns al little too full. and some do not con .;,n quite enough This work is done
 u two girls. A boy fits the caps over Jugh- "0'e', , ,ho so,derers ioi is done by boys a, the Gliden's pa 'o" canning machine, which is exceedi lo, = ingenious, and saves great deal Of ia s ,,ts, ~ The can to be capped is put upon 'lsa, | nlutorm of the machine. The soidt lpt A iron a semicircular piece of iron ad '''n' ed in the size of the cap, is immedi' 'oi'ui- lowered upou the edge of the can, W T any ,ha xorkman turns with one hand, Sn lhe tCoptiapsd on ioprth psss,l sy lis