The Portland daily press., 1882-03-08
CANNING
One Of Names Greatest Industries.

| A correspondent of the Boston journal fur
nishes the following valuable paper on Maine
canning industries:
The Portland Packing Company, corpora
| tion composed of live business men of Portland
is doing the largest business of any concern now
IN the State. In addition to its Maine business
the company has ten factories in Nova Scotia
and one in Newfoundland. The capital invest
ed is $350,000 In this State the company has
one factory in Portland, where 160 men are en-
ployed five months of the year packing meats;
1t has corn canning establishments at Cumber-
land Mills, Stroudwater, Gorham, Sebago Lake
Naples and Fryeburg, and are erecting others
at Wells and Winthrop, each of which gives
employment to from 300 to 375 persons, includ-
ing farmers during the packing season-six
weeks in each year-and 90 men seven months
| in each year making cans for these factories
and for the lobster and other fish canning es-
tablishments at Prospect Harbor, where l35
men are employed three months OF the year;
Hammond's Cove, where rs men work three
months, and at Burnt Cove, whore rs men
work five months of the year. Thus it will be
seen that this company gives employment to
| 235 men five months, 210 men three months, 90
men seven months, and 2650 men six weeks in
| each year in the State; also 1926 men three
months in each year at various places in Nova
Scotia and Newfoundland. The value OF the
company's product for 1881 was $500000
Burnham and Morrill, Of Portland have $3.50,
600 invested in the packing business. They
have factories at Portland, Scarboro', Minot,
East Baldwin, South Paris, Denmark and
Jcnesport in Maine, and at Caribou, Brule'
Grow Harbor, Port Clyde and Harrigan Cove
in Novia Scotia. The articles canned are corn,
suceotash beans, Holsters, clans, mackerel and
all kinds of meats, poultry and vegetables. The
company contemplates the erection OF corn fac
tories in Maine and lobster factories in Nova
Scotia next year
The Millbridge Packing Company has facto-
ries at Millbridge and Eastport. The capital
invested at the former place is $4,000, the
number cf hands employed $50, and the value
of the prodnct for the year 1881, $4,000. The
products of this factory are American sardines
in OIL mariner sardines, mustard sardi mes,
mackerel, brook trout. This. company intends
to build another factory at Millbridge this sea-
son of about the same capacity.
j. &E. A. Wyman of Millbridge have fac
tory at which they give employment to 40 hands.
They have $4,000 invested, and their product
for 1884, including packing, was $4,000. Lob
sters, mackerel and CLAIMS are the articles put
up.
Underwood & Co. Of Jonesport employ 100
hands; have $4,000 invested, and their pro-
duct for the year 1881 was valued at $4,000.
The articles packed are Holsters, berries, CLANS,
mackerel and sardines.
r. w. Soule OF Readfeld started small bus
iness at that place as an experiment last year.
He employed 80 hands, invested $4,000, and the
value of the first years product was S3s0O. The
result was SO satisfactory that Mr.. Soule will OK
tend his business the coming season. The pas
past year he canned corn only. The coming
season he proposes to can corn, apples, pump
kins, squash, ETC., and erect an apple eyaporat-
ing establishment.
There are eighteen sardine factories at East
port four at Lubec, one at Robbinston, three
at Jonesport, one at Millbridge and one at La
moine. This business had its origin but five
years ago in small shop in Eastport; now the
business gives employment in the factories
alone to 1900 men, women and children in that
one town, and in the other towns in the same
ratio. The principal companies and parties en-
gagged in the business are: The American Sar-
dine Company of New York, R. G. Green &
Co., I. L. Holmes, Warren Brown, Mclean &
Abrams, Young & Simpson, Wolff & Reessing
J. S. Buck, O. H. Dyer, P. M. Kane, Hiram
Blanchard, and E. f. Holmes of Eastport;
New England Packing Company, Dodge &
Lawrence, Brown & Brawn, and Ell. Com stock
& Co., of Lubec; Hart & Balloon of Robbin-
ston; Wolff and Reessing Of Millbridge. The
capital invested, hands employed and value Of
the product of this branch of the packing bus-
ness cannot be stated even approximately. For
soma reason the proprietors are generally dlsln-
clined to give information in regard to the bus
iness transacted at Eastport, but it is quite ex-
tensiye and supposed to be very profitable. The
larger concerns ship and markettheir own pro-
duct, but the smaller have for the past two
wears sold at their factories to Messrs Wolff q
Reessing, who ship their goods to New York
and Boston.
The Eastport Sentinel estimates The value of
the product of the factories in the vicinity
the past season at 1,000,0 600, the quantity be-
ing about double, but the price was not much
above one-half of that of the previous years.
The Castine Packing Company IS doing a
large business, principally canning Holsters in
their season, but also using meats and zegets-
bles.
ments along the coast. Others could be men,
toned, but failing to get definite information
in regard to capacity, etc.. they are omitted.
The packing of fish is roughly estimated
at ], 500, 600 cans OF lobster 10000 cans
of msackerel, and 250,000 cans of CLAIMS annual-
+. WinslowJones has been conspicuo us
marty in the corn canning business In the State
and the failure OF his company IN January
cave the business "black eye" for time.
The company had fifteen corn and five lobster
factories in the State and fourteen lobster 4
and salmon factories in the Dominion. The
assets of this company two years ago, when
the corporation was organized, was $599,OOO.
EIGHT new factories were built during the
wear 1881, at a cost.of SS55, 600. The causes of
the failure were given as lack OF capital, the
erection of the new factories and the maniac
turing of cans worth $4,000 more than were
required for the short crop of corn OF lost year.
The Indebtedness of the company was largely
in New York, Boston and Portland, but the
worst feature of the failuie is the indebted
ness to farmers all over the State where
the factories are located The amounts to
each individual farmer is not large but the
tendency will be to discredit the business and
cause farmers to turn their attention TO other
crops.
There are ffty-Gve canning establishments
in the State, the product of which for 1881 is
estimated 10 be about II 800 000lcans, valued at
not far from 81, ,000,000.
The question naturally arises as to the proba-
bilities of this industry in the future. The
Jones factories will very likely be operated by
somebody, even if the old company does not
get on its feet again. The Portland Packing
Company is building at Winthrop and Wells,
Burnham & Morrill, anticipate erecting other
factories, and as the sales the past year have
been favorable, there may be other parties now
engaged in the business who will feel like ex-
tending their operations. IL the season should
be favorable, it is reasonably safe to say that
the product will exceed that of last year, unless
the Jones suspension shall prove to have de-
moralizing effect upon those farmers who have
been engaged in raising corn. It has been
somewhat difficult to get sufficient corn raised
Cor the factories in operation. Last year Jones
Sr CO. could have handled considerably more
fhsn they did get, or were able to get, and this
was one cause of their embarrassment. The
crop pays farmers but about %T $50 20 to the acre,
arising from the value of the fodder that help
out, and if properly packed in silos it is very
valuable for stock. Many farmers are expert
tneuting in this matter. The ultimate success
of this important industry depends entirely up
on the problem whether packers can afford to
nav enough for the corn to enable farmers to
engage in raising it extensively. If the crop
can be made to pay well or little better, all