Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-06-07
THE cAnNED-oooDs TRADE.
An Industry That Has Grown to Vast Pro.
portions in This Country.

An Industry That Has Grown to Vast Pro-
portions in This Country.
An industry in this country which
mas grown to enormous proportions is
that of preserving food products by
canning and bottling. In 1897 M.
Appert. distinguished French chem
list. found that organic substances re-
NAMED fresh an indefinite time by be-
ing kept from contact with the air.
Comparatively little use was made of
this invention for many years except
by sailors. About the year 1885. how
ever, small local trade sprang up in
this country in canned oysters and
tomatoes. The discovery of gold in
California gave an impetus to the
trade. but the first great expansion of
it was during the civil war. Since
that time the canned-goods trade has
advan ced by leaps and bounds until
at present there is capital of$l1. 900. :
900 invested here in fruit and vegeta-
bic canning alone, giving empl oYment
to 35. 900 persons. who earn yearly
So 600 900. and turn out of goods $780,
600. 600, leaving net profit of about
20 per cent. to the investors.
During the war advantage was taken
by the Union Commissariat d epart-
ment of the economy in bulk and the
ease in transportation of canned goods.
Canned meat was found useful for
rations in forced marches; canned
milk was valuable substitute for
fresh milk in the hospitals when the
latter could not be had. and the health
of the army was largely maintained
by canned fruit and vegetables.
At the end of the war those engaged
in the manufacture of these goods
turned their attention to supplying
the European markets with salmon
and lobster. The lobster export trade
had started ten years previously in the
New England States. Soon after the
Canadians began the salmon-packing
industry. but did not meet with sue
cess. But the utilization of the
enormous run of salmon up the
Columbia and other rivers on the Pa
cific coast put now life into the in
dustry. Some idea of now much the
trade has grown may be gathered
from the fact that, while in 1856 the
pack of salmon was only 900 cases.
during the past four years it has aver
aged 800 O0O..
The next great era in the trade was
the compression of corned beef Chi
cago. being great cattle CENTER at
once embarked heavily in this enter
prise. Foreign governments largely
recognized the value of this system of
preserving beef They ordered large
quantities of it for consumption by
their war forces. Much of this was
stored as a reserve in case of wal. but
as the supply was exhausted it has
been continually renewed, to the profit
of the American.
The success of the Americans in
canning goods provoked tn, English
and French people to emulation.
Unable to compete with the United
States in what had been already done.
they turned their attention to the CAN
ming of delicacies. This trade was
developed to a very large extent in
Europe, and extended to this country.
But the importation of these goods
has fallen off in recent years. as this
country has gone into the manufacture
of this class of goods. and produces
much cheaper article, not at all in-
ferior to the imp orted.
The development of the, canned
goods industry has been great but the
variety of articles treated in this way
has been even greater Beginning as
as it did with ships beef it has ex-
tended until it embraces nearly all
the desirable food products of the
animal and vegetable kingdoms
Lieutenant Greedy. after his famous
Arctic expedition, said that canned
apples. peaches. pears. rhubarb. green
peas, green corn, onions, potatoes
and tomatoes were all subjected to the
temperature of sixty degrees below
zero. They were solid for many
months at time, the second summer
they thawed. and the following winter
they were frozen solid again. When
these articles were eaten they pre-
scented the same appearance rs though
freshly canned, and their flavor was
as good when the last can was opened
as during the first month.
Canned goods have proved great
boon to the housekeeper. In cities. at
any rate. the goods preserved are
cheaper than if bought in the fresh
condition. This arises from the fact
that they are always packed where the
is cheapest and most abund-
ant A great economy is exercised.
too. by the wholesale preparation of
meat and fish.
The popular idea that canned goods
are injurious to health is mistake.
Tin, which forms the coating of the
thin iron plates of which the cans are
made, is not acted on at all by any
ordinary acids or by the gases of de-
composition. Certain firms in this
city have followed up every case of
poisoning from canned goods
without finding single one of them
authentic. The ordinary precautions
of taste and smell as applied to fresh
goods are q sufficient protection
against danger in similar goods when
canned, and. Judging by the progress
of the past decade in this method of |
food preservation. it seems likely to
have still larger future before it -
~ Y Sun