Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-03-02
CANNING CORN.
DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK AS
DONE IN A MAINE FACTORY.

| DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK AS
DONE IN A MAINE FACTORY.
| Growth of the Business-Recent Improve
| ments in Methods of Preparation and
Packing-"Pressing,'' Sealing and
BoiIing-A Short and Busy Season.
| For illustration, cite the factory here in
| Bridgton, one of the largest, and under the
| charge Of one of the Oldest practical corn cam
ming men in New England, A. H. Burnham.
| This town and vicinity are a great corn pack
| ing center, and not only the Winslow, but
] the factories of various other great houses
I abound, all of which are conducted on the
| same general principles and all of whose
| products have wide and enormous sales. At
| the Bridgton factory in the fall of 1S60-in
which year an unusually large acreage was
planted-there were employed 500 hands, of
whom 100 were huskers and 315 cutters; and
100000 cans, the product of o34 acres, were
put up. Since then hard labor has given
! place to machinery, except in husklng, winch
is still done by busy brigade of men and
! boys, from the octogenarian, sitting IN q
/ rustic chair, to the S-year-old lad squat
ting on a low stool. This picturesque autumn
spectacle, too, will soon be thing OF the
past as even now an ingenious husklng ma
chine is nearly perfected and, in fact, Is Ill
| practical use by some of the smaller firms.
Up to the year 1874 the corn was cut from
the cob by hand, i. e., with small bent knife,
with a gauge, with which the manipulation
rapidly pared off the corn by downward
strokes, with the other hand steadying and
turning the ear against the inside of long
| tray Now a machine does the work as well,
| one man doing as much as twelve men could
| by hand. The ear is simply placed in position
| by the left hand, while by an immediate
lever-stroke with the right it is forced through
an ingenious arrangement OF knives and
| longitudinal scrapers, which in an instant
| cut off the kernels clean, and, what was the
j most difficult obstacle to overcome, removes
| all the juice without taking any OF the hull;
| feat not always accomplished by hand
| under the old system. Two makes OF ma
| chimes are in use by the different factories.
| The fact that only five or six weeks out OF
| the year are available for experimenting eX~
| plains why it has taken so long a time to
| perfect the cutting and other corn packing
| machinery.
| "PRESSING,n 'SEALING' AND BOILING.
Then the s'pressing" In other words, to
| measure and fill the can with a certain amount
| of corn and press it in through the small cir
ouie.i Aoie IL ~ Up - E
seallhg Two lihpioteo linus ~ - lllin1'
nave late,y come in1o USE e''on VI 49,
does us 1nree lou worh VIII d iii''t .eloue
nicely anu quichneSs lOn 'iio Il,
use aC Vne Dilus Ioii iao'oi 0li VI eII:-1-
| can press (which means measuring, filling
ana pressllie)' slAVy cans d inIiluoo' VI 80
IN ten nonls-iloie 'i,aii III &c ',illeo % ~
as can DO zone VIII tle oio h:,li0 pies9 DJ oiio
quickest anu sVouVes' iiif'i' "iO 'ne e'i'' VI y
BOY.
Next sealing nlch iies,ls 70 pace -"
TIN cap over tne aperture anu soi:'ei IL on
"leh ho0 leVoiVlnS Hon' Ii WIS oep'', =
ment' too' there nave Deeh Improvements
though not IT, SO radical as III some o'i pel
branches. Inc can ltsell was llrsC matte ny
cuttlng out WIN mana shear s, ohe touho piece
winch forms tne ooGton; linen they gov d
machlhe caileo circular SHEARS anu ule piece
OF tlh was put lhto IL anu 'uiheu lo.ii!u anu
cut OUT IN tha9 way Alterwaru d ole was
USED, Wnlch cuts the I'LL lnsn0 through anu
cuts Ihe piece ouc rouiio. Inc leA' iiiiplo ,,
menu, was tha1, lnSleao VI puilchiiS Cne