Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-09-21

to be turned upside down. SO that the |
lead comes directly in contact with the |
With the exception of lead
tin is, OF all metsls, the worst poison.
1t is decidedly the most common. In
every sample of canned goods which
has been put UP for any length of time
tin is found dissolved.
On the whole it would seem that
poor people should congrat ulate them
selves that they are unable to afford
TO buy canned foods, which are rot
Only dangerous to health. but of small
value as nutriment- This latter noint
particularly refers TO such vegetables
as string beans, asparagus. etc. In
canned beans the actual percentage of
food material is less than one twentieth.
In buying 100 pounds Of such pro-
vender the consumer purchases more
than % pounds Of water. He really
pays over So a pound for the food, the
water being subtracted. Thus it is seen
how enormously costly canned products
are. They must be regarded in the
light of luXurieS or condiments rather
than as nutrimentS to support healthy
people. These facts may prove useful
to tie poor man by suggesting an
economical avoidance of vegetables put
UP in this way. An expenditure Of 10
or IL cents in flour or meal Will pro-
cure as much nOuriShment for fam
lily as So or 81 spent in canned goods.
The process of preserving food by
canning dates back to patent taken
, out by Pierre Antoine Apgilhert il!
1923. His method did not differ eS-
sentially from that in use ut present
The food with some water was placed
III a tin can and lid with a small hole
in it was fastened on. Heat was then
applied, and when the liquid in the
| can boiled brislIy and all air was ex-
PEELED the hole was closed with a drop
of solder. Preserving foods in bottles
is an OLD invention, but the method
adopted for that purpose was the same
in principle, the filed bottles beiEg eX-
posed to the action of boiling water.
| Peas and beans were put into bottles
raw. This process was devised by a
Frenchman named Appert in 1910 He
received a prize of $1,000 francs for
| it from his government.
| For long time it was supposed that
the food thus treated was preserved
| because air was excluded from it.
| This was a mistake. Some of the
bacteria of putrefaction can live entire
| ly without air. But no bacteria can
survive the action of boiling water for
more than a few minutes All such
| germs in the can or bottle having been
destroyed, and the receptacle being her.
medically sealed, preservation of the
contents is assured. The exposure Of
| the bottles to the boiling water is, in
| fact, equivalent to the modern princi-
pie of sterilizing.
The preservation of foods by canning
has become one of the worlds great
Industries. Canneries dot every coun-
found on every table. All manner OF
food is canned and sold at prices which
bring it within each of the humbleSt
pockets. Vegetables out of season are
no longer a luxury of the rich. The
common labOrer may today have a
greater variety of food than Queen
Elizabeth could have enjoyed with all
the resources and wealth of England
at her command. In the American
grocery pineapples from Singapore, sal
mon from British Columbia, fruit from
California, peas from France, Okra
from Louisiana, sweet corn from New
York, string beans fOm Scotland, NUT
ton from Australia, sardines from Italy,
stand side by side on the shelves. In
the United States the canning trade
has kept full pace with the wonderful
development of the country. Its eX-
tent may be judged by taking the
statistics for one single product
green corn. In 1892 the pack reached
the enormous total Of S4,7UUOOO cans.
To certain vegetables it is not practi-
able to apply the processes described,
because the high temperature Injuries
tfeir appearance. Accordingly, to kill
the bacterial gems, certain chemical
agents are introduced into the cans o"
bottles. such as boric acid and sac
liz, Dls uloSI VI al dCIu
These presentations are considered i'll
furious to health when repeated doses
of them are taken. Furthermore, the
same qualities which enable them to
prevent the action of micro organisms
also hinder the normal functions of
the digestive fermentS in the stomach
of the person who eats the foods con-
tanning them. Thus they are harmful
by delaying digestion.