The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-09-28
MILLION CANS OF CORN.
Corr, Week in Western Mainc-a So
cial and Industrial Festival.


cial and Industrial Festival.
The best. sweet corn In the United
States is grown i'm the three northern
states Of New Engand where the rails
ing and gathering of it has become an i'm
portant Industry. The corn-shop at Cen
ter Lowell is one of sixteen operate in
Name and has it's headquarters at
panion shop at North Fryeburg, is held
responsible for about 10000 900 cans an
nuaily.
1h. interest Of corn week to a summer
visitor lies in the unique opportunity it
gives Of seeing practically the whole
rountrysidc at work together. Ga bust
est daHs there are easily 400 people en-
gagged IN the various processes OF can
h1ns. Everybody in the neiyhborhood
turns out to- take his share in labor
Whlch Is profitable, if short. The actual
work OF canning the corn is all done
within Il fortnight
One especial feels dis air Of socu-
D;!hty among the groups of corn huskers
!hey seem to have a holiday task Work.
ing under open sheds in groups Of about
twenty each. they gossip and exchange
Jollles' all the while they are deity
stripping the huSks from the ears.
!hey nave t" keep busy to make any
thing at this part Of the process. The
huslscrs are all paid at the rate ct i
cents a bushel. This means a very small
'ay $ wage to the average worker. One
VINO can 10 forty bushels day is con
cred very speedy. 4 great many chill
drcn and elderly people are engaged at
this; the ablc-boded mon and young
women arc generally drafted into the
factory proper.
There one finds less of the picnic as
pest, th;9 rT the utmost freedom still pre-
va!is. The corn goes through an inter.
eSting process; Of cutting. s1r;linins anG
mixing with milk. Finally it pours oui
OF a narrow pipe at the bottom Of a bic
cylinder and falls into the cans vhic!
arc one by one pushed up to it. The cans
go to thc solderers and are then passed
! ON to an inspector. who weeds out fol
further soldering those that are dc1cr
bo!lcI room to be cooked. There they ar,
held for seventy minutes in steam boi!
trS until, with a great explosion Of steam
they are drawn out into the open air (,
be played upon with streams OF cold wa
ter The rest Of the process is one OF
labelling, packing and storing.
A great innovation this year is the can
ming Of succotash. This is the first tim.
corn and beans have been put up toyetllr,
1T the Lowell shop. The company is max
lng an effort to can all it's succ0tash
from green beans and not, as is general,
done, from the dried beans raised il
Italy. None OF the farmers in this i'm
mcdiAtc ncighborhool have as yet raised
the Lima bean, but they are watching
with great interest the experiments male
in Conway, y. H., whence the consign
nent OF beam pods for this seasons US;
came.
good sample Of Yankee ingenuity WI:
seen when the first load Of Lima hrau>
arrive': a. the Lowell shop. Nobody had
ever handled them before, and every body
Shrilcd by hand. T!h!: foreman Of tho
husking department, however, though,
Otherwise. He sent home for his wjf,.'<
clothes wrinGrr and discovered in it q
machine perfectly adapted to shcl;,;o
beans. Within half an hour three otnrr
wringers were brought into use and beam
enomSh tor 4o''oo cans Of Succotash wer@
shelled in a single day-Boston Tran.