The Oskaloosa herald., 1903-10-01
THE CANNING FACTORY
0skalOOsa's New Institution Open
For Business.

The oskaloosa canning plant on
South First street, just north of the
East Division" track Of the Iowa
Central, is now in operation as fire.
Quently as sufficient amount of veg
etables is accumulated to warrant
the starting of the machinery. The
amount of tomatoes delivered at the
factory at the present time is in no
way a test of the capacity Of the
plant. Several hundred bushels OF
tomatoes are permitted to accumu-
late and then the plant is operated a
few hours and the product is cared
Tor. The plant is now employing
thirty-five to forty people in caring
for the tomatoes being harvested. II
the factory is worked to capacity one
hundred and fifty people will find en-
ployment here during the season. AS
soon as the farmers understand the
value of the product and the amount
OF net gain for acreage planted the
house will have no trouble in having
vegetables to can and during the
season the plant will most likely be
running to its full capacity and oper-
ated over time. This is the expert
ence of canning institutions else
/ where.
! The Oskaloosa plant is new and
modern throughout. 1t is equipped
with the latest machinery and the OBJ
Grafton of canning the tomatoes is
almost automatic. 1t would be pos
sible with the machinery as it now
stands to can and care for between
twenty-five hundred and three tnous-
and bushels of tomatoes in a working
day of ten hours. This is disposing
of five bushels of the vegetables ev-
cry minute, which means forty-eight
cans of tomatoes per minute, or four
thousand eight hundred cans every
hour, equal to forty-eight thousand
cans of the product per day of ten
hours.
During the busy season when the
rush OF the product causes the fac
tory to be worked to its fullest capac-
ity, it is often necessary for the
workers to start early In the morning
and work until late nights, and often
On Saturday evenings it is necessary
TO keep the machinery moving until
the midnight hour. This busy seas
on lasts on an average Of between
three and four weeks. The time for
the supper hour is given the workers
like that at noon and they return to
their work after six o'clock. On Sat.
urday evenings when the work mus,
be rushed to late hour the manage.
ment serves coffee to the wearied
employees. -e.. s.,
- The Canning Process.
The system by which the vegetable
is canned is most interesting. 1t
does not take sthe tomato long to be
changed from the fresh vegetable in.
to the canned and cooked product,
ready for the market. The fresh
vegetable is stored in a large venti-
lated shed at the southeast corner of
| the building. At one corner of this
shed is scalding vat. The vegetable
is dumped into steel framework
boxes and imersed in scalding water
| This is for the purpose of washing
and so that the skin will slip more
readily. From the scalding water the
| baskets dump their contents into an
other bath of cold water. A sort of
| endless chain bracket arrangement is
passing through this bath. The to-
matoes are caught up and elevated to
the level of the canning house floor.
| There they are tumbled into boxes OF
half peck size ready to receive them.
These boxes are numbered, designat-
| ing to which operator the separate
boxes belong. These workers stand
| on the inside and the outside of a
long rectangular working table
through the center of which is a
travelling table moving around the
extent Of the table on an endless
chain mechanism. AS the tomatoes
are dumped from the scalding watts,
the boxes into which they fall are
picked up by a couple of attendants
and placed on this moving part of the
table. They are by this means con-
L wy ~ SAAS "O1hCI WhOo6 uuuU6I
corresponds to that of the box and
this particular box is lifted Off by the
operator. A quick movement of a
knife removes the stem mark or any
spots, the skin is slipped on and the
| vegetable falls from the hand Of the
girl or worker into a numbered pail.
This pail is in turn placed on the
travelling table and taken to one end
Of the building where an attendant
catches 1t and pours the contents in.
to the hopper OF the "filling" machine.
He places check in the emptied
bucket, puts 1t back on the table, ana
it is delivered to the operator who
started 1t. Thus the operator may
work hour after hour at the task and
not be required to move from the
place at the table. They retain the
checks and receive their pay for
| them. H
At the filling" machine a most In
teresting operation is in progress.
The tin. cans are placed in the ma.
chine from an elevated gallery and