Evening star., 1907-05-03
Growth Of the Canning Trade.

Baltimore may be approached by both
land and sea. It has railway connections
with the neighboring cities near and far
and lines OF steamers to the ports Of Eu-
rope and South America and the Atlantic
coast cities Of the United States. Steam
boats Of various sizes and painted white
ply the waters Of Chesapeake bay and fur
nish transportation facilities and mail and
passenger communication with the various
landings on the eastern sho' and the rivers
of Virginia. They carry merchandise from
the warehouses Of Baltimore to the planta-
tions and small towns and bring back
oysters. clans. crabs. terrapin. fish and
other marine fruits for which the Chesa-
peake and its tributaries are famous. They
also transport other food; all the products
of the air. the earth and the sea, including
vast quantities of fruit and vegetables in
their season, which are cooked and in
closed in vessels of tin and glass, for ship
ment to those sections of the country which
have not been so bountifully blessed.
Maryland-and that means Baltimore-has
always been the headquarters of the can
ming trade and several large fortunes have
been made in that way. The same factory
puts up fruit in summer. vegetables in the
fall, oysters in the winter, and deviled
crabs all the year round.
The art or rather the science, of canning
oysters, fruit and vegetables by steam and
by machinery originated here with a man
named A. w. Field, who developed very
prOHtaDie lTdue With iHiHiHS IcSlohS VI
California and the western mountains after
the discovery Of gold in 1S49. The canyons
CT the Rockies. the slopes of the foothills
and the camps along the overland trails on
the plains and through the backbone of the
continent are Uttered with tin cans that
were loaded and sealed and labeled in the
city of Baltimore. You find them in the
nitrate regions of Chile, In the copper
camps of Peru, In the heart of the Andes,
and along the headwaters Of the Amazon.
The sandy shores Of TERRA del Fuego are
lined with them, and the denizens Of kraals
of South Africa, from the Cape Of Good
Hope to the Zambesi have relied upon Bal
timore fruits, vegetables and other canned
goods alike in their poverty and prosperity.
The figures of the census bureau show
that the total value of food canned in the
United States during 19C5-the latest year
attainable-was $l0S. .505.471. Of which the
state Of Maryland. and that means Balti-
more, furnished 2,6S6111.
The same authorities give, the statistics
OF the oyster packing trade. They show
that in 1890 81 .106. .962 capital was invested
in that business, of which $3j3, 232 belonged
to Baltimore. and that the product from
that city was valued at 81 2S34. 400.
The total for the United States in 1900
had increased to $S.2 .280, 766 capital and $3.-
go, 134 the value of the product for that
year. or this product Baltimore furnished
of Baltimore oysters were consumed in the
mining camps, in the mountains and on the
deserts, on the ranches Of the great plains,
at the lumber mills and logging camps of
the forests, in the railway construction
camps and at various other parts of the
world where hungry men were to be fed.
Baltimore still preserves its pre-eminent