The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1909-10-01
CORN CANNING FACTORY.
Interesting Story of It's Busy Season
Now On

Now On.
low the village Of Brattleboro. on Vernon
street, has been busy place for the past
three weeks, says the local correspondent
OF the Springfield Republican Here may
be found on pleasant days from 100 to $50
people OF all ages assisting in some way in
preserving the succulent corn, task which
consumes a whole year in Transforming
from the dry seed to the preserved edible
product. FIRST OF all the farmer, as in al
or foundation stone, of the business, for
the. whole thing is based on the farmers
| ability to produce an abundant harvest
| from the soil. II the farmers crop of corn
| is short, the output from the factory is
curtailed in like proportion, but if crops
are abundant then large business at the
| factory is assured; The payments for corn
delivered are made in November of each
year, when the farmers sign contract to
grow for the following year as many acres
as can be well cared for, and delivered to
the factory in fresh and green state, and
at the present price of $l6 ton there is
little difficulty in securing all the acreage
desired
Early in the spring the seed is delivered
to the growers-some being early, known
as No. l, some medium, known as No
20, anu SoliC Idtc, kuOWu us 1NO. U-JuC
No. 21s being the favorite with most grow
ers. Great care has to be exercised in
distributing seed so the supply will not all
come at one time and prevent the factory
from handling the crop when ready and in
prime condition. Then, too, the location
and texture of the soil must be taken into
consideration, with many other things in
determining when crop can reasonably
be expected to mature: The growers re-
nniya frnuI1apf VIC %bo
tendent during the summer and just be-
fore the corn is ready to gather an expert
visits each field and informs the owner
when he can reasonably expect his corn
to be In prime condition to pick When
that time arrives he is expected to begin
hauling it to the factory, or to some one
OF the shipping stations. 1t is all handled
IN the husk until it is dumped on the
husklng grounds. This season shipping
Mortified and Pickle Siding, lust south Of
Northfield, the largest quantity by far
coming from South Vernon where one
grower had over so acres for the factory
The husking is done by boys and girls
and men and women of different walks in
life, and for each basket when filed they
are given check which ID redeemable at
grocery stores in Brattleboro. Often over
lOo people are husking and this little army
thlnly on the ground to prevent heating.
a good husker can turn off 80 baskets
day, which would ordinarily bring him So.
The corn that comes on the cars is always
unloaded the night following the day it
was loaded, and often teams and men
work buslly all night removing the corn
to the, husking grounds that it may be
ready, tor the huskers as soon as daylight,
and that the cars may be sent back to the
Hhn o{oe% 80,
ercised to keep the corn clean and free
from dust and dirt and all the foremen are
ever on the lookout for any employees who
disregard the rules of cleanliness.
Alter the corn is in the baskets it is
drawn to the factory on long, low truck
especially made for the purpose and the
baskets are carried to tables and dumped.
The ears are rapidly fed by girls, who pick
up the ears as fast as possible, using both
hands, into cylinder cutters which take
the corn off. An endless chain carries the
cobss outdoors and throws them into cart |
to be hauled away, while the corn goes
into large cylinder made of wire netting |
the mesh of which is just large enough to |
let the kernels of corn through, but fine |
enough to hold all the silk. This turns
slowly all the time and after the corn falls |
through the vegetable is carried to the
cooker where steam thoroughly heats the |
corn before it is dropped into the cans au-
Dramatically. As the cans pass along, girls |
place cap on each one and they are car
ried to, the soldering machine, which ap-
pears the nearest humanyA.f any Of the ma
chinery. Twenty-four cans are soldered |
and sealed every Is seconds and the nicety |
of the thing must be seen to be appre-
GATED. After sealing, the cans are put |
INTO pans holding about 100 and are taken |
% the baking ovens where they are sub |
ected to intense heat for several hours. |
They, are left to cool off in the cooling pen |
md later stored inside the factory ready |
or labelling when the canning season is |
'ver. During the fall and winter the label |
ng and shipping requires the presence of |
several hands besides the superintendent.