Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1909-07-08
CANNED FOOD FOR WORLD.
Maryland's Great Industry Now In
Full Flower.

Maryland's Great Industry Now In
Full Flower.
In response to the annual demand
from the four corners of the world,
Maryland and Baltimore have turned
to field and factory and are canning
and preserving the fruits of the earth
for the sustenance and dedication OF
the proletariat and the potentate.
Vegetable, fruit and saucrkraut-Bal-
timore cans them all and the great
est of these is sauerkraut.
For never, says Mr.. Il. }. Mcehan,
the dean of the canning fraternity,
has the demand for Maryland saucr-
kraut been so great as this season,
and the trade in that succulent deli
cacy will be prodigious. Time was,
and not so long ago, when Uncle Sam
imported his sauerkraut from abroad;
in these days, however, he turns to
Maryland and Baltimore for the sup
ply, and even contemplates shipping
it abroad in competition with the
foreign article. The days of carrying
Goals to Newcastle may follow.
Nor is the homely kraut a cheap
and common article, quotations for
the Maryland output ranging from
IS cents to so cents a dozen, beside
which corn at 60 to 20 cents seems
quite a plebian vegetable.
While Maryland can produce al
most anything and Baltimore can can
almost everything, the principal arti-
cles on the list are as follows: Bccts,
carrots, corn, okra, tomatoes, peas,
pumpkins, sweet potatoes, sauerkraut,
spinach, succotash, apples, black
berries, blucberries, cherries, goose
berries, peaches, pears, pincapples,
raspbcrries, plums, rhubarb, straw
berries and peas. And shiploads OF
these go to all corners of civilization,
To Liverpool, London and the great
ports of Europe 60 tomatoes and
pears in particular, together with all
the other varieties, while Australia
and Japan, Africa and India, China
and Russia and Siberia also absorb
enormous quantities. While King
Edward or Alphonso smacks his lips
over raspberrics at Sl2 a dozen their
less epicurean subjects gloat over pears
at 5 cents cantor high and low,
rich and poor feed on the fruits OF
the Maryland fields and Baltimore
furnishes the supply.
Even at present, while the season
is Young, from 1000 to 10000 cases
of canned goods are exported from
Baltimore weekly, and these figures
i'll ,e more than doubled before the
YEAR is many weeks Older. Opening
the season early in June, peas and
strawberries monopolize attention, to
b followed in turn by gooSeberries,
ras pbarrics, blackberrics and blue
berries. Then come tomatoes in
August, together with peaches and
pears, these crops carrying the can
ncrs to the latter part of October,
when the fall and winter Cove Oys-
tiers are put up, and thus wind up
the season.
And from present indications prices
will be satisfactory, some quotations
being per dozen: beets, Slal %; corn,
6Oca70c; okra, SOcaS1 30; tomatoes,
50c.s2.25; peas, 81 .5Oal 50; pump
kins, 75caS1 %; spinach, SOcaS3 %;
peaches, 75caS3 .25; pincapplcs, SLAP,
and pears, 55ca9Oc.
But, aside from the mere picking,
canning and shipping, the packing
indu stry puts thousands of dollars in
to circulation in other lines in this
section, and even gives impetus to
trade in the mill towns of New Eng
land and Canada. In the line of la
bells, for instance, dozens of carloads
of paper are received here weekly in
the canning season, while Baltimore
artists are kept busy working over
time on designs and photographers
earn many extra dollars in supplying
the demands from the Gamers, dray-
men and longshorcmen profit by II G
industry, the institution of new boat
lines gives employment to engineers
and sailors, and the canning industry
has dozens of notifications.
Just what the industry means to
Baltimore there is really no way of
computing, 50 wide is its influence"
said Mr.. Meehan.
Nor can it be figured how many
individuals and families find employ
ment in the fields and packing houses