The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1911-09-07
A MODEL CORN cANNERY.
The Belfast Plant Of the Saco Valley Can
ming Company.


The corn canning factory of the Saco Valley
Canning Company in Belfast, just completed,
started last week on its first seasons work
with plant up-t date in every particular. No
hand touches the corn after it leaves the husk
When the corn is brought to the plant on up
per High street the entire load is weighed
Then "test" is made by weighing out 25
pounds of the corn and stripping it from the
ear. This is used as basis for getting at the
weight of the entire load SO that it is not nec-
essary to weigh it all stripped. local man is
employed as test wegher. After the corn is
weighed in the load it is fed, still in the husks,
through an endless chain conveyor from the
shed to the second story, where it enters
husking machine, is stripped and passes on to
the cutting machine. This has circular knife
arrangement which takes off every kernel of
the corn. 1t is then dropped into a galvanized
iron tub and the cobs are CARED off by another
endless chain conveyor. The corn next goes
through a sitting machine and then into a
mixer, where certain amount of syrup is
added after which it passes on into the cooker
Here the corn is only slightly cooked, raised
for brief time to a temperature of 17O or 100
degrees and then the cans are fed under the
cooker and filled. Passing on, the tin caps.
with solder all on them, are placed by cap
placing device, the latest Improvement in the
canning industry. The cans now pass under
cleaner and then to the sealing machine run
by gasoline. and they pass on. still in the end
less chain conveyor, the vent in the caps is
stopped by hano. They are then packed in
iron pans and taken on iron trucks to the
bath room. Here are ten retorts, in each of
which 500 cans can be cooked at one time
The cans are placed in the retorts, which are
then sealed air tight and with 24s degrees are
cooked for 70 minutes. They are then taken
on trucks to the big platform in the rear. en-
closed in six foot high wire netting, where
they are left over night to cool. After this
they are taken to the storehouse and stacked
to await the end of the season. when they will
be labeled, boxed and shipped. The labelling
season will take about six weeks and in this
work girls are mostly employed. The canning
season lasts about three weeks.
A 40 horsepower steam engine runs the
machinery. The buildings and sheds are
lighted by electricity and everything about the
place is perfectly sanitary. No waste is al
lowed to stand, farmers who bring the corn
carrying away the cobs and husks.
The cans used are made by the American
Can Co., and are fed from the second floor
through a galvanized tube to the cooker be-
low. This cooker has a capacity of $4,000 cans
per day.
The brands packed by the company are the
Yankee Cream Corn, Conquerer and Royalty
although several commission houses use their
own trade mark and label. The company dis
tributes seed in the spring to the farmers, to
be paid for out of the crop in the fall. The
seed used is a special brand of the Crosby
strain, very fine kernel corn and especially
white and sweet.
Besides the Belfast plant the Saco Valley
Co. is operating in Hinckley, Jay, Hollis and
Epping, N. H., and has large factory in Port
land in which baked beans are put up princi-
pally.
F. NJ. lngersol of Portland, University of
Maine man, is superinten ient of the plant, and
is assisted by his brother, H. D. Ingersoll of
Portland, Five experienced men from the
Portland plant also employed, but the re-
mainder of the 50 hands will be local help of
which about Is will be women.
About $50 acres of corn will be delivered to
the factory this season and another season it
is expected that this acreage will be doubled