The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1914-10-27
VERMONT CANNED CORN
Westminster Industry Distributes
About $4,000 Yearly

An industry which can not help
but be of some importance to the far
mers, and therefore to everybody, IN
the community is that of the II. c.
| Baxter G. Brothers company in West
minister Each year this industry pays
to the farmers of the towns of West
minister, Rockingham, Walpole, Char
| lestown and Putney probably from
| S25, 900 to $4,000 as its share toward
the industrial life of the locality be
sides paying wages for three o. four
weeks to about 80 people when the
canning season is on, says the Bel
lows Falls Times.
The season of 1914 was not especi-
ally good for corn. A late spring and
summer and later a series of dry
weeks hurt the corn crop and the
total amount of corn canned was not
up to the average. This has been
true also of the previous three sea
sons This year 470 acres of land
were planted to corn, the contracts
being made with the farmers months
before the planting season.
The seed is Finished by the com
pany and this year II acres of Early
Crosby and later variety have been
harvested, the poorer ears have been
thrown to one side and next season
this seed will be used for the 1915
CROP.
The seed is furnished by the com
acres began about September 20 and
every day OF the canning season,
team after team pulled into the yafd
Of the factory and dumped its load in
the first step OF canning, the tooth
some product, which will later be
sent to many parts of the country.
Four hundred and seventy acres
Of corn this year yielded sufficient
quantity to make the total number
Of cans packed amount to total OF
zoo. OO0, each holding two pounds.
This means that 100000 pounds of
canned corn are now resting in the
store rooms in Westminster and af-
ter they are labeled they will be sent
to the jobbers and wholesalers whose
orders we're solicited last winter.
When the snow is on the ground
and when the Vermont and New
Hampshire farmers are planning their
summers work statesmen in the EN-.
ploy OF the canning company are
making their rounds selling the pro-
duet OF the coming season
The process of canning corn Is in
teresting AS the loads begin TO
come in and the season opens mum
Der OF girls and local men are hired,
The "hoaters, men who have
no regular occupation but who seem
to be able to tell where they may find
few weeks work, appear and they
are taken in Several of these float
ers" have worked for several years
and each fall they appear and ask a..
work 4 few bring their pals" with
them. while others drift in alone.
They work three or four weeks. re-
ceive their pay. then disappear and
are not seen again until another sea
son opens.
Two girls stand by the machines
and remove ears which are not up to
the standard set by tho company. The
husks and butts which are removed
are carried on another conveyor up
an inclined chute, 60 feet lang. out
side the building and are then dump.
ed.
Farmers come for miles to secure
this waste and II is used as ensilage
and to feed the cattle.
From the cutters the corn cobs
drop into a cutting machine and here
the kernels are neatly removed from
the ear by machinery. The ear is
carried By a conveyor outside the
building and the kernels are dropped
into a pan and carried to a zine
lined rotary sieve These sleeves are
six feet long by two and half In
diameter and whatever small bits of
husk and silk remain are held in the
meshes while the kernels drop to a
pan below. These pans. which hold
l00 pounds. are then lifted by an au-
tomato hoist TO a point near the cell
ing and the corn is dropped. into the
mixer. round pan.
The corn is thoroughly mixed u
an arm and the sweetening mixture
is put in during the mixing process.
From the mixer the corn drops into
the cooker. which is OF copper and
cylindrical in shape
The cooker is filled about two
thirds fun Of corn and the contents
are partially cooked by live steam.
which is al 1se degrees OF heat
| There is pressure Of SEQ pounds on
the cooker while this process is going
en-.
The corn - automatically dropped
into cans which stand in special ma
chimes and each machine holds six
cans az once The cans are not filled
10 the top bui make several revolu-
tions before IL is alled This is to
allow the corn to cool The machine
can Oh % cans a minute From the
fllers the cans are dropped TO con
veyor which takes them 20 the sani-
iary heading machines.
By an ingenious arrangement Of
tournstiles the cans are so directed