Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-04-20


American canning industry is now
mubilizlng for the big packing season.
which lasts from May until August;
pants al. already at work in cali
iorn!a where asparagus is just At the
height OF It's season, boats ar. start
!nS FOR Alaska with mach!ner. and
equipment Tor packing salmon. and
large OUTFITS are ON their way toward
the big agricultural sections OF tho
country that weld plentiful supplies
OF hcrrieS, tomatoes. peas ana corn.
The oyster and shrimp packing cstab-
Nshmcnts OF Baltimore and along the
Mississippi River have JUST been closed
since II is necessary TO can u product
as soon as possible after Il has been
gathered, because OF its rapid dcteriora-
ton. the canning industry cannot cs-
tabliSh one central branch in a large
city where there ~ an abundant sup
py of labor. and have tho products
shipped TO II. Instead II must trans
port it's employees and equipment to
the section where the product is p!en-
tiful and pack IL within twenty -four
hours after II has left the earth. While
this factor is source OF great an
nuyauce to tho Gamers, IT is very bcnc-
fetal TO the consumers, VINO IN buyinS
canned vegetables secure frcshcr prod
uc,s than they usually do in the city
markets.
Corn. Peas and Tomatoes.
quickly than most vegetables: hence, it
Is rushed through the canncrics At the
greatest possible speed sometimes in
ton quantities IN order 10 get the
best results. just twelve hours may
c!apSe between gathering of the corn
and the sealing OF the cans seed corn
is grown almost entirely in Counecti-
cut and distributed among the different
sections of the country growing sweet
corn for the packing industry. In the
corn season. packing establishments
arc numerous all the way from Maine
TO Maryland. and West 10 Missouri, and
thence 10 Iowa. Pea pa king is car
,icd. on from New York South 10 Mary
land. West TO Indiana and North as
far as Minnesota. while some peas are
also canned in California and Colorado
Tomato packing embraces practically
tho same territory.
Modern machinery has done much to
facilitate the swift harvesting and can
ming OF vegetables. Peas for example.
are no longer cut by hand: instead, the
vines arc cut with q moving machine.
\ special thrcshcr removes the peas
from the pods, and they arc then as
sorted according 10 their size. This Is
done hy sorting machine. consisting
Of a series OF cylinders having per-
foratcd sides. The first has the small
est pcrforations, thereby admitting
only the smallest peas: the second has
larger perforations. which let through
tho next in size, and so on, until there
are five different sizes OF peas. Ihcre
is no difference in the quality or the
pcas thus graded, since all arc equally
fresh from tile vines, but the small
.ucculcnt variety, known AS French
peas command the highest price, while
the largest peas, having the greatest
amount of nutrimcnt, are most IN de-
mand
Much Machinery Used.
I-,cb rooctahle rcuuireS ulflCfcnt
tyno of machinery. Corn is husFti,
silkcd cut from the cob and packed ny
various machines, while string beans
require 4 separate machine TOR every
process from the strinEinG ana cutting
into even lengths to the final packing
after they are blanched and parboiled
Tomatoes arc first placed under
coring machine. which removes the
core neatly without breaking the fruit,
after which they are scalded and the
skin is pealcd off by another machine
More hand labor is used in the prepara-
ton Of tomatoes than in any other veg
etablc but experiments arc now being
made with new machinery designed to
eliminate as much OF it as possible.
In the old days, when almost the en-
tire canning process was performed by
hand. with no regard for chemical
analyses. people were somewhat jmsti-
fed in their suspicion OF everything
marked canned. Then came machinery
which gradually eliminated the crudi-
ties Of the old system. so that canned
corn became frcshcr than that pur-
chased in the raw form, and canned
milk a great deal cleaner than the
average supply delivered in the city
But the Gamers soon found that they
still had TO do battle with tho ancient
prejudice against canned goods, being
placed i'm the annoying position of hav-
ing to defend canned commodity
that was cleaner than the original pro-
duct AS a result, the National Can
ncrs' Laboratory was established in
Washington, which, acting in co-opera-
ton with the Bureau Of Chemistry OF
the Department Of Agriculture. was to
make experiments and tests toward the
highest possible standard Of canned
goods
PcrfcctinE the Contniner.
At present experiments are being
made toward pcrfecting tbs canned
goods containcr, which is very i'm
portant factor in the preservation Of
the food. At one timo the Gamers lost
good deal Of money by reason Of the
fact that certain fruits and vegetables
which they put up. such as cherries
plums. berries. pumpkin and hominy