The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1917-09-14
FIFTY THOUSAND CANS
TOMATOES PER OAYH
COLUMBIA CANNING CO.
HIGH WATER MARK EXPECTED
TO Sc REACHED BY FIRST OR
MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.
$4,000 Per TON FOR FRUIT
Working One Hundred, Fifty Hands,
Weekly Pay Roll of Nearly $1,000
Farmers Will Average Nearly 500
Fer Acre. a.


Putting up tomatoes at the rate of
$4,000 cans per day is going some.
That is what the Columbia Canning
Co. is doing and has been doing for
several weeks. But J. J. Wilson, the
manager of the plant, expects to
reach the high water mark and full
capacity OF the plant next week, when
he is planning to put up $4,000 cans
OF tomatoes each day and keep this
up until the crop gets too scarce to
furnish the raw products.
A new machine was installed at the
beginning of the canning season this
YER which has capacity of handling
sixty cans per minutes, of 5000 cans
per hour, which is $4,000 cans in ten
hours, but Mr. Wilson expects to oper-
ate twelve to fourteen hours per day
| with this machine or as long as neces-
! sary to put the tops on the cans, of
the output for the day.
The plant is now employing one
hundred and fifty, men, boys and WON.
en-, with weekly pay roll of nearly
$1,000. Next week the force will pos
sibly be increased twenty or thirty
more, making a total of about $50
hands.
!
Mr.. Wilson stated that if no bad
luck happened the plant and to the
tomato growers, that this would be
one of the largest years in the his.
tory of the plant from a tomato can
ming standpoint.
In answer to question as to how
the crops were holding out and what
4 the acreage was, Mr.. Wilson stated
that the crop in Maury county this
year was 400 acres and that the price
being paid for tomatoes by his com
pany was $1,000 per ton and that the
fields were yielding from five to ten
tons per acre. One planter who has
in gseven acres, is making an average
of ten tons to the acre and if nothing
happens to his late crop of fruit, he
will clean up 500 per acre easily.
1--WE have sold up better this veal
than ever before. Birmingham alone
gets fifteen car loads and the loca
| uboIocolo 6,r, of r A SIoo, 10 bos
already taken five big car loads of oul
products and will likely take thai
many more. We are compelled to re
! serve five thousand cases of tomatoes
for the U. S. Government, as we have
already been requestioned for tina
many. 1t is doubtful if we have any
reserve left over after the canning
| season is over"
Mr.. Wilson stated that his company
! was not having any trouble now get
[ ting cans and boxes in which to pacl
the fruit and that everything was
working smoothly.
II When asked about the potato ant
pumpkin crop, Mr. Wilson stated tina
, he did not suppose that his compan.
! would get any potatoes to can, a.
, much as they would like to do so, ow
) ing to the scarcity of the crop thi!
, year, and that the canning of pump
l kins would depend largely upon tn,
supply Of pumpkins in the north ant
( northwest. Mr.. Wilson stated that HI
! realized that there was a great crol
, of pumpkins in this country this yea
: and that he would possibly can some
t but if there was big crop in thu
l north. where the greater bulk of tn,
I canned pumpkin is sold, his compan!
would have to go slow on the pump
kin.