VERMONT AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 8 1 



THE CANNING INDUSTRY OF VERMONT.* 



The development of the canning industry in Vermont is so recent 

 that it has not as yet become of as great importance as in most of the 

 New England States. Yet it seems to be firmly established, and bids 

 fair in favorable seasons to add materially to the wealth of the several 

 communities in which the canneries are located. Vegetables only are 

 handled thus far, sweet corn constituting about ninety-eight per cent, 

 of the output. Squash, pumpkins and beans are handled to some extent 

 by a few concerns, but this part of the industry is still in the experi- 

 mental stage. 



NUMBER OF CANNERIES, WHERE LOCATED AND WHEN ESTABLISHED. 



There are now seven canning factories operating in Vermont, es- 

 tablished at Westminster in 1892, Northfield in 1894, Windsor in 1896, 

 Brattleboro in 1898, Waterbury in 1899, St. Albans in 1900, and Essex 

 Junction in 1902. 



By whom owned. — The Essex Junction, Windsor, Westminster and 

 Brattleboro factories are owned and operated by H. C. Baxter & Bro. 

 of Brunswick, Maine, under the title of Snowflake Canning Company. 

 The St. Albans and Northfield plants are owned and operated by R. C. 

 Payson & Co., of Portland, Maine, under the name of the Green Moun- 

 tain Packing Company. The cannery at Waterbury is a home enterprise 

 run by the Demeritt & Palmer Packing Company, their produce being 

 labelled "The Cream of the Valley Sweet Corn." The Maine firms use 

 the Vermont output to supplement their home product, which it closely 

 approaches in quality. 



Extent of the Industry. — The estimated output of these seven can- 

 neries during 1903 was 2,700,000 two-pound cans. According to the 

 Twelfth Census (1900) the estimated output (obviously of the three first 

 named factories only) was 5,802,720 pounds of canned goods, an 

 amount slightly in excess of that put up last year at the seven fac- 

 tories. 



Judging the extent of the industry by the number of acres devoted to 

 the raising of canning crops we find the acreage comparatively small, 

 but showing a healthy increase. The acreage contributory to the can- 

 neries for 1903 and 1904 shows a decided increase in the case of Essex 

 Junction, Waterbury, Northfield and Brattleboro, no increase from 

 Windsor and Westminster and a slight decrease at St. Albans. 



♦Abstracted from a thesis presented by Mr. F. A. MacMurtry of the Class of 1904, 

 upon graduation from the Agricultural Department of the University of Vermont. 



