270 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



ARRANGE ME:NT AND PLAN OF FACTORY. 



Whatever capacitj^ of factory may be planned for, the dimensions 

 of the building should be ample enough to permit; the most conven- 

 ient disposition of tables and kettles, so that there shall be no undue 

 crowding of the workmen, and at the same time to secure such a 

 compact arrangement that no unnecessary traveling is called for in 

 passing from one step to another in the operations. A building 

 20x40 feet, tw'o stories, will accommodate the outfit and necessary 

 workmen for a capacity of 2,000 cans of tomatoes per day. For a 

 capacity of 10,000 cans per day, the floor dimensions of the building 

 should be 30x75 feet. The plan is not necessarily a rectangle. It 

 may be more convenient to make the structure in the form of an L. 

 For a capacity of 20,000 cans per day with the machinery for canning 

 fruits, vegetables and meats, a building 50x100 feet would afford 

 ample room. This, however, does not make allowance for a ware- 

 room, which should have about an equivalent space. 



The plan should permit wagons bringing raw materials to pass 

 over scales, to make record of the weight of each delivery before 

 reaching the receiving platform. Close to this supply is placed the 

 scalding kettle in which the first step in canning tomatoes is taken. 

 From here they are placed upon the peeling tables to be peeled. 

 This is work that must be done by hand and for which women are 

 usually employed. The peeled tomatoes are passed to the packing 

 tables if the cans are filled by hand, or to the hopper of the filler 

 if a machine is used. The cans are then capped upon the capping 

 table, tested in the exhaust kettle and when effectually sealed 

 they are submitted to the cooking process in the process kettle. 

 After the cans are cooled, which may be hastened by passing through 

 cold water, they are temporarily placed in cases and stored until a 

 suitable time for labeling. It is evident, therefore, that much time 

 and labor may be economized by so aiTanging the tables, kettles 

 and other apparatus to admit the simplest handling from step to 

 step in the series of operations. 



The firms supplying canning machinery are prepared to submit 

 designs for any style of factory to suit any set of conditions that 

 may be proposed to them, and the cost of the structure can be es- 

 timated by a local builder. 



