PACIFIC SALMON FISHJEIIIES 525 



an even coat of lacquer when the can was allowed to dry in any 

 stationary position. There was also a large waste by evaporation. 



Notwithstandhig repeated ellorts at invention, however, it was not 

 until 1901 that an eflective machine for handhng this difficult work 

 was put on the nuirket. The apparatus now in use by a number of 

 canneries receives the cans on a revolvhig wheel fitted with rests for 

 holding them while passing through the lacquer bath. From here 

 they roll upon an endless chain which revolves the cans as they pass 

 through a long box in wliich a hot blast dries them before they reach 

 the end of the machine. The rotating or rolhng motion given to the 

 can after the lacquer bath, preventing the lacquer from draining to 

 and consequently accumulating on any part of its surface, also has 

 the effect of distributing the lacquer evenly and results in a clean 

 and neatly finished can. The air blast facihtates the work of drying 

 to such an extent that it requires only about two minutes after being 

 deposited on the drying bed of the macMne for the cans to be ready 

 for handling, while the quantity of cans which can be handled in a 

 day is vastly greater than by the old method. 



A few flat and oval cans are not lacquered, but are protected from 

 rust by wrapping in tissue paper, over wliich the label is placed. 



Several of the largest operators have stopped lacquering the sides 

 of the cans, depending upon the label to protect this portion from rust. 

 Enameled ends are used, and, as these are bought from can makers, 

 these operators are thus enabled to get away entirely from the dan- 

 gers of lacquering. 



LABELING 



While machines have been made for this purpose, and some of them 

 are in use, the work is usually done by hand. A number of men or 

 women seat themselves about 4 feet apart in front of the pile of 

 cans. Each man has in front of him a package of several hundred 

 labels, and by bunching them on a slant so that successive margins pro- 

 trude beyond each preceding, he can apply paste to the entire number 

 with one stroke of the brush. A can is placed on the label, is quickly 

 rolled, and the label is on much quicker than one can tell it. Each 

 man places- to his right the cans he labels, forming a pile of length and 

 width equal to his unlabeled pile, and when the entire lot has been 

 labeled it has been shifted only about 4 feet. Cans of fancy brands 

 of salmon put up on the Columbia River and in the Puget Sound 

 region are wrapped in colored tissue paper before the label is put on. 

 Cartons similar to those used by the sardine packers would make good 

 containers for fancy brands and would be much cheaper than the 

 present method. 



Some of the canners now have their labels hthographed directly 

 on the tin, and the whole covered with a transparent lacquer. 



Several attempts have been made to popularize salmon packed m 

 glass and porcelain jars, and while these have met with some favor, 

 it was not sufficient to warrant a continuance of the practice for any 

 length of time. But few are being so packed at the present time. 



BRANDS 



A very important feature of the canning industry is the selection 

 of appropriate brands or labels for the various grades of salmon. 

 Each company has a number of these, which it has acquired either 



