REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIEt:^. 155 



Welghmg (Did washing the cans. — A cannery that puts up a hand 

 pack usually weighs each can of fish, a man being stationed at one end 

 of the filling table for that purpose. Where filling machines are 

 used only an occasional can is weighed. A simple device has recently 

 been invented for weighing the cans as they leave the filler. If they 

 contain the required amount of salmon they are carried around by the 

 machine and landed upon a tabh'; if a can is light in weight it is carried 

 onh" half -way around and automatical!}^ forced to one side, to another 

 table. 



Cans leaving the hands of the two men stationed at the filling 

 machine are pushed along the table to the hands of 6 or 8 men or 

 women^ who remove with (h-y, coarse cloths the grease or other 

 material that ma}^ have collected on the outside. Until recently, 

 however, in many canneries this labor was performed by a rotating 

 washing machine, consisting of an iron cap the diameter of a can, 

 fixed to the end of a small perpendicular shaft revolving at con- 

 siderable speed. Directly under the cap was an iron rest or stand on 

 which the cans were placed one at a time; the foot pressed a lever, 

 which carried the can to the revolving cap above. It was then forced 

 into the cap about one-eighth of an inch, a tight-fitting flange prevent- 

 ing the water from getting inside. The can was set in motion by 

 coming into contact with the revolving cap, which also sent a stream 

 of water against the can with sufficient force to remove the grease. 

 For a long time it was a mooted question among cannerymen whether 

 wiping or washing was the better method. A single washer, however, 

 performs the work of or 8 men, which is a strong argument in its 

 favor. 



The use of this machine soon led to the invention of one of larger 

 capacit3\ Instead of one stand, there are 10 joined, forming a circle 

 abo6t 18 inches in diameter. The cans are carried to the washer by a 

 belt leading from the filling table, and each can, as it reaches the 

 machine, is caught by one of the washers and the cap brought down 

 over the top. Kevolving rapidly as it goes, the can is carried until 

 the machine has revolved 180 degrees, then is released and rolls out 

 Tipon a table. In some canneries the grease is removed by steam 

 applied in the same manner as the water. One of the latest improve- 

 ments is cleaning the cans l)v a cold-air blast which strikes directly on 

 the top edge, A set of brushes against which the cans revolve is 

 another method. 



After being washed or wiped, as the case may be, the cans pass to 

 the farther end of the table, where a small piece of scrap tin is placed 

 on the top of each. The pieces of tin are called "chips," and are 

 from 1^ to 2 inches in diameter. The shape is of no particular 

 importance so long as the pieces are large enough to cover the hole in 

 the top of the can, or cap, as it is called. A great deal of scrap tin 



