120 ASPARAGUS 
ing forty-eight pounds each, thus making an actual 
weight of 432,000 pounds. By far the larger portion 
of the yearly asparagus crop in California is canned or 
preserved in glass, and in that shape sent to the East, 
exported to England and the continent of Europe, and, 
in fact, to every civilized country of the world. For 
canneries where nothing but the white product is put 
up the shoots are cut the instant they show their tips 
above the surface. The canneries are located as near 
the fields as possible, the effort being to get the prod- 
uct in glass or cans before it becomes in any way 
withered, the important point being that asparagus is 
never allowed to become dried. 
The method employed at Bouldin Island, where a 
crop of 1,500 acres is canned annually, is to have 
troughs containing running water in shady places in 
the fields. The asparagus, as fast as cut, is brought 
to these troughs, and is thoroughly washed. ‘These 
troughs are just wide enough to take in the shoots of 
the proper length for canning, and each piece is trimmed 
before being immersed. From the troughs the aspara- 
gus is taken to the sorting table, then on to the scalding 
vats until it reaches the fillers, where is completed the 
systematic handling of this product, packing it to per- 
fection, nothing remaining except to be labeled, when 
it is ready to be forwarded to the markets of the world. 
The entire process from the time the stalks are taken 
from the ground to the time they are ready for the 
table consumes less than six hours. The process 
throughout is a marvel of cleanliness, particular atten- 
tion and stress being laid on every detail connected 
with it. No bleaching agents or anything foreign or 
