56 SALMON FISHERIES OF PACIFIC COAST. 



The topper and crimper is a circular machine with six rests for 

 the cans. The first work performed by the machine is to " true up " 

 the upper edge of the can, which is done by a plunger that presses 

 the upper flange of the can upon a shoulder. In the meantime the 

 top, which is coated around the outer edge with cement, has been 

 automatically fed into the machine, is now clamped on the can, and 

 by another operation is crimped on tight. The cans then leave the 

 machine on an endless conveyer and pass to the men who transfer 

 them to the coolers, and these are immediately placed upon the trucks 

 and run into the retort for the one cooking they are to receive. The 

 time they are to remain here is somewhat variable, 70 to 125 minutes 

 with a temperature of 242° F. being the common period. 



By the use of these cans the soldering machine, and in fact all use 

 of solder and acid, is done away with, a distinct sanitary improve- 

 ment, for sometimes the substances would get into the can and cause 

 a deleterious chemical change in the contents. It also does away with 

 the first cooking and the subsequent venting and soldering, a saving 

 both in labor and time consumed. 



REPAIRING CANS. 



Imperfect cans which are repaired before the first cooking are 

 naturally in the same condition as if there had been no defects. If 

 the leaks are discovered after cooking and are repaired at once and 

 the contents recooked, they are still very good, the only difficulty 

 being that by blowing or venting them a second time they lose weight. 

 The above goods usually go in with the regular pack of their kind 

 and are not classed as regular " do-overs." 



When, however, a cannery is running at full capacity, defective 

 cans can not always be repaired and recooked at once and are some- 

 times set aside for days. Decomposition follows, of course, as with 

 any other meat that is exposed to the air, and the fish becomes unfit 

 for food. When recooked the meat becomes mushy and the blowing 

 or venting makes the cans very light, a defect which is frequently 

 corrected by adding salt water. This, the " do-over," is the lowest 

 class of goods. In the old days, and even yet to some extent, such 

 cans are sold without labels to brokers, or else are given some indefi- 

 nite label, perhaps with the name of some fictitious cannery, and sold 

 in the lumber, mining, or negro districts, or shipped to foreign coun- 

 tries with less fastidious tastes in the matter of salmon. In 1910 one 

 of the leading companies of Alaska adopted the policy of throwing 

 overboard all " do-overs." 



On coming from the second retort the crates are lowered into a 

 bath of lye, or, as in some canneries, the cans are run through such a 

 bath on an endless belt, which, with the aid of a slight rinsing and a 



