58 SALMON FISHERIES OF PACIFIC COAST. 



The industry soon outgrew the hand method of lacquering, and the 

 process which for a number of years was universal in the trade, and 

 is still used by some canneries, succeeded it. For this there are a 

 number of rectangular box vats about 40 by 80 inches and 18 inches in 

 depth, the number varying with the capacity of the cannery. These 

 are usually lined with galvanized metal and provided with a grid- 

 iron-shaped iron frame, hung from a windlass or other tackle for 

 lifting or lowering from top to bottom of the vat. The cans are 

 loaded on this gridiron, being placed in an inclined position to allow 

 the draining of the lacquer, and are lowered in the vat sufficiently to 

 submerge them in the lacquer with which the vat is charged to a 

 depth of 7 to 10 inches. The loaded gridiron is then raised to the 

 top of the vat and the cans allowed to drain and dry before piling. 

 This method, while being more effective in regard to the volume of 

 work, was still of necessity a very slow and tedious operation. In 

 damp or rainy weather, especially when it is not possible to open 

 warehouse doors and windows, the gas arising from a number of 

 these vats makes effective drying almost impossible. 



Another principal objection to this method of lacquering, which 

 applied also to all earlier attempts, was the impossibility of obtaining 

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

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



Notwithstanding repeated efforts at invention, however, it was not 

 until 1901 that an effective machine for handling this difficult work 

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

 canneries receives the cans on a revolving 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 which a hot blast dries them before they 

 reach the end of the machine. The rotating or rolling motion 

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

 draining to and consequently accumulating on any part of its sur- 

 face, also has the effect of distributing the lacquer evenly and results 

 in a clean and neatly finished can. The air blast facilitates the work 

 of drying to such an extent that it requires only about two minutes 

 after being deposited on the drying bed of the machine for the cans 

 to be ready for handling, while the quantity of cans which can be han- 

 dled 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 which the label is placed. 



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 



