PRODUCTION FOR CANNING 119 



but the dissatisfaction with weights credited and de- 

 lays in receiving the fruit. But very little special 

 apparatus or machinery (more than some form of 

 boiler for supplying steam) is needed, and this and 

 the cans can be readily obtained of dealers in canners' 

 supplies. In Maryland and neighboring states many 

 dealers furnish all necessary machinery, cans and other 

 requisites and contract for the crop delivered in cans. 



Canning on the farm where the fruit is grown 

 would be more generally practiced except for the pop- 

 ular demand that the canned product shall be brighter 

 colored than it is possible to produce from fruit alone, 

 and the necessary dyeing and other doctoring can 

 be more easily and skilfully done at a central factory, 

 though it is always at the sacrifice of flavor and health- 

 fulness for the sake of appearance. Another advan- 

 tage of canning on the farm is that it can be done 

 with less waste of fruit. The hauling to the factory 

 and delay in working the fruit result in a great deal 

 of waste. The average cannery does not obtain more 

 than 1,200 pounds of product from a ton of fruit, 

 there being 800 pounds of waste, while with sound, 

 ripe, perfectly fresh fruit, it is entirely practical to 

 secure from 1,600 to 1,800 pounds of canned goods 

 from a ton, and this saving in waste would more than 

 counterbalance the gain from the use of the better 

 machinery possible in the factory. 



The process of canning is simple and consists first 

 of rinsing off the fruit, then in wire baskets or pails 

 dipping it into boiling hot water to start the skins, 

 which will require but two to four minutes. While 

 they are still hot they should be peeled and imperfec- 



