No. 4.] SURPLUS FARM PRODUCTS. 99 



Massachusetts if the farmers in any particular locahty would 

 guarantee the required acreage of any of the important farm 

 crops now used in commercial canning. 



The total number of canneries in the United States is about 

 4,000. Amount paid by canneries for raw material is over 

 $100,000,000 annually. Total value of finished product is 

 $157,000,000 annually. In this industry Massachusetts has 

 played a very small part. Some of its canned products in- 

 clude pears, quinces, raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, pump- 

 kins, squash, rhubarb and spinach. 



A well-ordered general canning concern is usually a great 

 help to any community, provided the growers produce a variety 

 of vegetables and fruits at such seasons and in such quantities 

 as to keep the cannery operating at least five or six months 

 during each year. The canner must have the continued co- 

 operation of the farmers through good and bad seasons, as 

 most canners find it necessary to sell their product before it is 

 put in the can. In fact, a future sale is often made by the 

 canner of a crop long before the farmer is ready to begin har- 

 vesting it. It is, therefore, apparent that the canner cannot 

 depend upon the surplus products during times of glut for his 

 supply. 



Most canners contract in advance a suflBcient acreage of dif- 

 ferent crops to meet their needs. Prices paid are usually some- 

 what lower than the average market price on graded and well- 

 packed goods, but are much higher than prices during times of 

 glutted markets. By contracting in advance the farmer is sure 

 of a fair price for his goods, and eliminates that element of 

 chance from his work. 



Another important feature is that there is less work in pre- 

 paring vegetables and fruit to be delivered to a cannery than 

 is the case when prepared for market. This is very apparent 

 in such crops as beans and peas, which instead of being hand 

 picked may be cut like grass, and delivered to the factory 

 where a vining machine does the work of shelling and 

 separating. Labor-saving methods of handling farm crops 

 are worthy of careful consideration as the farm labor prob- 

 lem becomes more serious. 



The following crops are extensively used in canning and can 



