CHAPTER XXXVI. 



VEGETABLES FOR CANNING 

 AND DRYING. 



The importance of vegetable canning in California is noted in 

 the opening chapter of this work. At the present time large areas 

 of vegetables are grown to fill contracts with canners, and their 

 purchases in open market are a great relief in times of over-supply. 

 It is reasonable to expect that this important canning interest will 

 largely increase as larger distant markets can be commanded, and 

 as the growth of population west of the Missouri river demands 

 greater supplies. California has marked advantages in the produc- 

 tion of canning vegetables at minimum cost and in the highest 

 quality. 



As this treatise is prepared for the information of vegetable 

 growers, it seems fitting that some space should be given to an ex- 

 position of what constitutes excellence in a vegetable from a can- 

 ner's point of view, although it is impossible to enter into the sub- 

 ject as fully as its importance warrants.* 



Asparagus. The trade demands large, white, tender spears, 

 with the tip wholly unopened or headed out. To secure the shoots 

 in this condition, they must be cut very closely, which is done by 

 keeping the soil in fine, deep tilth, and cutting low, as nearly as 

 practicable, before the point is exposed to the air. A few hours' 

 growth in the sun not only causes the head to color, but it begins 

 to open very rapidly. Other information has been given in the 

 chapter on asparagus. 



String Beans. This vegetable has not been canned to any con- 

 siderable extent in California, inasmuch as the fresh vegetable is 

 on the market such a large portion of the year, that there is less 

 need of buying it in cans. The first canner who made a specialty 

 of string beans was Mr. H. Wambold, of Blue Lakes, Lake county, 

 who had a piece of land that seemed to be better adapted to the pro- 

 duction of string beans than any other vegetable, and this land was 

 used for the same crop for twenty consecutive years. The yield 

 from the commencement being so large, the home market so limited, 

 and being too remote from the railroad for shipping to the San 

 Francisco market, he was forced, as a last resort, to pack the vege- 

 table, and by strict attention to every detail he soon built such a 

 reputation for his canned beans that his yearly output is easily dis- 

 posed of at a good profit. The points of quality in a string bean for 



*The fullest account of California's commercial canning industries, including build- 

 ings and machinery, methods, materials, etc., is "The Canning of Fruits and Vegetables." 

 by J. B. Zavalla. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1916. 



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