1022 FOODS AND FOOD ADULTERANTS. 



economic way than in the purchase of canned vegetables. An expendi- 

 ture of 10 or 15 cents for a good article of flour or nieal will procure as 

 much nutriment for a family as the investment of $3 or $4 in canned 

 goods would. 



The investigations which are recorded in the accompanying report' 

 were made upon the following canned vegetables: Artichokes, aspara- 

 gus, beans, Brussels sprouts, corn, okra, peas, pumpkin, squash, sweet 

 potatoes, tomatoes, macedoine, mixed corn and tomatoes, mixed okra 

 and tomatoes, and succotash. 



The samples were purchased in the open market in Washington, 

 D. C., Schuyler, Nebr., Kissimee and Orlando, Fla. Dealers were not 

 acquainted with the purpose of the purchase, and it is believed that 

 the goods represent fairly the character of the canned vegetables found 

 in the markets of the United States. 



The analytical work was conducted by Messrs. K. P. McElroy and 

 W. D. Bigelow, assisted by Messrs. T. C. Trescot, Gus. Wedderburn, 

 and E. G. Euuyan. Mrs. K. P. McElroy voluntarily contributed largely 

 to the successful issue of the investigations. The work has been one 

 of great magnitude and has consumed more time than was originally 

 intended for this purpose. The character of the work, however, and 

 the value of the data which have been secured fully compensate for 

 the expenditure of the additional time required to complete this branch 

 of the investigation. 



REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS AND ANALYSES. 

 By K. P. MCELROY AND W. D. BIGKLOW. 



HISTORICAL NOTES. 



The process of preserving food by canning in its present form appears 

 to date back to the patent of Pierre Antoine Angilbert in 18U3, though 

 it is said to have been in use at least three years earlier. 1 The method 

 described by Angilbert does not vary essentially from the present 

 practice. The food, together with some water, was placed in a tin can, 

 a lid carrying a minute aperture fastened on and heat applied. When 

 the liquid in the can boiled briskly and all air was expelled, the hole 

 was closed with a drop of solder. 



Preserving food in bottles instead of cans, but by a method identical 

 in principle with that just described, is an older invention. The first 

 record of it appears in a paper submitted to the English Society of Arts 

 in 1807, under the title "A method of preserving fruits without sugar 

 for house or sea stores" by Mr. Saddington. 2 The method there de- 

 scribed is to fill bottles with the fruit, loosely cork, place them in a 

 vessel containing cold water, which should reach their necks, andgrad 



'Lethcby, Clu-ni. ISY\vs, (Ain.T. I.Ypr.) 1S(><, 4, 71. 

 "Hawaii: Food and its Adnltrnilions, London, 1855, 432. 



