SPOILAGE. 29 



provement in the latest pack. A comparison of the domestic pack 

 with thr foreign brands of the same grade and price is decidedly in 

 fa\or of the home-grown in evenness of size, tenderness, and flavor. 

 The foreign pea i- of a brighter green color, due to using a copper 

 >alt. Tin- foreign peas are also misbranded in some cases as to size 

 and quality. 



SPOILAGE. 



The -poilaire in canned peas may bo classified under three heads: 

 ( 1 ) That due to Irak- in the can; (2) to insufficient processing; and 

 to -poila.ire prior to the canning. 



The spoilage due to leak- i- largely a matter of carelessness in in- 

 -peetiun. The manufacturers of can- allow two cans per thousand 

 for defect- in material or imperfect union on the side, top, or bottom 

 Tin- appear- to be an ample allowance, as some of the 

 larjj '.tries tind less than one "spoil" per thousand due to 



-uch caii-e-. Tip leak- and cap leak- are much more common than 

 end oi- -ide leak-, t liese being due to incompetent workers and lax 

 in-peetion. ( 'ap ami tip leak- become mo-t numerous when long runs 

 made and the workmen become tired. When night runs are made, 

 the greater number of leak- are found to occur in cans handled in the 

 early morning. 



Leak- max be found later in good- kept in a damp warehouse. The 

 tin may be more or teeB broken where the bend is made on the ends, 

 and an e\ce of moi-tmv may caii-e it to rust through along the 

 edge-. The HIM ing may be very -low. but it will gradually affect a 

 considerable pen vntage of can-. Spoilage due to leaks usually occurs 

 early much of it within twenty-four hours and, as a rule, there 

 T6 -e\eral form- of bacteria pre-eut. among which there are nearly 

 alway- some that will cau.-e -welling. A leak may not be apparent 

 without a careful in-pection: the hole may be so small as to be 

 plugged by a piece of ti ue. or the swelling of the can may produce 

 -uch a -train a- to prevent the escape of gas or contents. By cutting 

 the can and tearing the -earns, the points at which the solder failed to 



may be detected. 



- spoiled owing to insufficient processing are generally classed 

 U " -\\ell-" and "sour-." Formerly spoilage of this character was 

 a -erioii- matter, but the discovery of the cause'and the means of 

 prevention ha- decrea-ed the loss from this source. At first No. 2 

 can- were boiled in open kettles from one to three hours, and the 

 losses wen- not considered large, although the percentage would prob- 

 ably be considered high at this time. Later the processing was done 

 in a retort at a higher temperature than that of boiling water, in 

 order to reduce the time. The practice at many of the factories was 

 to give a temperature, of 230 F. for from ten to fifteen minutes. Swells 

 and -our peas resulted, and the cause was not understood. In 1895 



