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of agriculture in the central East, and they are to be commended for this, 

 and congratulated for their liberal support of constructive agriculture. 



■ When we stop to consider, as reported by Secretary Houston, that at 

 the present time only 12 per cent of our land in the United States is yielding 

 in maximum production, and only 40 per cent of all of our acres is being 

 farmed at all, and that 60 per cent of all the land in this country is practi- 

 cally idle, doing nothing for humanity, making no effort to reduce the high 

 cost of living (a problem which concerns us all), and represents a waste 

 in American rural life which cannot be easily computed in dollars and cents, 

 and then when we stop to consider still farther that 50 per cent of all of 

 the fruit and vegetables grown in this country from year to year is wasted 

 for want of proper knowledge of grading, crating and marketing products, 

 of a sure, efficient and labor-saving method of canning the surplus, and for 

 the lack of appreciation and adequate means of refrigeration, I am sure 

 that Dr. Pennington, from our own department, who has so ably discussed 

 the merits of refrigeration, appreciates the fact that only a very small per 

 cent at best of our people will ever have available the facilities for refrig- 

 eration work, and that for the other class of people it is important that we 

 offer them substitutes that will work, and will help them relieve the situa- 

 tion for the present at least. I know of nothing better to offer at this time 

 than this home canning work. Through the Girls' Garden and Canning 

 Club work, the people are being taught to go into orchard, garden and field, 

 and can the surplus. All kinds of fruit, all vegetables, greens, sweet corn, 

 windfall apples, etc., can be successfully transformed into a canned product 

 through this inexpensive home-made or commercial portable outfit, and 

 can do the work as well as the commercial factory. There will be no dan- 

 ger of white mould, and the hard things to can, like sweet corn, beans, peas, 

 greens, and even meats, can be successfully put up by the boys and girls, 

 ranging in age from 10 to 18 years, with definite success. These httle 

 commercial outfits are of four distinct types — the hot water bath, the water 

 seal, the steam pressure, and the aluminum presser cookers. The com- 

 mercial outfits cost all the way from $3.25 to $16.00, according to the 

 size and particular type required. A child can put up 300 cans of tomatoes 

 with one of these little outfits in a single day. An adult can put up 600 

 cans in a single day. The average cost of producing a can of No. 3 

 tomatoes, including all the items of expense, such as labor, rent of land, cost 

 of cans, label, etc., is only 4 cents, while this same can with a similar quality 

 of product will command a price of from 10 cents to 18 cents a can. 



Here is an interesting story of a can of tomatoes: While in Colorado 

 last July, I visited a grocery and purchased of the merchant a No. 2 can 

 of tomatoes, and paid 15 cents for it. I was so interested in this can of 

 tomatoes that I reviewed carefully the label, made inquiry of the names 

 and addresses of all of the companies, business concern, commission mer- 

 chants, canners and growers, who had been identified with its evolution 

 and migration from southern Maryland to this western state. When I 



