machinery is used for the various operations, unless the farmer 

 can do his canning work at odd times, when his labor is not 

 otherwise advantageously employed. The quality will not 

 average as high or as uniform when canned in the home, 

 owing to the lack of modern means for proper sterilization and 

 testing. 



The process of drying has been employed to a certain extent 

 in this country in the case of fruits, and in Germany with some 

 vegetables, notably the potato, from which potato flour is 

 made. Our government is now experimenting with the potato 

 for this purpose, and it is possible that in the near future 

 potato flour will be made on a commercial scale in this country. 



Denatured alcohol can be made from all farm products 

 containing sugar, but this work has not met with any great 

 degree of success as yet, as the price that could be paid for 

 farm products when used for this purpose would be in marly 

 cases below the actual cost of harvesting and delivering to the 

 distillery. 



The potato, on account of the large amount of starch it con- 

 tains, is the most desirable farm crop for alcohol making. At 

 the present prices of denatured alcohol the distiller would be 

 able to pay the farmer about 12 to 15 cents per bushel for 

 potatoes. This industry, therefore, affords the farmer very little 

 relief in the way of a market for his surplus or crops of No. 2 

 quality unless the price of alcohol increases materially. 



Question. How far are the children benefited through 

 better canning laws in the United States at present? 



Mr. Hall. The child labor law in the different States varies 

 considerably. No doubt in many cases the reforms were 

 necessary. 



Question. I mean in general, because it has been such a 

 terrible scourge in our country that children were allowed to 

 work sixteen and seventeen hours a day in canneries. 



Mr. Hall. There are doubtless cases where minors work 

 long hours in can-houses during the rush of the season. Such 

 seasons usually last but a few weeks at the most, and as the 

 wages paid are generally on the basis of piecework, the laborers 

 are anxious to make as much time as possible. The work is 



