\ l.ul- I M'.I.K*. 45 



fairly moiM and cool, the HIM jorii y l>eing produced in northern Ne\\ 

 York and Michigan, and more recently large packs have been put up 

 in Wisconsin. 



The beans are picked by hand and the object is to gather them 

 as young as possible. The best are about 2 inches long and less 

 than a fourth of an inch in thickness; the large beans become tough 

 and stringy. At the factory the beans are graded in five sizes by 

 means of special machinery, the essential feature of which is a series' 

 of vibrating screens made of rods or bars running in one direction. 

 These rods are generally set eighteen, fourteen, eleven, and eight 

 sixty-fourths of an inch apart. The beans are fed in over the coarser 

 screen first and those which fail to pass through constitute one grade, 

 and as they pass to each succeeding screen the next larger sizes are 

 separated and the smallest pass through the last. The work is done 

 better than was formerly done by hand. 



The next step is to snip or string the beans. Some varieties of 

 beans are so nearly stringless that the simple snipping of the ends is 

 sufficient, but when they become old, hand stringing is necessary. 

 The cutting of the ends, or snipping as it is called, can be done well 

 by machinery. It is also the practice to cut the large beans in lengths 

 of about 1 inch. All beans are well washed, placed in wire baskets 

 and blanched, or they may be blanched in the cylinders used for 

 peas. The time required for blanching will vary with the age; the 

 small size of young beans will require only about 1J minutes, the 

 larger ones if tender will require about 4 minutes, and if hard and 

 tough they may require 8 or 9 minutes. It is the rule of good process- 

 ors to blanch until the beans are tender, irrespective of time, and for 

 that reason many prefer the basket in a tank of boiling water to the 

 pea blancher. 



The blanched beans are filled into the can by means of a special 

 bean filler. This machine carries a tray, holding 4 dozen cans, and 

 has a hopper above it with holes corresponding to each can. The 

 beans are poured into the hopper, the quick vibrating motion of 

 which shakes the beans into the can. As a further precaution 

 against short weight, each can is weighed and any deficiency in fill 

 is made up by hand. A weak hot salt brine is used to fill the inter- 

 spaces in the cans, which are exhausted, capped, and processed for 

 30 minutes at 240 F. 



as for peas. A full can should weigh not less than 13 ounces, ex- 

 clusive of the liquor. 



BEANS, LIMA (PHASEOLUS LUNATUS). 



Lima beans are grown for canning both as a green bean and as the 

 bean in succotash. There are two varieties, the pale or true Lima 

 and the bush variety. The former is but little grown for canning, 



