REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. ni5y fi 
less than three or four cans under the acid chain, and ten or twelve 
under the soldering chain. Much depends on the operator of these 
two machines, and only those who have had considerable experience 
are intrusted with this work. A watchful eye must be kept on all the 
cans as they pass through, to be sure that the proper amount of solder 
is received. With all the caution that is taken, an occasional top is 
blown off, and once ina while a rim will start, which necessitates repairs 
and a repetition of the process. Very often several cans require atten- 
tion at once, although to the inexperienced eye they may be as perfect 
as any of the others. 
The old style of soldering machine was built over a brick furnace, 
coal being used as fuel, and many of this type are still in use. ‘The 
apparatus is 8 feet long, about 5 feet high, and 3 feet wide, however, 
and the amount of space required is an objection. ‘The modern machine 
occupies no more space than the chain and trough of the old one; in 
fact, the later improvement in this style is the chain and trough minus 
the brick furnace. The heating apparatus is a row of kerosene blast 
jets (7 in number) arranged directly under the trough, the oil and air 
pipes running parallel. The machine can be taken apart in a short 
time and set up again in any part of the building. 
The improved chain soldering machines, however, are rapidly being 
supplanted by the spiral and finger sprocket machines. These inven- 
tions are of recent date, and are said by cannery men to be superior to 
the old forms. The new soldering machines have greatly expedited 
the work in canneries, and have been the means of reducing the num- 
ber of leaky cans to a minimum, also of producing results much neater 
in appearance. 
Testing.—On leaving the soldering machine, the cans roll down a 
wooden chute about 40 feet long, passing under several jets of water 
to set the solder. Some canneries use Manula’s revolving cooler, a 
recent invention which practically does away with the long trough 
leading from the soldering machine. The disk upon which the cans 
rest is hollow and filled with running water. After making two revo- 
lutions, the cans are forced into an inclined trough under a stream of 
water. At the end of the chute are stationed two men who place the 
cans in coolers, or crates, which are made of fiat strap iron, square 
shaped, and hold about 114 cans. The cooler having been filled, it is 
placed upon a truck and rolled aside, where the vent holes are stopped 
with a drop of solder. The cans are now ready for the test kettle, or 
bath, a wooden box filled with water kept near the boiling point by 
steam pipes arranged at the bottom. The coolers are hoisted into the 
test kettle by block and tackle attached to an overhead track, which 
permits the coolers to be swung to any place desired. From two to 
three minutes is required for the hot leak test. 
