56 BULLETIN 196, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE, 



material, and the deA-elopment of a strong Ijitter flavor, more marked at the base and 

 extending witMn about Ij inches of the tips. The full-length stalks were not edible, 

 but the tips might pass for a low grade. 



The lot held for 9G hours had a poor, sickly yellowiBh-green cast, and was decidedly 

 wrinkled and very tough and bitter throughout its entire length. It was not edible, 

 the bitter principle being strongly developed. This asparagus was kept in a moder- 

 ately cool place, but had no water turned on to keep it moist. It was not subjected 

 to unusual drying. The loss in weight per hundred the first day was about 4 pounds, 

 and the most of tliis was probably from water which had been held between the stalks 

 after the field washing. On the succeeding days the loss was only from 1 to 2 pounds 

 per hundred. The shrunken appearance after 72 hours gave the impression of a much 

 greater loss in weight. 



Experiments were also made with the use of lacquered cans, and while the results 

 were interesting they have not shown an improvement from any standpoint. The 

 most important advance made during the year has been the perfection of the squai-e 

 open-topped can. The round can is objectionable because it permits the contents 

 to roll when being handled or in transit and breaks off the top and side buds, injuring 

 the appearance of the stalk and liquor. 



Beans, Green (Phaseolus nanus). 



String beans form a regular side dish at almosj; every hotel, and they are generally 

 the canned article. There is a large pack of beans each year, and wliile hotels and 

 restaurants were formerly the principal buyers a large demand for home use has been 

 created in the past few years. The beans raised for canning are produced in the same 

 way as for the market. The growth is best when the season is fairly moist and cool, 

 the majority of the beans being produced in northern New York and Mchigan. 

 More recently large packs have been put up in Wisconsin. 



The beans are picked by hand. They are gathered as young as possible. The best 

 are about 2 J 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 18, 14, 11, 

 and 8 sixty-fourths of an inch apart. The beans are fed in OA^er the coarser screen 

 first and those which fail to pass tlirough constitute one grade. As the beans pass 

 to each succeeding screen the next size is separated, and the smallest pass tlirough 

 last. The work is done better than it 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 reqiiired 

 for blanching will vary with the age; the small-size young beans will require only 

 about 1| 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 processors 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. Tliis 

 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 Cj[uick vi- 

 brating 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 interspaces 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, exclusive of the liquor. 



