THE CANNING INDUSTRY FROM THE GROWER’S 
STANDPOINT 
S. J. Coox 
Secretary-Treasurer of South Shore Growers’ and Shippers’ Association, 
Silver Creek, Chautauqua County, N. Y. 
The growing of fruit and vegetables for 
preserving and canning in the United 
States and Canada has, in the last ten 
years, become an important industry. 
Hundreds of factories have been erected 
in many states, and hundreds of thous- 
ands of acres are devoted each year to the 
growing of canning crops. There were 
packed in the United States in 1914 ap- 
proximately 25,000,000 cases of the three 
vegetables — corn, peas and tomatoes — 
and approximately 4,500,000 cases in Canada. These, coupled 
with other important vegetables, such as string beans, beets, as- 
paragus and kraut—to say nothing of the berries of all kinds, 
and other tree crops — give one an idea of the magnitude of the 
canning industry in this country. 
All manner of men are engaged in the undertaking, and there 
are all kinds of canning factories — from the cheaply constructed 
shed to the enormous, up-to-date, sanitary establishments con- 
structed of concrete, brick and iron, covering acres, and capitalized 
by large corporations with millions at stake. No industry has 
made greater advancement in the manufacturing of its products. 
Inventors, expert machinists and manufacturers have designed and 
perfected the most modern machinery for the manufacture of 
canned products. A few of the larger preservers and canners 
manufacture their own bottles and cans. There is also great im- 
provement in the matter of sanitation; likewise in the quality of 
the finished products. Many of the larger plants invite public 
inspection. 
Much publicity has been given the merits of canned fruits, which 
has had a tendency to increase the consumption. A large part of 
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