CaNNING ON THE Farm 1263 
may be made large enough to cause a draft and accommodate the 
soldering steel. The caps or tops are placed on the cans where 
they fit into little grooves made to receive them and hold the solder. 
After the caps are in place, a few drops, about three, of what is 
known as soldering flux is lightly brushed along the edge of the 
cap and over the solder to facilitate the flow of the solder and 
make a smooth finish. This flux can be purchased ready-made 
quite cheaply or may be made at home, but the commercial article 
is always purer and better owing to the superior facilities the 
manufacturers have for making it. 
The cans now are ready for soldering. 
If the capping steel is at the required 
degree of heat it is taken from the furnace 
and dipped into a powder or mixture made 
of some scraps or pieces of solder and 
granulated sal ammoniac. If the hot steel 
is turned around in this mixture several 
times it will come out covered with a 
bright silvery film of solder. A further 
dipping into a can containing some of the 
soldering flux before mentioned, or even a 
wiping off with a damp cloth will add to 
the cleanliness of the steel and help make Fic. 359.— Trpprne a Can 
a better job of the capping. Wir Souperine Iron 
Now insert the rod which comes with “*” S°™** 
the steel and cover the can cap, revolve the steel once or twice over 
the solder, lift the steel, holding the cap in place with the center 
rod until the solder cools and you will find the cap firmly fastened 
in place. In the center of each cap is left a little hole or vent. 
This can now be soldered up and the cans be given the final cook, 
but the best and most approved way is to place the cans in boiling 
water, leaving the centre hole or vent open. Immerse the cans in 
the water so that only about a half inch of the top is sticking above 
the water. Leave them in the water about three minutes. This 
is what the canners call “ exhausting,” meaning expelling the air 
from the cans. As soon as the cans are placed in the boiling water 
the heat penetrates the contents with the result that they expand, 
forcing the air from the can. The cans should then be removed 
