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 tit 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 Fig. 350. — Tipping a Can 

 a better job of the capping. WlTH Soldering Iron 



Now insert the rod which comes with 

 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 



