IXSPECTIOX OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CANNERIES. 23 



inspections, attention should be given to the condition of the fruit as 

 delivered to the cannery, whether fresh and clean, or soft, dusty, and 

 possibly moldy, to the care taken for maintaining proper and uniform 

 fill of cans, and to the general methods of labeling. 



Blackbemes. — Blackberries are handled in much the same way as 

 are strawberries. All grades are packed in No. 2 cans and a small 

 quantity of some grades is packed in No. 1 cans. About 75 per cent 

 of the entire pack is water grade and put up in No. 10 cans. Black- 

 berries are not washed unless they happen to be particularly dirty. 

 The special extra grade generally takes a 40° or 50° sugar sirup. 

 Other grades follow the usual custom. 



Blueberri-es. — The canning of blueberries, among the few wild 

 fruits canned, is confined chiefly to the State of Maine, although 

 small quantities are put up in other States. The berries are cleaned 

 by blowing out the leaves and stems by machines and by hand 

 picking. Most of them are packed in No. 2 and No. 10 cans. Canned 

 blueberries are used almost exclusively for pies. 



Gooseberries. — At the cannery gooseberries are first run through 

 a snipper to remove the stems, then dumped into tubs or pans of 

 cold water from which they are picked by hand and graded. Size, 

 firmness, and appearance are the qualities chiefly considered in mak- 

 ing a special extra grade. The only other grade packed to any 

 extent is the water grade. Gooseberries are placed in cans by hand 

 and treated like other berries. The special extra grade is usually 

 put up in a No. 2 can, and the water grade in a No. 10 can. 



Raspberries. — The canning operations for raspberries are very 

 similar to those for strawberries. Raspberries are graded according 

 to size and firmness. The bulk of the pack is marketed in a special 

 extra grade, in No. 2 cans, taking a 50° or 60° sugar sirup. The 

 water grade is packed in No. 10 cans. Raspberry bushes are suffi- 

 ciently erect to protect the fruit from soil contamination, so that the 

 berries are fairly clean and it is not customary to wash them. 



CHEEEIES. 



Both sweet and sour cherries are canned, the former principally 

 on the Pacific Coast, and the latter in Michigan and New York. 

 Sweet cherries are usually packed unpitted, while the sour cherries 

 are usually pitted. After delivery to the canneries in lug boxes, 

 the cherries are run through a washer, stemmed by hand or by a 

 machine stemmer, and worked over a machine which grades to size. 

 The different sizes are carried to tables where the cans are filled by 

 hand. Cherries are pitted by machine. All the usual commercial 

 grades are packed, principally in the No. 2^ cans, although No. 2 

 and No. 10 cans are also used. After the addition of sirup or water, 



