74'/ 
The Home Canner: A Life Saver 
What It Means on the Farm 
TILIZINn THF ST’RPT.rs.—On every well- 
equipped fruit or vesetuble farm of the future 
will be found a borne caniier. tluit will be a valuable 
adjunct to the sales department. The canner will 
furnish a market in reseiwe that can be utilized at 
.any time to take care of any surplus that may pre- 
>ent itself at unexpected times, oi- when the market 
is weak from the fact that all .growers have offered 
their products at the same time, or that consumers 
from some cajirice have failed to consume the ex- 
])ected amounts. Without a home canner to utilize 
the surplus the sales department is presented with 
the problem of sacrificing profits by cutting prices, 
nr leaving the produce on the vines or trees to spoil, 
.and thus occasion a loss. Rut with 
a home canner in reserve a nnu ket is 
always available, a market Avhich. 
while perhaps not offering the very 
highest prices, nevertheless is a gond 
market from the fact that the fruit 
and vegetables pre.seuted are market¬ 
ed at home in bulk, no fancy packages 
being required. The grower also 
knows in advance what he is to re¬ 
ceive for the fimits, because he knows 
how much material is required for a 
certain number of cans, and Avhat 
lirice he can get for the same, so he is 
never worried about the uncertain¬ 
ties of the returns, as he is when 
shii>ping perishable goods to distant 
markets, i^o the home canner when 
added to the sales dei)artment is a 
woi-ry dispeller, and also a backbone 
maker, from the fact that the knowl¬ 
edge of its mere presence and av.iil- 
ability give.s backbone to the sales 
manager, so that he will be a little 
more courageous and more ai>t to ask 
a stifCer price than he otherwi-^e 
would, Avere there no canner t" fall 
back upon should he strike a congest¬ 
ed market. 
A 11 MLR IN RAD WKATHJIU.— 
q'he home canner helps again from 
the fact that it can be set to work at 
an.v time should the Aveather turn out 
to be unfaA’orable for shipping. 
Many times, right in the height of 
the straAvherry or raspberry sea.son, 
there“AVill come a spell of several 
days in Avhich it is almo.st impos.sible 
to get the fimit picked, and Avhen it 
is i-icked it is so soft and damp that 
one does not dare to ship it for fear 
it will arrive at its destiuatbui soft 
and unsalable. When a rainy spell 
<omes the pos.se.ssor of a home cau- 
ner does not worry so much, for he 
knows that AvhencA'er the luckers care 
to work he can market the goods at 
home by placing them in the cans. 
riTLIZING SOFl^ FRUIT.—The 
fruit may be too soft to make a first- 
giade article for des.sert for family 
use. for AA'hich trade a firm article is 
itMpiired. and which is packed in pint 
l ans mostly, but if too .soft for this 
fancy trade the soft fruit may be 
l)acked in gallon cans tind sold to the 
pie-maker.s, or stored away for Win¬ 
ter work to be made into .jams during 
ibe Winter sea.son. Jams are mostly 
iii.ide in Vrinter from goods that are 
p.icked in gallon or larger cans dur¬ 
ing Summer. Nearly 10 pints of 
raspl»eri-ies or strawberries may be 
packed in a gallon can, and in this 
\\ i\y a lot of goods may l)e taken care 
"f in a very short time on a bu-sy Summer day. In 
M'inter, when time is not so valuable, the cans are 
"pened and the contents poured in a copper pan 
with a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, and 
cooked down into preserves or jams, i>oured into 
glass jar.s, covered with paraffin wax, capped, la¬ 
beled and placed on the market. The can is not 
destroyed, as the same tool that .solders the top on 
in Summer A\dll unsolder the same to]) in Winter, 
and after the contents are emptied the can can be 
washed, sterilized, dried and stored aAvay for the 
Aiext season. 
desirable WINTER WORK.—This making of 
jams and preserves adds a uoav iiulusti-y to the farm 
and provides work in Winter, so that a man may 
well be kept through the entire year. Avhere other¬ 
wise he Avould have to be di.scharged in the Fall 
R MEW-«’O^KSR 
beeau.se of the fact that the Winter months on 
many fruit farms aio so very unproductive that the 
fruit groAver cannot afl’ord to pay a man to lie idle 
during the Winter. Ry ad<Ung the jam de])artment 
to the farm AA’ork is i)rovi(led in Winter that ma.A' 
be done on stormy, cold or windy da.A's, ami on 
jiloa.sant days the outside Avork may be done oti the 
farm, .so that an extra man or two ma.v be proAuded 
Avith Avork tlu' entii'e season. Thus a good man may 
be kei»t for years. Avhere Avithout the home canner 
to provide this extra Avork the groAver aa'ouUI lun-e to 
let the goo<l man quit in the Fall for Avant of remun¬ 
erative AA'ork. Avith the result that, in the Spring, 
Avhen the groAA’or goes for the good Avorker, he finds 
he cannot be obtained, having another ^nd better 
position Avhich offers Avork the ye.ar round. 
SATURDAY’S PICKING.—In addition to the help 
that is given by the canner in a wet .season is the 
help that is given by marketing the Saturday’s 
picking.s. The disposal of this day’s picking is a 
problem that always confronts the groAver and ship¬ 
per. Fourth of .July presents the same problem. 
Ihspecially is this so in ra.spberry season. Avhen the 
Fourth comes on Saturday or Monday. Hoav many 
times has the grower seen his berries soften and 
AA'aste because there Avas no market in AA’hich to 
dispose of the goods, as all stores are closed the tAvo 
da.A's, both Sunday and the holiday. With the can¬ 
ner there is no need to Avorry, as the pickers can 
keep right on Avith work, and the canner Avill take 
care of the fruit as fa.st as picked. 
CATCH CROPS.—Another valuable feature pro- 
A'ided by the canner is that Avhich comes from the 
fact that a home market is furnished for several 
catch crops that the fruit groAvcr may raise among 
his newl.v-.set plants. In groAving strawberrie.s, in 
nnui.v cases the first year a catch crop of tomatoes, 
string beiuis or SAveet corn can he groAvn between 
the I’ows. or the plants in the roAV, but in many 
cases there is no m.-irket aA-ailable for this cla.ss of 
products. The canner provides this market. In 
straAvberry groAving, after the vines are turned un¬ 
der. Avhon the picking is finished, the best crop that 
can be groAvu is a crop of Refugee string beans, as 
this crop Avill produce an abundance of pods before 
frost, and the.se vines aaTicu turned under Avill add 
a great deal of fertility to the soil. Rut the late 
crop of fresh string beans comes at a time Avheii 
there is not much demand in the market, and conse¬ 
quently the straAvbcrry groAver is disbarred from 
growing this best .second crop. Rut aaTOi a canner 
the market is provided at home and 
the crop may be added to the money 
catch crop of the farm. 
AN ADVERTISING MEDIUM.— 
Another advantage the canner offers 
to the sales department of the fruit 
farm is the fact that it may be made 
a great advertising medium. Every 
can of fruit or A'Cgetables that le.tves 
the farm Avill have to be labeled Avith 
\ 
a label containing the name of the 
article that is in the can, and the 
name and address of the man can¬ 
ning the same. Labels on fruit and 
vegetable cans are made to covei* the 
entire cans except the ends, the label 
being Avrapped about the can Avith the 
ends of the labels pasted Avhere the.v 
OA'crlji]). This label offers the l>est 
advertising medium in the Avorld for 
the up-to-date groAver. A label 
around a one-quart can is perhaps 
1.3 inches long and neaidy fiA'e inches 
bi’oad. A portion of the label or one- 
half of the can will do to tell of the 
variety of fruit, AA’here and by Avhom 
packed, and the entire other half of 
the label can be used to advertise the 
fimit farm from AA'hich the goods 
come. In a space six by fiA-e inches 
a great deal may be said. A person 
can tell of all the varieties of fre.sh 
fruits and A'egetables he groAvs, how 
they are produced, the care given to 
secure high quality, the careful at¬ 
tention given to their packing and 
Avhere they can be procured. This 
advertising in a year Avill amount to 
many dollars AA'orth of benefit. If .a'ou 
care to go a little farther you may 
have a picture taken of a can of 
.Amur goods, and an electimtype made, 
so that on your envelopes or letter¬ 
heads you may display a cut of your 
canned products. 
PROVIDING RACKBONK. — But 
perhaps the greatest benefit the 
OAvnership of a canner confers upon 
the fruit farm is that Avhich I men¬ 
tioned in the first part of this article 
—the fact that it gives the salesman 
‘'backbone" so that he has nerve to 
hold out again.st the reports of over¬ 
supply and loAV prices Avhen he goes 
to market Wlien a buyer come.s 
along and says: "The market i.s 
glutted and people are not purcha.s- 
ing, .so you will have to .sell cheap," 
the s.ile.sman Avho oavus a canner Avill 
ansAver: "All right, my goods go back 
home to be packed in the cans, Avhere 
I can hold them until you will pay 
my price.” And Avhen this reply has 
been given to the buyers a feAV times 
the.v begin to see a great light, and 
.suddenly discover that no surplus or oversupply 
e.xist.s, and immediately begin to buy at the pro¬ 
ducer’s price, so that instead of having to take his 
goods back home he will find that he has to make 
an extra trip to supply the hungry buyei’s. 
C. O. AVARI'ORl). 
Soy Beans in New York 
HE picture .shoAAu at Fig. 299 was sent us b.v 
Earle W. Gage, of Cdiautauqua County, N. V. 
It illustrates a field of So.a' beans groAA'u in that lo¬ 
cality, .giA’ing .some Ilea of the great pjmfusion of 
forage supplied b.A' this crop. The So.v bean is a u.se- 
ful crop for .soiling cattle; it Avorks Avell Avith corn in 
.silage: and Avheu dried makes hay readily eaten by 
cattle. 
A Pansy Border with Peony Background. Fig. 298 
Soy Beans in Western New York. Fig. 299 
Onion Bulbs Shrunken by Smut Fungus. Fig. 300. See next page 
