The $100 Cannery: Whatcom Farmers Learn to Preserve Their Own Harvest

On Wednesday, June 8, a party of horticulturists met at Laurel, Whatcom County, for the purpose of taking lessons in the art of commercial fruit canning, and the entire proceedings were of unusual interest to all present.

Under the supervision of A. J. M. Hosom, a miniature canning plant was set up and the work of canning fruit was explained and demonstrated as thoroughly as could have been done in a plant using tons of fruit each day.

The men removed their coats and practiced with the soldering machines, sealing and unsealing the cans until they had acquired some proficiency in the use of the machine. After this they filled the cans with fruit and pure sugar syrup, which were then sterilized, sealed and cooked in a retort. The cans were then removed, cooled and finished with labels, ready for the grocer's shelves.

It is not expected that all who learn the art of commercial fruit canning will become canners, but enough local canners and capital will be developed to meet the limited supply of fruit for canning purposes produced in this county. These lectures and practical tests, as given by Mr. Hosom, are of a most instructive nature, and it remains with the fruit growers themselves as to the amount of good to be derived from them.

There are three branches of industry to which our climate and soil are especially adapted, says the Weekly Blade, viz: fruit growing, dairying and stock raising, and the sooner our people realize this fact the better it will be for them. For the present the shingle and lumber industries are the chief support of our county, but there will come a time, and only too soon, when the forests will have disappeared, and unless industries of a more lasting nature are established before that day arrives the future for our county is not so very bright.

There will never come a better time to prepare for the inevitable than right now, and if those most interested will give Mr. Hosom their best support in his efforts to establish the industry of horticulture it will be a long step in the right direction.

On Wednesday, June 15, about twenty-five people met Mr. Hosom at Nooksack City, where the same program was carried out as at Laurel. In a short time small canneries will be in operation at Ferndale, Laurel, Lynden and Nooksack City and other places about the county.

People have always been led to believe that it required immense capital to establish a cannery, but this is not the case. A hundred dollars is sufficient to begin in a small way, increasing the size of the plant as the supply of fruit increases.