that will not permit its contents to leak
out. The machine turns out its product in long cylinders, like mailing
tubes, which are cut into the desired lengths to make the cans. The
paper or tin tops and bottoms are stamped out on a punch press.

Coffee cans are generally filled by hand; that is, the can is placed
under the spout of an automatic filling and weighing machine by an
operator who slips on the cover when the can is properly filled. The
weighing machine has a hopper which lets the coffee down into a device
that gauges the correct amount, say a pound or two pounds, and then
pours it into the can. The machine weighs the can and its contents, and
if they do not show the exact predetermined weight, the device
automatically operates to supply the necessary quantity. After weighing,
the can is carried on a traveling belt to the labeling machine, where
the label is automatically applied and glued. Then the can is put
through a drying compartment to make the label stick quickly.

[Illustration: COMPLETE COFFEE-CARTONING OUTFIT IN OPERATION

The girl is feeding the "flats" into an Improved Johnson bottom-sealer.
The carton travels to a Scott weigher on the right and thence to the
top-sealer on the left]

Paper bags are filled much the same way as the tin and the fiber cans.
In fact, some packers fill their paper and fiber cartons by the same
system; although the tendency among the largest companies is to instal
the complete automatic packaging equipment, because of its speed and
economy in packaging. Frequently, the weighing machines are used in
filling wooden and fiber drums holding twenty-five, fifty, and one
hundred pounds of coffee, to be sold in bulk to the retailer.

[Illustration: THREE TYPES OF AUTOMATIC COFFEE-WEIGHING MACHINES

Left--Duplex net weigher. Center--Pneumatic cross-weight machine.
Right--Scott net weigher]

_Coffee Additions and Fillers_

In all large coffee-consuming countries, coffee additions and fillers
have always been used. Large numbers of French, Italian, Dutch, and
German consumers insist on having chicory with their coffee, just as do
many Southerners in the United States.

The chief commercial reason for using coffee additions and fillers is to
keep down the cost of blends. For this purpose, chicory and many kinds
of cooked cereals are most generally used; while frequently roasted and
ground peas, beans, and other vegetables that will not impair the flavor
or aroma of the