To learn more about the value of fruit jars I recommend the Red Book of Fruit Jars #9 by Doug Leybourne. You can order the book post paid for $35 from the author by writing him at P.O. Box 5417, N. Muskegon, MI 49445. You can also purchase the book on-line at www.fruitjars.com

All of the major fruit jar research books out there are out of print. There has been some discussion about reprinting Dick Roller's "Standard Fruit Jar Reference." There is also the two part Creswick book entitled "The Fruit Jar Works" and two classic books from the 1970s namely "Bottle Makers and Their Marks" by Julian Harrison Toulouse, 1971 and "A Collector's Manual, Fruit Jars" by Julian Harrison Toulouse, 1969.

The manufacture of fruit jars really didn't take off until after the civil war. Before the war, canning jars (many were actually large, heavy, bulky enamel lined cans) were expensive and difficult to use. Mason's patent was issued in 1858 but it wasn't until the Consolidated Fruit Jar Company began making jars after the war did the Mason jar really begin catching on.

Collectors frequently refer to these numbers as "mold numbers." However, in some cases, this term oversimplifies what the numbers represented. Originally when jars were blown by hand, the number represented a specific glass blower and his team. At the end of the day the blower and his team would get paid for the amount of jars they produced as determined by the number of jars made with a given number on them. I.E.

Square jars were considered a design improvement because a homemaker could stack more jars together in less space thus allowing a family to put up more food in their small cellars or cupboards. Square Jars were made for the Smalley Fruit Jar Co. Boston, Mass in the late 1890s. Other square jars date from the 20s, 30s and later. The value of square shaped jars tends to be higher than round as it seems that fewer square jars were made.

When manufacturers produce glass, chemicals (clarifying agents) must be added to clarify the batch in order to turn it from its original color of aqua-blue or green to clear. Prior to the start of the First World War, manufacturers used Manganese Dioxide as their chemical agent of choice to clarify glass. When a jar or bottle turns purple from sunlight, manganese dioxide is the substance in the glass that reacts with sunlight to cause the color change.

You should make a list and then determine how much your jars are worth by consulting a reputable price guide. (Like the Red Book.) Once you know what you have and what it's worth, swap meets are always good places. If you have a booth or know of anyone that has a booth at an antique mall you could try that. You might even try selling them at a yard sale.

There have been new reproduction fruit jars from China turning up in antique malls for outrageous prices but they're worth about $6-$8 each. The regular old zinc lids don't fit right and the aluminum lids that come with them are new and shiny giving away the jar's recent manufacture. These reproductions are copies of the old Hero jars made in the 1880s. As a collector these new jars usually have a poor quality to their color and the glass has a slicker than usual feel.

Yes, jars in amber, cornflower blue, olive green, etc. are worth more because fewer of them were made and they are in great demand by collectors. The amber jars were made that way as an attempt to keep fruit from turning brown. The amber glass kept out the harmful effect of light rays on the contents of the jar. However, the jars were less popular with homemakers because the contents were more difficult to see.

Well, the Ball, Kerr or Atlas jars tend to be fairly common. However, some jars can be worth more depending on the actual embossing. (Especially dealing with Ball jars.) Jars with unusually bright colors are worth more. These were generally made at the end of a run and contain sediments and chemicals that color the glass. Amber colored jars tend to be worth more than clear or aqua jars, but this is not a hard and fast rule either.

You can try the following Internet sources: http://www.homecanning.com/ http://www.weckcanning.com http://www.homecanningsupply.com/ Creswick, Alice: The Fruit Jar Works, Volumes I & II. Published by Douglas M. Leybourne, Jr. N. Muskegon, Mich., 1995. Leybourne, Doug: The Red Book of Fruit Jars Published by Douglas M. Leybourne, Jr. N. Muskegon, Mich., 1993, 2000. A Primer on Fruit Jars by David Hinson. Internet: http://www.av.qnet.com/~glassman/info/b&e/primer.htm

This was the name for Carl McCoy's band after he left Fields of the Nephilim. The rest of the original Fields went on to form Rubicon, who were not considered 'gothic'. Carl McCoy is no longer in the Nefilim. The Nefilim are now called Sensorium, and despite rumours to the contrary, Carl McCoy does not sing on their work. The new vocalist is Bob (aka Peter White).

What are referred to as African Pigmy hedgehogs that are available as pets, throughout North America [3.1], and most of the world, are generally a blend of a couple of species of hedgehogs: Four-toed or White-bellied hedgehogs (Atelerix albiventris) and Algerian hedgehogs (A. algirus), though there has been some speculation that that there is some Pruner's (Cape) hedgehog (A. frontalis / A. pruneri) added as well.

The book More Good News is currently out-of-print and is no longer available. It has been replaced by the newer publications.

According to an independent report by All About Vision, our prices are lower than major retailers including Lenscrafters, Pearl Vision, Wal-Mart as well as mail-order companies like 1-800-contacts.

Cyclone supports three different history mechanisms. All three are self-expiring. This means that there is never any down time to clean up the history database or purge old entries. Also, they are all of a fixed size; your history database will never require more space than when it is first created. The three history mechanisms are not compatible with each other and the history file must be started from scratch whenever a different history mechanism is selected.

There are a number of different things that can be given to hedgehogs as treats -- but all in moderation. Among the things that hedgehogs tend to like as treats are occasional small amounts of fresh fruit, and from personal experience I can tell you that all of my hedgehogs, will kill for a mealworm or a small taste of cream, and love raisins (but Velcro generally just chewed on them rather than actually eating much).

There is a full list of internation clubs maintained by digitar (digitar@io.org). Email him for a copy, or FTP 'GothClubs' from the goth archive at ftp.maths.tcd.ie:/pub/music/gothic. There is also a hypertext version at http://www.vamp.org/Gothic/clublist.html. Please email in any additions you might have to digitar's list.

There are many books to read. One of my teacher use to say each author has something to say. Although, some of the books that are published are best kept on the same shelf with your science fiction; but the author needs to make a living as well...so buy the book! If the book is written in a language that is easy to read then that author is a very experienced practitioner that would be a good book.

If you are one of the people who suffers from fibromyalgia, you absolutely need to read the following books to help you deal with the disease.