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.

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.

Hedgehogs have historically been considered solitary creatures, that do not particularly get along well together, and in fact only like to be close to one another during mating. This now appears to be changing, with many breeders keeping at least females together in groups, and in some cases even males. I don't know whether this is the result of African Pigmy hedgehogs taming down as a species, or whether they were always a bit more social than we gave them credit for.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Yes, although a the time of writing the exact line-up is unclear. It is understood that there is a new drummer.

Glass home canning jars, sometimes referred to as Mason jars, are designed for durability and reuse. They are the only jars recommended for safe home canning. Constructed of heat-tempered glass, they are able to withstand the superheated steam of the pressure canner, time after time. These special jars feature a deep neck and wide sealing surface that is essential for obtaining a tight seal. They are available in standard sizes to ensure proper processing times as specified in recipes.

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.

Click on the any of the images on individual virus pages an enlarged image will pop up in its original size. If further enlargement is desired, you can try the zoom in option on your browser or save the images and view and enlarge them under any graphing programs or image viwers.

In order to control news routing, Cyclone provides a number of simple but powerful options that determine how the server will stamp news articles. It is important to notify remote feeds of what path alias to exclude from feeding you; if this isn't done, sites will end up offering you a lot of extra articles and will occasionally result in articles you have already seen being sent to you (11.3).

No! Beer must be bottled in glass designed to hold the pressure, which are beer bottles, soda bottles, or champagne bottles. Using wine bottles or mason jars is an invitation to disaster, as they will explode as the carbonation builds after sealing. 6.13 Do your blue bottles protect beer from light as well as your amber bottles? No, the blue glass is for looks, and does not protect beer from light quite as well as amber bottles, but does protect as well as a dark green bottle.

The age for joining Freemasonry is being lowered. In the past, candidates had to be male, at least 21 years of age, able to profess a belief in God, and of good character. Now, however, many Grand Lodges have lowered this to 19 or 18. Check the Grand Lodge for your jurisdiction for further clarification on rules as they apply there. For a listing of age requirements, please visit http://www.bessel.org/age.

and meet the non-physical criteria in question (1) of this section). Paraplegics have been made Masons, as have the blind, the deaf, and others with a variety of physical handicaps. Minor modifications may need to be done to the rituals (e.g., employing sign language, modifying points where the candidate stands if the candidate is in a wheelchair, etc.) but most Lodges are willing to accommodate candidates.

Below is some excerpted text of a booklet "What's A Mason?" produced by The Masonic Information Center, email: msana@ix.netcom.com The photos on this webpage are from our archives at Hoffman Lodge No. 412, F&AM.