Graham guardian., 1900-11-09
USED.OVER BOTTLES.
Those That Have Held Champagne
Are Used Over and Over.
Foreign Made Glass Ranks Highest
i'm the Trads--Interestins Facts
About an Important Busi-
ness in This Country.

Does all Of the American-grown
champaign go into bottles in America,
and is il sold as what it is, or does it
pretend to be Of French origin?
What in particular suggests this
question. says the Chicago Chronicle,
is the statement recently made by a
visitor to the New York state wine
district that whatever may be said
about the wine itself, the champagne
bottle cannot be made in America. A
member of one of the leading New
York bottle manufacturers said, when
asked what he thought Of this state
ment: For ourselves, we don't try
to make champagne bottles; beer bot
ties are more in our line. But / don't
believe champagne bottles can be sue
cessfully made anywhere in this coun-
try. A champagne bottle is expected
to be of certain recognized green
color and certain tapering form.
We can get the form, of course, and
we can get the color pretty nearly,
but we cannot get that brilliancy in
the glass which you find in a French
bottle, combined with sufficient
strength"
Another manufacturer took the view
that the question of ability or in
ability to equal the French bottles
with bottles of American sand is inn
material, because the supply of sec
ond-hand champagne bottles is fully
equal to the demand
From these two statements it ap-
pears that the growers of American
champagne in California, New York
and Ohio must be content with bottles
that have already done service in
bringing the wine of Rheims TO this
country. A bottle dealer in New York
says that this is undoubtedly the
case.
This firm" he said. sis the largest
firm of bottle dealers in the United
States. We ship, even in slack times,
from three to four car loads of Sec
ond-hand champagne bottles week.
A car load is from $50 to 300 gross"
This. means, Of course, about 100000
bottles a week, or 7,500,000 bottles
year.
The destination of this mighty army
OF bottles? The dealer begged 20 be
excused from giving particulars. Some
of the bottles find their way to Cali
fornia, but it was gathered that much
of the bottling is done in New York.
And the much more interesting fact
was ELECTED that large number of
bottles which come to America as
champagne bottles degenerate to the
base uses of beer. This is one result
Of the war with Spain and the rescue
OF Cuba. Beer is now largely export
ed to Cuba in ex-champagne bottles,
which seems to prove the assertion Of
the bot1lemaker that there is no de-
mand for such bottles at first hand
for Amcrican-made champagne.
The enormous numbers quoted by
the bottle dealer suggests strong re-
Elections, melancholy to the total alb,
stniner, on the bibulousness OF this
great city. 1t must not be assumed
however, that all the 100000 annual
dead men" shipped by this firm
popped their corks within the limits |
of New York city. Many of these
come from other cities. But the |
greater number lie at the door OF |
New York, where the janitors and |
bartenders put them. Besides, Kip |
iing's description of Fuzzy Wuzzy-
Els all 'ot sand and ginger when alive,
And 'e's generally shammln when e's |
dead
applies in both points to bottle of
champagne. 1t becomes dead man"
only to be washed in huge whole
sale way by either the dealer or the
bother and filed up again with "fizz"
in some mysterious way. So very like
~ the same bottle is sold full, popped.
emptied, sold empty, washed and
filed again as often as half dozen
times in one year. This is terrible
record of giddy dissipation for the
bottle. 1t reconciles decent Ameri-
cans to the thought that such bottles
cannot be made out of American min
erals.