8 BULLETIN 1000, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
TThen any lot of bottles is received, the best practice demands that 
they be tested. The test to be applied is whether they meet the 
specification as to capacity at the height of fill specified in the con- 
tract. If the bottles do not test correctly, two alternatives are pos- 
sible. The bottles may be rejected or temporary expedients, such as 
changing- the contents declaration on the labels, may be employed to 
use up the particular lot. Eejection of bottles involves the inconven- 
ience of temporary loss of packages and friction with the manufac- 
turer. It is for the bottler to decide which method Trill be employed. 
If the variation is excessive, good commercial practice would demand 
that they be rejected. Testing the capacity of a representative sample 
of each lot of bottles received and rejecting those lots with excessive 
variations from the contract specifications is the second step in the. 
attainment of good commercial practice. 
The testing of the bottles gives the bottler information as to his 
correct filling point. Whether or not the tests show a variation from 
his usual filling point wide enough to justify him in instructing his 
employees as to proper changes is a question for him to decide. The 
best practice would demand that the question of change of height of 
fill be given due consideration. The adoption of the process of mak- 
ing slight changes in the height of fill as indicated by the tests made 
on the various lots of bottles as received is the third ^tep in the at- 
tainment of good commercial practice. 
Printing labels with the quantity of contents before they are at- 
tached to the bottles is decidedly convenient. By making this state- 
ment beforehand the bottler determines the quantity of contents 
which he expects to fill into his bottles. The statement of quantity of 
contents is necessarily the same as that specified in his contract with 
the bottle manufacturer. The expediting of his business demands 
that labels be ordered before the bottles are received. There is 
always a possibility of altering the statement of quantity of contents 
by rubber stamp or by reprinting, but this is an inconvenience which 
will be suffered by the bottler only long enough to permit him to give 
proper instructions to his manufacturer to correct the capacity in 
.the subsequent shipments. The application of labels bearing a defi- 
.nite. correct statement of the quantity of contents is regarded as the 
fourth step in the attainment of good commercial practice. 
The development of good commercial practice is a growth and re- 
quires a sufficient amount of time for adjustment to proper conditions 
by the bottler. It involves the ordering of labels previous to the time 
bottles are ordered, and a requirement on the part of the bottler that 
his bottles be delivered to him as specified. Though this is an ideal 
condition and it is not conceivable that it could be continued without 
an occasional interruption, many factories are using this practice 
closely. For the purpose of this bulletin, therefore, good commercial 
