274 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Au.asT 30, 1913. 



change, for it would mean to him the extension, or at 

 least (the moiHHcvition of his machinery and general 

 factory arrangements. In any case a loss would be felt 

 for a time until the proper equilibrium set in. This 

 view has been supported recently at several meetings 

 of large rubber companies. 



Eut supposing new uses were found for rubbers' 

 This would not merely check the fall of market prices: 

 it would do more; it would tend to make them rise. 

 The discovery of new uses would meet the rei]uire- 

 ments of both producer and manufacturer, who would 

 profit satisfactorily at the expense of the helpless 

 consumer. 



On another page in this issue reference is made 

 to the competitions at the forthcoming interna- 

 tional rubber exhibition. Handsome inducements are 

 announced with reference to the discovery of new uses 

 for rubber, and it will be interesting to examine the 

 possibilities in this direction. In doing so it will be 

 well to boar in mind that, broadly speaking, the 

 conception of new uses may take the form (jf a spon- 

 taneous idea, the practical value of which can be 

 gauged irrespective of any knowledge of the technical 

 side of the employment of rubber; or, at the other 

 extreme, a notion may suddenly occur the application 

 of which depends on a pre-existing knowledge of 

 technique or manufacture. Bearing in mind this prin- 

 ciple regarding the possibility of successfully put- 

 ting an idea into practice will often save the would- 

 be inventor a considerable waste of time and energy. 



A description of the present ways in which rubber 

 is employed should prove helpful and instructive in re- 

 gard to the discovery of new uses, and it will be con- 

 venient to begin by considering first the great class 

 constituted by articles of which rubber is only a com- 

 ponent part. 



Rubber as a part of a manufactured article is seen 

 at its best in the case of the pneumatic tyre. It may 

 be noted in this connexion that Sea Island cotton also 

 forms a portion of this expensive but indispensable 

 equipment. Rubber is the chief constituent of vulcanite, 

 and the employment of rubber for insulation purposes is 

 a matter of common experience. It also serves a useful 

 purpose in the making of certain waterproof textures. 

 The rubber ring, too, though small in itself, is produced 

 in vast quantities for use in mineral water bottles ami 

 for flanges in machinery. Then there is the emplo\ - 

 ment of the commodity in surgical instruments, tor shoes, 

 and for golf and tennis balls. Whilst referring to the.se 

 uses mention may be made to the employment of gutta 



percha and balata. The former product is, as is 

 well known, used for insulating submarine cables. Its 

 employment in this direction is mainly due to the 

 the fact that unlike ru'jber, gutta percha is not 

 porous. On the other hand, gutta percha melts at 

 100°F., so that it cannot in most instances take the 

 place of rubber which remains solid at this temperature. 

 Nevertheless experience in America has shown that 

 rubber can be successfully employed for submarine 

 insulation, even at great depths— as in the case of the 

 Washington-Alaska cable. Balata is used for belting. 

 This is due to its characteristic toughnesS; in which 

 respect it greatly surpasses rubber. 



As regards recent new uses for rubber in articles 

 constructed of other things as well, there is the French 

 invention which enables a deflated pneumatic tyre to 

 be run on temporally. Briefly the arrangement con- 

 sists of a rubber frame-work within the inner tube, 

 which gives support and resiliency, while allowing air 

 space for the provision of pressure in the normal way. 

 In America, the safety of those who take part in the 

 modern dizzy gyrations of the ball-room has lately been 

 ensured by the introduction oi' a dancing shoe having 

 a small rubber plug inserted near the middle of the 

 widest part of the sole. Attempts are also being made 

 to use rubber in the construction of such diverse 

 articles as ankle supports, railway buffers and massage 

 machines. Still more novel is the idea that, in view of 

 the higher price of hides and the lower price of rubber, 

 shoes shoiild be constructed possessing pneumatic 

 rubber soles. 



Turning to the uses of rubber by itself, we notice 

 such articles as toys, sponges and galoshes. Though 

 seemingly unimportant, the galoshes industry, particu- 

 larly in Hussia and North America, is an enormous 

 one, whilst the rubber sponge trade is rapidly under- 

 going development. In connexion with the rubber 

 sponge, it is interesting to note that in this article it 

 is the main object to induce porosity, just as in the 

 manufacture of other rubber goods it is the main aim 

 to eliminate this characteristic. Other uses for rubber 

 in the present connexion are seen in the case of tubing 

 and hot-water bottles. When we look around for the 

 very modern introductions, it appears that the latest 

 is india rubber flowers to be worn by bathers. Some 

 of the effects obtained in this direction are stated to be 

 very striking. 



Turning to the employment of rubber in large 

 ijuantities for constructional purposes, we meet greater 

 possibilities. It is characteristic of the industry that 

 up to the present it has not been found practicable 



