40 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[November i, 1906. 



have been commissioned by the Lipsia chemical works. The 

 false conclusions which have been made by several chemists 

 are based on the fact that, owing to the higher vulcanizing 

 efficiency of the heavj' calcined Magnesia (L. & V.) many 

 samples have been ove>\'ulcanized, which can easilj' be seen 

 by the amount of the coefficients of vulcanization, lender 

 appropriate conditions best results are acquired by the exclu- 

 sive use of heavy calcined Magnesia. All the compounds 

 above mentioned are onlj- for illustration of the efficiency. 



Haniburjj. Soplt-mber 15, 1906. 



SMOOTH INTERIORS FOR FIRE HOSE. 



THE EDITOR'S BOOK TABLE. 



THE CEYLON HANDBOOK AND DIRECTORN' AND COMPENDIUM OF 

 Useful Information for 1906-07, To which is prefixed a Statistical Sumnuiry 

 for the Colony and Review of the Planting KiUerprise. Up to Jnly, 1906. 

 Compiled and Edile'l under the Super\'ision of J, F"erguson, c. m t^ , M. L. c. 

 Colombo; A, M, & J. Ferguson, 1906. [Cloth, l2ino. Pp. xxxvlll ( 1411. 

 Price, 15 rupees, at Colombo.] 



THE forty-eighth annual issue of this standard publica- 

 tion not only maintains its reputation for complete- 

 ness, accuracy, and up-to-dateness ; it goes further, through 

 the addition of new features, and merits a new measure of 

 commendation for the Ceylon Obseri'er p&o'pW. its proprietors. 

 One finds here not only a complete handbook of the island, 

 its government, business, and social institutions, but a direc- 

 tory of estates, with their location, owners and managers, 

 acreage, with what planted, and so on. Originally, of 

 course, this information related chiefly to tea, the planting 

 first developed sj'Stematically in Ce3lon, but to-daj- the 

 book is equally complete as to the statistics of rubber, mak- 

 ing it a record of value to all who are concerned in any way 

 in Ce\-lon rubber. 



THE CULTIVATION OF FICIS ELASTICA.THV. INDIA-RUBBER OF 

 the East. By Claud Bald. Calcutta : Thacker, Spink & Co. 1906. [8vo. 

 Pp. V.-f32-: 4 plates Price 2S. id. net.] 



The various rubber species under cultivation in Ceylon 

 and the IMala}^ States are regarded by Mr. Bald as less 

 adapted to India than the indigenous Ftais elastica, which 

 by the way, has been planted longer than any other rubber 

 tree. It has not been cultivated anywhere extensively, 

 however, and manj' problems in relation to it have been 

 solved only partially. The object of the author is to sup- 

 ply a treatise in handy compact form, which shall present 

 such facts from authentic sources as will serve as a guide to 

 those contemplating forming rubber plantations, and at the 

 same time a warning against going into the business with- 

 out due regard to the conditions — as of soil, rainfall, eleva- 

 tion, and the like— essential to success. 



HEAVY RUBBER FOOTWEAR IN RUSSIA. 



T) EPORTING on the footwear trade in Russia, the United 



JS. 



States consul at Vladivostock, Mr. Roger S. Greene, 



writes: "A very large quantity of rubber overshoes and 

 artics is used, as practically every man, woman and child 

 who can afford to wears them, as they are indispensable 

 against the winter cold and the mudd}' spring. Those now 

 sold here are mostly made at St. Petersburg and at Riga. 

 They are of very thick rubber, especially those for winter 

 use, with a lining of wool or cotton. On account of this 

 thickness the rubbers can be slipped or stamped on without 

 using the bands, not such a trivial consideration, when 

 muddy rubbers must continually be taken off or put on. 

 The most common kind is made with a high front that 

 nearly covers the whole of a low shoe. 



' I "*HERE is no longer room for argument to prove the ad- 

 -^ vantage of having ;i smooth interior for rubber lined 

 fire hose. It has long been felt desirable, therefore, that 

 hose should be so woven as to present a minimum of corru- 

 gations inside, since the rubber llnihg tehds, in tiine at 



THE NEW WAY. 

 The smooth interior weave. This remedies the fault in cotton fire hose of 

 corrugations under pressure. The filling cord also adds strength to the cover. 



least, to adajit itself under pressure to all the irregularities 

 of the hose surface. A recent improvement in the manufac- 

 ture of fire hose is an attachment to the loom that gives a 

 smooth interior weave. An advantage of this method, 

 apart from the production of a smooth hose, is that the hose 

 is strengthened to an appreciable extent bj' the filling up of 

 the corrugations with the extra cord. It would seem that 



THE OLD WAY. 

 The old weave. The rubber lining in this weave, if really elastic, will corru- 

 gate under pressure, and as soon as the tube loses its elasticity, it remains 

 corrugated, as in the picture. 



this would make a marked difference in the stream from a 

 long line of hose on a high building — a difference not only 

 to the firemen but in the pumping apparatus. This new 

 feature in weaving is utilized in the looms of the Eureka 

 Fire Hose Co. (New York). Two illustrations shown here- 

 with will give a clear idea of the difference between the 

 " old " and the " new " methods. 



The management of the West Jersey and Seashore rail- 

 road have issued an order to the effect that freight hands 

 must wear rubber boots until the}- are thoroughlj- familiar 

 with the third rail electric system, the boots serving as a 

 protection from electric shocks. 



