146 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[February i, 1907. 



saying that 20 or 30 variations have been experimented with. 

 In connection with the experiments a good deal of interesting 

 information was obtained as to the behavior of the rubber blocks 

 under the pressures they experience in these wheels. For in- 

 stance, it was found that rubber made up from calendered sheet, 

 as in the case of a buffer, was quite unsatisfactory, and a differ- 

 "ent method of preparation had to be adopted. One of the princi- 

 pal claims of this tire to notice is that it does not skid, and if this 

 is fully bo>ne out in practice it should have a great future, now 

 that it has been stated by ministers in Parliament that the Lon- 

 don commissioner of police will make non skid tires compulsory 

 on 'buses in the London streets as soon as a satisfactory tire is 

 produced. Besides being fitted to steel wheels, these tires are 

 also being supplied by Messrs. A. Scammell & Nephew, of Spital- 

 fields, London, fitted on wooden w^heels, and the makers are pre- 

 pared to supply tires and wheels complete on maintenance con- 

 tracts at 2 pence per mile. 



A FRIEND of mine who has had a good deal to do with planting 



in Jamaica recently gave me ■ a sample of remarkably strong, 



clean rubber which was obtained in the 



JAMAICA island. A sample which was submitted to 



RUBBER. ^^ ,.,.,. J ^ r 



Kew was stated to be the product of a 

 creeper, probably the Forsteronia iloribundo, an account of 

 which in connection with Jamaica rubber generally is to be found 

 in the Knv Bulletin. Up 10 the present the rubber vines in Ja- 

 maica have been used only as binding material, no rubber being 

 exported from the island. The sample in my possession was 

 coagulated by exposure to the sun and is certainly of v.ery good 

 quality, though sufficient is not available for practical tests. 

 Jamaica has been described as a land of small things, and as the 

 native creepers could hardly be successfully cultivated it appears 

 that any forest rubber industry would only be short-lived. It is 

 suggested, however, that the rubber vines will probably be found 

 more plentiful in Hayti and San Domingo, which might then be- 

 come the source of remunerative industry. If rubber plant- 

 ing is to take place in the West Indies attention will of course 

 be paid to the Para tree, and in connection with this a Jamaican 

 planter of experience recently wrote to a London paper advising 

 British capitalists or young planters to note the potentialities of 

 the West Indies for rubber planting. 



Electric driving is only to be found in one or two of our 



lubber factories, but its advantages in the case of accidents to 



DJSTANTANEOtlS Workmen are certainly a strong point in its 



DISENGAGING favor which does not seem to have had 



GEAR. attention drawn to it. \\. the works of the 



Leyland and Birmingham Rubber Co., where electrical power is 



largely employed, an ingenious contrivance, in form somewhat 



like a fire call, is placed in close proximity to each washing 



and mixing roll. Should an accident occur, breaking of the glass 



instantly cuts off the electric current, thus ensuring complete 



stoppage of the machinery. In the case also of the steam driven 



machinery at the same factory a similar electrical contrivance 



connected up to the engine causes steam to be shut off instantly 



in case of need. So far any such safety gear is not compulsory 



in Great Britain, as in Germany, Austria and Belgium. 



RUBBER INTERESTS IN EUROPE. 



An importation made by the Bishop Gutta-Percha Co. (New 

 York) was assessed for duty as a manufacture of gutta-percha, 

 against which the importer protested. The protest was sustained 

 by the United States general appraisers in a decision which states 

 that the merchandise in question "consists of gutta-percha put up 

 in the form of sheets and apparently having undergone a process, 

 of purifying, advancing it from its crude condition." It could not 

 he learned just what treatment the material had received. The 

 decision concludes : "Unquestionably it is not in the crudest form 

 in which gutta-percha may be procured, but the most that can be 

 said of it is that some of the impurities have been removed ; it 

 is still gutta-percha, and cannot, in any sense, be said to be a 

 manufacture thereof." 



DUNLOP REORGANIZATION. 



TTHE appeal of the dissatisfied shareholders in the Dunlop 

 ■'■ Pneumatic Tyre Co., Limited, against the proposed reorgan- 

 ization plan having been withdrawn, the reduction of capital as 

 sanctioned by the court will be proceeded with. The readjust- 

 ment of classes of capital is indicated by these figures: 



Present. Proposed. 



Preference shares £1,000,000 £1,000,000 



Ordinary shares 1,000,000 625,000 



Deferred shares 2,000,000 500,000 



Total £4,000,000 £2,125,000 



The reduction is made on account of the writing off from the 

 company's asset sheet of a large sum representing "good will," 

 in view of the expiration of the basic patents under which they 

 operated so long. 



NO MONOPOLY OF THE NAME "DUNXOP." 



In the court of session of Scotland, in an action brought by 

 the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co., Limited, to restrain the Dunlop 

 Motor Co., Limited, from the use of the name "Dunlop" in con- 

 nection with the sale of motors and tires or other accessories, 

 it was held that proof was lacking that the business of the 

 respondents had been organized "for the purpose of passing off 

 their goods as and for the goods of the complainers, and for the 

 purpose of taking advantage of the reputation which the goods 

 manufactured and sold by the complainers had acquired." The 

 Dunlop Motor Co., Limited, is composed mainly of persons of 

 the name of Dunlop, and was formed to succeed to the business 

 of R. & F. J. Dunlop. The court recognizes the right of these 

 persons to trade under their own name, regardless of the fact 

 that some of the goods they handled might be of the same class 

 as the products of the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co., Limited. 



GREAT BRITAIN. 



While the works of The Dermatine Co., Limited (London) 

 were closed, during the recent holiday season, the opportunity 

 was taken to repair the main Dermatine driving belt, which has 

 been in use for 21 years, w'ithout previously having been repaired. 

 The belt is 24 inches wide and weighs nearly 13 hundredweight. 



The directors of the Amazon Steam Navigation Co., Limited, 

 have declared a dividend on account the current year of 2 per 

 cent, or 5 shillings per share, payable on and after January 4, 

 1906. 



The accounts of the Amazon Telegraph Co., Limited, the com- 

 pany operating the Para-Manaos cable line, for the year to June 

 30, 1906, after providing for the debenture interest, show a sur- 

 plus of £3623 (=$17,631.33), thus reducing the debit balance 

 brought down to £74.607 (^$363,074.97). The company was 

 formed eleven years ago, with £250,000 capital, and the deben- 

 tures outstanding amount to £255,000. 



At the annual meeting of the Liverpool Electric Cable Co., 

 Limited, a dividend of -yi per cent was declared. During the 

 year the company's plant was nearly doubled. This company is 

 an outgrowth of the Liverpool Rubber Co., Limited, with which 

 it is affiliated. 



Mr. C. W. Edmonds, European manager of the Home Rubber 

 Co. (Trenton, New Jersey) at Balfour house, Finsbury pavement, 

 London, E. C, was a recent visitor to the home offices. 



GERMANY. 



The .'\merican .Association of Commerce and Trade, at Berlin, 

 now in its fourth successful year, has a membership divided 

 equally between American and non American firms. Recent ac- 

 cessions to membership have been Continental Caoutchouc-und 

 Guttapercha-Compagnie and the Hannoversche Gummikamm- 

 Compagnie, both of Hanover. 



