366 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[September i, 1907. 



Immediately it sags into a long, narrow tank set into the floor, 

 filled with water, thence to be wound upon a drum and made 

 ready for shipment. It sometimes occurs, however, that this lead 

 armor is not sufficient, and galvanized iron wire is wound over 

 that, to make assurance doubly sure. 



The preceding will, perhaps, convey some idea of the methods 

 used in manufacturing insulated wire. To be thoroughly appre- 

 ciated, however, like most good things, each process should be 

 seen. It is one of the younger industries to utilize india-rubber, 

 but in a few years' time has grown to huge proportions. It has 

 been estimated that the combined output of all concerns in this 

 industry approximates 2,500,000,000 feet annually, or enough in- 

 sulated wire and cable to go 18 times around this weary world 

 at the latitude whence the rubber comes. 



The province of the chemist in this business is, in many re- 

 spects, unusual. He must be more than a mere chemist — in 

 short, a rubber chemist, a specialist. Success in this field necessi- 

 tates a wide, practical knowledge of gums, mineral substances, 

 reclaimed rubbers, and the processes through which each passes 

 to make it valuable in insulation. The superintendent has many 

 heart to heart talks with his chemist and must repose the fullest 

 confidence in his acumen. He is called upon to clear up many 

 a deep mystery surrounding the composition of rival insulation, 

 and if the truth were known, many are the times when his best 

 knowledge fails him at a critical point. 



The chemist is, however, of the greatest value in disclosing 

 adulterations when they occur in the various minerals used in 

 compounding. He can tell you a whole lot about percentages 

 of resins in new gums, and has assisted materially in the selec- 

 tion of such as are peculiarly suitable for wire insulation. To 

 him are sent samples of all the factory compounds, that the 

 percentage of free sulphur and acetone extract may be of record. 

 He is also interested in the specific gravity of each compounded 

 stock, and knows to what extent a given gum, or mineral, or 

 shoddy, affects its insulation qualities, elasticity and durability. 

 Always he has to keep in mind that compositions that do not 

 make for good insulation are of no value in this business, how- 

 ever great their qualifications in other directions may be. Con- 

 sequently he favors compounds containing zinc, lime, magnesia, 

 antimony, pentasulphide, etc., because they tend to improve in- 

 sulation. His laboratory experience makes him acute in diag- 

 nosing hard cases. 



An illustration : A superintendent went to his chemist, much 

 perturbed because a certain standard stock had, in less than a 

 year's use on wire, shown marked signs of deterioration. Review 

 of the history of the compound checked up all right to a date 

 when a new gum costing somewhat less than that first used had 

 been substituted. Early samples and electrical tests had been sat- 

 isfactory, but chemical analysis now discovered an unusual per- 

 centage of free sulphur in the insulation, and that the new gum 

 contained a large proportion of resin. In view of the fact that 

 the compounder could not have leased his formula on the pos- 

 sible resin in the gum, the chemist suggested that the extra resin 

 had absorbed such a proportion of the sulphur item in the com- 

 pound as to leave an insufficient quantity for vulcanization ; hence 

 it followed that the insulation, being under-vulcanized, lacked 

 the one element necessary to its durability, and "perished" pre- 

 maturely. 



Chicle. — British Honduras continues to export an increasing 

 amount of chicle, principally to the United States. After the 

 yearly shipments for nine years had averaged 318,000 pounds, 

 they rose in 1904 to 773,323 pounds and in 1905 to 1,523,663. 



Chicle in Nicaragua. — The Bluefields AmericoK says that 

 the chicle tree grows well in the interior of Nicaragua, and is 

 to be found in the forests on the eastern coast. The tree is 

 called by the natives "nispero" End by English speaking persons 

 "medlar." 



ATTEMPT TO TAX WASTE RUBBER. 



AN importation of waste rubber at New York was assessed at 

 30 per cent, ad ''alorcm, against which the importer pro- 

 tested, when the United States general appraisers [Treasury Dc 

 cisions, August l] sustained the protest, admitting the merchan- 

 dise free. The importation was invoiced as shredded rubber 

 waste. The customs department had held previously that re- 

 claimed rubber, the product of rubber scrap, was dutiable at 30 

 per cent, ad t'alorem as a manufacture of rubber not specially 

 provided for under paragraph 449 of the Tariff act. In the 

 present case the collector decided that certain processes which 

 the merchandise in question had undergone had converted it 

 into an article of manufacture — i. e., reclaimed rubber. But the 

 general appraisers held : 



"It needs no argument to show that it was the intent of Con- 

 gress to make all wornout india-rubber suitable only for use by 

 manufacturers, free as raw material. The testimony in this case 

 show-s that the Waste Rubber Co., located in London, England, 

 dealt in wornout articles containing rubber, such as old shoes, 

 galoshes, automobile and bicycle tires, etc., which they assorted 

 (the sorting probably including separating by hand the rubber 

 from fibrous and other extraneous matter) and then ground 

 for convenience of transportation, or, as one of the witnesses — 

 an employe of the exporting firm — testified, to make it more 

 attractive to manufacturers of rubber goods." 



''t was held to be settled that shippers are entitled, in order to 

 reduce transportation charges on bulky commodities, to reduce 

 such substances to a more condensed form without changing the 

 tariff classification thereof, provided the distinctive name of the 

 goods or their intended purpose of use does not become changed. 

 Regarding this specific importation, the general appraisers ruled : 

 "The merchandise was originally, and has not ceased to be, 

 refuse rubber. It is fit only for remanufacture." 



NEW TRADE PUBLICATIONS. 



THE Russian-.\merican India Rubber Co. (St. Petersburg) 

 have issued this year a new series of lists of their numer- 

 ous products, embracing practically everything that is made of 

 rubber, soft or hard. This company, established in i860, has 

 grown steadily until it is considered by many to be the largest 

 in the world in the rubber industry, and it is prepared to supply 

 whatever the Russian market demands in the way of rubber 

 goods. We have before us a general list of the Russian-Ameri- 

 can goods [7"xio54". 32 pages] in Russian and another copy in 

 German, with a number of separate lists each devoted to some 

 specialty, as tires and accessories, waterproof clothing, etc. 



Massachusetts Talc Co. (Boston) issue to the trade a hand- 

 some pamphlet giving a concise description of talc and its uses — 

 particularly in the india-rubber industry — an account of how it is 

 prepared for market, the whole being illustrated by a number of 

 views of the interior of their mill at Zoar, Mass. [9"x6'/2". 37 

 pages.] 



Empire .\utomobile Tire Co. (Trenton, New Jersey) describe 

 their automobile tires, inner tubes and repair kits in a very neat 

 booklet. [4?^"x7". 15 pages.] 



The Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co., Limited (London) send 

 us a very complete illustrated catalogue of their motor tyres and 

 tire and motoring accessories, including waterproof garments. 

 The very successful record of Dunlop tires in 1906 is given in 

 some detail. [4<'s"x7'/^". 106 pages.] 



C. J. Bailey & Co. (Boston) issue an illustrated catalogue of 

 the large assortment of Waterproof Coats, carried at "Bailey's 

 Rubber Store," No. 22 Boylston street. [^A" x 6. 24 pages] 



A suggestion which comes from the shoe industry is that a 

 piece of rubber is a good article to have at every bench where 

 colored shoes are made, to take off the wax, or dirt of any kind. 



