December i, 1905.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER V/ORLD 



93 



THE ENGLISH MOTOR AND CYCLE SHOWS. 



THE yearly automobile show at the Olympia, London, 

 opened on the eveningof November iS, was larger by lar 

 than any of its predecessors and was recognized as marking an 

 important and distinct advance in the motor industry of Great 

 Britain. Large as was the show, it is understood that there 

 would have been many more exhibits if space had been availa- 

 ble. The value of the exhibits was estimated at upwards of 

 ;^4oo,ooo f = $2,000,000]. The Society of Motor Manufacturers 

 and Traders, under whose auspices the show was given, have 

 been greatly encouraged by its success. 



On the same evening occurred the opening, at Agricultural 

 Hall, of the twenty-ninth annual Stanley show, now termed the 

 annual exhibition of cycles, accessories and motors, for the rea- 

 son that a considerable number of motor exhibits was included 

 in the catalogue. The Stanley show remains, however, dis- 

 tinctively a cycle show, and both in the matter of exhibits and 

 attendance the exhibition just closed indicated a continued 

 wide interest in cycling in P^ngland. Not a single foreign cycle 

 exhibit was to be seen, which is taken to Indicate that the de- 

 mand for foreign cycles in England has been checked. Motor 

 cycles were less prominent than a year ago. There was evident 

 a revolution in favor of more substantial cycle tires than for 

 some time past, due to an appreciation that really good tires 

 cannot be made without good rubberand this costs money. Tire 

 prices, therefore, are higher this year. 



In this connection it may be mentioned that a number of bi- 

 cycle manufacturing companies have recently closed their bus- 

 iness year with a most favorable showing of profits, some of the 

 companies making more favorable reports than in any former 

 year. 



A RUBBER POLO BALL. 



IN a report of a game of polo at Newport, Rhode Island, on 

 September 2, between two teams of well known players — 

 the winning side including Reginald C. Vanderbilt — the New 

 York Times says : 



" The feature of the match was the use of a new polo ball, 

 being of hard rubber with a pneumatic covering. The ball was 

 tried as an experiment at the request of William A. Hazard, 

 secretary of the Polo Association. It seemed to lack speed 

 when hit and had a tendency to bound in the air instead of 

 rolling well over the ground. The well known sound also was 

 lacking when the mallet came in contact with the ball. After 

 playing with it a few minutes Mr. Agassiz cried, ' Throw out a 

 good ball,' and the customary wooden ball was produced. The 

 new ball was not tried again. It was the opinion of the play- 

 ers that the pneumatic ball seemed dead when struck com- 

 pared to the wooden one. Harry S. Kip refereed the game." 



Secretary Hazard has not given up his interest in having 

 a rubber polo ball tested, and is certain that the players are 

 prepared to consider such a ball on its merits. As to objec- 

 tions heard to it thus far he informs The India Rubber 

 World : 



" I was told that it seemed too dead ; they could get too 

 little distance from it. They said they liked the sound of 

 the wooden ball — they could judge from the sound whether 

 it had been hit square, and so on. They complained that it 

 became wild readily, and for that reason they could not play it 

 longer than a wooden ball." 



Mr. Hazard is still negotiating with rubber manufacturers, 

 one firm of whom write to us : " We have made a few pneu- 

 matic polo balls, and they have been pronounced excellent in 



certain features by some players who have urged us to complete 

 the ball in all its details. This we are trying to do, and we hope 

 to bring it out next season." 



EXPERIMENTS IN VULCANIZATION. 



'T^o THE Editor of The India Rubber World: I am 

 •*• sorry to see that you have made an error in your refer- 

 ence to my vulcanizations on page 41 of your last Issue. The 

 compounds used in both cases were the same, viz : 

 100 parts Fine Pai.i 

 50 parts Liiharge 

 3 parts Sulphur 

 50 parts Whiting 

 Vulcanizations of samples of this compound were had in 21 1 

 days at 105° F. average temperature. The vulcanization was 

 perfect and the elasticity was good. With 5 and 7 per cent, of 

 sulphur the elasticity was excellent. At a proper high tem- 

 perature, somewhere under 600° F., there is no difficulty in 

 vulcanizing a sample of the same compound, and the same 

 thickness in less than one second. Very truly yours, 



A. o. bourn. 



Providence, Rhode Island, November 6, 190- . 



AN OFFICIAL REPORT ON CONGO RUBBER. 



THE Bulletin Official o\ the Congo Free State presents the 

 official statistics of the commerce for that state for 1904, 

 preceded by a report to the king of the Belgians by Monsieur 

 Droogman, secretary general of finances. After mentioning a 

 decline in exports of Caoutchouc of 1,087,044 kilograms, as 

 compared with the former year, M. Droogman says: 



The above stated decrease in the rubber exports had been foreseen, 

 and I have explained the reasons for it in the report which was attached 

 to the trade statistics for i8qg. The King knows that the government 

 s ever watchful for the purpose of preventing owners of rubber gathering 

 enterprises from working too strenuously in gathering crops, which might 

 result in the exhaustion of our forests. 



Annual replanting on the other hand is in continued progress on a 

 considerable scale, as a result of the carrying out of the provisions of the 

 decree of January 5th, i8gg. The number of rubber /t'on^j and trees 

 planted under this law up to the present time, may be figured at nearly 

 13,000.000. The effect of these measures will make itself felt a few 

 years hence by an appreciable advance, and we may then obtain a nor- 

 mal and constant output, thanks to the use of methodical and rational 

 methods of gathering and replanting. 



AUTOMOBILES IN RUSSIA. 



THE Dresden Gummi-Zeitung points out that a field exists 

 in Russia for the sale of German automobiles. The favor 

 with which American automobiles were once received is not cal- 

 culated to be permanent, and the French, with all their facilities 

 in designing beautiful and good vehicles, labor under the dis- 

 advantage that while their products are well adapted for French 

 highways, thev are not strong enough to stand the strain of the 

 rougher Russian roads. The German machines, being built 

 more solidly, are better adapted to Russian needs, but they 

 have yet to make a reputation in the latter country. Our con- 

 temporary, therefore, advises the leading German firms not to 

 neglect the opportunity which the Russian market offers for 

 their products. 



A Question of Expediency. — The rubber weed industry 

 which has been under discussion by the board of trade and lo- 

 cal newspapers for some time is a subject worthy the attention 

 of anyone who may find it expedient to hustle out to make a 

 dollar or %o.^Durango (Colorado) Herald. 



