June i, 1906.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER \A^ORLD 



277 



MR. BURGESS'S REPORT ON RUBBER 



WPo^ 



FablishedoD the Ist of eaoh Month b; 



THE INDIA RUBBER PUBLISHING CO. 



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Kntered at New York Post Office as mall matter of the second-elass. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAOK. 



Editorial: 



Mr. Burgcss'.s Report on Rubber 277 



.\ Xew \\XA in Rubber E.Ktraction -. 278 



■|'lu' I'liii.' of (",\iayule Rubber 278 



New Trade Publications 279 



The Obituary Record 280 



[With Portrait of W. H. Ctiiniuings.] 



The United States Rubber Co.'s Annual Report 281 



Paper V. Rubber Insulation 283 



The India- Rubber Trade in Great Britain, ."m- ;;. Qu\ttr Corrmionii' ni 284 



[Some Kuiiber CIieTiiisls. Sulpliur Trade Tlie I'psi-t in Riissi;!. Tin: 

 I'rowodnik I'^ictory. Moisture in Kaw Rubliel. Mr. Joiins<»n. Kuli- 

 iier Solution .] 



Rubber Plantations and Their Frodnct 286 



[ ITie New KMi)l)er as V'iewed in Europe. Smoking Pia'itation Kiil)ber. 

 Planting in Ceylon, the Straits, and lilsewiiere. " Koalatex "J 

 [With an Illustration.] 



Mr. Henry A. Rei-d and His Work 289 



[Witli a Portrait.) 



English Golf Balls Barred in America 291 



New Goods and Specialties in Rubber 292 



[■■ Lite I'rest;rver" Tire Treads. Rul)ber Heel Altaclipd tu Lealiier. 

 An "Automobile" Skate. A Practical Tire Shoe Mender. Some- 

 thing New in Overshoes The " Soinnoforme " Inhaler. To Pre- 

 serve Tire Valve Tubing. Canton Batli and Beauty Brusli. Sink 

 Drain Mat. A Kneaded Rubber Eraser.] 



[With 13 Illustrations] 



Recent Rubber Patents 294 



[I'oited States. Great Britain. France.] 



Rubber Interests in Europs 298 



Miscellaneous: 



liiilia-Rubber ("joods in Conimerce .... 2S0 



New Jersey L.iws on Tires 280 



CFOod Results in Mexico 290 



New Process for Giiayule 290 



A Card from Mr. Ileyl-Dia 296 



Rubber Doors for Ganiblinjj House 296 



An Kight Spool Wire Strander .- 297 



.\danisoii's Band Cutting Machine 297 



Planting " Ceara '' 297 



C3 News of the American Rubber Trade 301 



CD [With an Illustv.ilion 1 



The Traile in .Xkron Our Correspondcnl 299 



Tlie Trade in Trenton Our Correspondcnl yao 



■^^ Review of the Crude Rubber Market 307 



I 



T N relation to the report by Mr. P. J. Burgess on how 



^ he found plantation rubber regarded in Europe, 1 j^j^ 



which we suininarize on another page, the first point for ^k'- 



coininent is the extreme frankne.ss with which the re- »" 



suits of his investigations have been stated. It is to 



be considered that the position held by Mr. Burge.ss is 



one created by the Federated Malay States government, 



at the request of the associated planters there — who, we 



understand, contribute to his compensation — reallj^ lor 



the purpose of promoting rubber culture. 



Mr. Burgess personally, as well as the planters in 

 'luestion, and their government, is enthusiastically com- 

 mitted to the feasibility of rubber planting ; they have 

 been encouraged by the progress made in the develop- 

 ment of the plantations, and by the liberal rate of yield 

 tlius far. It would have been only natural, in view of 

 such hopes as are entertained in the Malay States of a 

 great future source of wealth in rubber, if Mr. Burgess 

 should have given prominence to whatever he may have 

 heard in Ivurope in favor of the plantation product. 



On the contrary, in presenting the views derived at 

 first hand from leading rubber manufacturers, he has 

 prepared an official report which, on first reading, might 

 be taken as distinctly unfavorable. Of course, this is 

 110 more than proper. If the Ceylon and Straits " Para" 

 rubber is wanting in merit in any way, nothing can be 

 gained in the end in concealing any facts now — unless 

 in the way of facilitating the sale of plantations to the 

 European public. This, we believe, however, is not the 

 chief motive of the Far Eastern planters. They have 

 planted trees for their own profit, as a permanent invest- 

 ment, and they want to know just how to value the 

 product, with a view to improving it if the rubber now 

 being marketed falls below the standard they are aiming 

 at. All this is commendable, and Mr. Burgess's report 

 is just what is needed under the circmnstances. 



The essence of the report really is that the European 

 manufacturers, who have not been indifferent to the 

 claims of the new rubber, are not yet prepared to accept 

 it, for general use, in the place of Para rubber, which 

 for more than a half century has been the standard. 

 Plantation rubber from the Far liast on arrival at the 

 factory .shows physical differences from "native" rub- 

 ber ; it does not adapt itself to the established factory 

 practice ; and the test of time is needed to determine 

 how goods made from it will wear. 



The manufacturer is right in maintaining a conserva- 

 tive policy in the matter of adopting a new material, 

 which the Far Eastern rubber really is, even if its differ- 

 ence from other rubbers should in the end prove more 

 apparent than real. It would be .strange if the planters, 

 at the outset, should have prepared their rubber in the 

 best pos.sible manner, and there is reason to believe that 

 already their product is better prepared than at first. 

 But the fact that the rubber is different in appearance, 



-~i 



