July i, 1906.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORL.U 



325 



proof of the want of a systematic nietliod such as tlie spiral 

 or Iicrrintr hone. Tlie trunk always swells and increases 

 rapidly in t;irtli where tapped, so that a systematic tappinj?, 

 to induce regular and systematic increase in jjirlh, is ad 

 visable. 



Mr. Waldron has apparently a large uun)]Kv of Cas/i7/t>a 

 trees at his disposal and could easil}- carry out a series of 

 experiments with the various tapping systems, reparing and 

 pricking, etc., keeping the results carefully. The publica- 

 tion of these would be very useful to rubber planters. 



MK. A. D. THORNTON. 



A SIMPLE TIRE VULCANIZER. 



''T^lll'; White steam tire vulcanizer is probalily too well 

 •^ known to the trade to need much of a description 

 here, though the Williams patent cooling chamber attach- 

 ment for this vulcanizer is probably new to some of our 

 readers. This vulcanizer will bake 15 tires at one run, the 

 hollow-backed molds being heated to the required tempera- 

 ture by a jet of live steam let into the steam chamber in each 

 half of the mold. As ordinarily used, one can make tires of 

 any length, reeling them up to 500 feet or more, by baking a 

 section at a time, uniting the uncured ends, or else by roll- 

 ing out the plastic rubber in endless ropes, simply slipping 

 through the mold after each cure. The ends could not be 

 united, however, when one of the pieces had been vulcan- 

 ized ; so the White vulcanizer is now made with a cooling 



1" 



WILLIAMS PATENT COOLINO CHAMBER ATTACHMENT. 



chamber at each end. The ends of the tires which lie be- 

 tween these coolers are not vulcanized, so that a true union 

 can be made between these ends and the unvulcanized 

 lengths to be at the next run. If nu\y single lengths are 

 desired, steam can be let into the cooling chambers also, 

 making an entire vulcanizer. This vulcanizer is mainly 

 used for buggy tires, is very simple and convenient, takes 

 up little room, and prevents the great waste of steam which 

 ordinarily occurs from emptj-ing a converter every 30 or 40 

 minutes. [The Williams Foundry and Machine Co., Akron, 

 Ohio.] 



Tin", Rhode Island commissioner of industrial statistics 

 presents comparative statistics of a number of factories for 

 igoo and 1904, including 4 rubber factories (not named, ol 

 course). These latter show practically no increase in the 

 number of employes, but- an increa.se in average yearly 

 earnings from $354.53 to S423.44. The total value of out])ut 

 of the 4 factories increased by 7.9 per cent. 



TiiK I. B. Kleinert Rubber Co. (New York) have ap- 

 pointed as their representative in Great Britain Mr. R. Iv. 

 Wright, long identified with their Huropean business, in 

 succession to the late Mr, H. T. Hobart. 



IN Curdworth, Wai wickshire, England, in i.SGg, Mr. A. 1). 

 Thornton made his bow to the world. In 1893 he came 

 to Canada bent upon success, shortly following which ad- 

 vent he was introduced to the rubber trade by Mr. II. C. 

 Burton, now of New York, but then manager of the Alpha 



Rubber Co. , of Mon- 

 treal, in which em- 

 ploy- Mr. Thornton 

 was engaged as a 

 traveling salesman, 

 selling druggists' 

 sundries and me- 

 chanical rubber 

 goods. In T 896 the 

 .\lpha company be- 

 came absorbed bv 

 the Canadian Rub- 

 ber Co., of Mon- 

 treal, whose gene- 

 ral manager then 

 was Mr. J. J. Mc- 

 Gill. With this 

 transfer of business 

 went Mr. Thornton, 

 and very soon fol- 

 lowing this, he was assigned to the mill where he installed 

 a chemical laboratory, which was exclusively operated by 

 him for two years, during which he constantly made analy- 

 ses of the 300 odd compounds then operated bj' the company, 

 ])ersonally superintending the mixing of all these during 

 that period. This was the foundation of Mr. Thornton's 

 education in the depths of the rubber interest, which has 

 made him a recognized authority on all features of the busi- 

 ness from the inception of manufacture to successful appli- 

 cation of the products in service. The Canadian Rubber 

 Co. "s business is classified into two distinctive divisions, 

 viz.: the "Shoe Department" and the '■ General Rubber 

 Goods Department." In the latter there is manufactured 

 perhaps a larger variety of goods than in any other rubber 

 plant on this continent, and with all of which Mr. Thornton 

 is familiar. In 189S Mr. Thornton was changed to the su- 

 perintendency of the mill room of the shoe department, which 

 he systematized and put in a satisfactory running basis. 

 Following this he also took over the management of the 

 wash house, reclaiming, and the manufacture of various ce- 

 ments and varnishes that the Canadian Rubber Co. produce. 

 Meanwdiile Mr. Thornton was engaged in the study of crude 

 rubber, as a result of which, for a long time his selection 

 has decided the company's purcha.s^s of rubber. In 1901 

 Mr. Thornton was given the responsibilities of costs, com- 

 pounding methods, make-ups, cure, etc., of the whole man- 

 ufacturing interests. Upon the advent of Mr. I). Lome 

 McGibbon as general manager, in January, 1903, Mr. Thorn- 

 ton was appointed superintendent of the general rubber goods 

 factory, and later general superintendent of the entire plant. 

 With thecontinued growth of the company's business, oflate 

 Mr. Thornton's time has grown into his recently changed 

 position of general technical superintendent, though he still 

 personally superintends crude rubber, reclaimifig and 

 cements. 



