398 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



, September 



1906. 



the apparatus has been rubber tired. 



The equipment of wheeled apparatus of the New York fire 

 department in three of the boroughs — Manhattan, the 

 Bronx, and Richmond — includes 129 fire engines, averaging 

 8000 pounds in weight ; 55 hook and ladder trucks, 10,000 

 pounds ; 1 13 hose wagons, 3500 pounds ; 53 chief's wagons ; 

 and 5 water towers, 7000 pounds. The specifications for 

 tires are as follows : 



" Three-and-a-half inch solid rubber tires are to be put on 

 forward wheels and 4 inch on hind wheels, containing not 

 less than 50 per cent, of para rubber, free from scrap or other 

 injurious material, manufactured in a thoroughlj- high grade 

 and first class manner ; the base fastening to be of such 

 construction as to overcome and prevent the rubber being 

 cut through or out and guaranteed to i)revent the tire fi<ini 

 ercc[)ing or loosening on the wheel." 



THHATMHNT OF GUAYIJI.F RlJRHrR 



T^R. \V.\LTIvR ESCH, a German chemi.st of note, who 

 ^-^ has made a special study of the new Guayule rubber. 

 was commissioned recently to visit England for the purpose 

 of demonstrating to the rubber manufacturers there the prop- 

 erties of the Mexican product. 1-roni an interview with Dr. 

 Iv-ich in ZV/t' India- Rtibhcr Journal, it appears that Guayule 

 rubber has received little attention at the hands of British 

 manufacturers; "altogether there weie only two manuf;ic- 

 turers who knew how to make profitable use of this cheap 

 raw material. " The point is made that (iuayule cannot be 

 treated in manufacturing the same way as Para and other 

 kinds. The Guayule shrub does not contain latex, as other 

 rubber trees do, but rubber already of a rather consistent 

 kind. As now prepared, this rubber contains considerable 

 wood fiber, which, when the ordinary washer is used, is 

 forced into the rubber instead of being removed. Dr. Esch 

 advises the use of the old wash-hollander, which cuts the 

 rubber into small pieces. By heating the water used, the 

 Guayule expands, causing the particles to lose their adher- 

 ence, so that the wood fibers are freed and drop to the bot- 

 tom. -■Xfter this treatment, the Guayule requires to be 

 washed in cold water and then spread on a wire netting and 

 dried in dark rooms at a low temperature. 



There are to be considered in connection with compounds 

 containing Guayule the slow vulcanization and the resin 

 contents. Guayule belongs to the class of very- slowly vul- 

 canizing rubbers, and for these an addition of heavy calcined 

 magnesia is desirable. Dr. Esch stated that he knew of three 

 rubber shoe works which had used Guayule with satisfactory 

 results. He believes it well adapted even for making hard 

 rubber combs. He had seen a comb mixture consisting of 

 2-3 Gua}ule and 1-3 Parii which experienced working mana- 

 gers considered as good, apparently at least, as a mixture of 

 2-3 Para and 1-3 Guayule. 



» * « 



Thic United States consul at Saltillo, Mexico, Mr. 

 Duhaime, reports : " Man3- sales of Guayule on the ground 

 have been reported at over five times the price at which the 

 land itself was held at previous to this boom. The biiying 

 up of this shrub began about the latter part of the year 1904, 

 at S15 Mexican currency per ton. But, owing to the numerous 

 parties anxious to secure quantities large enough to justify 

 them in erecting factories for the extraction of the gum, 



buyers now find it very difficult to arrange deals. Recently, 

 contracts for large lots have been reported at as high as $100 

 Mexican currency per ton. " 



CHARLES K. hLlNT IN RUSSIA. 



A SERIIvS of letters on affairs in Russia, both entertain- 

 ■^-^ ing and informing, is being contributed to the New 

 York Globe by William E. Curtis, one of the best newspai)er 

 correspondents of the time. A recent letter is devoted to 

 news and gossip conctriiing the Americans now in vSt. Peters- 



burg, including 



the following ref- 

 erence to one who 

 was so long prom- 

 inent in rul)1)cr 

 interests : 



"diaries R. 

 l''lint, of New 

 York, is becom- 

 ing more or less a 

 permanent resi- 

 dent of St. Peleis- 

 Inirg. Heliasl een 

 here formoie Ulan 

 a year doing busi 

 ness with thegov- 

 ernment. He has 

 sold several tor- 

 pedo boats and a 

 quantity of naval 



CHAFLES R. FLINT. 



and military supplies, and has been trying to induce the 

 minister of marine to buy the entire fleet of Chili and the 

 Argentine republic, which are offered for sale because those 

 two enterprising nations have entered into a treat}' of per- 

 manent peace. They have both agreed to disarm and tie 

 themselves together with olive branches. The Russian 

 government, however, has no money to spend for cruisers 

 and battleships just now. .So Mr. Elint is watching events. 



"When the political troubles are over and things settle 

 down he thinks that Russia will be the most profitable field 

 for enterprise in all the universe. In the mean time he is 

 learning the language and making valuable acquaintances 

 among influential men in financial and political circles. 



" Mr. Flint spends a good deal of time at the Duma, where 

 the coming men, the prospective leaders of Russian affairs 

 and future cabinet ministers, are to be found. The leaders 

 of the Duma are eager to get his advice and counsel. " 



The seventh annual automobile show in New York, under 

 the auspices of the Automobile Club of America and the 

 American Motor Car Manufacturers' Association, will be 

 held during the first week in December, instead of Januaiy 

 as in former years. This change of date is due to a general 

 desire on the part of automobile manufacturers to place their 

 new models before the public earlier in the season than has 

 been the case in the past. No doubt the rubber tire manu- 

 facturers will appreciate the change for a like reason. The 

 show will be held at the Grand Central Palace, the largest 

 building available for exhibition purposes in New York. 

 Paris salon and the Olynipia show in London have always 

 been held in December. 



