October i, 1908.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



Goupil's Aercplane, 1883. 



cotton fabric beins treated witli rulibcr in the coating machine. 

 Two hiyers of fabric so cuated are superimposed on each other 

 in sucli manner that the threads (warp and woof) of the two 

 thicknesses cross each other diagonally. Tliis ensures to the 

 finished cloth almost uniform tensile strain, or tear resisting 

 strength, in every direction. The fabric is then vulcanized hot 

 and finally colored yellow on one side. The yellow color is for 

 the purpose of iKutralizing the more actively injurious blue and 

 ultra violet rays of light. No special color is required in the 

 varnished fabric, the varnish itself furnishing the color. The 

 yellow surface is made the outer side of the complete balloon. 

 It may be added that only after prolonged experiment was a 

 coloring matter obtained that was not injurious to the fabric. 



Following, briefly stated, are the advantages and disadvantages 

 claimed for both kinds of balloon fabric: 



VARNISHED BALLOON FABRIC. 



Advantages: Lower prices; smaller weight. 



Disadvantages: Low durability; greater difficulty and expense of main- 

 tenance; greater susceptibility to exterior heat; packing, after landing, is 

 much more difficult and troublesome. 



RUBBERLZED BALLOON FABRIC. 



Advantages: Greater durability; greater strength of the fabric; less 

 expense of storage and maintenance; convenient packing after landint;. 



Disadvantages: Greater initial cost (compensated for by increased serv- 

 iceability); greater weight (more than made up for by increased strength). 



It is to be expected that the advantages of the rubberized bal- 

 loon fabric will lead ultimately to its use altogether in place of 

 varnished balloon fabric. For motor balloons and captive bal- 

 loons, it is already used exclusively, for in both these kinds of 

 balloon there is a much greater strain on the fabric owing to 

 the increased pressure of gas. Rubberized fabric has doubled the 

 tear-resisting strength of the varnished article, i. e., more than 

 2,800 pounds per square yard, as compared with 1,500 pounds 

 for the varnished fabric. Moreover, the rubber fabric deterior- 

 ates but slowly, as regards its tear-resisting strength, whereas the 

 varnished fabric deteriorates rapidly. With varnished fabric, 

 therefore, a bursting of the balloon by pressure of the gas is not 

 imposssible. 



The French balloon interests were certainly not pleased by the 

 prescription, by the French war department, of rubberized bal- 

 loon fabric, obtained from Germany, for the construction of its 

 military balloi^ns. As a matter of fact, all French motor balloons 

 are constructed of German balloon fabric, as are also the balloons 

 of other nations, Germany, of course, included. In the success 



of the great German motor balloon, constructed by Count Zep- 

 pelin, the German rubber industry has scored another triumph, 

 but it is to be expected that when American rubber manufacturers 

 bestow attention on this article, they will be able to compete in 

 every way with the best balloon cloth made elsewhere. 



An English firm has constructed gas bags for balloons from 

 gold beaters' skin, which in the case of large balloons is laid on 

 to the extent of six layers, the skins being so joined together 

 that no seams are visible. The advantages claimed are lightness 

 and toughness. A London newspaper report that Count Zep- 

 pelin's new great balloon would be made of gold beaters' skin is 

 authoril;itively denied. 



INDIA-RUBBER MISCELLANY. 



A Flying Machine Nineteen Years Ago. 



£Adcr, near Paris, in 1891. "flew" 100 yards or more in this, sitting in 

 a small car forming the center.] 



THE INDUSTRY IN AUSTRALIA. 



The business of Barnet Glass S: Sons (Alelbourne) has been 

 formed into a company under the title Barnet Glass Rubber 

 Co., Limited, with a capital of £45,000 [=$218,992.50], of which 

 one-half is in 8 per cent, cumulative preference shares and the 

 remainder in ordinary shares. The Messrs. Glass have been 

 interested in the rubber trade for nearly 30 years, beginning with 

 the manufacture of mackintoshes from imported materials. In 

 1899 they put in a plant for the proofing of cloth and the 

 manufacture of a limited list of rubber goods, to which additions 

 have constantly been made. 



REDDAWAY'S FRANCO-BRITISH EXHIBIT. 



,\t the Franco-British Exhibition, in London, Messrs. ]'. 

 Reddaway & Co., Limited (Pendleton, Manchester), erected a 

 handsome pavilion near Machinery Hall, for the display of their 

 canvas belting, rubber belting, printers' blankets, canvas hose, 

 rubber hose, solid and pneumatic tires, and many other products. 

 A set of pneumatic tires shown was reported to have run for 

 nearly 7,000 miles on all kinds of roads. A special feature was 

 a display of conveying apparatus, employing different brands of 

 the company's belting. In connection with the exhibition Mr. 

 Reddaway gave a dinner to representatives of the technical press 

 of Great Britain and France, several members of his firm's staff 

 also being present. 



NEW YORK ELECTRICAL SHOW. 



.\t tlie second annual New York Electrical Show, to be open 

 at Madison Square Garden from October 3 to October 14, inclu- 

 sive, in the section commemorative of the Atlantic cable of 1858 

 [see The Indl\ Rubber World, September i, 1908 — page 398] 

 the Commercial Cable Co., through President Mackay and Vice 

 President Ward, will make a loan exhibit of models, relics, ap- 

 pliances, maps, etc., covering the whole period of submarine cable 

 development. The first annual show last year was so successful 

 as to encourage the management to look for even a larger and 

 more varied and better attended show this year, in view of the 

 constant growth of the number of appliances of electricity, and 

 the interest of the public in their use. 



A PIONEER GUTTA-PERCHA COMPANY. 



The first company to utilize gutta-percha commercially in the 

 United States are still in business, though the name has under- 

 gone some changes. Reference is made to the Bishop Gutta- 

 percha Co. (New York), who as early as 1848 laid a conduit of 

 gutta-percha under the East river, at New York, since which 

 time they have manufactured gutta-percha pipe for many pur- 

 poses in any length desired and up to 4-inch bore. They manu- 

 facture a long list of other gutta-percha articles, including acid 

 vessels, valves, belting, and tissue, their production of the latter 

 having become very extensive of late. 



HOPEWELL BROTHERS' ADDRESS. 



In the description in the last India Rubber World of a new 

 Hopewell tire case, the address of the makers was inadvertently 

 omitted. They are the firm Hopewell Brothers, manufacturers 



of automobile fabric supplies, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 



