182 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[February i, igog. 



of "men's duck firemen's sporting boots." By the way, how a 

 fireman's sporting boot differs from a sportsman's fire boot is 

 not indicated. These items appear in the "Unlisted List" of the 

 United States Rubber Co. When more usual prices are reached, 

 the highest is $7, the figure for men's hip Khaki boots, and then 

 $6.85 for men's hip duck boots, supplied by most of the factories 

 of the United States Rubber Co. The bottom price in the reg- 

 ular lists is 44 cents, the price of some grades of children's 

 overshoes. The lowest net price of any 44 cent article is 

 28 cents, but the net price lists of the "Empire" and "Colonial" 

 brands include items so low as 25 cents, for children's croquets, 

 spring heel. 



BVBBEB SHOE PRICES Itl CAITAIIA. 



In relation to a proposed change in dealing with the announce- 

 ment of prices of rubber boots and shoes for the Canadian trade, 

 a prominent firm of manufacturers in the Dominion write to 

 The India Rubber World : 



"For some time the trade generally in Canada have asked that 



rubbers be sold at net prices, similar to the prevailing custom in 

 the leather shoe business, instead of gross with retailer's discount. 



"While not of necessity so intended, the list prices are pretty 

 generally regarded as the retail prices to consumers, but in cer- 

 tain sections, where freights and business expenses rule high, 

 it is contended that the retailer's discounts from gross list prices 

 do not afford an adequate retailer' profit. It is thus difficult to 

 adjust a set of gross list prices satisfactory to all sections. There- 

 fore, with the desire of meeting the wishes of the trade, we are 

 considering the advisability of issuing our forthcoming illustrated 

 catalogues without prices, so as to give the new method a prac- 

 tical trial. At the same time we purpose issuing a separate folder 

 containing the net prices. 



"These net prices would represent the equivalent of gross list 

 prices with the initial trade discounts deducted therefrom, and 

 subject only to the wholesaler's discounts and early order dis- 

 count if such is arranged. Our current shoe year extends to the 

 end of February. New catalogues, therefore, will not be issued 

 until March i." 



Rubber in Balloon Construction. 



THE amount of rubber which has gone already into the December last, of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 



construction of balloon fabric must be very considerable, Describing the "Patrie," a military dirigible balloon made in 



though no statistics on this point are yet available. Interest France, Major Squier says that the gas bag consists of four 



in aeronautics has of late become very widespread, being stim- layers arranged as follows and having the weight in ounces 



ulated by the activity of most of the European governments, as per square yard indicated by these figures : 



also that of the United States, in military aerostation,, though per- q^j^^ ,3^^^ „f ^^^^^^ ^l^ti, covered wiih lead chromate 2.S» 



haps by this time the actual demand for balloon fabric has been Layer of vulcanized rubber 2-S» 



greater from the various aero clubs organized for purposes of Layer of cotton cloth 2.S» 



Inner layer of vulcanized rubber 2.21 



sport. 



The India Rubber World of October i last, in an article de- ^^^^^ weight 9-71 



voted to this subject, mentioned a paper by Mr. Octave Chanute, ^ ^^^.^ ^^ ^^j^ ^,^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^j^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^ t^^^i^^ ^f ^^out 

 published in 1891, in which he expressed himself as able to record ^^^ ^^^^^j^ ^ pressure of about i inch of water can be main- 

 little more advance in aerial navigation than the evidence that in ^.^^^ .^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^j^j^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ 1^^^ chromate on 

 popular opinion it was "no longer regarded as wholly impractic- ^^^ ^^^^.^^ j^ ^^ p^^^^^^ ^^^ entrance of the actinic rays of the 

 able and visionary." There lies before the writer a list of no ^^^^ ^^,,^.^,^ ^^^^^,^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^ deteriorate. The heavy 

 fewer than 18 papers on aerial navigation published by Mr. Cha- j^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^ ;^ ^^ ^^^^,^^^ ^^^ ,^^^5^,^ ^j ^^^ ^^^ j^^ j^^^r 

 nute since the date referred to, the whole recording a remark- ,^^,^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^, .^ ^^^^^^ ^^ prevtnt deterioration of the cloth by 

 able degree of advance in this field. This list of papers, by the j^p^j^iti^^ -^ th^ gas This material has the warp of the two 

 way, occurs in a bibliography of several hundred titles, by au- j^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^ ^j^^,^ running the same direction and is called 

 thors, for the most part, of distinction, in every civilized country. straight thread 



It may be mentioned that there are to-day upwards of 20 period- ^^^ j^^^.,^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ another French military dirig- 



icals devoted exclusively to aeronautics in the United States, .^^^ balloon, the "Republique," are given as follows, the figures 



England, France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Europe; three ^^j^^.^^^ ^^ ^^.^^^ .^ ^^^^^^ p^^ ^q^^^^ ^^^j. 

 international scientific societies devoted to the subject, and about 



50 other societies, either for the scientific study of aeronautics or o^^^ jf'^^i,'„i^'e''d" r^M^r/:/::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ill 



for the promotion of sport in this field, of which no fewer than 14 Layer of cotton cloth ■ ■ ■ 3-25 



..,,., ^ ■ r~ J T- Inner layer of rubber o-73 



exist in the United States, 13 in Germany, and 11 in i-rance. — - 



These details are given merely to indicate the growing interest 1"°'='' weight «o-4 



in aeronautics and the extent to which the new science and Regarding the airship "ViUe de Paris," Major Squ.er states 



sport have extended. In connection with a former article in this that the gas bag is made up of a series of strips perpendicular to 



paper appeared a view of 31 large balloons being inflated for a a meridian line. These strips run around the bag, their ends 



race promoted by a single aero club in England. Seven European meeting on the under meridian. This is known as the "brachis- 



countries maintain "balloon troops" engaged exclusively in aero- tode" method of cutting out the material, and has the advantage 



nautical work, their number aggregating recently IS7 officers and of bringing the seams parallel to the line of greatest tension. 



4 562 men, on a peace basis, while the existing schedules provide They are therefore more likely to remain tight and not allow 



for the larger balloou troops to be employed in case of war. the escape of gas. The disadvantage lies in the fact that there 



The interest of all this to the rubber trade is that so many of is a loss of 33^ per cent, of material in cutting. The material 



the balloons being manufactured are enveloped in rubberized has approximately the same tensile strength and weight as that 



faric while rubber enters also to a certain extent in the manufac- used in the "Patrie." It differs from the other in one important 



ture of the various types of flying machines. The quality of these feature-it is diagonal thread ; that is, the warp of the outer layer 



fabrics has been discussed hitherto in these pages. It may be of of cotton cloth makes an angle of 45 degrees with the warp of 



interest here to give some further details relating to balloon en- the inner layer of cotton cloth. The result is to localize a np or 



velopcs from a paper on "The Present Status of Military A6ro- tear in the material. A tear in the straight thread material will 



nautics" presented bv Major George O. Squier, ph. d., of the continue along the warp, or the weave, until it reaches a seam. 



United' States army signal corps at the New York meeting, in In some of the German airships the envelopes are made of rub- 



