June i, 1909.J 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



313 



The India-Rubber Trade in Great Britain. 



By Our Rcgiihir Corrcs/'oiiJciit. 



THE BUDGET 

 AND PETKOL. 



AS I write the almost universal topic of conversation is the 

 Budget, with increased taxation. The only point which 

 calls for notice here is the tax on petrol* and the in- 

 creased tax on motor cars. There are not wanting those who 

 prophesy disaster to the motor car industry through these taxes, 

 but such fears will no doubt prove ex- 

 aggerated. It is quite probable, though, 

 that the sale of large cars will be af- 

 fected with a tax of £20 and 3 pence per gallon on petrol. These 

 large cars only run about eight miles on a gallon of petrol, and 

 the tax will therefore prove rather a heavy one. Against this, 

 of course, has to be set the fact that the owners of such cars 

 are wealthy people, who will not deny themselves pleasure for 

 the sake of saving a few pounds. It is generally observed that 

 difficulties will arise about this petrol tax. It is to be I'A pence 

 for commercial vehicles, but there are several cars which can be 

 easily adapted for pleasure at the week end after being used for 

 delivering goods during the week. It is being asked how such 

 cars are to be classified. And then about the petrol. As in the 

 Budget statement only petrol was mentioned, but the further 

 information had been given that petrol is to include benzine, 

 benzoline, and petroleum products generally. Nothing seems to 

 have been said about Scotch shale spiral, coal tar benzol, and 

 certain coke oven products, all of which are now used to some 

 extent either alone or in admixture with petrol. Any excess 

 production of solvent naphtha will also, I am told, be used in 

 the future in place of petrol. The petrol tax is estimated to 

 yield £375,000 per annum, which sum is not to go to the imperial 

 exchequer, but will be in the hands of a new road authority to 

 be created, and will be used for improving and repairing roads, 

 and also for preventive measures against the dust nuisance. To 

 this purpose is also to be devoted the increased tax on cars, so 

 that there will be altogether about ifioo,ooo available for road 

 improvement. I rather expect that the term petrol will be made 

 to include all spirit used for motor purposes; if not, the new tax 

 will certainly give an impetus to the use of the other spirits I 

 have just mentioned. So far there has been no regular ot- or- 

 ganized distribution of these spirits, and they have been mainly 

 used by those who were in a position to obtain them easily. 



An advertisement relative to the disposal of the patents of 

 La Compagnic du Caoutchouc par le Latex, which appeared re- 

 cently, is of more than passing interest. 



TRANSPORTATION 

 OF RUBBER LATEX. 



The company are the proprietors of two 

 patents granted to Dr. Lucien Morisse, 

 a Frenchman who has studied rubber plants in South America. 

 Both these patents — at least the British one — bear the date April 

 II, 1905. The first is entitled "\ process for treating caoutchpuc 

 milks with a view to transplanting them," ar.d the second bears 

 the title: "Direct utilization of caoutchouc milk." The two 

 patents are now offered for sale, or licenses to use them will 

 be granted. The idea of utilizing rubber latex in manufacture 

 without previous coagulation was of course proposed by Han- 

 cock, who found so much difficulty in getting the latex in the 

 uncoagulated form that he shortly abandoned his attempts to 

 utilize it. Since then, as far as I am aware, nothing has been 

 heard of the suggestion. Morisse, how-ever, in his patent, claims 

 to have overcome the difficulty of transport, though he calls upon 

 our old friend ammonia as the active agent in his process. It 

 is, however, used in a different manner to what has been cus- 

 tomary in the case of transporting the latex short distances in the 

 forest. According to the patent, the bark of the tree is scraped 



STORAGE OF 

 RUBBER GOODS. 



•Called gasoline in the United States. — The Eijetob. 



or peeled where the tree is tapped, and some ammonia solution 

 or alkaline salt is put on. After collection the latex is treated 

 in bulk with 3 grams of ammonia solution to the 100 grams of 

 the latex. Some boiled water mixed with an antiseptic, such as 

 phenol or formic aldehyde, is also added to the transportation 

 vessel. The second patent claims a method of preparing formed 

 objects from india-rubber, gutta-percha, or balata, of which tho 

 characteristic is that the milky juices containing these matters 

 are poured directly into molds, in which the gum is separated 

 and by known means and in certain cases vulcanized. I may say 

 that this is a translation of the German patent (not by myself), 

 and so its exact wording must not be criticised. With regard to 

 these patents. T understand that they have been made the subject 

 of investigation, and tried by a syndicate in Paris, and that 

 Monsieur Victor Henri, professor at the Sarbonne, was for some 

 time chemical adviser to the syndicate. This post he resigned 

 some time last autumn. 



Occasionally this subject crops up for discussion, and although 

 of considerable importance to the purchasers of a variety of 

 rubber goods, it has not been customary 

 for the trade to give any detailed ad- 

 vice as to the best procedure, except in 

 two or three cases. In the army more attention has been paid 

 to the subject, and I propose to give herewith the regulation 

 of the army ordnance service dealing with the matter. I may 

 point out that the subject is of more importance in the army than 

 in civil life because certain classes of rubber goods are bought 

 in bulk to last a considerable time of issue. That in the case 

 of some foreign stations, goods may be kept in store for two years 

 before use, and if found deficient at time of issue a considerable 

 period must necessarily elapse before they could be replaced. 



REGULATIONS. 



.\rticles which consist entirely or partly of india-rubber or gutta-percha, 

 and which are not already issued i>ackcd in water, will be stored as follows: 

 Small articles niade with india-ruhl>ci-. such as gage glass rings, elcctric-wirc, 

 tubing, or plugs and rings appertaining to army service corps harness, will 

 be issued in tins filled with French chalk, and be as stored. Large articles 

 which cannot be kept in French chalk will be stored in a cool, dark place, 

 having, if ixjssible, an equable temperature. Should any small articles be 

 received into store not ivacked in chalk, they will be stored in water; also 

 very large articles that cannot be kept in a cool, dark place. 



It is further ordained that small articles received into store at out sta- 

 tions are, if not intended for immediate issue, to be removed from the 

 hermetically sealed tins and placed in water; either in store or on board 

 ship as the case may be. 



Tile extremities of insulated wires are, whether kept in water or in chalk, 

 to be sealed with a cement consisting of equal parts of gutta-percha and 

 pitch. 



Bicycle tires, covers and inner tubes, diving dresses, bags for limelight 

 apparatus, imbedded suction hose, carriage buffer pads and washers arc 

 to be stored in a dry, dark and cool place. If any of these articles are 

 to be kept in store for a long time they are to be packed not too tighly in 

 hermetically sealed cases. 



The refusal of the comptroller general of the Patent office to 

 allow the Gutta Percha and Rubber Manufacturing Co. of Toronto 

 to register their "Maltese Cross" trade 

 mark in England was upheld some 

 months ago by Mr. Justice Neville, in 

 the clianciry court. The opponents to the registration were the 

 Birmingham and Lcyland Rubber Co., Limited, who are already 

 in possession of a "Maltese cross" mark. The Toronto company 

 appealed against the decision, and the case was heard in the 

 court of appeal the last week in April, when the lords justices 

 dismissed it with costs. This means, unless the case goes to the 

 House of Lords, that no goods of Toronto make, not even boots 

 and shoes, which are not made by the Leyland firm, can be sold 

 in- Great Britain bearing the "Maltese cross" mark. According 



"MALTESE CROSS" 

 TRADE MARKS. 



