THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[October i, 1904. 



LITERATURE OF INDIA-RUBBER. 



RUBBER, GUTTA-PRRCHA. AND BALATA. BY FRANZ CLOUTH, Co- 

 logne. First English Translation. Willi Additions .ind Emendations by the 

 Author. London: Maclaren & Sons. New York: D. Van Nostrand Co. 

 lyoj. [Cloch, .*vvo. Tp. 242. Price, $5.] 



THIS work in its original form, under the title " Gummi, 

 Guttapercha und Balata," was published in Leipsic some 

 six years ago. The additions which have been made to it make 

 it practically a new work. In his brief introduction Mr. Clouth 

 says not a word about his long experience as a rubber manu- 

 facturer, or his careful researches — botanical, historic, or tech- 

 nical — but the English speaking trade know of him and have 

 welcomed the rendering of his work into their language as en- 

 thusiastically as did his fellow countrymen the German edi- 

 tion. 



The first 100 pages of the volume are devoted to the natural 

 history of Caoutchouc. This is done very thoroughly, and the 

 work is notably helped by the 18 botanical illustrations and a 

 map showing the geographical distribution of rubber. There 

 is a very complete tabular synopsis of plants yielding India- 

 rubber, giving genus, species, synonyma, habitat, and local 

 name. There is also a general description of the various pro- 

 cesses employed in tapping and coagulating. Then come 

 figures on the world's production of raw rubber, together with 

 a chart of prices of rubber from 1861 to the present. 



Following this is a valuable chapter on the chemical and 

 physical properties of rubber, and then the reader reaches the 

 part devoted to the manufacture of rubber goods. Beginning 

 with soft rubber, there are valuable facts arranged in tabular 

 form, covering the shrinkages of rubber after washing, as well 

 as the resinous contents of a great variety of rubbers. Mass- 

 ing, calendering, and vulcanizing are described, and special 

 attention is paid to a description of the manufacture of cut 

 sheet. Mechanical rubber goods, boots and shoes, clothing, 

 and general molded work next receive attention, after which 

 hard rubber is treated. In a chapter on price cutting in the 

 rubber trade this practice is very strongly condemned. 



There are some 81 pages devoted to Gutta-percha and Balata, 

 including botanical and statistical tables of value. The volume 

 ends with a list of the principal articles made from India-rub- 

 ber and Gutta-percha. 



As Mr. Clouth is a practical rubber manufacturer, and by 

 writing this book has in a measure taken the world into his 

 confidence, one is a trifle disappointed to find no typical com- 

 pounds, no processesof manufacture, and no new mechanical ap- 

 pliances that have come within the scope of his experience, but 

 that would perhaps be asking too much. At all events, the 

 book is a valuable addition to the literature of India-rubber 

 and well worth the perusal of any one interested in the lines 

 that it covers. 



LIANES CAOUTCHOUTIFERES DE L'ETAT INDp'PENDANT DU 

 Congo. Par E. De Wildeman et L. Gentii. - - - Bruxelles; 1904. [Cloth. 

 Large Svo, Pp. x%'i + 2i3-|-36 plates + map. Price. 25 francs.] 



With the commercial development of the Congo Free State 

 the world is familiar, but less attention has been attracted by 

 the progress made in the scientific study of the natural re- 

 sources of that region, liberally supported, as it has been, by 

 the state, through a recognition of its ultimate utility. Indeed, 

 the publications of the Congo state have been, to a very large 

 extent, of a scientific character, and embrace much work en- 

 titled to the highest credit. The flora of the Congo has re- 

 ceived particular attention, and its study has possessed sjiecial 

 interest from the facts which have been revealed regarding the 

 many rubber yielding species encountered. 



The present work is devoted to nearly a score of latex yield- 

 ing lianes (creepers, or vines), from which are derived the 



greater proportion of the great volume of Caoutchouc exported 

 from the Congo. By a study of the characteristics of the dif- 

 ferent plants may be obtained a better idea of the cause of the 

 differences between rubbers from various tributaries of the 

 Congo, and a basis is established for selecting the methods of 

 coagulation best adapted for this or that locality. The present 

 work, however, is no guide to rubber preparation, but a con- 

 tribution to the proper classification of species, the text being 

 supplemented by a large number of plates illustrating the 

 flowers, leaves, and fruits of the different lianes, in natural size 

 and natural colors, by means of which the plants may be recog- 

 nized readily. Not all the plants described are of economic 

 value, but it is no less important to know what species to avoid 

 than to know what to " work " for rubber. 



This monograph is of value, not only for the new facts em- 

 bodied in it, but for the completeness and excellence of its 

 compilation of knowledge which hitherto has been available, 

 but only in countless scattered and fragmentary publications. 

 The joint authors are both connected with the state botanical 

 gardens at Brussels, besides which Dr. De Wildeman is a mem- 

 ber of the faculty of the horticultural school at Vilvorde, and 

 Mons. Gentii is a state forestry inspector in the Congo — the 

 later position having been created with a view to the conserva- 

 tion of rubber resources. No other two botanists known to us 

 are better equipped for collaboration on such a work, and it is 

 difficult to point out how the work could have been done bet- 

 ter. The mechanical production of the book has been in keep- 

 ing with the results achieved by its authors. 



UEBER HERKOMMEN UND CHEMIE DES KAUTSCHUKS. VON DR. 

 E'i. Marciiwald und Dr. Fritz Frank. Dresden: Steinkopff & Springer. 

 1904. [Paper. Svo. Pp.68. Price, 1.50 marks.] 



A COLLECTION principally of memoranda found in the writ- 

 ings of the late Dr. Robert Henriques, whose laboratory was 

 acquired by the gentlemen named on the title page. These 

 notes have been rendered more complete by reference to the 

 latest discoveries by Messrs. Weber, Harries and others, and 

 thus brought down to date, the whole being arranged in two 

 sections— botanical and chemical. The work is meant to be 

 especially helpful in determining the technical value of the 

 various grades of rubber, while the numerous references will 

 guide those in search of further reading or study to the wider 

 literature of the subject. These notes appeared originally in 

 the Gummi-Zeitung . 



IDENTIFICATION OF GUTTA-PERCHA AND ALLIED GUMS BY 

 Means of Their Resins. By Wilton G. Berry. Reprinted from \}[\f: Journal 

 of the Society of Chemical Industry, New York Section, May 31, 1904. Lon- 

 don : ig04. [16 mo. Pp.8.] 



A SYNOPSIS of this paper, the author of which is a chemist 

 connected with the laboratory of the United States customs 

 service, at New York appeared in The India Rubber 

 World of June i, 1904 [page 297]. 



IN CURRENT PUBLICATIONS. 



QuELQOES Plantes a Caoutchouc de I'Ouest de Madagascar. By 

 Henri Jumelle.=A'^2/«^ des Cultures Coloniales, Paris. XIV-146 

 (April 5, iqo.)). Pp. 200 201. 



Landolphia Thollonii (Dewcvre) et Landolphia Parui/olia (K. Schu- 

 mann), Contribution a la connaissance de I'origine du Caoutchouc des 

 herbes. By Henry Yla3L. = Revue d^s Cultures Coloniales, Paris. XIV- 

 142 (February 5, 1904). Pp. 65-79. 



Le Caoutchoutier de Ce'ara i Inhambane [Portuguese East Africa.] 

 By \\iz\mo Cnxiozo. ^Journal d^ Agriculture Tropicale, Paris. IV-32 

 (February 29, 1904). Pp. 3S-40. 



Methodes Indigenes de Recolte et de Preparation de Differents 

 Caoutchoucs du Congo. By E. De \Vildman. = AVz'Kf des Cultures 

 Coloniales, VaixKs. Xni-130 (November 5. 1903). Pp. 269-270. 



Ficus Caoutchouciferes du Congo. By Emil De VlWdmstU — Revue 

 des Cultures Coloniales, Paris. XIV-149 (May 20, 1904). Pp. 293-294. 



