80 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[December i, 1904. 



long life and durability, and good traction qualities. He states 

 that the resiliency of a solid rubber tire depends greatly upon 

 its height and width, and the narrower the tire from side to 

 side the better the results ; but at the same time the tread 

 should be of good traction width. His tire, therefore, has 

 concave sides, to give the tire less body at its center, and there- 

 by increase the cushioning effect, while the tread is enlarged 

 and becomes even more so under load because of its convex 

 form and head. Of the accompanying drawings, one is a cross 

 section and perspective, and the other a diagrammatic view, in 

 full and dotted lines, to illustrate the extreme differences in 

 load carrying conditions. The tire is adapted to a vehicle rim 

 of the " Clincher " type, made with inturned edges to fit into 

 circumferential grooves in each side of the tire. The base and 

 side widths are preferably covered with a non stretchable fabric 

 to prevent creeping and spreading of the tire at its base. 



THE AUTOMOBILE TIRE OF THE FUTURE. 



[I'ROM "the motor age," CHICAGO.] 



A LMOSr since the beginning of the pneumatic tire there 

 ■^^ has been a continual effort to create a satisfactory me- 

 chanically fastened, double tube, detachable tire. A score of 

 such tires were introduced in the bicycle trade and twenty 

 score more were patented by inventors, rural and otherwise. 

 They all fell by the wayside. The clincher tire remained the 

 standard construction. 



Those people who judge everything by precedent might say 

 that the result of the introduction of such tires in the bicycle 

 trade indicates positively that the same end awaits the mechan- 

 ically fastened automobile tire. 



There are several reasons for believing, however, that the 

 mechanically fastened tire as applied to automobiles will be a 

 success to just as great a degree as it was a failure when ap- 

 plied to bicycles. In its new usage it has two new advantages 

 First of all, it is more needed than it was in connection with bi- 

 cycles, and secondly, it is susceptible to styles of construction 

 not feasible when made to fit onto bicycles. 



The greater need of a mechanically fastened tire on an auto- 

 mobile is aptly explained by the more severe service to which 

 it is put. This greater service necessitates a tire much stronger 

 in proportion to its size than a bicycle tire, and hence a tire in 

 every respect much more difficult to manipulate than a bicycle 

 tire. Not only must the fastening of the tire to the rim be 

 more secure and its manipulation hence made naturally more 

 difficult, but the increased size of itself and the increased 

 strength in proportion to size still further augment the work 

 of placing the tire in position or of removing it. 



Thus It is readily apparent that a mechanically fastened tire 

 on an automobile furnishes a greater difference in the amount 

 of work necessary in manipulation between it and the inflation- 

 secured tire than was apparent between the two styles of tires 

 on bicycles. The advantage of convenience, in other words, is 

 more notable in connection with automobiles than it was in 

 connection with bicycles. 



The tendency of a tire to creep on the rim, while present in 

 bicycle tires, is not so important a factor in tire usage on bi- 

 cycles as it is in automobile tire usage. Thus the advantages 

 which are offered by the mechanically fastened tire in the way 

 of positive fastenings to prevent creeping and the demolition 

 of valve stems is also a more important item in the present 

 case than in the former one. 



There can be little doubt, then, of the two facts that in the 

 first place the mechanically fastened tire has inherent advan- 

 tages and that in the second place these advantages are more 



important in automobile than in bicycle usage. There remains, 

 in determining the status of this tire, to determine whether in 

 the application of it the natural advantages are outweighed by 

 the practical disadvantages. 



As a bicycle tire there is no doubt that the disadvantages 

 more than offset the advantages. As an automobile tire it 

 gains a new lease on life by increased advantages, and at the 

 same time becomes more practical by decreased disadvantages. 



The construction of automobile wheels is such that the tires 

 upon them are not restricted in size and weight as in bicycle 

 tires. The fastening means may occupy a greater space and 

 be of greater weight in proportion to the size of the tire than 

 when the tire is made for a bicycle. There is plenty of space 

 for and plenty of material may be used in the making of the 

 fastening means which, when adapted to a bicycle tire, were of 

 necessity so delicate that they would not stand the racket. In 

 fact, there has been shown the practicability in actual use of 

 mechanically fastened automobile tires of a construction iden- 

 tical to that of bicycle tires which were failures. 



From whatever point of view the matter is considered, it is 

 evident that the present tendency toward the establishment of 

 mechanically fastened tires in the automobile trade is not with- 

 out considerable indication of eventual success. 



LITERATURE OF INDIA-RUBBER. 



THE CEYLON HANDBOOK AND DIRECTORY, AND COMPENDIUM 

 of Useful Information, for 1904-05. To which is prefixed a StatisLical Sum- 

 mary for the Colony, and Specially for the Planting Enterprise, up to June, 

 1904, Compiled and Edited by John Ferguson, c. m, g., m l. c. Editor of the 

 Ceyton Observer, Iroptcal Agrtculturist^^xc, Colombo: A. M & J. Fergu. 

 5011,1904. [Cloth. Svo. Pp. Lx\ ; 1272 -(- maps and insets. Price, 15 rupees.] 



THIS is the twenty-seventh annual edition of a most valu- 

 able reference book, the scope of which was outlined in 

 some detail, on the appearance of the preceding issue, in The 

 India Rubber World of January i, 1904 (page 121). It will 

 suffice here to say that the latest volume, besides being re- 

 vised to date, embraces additional features of value, while some 

 of the information contained hitherto is given more fully or 

 with increased accuracy. The Handbook merits notice in this 

 column because it furnishes the most accurate record to date of 

 rubber planting in Ceylon — an interest which is destined to be 

 of great importance to the world. Some information drawn 

 from the new volume appears in another department of this 

 issue of The India Rubber World. 



IN CURRENT PERIODICALS. 



The Acre Territory and the Caoutchouc Region of Southwestern 

 Amazonia. By Colonel George Earl Church. [Refers to the resources 

 of the Acre district, and present and prospective means of access to it. J 

 = The Geographical Journal, London. XXIII-5 (May, 1904). Pp. 

 596-613 ; folding map. 



VHevta Asiatlque. By E. De Wildeman. [Review of.the report by 

 MonsieurColiet.] = /Hr/«j/Wc tt Commercedu Caoutchouc, Brussels. I-Ii 

 (December, 1903). Pp. 234-235. 



The Commercial Utilization of the Seeds of the Para Rubber Tree 

 (Hcvca BrasilUnsis).=Bullelin 0/ the- Imperial Inililutf, London. II I 

 (March 3t, 1904). Pp. 22-23. 



Four New Species of the Central American Rubber Tree. By 

 O [rator] F. CooV. = Science, New York. N. S. XVII-457 (October 2, 

 1903). Pp. 43t>-439- 



Le Castilloa et du Culture en Amerique Centrale. [Review of the 

 report by O. F. Cook on " The Culture of the Central American Rub- 

 ber Tttt."^=Journal d'Agricullure Troficale, Paris. IV-32 (February 

 29, 1904). Pp. 49-52- 



Der Kautschuk liefernde Feigenbauni von Neucaledonien (The ca- 

 outchouc yielding fig tree of New Caledonia). By Dr. Otto Warburg. 

 [With illustration of Ficus Schlechtri\.=^Der Tropenpjlanzer, Berlin. 

 VII-I2 (December, 1903). Pp. 581-584. 



