118 



THK INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[January i, 1905. 



Our London contemporary in a recent innovation — the pub- 

 lication of replies to technical queries — strikes an important 

 note with regard to the growing custom of an- 

 ANALYSis alvzine rubber eoods. I quite agree that it is 



AD NAUSEAM. ..?,, ,. u. 



possible for far too much importance to be at- 

 tached to analytical figures, and all the more is this so when 

 the analyst's knowledge of the subject Is derived entirely from 

 the text-book on the subject which has recently been pub- 

 lished. This sentence must not be taken as reflecting at all 

 upon the book, or the methods it contains ; my stricture is con- 

 cerned entirely with the way the book is used. From what has 

 reached me from various masters of the trade, 1 gather that 

 novices in rubber analysis have jumped to the conclusion that 

 with the possession of this volume they are in a safe position 

 — as safe in fact as those assayers who rigidly adhere to the 

 proved methods detailed in their te.xt books. It is safe to say 

 that no such finality has yet been attained with regard to a 

 great part of rubber analysis, therefore the analyst who is un- 

 able to supplement his figures with deductions derived from a 

 knowledge of the trade, is liable to come to erroneous conclu- 

 sions, and conclusions, moreover, which may have serious con- 

 sequences for the rubber manufacturer. Apart from the aca- 

 demical question of correctness or otherwise in scientific 

 method, it is a grievance of the trade that people buy very 

 cheap goods and then report that they don't contain sufficient 

 Pard rubber. It is suggested that only goods of a certain grade 

 or price should be expected to pass the fiery ordeal of analysis. 

 This seems only fair and reasonable, if it were generally acted 

 upon. Of course it is entirely in the hands of the rubber 

 manufacturer to stipulate as to whether he sells upon analysis 

 or not, but in the present stress of competition it is not always 

 easy for one firm to decide on a course which may put it at a 

 disadvantage with its fellows. In saying what I have done 

 about chemical analysis I have the best of reasons to approve 

 of its use; it is only against its misuse that I enter a protesta- 

 tion. Since writing the above I have read the following sent- 

 ence in a paper by G. Fendler in the Gummi-Zeitung : " Chem- 

 ical analysis of rubber alone is not sufficient, but should go 

 hand in hand with technical valuation, as the conditions re- 

 semble those in the valuation of wine, which cannot be deter- 

 mined by mere analysis." This sentence, I think, might with 

 advantage be inwardly digested by those concerned who have 

 shown such a disposition of late to pin their faith solely to 

 analytical data. 



The volume on " The Cultivation and Preparation of Paia 



Rubber" by W. H. Johnson, F.L.S., is one that, in the light of 



our Editor's recent experience in Ceylon, can be 



NEW BOOK fnQre profitably reviewed by him than by myself. 



ON RUBBER. , , . , \ . ^ , ■ ,^ 



Judging from the introductory chapter it would 

 seem that however great are the author's claims to be consid- 

 ered an authority on rubber plantation work in Ceylon, the 

 Straits Settlements, and West Africa, he requires a good deal 

 of prompting when he gets into the province of the rubber 

 manufacturer. Novelists who introduce technical subjects into 

 their manuscript are getting more and more into the habit of 

 asking experts to correct their proofs. If this course had been 

 followed by our author, it would not have gone out to the 

 world that it was not until 1874 (which he gives as the date of 

 the discovery of vulcanization) that the rubber trade began to 

 make substantial progress. It seems to be somewhat of a moot 

 point whether the high prices so far realized for Ceylon planta- 

 tion Pard are in excess of the natural product, only so far as 

 the content of moisture is less. The question as to the actual 

 quality of the rubber when washed and sheeted does not seem 

 to have been conclusively answered. Apart from this point it 



is important to note — if what a Ceylon planter told me is 

 strictly accurate— that the plantation rubber could be sold, did 

 necessity arise, at a considerably lower price than it now fetches 

 in the market and still leave a substantial profit. 



The severe weather which we experienced in November and 



which has again set in as I write, will no doubt be welcomed by 



the rubber boot and shoe dealers. It is a long time 



wEATHFR *'"*^^ sales commenced so early in the winter, Jan- 

 uary or February being rather our snowy months. 

 Though the increase is not all a rapid one, it is noticeable that 

 every year one sees more and more rubber boots about. The 

 general complaint that they are clumsy and draw the feet is 

 still heard on all sides, though the desire of keeping dry and 

 warm in snowy weather, especially in towns where salt is liber- 

 ally used, has been instrumental in overcoming the prejudices 

 of many former detractors of the rubber boot. 



From all accounts this industry, which utilizes a considerable 



amount of rubber in one way or another, is in anything but a 



prosperous condition. There is a good deal of 



THE ELECTRIC j,Qfj,g ^g y^g]] j,g foreign competition, and an im- 



ENGINEERINQ " '^ 



INDUSTRY. portant point, too, is that most of the big tram- 

 way schemes for English towns have now ma- 

 tured and naturally a slump has occurred in this class of work. 

 The bad report just issued by the British Westinghouse com- 

 pany, of TrafTord Park, Manchester, showing a profit of only 

 about ^2000, has excited a good deal of comment in our tech- 

 nical journals, mainly because of the flourish of trumpets with 

 which the invasion of Americans and American methods was 

 heralded. The facts seem to be that the works have been laid 

 out on too large a scale and work to keep them going has had 

 to be obtained evidently at prices which show a loss rather than 

 a profit. As far as can be gathered there is no truth in the re- 

 port which got about to the eflJect that Dick, Kerr & Co., their 

 principal competitors, were about to obtain a controlling inter- 

 est in the Westinghouse company; the rumor however has 

 had the result of raising the market value of the Westinghouse 

 shares by about /loo.ooo. In connection with a large tram- 

 way equipment contract recently given out in Great Britain, an 

 American firm quoted far below any British competitor, so it 

 would seem as if American methods worked all right on Amer- 

 ican soil, but not so successfully when their environment is 

 changed. 



A REMARK in the November issue of The India Rubber 

 World that interest in this body has not died out in the coun- 

 try of its production is much to the point. Pro- 

 ALMEiDiNA jy^g^s and consuls are always ready to testify to 

 the amount which is available. The question arises, 

 however, who are the prospective purchasers. To the best of 

 my knowledge those rubber manufacturers who were induced to 

 give it a trial on a more or less extended scale found nothing 

 in it to recommend a further purchase ; moreover, since the ad- 

 vent of Pontianak gum in bulk there is even less reason to sup- 

 pose that there will be any rush to buy Almeidina or "potato 

 rubber," as it was generally termed in England, owing to its 

 physical appearance. I note in Mr. Pearson's book that it is 

 stated on the authority of Thomas Christy that the pungent 

 vapor given off from this body when heated has no poisonous 

 eflfect. Mr. Christy was the principal importer of this to Lon- 

 don about twenty years ago, and no doubt this expression of 

 opinion was the result of complaints made to him by rubber 

 manufacturers to whom he had sold the gum. Though I never 

 could find out the nature of the alleged poison there is every 

 reason to suppose that the seriouscomplaints madeby the rub- 

 ber workmen were justified and were not the outcome of imag- 

 ination. 



