298 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[June i, 1905. 



uisite declaration of the contents. It was a risky venture and 

 it failed. Considering the high freight charged lor this class 

 of merohanise I don't suppose it would pay unless it could be 

 sort of smuggled across, a proceeding not to be recommended, 

 though in saying so much I quite agree that a good deal of the 

 alarm with which carrying companies regard rubber solution is 

 quite unjustified. I don't know the end of the solution in 

 question ; the alternative to selling it, the authorities said, was 

 to have it burnt. 



On previous occasions I have complained of the careless way 



in which authors who may be eminent enough in their special 



subject essay to touch upon the rubber manufac- 



CARELEss [yrg jn {i,J5 connection I have a lance to break 



WRITING 



with Professor Sexton whose book on the chemis- 

 try of materials of engineering has recently been published. Of 

 course one does not expect a professor of metallurgy to know 

 the details of the rubber trade, but then it is easy enough to 

 get a little assistance when writing on foreign subjects, or at 

 any rate to submit the proof to some one who is qualified to 

 comment upon it. To tell the student that vulcanized rubber 

 is rubber incorporated with sulphur up to 20 or 30 per cent, is 

 not only inaccurate, but quite insufficient in that reference to 

 heat is omitted. Let us hope that if a further edition of this 

 undoubtedly useful volume is called for the references to rubber 

 will be rewritten. In contrast to what I have just said I note 

 with satisfaction the references to rubber and more particularly 

 to Dermatine in the new book on valves and valve-gearing, by 

 Charles Hurst, a leading authority in this branch of engineer- 

 ing. Mr. Hurst, it is clear, has taken every pains to have the 

 special technical references in his book verified by experts. 



I AM writing this month in a long spell of sunshine and the 



subject of garden hose suggests itself as an appropriate topic. 



Compared with what obtains in the provinces, we 



GARDEN have to note that the leather hose is still very 



HOSE. 



largely preferred to rubber in the London parks. It 

 is more expensive but wears well, and consequently has a long 

 life. Those who are inquisitive in such matters will no doubt 

 have noticed that at Kcw gardens and at some of the Royal res- 

 idences the hose in use bears the inscription of the Derma- 

 tine Co., and it would seem that this material is being used to 

 an increasing extent as a garden hose of superior quality. No 

 doubt the small user who looks closely at the price per foot 

 will goon buying the highly mineralized rubber article, because 

 the Dermatine hose is not cheap. 



On enquiry at the Dunlop Rubber Works (Aston Cross. Bir- 

 mingham) recently I was pleased to hear that the fire reported 



in my last notes was not quite so serious a matter 

 "■^"^ as had been supposed. Certainly a good deal of 



DUNLOP , J J J ui • 



PiPg damage was done and considerable inconvenience 

 caused, but it was the department for cycle tires 

 that was alTected, the motor tire department with its valuable 

 stocks being untouched. Owing to the custom of the company 

 carrying considerable stocks of cycle tires at their Coventry 

 and other depots, they were able to draw upon these in the 

 emergency that arose, and practically no dislocation of the bus- 

 iness resulted. The cause of the fire has been kept a secret, 

 though it appears to me that in these cases such information 

 should be made public as might benefit the trade in general, as 

 a means o( prevention of similar fires elsewhere. 



LITERATURE OF INDIA-RUBBER. 



What's the Matter with Worcester ?— The rubber in- 

 dustry is reported to be booming, particularly in Brazil, accord- 

 ing to government reports. The government is too far sighted. 

 It should take a look at Worcester, for instance. — Worcester 

 (Massachusetts) Gazette. 



CULTIVO del ARBOI, DEI. CAUCHO. POR MIGUEL A. LOYO, IN- 

 geniero Agrouomo. Mexico; 1904. [8 vo. Pp.79.] 



'"T^HIS brochure, issued by the secretaria tie fomento ol Mexi- 

 A CO, is a r,'sumcf, by an evidently practised hand, of the 

 history of the discovery of India-rubber and of its applications, 

 with a reference to the various species yieldingcommercial rub- 

 ber, together with the conditions to be considered in the cultiva- 

 tion of the rubber tree, and particularly in the zone of which 

 Mexico is a part. The facts in the first part of the work seem to 

 be stated with fair accuracy, but the portion relating to rubber 

 culture is altogether too general in terms to make the work of 

 practical value as a guide to intending planters, in Mexico or 

 elsewhere. 

 diekautschukpflanzen. einewirtschaftsgeographische 



Stutlie. Von Peler Reintgen. (Bcihefte zum Ttopenf/Ianzer Nr. 2-3, Band 

 VI, Mai, 1905.) Berlin; Kolonial-Wirtschaftliches Komitee. 1905. [8vo. 

 Pp. IV -i 73 to 218 -r map.] 



This is the result of an exhaustive attempt to analyze the 

 rubber production of the world, with a view to determining the 

 share in it of each of the important rubber yielding plants. The 

 author has chosen the year 1900 as the latest date for which 

 anything like comprehensive figures are available for some of 

 the minor rubber producing districts. Summarized, his figures 

 show about 31,466 tons for America, 16,000 tons for Africa, and 

 2339 tons for Asia and the Pacific islands — totaling 49,805 

 tons, or roughly 50,000 tons. Of this total he attributes 25,498 

 tons to the Hevea species, and 4355 tons (including the so- 

 called South American Caucho) to the various Castilloas. Man- 

 ifestly the distribution of the African product — in itself not 

 possible to be stated exactly — between the various botanical 

 species yielding it is not yet possible. A work of value has 

 been done, however, in compiling the latest testimony regard- 

 ing the actual sources of commercial rubber in Africa. The 

 present list of rubber producing Latidolphias, for instance, is 

 perhaps the most complete and correct yet presented. It is to 

 be noticed, by the way, that the Landolphia Jlorida, once sup- 

 posed to be an important source of rubber, is not included. One 

 practical value of such a work will be in enabling rubber plant- 

 ers to avoid the culture of species without economic value, 

 though only experimenting will determine the desirability of 

 the culture of certain plants which in their native state are val- 

 uable as a source of rubber. The author throughout his work 

 is careful to give credit to his authorities, and The India Rub- 

 ber World may be pardoned for mentioning the liberal extent 

 to which its statistical summaries, for a number of years past, 

 have been quoted. 



THE evolution OF RUBBER CORED GOLF BALLS. BV C. T. KING- 



zett, F. I. c, F, c. s. London: 1904. [i6mo. Pp.47. Price, 6 pence.] 



This is a revised reprint of a series of articles contributed to 

 the London Golfing, in which is reviewed briefly a large num- 

 ber of patents relating to golf ball construction, including those 

 granted to the author. It is a convenient but not a compre- 

 hensive or altogether accurate guide to whoever may be inter- 

 ested in the study of this subject. 



OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED. 

 The International Cable Directory of the World for 1905 is- 

 sued in conjunction with the Western Union telegraphic code 

 system, has just come from the press. It is a book of over 650 

 pages, and furnishes the only complete list of cable addresses 

 published. It contains the names of over 25,000 companies, 

 firms, and individuals classified under proper business headings, 

 which latter are printed in English, German, French, and Span- 

 ish. It is an excellent book of reference. [International Cable 

 Directory Co., New York and London.] 



