22 



THE INDIA RUBBER V/ORLD 



[October x, 1902 



new rubber factories are coming into existence constantly, 

 among the latest of which may be noted those started at Tren- 

 ton, New Jersey, and Youngstown, Ohio, for the manufacture 

 of mechanical rubber goods. 



During the past year several of the large mills consumed 

 their stock of cotton duclc before the season ended and were 

 compelled to visit the market for new supplies. Ol course 

 these duplicate orders were not accepted at old prices, an ad- 

 vance of from 2 to 3 cents a pound being charged. 



Manufacturers of rubber boots and shoes, as a rule, buy their 

 textile goods about as they need them, instead of making 

 yearly contracts. In the manufacture of these goods large 

 quantities of brown sheeting is consumed, mostly of Southern 

 make. Prices are subject to the control of raw cotton, and for 

 the past month or so the market has been fluctuating consider- 

 ably. To-day prices are held firmly at about the following 

 level: Forty-inch 2.50, 6}^ cents per yard; 40 inch 2.70, 6 

 cents per yard ; 40-inch 2.85, 5^ cents per yard ; 40-inch 3 60, 

 ^^ cents per yard; 36-inch 3 yard, sX cents. These prices 

 are about X cent above those ruling last week, and are likely 

 to advance further in the wake of raw cotton. Consumers of 

 brown sheeting usually make their orders date from November 

 I, and a large number of these mills have already been in the 

 market and placed their orders ahead. In many instances 

 agents have refused to accept orders lor late deliveries at cur- 

 rent prices, and rubber goods manufacturers have been obliged 

 to pay substantial advances for osnabergs and lighter weight 

 cloth thus ordered ahead. As an indication of the confidence 

 in the perpetuity of high prices, it can be cited that some rub- 

 ber mills have offered to make contracts six months ahead 

 from January next at current rates, for brown sheetings, but it 

 cannot be learned that any mills, either in New England or in 

 the S Juth, have availed themselves of such propositions on ac- 

 count of the continued skylarking of raw cotton. 



The fabric market is quite satisfied at the trend of trade, and 

 are anticipating a greater volume of business from the rubber 

 industry during the coming year than at any time in the his- 

 tory of the enterprise. So far as can be discovered, the pres- 

 ent high prices being obtained for cotton ducks and sheetings 

 have not served as a restraining factor in the operations of 

 buyers. 



THE PACKING OF OLD RUBBER SHOES. 



TO THE Editor of The India Rubber World: Since 

 the signing of what is known as the " Standard Packing 

 of Old Rubber Boots and Shoes. April 2, 1900," the Rubber 

 Reclaimer's Association, which was the author of that circular, 

 have practically passed out of existence, and although the 

 agreement between the reclaimers at that time has practically 

 been in force since, there have been of late in buying old rub- 

 ber boots and shoes a great many interpretations of just what 

 "^Standard Packing " really was, and it seems to me that it 

 behooves some one interested in the trade to make the initia- 

 tive move necessary to make a public interpretation of that 

 circular as it is understood to-day by the trade in general. 

 Some of the reclaimers' idea of the aforesaid circular varies 

 considerably from that of others, which causes considerable 

 difl^culty at times, owing to the fact that some are more lenient 

 than their fellow reclaimers. This leads to dissatisfaction be- 

 tween dealers and reclaimers who'adhere strictly to the terms of 

 that circular and give to the lenient ones an unjust preference 

 in price. It is a well-known fact that, by the use of what is 

 called "magnets," metal can be removed mechanically from 

 ground rubber at a much less expense than it can be done by 



manual labor, and as any lowering in the cost of producing a 

 manufactured article is admitted by the manufacturers to be 

 advantageous to the trade as a whoie, I believe that I am mak- 

 ing a step in the right direction when I offer the following sug- 

 gestions as a remedy to the evils that now exist in the old rub- 

 ber boot and shoe trade. 



It is, perhaps, rather indelicate to call the new circular which 

 I offer by my name, and I do so only because no name presents 

 itself to me which would be distinctive from the terms pre- 

 viously used and to avoid confusion which would naturally 

 arise by the use of the old name. 



In closing I would again repeat that I offer the term, 

 " Coleman Packed Old Rubber Boots and Shoes," simply as a 

 suggestion and leave it to the manufacturers or to the Rubber 

 Reclaimers Association, if enough of it remains to do so, to 

 invent a proper name for the new Standard of Packing. I 

 think also that the time is ripe for the reclaimers to stand by 

 their former agreement of " no tare allowance on foreign 



stock." W. C. COLEMAN. 



Boston, September 25, 1902. 



Coleman Packing of Old Rubber Boots and Shoes. 

 October 15, igo2. 



I. Deliveries of old rubber boots and shoes must consist entirely 

 of boots and shoes of Domestic manufacture — Canadian manufacture to 

 be considered Domestic. 



II. They must be dry and free from dirt. 



III._ Tennis shoes or tennis soles shall not be accepted. 



IV. Old rubber boots and shoes shall be considered "Coleman 

 Packed " when they are free of cloth arctic tops and leather soles, and 

 when they are put up in accord ince with the other stipulations as con- 

 tained in this circular. 



a. Buckles, rivets, eyelets, and nails in the sole or heel to be ac- 

 cepted as " Coleman Packed" stock. 



V. Old rubber boots and shoes shall be bought and paid for net 

 weight — !.f., no allowance for bagging or covering of any kind shall be 

 made, nor shall the same be returnable to the seller. 



VI. Foreign old rubber boots and shoes contained in a delivery of 

 Domestic old rubber boots and shoes shall be paid for at a reduction of 

 two cents per pound. 



VII. All Domestic rubber boots and shoes shall be bought on 

 weight as determined at destination. 



VIII. Old ruboer boots and shoes of Foreign manufacture shall be 

 bought on same conditions as those of Domestic manufacture — c.i.f., 

 port of entry. 



IX. The term " Coleman Packed" shall apply to all purchases and 

 sales of Djmestic or Foreign old boots and shoes, made in accordance 

 with the stipulations of this circular. 



[I .believe that the above could be advantageously applied to the 

 trade by October 15, 1902.] 



LITERATURE OF INDIA-RUBBER. 



THE conservator of forests for Burma, Mr. F. B. Manson, 

 has prepared a catalogue of forty-eight " Burmese Rub- 

 ber Yielding Plants," which forms " Commercial Circular No. 

 4 of 1901," issued by the reporter on economic products to the 

 government of India (Calcutta.) While this list embraces sev- 

 eral domesticated species — Hevea, Castilloa, Landolphia, etc., 

 still the number of native species is larger than had been be- 

 fore enumerated. The value of several of them is yet to be es- 

 timated, but the collection of their latex has been undertaken* 

 with a view to its analysis at the scientific department of the 

 Imperial Institute, in London. 



♦ • ♦ 

 LlANES a Caoutchouc du Haut Laos et de I'Annam Septentrional. 

 Leur station ; principes de culture. By E. L. Achard, inspector of agri- 

 culture in Cochin (X\v\i.^^ Bulletin I'.coiiomique de I'liiJo Chine, 

 Hanoi. V-3 (February, 1902). pp. gi-ii2. 



