April i, 1902.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



215 



The next process is the vulcanization of the tube within the 

 fabric. To accomplish this each section of hose is fastened to 

 a steam head at one end and an exhaust head at the other. 

 Live steam is then slowly turned into the hose, inflating the 

 rubber lining against the interior surface of the fabric. The 

 steam heat at first softens the cement and then vulcanizes it 

 and the tube against the interior wall of the fabric. This 

 process being completed, the hose goes to cooling tables, where 

 it lies for twenty-four hours and is then coiled ready for coup- 

 ling. The couplings, which are made to the most rigid specifi- 

 cations, are applied by a novel hydraulic expander, after which 



MILDEWING DEPARTMENT — DRY ROOM. 



the hose goes to another testing department, where each length 

 of fire or underwriter hose is subjected to a hydrostatic pres- 

 sure of 200 pounds to the square inch. 



This very brief resume of the processes used does not by any 

 means give a full idea of many points of interest and of nov- 

 elty that appeal to one in going through this factory, for the 

 care that is taken to guard against defective goods seems never 

 ending. For example, the rubber strips that are to be 

 used in the manufacture of hose linings are carefully 

 examined, brushed, and prepared, so that they may be 

 perfectly free from soapslone, dust, or any material 

 that might in any way cause a pinhole in the rubber 

 surface. Then, too, the hose is always stencilled be- 

 fore the tube is vulcanized into the fabric, as it has 

 been found that the steam heat assists in the setting 

 of the brands. The manufacturers are also exceed- 

 ingly careful to mark each length of hose with the dale 

 of Its manufacture, which is done by inserting colored 

 threads between the fabric and the lining. 



One of the most interesting of the many products is 

 the single woven multiple cotton fabric fire hose. 

 This is made in either two or three plies, the former 

 being called the " Paragon " and the latter the 

 " Eureka." Speaking of the latter, for example, al- 

 though it is a three ply fabric, each fabric having its 

 individual series of warp and weft threads, the three 

 plies are also bound together into a solid homogene- 

 ous fabric, by a series of binder or warp threads which 

 run through all of its plies. The loom on which this 

 is woven is a marvel of ingenuity, and the advantage 



of this sort of construction is that the different plies, being 

 woven simultaneously, are perfectly uniform in tension and 

 construction throughout, nor is there opportunity lor the col- 

 lection of dirt or dampness between the plies. 



The Eureka company are not only sticklers for perfect work- 

 manship, but they have always held that light weight hose lin- 

 ings, provided of course the stock be good, are far more se'v- 

 iceable than are the thick linings so often put upon the market. 

 They make no secret of their belief that the linings should not 

 be less than eighteen gage nor more than fifteen gage, and 

 indeed this experience is endorsed by the navy department of 

 the United States and by the factory fire insurance as- 

 sociations. Nor have the company ever allowed any 

 so called rubber substitutes to enter into any of their 

 linings. 



That the Eureka company have made a marvelous 

 record, is proved by the fact that they have received 

 a gold medal from every exposition where their goods 

 have ever been shown, while at one Paris exposition 

 Mr. J. Van D. Reed, then president, was awarded the 

 cross of the Legion of Honor. 



The Eureka Fire Hose Co. was established in 1875 

 prior to which date Mr. J. Van Dussen Reed, its late 

 president, and Mr. B. L. Stowe, now vice president, 

 had been connected with the operation of circular 

 looms. Mr. Reed's attention had been called to the 

 desirability of producing a better fire hose than was 

 then known, and he and Mr. Stowe experimented in 

 the direction of making a seamless, circular solid 

 woven, multiple ply hose, on circular looms. Their 

 success was such as to warrant the organization of a 

 company to make the new style of hose, protected, as 

 were the machines used, by patents. The company's 

 first factory was in New York; in 1882 they removed 

 to larger quarters in Brooklyn ; and in 1892 the entire 

 plant was moved to the present location. With the first sec- 

 tion of the circular woven hose, as a sample, a good order 

 was obtained from the New York fire department, and it 

 has continued to prove so satisfactory that, prior to Jan- 

 uary I, 1901, there had been sold to thirty principal fire 

 departments in the United States 1,693,570 feet of the com- 

 pany's two leading brands. 



MILDEWING DEPARTMENT— VAT ROOM. 



