16 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[October 1, 1912. 



summer-like and fair the officers wear canvas shoes with rubber 

 soles. That the chairs and portable furniture may not slide 

 threateningly when the ships roll in a heavy seaway, rubber 

 castors are provided to help hold them in place. Rubber bump- 

 ers or stops either hold or check the force of a swinging door, 

 and in dozens of other directions rubber in one form or another 

 serves some useful purpose with which we have daily counter- 

 parts in our own domestic life ashore. 



On board of a submarine, rubber has not the same manifold 

 uses that it has upon a battleship, but where it is employed it 

 is very much needed and must generally be of the best of its kind 

 and form. Bad as the aftermath of a leak may be upon a sur- 

 face ship of war, its menace is far more serious within a sub- 

 marine. Not only must all valves be tight, but the hatches 

 which form the passageways in and out of the submarine must 

 certainly be secure against the admission of the sea when the 

 boat is running submerged. Salt water in tlie storage batteries 

 means the evolution of a, poisonous gas — a gas which is capable 

 of quickly overcoming and killing a submarine's crew. As boats 

 of this sort are driven electrically when running under water, 

 this part of their equipment is a large and important one. Rub- 

 ber is employed as an insulator in the conduits and their con- 

 nections, as well as in the storage batteries themselves. Short 

 circuits are apt to be even more immediately dangerous in a 

 submarine than in a battleship — hence the insulating rubber must 

 not only be of the best, but more generously employed in these 

 subaqueous craft. 



There are many other directions in the navy where india- 

 rubber in some form fills a useful office, but enough has been 

 said to suggest how varied and how valuable are the parts this 

 material already plays in the construction and the administration 

 «f our battle fleet. 



RUBBER MANUFACTURES IN MARINE WARFARE. 



LEAVING aside the various staple purposes for which rubber 

 goods are used by the navies of the world, the "Gummi- 

 Zeitung" calls attention to a number of rubber specialties, the 

 uses of which in marine warfare are not generally recognized. 



These objects are mostly defensive in character, including the 

 blockade of harbors, the closing of mouths of rivers and other 

 waters, the fortification of islands and other purposes. Block- 

 ading constitutes an extremely important feature of marine 

 warfare, being effected by laying mines, by torpedoes, exploded 

 irom the land ; by closing the waterways ; and by other means. 



In laying mines, cables are among the chief requirements. 

 Insulation is efifected by strips of rubberized cotton cloth, while 

 rubber rings of various sizes are used in the insulation of the 

 mines. The latter, coming more or less into contact with salt 

 water, must be made of a good quality of rubber, with proper- 

 ties of resistance. The cables which connect the mines, or are 

 necessary for their explosion, are of copper wire, likewise in- 

 sulated with rubber. Ground cables are used on stony bottoms, 

 placed in insulated hose, with an internal diameter of two-fifths 

 of an inch. This hose is also protected by a thick rubbered cov- 

 ering wound round it, such as is used of late in compressed 

 air hose. Cables were at one time protected by spiral wire or 

 eords, but the danger of rusting, after various trials, led to the 

 abandonment of this plan. 



When high voltage currents are used in laying mines, those 

 engaged in the work wear rubber gloves, while rubber garments 

 serve to protect them against tempestuous weather. 



Among the most recent improvements in mining, is the use of 

 rubber hose, the interior of which is filled with explosive acids. 

 This plan has been adopted as being preferable to tubing; this 

 ■"mine-hose" having a diameter of about 2 inches. In its manu- 



facture rubber substitute has been used for increasing the light- 

 ness. 



This hose, which as a rule is about 100 feet long, costs the 

 equivalent of $187.50. As the blockade of a waterway usiially 

 requires about 36 mines of this kind, an idea can be formed of 

 their costly nature. 



Another feature in naval warfare aftecting the use of rubber, 

 is the employment of torpedoes. In the torpedo itself, the 

 rubber insulation is a point of extreme importance. The acids 

 are conveyed to the gun-cotton through small rubber hose 

 inside the torpedo. Hard rubber is likewise used for various 

 purposes in different parts of the torpedo. Cables with rubber 

 insulation are important adjuncts in torpedo warfare. 



In the forts defending the entrances of harbors, rubber is 

 used in various ways. Speaking-tubes convey the instructions 

 for firing, while the gun-sights are fixed in rubber supports. 

 For the prevention of concussions, rubber rollers and buffers 

 are used. Hard rubber is used in various ways in guns, the 

 wheels and other parts of the mechanism being rubber-covered. 

 The mouths of the guns are now covered with rubber, instead 

 of, as formerly, with leather ; the use of leather having led to 

 rusting. In very damp positions the use of rubber for covering 

 tlie mouths of guns has been found of practical advantage, as it 

 thoroughly excluded damp. These covers, or stoppers, are, 

 moreover, expensive. For 8-inch guns they cost the equivalent 

 of $20, and for 17-inch guns about $50. 



Besides forts and artillery depots, warships also carry mines for 

 aggressive or defensive operations. 



In conclusion, the anticipation is expressed that the use of 

 rubber manufactures in marine warfare is destined to increase, 

 to the benefit of that industrv. 



HAED RTJBBEE BAILS ON SOFT RUBBER ALLEYS. 



This is an entirely new and money-saving device, 

 and becoming popular. It is called '"box ball" and 

 IS really an entire bowling alley, pins, balls and all 

 complete. By means of levers the pins can be 

 replaced when knocked down and the balls re- 

 turned to the player. 



The bowling surface of the alleys is 

 mixture of cork and rubber and, with 

 ball mufflers at the end of the alleys, 

 makes the bowling almost noise- 

 less. The balls are about 45^ 

 inches in diameter and 

 made of hard rubber. 

 [The American Box 

 Ball Co., Indian- 

 apolis, Indiana.] 



A Rubber Bowling Alley. 



Should be on every rubber man's desk — The Rubber Trade 

 Directory of The World, 1912. 



