December 1, 1912.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



137 



Mr. Baxendale's Report on the Rubber Show. 



MR. CYRIL BAXENDALE, representative of the Planters' 

 Association of Malaya, has written a report to that as- 

 sociation covering the recent Rubber Exposition held in 

 New York, which is exceedingly valuable as giving the view- 

 point of the Eastern planter. This interesting paragraph is 

 found at the very beginning of his report : "Owing to the 

 extraordinary development in the manufacturing business (both 

 in the U. S. A. and Canada) and the keen desire of Americans 

 to learn more about plantation rubber, I am of the opinion that 

 this exhibition will prove of greater value to our community 

 than eitlier of its predecessors, considerable as their value no 

 doubt was." 



He states that llic cxhiliit of rubber made by the Federated 



Cyril E. S. Baxendale. 



Malay States was visited by representatives of nearly all, if not 

 quite all, of the rubber factories on the American continent, 

 and he shows the appreciation in which they hold plantation rub- 

 ber by citing the increase of plantation imports in the port of 

 New York, the year 1911 showing imports of 6,590 tons, while 

 the first eight months of 1912 show imports of 8,067 tons. 



He lays a great deal of emphasis on two great disadvantages 

 under which plantation rubber is now placed ; one is the lack 

 of uniformity in tensile strength, and the other, which is at- 

 tributable in no w-ay to the Eastern planter, is the very poor 

 method in which this rubber is packed for the New York mar- 

 ket, coming in rough wooden boxes with chips of wood mixed 

 in with the rubber. This bad packing is due to the careless- 

 ness of the European shippers, who do not forward the rubber 

 in the original packa.ges, but repack it themselves in an ex- 

 ceedingly slovenly way. He speaks of an American importer 

 who showed him a parcel of rubber about 5 pounds in weight 

 which contained a mixture of about thirty scraps of Crepe of 

 every conceivable shade. This parcel, according to the im- 

 porter's statement, is a fair sample of the condition in which 

 plantation rubber is received at this port. This importer strongly 

 favored direct shipments from Malaya and also spoke of the 

 need of stamping all plantation rubber with the name of the 

 estate or with some other mark of identification, 



Mr. Baxendale visited quite a number of the leading factories 



in the United States and Canada, and gives a great deal of in- 

 formation regarding American manufacturing processes that 

 cannot but be of interest and value to the Eastern rubber 

 growers. 



One manufacturer recommended, in order to bring about a 

 uniformity of importations, that a plant, or plants, be established 

 on the estates for testing the rubber before it is shipped out; 

 these plants to consist of the following apparatus : First, an 

 acetone extracting apparatus to ascertain the percentage of 

 resin; second, a machine for testing tensile strength; third, a 

 mixing machine; fourth, a vulcanizing plant, and fifth, a minia- 

 ture washing plant — the expense of such a testing laboratory, 

 where it is too much for one estate, to be borne by a group of 

 estates, all of them utilizing its facilities. This same manufac- 

 turer said that he was prepared to pay from S per cent, to 10 

 per cent, over the current prices if he were assured of the rub- 

 ber's uniformity up to the following standard ; 



Tensile strength not less than 1,750 lbs. per square inch. 



Stretch not less than 6y2 times. 



Resin not more than 2 per cent. 



Mr. Baxendale quotes another large manufacturer as saying that 

 he had placed his first order for plantation rubber since visiting 

 the New York Exhibition, adding that no information that he 

 had ever received before through correspondence or conversa- 

 tion had aroused anything like the interest in his mind in the 

 product of the Middle East that had b*n inspired by his per- 

 sonal inspection of the fine exhibits in thi Malaysian and Ceylon 

 courts. Mr. Baxendale speaks of the gt^at care that should be 

 taken in the using of artificial coagulants and the necessity of 

 keeping them at the lowest possible limit. He says the general 

 opinion among manufacturers seems to be that acetic acid if 

 used in very small quantities is harmless, but that no other 

 coagulant should be used in the bulk until there is absolute 

 proof that it can be used without injury. 



He states his conviction that Mr. Manders and those asso- 

 ciated with him in organizing the exhibition held in New York 

 have done a very genuine service to the plantation industry, as 

 it enabled the planters to bring their product before the per- 

 sonal attention of their best customers, and he concludes his re- 

 port as follows : "I must express my appreciation of the kind- 

 ness I received in the United States and Canada, from all the 

 leading representatives of the trade. The freedom with which 

 manufacturers discussed every detail of their business and ac- 

 corded their permission to use any information they gave me 

 for this report, is the best evidence that their experience with 

 plantation rubber has been sufficiently satisfactory to en- 

 courage their desire to improve the acquaintance." 



IMPEOVED APPLIANCE FOR CUTTING EUBBEH, 



The "Ceylon Observer" quotes the following description of a 

 patent application which has been accepted by the Registrar 

 of Patents : 



"Improved appliances for cutting rubber whether in sheet or 

 crepe or otherwise and other substances. 



"The appliance consists: (1) Of a long knife hinged at one 

 end to a table and capable of moving about that hinge in a verti- 

 cal plane, being guided in that plane by providing large vertical 

 surfaces of contact at the hinge as well as, when necessary, by 

 providing a vertical spring guide or guard at the end of the knife 

 farther away from the hinge and against which the knife bears 

 in its descent; (2) of a blade fixed in a vertical plane to the 

 table and against which the side of the movable knife bears and 

 so provides the shearing action required. 



