December 1, 1912.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



145 



The Editor's Book Table. 



THE DETERMINATION OF TOTAL SULPIIUK IN IJJUIA-KUUBER. 

 By C, E. Waters, associate chemist, and J. B. Tuttle, assistant 

 chemist, Bureau of Standards. Reprint 174. Washington, 1912. 

 [Paper, 9 pp.] 



IN this summary of the various tests for the determination of 

 sulphur in rubber, the authors refer to that published by 

 Hcnriques in 1899 as being still the usual method and too well 

 known to need detailed description. Other methods have since 

 been advocated, such as those of Alexander, with sodium 

 peroxide; Esch, with Eschka's mixture; Wagner, with a slight 

 modification of Henriqucs' method ; Pontio, with manganese 

 peroxide and a mixture of sodium and potassium carbonates ; 

 Hinrichsen, with nitric acid; and, finally, Iliibencr, with con- 

 centrated or fuming nitric acid and bromine, intended to exclude 

 insoluble mineral sulphates. 



Having frequent occasion to determine the total sulphur in 

 rubber, one of the authors made a number of comparative tests 

 of different variations of the Henriques method. These tests 

 were made with two samples of rubber each of 0.50 gram. The 

 proportion of sulphur, as shown by five series of tests, varied 

 from 2.93 to 3.71 in the twenty separate tests. 



In an attempt to obtain satisfactory results without fusion, 

 and without a knowledge of Ilubcner's paper, determinations 

 were made several months later. After Hiibener's paper had 

 been called to the attention of the authors, some further deter- 

 minations were made on a sample of hard rubber containing no 

 barium. These determinations (22 in number) were made with 

 variations of the Hiibener and Henriques methods, full particu- 

 lars of which are recorded. 



In their concluding remarks, the authors call attention to the 

 fact that treatment of the rubber with nitric acid alone gives 

 low results, this being probably largely due to loss of free sulphur; 

 since nitric acid alone does not completely oxidize sulphur to 

 sulphuric acid in the length of time usually taken for a deter- 

 mination. The fusion method gives results very close to those 

 obtained by direct precipitation and by neutralization. The best 

 results, in the authors' opinion, seem to be obtained by the use 

 of the method, according to which the rubber is decomposed by 

 means of nitric acid saturated with bromine ; this being appar- 

 ently a modification of the Henriques method. 



The treatment of the subject indicates much laborious research 

 and investigation on the part of the authors. 



LEADING AMERICAN INVENTORS, BY GEORGE ILES, New York, 

 1912. Henry Holt & Co. fCIolh, 44S pages.) 



Forming part of a series of "Biographies of Leading Ameri- 

 cans," this compendium of the lives of a dozen leading Amer- 

 ican inventors of note contains a wealth of acceptable reading, 

 particularly appealing to those interested in one or another of 

 the branches of industry dealt with. 



Seeing the diversified nature of American invention, Mr. lies 

 has had a difficult task in selecting representative names, but has 

 been successful in his efforts. 



John and Robert Livingston Stevens, those pioneers of marine 

 and railroad engineering at the commencement of the last cen-. 

 tury; Robert Fulton, who developed the steamboat; Eli Whit- 

 ney, the inventor of the cotton gin ; Thomas Blanchard, who 

 made the Blanchard lathe ; and Samuel F. B. Morse, the com- 

 manding figure in American telegraphy, are successively treated. 



Next to these comes Charles Goodyear. The forty pages of 

 Goodyear's biography are replete with incident, follow-ing the 

 course of his struggles and successes. He may be said to form 

 the central figure in this brilliant group of inventors. 



In continuation of the record of American invention, the 



lives of John Ericsson, the greatest engineer that Europe ever 

 bestowed upon America ; Cyrus H. McCormick, inventor of 

 the reaping machine; Christopher Latham Sholes, to whom we 

 owe the typewriter; Elias Howe, father of the sewing machine; 

 and Benjamin C. Tilghman, who first introduced the sulphite 

 pulp process and the sand blast, are dealt with. Finally the 

 story of the latest in the group, Ottmar Mergenthaler, the 

 inventor of the linotype, is told in detail, closing with his death 

 in 1899. 



This valuable record of American invention indicates a vast 

 amount of careful research and forms an appropriate tribute 

 to the American inventive genius which was such a promi- 

 nent characteristic of the nineteenth century. 



Fifteen artistically executed portraits give a marked personal 

 tone to the volume, while the text is supplemented by a number 

 of illustrations. 



RUBBER FACTS AND FIGURES, NO. 8. FREDERICK C. MATHESON 

 & Sons, London. 



The latest issue of this vade-mecum of the rubber share in- 

 vestor records in tabulated form the most recent information 

 about acreage, number of trees and output, as well as dividends. 

 One important fact is shown prominently: the number of 

 tappable trees as compared with the total planted. Now, when 

 production is increasing by leaps and bounds, it is necessary to 

 keep track of the total trees and what is equally important — of 

 the year when they will be in bearing. This last information 

 would acceptably supplement the many other valuable points of 

 this booklet. 



DER KAUTSCHUK, SEINE GEWINNUNG UND VERARBEITUNG. 

 (Rubber, Its Production and Manufacture.) By K. W. Wolf-Czapck, 

 Berlin, 1912. Union Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft. [Cloth, 8vo, 128 

 pages, with 50 illustrations.] 



In this handy little volume, 7 x 5, is condensed a quantity of 

 information, treated in a clear and perspicuous manner, and so 

 divided that those seeking light on a particular subject can 

 readily find what thej' want. 



The scope of the work includes the sources and production of 

 rubber, and its chemistry; as well as the questions of filling sub- 

 stances and rubber solutions. Vulcanization and preparations 

 for manufacture are dealt with in a lucid way: the special 

 subjects of hard and soft rubber goods, rubbered fabrics, hose, 

 tires and seamless rubber goods, being successively handled. 

 Treating the matter from a commercial standpoint, the chapter 

 on "Rubber in the World's Trade" deals with the various classes 

 of rubber and with details affecting their distribution. 



One feature of special interest consists of the illustrations 

 showing the inspection of rubber samples by the dealers in a 

 London warehouse; the office of a London rubber broker with 

 samples laid out, and the public auction of rubber in London. 



Illustrations of the principal machines used in rubber manu- 

 facturing are a valuable aid to the general non-technical reader, 

 for whom the work is largely intended, and to whom its clear 

 explanations appeal. 



According to a consul.\r report en'cour.\ging advices come 

 from the Kagi district of South Formosa concerning the new 

 rubber plantations undertaken by private capital. The rubber 

 seed was imported from Hawaii. Nearly 50,000 rubber trees 

 were transplanted during the rainy season and few died. The 

 Formosa .Agricultural and Forestry Co. is engaged in the rubber 

 industry, but private plantations are said to be more promising. 



