326 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[August i, 1901. 



BREWERS 

 HOSE. 



never likely to prove a Golconda for the shareholders, on ac- 

 count of the opposition already existent and in prospect. With 

 regard to some of this opposition, there is the newly started 

 works of the Winterbottom Book Cloth Co., at Mouton Green 

 near Manchester. The products of this company, which are of 

 a Pegamoid nature, are stated to be capable of replacing rubber 

 in many of its applications, and I hope to be able to say some- 

 thing definite on the subject in a future letter. 



The reorganization scheme of the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre 



Co., though it is certainly somewhat unpalatable to the ordinary 



shareholders, has been favorably received by 



^"^ the London financial press, the fact that some- 



DUNLOP 



REORGANIZATION, thing drastic was absolutely necessary having 

 long been recognized. Seeing that the de- 

 benture and preference shareholders stuck out for their legal 

 rights, it was inevitable that the ordinary shareholders must 

 bear the brunt of the reduction of capital. It will be interest- 

 ing to watch developments when the patent lapses and compe- 

 tition becomes rampant, but " sufficient unto the day is the evil 

 thereof" will properly be the resigned cry of those most in- 

 terested. The company has addressed a circular to its 

 stockholders proposing a reduction of capital from ;C4.573,2oo 

 to ;£3, 21 3,200, this action having been foreshadowed in cer- 

 tain proceedings reported in the last India Rubber World. 



The scare that existed for a short time with regard to the 

 possible contamination ol beer by traces of arsenic in rubber 

 chemicals, has competely subsided, the principal 

 requisition with brewers' hose being freedom from 

 smell. This is attended to by the makers as far as 

 possible, the precaution taken being that of using a good qual- 

 ity rubber. Any idea that the smell can be removed by subse- 

 quent chemical treatment is erroneous, though I notice in a 

 text book on brewing a statement to the effect that brewers 

 treat their rubber hose with nitric acid solution, in order to 

 sweeten it. The use of nitric acid for any purpose in connec- 

 tion with rubber is not to be recommended, as even in a very 

 dilute form it has an injurious oxidising action. 



A CERTAIN amount of excitement has been caused amongjraw 



rubber importers by the announcement of the formation of the 



Bolivian Chartered Co., by the American Rub- 



THE BOLIVIAN CO. ^er Trust, though it is not supposed that Lon- 

 don or Liverpool will be affected to any extent. The facts are 

 probably as well or better known in American trade circles 

 than is the case here. As far as my information goes, the af- 

 fair seems to have every prospect of success, the elements of 

 disaster which were so conspicuous in the case of the Rubber Es- 

 tates of Para, Limited, being in this case as far as one can 

 judge completely absent.* 



Various attempts have been made in past days to prevent 



the blooming or efflorescence of sulphur on rubber goods. The 



latest proposal to effect this end is a special form 



NON-BLooMiNG ^f sulphur patented by Dr. Carl Otto Weber and 



SULPHUR. I. , T-, ■ , ■ ,, 



now on the market. The inventor himself ex- 

 presses himself as well satisfisd with the results which have 

 been obtained with black goods, but enquiries in the trade have 

 not elicited anything definite in the way of approval or disap- 

 proval, a fact which may be attributed to the somewhat dilatory 

 manner in which experiments with novelties are carried out by 

 the majority of our firms. With regard to sulphur itself, there 

 is no question that much less blooming is caused by using pre- 

 cipitated instead of flowers of sulphur, the extremely minute 



ECCLES 

 RUBBER CO. 



degree of subdivision being favorable to a more complete chem- 

 ical combination. I remember making trials some years ago of 

 a so-called non-blooming sulphur, which consisted of flowers of 

 sulphur mixed with stearine, but the results certainly did not 

 come up to anticipation. 



Rather too pessimistic a view seems to have been taken 

 generally with regard to the position of this company. It is 

 by no means defunct, but has started work again 

 in such parts of the premises as were uninjured by 

 the disastrous fire of February last. Meanwhile, 

 the insurance money having been paid, the work ol rebuilding 

 is proceeding apace, more attention being paid to making the 

 buildings fireproof, than was the case in the older mill. Nat- 

 urally, the course of business has been much impeded, and 

 orders which usually came to the firm have gone elsewhere, 

 but the management speak hopefully of the outlook. The 

 rumor to which some credence was given in these columns as 

 to the retirement of Mr. Charles Coops, the managing director, 

 from the concern, turns out to be quite unfounded, this gen- 

 tleman still holding his original position. Mr. Louis Sgal also 

 retains the chairmanship of the board of directors. 



Blandite is a material of secret composition of which more 

 may be heard in the future, as the reports on its utility espe- 

 cially for insulating purposes are decidedly favor- 

 able. The processes relating to its manufacture 

 are now in the hands of the Lancashire Rubber Co. 

 a company which, owing to one cause and another 

 has not proceeded with the development of the business at the 

 present time. There is nothing decisive to be reported of Vol- 

 enite, but as regards Velvril.the patent rights have recently been 

 sold to the Gandy Belt Manufacturing Co., Limited, of Sea- 

 combe, Cheshire, for ;£8ooo. By this it is to be presumed that 

 its value fn the belting manufacture has been demonstrated, 

 though I cannot say anything from personal knowledge. 

 The Gandy business is about to be taken over by a new 

 company. The Gandy Belt Manufacturing Co. (1901), Limited, 

 with ;£i 50,000 capital, in equal amounts of preference and or- 

 dinary shares, and will largely extend their operations. 



OTHER 

 SUBSTITUTES 

 FOR RUBBER. 



RUBBER INDUSTRY IN PORTUGAL 



* No information is obtainable in rubber centers in the United States regarding 

 the enterprise here named, and our correspondent fails to indicate the source of 

 his news. It is possible that reference is made to the Chicago-Bolivian Rubber 

 Co., mentioned elsewhere in tliis paper.— The Editor. 



THE report for the second business year of the Compagnie 

 du Caoutchouc (Monopole du Portugal), at Lisbon, 

 states that their accounts make a good showing, in spite of the 

 unfavorable condition of the wine industry, which has been 

 depended upon to take an important share of their output. 

 They have obtained good prices for bicycle tires and surgical 

 goods, which are well protected by the tariff, and they have 

 hopes of an early increase on the duties on other lines of rub- 

 ber goods. The company purpose making carriage tires, both 

 pneumatic and solid, and are studying the construction of sub- 

 marine cables. They are also planning to weave their own 

 canvas, being now obliged to pay very high prices for such ma- 

 terial. The factory being located three kilometers from the 

 commercial center of Lisbon, a store has been opened in the 

 city, for the sale of their own products and rubber goods gen- 

 erally. A similar store will be opened at Oporto. The report 

 mentions that, irrespective of the quality of goods, time will be 

 required for the people to get out of the habit of buying cer- 

 tain foreign rubber goods to which they have become accus- 

 tomed. The company have received excellent reports on the 

 two enterprises in which they have become interested — la Com- 

 pagnie du Luabo and le Comptoir Commercial de Benguella, 

 interested in rubber trading in Africa. The capital of the com- 

 pany is $200,000, and there are reserve funds of $33,397. 



