70 



THE INDIA RUBBER ^VORLD 



[December i, 1901. 



because a works may be exceptionally busy and yet show but 

 a bare profit, on account of the low price at which the orders 

 were taken. Some classes of work are notoriously more profit- 

 able than others, and the dividend earned will depend upon 

 the particular class of work or particular orders obtained more 

 than upon the bulk of work done. Despite the buoyant tone 

 of certain manufacturers there can be no doubt that business 

 has fallen ofT generally this year compared with last year, but 

 then the price of rubber, especially of medium qualities, has 

 also fallen considerably, and even with a considerably reduced 

 turn-over our works ought to be making money this year see- 

 ing that the policy of the manufacturers association has been 

 against making any reductions in the selling prices. The ad- 

 vantage which the reduced price of rubber coupled with busi- 

 ness aptitude has conferred on certain firms is apparent, and in 

 this connection it may not be invidious to mention the names 

 of The Irwell Rubber Co. and The Gorton Rubber Co., the 

 satisfactory dividend of yyi per cent, having been declared by 

 the latter as the result of the second year's working, a consid- 

 erable improvement on the last report. 



At this works, where Dr. Carl Otto Weber is located, a new 



laboratory has been fitted up. Replete with every convenience 



for analysis and research, it will probably be the 



FRANKENBURG, (jggj gf j[g i^jnf] ^q (jg found in a rubber works 



LIMITED. , ■ T , , ■ ■ 



at the present time. I understand, by the way, 

 that Dr. Weber will shortly publish a volume dealing with the 

 chemical composition and analysis of India-rubber and its 

 compounds, and this should prove an interesting and valuable 

 contribution to the scanty literature of our trade. At present 

 the information which the forthcoming volume will contain is 

 scattered about in various journals and proceedings of societies 

 and is therefore not at all easy of reference. 



I NOTE that a firm now putting a new tire on the market 

 guarantee it to contain 94 percent, of pure Pard rubber. With- 

 out wishing to comment on the mixing, I cannot 

 help thinking what a commotion would arise in 

 court if the bona fides of the firm happened to be 

 impugned. I do not suggest for one moment that the goods 

 are not turned out according to guarantee ; I only recognize 

 the great difficulty there would be in getting outside corrobora- 

 tion in the inefficient state of our chemical analysis with regard 

 to the point. I may say that with some firms the term Pard 

 sorts is used for Pard, thus bringing Negrohead into the fold. 



From what I hear there does not seem much likelihood of 

 the suggested action of the shareholders against the promo- 

 ters of the company coming to maturity, and it is 



PEQAMOID. . , , ■ r • , 



probable that despite the reconstruction under a 

 very much reduced capital the business will fizzle out. There 

 seems to be somewhat of an impression abroad that Messrs. 

 Moseley could be proceeded against, but they were not the 

 promoters, their connection with the concern being of a differ- 

 ent nature, and what was done was by the deceased Mr. Joseph 

 Moseley, whose liabilities, if any, in the matter have not passed 

 to the present members of the firm. Of course the great mis- 

 takes about Pegamoid were the non-validity of the patent, the 

 over-capitalization of the company, and the want of sound busi- 

 ness acumen in the management. There is no doubt much 

 truth in the saying attributed to Sir William Siemens that the 

 most important part of a patent is the personality of those who 

 are to work it, and it is more than probable that if Messrs. 

 Moseley or some equally well-known house had worked Pega- 

 moid themselves it would have been made a success. The lax 

 state of our patent laws is exemplified in this case, where the 

 patent was proved non-valid at the first trial, and there can be 

 no doubt that the agitation which is going on in the country 



TIRE 

 GUARANTEE. 



RUBBER 

 TUBING. 



on the subject presages an alteration in the law to the extent of 

 an examination into novelty. 



I don't know how much business is done in America in this 

 line, but in English towns, where granite setts are largely used 

 in street paving, the frog pad and, to a greater extent, 

 certain forms of the pneumatic horseshoe, are gaining 

 increased favor. The pneumatic form is said to be con- 

 siderably better for the horse's foot from a hygienic point of 

 view than is the solid pad. The latter are generally used by 

 equestrians who have to use the streets, while the pneumatic 

 shoe is generally adopted lor carriage work. 



A COUNTY analyst waxed eloquent the other day on the in- 

 ferior character of American gas tubing. He got a quantity 

 sent him, he said, from the States, and finds that it 

 is quite stifT and easily breakable. I told him that 

 he had unfortunately got a low quality such as is 

 also made in England and Germany, and which is very little 

 use at all, if indeed not a source of actual danger from its lia- 

 bility to break. I cannot believe that no good quality tubing 

 is made in the States,.and I impressed upon him the importance 

 of asking for the best on the occasion of his next order. In 

 many varieties of rubber goods bad quality is no danger, but 

 in the case of rubber tubing, which is often used in households 

 for connecting stoves with gas brackets, tubing which is liable 

 to break at a bend and allow gas to escape into the room, is 

 most decidedly dangerous, and I know of at least one case 

 where its use has been severely criticised officially. 



Mr. Clampett, who, in the departure of Mr. H. H. Royle 



from Messrs. Macintosh's works two years ago, has filled the 



latter's place as head of the waterproof department, 



PERSONAL j^gg ^^^ vacated that position. Mr. Clampett's 



MENTION. . , w ,, . u J u , 



service with Messrs. Macintosh dates back many 

 years, and he has also been in the employ of Mr. Frankenburg. 

 -=Mr. Openshaw, formerly of Messrs. Macintosh, and after- 

 wards with Messrs. Byrne, at Birmingham, now holds a posi- 

 tion at the Hyde Imperial Rubber Co.'s works. =^Mr. Rum- 

 bold has given up his post at the works of the Gorton Rubber 

 Co.==Mr. Lister Smith, for many years representative of 

 Messrs. Macintosh & Co., both in Manchester and Birming- 

 ham, has relinquished that post. 



SOME WANTS OF THE RUBBER TRADE. 



[204] rpROM Scotland : " We would be very much obliged 

 -T^ if you could let us have the names of makers of 

 rubber sole rounding machines." 



[205] From San Francisco: "Would you oblige me by 

 sending the price list of several constructors of rollers for 

 cleaning India-rubber?" 



[20G| From Baltimore: " I am desirous of obtaining full in- 

 formation on the subject of the most improved belt stretching 

 machinery." 



[207] " Who makes spreader knives, for proofing work .' " 



[208] We have an inquiry for addresses of parties likely to 

 take an interest in starting a rubber shoe factory in Belgium. 



[209] From a rubber factory we have a letter asking where 

 the rubber solvent called " Vulcoleine " can be obtained. 



[210| " Will you tell me the methods for coloring raw 

 rubber compounds, in black, brown, and red ? " 



[211] From Pard, Brazil, we have received a request for the 

 addresses of parties prepared to furnish outfits for making rub- 

 ber stamps. 



[212] A request comes for " Brazilian gum," for tire repairs. 



