100 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[January i, 1902. 



CAB 

 TIRES. 



Manchester, and they now make a point of engraving on the 

 brass of the thermometer the steam pressures corresponding to 

 the temperatures. This firm carry out the thermometer manu- 

 facture in all its stages themselves, while as regards London 

 makers it is the usual practice to subdivide the work, the glass 

 blowing being done by firms who make this a specialty ; but 

 who do not carry their work any further, selling it at this stage 

 to the optical instrument makers. I presume that as far as 

 vulcanizing thermometers are concerned, America fills her own 

 needs, though I know that large numbers of clinical ther- 

 mometers are exported yearly from the neighborhood of 

 Hatton Garden to America. In Great Britain the Fahrenheit 

 scale is almost universally used, the only notable exception of 

 which I am aware being the Dunlop Rubber Co., who use a 

 thermometer of the ordinary laboratory type, all glass and 

 graduated to the Centigrade scale. This type of instrument, I 

 should imagine, is very apt to suffer at the hands of workmen. 



The demand for solid cab tires is decidedly on the increase 

 and it is noticeable that one or two firms who own patents but 

 have hitherto given the orders for manufacture to 

 rubber works have of late put down rubber plant of 

 their own, in order to get the manufacturer's profit for 

 themselves. It is to be hoped that those who are following 

 this course will find their way easy, but it is a fact that the 

 manufacture of such tires successfully postulates an intimate 

 knowledge of detail and the successful way in which our large 

 rubber works are carrying on the business has not been achieved 

 in a moment but only after a considerable expenditure of time 

 and money. I don't wish to write in a pessimistic strain; but 

 at the same time it seems desirable to draw particular atten- 

 tion to the existence of sunken rocks which those who already 

 see the manufacturers' profit in their grasp are only too liable 

 to ignore the existence of. It is pretty well recognized that in 

 order to gain and retain public confidence it is advisable to 

 stick to a good quality of rubber, and we are not likely to see 

 the mixings degenerate into the sort of thing that one has be- 

 come accustomed to in the case of perambulator tires. 



Messrs. Broadhurst & Co., about the crisis in whose busi- 

 ness reference has recently been made in these columns, have 

 now been reorganized as a limited company with a 

 capital of ;£io,ooo. The various objects for which 

 a company is floated are often exaggerated in the 

 memorandum of association, but it is noticeable that reference 

 is not only made to rubber and leather business generally in 

 the present case, but also to the electric cable manufacture. 

 Some comment has been caused by the comparatively small 

 capital, but however this may serve for the purposes of the 

 mechanical rubber business it is difficult to see how it is in any 

 way adequate for the needs of the cable manufacture. The first 

 directors of the new company are Messrs. Robert Hindle, 

 Thomas C. Middleton, and John B. McKerrow. The business 

 will be carried on in the old premises in Bradford, Manchester. 

 I understand that proceedings are being taken by E. G. 

 Wood, of the patent Self-Gripping Fabric Tire, against the 

 " Radax " tire of Manchester, and The Swain Tyre Co., of Har- 

 wich, for alleged infringement.=The Eccles Rubber Co. have 

 emerged, Phoenix-like, from the ashes of their conflagration, 

 and are now making and selling balls again as hard as ever. 

 Mr. Brunessecaux, late of the rubber shoe department at Frank- 

 enburg's, is now with the Eccles company. ==I understand 

 that the North British Rubber Co.'s motor tires have now been 

 raised to the same price as those sold by the Dunlop company, 

 and, if speculation is permissible on the subject, this may be 

 due to either of two causes : firstly, an amicable arrangement 

 between the two /companies as to selling price, or, as has 



COMPANY 

 NEWS. 



been suggested by a motorist of some experience, in order to 

 let the business slide, the difficulties in connection with it be- 

 ing more acute than was at first anticipated. 



I don't know whether it has made any appreciable difference 

 in the ladies' mackintosh business or not, but the popular gar- 

 ment at the present time is of rain proof mater- 

 ial sold at from 25 to 30 shillings, with the un- 



WATERPROOF 

 GARMENTS. 



dertaking that it can be returned for a new rain- 

 proof dressing when it shows a loss of its useful effect. I 

 understand that these goods are of French origin ; certainly 

 they have a good appearance, and the undertaking to reproof 

 them, so to speak, has proved an attractive bait. It remains 

 yet, however, to be seen how far this undertaking is carried out 

 in the letter and, further, what its effect is. 



A CHEMICAL manufacturer unburdened his soul to me the 



other day with regard to a difficulty which I understand is of 



common occurrence with hose. It is not that the 



CHEMICAL ,.yjjt3gf jg bad, or is acted upon by the chemicals ; 



TUBING. ' 



it is a physical injury accruing from the method of 

 use. Rubber hose is very generally used to siphon liquors 

 from one tank to another, for which purpose the coil is put into 

 the first tank so that it may be filled and ready to act as a 

 siphon when it is hung over the side of the tank. It is this 

 part of the process which causes the trouble as the rubber gets 

 eroded and soon wears away. A remedy which at once sug- 

 gests itself is to cover the tube with hemp or some other textile 

 material, but the chemical people object to introducing this 

 into their liquors. Under the circumstances it is not easy to 

 see a way out of the difficulty, but I make it public as there are 

 probably fertile brains which may suggest a remedy. 



Patents in connection with tires or other details of bicycles 

 continue to be taken out by inventors, but when it comes to 



selling them to the public in the form of com- 

 ^'"^ panies or syndicates, there is a growing diffidence 



exhibited by investors. And the objection always 

 made is that the Dunlop company is sure to go for it on some 

 ground or other, thus involving the new company in litigation 

 and expense at the outset of its career, and this acts as a potent 

 deterrent in cases where there is not too much money, even if 

 a strong feeling exists that the threatened opposition of the big 

 company has no sort of justification. 



Quite a degree of excitement has been created in golfing 

 circles about this ball, which has come from America with such 



a great reputation. Newspapers both general and 

 HASKELL technical have had articles on the subject, but it is 



RUB BE,R 



GOLF BALL father too soon to say whether the interest that has 

 been aroused will result in the permanent use of 

 the ball. Certainly the retail selling price of zs. gd. will un- 

 doubtedly prove a drawback, as the game is not by any means 

 confined so much to the well-to-do as was the case some 

 years ago. I shall prefer to withhold the scattered observations 

 which I have made concerning this ball until I have sifted 

 them and gaged their credibility. 



Naphtha in Rubber Work. — " People not familiar with 

 the rubber trade have no idea of the great quantity of naphtha 

 that is consumed in Akron," said a rubber manufacturer of 

 that city, quoted in the Daily Democrat. " I would not attempt 

 to estimate the quantity, but it runs into hundreds of barrels 

 every week and there is considerable competition between the 

 Standard Oil Co. and the Cleveland Refining Co. for the sup- 

 plying of this demand. Maybe when the rubber manufactur- 

 ers all unite to import their own crude rubber they will com- 

 bine to purchase their naphtha jointly and secure better 

 prices." 



