January 1, 1911.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD. 



119 



The India-Rubber Trade in Great Britain. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



RUBBER 

 MARKETS. 



THE changes that ha\e occurred in the last month or so are 

 of a very trifling nature, and it is common for rises and 

 falls to take place without any good reason. As, however, 

 the stock brokers say their only guide is the market price of 

 fine Para, shares' are marked fractions up and down, according 

 to pence movements in the raw com- 

 modity, though such movements may 

 only have a remote bearing upon the 

 intrinsic worth of particular shares as investments. The fact is, 

 rather too much is being made of the rubber share market, now 

 that the boom has spent itself, and is not likely to recur at any 

 rate in anything like the same intensity. However, every day 

 we read in the papers, both London and provincial, that rubber 

 shares are dull, lifeless, active, etc., as the case may be, while 

 the amount of business passing may be much less than in the 

 case of other descriptions of shares which are not considered 

 worthy of special mention. By way of keeping the promotion 

 business alive three new planting companies came out in No- 

 vember and were reported to have been favorably received by 

 the public. With regard to two of them, the fact that the whole 

 of the purchase consideration has been taken in cash has been 

 adversely criticised in the press as being indicative of a want of 

 faith in their future. Looking at the general situation on the 

 stock exchange, one may say that the chief feature is absence 

 of speculation and a steady investment demand for the best prop- 

 erties, a tendency which will eventually make the market bare 

 of stock. At the time of writing we are in the buzz and stress 

 of a general election, which has been dubbed on one side of pol- 

 itics as the "Dollar Election." I cannot enlarge on this topic 

 without going beyond my legitimate sphere,' but it may be re- 

 ferred to as causing some interruption in business and a diminu- 

 tion of deaHngs on the stock exchanges. Doubtless, also, it will 

 cause promoters of new ventures to hold their hands for a time. 

 Would it not be more in accordance with the strict truth if 

 brokers and experts, when reporting on the quality of special 

 lots of Castilloa, Funtitmia, and other 

 non Para rubbers, were to say some- 

 thing about the amount of moisture 

 present? One frequently reads of chairmen of meetings saying 

 that a sample of their African rubber was valued at a higher 

 price than line hard Para at the same date. This statement, per- 

 haps without doing any real harm, is certainly apt to mislead the 

 non-tcchnica! listener. I believe I am right in saying that in all 

 the cases where this apparent superiority has been shown the 

 special rubber has been practically dry, while the Para with 

 which it has been compared has contained its usual 20 or more 

 per cent, of moisture. It would not be at all a difficult thing for 

 the brokers or others who make these special valuations in be- 

 half of individuals or companies to make the necessary allow- 

 ance for the loss in washing so as to make the comparison be- 

 tween African and Para rubber strictly accurate. Ceara and 

 manigoba rubber is not coming forward from East Africa as 

 quickly as was expected. In the case of the Jequie company, the 

 drought which was experienced is blamed for the failure of the 

 tapping operations. With regard to these rubbers and their re- 

 ception by the trade, it may be taken that they will find a good 

 market. With Ceara rubber in the past the position has been 

 much on a par with that of African rubber. The manufacturer 

 was willing to use it if he could be assured of regular supplies. 

 It has been the difficulty in this respect which has militated in 

 the past against the wider appreciation of undoubtedly good 

 brands of rubber. The manufacturer does not w-ant to be al- 

 ways chopping and changing, especially in regard to certain mix- 



RA'W 

 RUBBER. 



VULCANIZED 

 FIBER. 



ings, and I think it may be taken that if good supplies of Ceara 

 rubber are assured this brand will at once imd a ready sale. The 

 large amount of nitrogenous substance or protein contained in 

 Ceara rubber compared with other brands does not seem any dis- 

 advantage ; at least I have not heard of any complaint on this 

 head. At the same time, it can hardly be any definite advantage 

 and no doubt those who are engaged in the coagulation on sci- 

 entific lines will see to it that this component is kept at as low a 

 figure as possible. 



This is a new manufacure for Great Britain ; indeed, I believe 

 I am light in saying that it is new to Europe, though one or two 

 continental works make a substance 

 which is said to be practically similar to 

 the American vulcanized fiber which 

 has so far monopolized the market. The new concern of which 

 I now speak is SutcHffe, Limited, of Crumpsall Mills, Manches- 

 ter. This is an old-established firm, making certain require- 

 ments for the cotton trade their principal specially, being what 

 are known as cans, which are used in every spinning mill. This 

 firm is the largest maker of these cans in the world, their out- 

 put being 1,200 per day. This particular industry only concerns 

 us in that the can, which was originally made of metal and, in- 

 deed, is still so to a large extent, is now also made of vulcanized 

 fiber in great part, and it was the difficulty experienced in get- 

 ting suitable supplies of this commodity that led Messrs. Sut- 

 cHffe a year or two ago to embark in the manufacture them- 

 selves. The new Crumpsall mills which are devoted to this bus- 

 iness were erected in 1907-09 and have a floorage of four acres. 

 They are fitted with the most modern machinery and have a 

 capacity of 45 tons per week, though this output has not yet been 

 attained. The goods made represent all those required for the 

 many and various applications for which vulcanized fiber has 

 been found fitted, more especially as a substitute for vulcanite. 

 The electrical industry is probably the largest consumer, for 

 switchboards and the like, and it is being increasingly used in 

 connection with the ignition apparatus of motor cars. For the 

 mechanical engineer the substance is supplied, as journal bear- 

 ings, thrust bearings, or washers for lathe spindles, brake shoes, 

 rollers, and many specialties for textile mills. Besides the ordi- 

 nary form, which resembles vulcanite, a flexible form finds a 

 large application for packing, especially in hydraulic presses. It 

 swells when immersed in water and is found useful for pump 

 valves, tap washers, and so on. The old-established American 

 firms can hardly, I imagine, view this new British factory with 

 perfect composure as far as their export trade is concerned. I 

 understand that certain improvements have been made in the 

 manufacture at Crumpsall and that the material is not exactly 

 identical with the original vulcanized fiber which has been on 

 the market for more than 20 years. 



Professor 'Victor Henri, of the Surbonne, Paris, has commu- 

 nicated to Le Caoutchouc et la Gutta-Percha an interesting 

 article on this subject embodying the 

 ACTION OF LIGHT results of his experiments made more 



ON RUBBER. • , , • , , , ,, r t 



particularly with regard to. balloon fab- 

 rics. It is the chemically active or ultra violet rays which exert 

 the deleterious action, an action which has been proved to be 

 simple oxidation. Although I cannot at the moment give the 

 reference, I have an idea that in a general way this has already 

 been shown by an earlier observer, but that does not take all in- 

 terest away from the present research which was applied to. 

 Thin sheets of rubber, cut sheets of various makes, sheets evap- 

 orated from solution, also dried rubber latex, were submitted to 

 the ultra violet rays for a number of hours. In the case of unvul- 



