120 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[January I, 1911. 



canized rubber, deterioration set in in 20 hours, while with vul- 

 canized rubber 48 or 72 hours' exposure was necessary. Further, 

 mineralized rubber resisted better than pure rubber. A rather 

 important result was that rubber recovered from petroleum so- 

 lution was much more rapidly attacked than that which had not 

 been in solution. This is certainly in agreement with the general 

 contention of the manufacturer that extraction processes for 

 raw rubber, i. c, where the rubber is separated from extraneous 

 matter by means of a solvent which is subsequently distilled off, 

 give an inferior product. It also supports the contention as to 

 the superiority of cut sheet over spread sheet for many pur- 

 poses. Of course, one might easily exaggerate the importance 

 of Mr. Henri's results. They have a distinct bearing upon 

 balloon fabrics, because such are of thin material and naturally 

 much exposed to light. Yet doubtless there are many other ap- 

 plications of rubber even where the material is of much greater 

 thickness that his results point a moral. He recommends that 

 only vulcanized rubber should be used for balloon fabrics, and 

 that the cloth be coated with a yellow coloring matter. Further, 

 he suggests the incorporation of some yellow coloring matter in 

 the rubber itself. I believe I am right in saying that this last 

 suggestion has already been carried out in some other classes of 

 goods; at any rate, a yellow protective coating has been applied 

 to tires. And in the case of one firm, at any rate, it has long 

 been customary to put yellow paint on the windows of the room 

 where a certain important class of vulcanized rubber goods is 

 stored. 



Dr. W. a. Caspar:, who was at one time engaged in research 



work at the National Physical Laboratory, near London, and 



was for a short time a consultant in 



PERSONAL rubber chemistry, is now head of the 



MENTION. , , \ r. r. 



laboratory at the Fersan-Beaumont 

 (France) works of the India-Rubber, Gutta-Percha and Tele- 

 graph Works Co., Limited. 



Mr. A. W. Carpenter, sole proprietor of the late Charing Cross 

 Bank, which has recently failed so disastrously, has returned 

 the Alperton Rubber and Vulcanizing Works as one of his as- 

 sets, though I doubt if they will realize the figure put against 

 them in the provisional balance sheet. At these works Mr. Car- 

 penter has been making a special solid ring tire. The site of the 

 works is near treble, some 12 miles from London, and the 

 buildings have had a rather checkered career. It is now a good 

 many years since they were occupied by the Volenite Co., Lim- 

 ited, about the career of which it would perhaps be unkind to 

 dig up the details at this time of day. Other concerns also found 

 a home there before the tire company took them over and en- 

 larged them. This, of course, is only one of Mr. Carpenter's 

 many commercial activities. 



Mr. Alfred du Cros, of Dunlop Tyre connection, has retired 

 from the representation of the Bow and Bromley division, Lon- 

 don, in Parliament. He was a Unionist. 



A similar step has been taken by Sir Thomas Barclay, the well- 

 known company director. At the last election he was returned 

 as the Free Trade member for Blackburn, which means that he 

 is a Liberal in politics. Sir Thomas is chairman of some rubber 

 plantation companies, as well as of the Premier Reforming Co., 

 Limited. 



The article on this subject by Mr. Wilmer Dunbar in the No- 

 vember issue of The India Rubber Worlo is of considerable 

 interest because it deals with a topic on 

 which widely diverse views are held, as 

 witness the remarks of the American 

 manufacturer appearing as an appendix to the article. Per- 

 sonally, I am not in a position to add anything of weight to the 

 discussion, and it is a forlorn hope that any British manufacturer 

 will volunteer his views. Outside, the rubber manufacturer, refers 

 to the use of balata in regard to the well-known belting and 

 goes on to make the categorical statement that it has been found 

 to be a good substitute for gutta-percha in the insulation of sub- 



BALATA IN 

 KUBBEB GOODS. 



marine cables. So far as English practice is concerned I think 

 this is doubtful, though at the same time no definite statement 

 on the point has to my knowledge been made by those who have 

 the secrets of the big cable-making concerns on the Thames in 

 their keeping. For some years an English company has been 

 selling or endeavoring to sell a proprietary substance of very 

 similar characteristics to balata for admixture with raw rubber, 

 and the claims made for this substance as an improver of raw 

 rubber are similar to what Mr. Dunbar claims for balata as a 

 component of rubber mixings. Without professing to be in the 

 secrets of our manufacturer on this point, I think I am right 

 in saying that the addition of balata to rubber goods, such as 

 tires and tubing, is practically unknown. Certainly it has been 

 used in the case of particular steam packing or jointing materials, 

 where the rubber substance is either only slightly vulcanized or 

 not vulcanized at all. The fact that balata has doubled in price 

 in the course of a year or two and the increasing demand for 

 belting purposes is all against its further use in rubber mixings, 

 and then there is the ever-present danger referred to by Mr. 

 Dunbar of pieces of wood or bark still remaining after the wash- 

 ing operation, necessitating very careful examination before use. 

 It is again said that balata can be vulcanized ; well, so can fibers 

 and oils, according to trade nomenclature, but compared with 

 the great difference between pure and vulcanized rubber is there 

 any real alteration in the chemical and physical properties in 

 balata after vulcanization? 



GUTTA-PERCHA TISSUE PRICES. 



BY THE UNITED STATES CONSUL GENERAL AT HAMBURG. 



/^ XE of the principal manufacturers of gutta-percha tissue in 

 ^^ Germany states that it is produced only for the .-Kmerican 

 trade, and is not required in Europe at all. It comes in pieces 1 

 yard wide and usually 10 pounds in weight. The manufacturer 

 referred to does not put it up in rolls of SO or 60 pounds, but 

 doubtless could do so if necessary. 



It is claimed that there is no agreement as to prices between 

 the two leading manufacturers here, and that, in fact, competi- 

 tion is so lively that one of them has been shipping little to the 

 American market for about a year, in consequence of the appear- 

 ance of new producing concerns in the United States market, 

 where prices have been put down to an unprofitable level. 



One firm quoted on October 21, 1910, for direct shipment per 

 kilogram [=2.2 pounds], grade No. 1 at 90 cents, No. 2 at 

 $1.33, and No. 3 at $1.57. These prices are said to be quite spe- 

 cial and subject to sudden change, as the cost of raw materials is 

 very uncertain. 



■HEVEA" RUBBER AND SALT WATER. 



IN an ofBcial report United States Consul Arthur J. Clare, of 

 Georgetown, British Guiana, advises planters of He''ea rub- 

 ber, and investors in planting companies, that great care should 

 be taken in "the location of plantations, as Para rubber will not 

 give good results on coast lands. To be successful plantations 

 should be far enough up the river to be beyond the influence of 

 salt water." 



There is no doubt that this advice is given in all honesty, but 

 it is mistaken. The Hevea will flourish on coast land close to 

 salt water, as has been proved in Ceylon, in the Malay States, in 

 Dutch Guiana, and, indeed, all through the lower basin of the 

 .\mazon. It is necessary, however, that planters remember that 

 the soil should be rich, that there should never be less than three 

 feet of drainage, and that there should be abundant moisture. 



The Vallambrosa Rubber Co., Limited, report that the amount 

 of rubber harvested for the six months ending September 30, 

 1910, was 202,200 pounds, against 167.902 pounds for the corre- 

 sponding period in 1909. 



