FKliRlAftV 1, 1911.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



153 



The India-Rubber Trade in Great Britain. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



GUAYULE 

 RUBBER. 



IUO not remember a previous occasion when a raw ruliber has 

 liad an original paper to itself in the proceedings of the So- 

 ciety of Chemical Industry, and I have read with interest in 

 its Journal of November 30 the paper on Guayulc Rubber read 

 by Mr. Harold Van der Linde at the Canadian section, of which 

 he is a past president. The paper 

 naturally consisted of a general resume 

 of the industry as now existent, rather 

 than a dissertation upon the present and the future of the Inter- 

 continental Rubber Co., with which important concern the au- 

 thor is now associated. The interesting statement was made 

 that though the crude rubber compares with other soft and 

 resinoiis brands, after vulcanization its value is much enhanced, 

 and that it can then compete with high grade noii-resiuous rub- 

 bers. This change after vulcanization differentiates it from other 

 resinous rubbers, which do not appreciate to the same extent by 

 vulcanization. I have not given the author's exact words, but 

 rather what I gather he intended to convey. He prophesies that 

 this special advantage of guayule will be testified to in the higher 

 price obtained in the future. This is not the only point of in- 

 terest as regards the future ; the main consideration would seem 

 to be whether the industry will have any future. I am not at- 

 tempting myself to set foot on this holy ground of contention, 

 but there are men of position who aver that the industry will 

 die out four or five years hence from want of raw material. Mr. 

 van der Linde is certainly not among the pessimists, as although 

 he says that not much is known as to the growth of the shrub 

 or the age at which it arrives at maturity, there will be raw ma- 

 terial for many years obtainable from the ordinary re-growth. 

 It is somewhat surprising to read that about 20 per cent, of the 

 world's total output of rubber in 1910 was derived from the 

 guayule shrub. 



Thk most recent statistics of the Canadian rubber trade in re- 

 gard to imports of rubber goods testify to the increasingly strong 

 position held by Great Britain with re- 

 gard to waterproof cloth and clothing, 

 the value being AYz times that from the 

 United States, other countries contributing merely a trifling 

 amount. These statistics are ten months old, but inquiries in 

 the trade show that tliis business continues brisk, so we may 

 look to much the same if indeed not a better result in the forth- 

 coming returns. One can quite understand that the conditions 

 of life of such a large number of the inhabitants of the country 

 districts render a good waterproof coat a matter of necessity. 

 The formerly large business done in carriage aprons has, I am 

 told, suffered a good deal in recent years, owing to the auto- 

 mobile. The carriage apron of mackintosh cloth was a more or 

 less ornate and expensive article, easily damaged by oil, and it 

 is not in favor with the motorist. The late autumn is a busy 

 time with proofers on this side who have important Canadian 

 connections — firms, for instance, such as P. Frankenstein & Sons, 

 of Manchester — as the pattern books for the forthcoming spring 

 trade have to be got out. This season also sees Canadians who 

 have come over to buy cloth and make arrangements with 

 proofers to finish it and deliver in January or February. The 

 statistics do not distinguish between finished clothing and 

 proofed cloth in the roll, and I am not in a position to do any 

 accurate dissection. As a general rule, however, it may be said 

 that the lower-grade material goes out in the form of clothing 

 and the higher as proofed cloth. The duty on the cloth is, I 

 think, 20 per cent., and on the clothing 35 per cent., and though 

 there is really not very much in it it is found that the purchaser 

 of a cheap coat does not notice the impost as much as the buyer 



PROOFING TRADE 

 WITH CANADA. 



STANDARD 

 RUBBER WORKS. 



of the higher grade does. With regard to prices, although there 

 is now in existence a Waterproof Garment Manufacturers' Asso- 

 ciation, this has had more to do with the regulation of the wages 

 to be paid the operators, etc., for certain classes of work, than 

 with fixing sale prices. Certainly earlier in the year two notices 

 were ?ent out regarding rises in price, but no notice of reduc- 

 tiiin of a like official nature has transpired since fine Para fell to 

 the 6 shilling level. 



This property, which is situated in Rose street, West Gor- 

 ton, Manchester, w'as put up for sale by auction on December 6. 

 The first bid was £500, which was 

 raised to il,550, at which it was with- 

 drawn, as being considerably under tlie 

 reserve price. The land and buildings witliout the machinery 

 and fittings were then offered, but no bid was forthcoming. If 

 not sold shortly by private treaty, the property will be offered 

 piecemeal. The Standard Works are the property of Messrs. 

 George Littlewood & Sons, Limited, now in voluntary liquida- 

 tion, and the sale was by instruction of tlie liquidator, a Bir- 

 mingham official. Messrs. Littlewood arc a well-known Bir- 

 mingham firm of wheel makers, especially for perambulators, 

 and the business carried on at the Standard Rubber Works has 

 been mainly in connection with perambulator tires, though rub- 

 ber heel pads have been an important product in recent years. 

 Tlie freehold land was comprised in the sale and most of the 

 rubber machinery on offer was of modern installation and by 

 well-known makers. 



This company, which commenced manufacturing about two 

 years ago, is located at Cambridge street, Broadford road, Man- 

 .jjj£ Chester. This Cambridge street, I may 



REVOLITE CO., Say, is at a considerable distance from 



LIMITED. Cambridge street, Hulme, Manchester, 



where the works of Messrs. Charles Macintosh & Co., Limited, 

 are situated. The main business of the Revolite company is in 

 rubber heels, though sundry other molded articles are also turned 

 out. Considering the great competition there is nowadays in 

 this rubber heel business, both from small and large rubber 

 works, it says something for the wearing capacity of the Revo- 

 lite "Harrier" heel that it has been found necessary to consid- 

 eraly enlarge the capacity of the works to keep abreast of the 

 demand. 



.Althoit.h three or four reforming patents have been at work 

 during the year, the demand for scrap rubber has not been such 

 as to cause any definite rise in price, 

 nor can it be said that the dealers have 

 experienced any difficulty in getting 

 supplies from customary sources, owing to the consumers send- 

 ing their scrap direct to the reforming works. Perhaps this may 

 he due to the delay in turning out untold tons of reformed rub- 

 ber per week, an eventuality we were led to e.xpect a year ago. 

 The scrap rubber market never shows any close sympathy with 

 the raw rubber market in the matter of prices, and the variations 

 in the prices of various qualities during 1910 were nothing like so 

 pronounced as in the case of raw rubber; indeed, the fluctua- 

 tions were within comparatively narrow limits. This occasioned 

 surprise to those having old rubber to sell. Motorists in par- 

 ticular seemed to think that there was a good business to be done 

 in disregarding tires at prices appro.ximating to tlie shillings per 

 pound which they saw in the paper was the value of crude rub- 

 ber As soon, however, as a deal was commenced disillusion 

 (|uickly followed. The price of old automobile tires at New 

 York, as quoted in The India Rubber World of November 1, 

 is 8 cents per pound, or about £36 per metric ton. This is for car- 



RUBBER 

 SCRAP. 



