March 1, 1911. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



205 



The Editor's Book Table. 



DI;R KAUTSCnCK. UND SEINE I'KUEKUNG, BY DR. V. \\ . III.N- 

 rischen aiul JJipJ. Inp. K. Mcmmlcr - • - Leipzig: S. Hirzel. 1910. 

 [Paper. 8vo. Pp. 263. Price, 8 marks. 1 



THIS book, for its size, is one of the most comprehensive 

 and complete works puhlished in recent years on the sub- 

 ject of rubber, and especially the testing of rubber. The 

 work, wliich is practically a digest of rubber literature, be- 

 ginning with tlie iirst knowledge of rubber in 1493, is brought 

 down to include matters pvililished during .March and April 

 of 1910. 



The l)Ook is well arranged, the sequence of the various sub- 

 jects being natural and logical, as will be shown by a glance 

 at the table of contents. It is divided into three distinct divi- 

 sions, which are subdivided into sections. The first division 

 contains a general description of rubber, under the following 

 headings: Section A, History; B, Occurrence of Rubber; C, 

 Properties of Latices; D, Constitution of the Rubber Hydro- 

 carbon ; E, Other Substances Occurring with the Rubber Hydro- 

 carbon in Crude Rubber; F, Physical Properties of Crude Rub- 

 ber; G, Chemical Properties of Crude Rubber; H, Theory of 

 Vulcanization of Rubber; J, Technical Handling and Prepara- 

 tion of Rubber Materials; K, Properties of Vulcanized Rubber. 



The second division is devoted to the chemical analysis of 

 rubber, and is by Dr. Hinriclisen. The various subjects cov- 

 ered are as follows : A, Analysis of Crude Rubber ; B, Analy- 

 sis of Vulcanized Rubber ; C, Life Tests of Finished or Vul- 

 canized Ruljber. 



Division 3 covers the mechanical testing of rubber, and is 

 by K. Memmler. Section A deals with strength tests of soft 

 rubber and the methods of carrying out such tests ; B, Results 

 of Strength Tests on Soft Rubber According to the Older and 

 Newer Methods of Testing. 



.This last division is especially complete, and the various 

 methods of mechanical testing of rubber, which have been pro- 

 posed from time to time, are very fully treated. The section 

 is illustrated with numerous wood cuts and diagrams of ap- 

 paratus used by various investigators in making their tests, as 

 well as full descriptions of the methods of using these various 

 pieces of apparatus. 



This subject of the mechanical testing of rubber deserves a 

 great deal more attention than has been given to it by most au- 

 thors, and it is indeed gratifying to find that these authors treat 

 the subject so fully. They give not only the results of their own 

 experiments along this line, but also, in considerable detail, a 

 description of the work of other authors and tlie results obtained 

 by them. The various charts and tables illustraling these de- 

 scriptions greatly enhance their value. 



One other subject, which is treated, at some length in various 

 parts of the book, is tlie optical testing of rubber and rubber 

 resins. This is also a line which will probably prove of. great 

 value in the future, and one which, in the opinion of the re- 

 viewer, is well worth the attention of experimenters. It might. 

 indeed, furnisli the subject of a graduating thesis for many 

 students. 



The entire work is well written, and the notes on tlie litera- 

 ture are admirably clear and full. The book deserves a place 

 on the shelf of every rublier chemist. 



THE CEYLON H.XNDDOOK .AND DIRECTORY AND COMPENDILTM 

 of Useful Inf.irniatinn for 191011. to W'hicli is Prefixed a Statistical 

 Summary for tlie Colony and Review of the Planting Enterprise up to 

 AuRust. 1910. Compiled - • - under the direction of I. I'erguson. C.M.G. 

 - - ■ Colombo: A. .M. & J. Ferguson. 1910-11. [Cloth. Pp. Ixiv -t- 

 1576. Price, £1 ]s.] 



The Ceylon Handbook and Directory for tlic years 1910-11 

 is the same excellent compendium of business information on 

 Ceylon that the previous editions have been. The book is some- 



what increased in bulk, which is mainly due to the development 

 of the Ceylon planting industry. Mr. Ferguson estimated that 

 in the middle of 1910 the returns from the planting districts, 

 after being carefully checked by the Colombo mercantile agents, 

 showed that 188,000 acres of rubber were planted or being 

 planted for the season. A good deal of this acreage is inter- 

 planted in tea. This interplanted area is estimated at 75,351 

 acres, wliile 21,169 acres of cacao arc also intermixed with rub- 

 ber. It is stated, however, that 188,000 acres may be safely 

 taken to represent the land planted with rubber in Ceylon at 

 the time this report was made. The book also devotes consid- 

 erable attention to the other industries of Ceylon and gives es- 

 pecially full statistics on tea culture. The "Handbook" con- 

 tains full particulars regarding all of the plantations of rubber 

 and is an exceedingly valuable guide to all business men inter- 

 ested in this industry. This "Handbook" is one of the most 

 complete that lias been gotten out. 



THE POCKET GUIDE TO THE WEST INDIES. BY ALGERNON E. 

 Aspinall. New and revised edition. London: Duckworth & Co. 1910. 

 [Cloth. 16rno. Pp. 320. Price, 3j. 6rf. net. J 



This Pocket Guide to the West Indies is the second edition 

 of a former publication by the same author. The original pub- 

 lication proved extremely popular and the demand for the book 

 was so large that a second edition was made necessary. In 

 the preface to the present edition it is claimed that much of 

 the matter in the book has been rewritten and that an extra 

 chapter on the Panaina Canal has been added. The compiler 

 of the work has taken the greatest care to secure the latest 

 statistics and details with regard to all of the West Indian coun- 

 tries. The book contains many maps and charts and is a thor- 

 ough compendium of the West Indies. It will prove extremely 

 valuable to any traveler in that section of the globe. 



INDISCHE CULTUUR ALMANAK (MET SUPPLEMENT) VOOR 

 1911. Samengcsteld voor A. H. Berkliout en H. C. Prinsen Geerligs, 

 25e Taargang. Amsterdam: J. H. de Bussy. 1910. [Cloth. 32mo. 

 Pp. 385. Price, 3 florins.] 



The practical utility of this little work covers the entire 

 year, including, as it does, a complete almanac, showing the 

 various feasts, etc., fi.xed and movable, not only those ob- 

 served by Christians, generally and the Roman Catholic 

 Church particulatly, but also those of the Israelite, Chinese 

 and Japanese elements in the East Indian population. A 

 memorandum diary, three days to the page, suggests the 

 use of the book as a reininder for duties to be discharged, 

 obligations to be met, etc., on different days, and there i.s 

 also a fund of statistical and other information relating to 

 the various crops cultivated in this section; weights and 

 measures of the different nations, etc., etc. Professor Berk- 

 hout, one of the compilers, was formerly conservator of 

 forests in the Netherlands Indies. The supplement referred 

 to is a pamphlet of sixty-four pages, giving a list of works 

 relating to agricultural, meteorological, entomological and 

 other subjects. The almanac is neatly bound, in pocket form, 

 with receptacle for memoranda, holder for lead pencil and rub- 

 ber band. 



MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL RE- 

 port. St. Louis, Missouri. The Board of Trustees. [Cloth. 8vo. 

 Pp. 195.] 



Prefaced with a view of the library and laboratories of 

 the Garden, and embellished with numerous well executed 

 photogravures of botanical specimens; this handsomely 

 printed publication embodies the report of tlie oflicers of 

 the Board of Trustees of the Garden, and of the director, 

 covering the year ending December, 1909, also the full text 

 of papers on botanical and kindred subjects, prepared dur- 

 ing the year and published by the trustees. 



