412 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[August 1, 1911. 



portant labor rccriiiling centre for niniiy years, and contractors 

 arc cxpciicncing great dit^iculty in fulfilling tlieir undertakings. 

 From Chiapas come reports of a similar nature. Along the line 

 of the Pan-.American Railway, where formerly labor was 

 abundant at the straight rate of 50 cents per day, none is now to 

 be had at any price. But, with all this, there has been no quitting 

 on the part of planters ; all remain at their posts, doing the best 

 they can until things readjust themselves. 



MEXICAN BITBBEE EXPORTS. 



Offici.\l Mexican statistics of exports to .\pril 30. show fol- 

 lowing results (converted into gold) : 



Month of .\pril— 1910. 1911. 



Rubber $915,893 $659,928 



Guayule 465,297 575,829 



Ten Months to April 30 — 



Rubber $6,315,600 $9,560,787 



Guayule 3.763,676 5,216,946 



rsOM THE TIEERA CALIENTE. 



R. L. Rice, an exceedingly energetic sales agent of the Hood 

 Rubber Co., Boston, Massachusetts, is an extensive and enthusi- 

 astic traveler. The illustration shows him on a Mexican vacation 



or "creaming" with a sufficient volume of water. From the wash- 

 ing tanks the latex is then run into a larpc sli.nllow pan, into 



R. L. Rice in Mexico. 



trip, far down in the Tierra Caliente. The result of this trip 

 and of others in the tropics, is that he is much better informed 

 upon crude rubber questions than most men in his particular 

 line of industrial endeavrjr. 



A NEW COAGULATING METHOD. 

 To THE luilTOR OF ThE InDIA RUBBER WoRLI) : .SlR. — .'VlllOng 



the various consignments of Mexican plantation rubber which I 

 received during last winter, was one of 2.000 pounds, prepared for 

 market in a manner so radiL'ally different from the usual methods 

 in vogue that I think a description of the process may prove 

 interesting to many of your readers. 



This consignment was made to me at Xew '^'ork by Finca 

 "Filadelfia," located at Lumija, in the interior of the State 

 of Chiapas. Mexico, and belonging to the Mexican Plantation 

 Company, of Philadel])hia. Pa., a property consisting of nearly 

 4.000 acres of Castilloa rubber, the oldest of which is now nine 

 years of age, under the care and supervision of Mr. H. H. 

 Markley as general manager. 



Accompanying the consignment was a letter from Mr. Markley 

 describing his process of preparing the latex for market ; the re- 

 sult of his years of study, observation and experiment. 



.As the latex is brought in by the tappers, it is first strnineil 

 tr' remove all foreign matter and it then receives one washing 



Markley's Coagulator. Showing Engine, Boiler. Machine 

 AND Vats in the Background. 



which is barely immersed the under surface of a copper drum, 

 measuring three feet in width and six feet in diameter. 



This drum is heated by steam to between 160 degrees and 175 

 ilcgrees Fahr., and is revolved slowly, just fast enough to allow 

 the thin film of latex to dry, which its surface has gathered in 

 passing through the latex in the shallow pan during each revolu- 

 tion. The revolution of the drum is constant until its surface 

 lias collected and dried a mass of rubber, say one-quarter of an 

 inch thick, when a knife cut is made across the drum and the 

 mass of rubber removed in the form of a sheet eighteen feet 

 long and three feet wide. These sheets which, as removed from 

 the drum, are thoroughly dry and do not contain over 1 per cent, 

 moisture, are immediately rolled up and are ready to ship to 

 market. 



The entire process is purely mt'chanical, as no chemicals of any 

 nature whatever are used. 



Moreover, if a smoke-cured rubber is desired, the drum is en- 



Showing the Inventor Taking okf the Sheet of RunnER. 



cased or housed and smoke introduced, which acts on the thin 

 film of latex taken up on each revolution of the drum and thus 

 producing a thoroughly smoke-cured sheet. 



