506 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[June 1, 1914. 



water has been added artificially, the ultimate loss in washing 

 will only be the same. 



The figure of 60 per cent, loss which is stated by your corre- 

 spondent is certainly a little more than the average, but it will 

 probably interest him to know that, on this side, the figure gen- 

 eraally expected by manufacturers is a loss ranging between 50 

 and 60 per cent., say 55 per cent, average. The fine hard "silky" 

 lumps imported 10 to 15 years ago. which then only lost 35 to 

 40 per cent, are no longer available, but the comparative result to 

 a manufacturer is the same now as then, since the extra loss is 

 accounted for in the price. The latex still remains the same, 

 being of exceedingly fine quality, only that the method of prepara- 

 tion is possibly not so good as formerly. 



The suggestion made in your correspondent's letter that every 

 warehouse he entered had a hose and faucet, has no bearing at 

 all on the subject, as there are very few warehouses for storing 

 any other produce in Liverpool without such conveniences. We 

 are glad to be able to say that in most cases they remain con- 

 veniences, and are not used for purposes such as that suggested. 

 "Because a man has a box of matches in his pocket, we cannot 

 denounce him as an inveterate smoker." 



There should be no reason why ^our manufacturers should not 

 be able to rely upon the quality or condition of this grade, and 

 it would be a great pity if. on account of one or two unfortunate 

 experiences, their attention were wholly diverted to other grades. 



Having shipped large quantities of Gold Coast Lumps to your 

 side without the slightest complaint, we feel it our duty to assure 

 your friends that there are still many firms dealing in this grade 

 (amongst whom we have the honor to sign ourselves) who watch 

 the trade's interest in the manner stated above. 



In conclusion, we should just like to say that it is a great hard- 

 ship if .\merican manufacturers require the rubber re-taring on 

 the other side. If this is done, then the dealer becomes responsible 

 for a loss over which he has no control. If any of the loose water 

 is allowed to run olT in New York — which water is bound to 

 collect in consequence of the cutting in Liverpool — then the con- 

 sumer is obtaining the benefit as he will have correspondingly less 

 loss in washing, as the rubber will be in drier condition than 

 when shipped from Liverpool. 



An officially certified weight-note (gross and tare) immediately 

 before shipping should be all that is required by your friends. 

 Very truly yours, 



•,-,,•■ T T , T7 r- RiTTER & Haxkin. 



2/ Mmcing Lane. London. E. (.. 

 .\pril 20, 1Q14. 

 SPLINTERS OF WOOD IN PLANTATION RUBBER. 



' 1 ■() THE Editor of The Indi.\ Rubber World, Dear Sir: 

 ■*■ Perhaps this would be a good time to bring up the com- 

 plaints received from manufacturers because of small splin- 

 ters of wood found in even the best plantation crepes. 



That some of these splinters are due to the method of open- 

 ing the boxes at the factories is certain. An axe is generally 

 used, to save time and labor. On the other hand, the splinters 

 are found even in the middle of the packages, and could only 

 have crept in during transportation or re-packing in London. 



It would seem that some sort of an inner covering put around 

 the rubber when it is placed in the boxes would not only pre- 

 vent these splinters from working into the parcel during trans- 

 portation, but would also keep them out when the rubber is 

 opened at the factories. 



Just what covering to use seems to be the serious problem. 

 Possibly some sort of duck or muslin wrapper could be used. I 

 fear that ordinary paper would tear, or if by any chance it 

 should become wet would work into the rubber and be almost as 

 hard to get out as splinters. 



If the planters could see the condition of the rubber on ar- 

 rival they would — if they do not alreadj' — appreciate the neces- 

 sity for some measures being taken. Xeedless to sav. when the 



rubber leaves the plantations it is clean and packed in boxes- 

 which are most carefully made and smooth on the interior. 



It seems a shame that one of the great advantages of plan- 

 tation rubber — that it can be put into the compound without be- 

 ing washed and dried — should be many times defeated by these- 

 little splinters of wood. 



Yours truly. 



H.\RoLD W. French. 

 Akron. Ohi,.. 



THE ETYMOLOGY OF THE VERB "TO RUBBER." 



To THE Editor of The Indi.\ Rubber World, Dear Sir: 

 "Rubber," the verb, intransitive and also inelegant, mean- 

 ing to stare with eager and impertinent or naive curi- 

 osity, is not one of those gems of our adaptive language which 

 come into being of their own accord. It had a definite origin 

 for which one man is responsible. Thirty years ago New York 

 and other cities were infested with dime museums in which the 

 chief attractions offered to an admiring and discriminating public 

 were various deformed and abnormal human beings — ladies 

 whose avoirdupois was reckoned by the ton, living skeletons- 

 whose salary was adequate to their condition, strong men who 

 lifted gigantic hollow dumb-bells, and bearded ladies who wore- 

 diamond earrings and were fathers of large families. In their 

 desperate search for new living curiosities they pounced upon 

 some unhappy fat man who had giown thin and whose dermal 

 covering was more than ample foi present necessities. He was 

 the "man with a rubber skin" and took his place at once as a 

 star of equal magnitude with others of his particular galaxy. 



But dime museum men are not the only ones who have a 

 hard hunt for material. Writers and artists also are some- 

 times put to it in their effort to meet the public taste for some- 

 thing new. So, about 1887, an artist on "Puck," taking the cue 

 from the dime museum, produced a series of pictures of the man 

 with a rubber neck, whose adaptable cervical anatomy proved 

 useful to its owner in various and sundry ways. It caught the 

 public fancy, and when in crowds people were tiptoeing and 

 using their efforts to peer above the heads of the front row 

 contingent they were good-humoredly asked if they did not 

 "wish they had a rubber neck like that fellow in 'Puck.' " Soon 

 the origin was lost and "rubber-necking" took the place of 

 "craning," a perfectly respectable word which was once a humor- 

 ous reference to the bird whose neck is its chief stock in trade. 

 Americans have to save time, so the extra syllable was soon 

 dropped from the verb, lieing retained in the substantive which 

 now finds its chief use as an adjective compound when attached 

 to the wagon which gets back to the beginning and rolls on ruli- 

 ber wheels undreamed of at the time the melancholy artist pro- 

 duced his first picture of the man with a rubber neck. 



New York. Mav 20, 1914. T. M. U. 



RUBBER MATS FOR THE SAFETY OF WORKMEN, 



Operatives employed in woodworking operations often have 

 to contend with a very slippery condition of the floor — because 

 of sawdust and fine shavings — around saws, shapers, jointers, 

 and other similar machines. It is obvious that such a condition 

 is a very dangerous one. as a slip or fall on the part of a. 

 workman is likely to end in disaster. To obviate this danger 

 those who are interested in tlie safety of workmen recommend 

 the use of rubber mats to cover the slippery spot where the- 

 workman has to stand, and this simple but most salutary device 

 is being introduced into many plants. 



The Bureau of Supplies and Accounts. Navy Department^ 

 Washington, D. C, will receive bids until June 16 for furnish- 

 ing ,enini and rubber gasket; schedule 6.785. Report No. 1,787. 



