July 1, 1914.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



535 



ing the rolls is placed in the roll D, the latter being connected to 

 the roll C by a block chain. The groove in the roll C is lapered 



Fig, 6. Rolling the X.\me in the Rlhber Harrel. 



slightly to corrcspnnd witli tliat on thi- barrel, and fits snugly. 

 The illustration shows a barrel just after the stamping opera- 

 linn. The rolls are held on sliding bases, F and G, which can 

 lie adjusted back and forth by the thumb-screws II and I, so 

 that pen barrels of various diameters can have the name rolled 

 on them in this same fixture. 



CHASING THE n.\RREI. AND CAP. 

 The chasing is an exceedingly interesting process. It is done 

 by a special machine, which is shown in Figure 7, but it is rather 

 a complicated and involved process and could hardly be explained 

 without going into too much detail for a general description like 

 this. In the machine shown in tlie illustration there arc six I)ar- 

 rels being chased simultaneously. One feature of the machine 

 that is worthy of particular attention is the fact that this chasing 

 cannot be done by steel cutters, as they do not retain their edse 

 si'fficiently long. A steel tool will work for a short time but as 

 soon as it becomes dull it tears the rubber and spoils the work, so 

 the chasing is done by a lilack diamond similar to those used in 

 truing emery wheels except that they have a very sharp cutting 

 edge. After the chasing is completed the pen is finished and ready 

 for the market, with the exception, of course, of putting in the 

 gold pen. a very necessary but simple detail. 



Fig. 7. Speci.\l Autom.xtic M.vchine for Ch.\sing the Riirber 

 h.nrrei, .wd c.\p. 



In view of the fact that, properly treated, a fountain pen is 

 almost indestructible, one might imagine, at the rate of the 

 present output, that the market would soon become supplied and 

 the demand diminish. But this is not likely to happen, because the 



American market alone is constantly increasing — both by reason 

 of the fact that more people are arriving every year, in one way 

 and another, to increase the population, and by rea-ion of the 

 further fact that more people of those already here are constant- 

 ly discovering the advantage of a fountain pen — and moreover, 

 in addition to the American market, vast as it is, the whole 

 civilized world has become a market for the fountain pen, for it 

 is an article that doesn't depend for its use upon the season, or 

 the weather, or the climate. It is just as useful at the equator, 

 for a traveling man— to write down a large order for American 

 goods, for instance— as it is for those who sail the nortliern 

 seas when they want to jot down the daily happenings in the 

 official log. Tliere will always be a demand for it, and an in- 

 creasing demand, wherever men know how to write. 



PRINCIPAL RISKS OF AVIATION. 



/^ l-.R.M.W expert opinion is to the effect that the long and 

 ''-* successful flights of the Zeppelin airships have proved 

 their capacity to be such that their practical utility will not be 

 affected by the various mishaps they have met with, nor by the 

 risks thus shown to exist. In a discussion of these risks they 

 have been classified as follows by a German expert : 



1. Storms: Interpreting the term as meaning winds blowing 

 horizontally, they constitute a lower risk than is generally at- 

 tributed to them : such conditions being, moreover, usually fore- 

 seen. If an airship, nevertheless, gets into a wind it cannot with- 

 stand, its situation becomes perilous. Increased security is, how- 

 ever, afforded by the high speed of modern airships. 



2. Vertical storm.s: These storms (one of which proved fatal 

 to the airship "L. 2'') form one of the chief dangers of aviation. 

 In very extreme cases they will arrest the power of steering and 

 under all circumstances they cause the aiiship to ascend much 

 higher than had been intended, thus leading to heavy losses of 

 gas. 



3. Tempests: Thunder and liglitning often accompany vertical 

 storms, but the danger appears to be less than had at first been 

 supposed. It is thought that the skeleton of the airship forms 

 an excellent condiirtor of electricity. 



4. Burning : Unfortunately, hydrogen is the only filling gas 

 at present known and is very inflammable. Combustion takes 

 place with a mixture of 66.S per cent, of explosive gas. It is 

 therefore necessary to avoid having open fires where they can 

 be reached by the hydrogen. It is at present impossible to pro- 

 vide against explosions, as it is not known to what extent balloon 

 materials generate dangerous frictional electricity, nor what 

 iitlier causes maj' become operative. 



5. Insufficient Strength of the Frame: It has been found 

 that the claims otherwise usual cannot be applied to the frame 

 )f an airship. The capacity of resistance increases with the 



disi>laccincnt. 



PROSPECTIVE re-establishment OF COTTON GROWING IN 

 AUSTRALIA. 



The British Cotton Growing .Association, in conjunction with 

 the Queensland Department of .Agriculture and the Common- 

 wealth Government, has excellent hopes of the re-establishment 

 of a cotton growing industry in Australia. Thirty years ago the 

 East and West Moreton districts had over 14,000 acres under 

 cotton, the cultivation of which has meanwhile dwindled, owing 

 to adverse circumstances. In view, however, of the needs of 

 Lancashire and of the domestic industries of .'\ustralasia. the 

 re-cstahlishment of this cultivation is under consideration. The 

 British Cotton .Association has undertaken to guarantee a fixed 

 minimum price of O'Ad. (13.17c.) per pound for a period of 

 three years. Skilled advice and suitable seed will be supplied to 

 possible cultivators. 



