152 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[December 1, 1913. 



the bales are cut open and the contents soaked in boiling or warm 

 water until the rubber is soft enough for further treatment. In 

 conclusion it is stated that plantation rubber loses in washing 

 frdiri 1 to 2 per cent., while the loss varies in other classes of 

 rubber. 



Such are the principal features of Mr. Eaton's report on his 

 visit to Europe as reproduced by the "Indische Mercuur." 



GREAT BRITAIN'S RUBBER GOODS TRADE. 



The total commerce of Great Brtiain in rubber manufactures 

 for the year 1912. as shown in the following table, amounted in 

 value to $17,661,437. 



Re- 

 imports. Exports, exports. 

 Boots and shoes of rubber, or of 



which the component mate- 

 rial of chief value is rubber. $638,722 $651,141 $75,121 

 Waterproofed wearing apparel, 



including that waterproofed 



by processes other than 



coating with rubber 40,270 3,958,053 8,171 



Other manufactures of rubber, 



except tires and tubes for 



carriages 3,370,431 8,427,852 491,677 



Total $4,049,423 $13,037,046 $574,969 



Of the boot and shoe imports, 56,822 dozen pairs, valued at 

 $398,629 were supplied by the United States, 37,722 dozen pairs, 

 worth $184,513, being furnished by Germany. In general rubber 

 goods, Belgium was the chief source of supply, the imports from 

 that countrv amounting to $2,288,506, Germany and the United 

 States supplying respectively $1,532,325 and $1,103,493 worth. 



Statistics for 1912 included rubber tires and tubes with motor 

 cars, motor cycles, etc., and their parts, but during 1913 these 

 figures have been separately recorded, and for the six months 

 ending July 31 a commerce of $8,157,705 is shown in this branch 

 of the rubber industry, being divided as follows: Imports, $3,- 

 578,335; exports, $3,852,510; re-exports, $726,860. 



NEW trSE FOR RUBBER ON MOTOR VEHICXES. 



On one of the later models of a prominent English motor 

 truck is seen a new use of rubber. Surrounding the propeller 

 shaft is a capacious thrust tube, which absorbs the forward 

 thrust from the rear axle by means of a cast-steel cross member 

 at the forward end of the tube. The ends of this cross member 

 are mounted in special brackets attached to the side frame mem- 

 bers of the chassis, each bracket containing a round rubber seat- 

 ing block, into which the ends of the cross members fit. This 

 method of design is adopted in order to insure flexibility of this 

 part with reference to the final drive. 



ODORLESS RUBBER SPONGES. 



While various opinions adverse to rubber sponges have been 

 ventilated in the German press and have been disputed, the 

 merits of the article have been prominently urged by several of 

 the leading manufacturers. This has in one case taken the 

 form of showing that the report as to their having an un- 

 pleasant odor can only refer to inferior grades, high class 

 qualities, made from a good grade of rubber, being exempt from 

 that defect. Other makers have been urging the fact of their 

 not injuring the tenderest skin. 



"HOPP-HOPP." 



"Hopp-Hopp" is the name of a new toy rubber ball brought 

 out in Germany, its name indicating its lightness and elasticity. 

 It can be allowed upon fragile articles without doing any dam- 

 age, is very transparent and of effective appearance. 



OLYMPIA MOTOR SHOW. 



Tlie promoters of the recent motor show at "Olympia," Lon- 

 don, claim that it formed the most typical collection of motor 

 cars ever assembled under one roof. It lasted from Novemlier 7 

 to November 11, and from its opening day the attendance and 

 the business transacted seem to have borne out the above con- 

 tention. 



Among the most attractive exhibits were those of the Rolls- 

 Boyce, Daimler, Mctalkirgique, Sunbeam, Darracq, Fiat, Humber, 

 Cadillac, Clement-Talbot, and other concerns. The value of the 

 show as a means of attracting business is admitted by manufac- 

 turers, even pessimists allowing that the interest displayed has 

 been greater than they had anticipated. "Olympia"' may thus be 

 regarded as one of the really important social and industrial 

 features of the immediate future with respect to the auto in- 

 dustry. 



An inspection of the "Olympia" exliibit is said to have shown 

 that a large majority of the cars were fitted with "Dunlop" tires. 

 The exhibit of the Dunlop Rubber Co. itself included the new 

 twin detachable wheel for carrying double rear tires on heavy 

 cars. The Michelin company made ?. fine exhibit of tires and 

 accessories. The Continental Tire & Rubber Co. gave a repre- 

 sentative display of specialties. 



FOREIGN TRADE NOTES. 



The exports of balata from Venezuela in 1912 amounted to 

 9,129,657 bolivars ($1,762,023.80), being divided between Ger- 

 many, France, the United Stales, and Great Britain in the fol- 

 lowing proportions: Germany, 3,331,606 bolivars ($642,999.95); 

 France, 3,122,631 bolivars ($602,667.78) ; United States, 1,498,- 

 169 bolivars ($289,146.61) ; Great Britain, 1,177,251 bolivars 

 ($227,209.44). 



American manufacturers have been for some time making rub- 

 ber-soled outing shoes with small toe-caps of rubber, but the 

 samples lately put out by a Canadian company. The Kaufman 

 Rubber Co., Limited, of Vancouver, show a cap of white rubber 

 about the size of an ordinary toe-cap, the idea being to prevent 

 the soiling of the canvas upper in addition to saving the foot 

 from dampness. 



The Continental Tire & Rubber Co., of London, England, has 

 recently established a plant at Mazagon, Bombay, for the recon- 

 struction of old tires. This plant comprises a factory, well 

 equipped for this purpose, power house, etc. The fact that the 

 freight on tires from Bombay to Calcutta by either rail or 

 steamer amounts to quite an item makes it seem probable that 

 this company will confine itself to reconstruction work and that 

 there may still be room for the native Indian tire manufacturing 

 plant at Calcutta proposed some little time ago, but whose organ- 

 ization has not yet been completed. 



A College of Agriculture, costing $150,000, is to be built in 

 Rhodesia by the British South Africa Co. 



The value of raw and waste rubber imported into Russia 

 during 1913 amounted to $11,264,000, a gain of $2,685,500 over 

 the imports of similar goods in 1912. The exports of that coun- 

 try to the United States in rubber waste dropped from $21,862 

 in 1912 to $10,314 in 1913. 



.'\t the exposition to be held in Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1915, 

 for the purpose of depicting what human ingenuity and endeavor 

 have accomplished in the last century in the branches of com- 

 merce, trade, science, industry, and art, a section will be devoted 

 to the progress in chemistry— general, special, synthetic, analytic, 

 and applied. 



THE FRENCH AUTOMOBILE SHOW. 



Well in advance of its rival displays in other countries, the 

 French Automobile Show was held in Paris from October 17 

 to 27. An article dealing with this show, so far as it affects 

 rubber, will appear in the issue of January. 



