618 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[August 1, 1914. 



The Editor's Book Table. 



OFFICIAL GUIDE 10 ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS. 

 OFFlCl.\L GUIDE TO ROV.M. BOT.WIC C..\I<L)?:NS. PKR.MlK.NI V.\, 

 Ceylon. By H. F. Macmillan, F.I..S.. Diriclor. Coltmbo. 191j; I'late 

 & Co. [Boards, 48 pages, with 52 illustrations.] 



TO those who are not likely to have an opportunity of visiting 

 "The Garden of Eden," as Peradeniya has been called, the 

 handbook compiled by Mr. Macmillan will prove a valuable 

 addition to their botanical and topographical knowledge of the 



M.\ix ExTR.\NXE, Per.\deniv.\ Gardens. 



tropics. The 150 acres occupied by the gardens being situated 

 about 1,600 feet above sea level, with a mean annual temperature 



AvE.N'UE OF Rov.\L P-\t.M {Oreodoxa Rcgia) Pl.xxted 1898. 



of 76 deg. F., are in a position where vegetation has every op- 

 portunity of development. 



laving been curator of the gardens since 1895, Mr. Macmillan 

 on his appointment to the post of director in 1913 had accumu- 

 lated a store of information on the subject, which has given him 

 special facilities for the task so successfully accomplished in this 

 guide book. 



The history of the gardens during their century of existence 

 is succinctly told, from their transfer to their present location 

 in 1821 to their subsequent extensions and the opening of branch 

 gardens at BaduUa and Anuradhapura. 



The reader is first conducted through the stately row of 

 Amhcrstia iiohilis trees imported from Burma in 1860, situated 

 near the main entrance, a view of which has been reproduced 

 through tlie courtesy of the publishers. Next in order comes 

 the "Pahn Circle Drive," followed by the trailing plant Aris- 

 tolochia Pergola and leading to the "Octagon Conservatory" 

 with its store of indigenous and imported flora. The "Orchid 

 House" forms the next feature of attraction, and is followed by 

 the Ficus elastica or India rubber tree with its fantastically shaped 

 roots covering the ground. The "Travelers' Tree" and Papaw 

 trees continue the story till the "Avenue of Royal Palm" 

 (Oreodoxa rcgia) is reached, which is shown in the accompany- 

 ing illustration. 



Each of the 58 artistic illustrations has its own history, which 

 would repay perusal by any one interested in the picturesque de- 

 velopment of natural scenic beauties. 



THE WATERPROOFING OF FABRICS. BY DR. S. MIERZINSKI. 

 Translated from the German by Arthur Morris and Herbert Rob- 

 son, B.Sc. 1914, second edition; first edition, 1903. London: Scott, 

 Greenwood & Son. [Octavo, 128 pages, 29 illustrations. Price, 5.?.] 



■"PHIS is an attractive title to the rubber man, but it will 

 •'• probably prove rather disappointing reading. The first no- 

 ticeable feature of the book is that the author does not seem 

 to consider rubber as a waterproofing material or describe any 

 of the work which has made the name Macintosh famous. In 

 fact. Macintosh is not mentioned except in the chapter on 

 British patents, and there quite disparagingly. 



What the author seems to regard as the only proper water- 

 proofing is the impregnation of cloth with a metallic oxide, a 

 soap or a tar, to render it rain tight, though it is explained 

 that all these fabrics will eventually leak. 



There is a chapter on the preliminary treatment of fabric by 

 washing with soda lye, drying, etc., which shows the way fabrics 

 are treated. One chapter entitled "Waterproofing With Acetate 

 of Alumina" describes a method of soaking the fabric in acetate 

 of alumina and drying down to form a basic acetate which is 

 not quite waterproof. This is followed by a chapter on drying, 

 where the process of after treatment with soap to form an 

 alumina soap is described as a process of absolutely waterproofing 

 fabrics. Here the author states that it is customary to put rubber 

 in the soap. "This is easily done," he says, "as the soap solution 

 has the property of forming emulsions with solutions of india- 

 rubber. . . . The emulsion can only be separated by the 

 action of acids or direct steam." 



A process of waterproofing with parafifine is described, which 

 is merely frictioning it on with calenders. A number of other 

 methods of waterproofing are given and the manufacture of 

 tarpaulin and tarred fabrics is fully described. It appears that 

 the use of calenders for frictioning on tar in the same way that 

 rubber is put on fabrics would be a great step forward, as the 

 apparatus described as now being used looks rather crude, though 

 some features of it approach the calender quite closely. Prob- 

 ably those who are putting rubber solutions on cloth would re- 

 ceive a number of hints, particularly in the line of handling the 

 cloth both in preliminary treatment and in final calendering and 

 drying, as much of the work is devoted to this subject. 



