September i, 191c] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD. 



425 



The Inventor of the Pneumatic Tire. 



THE dispute arose about a statue. Who invented the pneu- 

 matic tire? To whom should Edinburgh give honor in 

 bronze or marble? To a Mr. R. W. Thomson, who pat- 

 ented an air filled tire in 1845, or to John Dunlop, who invented 

 the pneumatic tire in 1888? The dispute carries the imagination 

 back over one of the most astonishing episodes in our industrial 

 history. It begins with a mystery of invention. It culminates in 

 financial operations on a scale unexampled in our day, and the 

 development of innumerable industries connected with the use of 

 rubber. 



It was, indeed, in 1845 that Thomson patented the idea of 

 affixing a "belt'' filled with compressed air to the rim of a car- 

 riage wheel, and although his invention never came into practical 

 use, he showed great knowledge of the good effects which would 

 follow from the use of the pneumatic tire. Thomson, however, 

 was ahead of his time, and his tire found no favor. 



Forty-three years later John Dunlop, without any knowledge 

 of the Thomson invention, patented a pneumatic tire. More 

 than once I have heard from Mr. Dunlop himself the simple 

 tale of how he came to invent this device. The "safety" bicycle 

 had then come into vogue, but its wheels were shod with solid 

 rubber tires. Mr. Dunlop's little son possessed a tricycle, and as 

 the Dunlops then lived in Belfast, and the Irish roads were of 

 very bady. ; surface, this veterinary surgeon applied his mind to 

 contrive some means for minimizing the harsh jolting to which 

 his buy was subjected when he rode his tricycle. 



A rubber tube filled with compressed air was evolved, and it 

 afforded such comfort to the rider that Mr. Dunlop brought the 

 idea before adult cyclists, and some enthusiasm was aroused 

 among them. But Mr. Dunlop would have hardly been more 

 successful in 1888 than Thomson in 1845 had not another man 

 appeared on the scene. 



Mr. Harvey du Cros was at that time a prominent figure in 

 Irish sporting circles, and his sons were famous for their prow- 

 ess in cycle racing. With true business instinct Mr. du Cros saw 

 the immense possibilities of the pneumatic tire for cycles, and 

 he threw himself heart and soul into the work of making this 

 crude invention practicable. His early efforts were greeted 

 with derision. Cyclists and cycle manufacturers scoffed at the 

 clumsy "bolster" tire offered to them, and almost without ex- 

 ception experts declared against it. 



Then Mr. du Cros brought a band of Irish cyclists, including 

 his sons and R. J. Mecredy, to England, and they gained sweep- 

 ing victories with the pneumatic tire on the racing track. It 

 was evident now that the new invention would eventually tri- 

 umph, but a long and desperate fight against conservatism and 

 prejudice had still to be waged, and it is reasonable to assume 

 that but for the enterprise and ability of Mr. Harvey du Cros 

 Mr. Dunlop's invention might have lain dormant for many 

 years. Had this been the case the whole progress of modern 

 locomotion from motoring to airmanship would have been 

 checked, for we can trace the direct influence of the air-filled 

 tire in all the astonishing developments of the last twenty-two 

 years. So from the bad state of Irish roads, from the solicitude 

 of a fond parent to make smooth progress for his son's cycle 

 over rough roads, Thomson's idea was recreated, and this time 

 the right man was at hand to develop the idea. 



From the pneumatic tired bicycle there evolved naturally the 

 idea of fitting air tires to motorcars, and in this direction 

 France led the way. The crude mechanism of the early motors 

 was saved from the rough vibration of the roads, and the auto- 

 mobile improved with amazing swiftness as soon as these tires 

 were employed. With the progress of the motor car came the 



perfecting of the petrol engine and its application to manifold 

 purposes. Last of all, it made the airship and the aeroplane pos- 

 sible, and in each of these vessels rubber fabric is extensively 

 employed. 



Follow the evolution from small to great. Today cycles are 

 numbered in millions, the total in the United Kingdom being 

 over 3,000,000. There are close on 180,000 motor vehicles in 

 the United Kingdom, and the world's total must soon approx- 

 imate to half a million. All over the globe the trail of the 

 air filled tire has been laid by millions and millions of wheels, 

 and the road is becoming once more the main artery of our so- 

 cial system. In the air, too, we are tracing new routes by the 

 aid of the petrol engine. Airships are being built by every 

 great power, and of aeroplanes France alone has already nearly 

 two hundred, most of them fitted with pneumatic tired wheels. 

 With all this has come the creation of many important trades 

 and the encouragement of innumerable allied industries, per- 

 haps the most remarkable industrial development being that in 

 connection with the production of raw rubber. 



And this colossal factor in our industrial life has come into 

 existence because of the discomfort to a child cycling along the 

 rough roads of Ireland. Whether of Dunlop or of Thomson, 

 Edinburgh's statue will not be without significance as a symbol 

 in our industrial history. 



* * * 



It has been decided finally to recognize Dr. Dunlop as the one 

 entitled to be considered the inventor of the pneumatic tire, and 

 he is to be honored by the erection of a bronze statue in 

 Edinburgh. 



HOW RUBBER TREES ARE SCATTERED. 



""THE Ceylon Observer regards as a "most original and ex- 

 •*■ traordinary advertisement" one offering for sale rubber 

 forest properties in South America. The editor is moved to 

 comment particularly on the estimate of 25 Hcvea trees per acre, 

 evidently with the idea that so small a number cannot be of 

 consequence. But more than half the rubber produced today is 

 derived from forest trees located more sparsely than 25 to the 

 acre. By the way, the Times of Ceylon two years ago published 

 this communication from an expert observer : 



"Sir: Your reporter misunderstood me as to the number of 

 rubber trees per acre I believe to be roughly the average in the 

 Amazon region. What I intended to say was that 6 or 7 trees 

 per acre is the maximum I have ever seen myself on an estrada 

 of 150 trees, not that 6 or 7 trees per acre is usual. In fact, I 

 very much doubt if there is a single square mile of forest on the 

 Amazon with 1,500 trees on it [or 5 trees to two acres.] I 

 quite agree with Mr. W. W. Bailey that one or two trees is 

 nearer the average. Ninety million pounds of rubber come from 

 probably about 60,000,000 trees scattered over at least 1,000,000 

 square miles of land — 640,000,000 acres — in the Amazon region 

 annually. r. w. wickham. 



"Holmwood, Agrapatna, April 17, 1908." 



"From the London Daily Mail. 



Regarding rubber fabrics for aeroplanes, Mr. Robert A. 

 Warren, whose exhibition of a glider at the outing of the 

 Rubber Club of America was mentioned in the last India 

 Rubber World, writes that while he has been using other 

 materials, in his opinion rubberized fabric is the best aerial 

 cloth. As this is very smooth it offers little resistance to 

 the wind. Its cost, however — about $1.50 per yard — tends 

 somewhat to limit its use. 



