January 1, 1912.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD. 



167 



a fuel for smelting silver ores, and it is said that the Indians for 

 centuries have made rubber balls by chewing the bark of the 

 plant. In 1886 an English engineer reported to a syndicate of 

 English capitalists that on a ranch which he was examining for 

 mining prospects, that there was an enormous quantity of a plant 

 which yielded about ten per cent, of rubber. He recommended 

 the investigation of this matter as he believed it possible that 

 commercial rubber could be extracted in quantity. No action 

 was taken on his recommendation, and the matter lapsed until 

 attention was attracted to it again a few years ago through the 

 rising price of commercial brands of rubber. Attempts were 

 made to extract the rubber from the plant by means of solvents. 

 Other attempts were made to destroy the woody and barky 

 matters by chemical means and leave the rubber untouched. 

 Many patents have been taken out for all sorts of processes, but 

 the mechanical method has practically superseded them all. 



The plant is pulled from the soil and laden on the backs of 

 burros. It is then carried to a central station, where it is baled 

 by ordinary hay balers. These bales are placed upon large 

 wagons, which are drawn across the desert by huge teams of 

 mules — often 12 or 14 to the team — to the railroad station. 



At the factory the process in principle is very simple, whilst 

 the technical details have presented many difficulties, the con- 

 quering of which has resulted in a better and better grade of 

 rubber. The plant is crushed to a very fine state of division 

 in the presence of water and in the crushing the small grains 

 of rubber adhere to one another, forming minute worms. These 

 worms are capable of floating while the major portion of the 

 woody and barky matters sink in the water. The rubber is 

 skimmed off and further cleaned by purely mechanical means. 

 It is then packed or baled and is ready for market. 



This process is used for the bulk of commercial guayule rubber. 

 Special brands are also gotten out for specific purposes. These 

 brands are usually more or less deresinated. The resin in the 

 commercial rubber is a highly complex body, and ranges from 

 19 to 21 per cent, of the crude dry rubber. There seems to be 

 little doubt but that the presence of the resin acts to some degree 

 as a preservative in vulcanized rubber goods. The so-called 

 resin comprises all the acetone solubles that the rubber contains. 

 For some purposes S to 10, or 15 per cent., or even all the resin 

 is extracted, although many manufacturers believe that this 

 process does not appreciably influence the quality of the product. 

 Guayule rubber is classed among the soft inferior rubbers. It is 

 undoubtedly a true rubber, and is almost paradoxical in its nature 

 from the fact that the process of vulcanization enhances its 

 quality to an extent which brings it into direct competition with 

 other rubbers which sell for higher prices. In other words, it 

 seems likely that the future will see guayule rubber at a price 

 which will be higher relatively to that of other rubber than the 

 price which it at present obtains. In other goods, when properly 

 vulcanized, guayule rubber does not readily deteriorate. An 

 extended experience indicates that its life or resistance to crack- 

 ing, etc., is as great as that of rubbers of a very high grade. 



David Bridge & Co., Limited, whose factory is at Manchester, 

 England, has sent to this publication a copy of "The 'Mechanical 

 World' Pocket Diary and Year Book for 1912." This is a hand- 

 some little volume of 426 printed pages, besides pages for a 

 daily diary covering the whole year. The printed matter gives 

 a vast amount of useful information, including engineering notes, 

 rules and tables with many diagrams and illustrations — a very 

 valuable volume for the mechanical worker. 



THE MADERO GOVEENMENT AND THE UNITED STATES. 



President ISIadero, of Mexico, is a person of more than usual 

 interest to the rubber trade because of the commanding position 

 long occupied by his family in the export of guayule from 

 Mexico, in which industry he made his fortune and to which 

 he owes not a little of the influence and prestige that made him 

 the chief executive of his country. He is also an object of great 

 interest to the entire American business world, as his adminis- 

 tration appears to be planned on broad and liberal lines, with 

 the promise that commercial relations between this country and 

 Mexico will be greatly developed under the new regime. 



One illustration of this desire on the part of President Madero 

 to establish closer relations with the United States is the fact 

 that he has sent his friends, Seiior Heriberto Barron, to this 

 country as the commercial agent of Mexico to inspire confidence 



A Band of "Maderistas." 



among American investors in Mexican enterprises. Sehor Barron 

 was persona non grata to President Diaz, but he stands very 

 close to the present administration. He has opened offices at 

 No. 32 Broadway, New York, where he hopes to establish a 

 permanent Mexican Bureau of Information. He is quoted as 

 saying : 



'T want the American investors to know that they can now 

 safely come into Mexico. We are particularly friendly to the 

 United States because investors in this country already have 

 nearly $1,000,000,000 invested in Mexico and because 75 per cent, 

 of our imports and exports come from and go to the United 

 States. Trade has increased materially since Madero has been 

 at the head of the government. 



"It is a part of President Madero's plans to irrigate many 

 sections of the country, to build new railroads, new harbors, and 

 to encourage the formation of new steamship companies." 



No MOTORIST NEED BE AFRAID TO PUMP HIS TIRE to the full 



limit with a hand pump, as it is practically impossible for him. 

 with this implement, to get too much air into the tire. It is 

 pretty safe to say that an always-full tire will last twice as long 

 as the tire that is never more than half filled. 



THE UTAH-MEXICAN RUBBER CO. 



A recent number of the Salt Lake City "Herald" contains an 

 interesting account of the progress made by the Utah-Mexican 

 Rubber Co. It states that beginning eight years ago with 6,000 

 acres of dense jungle in the state of Tabasco, Mexico, it has in- 

 creased its territory until it now has 80,000 acres, with more 

 acres actually cleared and planted than were numbered in its 

 original tract, 5,000 acres having been planted to rubber and an- 

 other thousand acres to bananas. The work of the company was 

 very much retarded by the turmoil of the revolution, which 

 greatly decreased its working force, but even so, the company 

 has begun tapping the older trees. It is stated that an English 

 syndicate, which has already secured two Mexican plantations, 

 made an offer of one and a half million dollars in gold for this 

 one, which offer was declined. 



The president of the company is Joseph F. Smith, while its di- 

 rectors include James T. Hammond, W. S. McCormick, John S. 

 Bransford and W. W. Miller, all prominent in the business life 

 of Salt Lake City. 



