May 



1912. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



372, 



for its cultivation. On the great Imperial road that runs for 

 some six miles out from Fort de France, the shade trees are 

 Heveas, Castilloas and Fuiitu>nias. The two first named did not 

 look particularly thrifty, but the Funtumias had grown luxuri- 

 antly, and would do well if rid of the scale which is beginning to 

 attack them. 



Martinique in a way is very modern. The people accept Amer- 



been done in that direction. Leaving this last of the French 

 islands we were really started for Trinidad and its rubber 

 plantations. 



Ca.MP IJALATA, MARTIXIylE. 



ican money very readily, and there are good carriage roads to 

 various parts of the island. Travellers have no difficulty in 

 finding entertamment at the various plantations, and the country 

 is really safer and pleasanter than the city. 

 GUADELOUPE. 

 Through coral islets and over coral reefs into the land-locked 

 harbor of Guadeloupe we came early one morning. Our landing 

 place was the town of Basse Terre, which we found to be quite 

 a large place. It was exceedingly French in architecture and 

 general appearance, and anything but French in its lack of clean- 

 liness. We did the town in a little ramshackle carriage, the horse 

 on the dead run. in spite of our wish to go a little slower that we 

 might observe the customs of the place. The outlying districts 

 were exceedingly pretty and were crowded with country negroes 



THE PASSING OF THE CARRIAGE. 



THE march of progress is an exceedingly interesting phenom- 

 enon to contemplate, but it is often rather hard on the 

 things that happen to be in its way. For instance, there is the 

 automobile, which is undoubtedly a great blessing to humanity, 

 and has opened up vistas of activity never before dreamed of; 

 but it has hit the carriage trade exceedingly hard. 



A dozen years ago the section of New York lying along 

 Seventh avenue and Broadway, north of Long Acre Square, was 

 given over to the carriage trade. This trade had originally 

 started far downtown, but as society moved uptown the shapely 

 Victorias and Broughams and ornate and expensive harnesses 

 that society demanded moved uptown also, to accompany the 

 handsome thoroughbred, until they finally found convenient and 

 suitable quarters in the district just mentioned. But a stroll 

 through those streets now shows how great a change has taken 

 place. Either the carriage builders, who ten years ago had large 

 and handsomely equipped exhibition rooms have disappeared, or, 

 as it is the case with the leaders in that industry, they have 

 swung over into the ranks of the enemy and gone zealously into 

 the production of automobiles. A wonderful change has taken 

 place, too, in the physical aspect of that section. Where ten 

 years ago there were little one-story blacksmith shops, which 

 naturally associated themselves with the more pretentious horse 

 and carriage markets, there are now imposing ten and twelve- 

 story buildings, devoted exclusively to the display and sale of 

 automobiles, tires and other accessories. 



There is being erected at present, on what hitherto has been 

 only a vacant lot, a 20-story building, the first S floors of which 

 are to be utilized exclusively in the exploitation of tires. 



It was only some two years ago, or perhaps less, that the first 

 taxicabs appeared in our large cities ; now they have almost 

 driven the horse-drawn cab off the streets, and the man with a 

 hansom cab that he wishes to dispose of will find himself 

 fortunate if he can get one-tenth its original cost. 



The huge commercial trucks, used by wholesale grocers, brew- 

 ers, and in other lines of business demanding the local trans- 

 portation of large volumes of heavy goods, are being very rapidly 

 displaced by the motor truck. The construction of horse-drawn 

 vehicles of every description is rapidly declining and must neces- 

 sarily continue to decline; for it is simply a case of the survival 

 of the fittest. The motor is more efficient, more reliable and more 

 economical than the horse, and as far as concerns the greater 

 part of the city work which the horse has hitherto done, he will 

 have to yield to his all-conquering gasolene rival. 



The Volcano "La Soufeiere," Guadeloupe. 



coming to market, and also lined with exceedingly persistent 

 beggars. Guadeloupe is healthful, fertile, and has one semi- 

 quiescent volcano, La Soufriere, which emits sulphurous fumes 

 in abundance. The average temperature is from 68 degs. to 

 70 degs. Cocoa, coffee and cotton are raised, and rubber could 

 be cultivated, although as far as we could learn nothing had 



SOME MORE "ASBESTOS" BURNS. 



There seems to be a good deal of trouble in various localities 

 in Maine with so-called asbestos fire protection. The latest re- 

 port comes from Lewiston to the effect that the proprietor of a 

 local foundry purchased some "asbestos paper"— guaranteed to 

 be fireproof — to place around one of the furnaces in order to 

 protect the adjacent wood work. A few hours after this "as- 

 bestos" fire-proofed paper was placed near the furnace it was all 

 ablaze, which would seem to indicate that it was more paper 

 than asbestos. 



David Bridge & Co., Manchester, England, who have been 

 known for many years as genera! suppliers of rubber machinery, 

 are now manufacturing a full line of rubber reclaiming ma- 

 chines, covering every sort of machine used in this business. 



