490 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[July 1, 1912. 



a higher percentage of combined sulphur than was in the rubber 

 scrap before being reclaimed. References to original papers 

 are a feature of the book which will commend it to many, with 

 which remark I must for consideration of space close this notice 

 of a book which will be a welcome addition to the library of 

 those interested in the chemistry and manufacture of rubber. 



Under this headline there is an interesting reference in the 



May issue of the Indi.\ Rubber World to the new boot brought 



out by the Goodyear India Rubber 



HUBBEH BOOTS WITH n\ iv/r r ^ ■ ^ r ■ , 



LEATHER SOLES Glove Manufacturmg Co. for miners 



use. The advantages of "gum boots" 

 have long been recognized by those who have to work in wet 

 ground, and the existing brands have given satisfaction to agri- 

 culturists, officers on stable duty, etc., but the drawback for the 

 miner has been the rapid destruction of the sole. In the north 

 of England lead mines, where access to the workings is fre- 

 quently made along adits or day levels which also serve for the 

 drainage of the mine, rubber boots have been in fairly regular 

 use, though this is not so in collieries or mines worked by 

 shafts. With the prolonged life afforded by the leather sole, 

 which will not be ruined by a bit of granite or slate, there 

 ought to be a greatly increased demand for rubber boots in 

 mining, and although I have no personal knowledge of dredging 

 work in Russia— a branch of mining largely on the increase — 

 I should think that the new boot would be appreciated in that 

 country. 



Mr. Potts, in his book referred to in another paragraph, men- 

 tions chromium salts as being hurtful to rubber. I don't know 

 whether this is based on any recent 



CHROMIUM AND u , , .> ^^t l 



RUBBER. researches, but the statement seems _ 



somewhat surprising. Weber utters no 

 warning to this effect, and W. Thomson in his paper of 1891 

 puts chromium among the metals having no action on rubber. 

 For some years past yellow chromate of lead has been used by 

 balloon fabric makers in connection with rubber, in order to 

 neutralize the effect of the actinic rays. Certainly the chromate 

 of lead has of late been superseded by organic dyes of the same 

 tint, but I have no evidence that this change has been made 

 because of any supposed injurious action of the chromate on the 

 rubber. Moreover Schidrowitz, in a recent lecture in London, 

 ■discussed the matter of mixing chromate of lead with the rubber 

 to protect it from the effect of light, nothing being said as to 

 any danger being apprehended. Thus it can hardly be said that 

 this is a case where the doctors are found agreeing. With 

 regard to the use of chromium compounds in the rubber manu- 

 facture, perhaps the best known body is chrome green, the 

 oxide which has long been regularly used, though not to any 

 large extent, owing to its high price. At one time green cut 

 sheet, in which it is used, was more largely made than it is 

 today. Other uses are green single texture proofings, where 

 the price allows of it, and the green enameled surface of cer- 

 tain surgical and druggists' goods. Brunswick green, which is 

 used as a substitute for chrome green in single texture proofings, 

 ■etc., contains chromate of lead as one of its constituents. 



TROUBLE OVER A MEXICAN PLANTATION. 



On June 17 El Palmar Rubber Estates, Limited, of Glasgow, 

 Scotland, tiled suit in the Supreme Court of New York against 

 the El Palmar Estates, a New York corporation to recover 

 $316,515. This sum is alleged to be due as the result of a fraudu- 

 lent sale of a rubber, cotton and sugar cane plantation in Vera 

 Cruz, Mexico. 



The defendant corporation sold the plantiff this plantation on 

 March 6, 1910. At that time the plaintiff claims it paid £107,500 

 for the plantation under a contract guaranteeing that it included 

 172,999 rubber trees, 220,000 coffee bushes and 200 acres of 

 sugar. Instead, it is alleged there are only 139,625 coffee bushes, 

 67,000 rubber trees and 100 acres of sugar. 



SOME LONDON RUBBER NOTES. 



i'v (III Occiisional Concspondcnt. 

 'T'HE East Indies Crude Rubber Trading Co., of London, 

 ■*• which has been treating jelutong on a small scale in Lon- 

 don, marketing it in a purified and drier form, but without ex- 

 tracting the resin, has been seeking additional capital in order to 

 carry out its process in the East upon more extensive lines. One of 

 the directors visited Sumatra some months ago, and fixed upon 

 Palembang as the location of a new factory. With the saving in 

 cost of transport due to purification and drying, and the fur- 

 ther saving resulting from the handling of larger quantities, it 

 is intended to place the jelutong on the market at lower prices. 

 The product is turned out in two forms, as imitation of planta- 

 tion crepe and of thick sheet. 



Agitation by dissatisfied shareholders in the United Malaysian 

 Rubber Co. has not yet led to a Board of Trade inquiry upon 

 the circumstances surrounding the flotation. Formed two 

 years ago to exploit a process for the extraction of resins from 

 jelutong, turning out material as crepe rubber, heavy losses 

 have been incurred. These were in part due to the process not 

 having been technically perfected at the time of its purchase by 

 the company. Such a fact, along w-ith others, has led to con- 

 siderable resentment. But as American holders of big blocks 

 of the shares are apparently content to await the development of 

 the business in the East, the agitation is not receiving very 

 strong support. 



Some time ago the demand was for a pale plantation rubber, 

 and experimentation was devoted to this end. As a result 

 methods were found of insuring lightness in color, and the 

 product met with a ready sale. But now one hears less of the 

 color and more of the strength, so that manufacturers, as a 

 whole, are readier in accepting a rubber though it should have 

 been darkened in smoking. This has worked to the advantage 

 of the plantation industry, for the use of alum as a bleaching 

 agent, a most vicious practice, and one with disastrous effects 

 on the rubber, was likely to increase. It should be noted that 

 alum is also a coagulating agent for Hevca late.x. Two, at least, 

 of the proprietary coagulating powders contain alum ; but this 

 being a matter of common knowledge, estate managers cannot 

 employ them without running the risk of censure, and boards of 

 directors are not likely to allow any such departure from the 

 ordinary acetic acid method. Yet alum, after all, is being used 

 furtively, along with the acetic acid in order to improve the 

 color. The excellent condition and quality of so much planta- 

 tion rubber is testimony to the fact that very little of this sort 

 of thing is carried on; liut how widespread it really is one 

 cannot learn. 



* * * 



There are very many rubber estates on the market in Lon- 

 don, but none will buy. The public is satiated, and the com- 

 mitments of insiders are already sufficient. By far the largest 

 number of these estates are planted with additional cultures, 

 such as tea, cacao, coffee and cocoanuts, and the Chinese owner- 

 ship of some is marked by the presence of gambier or pepper. 

 Ceylon is well represented, especially by mixed cultures; Malaya 

 offers more estates with rubber alone; Java again is tendering 

 mixed cultures largely; while Sumatra is marked by some young 

 propositions; even Fiji is on the list. It is not surprising that 

 many of these estates have been going begging for so long, see- 

 ing that multiplicity in kinds of crops, with no kind in very 

 great quantity, leads to excessive cost of preparation. Naturally 

 the cream of the estates changed hands in the boom time or be- 

 fore, but there are still available some respectable plantations. 

 However, company promoters now have their attention directed 

 toward cocoanuts as the stalking-horse. 



