542 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[August 1, 1912. 



A LITTLE KNOWN 

 USE FOR BUBBEB. 



BILLIARD TABLE 

 CUSHIONS. 



that his honor is bestowed during a liberal administration. In 

 this respect he is in the opposite camp to his co-directors of 

 Messrs. Chas. Macintosh and Co., the Birley family being among 

 the most stalwart of Manchester conservatives. This baronetcy, 

 by the way, it is interesting to recall, is not the first that has 

 been offered to the Cambridge street firm, for thirty or forty 

 years ago the conservatives offered one to Mr. Thomas Hornby 

 Birley, who, however, declined it. 



Although I take credit to myself for knowing the great bulk 

 of the purposes to which rubber is applied, I occasionally come 

 across applications of it which are novel 

 to me. The latest is in connection with 

 the art of book lettering with gold leaf. 

 Unvulcanized rubber prepared in a special way is used by the 

 artificers who do book lettering for printers, for the purpose of 

 picking up the overflow of gold leaf. Gentle pressure causes the 

 leaf to adhere to the rubber, and when this contains too much of 

 the gold to be serviceable, it is sold to the gold beaters, who burn 

 off the rubber and recover the gold for use over again. At 

 least this is the regular practice in Great Britain. Where the 

 substitute known as Dutch gold is used the recovery of the 

 waste is not a matter of importance, nor is it where the nitro- 

 cellulose imitation leaf is employed. This latter, I understand, is 

 made and used to a considerable extent in the United States. 



I LISTENED the other day to a discussion on this subject, one 

 of the speakers saying that the rubber on a table which he knew 

 had not been touched for forty years 

 was still quite sound. With rubber 

 cushions of more modern make, he said, 

 anything like such longevity was unheard of, this being due, he 

 went on to say, to the poor quality of rubber now used. As I 

 was refused an opportunity of testing a piece of the long-lived 

 cushion referred to, I cannot say whether it was vulcanized or 

 not, though it may be taken for granted that it contained a higher 

 percentage of pure rubber than is customary today. I note in 

 connection with this matter that in William Brockedon's patent 

 of November 19, 1846. shortly after Parkes' discovery of the 

 cold cure, he mentions the manufacture of billiard cushions as 

 one of the purposes for which the change, i. c, the vulcanizatkm 

 by dipping can be used. The cushions were prepared by the union 

 of a number of sheets of rubber, or of rubber and gutta percha, 

 which were then immersed. This of course means a very super- 

 ficial cure and the bulk of the material would be pure rubber. 



The British patent No. 11482—1911, of Terry, Spencer and 

 Curbishley for the reclaiming of waste rubber, calls for a word of 

 reference, if only for the long associa- 

 tion of the patentees with the rubber 

 trade. It will be noticed that reference 

 is made only to waste rubber, those elusive bodies so dear to the 

 heart of the patent agent, viz., "allied gums," having no mention 

 It is also refreshing to see that no claim is made that the rubber 

 is restored to a state of "pristine purity." The claim is limited 

 to the use of one salt, magnesium chloride, which has the prop- 

 erty of dissociating under heat, and no attempt is made to in- 

 clude the bulk of the substances named in chemical text books, 

 by using the expression "such as for instance magnesium 

 chloride." I am precluded from saying much about the actual 

 merits of the new process, for reasons which will be obvious to 

 some of my readers ; but I may be allowed to say that in one 

 respect, at any rate, it shows an advance on a good many previous 

 reclainiing patents, in that it is in actual use and the products on 

 the market. It might be thought that the reclaiming business 

 was being overdone, but most of the works report themselves as 

 busy, and doubtless reclaimed rubber is being used to a much 

 larger extent today than it was a few years ago. In the patent 

 under mention, high pressure digesters are used as in the alkali 

 processes, there being only three reclaiming works, I understand, 

 in England where the high pressure system is adopted. 



A NEW 

 PATENT. 



NOBTH BRITISH RUBBER CO.. LIMITED. 



A. C. Baker having found it necessary, owing to reasons of 

 health, to relinquish his position as general manager of the North 

 British Rubber Co., Limited, Edinburgh, has taken the post of 

 sales manager of the company, witli headquarters at London. 



At a recent meeting of the board of directors Alexander John- 

 ston was appointed general manager in Mr. Baker's place, G. A. 

 Findlay was appointed secretary to the company, and W. A. 

 Williams was appointed to the position of general works superin- 

 tendent. 



ENGLAND'S EOBEIGN AND COLONIAL TRADE. 



Comparative figures issued by the British Board of Trade (con- 

 verted into American currency) show the following exports: 



To Foreign Countries. To British Possessions. 

 ITO" $1,439,456,585 $690,718,880 



1908 1.251,693,985 643,825.135 



1909 1.254,711,315 636.190,420 



1910 1.413,409,153 736,514,710 



1911 1,476,375.770 794.220.720 



Thus, while England's foreign trade only shows for five years a 

 net increase of about 2 per cent., her colonial commerce has ad- 

 vanced about 15 per cent. The grand total of British exports for 

 calendar year 1911 equals $2,270,596,490. as compared with a total 

 for United States exports of $2,058,413,224. 



While with over 2 billions of exports, the United States nearly 

 caught up with England in the calendar year 1911, the following 

 comparative figures applying to the first four months of 1911 and 



1912 show this country distinctly in the lead : 



EXPORTS FOR FIRST FOUR MONTHS (domestic manufactures). 



1911. 1912. 



United States $709,925,000 $807,630,000 



L'nited Kingdom 749.900.000 757,540.000 



Germany 627,650.000 685,180.000 



France 394.300,000 420.370,000 



Belgium 225,375,000 234,675,000 



The figures of the fiscal year ending June 30 will doubtless show 

 proportionate results. 



SEASONS FOR RUBBER GOODS. 



According to a German view, the steady traile enjoyed by 

 many German rubber .goods factories, is due to the distribu- 

 tion of business into seasons, occurring at various times of the 

 year. In the distribution of rubber goods, there are seasons 

 for selling devices for sports and games, like balls ; rubber gar- 

 ments, hose, bottle disks, bath requisites, etc. Of these various 

 seasons the most important converge into the spring. As to 

 pneumatic tires, it is added that the use of automobiles has be- 

 come so general and contmuous, that their sale is hardly any 

 longer connected with any particular season, although it is 

 largest from March to May. 



AUSTRALIAN RUBBER, 



According to the "Financial News" of London, the cultiva- 

 tion of Para rubber is beginning to assume some promise of ad- 

 vancement in the north of Queensland, Some years back a ship- 

 ment of plants arrived from Singapore, and these were dis- 

 tributed by the government to intending cultivators. The plants 

 are growing well, and before long should reap a rich harvest for 

 the farmer. Queensland's tropical lands are considered to be 

 well adapted for rubber growing; the cultivation is simple and 

 comparatively inexpensive, and demand for the product is always 

 brisk. Ere long the production of rubber is thought certain to 

 become one to the most important industries in Queensland. 



The Australian "Official Year Book" states that there is in 

 Queensland a forest plantation of 310 acres, as well as 8 experi- 

 mental farms, with a total planted area of 872 acres. While 

 these lands are not stated to be growing rubber, it is of interest 

 to note that the general principle of experimental cultivation is 

 being carried out in Queensland. 



