September 1, 1912.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



599 



The Editor's Book Table. 



INDEX OF PLANTS AT BOTANIC GARDENS, SINGAPORE. SINGA- 

 pore, 1912. [8vo, 152 pages.] 



IN no Other branch of industry does there exist that close con- 

 nection between scientific research and commercial enter- 

 prise, which links botany with rubber cultivation. The work 

 of zealous scientists at botanic gardens and experimental sta- 

 tions, paves the way for that of the analysts and experts, who, 

 at a later stage, carry on technical investigations. 



While primarily intended for the purpose of facilitating the 

 exchange of plants and seeds with other botanic stations through- 

 out the world, and thus being subject to frequent changes and 

 additions, the "Index of Plants," lately issued by the Botanic 

 Gardens of Singapore, is intended as the foundation of a com- 

 plete text-book on the subject. This object will be attained by 

 yearly supplements, bringing the work as much as possible 

 up to date. 



The work starts with a list of 140 natural orders of plants, 

 with their various divisions, subdivisions and habitats, occupy- 

 ing 130 pages. This is followed by a general index, classifying 

 the preceding matter in alphabetical form ; this portion of the 

 book covering 19 pages and including over 2,000 references. The 

 botanical wealth of the gardens is thus abundantly illustrated. 



In order to facilitate the selection of economic plai.ts, an ap- 

 pendix has been added, in which lists are given of the various 

 plants, classified according to their economic characteristics. 

 This appendix includes the following varieties : — edible fruits, 

 78; fiber and textile plants, etc., 24; spices, 9; scents, perfumery, 

 etc., 7; oils, 18; gum resin, oleo-resin, etc., 6; dyes, tanning 

 plants, etc., 15; and drugs, antiseptics, etc., 35. Last in order, 

 but first in importance to rubber men, comes a list of 23 orders 

 of rubber-producing plants. These include not only the better 

 known varieties, such as Hevea, Castilloa, Ficus, Kickxia, Mani- 

 hot and Sapium, but others, the mention of which will doubt- 

 less invite the attention of planters and scientists in all parts 

 of the world. 



The contents of the work will, in a future edition, be graphi- 

 cally illustrated by a "Guide to the Botanic Garden, Singapore," 

 the plans in which w-ill enable visitors to locate any desired 

 variety. 



Mr. J. W. Anderson, assistant curator of the Botanic Gar- 

 dens, and compiler of the work, deserves much credit for the 

 lucid manner in which he has accomplished his task. In the 

 introduction, he acknowledges his indebtedness to Mr. H. N. 

 Ridley for his assistance with endemic plants. 



THE YEAR BOOK OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF 

 Agriculture for 1911. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1912. 

 [8vo. 740 pp. Board covers.] 



The Government is certainly generous in its latest agricultural 

 year book. This is a volume aggregating 740 pages, and contains 

 67 full-page illustrations — nine of them very handsomely printed 

 in colors. The book contains, besides a vast volume of valuable 

 statistical matter, 31 brand new articles on agricultural topics, 

 contributed by recognized experts, none of these articles having 

 previously appeared in any printed form. 



An interesting fact will be noticed from the figures compiled 

 in this book as compared with the figures given in the Year Book 

 for 1910; namely, that while the yields of various crops had 

 fallen off in volume, they had, as a general thing, appreciated 

 noticeably in value. For instance, the corn crop for 1911 was 

 355,000,000 bushels less than the year before, but its money vaiue 

 was $180,000,000 more. This was owing to the higher prices 

 obtained because of the smaller crop ; which shows that a farmer 

 may really gain where he appears to lose. 



The book contains as a frontispiece the portrait of the late 



S. A. Knapp, who died in April, 1911, and whose work in con- 

 nection with the Government Department of Agriculture was of 

 such great value — especially to the rice and cotton growers of 

 the South. 



The only reference to rubber contained in this book consists 

 of several tables — quite complete and instructive — of the imports 

 and exports of crude rubber to and from the United States. But 

 we may confidently expect in some future Year Book that the 

 progress of rubber culture in the Philippines and the Hawaiian 

 Islands may be described, and possibly, if we were to look 

 forward several years in the future, we might find a number of 

 pages devoted to rubber growing in our Southern States. If 

 Guayule grows wild in Texas in sufficient quantities to warrant 

 its profitable collection, why should we not expect some day to 

 be using United States grown rubber? 



This is a book that every alert farmer ought to have, and he 

 can undoubtedly get it by communicating with his Congressman, 

 as out of the edition of 500,000 copies. 470,000 copies are at the 

 disposal of our representatives of Washington. 



RUBBER HAND STAMPS AND THE MANIPULATION OF INDIA 

 Rubber. By T. O'Conor Sloane, a.m., e.m., ph.d. New York, 1912. 

 The Norman W. Henley Publishing Co. 18vo, 168 pp. Price $1.] 



Using a rubber stamp has become such a practically automatic 

 commercial habit, that the business man rarely stops to think 

 how much research and scientific investigation was necessary 

 before the stamp was ready for use. 



In the above small volume Professor Sloane has told the story 

 of the rubber stamp from a scientific as well as an industrial 

 point of view, dealing in succession with the cultivation and 

 collection of crude rubber as well as with the properties of un- 

 vulcanizcd and vulcanized rubber. The subject of rubber stamp 

 and type making is then taken up in detail, from the outlines 

 of moulding to the finished product, the descriptions being con- 

 cise and lucid. 



Rubber stamps, though forming a subject of interest, do not 

 by any means exhaust the illustrations Professor Sloane gives 

 of the manipulation of rubber ; sheet rubber articles, toy bal- 

 loons, pencil tips and other features of the rubber industry being 

 also dealt with. 



In view of the growing importance of the rubber stamp in- 

 dustry, this comprehensive treatise is a welcome addition to 

 industrial and technical literature. The present volume is a 

 new edition; the appreciation of the earlier editors being thus 

 demonstrated. 



The August issue of the magazine called "The Goodrich" con- 

 sists of 32 pages, and contains a great deal of readable matter. 

 To begin with, there is the opening chapter of an interesting 

 story by Alexander P. Rogers, descriptive of a trip he took last 

 summer up the Amazon, Madeira and Mamore rivers to the 

 point where the Guapore flows into the Mamore, and thence up 

 the Guapore, nearly a thousand miles, making all-told a river 

 trip of nearly 3,000 miles. His description of the shooting of 

 the rapids in the Madeira river is exceedingly interesting. The 

 account is illustrated by a number of half-tone cuts made from 

 photographs taken on the trip. Other articles worth reading 

 are "A History of Pneumatic Tires," which begins in this num- 

 ber, and "Economical Tire Equipment," which has to do with 

 truck tires. The publication is liberally illustrated, and contains 

 enough interesting matter to insure its being kept, and also 

 being read, by anyone who is concerned in any way with the 

 production, sale, or use of tires. 



