244 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[April i, 1904. 



FIQ. 4. [.SEE PRECEDING PAGE.] 



THE WONDERFUL COLORADO RUBBER PLANT. 



[Thh India Rubber World disclaims responsibility for any of the state- 

 ments which follow , in relation to the " Colorado rubber plant," said state- 

 ments being compiled from various newspapers now on file in this office.] 



In the issues of recent western newspapers may be found in- 

 formation regarding the " rubber weed," sufficiently varied to 

 meet every taste. It abounds in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and 

 New Mexico. There is, in fact, no proof of its non existence 

 in any given locality. It is described as "a variety of chico 

 weed "; it is known locally in various regions as "sage brush," 

 "rabbit brush," "cotton weed," "rag weed," and "poison 

 weed" (because it is fatal to sheep). Botanically, is Actinella 

 Richardsoni. Botanically it is also Picradcnia floribunda utilis. 



This plant grows in bunches about one foot high, and has a 

 small yellow flower, somewhat like a daisy. It has several 

 roots, the main one growing straight downward, about an inch 

 in diameter and weighing about 4 ounces. " It looks like a 

 worthless shrub." There are seven varieties of it. It grows 6 

 feet high. It frequently grows 15 feet high. When cut off at 

 the root, it grows again to a greater size. " Some of the plants 

 show a diameter of 4 feet and some of 8 feet." 



The plant covers thousands of acres and long has been con- 

 sidered a nuisance. It was discovered less than two years ago 

 by a prospector named Spencer, who, on losing his way, and 

 becoming hungry, fell to chewing everything that came his 

 way, with the result that he found that the roots of this plant 

 contained a rubber like gum. Fifteen years ago John Beck, 

 while a wealthy mine owner in Utah, found that the roots of 

 this plant contained rubber, but he wasn't interested in rubber 

 then. Later, his fortune gone, he remembered the rubber 

 plant, and, being a chemist, thought it might be worth some- 

 thing. So, after a long search, he rediscovered it, and now he 

 is getting up a million dollar company in Utah to make rubber 

 from the plant. The stalks bear a fuzz which can be used as 

 cotton ; the bark yields a fiber resembling horsehair ; the bark 

 is also good as fuel; it yields tar paper and Japanese paper; 

 the roots look like horseradish and stand well out of the 

 ground ; the roots are rich in potash ; the flowers have me- 

 dicinal properties ; the seed pods yield camomile. The plant 

 was discovered by C. M. Fueller, a Denver chemist. William 

 Sunderland, the veteran metallurgist, chemist, and mining en- 

 gineer, is the true discoverer of the plant, or of the valuable 

 uses to which it may be put, and is amply fortified with papers 

 to prove his claim. 



The fact that the plant contains rubber was discovered by 

 F. R. Marsh, a Denver promoter, who has organized the 

 American Crude Rubber Co., with $1,000,000 capital, to get 

 the rubber out. The American Crude Rubber Co. have ad- 

 vertised that they own patents covering the product of the 



try in 

 days. 



Colorado rubber plant, as well as the process of mak- 

 ing rubber therefrom. The Salida board of trade are 

 dickering with other parties for the erection of a rub- 

 ber extraction works. The American company wrote 

 to the board of trade, calling attention to the patents, 

 and received a letter in reply stating that it must be 

 a " big bluff," and that the American company had 

 " unlimited gall and nerve." The Salida Mail calls 

 the holders of the patents " a conclave of confidence 

 men," and says that the Salida business men " know 

 a grafter when they see him." Meanwhile it is as- 

 serted that in New Mexico a factory is producing 

 an excellent quality of rubber from this wonderful 

 plant. 



It is the greatest thing ever discovered. Gold 

 mining is out of sight. Colorado is the irchest coun- 

 the world. The new rubber will be ready in about 60 



RUBBER NOTES FROM EUROPE. 



BRITISH RUBBER MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION. 



THE India Rubber Manufacturers' Association of the 

 United Kingdom now embraces 28 manufacturing firms, 

 including the most important in the country. The membership 

 was increased by 3 firms within the past year. During the year 

 several matters of general interest to the trade received the 

 attention of the association, or of its officers or committees, 

 and in respect to most of them satisfactory agreements were 

 arrived at. For instance, certain restrictions on the carriage 

 of rubber solution on railway trains were modified, and the 

 rate reduced. Through the medium of the association, its 

 members were enabled readily to act in concert in making the 

 advances on the selling prices of their products rendered nec- 

 essary during the year by the higher cost of raw materials. A 

 committee of the association have lately had under considera- 

 tion the subject of a mutual fire insurance scheme for rubber 

 factories, and have decided upon a plan to report. The officers 

 of the association this year are: 



Chairman — Frank Pegler (The Northern Rubber Co.). 



Vice Chairman — G. C. Mandlf.berg (I. Mandleberg & Co., Lim- 

 ited). 



General Committee — Richard K. Birley (Charles Macintosh & Co., 

 Limited), John Cooper (The Dermatine Co., Limited), J. E. Hopkin- 

 son (J. E. Hopkinson & Co., Limited), F. W. Ingram (J. G. Ingram 

 & Son), Phillip H. Lockhart (W. & A. Bates, Limited), David 

 Moseley (David Moseley & Sons, Limited), H. G. Tippet (The Liver- 

 pool Rubber Co., Limited), James Tinto (The Irvelland Eastern Rub- 

 ber Co., Limited). 



Treasurer — J. E. Baxter (The Leyland and Birmingham Rubber 

 Co., Limited). 



Sectetary — F. B. Knott, 2, Cooper street, Manchester. 



FRENCH PNEUMATIC TIRE MANUFACTURERS. 

 A general meeting of the Chambre Syndicale of the French 

 pneumatic tire manufacturers was held at Pans on February 9, 

 at which the following officers were elected : President, Ed- 

 mund Deitz ; vice presidents, Louis Chauvin and Lucien Tron- 

 chin ; secretary general, Valery Hermay ; secretary, Maurin 

 Tels ; treasurer, Paul Treuil ; recorder, Jules Gay. Committee: 

 Falconnet, C. Gauthier, Worms, Rossmann, and Sussmann. The 

 annual dues were increased from 12 to 20 francs. On motion 

 of Messrs. Worms and Matanson the bureau of the syndicate 

 chamber will negotiate with the French Automobile Club, in 

 order to obtain an interest in the future salons. A court of 

 arbitration, which is to be endorsed by the court of commerce 

 was also elected, whose duty is the protection of the interests 

 of the manufacturers of pneumatic tires. 



