54 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[November i, 1903. 



fine pure rubber, and conforming easily to the features, will re- 

 move tan, freckles, sallowness, redness, discolorations, and the 

 like. [The Canton Rubber Co., Canton, Ohio.] 



AUTOMOBILE TIRES WITH "FRICTION PLUG." 

 Various applications of the Foster " friction plug " have 

 been illustrated in these pages, and there is now to be added 



the use of this prin- 

 ciple in rendering au- 

 tomobile tires non- 

 slipping. Besides, 

 I the use of the fric- 

 I tion plug renders the 

 tire less liable to 

 puncture. The fric- 

 tion plugs are placed 

 on the outer surface 

 automobile tires with "fhiction pluq." of the tire about y t 

 inch apart, and are raised slightly so as to take the wear from 

 the rubber. [The Elastic Tip Co., No. 370 Atlantic avenue, 

 Boston, Massachusetts.] 



THE "HIGHBINDER." FELT LEGGING. 

 A felt boot that is new in very many respects, that attracts 

 instant attention, and that is already 

 a good seller, is the " Highbinder." It 

 can be laced tightly to the leg so as to 

 be worn inside of the trousers, or more 

 loosely, with the trousers leg inside. 

 The over to which it is fitted is duck, 

 with rolled edge and tap sole. It is 

 quite popular among farmers and mo- 

 tormen, and makes an excellent hunt- 

 ing boot. [George Watkinson & Co., 

 Philadelphia.] 



PERFORATED MATS WITH MOLDED 



BORDERS. 

 A RATHER unusual combination in 

 the rubber mat line, but one in which 

 very pleasing effects are obtained, is 

 the mat with a perforated center and 

 the border molded. Of course the per- 

 forated portion can be 

 made in any of the usual 

 designs, while the bor- 

 der may be in black, 

 white, or red. Made in 



"HIGHBINDER "FELT LEGGING. three sizes _,8 X 3L 



18X36. and 20X40 inches. [Perfection Rubber Co. — John 

 J. Cook, No. 923 South Clinton avenue, Trenton, New Jersey.] 



THE SHERMAN HOSE COUPLING. 

 HOSE coupled as in the illustration herewith has withstood a 

 water test of over 600 pounds without leaking. The Sherman 

 coupling, being made from sheet brass, is free from sandholes 

 and such like defects. The double knurled flanges on the nut 

 afford a fine grip for the hand, full waterway, and deep corru- 



r 



-: j^. 





SHERMAN HOSE COUPLING. 



gations for imbedding into the lining of the hose. Other ad- 

 vantages are that there are no soldered joints ;md all the parts 

 are seamless. In addition to the marking " Sh.-rman Coupling," 



this device is also labeled " Licensed under Benedict & Burn- 

 ham patents." [H. B. Sherman Manufacturing Co., Battle 

 Creek, Michigan.] 



INDIA-RUBBER GOODS IN COMMERCE. 



EXPORTS FROM THE UNITED STATES. 



OFFICIAL statement of values of exports of manufactures 

 of India-rubber and Gutta-percha, for the month of Aug- 

 ust, 1903. and for the first eight months of the calendar year, 

 for five years : 



(a) Included in " All Other " prior to July i, 1899. 



Exports of reclaimed rubber for the first eight months of 

 1903 amounted in value to $287,564, against $254,375 for the 

 same period in 1902, and $239,246 in 1901. 



RUBBER SHOES IN CHINA. 

 A REPORT by the British acting consul at Wuchow says: 

 " The import of rubber boots and shoes increased last year by 

 2,000 pairs ; the favorite make is marked as being of Scotch 

 origin, but it is more than probable that this shoe, as well as a 

 soidisant Russian boot, comes from Japan. Current retail 

 price : boots, y. 6d. per pair; shoes, y. per pair. These boots 

 and shoes are of native pattern, but they would be more accept- 

 able if the soles were made at least % in. thick, similar to the 

 ordinary Chinese shoe. The native does not wear these arti- 

 cles as goloshes over his own shoes, but instead of them, and 

 hence a light India-rubber sole does not afford sufficient pro- 

 tection to the foot in a country where there are no roads and 

 street pavements consist principally of broken brick and stone." 

 With all respect to the official quoted above, it is ex- 

 tremely improbable that the rubber footwear he mentions was 

 made in Japan. 



CHARLES GOODYEAR TWICE SURPRISED. 



THE discovery of the process of vulcanizing India-rubber 

 was recently attributed, by the Waterbury (Connecticut) 

 Republican, in -an article quoted in these pages, to Mr. Good- 

 year's accidental throwing of a handful of sulpher into "a cup 

 of melted rubber." But perhaps the able Newburyport (Massa- 

 chusetts) News knows more about the matter. Writing of 

 Charles Goodyear's experiments the News says : 



Luck helped him twice. Once, when painting a picture, a bit of his 

 sulphuric acid fell on crude rubber, and he was surprised to notice that 

 it hardened the rubber. A few years later, while telling about rubber 

 in a Woburn grocery store, a bit of it fell on the hot stove, and it vul- 

 canized. Goodyear was amazed to discover the keynote of the process 

 he had so loDg sought, and he went madly at work again. To carry on 

 his vulcanizing experiments, he used his wife's cook stove oven, after 

 his wife had baked bread, and the boilers of manufacturers, after the 

 workingmen had gone home. 



The whole thing is plain now. At one time he found that 

 sulphuric acid hardened rubber; several years later he found 

 that dropping a rubber on a hot stove hardened rubber. He 

 had only to put one and one together — and he had vulcaniza- 

 tion. It must have been " luck " that enabled our contempo- 

 rary to know so much. 



