May I, 1908.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



^00 



The India-Rubber Trade in Great Britain. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



GENERAL 

 KEMARES. 



I N the period of low priced rubber out of which we seem to 

 be now emerging not much has been heard of synthetic 

 rubber or new substitutes. This quiescence is, no doubt, only 

 temporary and the promoter will again seek to attract the at- 

 tention of the credulous to the schemes he has on hand. A 

 project which seems to be hanging fire 

 at the present time is one for making 

 good rubber from peat at a cost of i 

 shilling per pound. I was informed by a business man un- 

 connected with the rubber trade that it was a most important 

 project with a lot of money in it and that he understood that 

 a prominent British rubber manufacturing firm had put up 

 £20,000 out of the £60,000 required to bring the manufacture to 

 fruition. Whatever the scheme may have in it as regards 

 money I am satisfied that the particular firm's i20,ooo is still 

 in their own hands and I should imagine that it will so remain 

 in these prosaic days, when a belief in miracles forms no part 

 of the business man's tenets of procedure. Although rubber has 

 had a spurt in price it is again on the down grade as I write, 

 and there is a good deal of perturbation among holders of rub- 

 ber planting shares as to what the future has in store for them. 

 New capital, hovvever. is easily forthcoming, the two latest com- 

 panies having been over-subscribed long before the lists closed. 

 With regard to the forthcoming Rubber Exhibition at Olympia, 

 I suppose there were good reasons for holding it in September, 

 but this is certainly a time when a great many people are taking 

 their holidays and are to be found anywhere but in or near 

 London. Judging by the lists of officials and supporters pub- 

 lished, the producing rather than the consuming side of the 

 industry are running the show, so to speak, and I do not find 

 that much is known about it at the rubber works. 



In the light of what is generally known and accepted with 

 regard to the inimical action of copper on rubber, it is rather 

 surprising that its principal alloy, brass, 

 should have been used to some extent 

 in connection with rubber as if it was 

 quite innocuous. In certain admiralty packings brass wire of 

 very fine gage has been a component part, and I have often 

 wondered whether its use was advisable. A change, however, 

 has now to be recorded, the last specification stating that the 

 brass wire is to be tinned. This adds slightly to the expense, 

 but it certainly seems a move in the right direction. Apart 

 from wire brass, filings have been used in certain forms of rub- 

 ber packing, though it is not eas\- to see what useful purpose 

 they serve. 



The case vi The Dermatine Co.'s Limited, v. Martin's Patent 

 Pnuematic Disc Wheel, after having been in preparation for 

 many months, at last came into court on 

 LEGAL CASE. February 26, when a settlement was ar- 



rived at soon after the opening. The 

 dispute about the plaintiff's charges arose in connection with 

 the work dor.e for the Martin Motor Tyre Syndicate, a concern 

 which has now ceased to exist. 



I NOTE that a prominent reclaimed rubber firm have announced 

 in the columns of our London contemporary that they do not 

 use any pontianak in the process of 

 their manufacture. I imagine that this 

 disclaimer is the outcome of the North 

 Western Rubber Company and Huttenbach proceedings. The pub- 

 lic announcement of the fact that the Litherland Company bought 

 large quantities of pontianak in the course of their business has 

 not unnaturally led to a general idea that it forms a component 

 part of the company's principal products. I have no information 



BRASS 

 AND RUBBER. 



"NO PONTIANAK 

 USED." 



THE PROOFING 

 TRADE. 



on the points from the company itself, but from outside sources 

 which may be taken as quite disinterested, I gather that this 

 supposition is quite erroneous, and that the pontianak is used for 

 a purpose quite distinct from the manufacture of reclaimed rubber. 

 Looking at the matter from an analytical standpoint, I can fore- 

 see great difficulties in the way of certifj'ing to the presence 

 of pontianak in a rubber mixture not of a high grade. The fact 

 that about 80 per cent, of it is soluble in alcohol is of course 

 a help, provided that other highly resinous rubber substances, 

 such as almeidina and African flakes, are absent. 



Business proceeds on steady lines, but there is nothing in the 

 nature of a boom to be recorded, and it cannot be said that the 

 expectations of those who prophesied a 

 great revival have been fulfilled. At the 

 same time it is certainly the fact that 

 the mackintosh coat of good quality is being worn much more 

 than was the case four or five years ago. The proofers complain 

 of great cutting in the trade, much more than there should be, 

 they say, considering that the business is a somewhat special one 

 and not like mere tailoring, which needs no long experience or 

 special machinery. The absence of any fixed minimum price for 

 particular work is a great drawback, as this enables the middle- 

 man who wants cloth proofing to cut down the proofer to his own 

 ideas of price, at which, so he says, he can get the work done 

 elsewhere. The India Rubber Manufacturers' Association does 

 not concern itself with the proofing branch, but there is a sub- 

 sidiary association specially concerned with it, but according 

 to the statements of one firm which retired from membership 

 it does not seem to be of any particular benefit, or to have 

 remedied evils generally complained of. Unlike certain branches 

 of the trade the proofers have not issued lists notifying reduction 

 in price because of the fall in raw rubber, the main reason for 

 this abstention being that they did not raise prices when rubber 

 went up, as the mechanical rubber manufacturers did. Large 

 firms in the trade report themselves as fairly busy, but the po- 

 sition in the home trade is not quite so satisfactory as in the 

 last two years. There has been a considerable demand for 

 men's mackintoshes, mostly of the double texture brown para- 

 matta class, the heavy tweed cloths being in very small demand 

 except for special purposes. As regards the shipping trade, 

 especially to South America, things depend a good deal upon 

 existing affairs in the several states. At the present time busi- 

 ness relations with Chile are almost at a standstill, and goods 

 destined for that market are being held back until more favor- 

 able conditions supervene. The annual meeting of J. Mandleberg 

 & Co., Limited, was held in Manchester on March 31, when a 

 dividend for the year of 1254 per cent, was declared, with £14,355 

 carried forward. This must be considered highly satisfactory, 

 though it should be noted that they do not now rely solely upon 

 the proofing branch as a source of income. 



It is out of my usual custom to notice in this correspondence 

 books which are not directly connected with rubber. But a new 

 book on the "Analysis of Paints. Pig- 

 A NEW BOOK. ments, and Varnishes," by Professors 



Holley and Ladd, of the North Dakota 

 Agricultural College, contains so much of subsidiary interest to 

 the rubber manufacturer that a few words of reference may not 

 be out of place. A good many of the pigments and colors of 

 which details and analyses are given, are largely used in the rub- 

 ber trade, and the references to the lead compounds zinc oxide 

 blacks and reds contain a good deal of up-to-date information. 

 It appears that the best New Jersey zinc oxide made direct from 

 the ore is of 99.75 per cent, purity, but that the oxide from 



