JuLV 1, 1916.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



The Editor's Book Table. 



THE FINANCIER RUBBER SHARE HANDBOOK. Thirteenth Edition. 

 April, 1916. The Financier & Bullionist, Limited, London, England. 

 (Cloth, 8vo, 860 pages. Price, is. net.] 



THIS convenient handbook has a wealth of information re- 

 garding the many stock companies owning rubber planta- 

 tions in the Far East, South .\merica, Africa, and other 

 rubber producing countries. It gives the authorized share capital 

 of each of these companies, the amount issued, the balance sheet, 

 the list of directors, acreage and similar information, well ar- 

 ranged and quickly available. Besides this an alphabetical list 

 of directors in all these companies is given, including a list of 

 secretarial groups in London, with the addresses and telephone 

 numbers. In the preface is given the world's production of 

 rubber in 1915, and it may be well to print in this connection, 

 for comparison, the production of previous years, as given in 

 the 12th edition of this handbook. The figures are as follows: 



Increase, 

 Plantation. Brazil. Rest. Total. Per Cent. 



1915 106.989 37,220 12,615 157,824 31.0 



1914 71,380 37,000 12,000 120,380 11.0 



1913 47,618 39,370 21,452 108,440 9.6 



In the thirteenth edition Mr. Killick, rubber expert of the 

 "Financier," gives as the probable total output for the year 1916, 

 about 200,000 tons. He says that a low price for the commodity 

 tends to restrict production, more especially of wild rubber, 

 which is far more expensive to collect than plantation. How- 

 ever, he considers that the present price standard leaves a suffi- 

 cient margin of profit for the Brazilian industry to continue as 

 before. 



Speaking of the maturity yield of rubber per acre, it is con- 

 sidered that 400 pounds an acre is about the proper figure on 

 which to base calculations, though estates are mentioned whose 

 yield was far higher, in one case, the Seafield Estate in Selangor, 

 yielding 682 pounds per acre from 124 acres planted in 1904, 

 and from the entire area in tapping (1,940 acres) an average 

 of 439 pounds. 



Regarding investments, Mr. Killick believes that the share 

 market value of estates of the Pataling type may be quite com- 

 mon in years to come, from the fact that an acre of Hevea 

 yielding 400 pounds of rubber at I.J. a pound profit per year is 

 worth £200 capital. 



stand heat. It should not be exposed to a temperature of more 

 than 100 degrees F. Neither should it be used where it is liable 

 to come in contact with oils, particularly mineral oils. He 

 states that balata belts have been proven superior to any other 

 for electric lighting of trains, the power being driven from tlie 

 axle under the body of the coach. Such belts are exposed to 

 varying speeds, and all kinds of weather and subjected to un- 

 usual abrasive wear. 



. The pamphlet is illustrated with half-tones of a number of 

 unusually large belts made by the corporation with which Mr. 

 Tinto is connected. 



LARGE SINGLE VERSUS DUAL SOLID TIRES FOR REAR TRUCK 

 Wheels. By W. H. Allen, manager Truck Tire Department, The B. F. 

 Goodrich Co., Akron, Ohio. 



In a paper presented at the semi-annual meeting of the 

 Society of Automobile Engineers, Mr. .A.llen announces his 

 opinion in favor of the use of large single wheel rear truck 

 tires instead of smaller dual tires. He maintains that dual tires 

 are overrated and that the statement that dual equipment is 

 capable of carrying loads double that of one of the singles of 

 the pair, is open to discussion. His reasons for advocating 

 large single in place of small dual equipment are that the con- 

 tact area of the former exceeds that of the dual it replaces. 

 The load per square inch is distributed over a reduced contact 

 area. Small dual equipment does not give satisfactory per- 

 formance, for the reason that neither single tire is sturdy enough 

 under certain conditions. Also, with the single tire equipment, 

 costs are reduced from 8 to IS per cent. Wheel cost is less 

 because of the narrower felly and wheel rim, saving in wheel, 

 tire and rim weight. Other advantages are, easier fitting of non- 

 skid chains, better trackage with front wheels, greater height 

 of rubber tread, providing better cushioning properties and in- 

 creasing tire life, and less strain on the axle and wheel bearings. 

 Mr. Allen states, however, that the large single tire has its 

 limitations, and pending results of further investigation, he 

 deems it advisable to consider 7-inch tires as the limit of practical 

 single equipment. 



INDIA RUBBER AND BALATA BELTING AS CONVEYOR AND 

 Power Transmission Belts. An address by James Tinto before the Man- 

 chester Association of Engineers. [Pamphlet. 16 pages.] 



Mr. Tinto, of the Irwell & Eastern Rubber Co., Limited, 

 Manchester, England, in this address gives some account of the 

 introduction and history of rubber belting. He describes minutely 

 the manufacture and tests for transmission and conveyor belts. 

 Of the latter, he mentions some of the largest or longest in use, 

 going into details and figures. He quotes from a friend in 

 America, that the rubber belting trade totalled $18,000,000 in 

 1914 and $26,000,000 in 1915. He mentions the many industries 

 where conveyor belts are used, and gives particulars of such 

 use in the New York Post Office Station at the Grand Central 

 Station, described in The Indi.\ Rubber World, September 1, 

 1915. 



For the introduction of balata belting, he credits R. & J. 

 Dick, of Glasgow, who made this in 1884, and in 1885 secured 

 a patent. For balata belting he claims the following qualities: 

 Freedom from shrinkage, resistance to stretch, great tractive 

 power, solidity of texture, great durability, absolute uniformity 

 throughout, unequaled transmitting ability, perfect balance and 

 flexibility, steam and water proof. 



A weakness of balata belting, he states, is its inability to 



PREPARING PLANT.XTION RUBBER FOR THE MARKET. AN- 

 nales d'es Planteurs de Caoutchouc de I'lndo-Chine No. 49. Saigon. 

 Cochin China. 



The report of a recent meeting of the Rubber Planters' Asso- 

 ciation of French Indo-China gives in detail the discussion on 

 methods of preparing crude rubber for the market. Naturally, 

 opinions differed. A member who had just returned from in- 

 spection of plantations in Java claimed that crepe offered ad- 

 vantages of rapid preparation and enabled planters to ship the 

 crude rubber within a week of collecting the latex. 



Honorary President Le Croispellier is of the opinion that 

 creping destroys the "nerve" of the rubber. Manufacturers pre- 

 fer sheets to crepe, but it is immaterial whether the sheet be 

 smoked or not. As practiced, the smoke is not incorporated 

 with the rubber, but is merely a surface deposit, and gives no 

 added value, unless as an outside protection against mold. 

 Smoked sheet must be washed more than crepe. The premium 

 on smoked sheet has rapidly dwindled. 



Attention was called to Perrot's book on the London Rubber 

 Show of 1914, in which the block process was described. Presi- 

 dent Croispellier stated that he considered Perrot a theorist, 

 having little practical knowledge on the subject. Regarding 

 block rubber, however, it was said that Michelin. the tire manu- 

 facturer, gave minute directions for preparing the rubber as he 



