January 1, 1917.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



227 



The tire agencies exhibit placards in their front windows telling 

 how many of their men are at the front. In all the advertising 

 of British concerns the "Buy from a British Maker" sentiment 

 is played hard for getting business now and after the war. 



WITH RUBBER TIRES ONLY. 



The fact that a British manufacturer of steam wagons has 

 placed on the market a 6-ton steam vehicle designed exclusively 

 for use on rubber tires is notable. Steam lorries have been in 

 use in England for many years, and it has been the custom to 

 build them with steel tires, or with tires made up of wooden 

 plugs. Of late solid rubber tires have been made optional and 

 many users have found economy in the increased speed possi- 

 bility and the protection from the wear and tear of excessive 

 road vibration afforded by resilient rubber tires, but the new 

 Atkinson 6-ton steamer is the first of its kind to be offered for 

 sale with anything but rubber tires. 



HOLLAND SHORT OF TIRES. 



Tires are greatly needed in Holland, according to C. A. Geer- 

 kens, of H. Englebert & Co., The Hague, automobile dealers. 

 American motor cars find a ready sale there, but are invariably 

 shipped without tires, as no rubber goods are now allowed to pass 

 the Allied blockade into neutral European countries whence they 

 might find their way into Germany. Meanwhile, used tires are 

 accorded that solicitous care which a faithful servant deserves. 



PRIVATE SHIPMENTS TO RUSSIA RESTRICTED. 



The Commercial Attache of the Imperial Russian Embassy 

 wishes to bring to the attention of American shippers interested 

 in forwarding goods — including rubber articles — to Russia, via 

 Vladivostok, the fact that the importation of private shipments 

 is temporarily forbidden except under special permit. The exist- 

 ing regulations governing the importation of goods via Arch- 

 angel apply at present to Vladivostok. It is necessary to make 

 application for each individual shipment through the Russian 

 consignee, to the Imperial Department of Commerce, Petrograd. 



EXPORT OF RUBBER SOLUTIONS RESTRICTED. 



The exportation from Great Britain of rubber solutions con- 

 taining coal-tar products and derivatives is now prohibited to all 

 destinations, except under license, which will not be granted if a 

 solution contains any considerable percentage of benzol. 



Manufacturers have been instructed to get in touch with the 

 Department of Explosives Supplies, Ministry of Munitions of 

 War, in order to ascertain the nature of the substitute for benzol, 

 which in future should be employed in the manufacture of rubber 

 solutions. 



RUBBER EYES. 



Two French inventors, Drs. Lemaitre and Teuillieres, have 

 devised a system for making an artificial eye that can hardly 

 be distinguished from a real one. They aimed at producing a 

 substance of sufficient elasticity and softness to respond to the 

 changes in the eye socket, and at the same time of sulificient 

 hardness to present a smooth, natural effect between the eyelids. 

 Rubber made it possible for them to produce an artificial eye 

 that is said to be comfortable to wear and that moves almost 

 as naturally as its mate. 



The first step is to take an accurate cast of the eye socket in 

 plaster of Paris, which the mucous membrane lining the orbit 

 stands very well. From this cast a mold is made, and this is 

 filled with rubber. The diflScuIty of consistency is solved by 

 making the front of the new eye of hard rubber, vulcanized and 

 enameled to represent the natural appearance, and the back of 

 the eye of soft rubber, hollowed out in the form of a ball, and 

 filled with air. 



This artificial eye is thus perfectly elastic, pneumatic, and fits 

 easily the irregularities of the eye socket, responding in a 

 remarkable manner to the ocular movements. It does not irritate 

 the orbit and is not easily broken. 



OSTROMYSLENSKI AND HIS SYNTHETIC RUBBER. 



<<I E Caoutchouc & la Gutta-Percha," of November, 1916, an- 

 ^— ' iiounces that it has received from an illustrious collaborator, 

 Dr. Yvan Kondakow, the following communication concerning 

 the synthesis of rubber presented by Ostromyslenski, a transla- 

 tion of which was published in The India Rubber World of 

 November 1, 1916. 



The synthesis of rubber for special purposes, which has made 

 so much noise, not only in Russia, but also in our friend country, 

 France, presents^ nothing unforeseen nor remarkable. 



Ostromyslenski only isolated a more handy way than the usual 

 methods to obtain, so he affirms, butadiene by the action of 

 acetic aldehyde on ethylitic alcohol in the presence of a catalyzer, 

 such as alumine, at a temperature of 450 degrees C. The 

 butadiene obtained is then purified by known methods and trans- 

 formed into rubber by heat, in the presence or out of the 

 presence of sodium. 



What the value of this method of preparation is ; what its cost 

 of production commercially, no one in Russia knows. Despite 

 the enormous expenditures made in his factories, Ostromyslenski 

 has not yet attained any practical result. 



One must admit that Ostromyslenski works and above all 

 publishes much work, but his studies are not of a very serious 

 character, for the author is not well acquainted with rubber 

 literature and has a marked tendency to attribute to himself 

 as his own discoveries, things that have been known for a long 

 '""s. Dk. Yvan Kondakow. 



THE SITUATION IN FRANCE. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



DUSIXESS in rubber goods continues to be brisk, both for 

 ^ the government and private orders, and most manufac- 

 turers have now overcome the handicap of labor shortage which 

 was very serious at the beginning of the war, especially for 

 small concerns that had no government orders and could not, 

 therefore, obtain special exemption for their skilled employes. 



RAW MATERIALS. 

 The supply of raw materials, both rubber and compounding 

 ingredients, is satisfactory. Considering the scarcity and the 

 high cost of ocean freight, also the tremendous demand for rub- 

 ber goods, rubber prices are comparatively low, but chemicals 

 continue to be very expensive. 



TIRES. 



The chief demand is for pneumatic and solid rubber tires for 

 motor vehicles, but manufacturers of proofed clothing materials, 

 rubber footwear, insulated wire and cable are also doing a lively 

 business. 



Considering conditions, the demand for tires for private use 

 is exceedingly good and manufacturers are able to take care 

 of all requirements. Foreign tires have been imported, but 

 these have practically all been for American vehicles requiring 

 sizes not made in France. 



The scarcity of leather that has resulted from the war has 

 led our tire manufacturers to discard the studded-leather casings 

 that formerly were so popular here. They have substituted the 

 metal-rubber principle in which the studs are directly anchored 

 in the rubber and fabric of the tire. This is a reversion to an 

 early type of metal-stud tire which in the past was not satisfac- 

 tory, but is now giving very good service thanks to improved 

 methods of manufacture. 



FUTURE SOLID-TIRE TRADE ASSURED. 



Our soldiers of to-day will go back to business after the war 

 with the knowledge that motor trucks are far superior to horse- 



