June 1, 1917.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



545 



The Rubber Trade In Great Britain, 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



THE long winter, with snowstorms and frost up to the mid- 

 dle of April, has decreased the demand for water-proofs 

 and oilskins and incidentally for bicycle tires. Of course 

 the weather is not the sole cause of the slackness in the proofing 

 industry, outside Government orders, because the conditions 

 regarding freight and export, referred to on former occasions, 

 have become more accentuated. Moreover, buyers who were 

 frantic to get their orders placed six months ago are now show- 

 ing great reluctance to accept delivery in bulk. A consequence of 

 this is that goods are being closely scrutinized to see whether 

 they come up to the standard ordered so as to give plausible 

 grounds for rejection if such a course recommends itself under 

 the circumstances of the moment. A year or so ago foreign 

 orders were only accepted by one prominent manufacturer on 

 the proviso that the goods as dispatched must be accepted and 

 that no complaints would receive attention. 



CHEMICAr.S AND COMPOUNDING INGREDIENTS. 

 In the important domain of rubber chemicals, x\merica has a 

 pull over Great Britain at the moment with regard to sulphur, 

 as she can supply her own requirements. This is reflected in 

 the current prices in Britain and New York. Not only is the 

 price now very high here, but the material has now been placed 

 under official control. This may probably lead to the utilization 

 of certain sulphurs obtained as by-products in chemical manu- 

 facture which have hitherto been rejected by the rubber works 

 on account of their odor or some impurity which might not 

 really preclude their use to advantage if given a proper trial. 

 Lamp black in the form of high-grade carbon black, now being 

 so extensively used in the rubber trade, is another article in 

 which America scores by . a large home output. As regards 

 barytes, the embargo put on the export from America is of 

 no concern to us, because our own output is being increased 

 largely and whatever the users may think about it the stoppage 

 of American exports has been received w-ith satisfaction by 

 mine owners. 



RUBBER ST.ATISTICS SUPPRESSED. 

 For certain reasons, statistics of various trade details of ex- 

 ports and imports have now been suppressed and the rubber trade 

 is among those affected. Statistics, of course, are not widely 

 read but there is always a certain number who find them illumi- 

 nating and useful, if not absolutely essential, and who will deplore 

 their absence. 



PLANT.\TION RUBBER. 

 With regard to plantation rubber the figures for the past 

 twelve months or so show such a large increase as to indicate 

 either that the yield per acre has greatly exceeded the estimates 

 or that the acreage under rubber cultivation has been understated. 

 This increased yield seemed to cause some concern at the meeting 

 of the Rubber Growers' Association, and it was urged that a 

 census should be taken with regard to the probable output of 

 rubber in forthcoming years. A more effective control of this 

 output has been advocated in more than one quarter, more par- 

 ticularly in connection with the important position held by 

 America as the purchaser of the total British output. The idea 

 is held that although things may be all right when trade con- 

 ditions in .'\merica are good, the British planters would be in 

 an awkward position if the American demand fell off owing to 

 a depression of trade. 



C.\BLE M.MCERS' ASSOCIATION. 

 On the death of A. H. Howard, who had for many years been 

 secretary of the association, the post has recently been taken 

 over by L. B. .^tkinson. a director of \V. T. Glover & Co., Limited, 



of Trafford Park, Manchester. The association, the headquarters 

 of which are at Sardinia House, Aldwych, London, has been in 

 existence over 20 years and the cables that bear its distinctive 

 mark are of a recognized standard quality. 



THE EYES OF THE SUBMARINE PATROL. 

 One of the most effective means of dealing with submarines yet 

 devised by the British navy is the small scouting dirigible, shown 

 in flight by the accompanying illustration. The car is a slight 



modification of that of a monoplane with rubber-tired wheels 

 beneath for landing. The head of the pilot can be seen near 

 the front and that of the observer behind him, but the whirring 

 blades of the propeller have been lost to view because of their 

 rapid motion. Hundreds of these small airships are constantly 

 tracking commerce destroyers in the English channel. In clear, 

 calm weather submarines can be seen when under water, and 

 bombs dropped upon them. The dirigibles are also equipped 

 with wireless apparatus for summoning patrol boats. 

 TRADE NOTES. 



The Gee Cross Rubber Co., of Hyde, near Manchester, has 

 established a new branch works for the manufacture of tubes 

 and accessories for the cycle trade at Burton-on-Trent, a town 

 hitherto better known in connection with the manufacture of beer 

 than of rubber. Mr. Saunders, who is the manager and moving 

 spirit, was formerly manager of the Garton Rubber Company's 

 works. 



The De Luxe truck tires of The B. F. Goodrich Co., now well 

 known in America, have just been introduced to the British 

 market through the London and provincial depots, though it is 

 too soon to say anything definite with regard to their reception. 

 For the benefit of English readers I may say that the term 

 "truck" in America is synonymous with the term heavy com- 

 mercial vehicle in England. Lip to now the company's principal 

 tire business has been in pneumatics for pleasure cars and light 

 lorries, and these have established for themselves a favorable 

 reputation. A prominent part of the business done is with the 

 Ford Motor Co., all the cars turned out of the Manchester works 

 being fitted with them. 



