November 1, 1918.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



85 



$764,484. Shipping difficulties have caused a further remarkable 

 dimunition in the imports of the Far Eastern product gutta 

 percha ; for the year ended June 30, 1918, they were only 1,151,- 

 312 pounds, value $147,323; the previous fiscal year we had 

 imported 2,021,794 pounds, value $332,223, and in the twelve- 

 month ended June 30, 1916, 3,188,449 pounds, value $342,226. 



The decrease in scrap rubber imports is striking ; for the year 

 ended June 30, 1918, we imported only 13,980,303 pounds, value 

 $1,019,222; the previous year we imported 20,517,328 pounds, 

 value $1,569,448; in 1911-1912 rubber scrap imports amounted 

 to 26,293,192 pounds, value $2,095,065. 



The total imports of india rubber, gutta percha and allied 

 gums for the year 1918 were 414,983,610 pounds, value $206,- 

 542,236, against 405,431,069 pounds, value $194,688,303, for 1917. 



Exports of india rubber for the year ended June 30, 1918, 

 amounted to about one-third less than for the previous year, 

 the figures for 1918 were 8,208,280 pounds, value $4,274,543, while 

 for 1917 they were 12,355,898 pounds, value $7,304,820. The dif- 

 ference between the imports and exports of india rubber for 

 the year 1918 is 381,390,735 pounds. Allowing for the fact that 

 the stocks in store at the beginning of the year and those 

 carried over at the end of the year are unknown, these figures 

 give some idea of the United States' consumption of rubber. 

 RUBBER GOODS EXPORTS. 



The exports of manufactured rubber goods for the year ended 

 Ji-ne 30, 1918, amounted to $33,343,181, against $31,105,075 for 

 the previous fiscal year, being an increase of $2,238,106. 



The value of the automobile tires exported during the year 

 was $13,977,671, as compared with $12,330,201 for the year ended 

 June 30, 1917. Tire exports to France rose from $425,132 (1917) 

 to $661,648 (1918). During the same period exports to Great 

 Britain sank from $2,636,654 to $618,071. The value of 

 the tires sent to Argentina was almost as great as that of those 

 that went to Canada. In 1918 Argentina took tires of a value 

 of $1,650,340 (in 1917, $1,301,344), and Canada imported $1,766,- 

 518 worth (in 1917, $1,485,939). Cuban imports were $1,019,915 

 in 1917 and rose to $1,336,233 in 1918. Two notable increases 

 were to New Zealand and British South Africa. New Zealand 

 imported $946,804 worth in 1918, against $689,705 in 1917. South 

 African imports amounted to only $391,211 in 1917; they were 

 $693,065 in 1918. Exports of belting, hose, and packing again 

 increased considerably in 1918, amounting to $4,578,396 as com- 

 pared with $3,532,384 in 1917. During the year exports of 

 ru!)ber boots increased phenomenally, while exports of rubber 

 shoes decreased by about 25 per cent. In 1918, boot exports 

 came to $4,861,213; in 1917 they amounted to only $1,483,379 

 (1,559,598 pairs in 1918, 600,455 pairs in 1917); in 1918, shoe 

 exports decreased to $913,128, again.st $1,716,225 in 1917 (1,244,- 

 170 pairs in 1918, 3,356,484 pairs in 1917). The exports of insu- 

 lated wires and cables in 1918 were in value $5,716,275, compared 

 with $7,192,204 for 1917. 



AGATIT. 



A new rubber-like material, said to be, in fact, a new regener- 

 ated rubber product, has been perfected at the University of 

 Leipzig. It is supplied either in emulsion or colloidal solution, for 

 convenience in many applications, or as a solid. The latter form 

 is said to be much used in packing for condensers and on U- 

 boats. It also serves successfully as a substitute for leather as 

 it can be nailed or sewed. Rubber gloves for medical purposes 

 are made largely of agatit. ("Automotive Industries.") 



RUBBER TIRES IN THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES. 



Oldsfields Dispensaries, Limited, Ipoh. Federated Malay 

 States, are preparing to manufacture rubber tires and other allied 

 products. Activity in rubber manufacture in the Far East is no 

 doubt due at the present time to the prevailing high prices and 

 shipping difficulties, and other rubber factories will probably be 

 established in the same general locality. 



THE EXTRACTION OF GUAYULE RUBBER. 



■"PHE mechanical extraction of guayule rubber consists, briefly, 

 ^ in reducing the shrub to pulp and separating the rubber 

 by flotation. The product is then deresinated, sheeted, and dried, 

 ready for shipment to the rubber manufacturer. 



In outline, the method employed consists in submitting wet 

 shrub repeatedly to the action of a special grinding machine, with 

 six corrugated rolls of varying degrees of fineness. By this 

 treatment the shrub is reduced to a suitably comminuted state 

 for the second operation or pulping, which is effected in a pebble 

 mill. This may be described as a metal tumbling barrel, in which 

 ;i quantity of rounded flint pebbles by their motion triturate the 

 charge to an impalpable fineness. The pebble mills for guayule 

 work operate with about 1,500 pounds of Norway pebbles. The 

 mill is charged about two-thirds full with water and fiber, and 

 is revolved at about 30 turns per minute. After one or two 

 hours the pulping is complete and the rubber thoroughly liber- 

 ated from the cellular fiber. From the pebble mill the charge 

 is dropped through a grating door into a trough, which leads 

 the rubber and begasse into a central tank; thence it is elevated 

 by conveyor to the skimming tanks, where water is added in 



large volume and tlie rubber allowed to separate by rising to 

 the surface ; then it is floated off and conducted to large settling 

 tanks, in which it is allowed to soak for five or six days. By 

 that time most of the woody fiber entangled with the rubber 

 becomes water-logged and separates by sinking out on the bottom. 

 The begasse, or ground fiber, and dirt, which settles in the 

 skimming tanks, are washed out through traps and the begasse 

 screened and further dried for use as fuel. The fairly clean 

 rubber from the settling tanks is well washed and sheeted in 

 ordinary rubber washers for removal of adhering fiber or dirt. 

 The final process consists of air-drying the rubber to a definite 

 guaranteed moisture content. 20 per cent for example, or it 

 may be rendered essentially dry by use of vacuum drying 

 apparatus. 



MANUFACTURE OF LITHOPONE IN ITALY. 



A Milanese company has been formed, says the "Weekly J'lUlle- 

 tin of the Canadian Department of Trade and Commerce." for 

 the manufacture of white lithopone in a factory at Brescia 

 (Italy). This product was formerly imported from Germany, 

 but Italy has the raw material necessary for its manufacture. 

 It is expected that a considerable quantity will be available for 

 export. The Italian Government has granted the firm five jcars' 

 exemption from any income tax. 



