January 1, 1919.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



201 



Rubber- Producing Weeds in Germany. 



IN the fall of 1906 the Editor of this journal was in Hanover, THE "SICILIAN artichoke." 



Germany, the guest of the late Dr. Adolph Prinzhorn, one of The Abractylis gummifera L. is a composite, similar to the 



the founders of the Continental Caoutchouc & Gutta Percha artichoke in appearance, and yields considerable rubber. It is 



Co. Dr. Prinzhorn in addition to his knowledge of rubber manu- not fo"nd wild in Germany proper, but was cultivated there. The 



facture had studied crude rubber production thoroughly in South root analyzes as follows : 



America, Africa and in the Far East. Speaking of crude rubber „ , . ^^if'tl^^' 



'^ . , . Rubber 36.46 



supplies for Germany, if for any reason wild and plantation Resin . .. 51.52 



sources failed, he said: lno%"nic"".''"".'."..! !.!!.!...'..'.....'.'.'..!.'.!'. ... 2.31 



We have done much in synthetic rubber, and if forced to do it Moisture '.'.".'.'.'.'.'.'.'...'.'..'.'.'..'.'.".'.'!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 4!24 

 could make it in quantity in times of peace. If we were at war, 



however, the basic materials for such manufacture would not be THE SPINDLE TREE. 



available. Therefore, I do not believe that we could depend upon The genus Euonvmus, of which there are found three varieties, 

 synthetic rubber. There are, however, as you know, many lesser jg ^.^ry common afl over Europe. It is commonly known as the 

 ^ir^:'^:'\:^^'^^TG::^J:^X^Ak'u^; Spindie tree. Of the three varieties, E. Europaenus L.. E. vul- 

 and in Southern Russia. Were crude rubber so scarce that it sold g^'-ij Scopoh. and E. augushfohtis VtlL, none are thought to con- 

 in Germany, say, at $10 a pound, such sources would inevitably tain enough rubber to warrant extraction, 

 be utilized. Indeed, thev are all being e.xamined and classified by tutctt e- 

 our botanists as a possible supply if normal sources become un- ^"*^ ^°^ THISTLE. 



available. They also offer cultivation possibilities for rubber Of the three species, the Sonchus oleraceus L. is the most 



alone, or for rubber, fiber, and other useful by-products. promising. Dr. Kassner, in the "Chemiker-Zeitung," more than 



Reviewing the conversation in the light of the present situation 20 years ago declared that it was worthy of serious attention. 



in Germany, it is wonderfully interesting. Very little rubber The plant, according to his analysis, contained valuable green 



from the Amazon, from Africa, or from the great plantations in and yellow dyes, wa.x, a flexible wool useful in paper manufac- 



SoNCHUs Oleraceus. 



.'\br\ctylis Gummifera. 



Euphorbia Cvparissias L. 



the Middle East has been received by the Central Powers since 

 1914. The amount that was smuggled in through neutral coun- 

 tries was so small as to be practically negligible. Furthermore, 

 crude rubber sold in Germany at $12 per pound. In spite of 

 this, much rubber was used. Zeppelins, observation balloons, air- 

 planes, submarines, field telephones, and scores of other war ap- 

 pliances used rubber up to the last. Was it largely synthetic rub- 

 ber or was it obtained from shrubs and plants grown in 

 Germany? 



Of German plants known to contain rubber there are several 

 that have attracted attention. Indeed, fully 20 years ago the 

 idea of growing rubber in Europe was seriously discussed. Sev- 

 eral indigenous Coinpositar. Apocynaceae and Euphnrbiaccac 

 were found which yielded rubber or a rubber-like gum. Among 

 these are Sonchus oleraceus L., or Laiteron, of Central Europe ; 

 the AhractyUs gummifera L., of Sicily, and in Germany the 

 Arzneibush and the Wolfmilch group, Euphorbia palustris and 

 Euphorbia cvparissiaf, together with the Euonymus Europca. a 

 dogwood known as Fusain or Spindle tree. 



ture, and india rubber. The bagasse, consisting of more than 

 60 per cent of the whole, formed an excellent fodder with a pro- 

 portion of 2J4 per cent of nitrogen and 15^ per cent albumen. 

 The sow thistle, originally a native of Europe, is now found in 

 the temperate zone nearly all over the world, and is often care- 

 lessly called milkweed. 



THE WOLF-MILK TREE. 



Three native Euphorbias, or wolf-milk trees, the E. pilosa, E. 

 palustris and E. cyparissias, are found in Central Europe, and all 

 contain rubber. 



-According to Scheermesser, these Euphorbias are well worth 

 exploitation. His procedure was to gather the nearly matured 

 plants, dry and grind them to a coarse powder. This was treated 

 with a solvent. The extract, dark-green and pungent, contains a 

 rubber-like substance and fat. It was estimated that one hectare 

 (2.47 acres) of £. cyparissias would produce SO kilos (110 

 pounds) of rubber and 140 kilos (309 pounds) of fat. The latter 

 is useful in soap manufacture, and is said to have food value also. 



