THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



231 



Seg. United StatM Pat. Off. Reg. United Kingdom. 



Published on the 1st of each month by 



THE INDIA RUBBER PUBLISHING GO 



No. 25 West 45th Street. New York. 



Teiephone — Bryant 2576. 



CABLE ADDRESS: IRWORLD. NEW YORK. 



HENRY C. PEARSON, F.R.G.S., Editor 



Vol. 59. 



FEBRUARY I. 1919. 



No. 5. 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS ON LAST PAGE OF READING. 



AS TO MACHINE-GROWN RUBBER. 



GREAT INTEREST has developed of late in 

 American-grown rubber. This has chiefly cen- 

 tered about guayule, although other shrubs and plants 

 that contain caoutchouc, and grow in the temperate 

 zone, are receiving attention. Of them all so far, 

 guayule cultivation is the only one the success of 

 which seems assured. A spectacular feature concern- 

 ing it is the profit per acre that analysis of the project 

 develops. 



For example, a comparison of Hevea and guayule 

 profits at the time of the historic rubber craze would 

 be about as follows : Hcira then brought $2 a pound 

 and the profit was about $400 per acre, while guayule 

 sold at $1 a pound and if cultivated would show a 

 profit of more than $16,000 per acre. Or basing the 

 comparison on normal costs and prices, Hevea profits 

 would stand at, say, $136 an acre, and cultivated 

 guayule at over $6,000 per acre. 



These figures, to be sure, do not include the cost of 

 installing the plantation plant, extraction plant, patent 

 royalties, etc. But cutting them in half to cover 

 these items, there remains a profit of $3,000 an acre, 

 which is astounding and almost unbelievable. 



There is, however, an important fact to be kept 

 before those who plan to start in this Hne. It is a 

 far more intricate business than Hevea-growmg and 

 lack of knowledge in a dozen different essentials will 

 spell disaster. There is also the high cost of installa- 

 tion of the plantation and the extraction factory. To a 

 prepare, irrigate and plant enough land to keep af?.>jl^' *'' 

 10-ton mill going would cost roughly $500,000, and fj^^'*^^^ 

 the mill at least $200,000. In other words, it is a ^^' 

 million-dollar undertaking and the small operator has 

 no great chance. With the expansion of business, 

 however, it is perfectly possible that central factories 

 will be installed for extraction and that guayule- 

 growers will ship their product in as the beet-growers 

 do theirs to the .sugar centrals. 



As to the grade of rubber produced, plant analysis 

 has found certain types of shrub that carry a high 

 grade of rubber, and these have been hybridized with 

 plants that contain percentages of 20 per cent or more 

 of rubber. A better grade of gum than the Mexican 

 product is therefore in prospect in the cultivated 

 guayule rubber, some day to figure largely in our 

 markets. 



INCREASE IN RUBBER GOODS EXPORTS. 



THE American rubber manufacturer is so accus- 

 tomed to big things that he remains unimpressed 

 by present accomplishments that formerly would at- 

 tract admiring attention. A case in point is the great 

 expansion in the export of rubber goods. To cite a few 

 figures, in 1913-14 mechanical rubber goods exports 

 totalled $2,372,887. In 1917-18 they expanded to $4,- 

 578,396. Rubber footwear in the same periods were 

 $1,113,844 and expanded to $5,774,341. Tires grew 

 from $4,108,294 to $15,108,294. Even druggists' sun- 

 dries increased from $200,000 to $884,245. 



These are great increases. Part of them, as boots 

 and tires, are directly due to the unusual demands of 

 the war, but only in part. The burning question is, 

 whether or not we can duplicate or perhaps surpass these 

 records. 



THE OLD MAN MAKES GOOD. 



PRIOR to our entrance into the Great War, the 

 United States was a young man's country. Manu- 

 facturers, big and little, were disciples of Dr. Osier to 

 an extreme degree. A man over thirty-five was viewed 

 with suspicion. The general belief was that at thirty-six 

 he began to "go stale." Gray hair was not a "crown of 

 glory" but a certificate of dismissal. When, however, 

 the youngsters joyously gave up their positions to smite 

 the Hun, the olcfer men took their places. Not only did 

 they take them, they filled them, and so well did they 

 prove their value that the age limit has passed into the 

 discard. The general feeling is that older men, even if 



