May 1. 1915.) 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



429 



of gas through a rubber septum is due to the high solubility of 

 the gas in water and the "hygroscopic" nature of rubber. 



These findings 'I" nol agree with those of F. Steinitzer 

 and P. Phillips as reported in The India Rubber World of 

 March, 1915, page 323. The latter authors found that rubber did 

 absorb carbolic acid and seemed to have proved it satisfactorily. 



F. Frank and E. Marckwald in a report in "Kautchuk Zentral- 

 stelle" of April, 1914, assert that the nitrogenous portion of 

 rubber is a true protein, giving many reactions in proof of this. 

 In The India Rubber World of October, 1914, page IS, Spence 

 and Kratz are reported to have found that the nitrogenous por- 

 tions of rubber were of the nature of gluco-proteids. 



DETERMINATION OF SULPHUR. 



In tlie "Analyst," 1915, page 11, Gaunt describes a method of 

 determining sulphur in rubber by means of a combustion tube, in 

 which a sample — 0.2 gr. to 0.3 gr. — is plai ed, I he tube is drawn 

 out and connected with absorption flasks containing H,O s . Dry 

 oxygen is run through while heating the tube and the S.O : 

 produced is absorbed by the H 2 0,. 



If the rubber contains tillers, determine the sulphur in those 

 also separately. The determination is said to !«■ made in '.'(I 

 minutes and agrees with the Cams method. 



POLYMERIZED OILS FOR FACTICE. 

 R. S. Morrel, in the "Journal of the Society of Chemical In- 

 dustry" for February, 1915, page 105, gives results of a study of 

 the polymerization and thickening of a number of oils, such as 

 tung oil — or, as called here, China wood oil — linseed, poppy oil 

 and others. These oils can all be thickened into plastic masses. 

 China wood oil appears to be the best. 



RECENT CHEMICAL PATENTS. 



W. H. Perkins and F. E. Matthews have received British 

 patent No. 15,049 of 1913, for converting butadiene and homo- 

 log ues into rubber by the use of oxidizing agents. 



The Hood Rubber Co. has been assigned United States patent 

 No. 1,106,290, which claims the process of passing the vapor of 

 iso-proply-ketone over heated aluminum silicate at a temperature 

 of between 400 and 600 degrees centigrade. 



Fritz Hoffman and Kurt Gottlob, of Elberfeld, Germany, have 

 received United States patent No. 1,130,903, which seems to claim 

 the use of piperidine or methylene base in vulcanizing synthetic 

 caoutchouc. 



Isoprene compound with S.O- is described in "Chemical 

 Abstracts," 1915, page 623. 



M. L. Bouchet in "Comptes Rendus," 1915, page 240, has 

 attempted to measure the expansion or deformation of vulcanized 

 caoutchouc under the influence of an electrostatic field. Fon- 

 taine, in 1831, found that a Leyden Jar expands during the 

 chat 



MORE \l'a >UT RUBBER FOAM. 



Professor Perrot, a French chemist, has been devoting himself 

 to the study of rubber foam, that curious discovery which was 

 described in the January issue of The India Rubber World. 



Rubber foam, or caoutchouc mousse, as it is sometimes termed. 

 was heralded principally as a substitute for air tubes in auto- 

 mobile tires, but Professor Perrot has been studying it from 

 another point of view and claims to have discovered that it 

 is superior to any known heat insulation. The best heat insula- 

 tion now used is cork pulverized and agglomerated with casein, 

 but where a cubic yard of this weighs close to 300 pounds, the 

 same quantity of rubber foam only weighs about 116 pounds, and 

 its thermic conductibility is much lower than that of the cork 

 insulation. Further, the cork compound is subject to rapid 

 putrefaction, against which it is difficult, in fact impossible, to 

 protect it. 



In addition to its applicability to automobile tire construction, 

 it is stated that rubber foam can be used in making life-saving 

 mattresses for marine use, air tight compartments for life boats, 



linings for telephone booths, noiseless and resilient carpets and 

 insulation for refrigerators and refrigerating machinery. 



RUBBER STATISTICS FOR THE UNITED STATES. 



IMPORTS OF RUBBER AND MANU1 ' TORES OF. 



Eight Months Ending 

 February, 1915. uary, 1915. 



Am I. i i 



India rubber, etc., anil substi 

 tutes for, and manufactures 



of: 



Quantity. Value, Quantity. 



Value. 



Unmanufactured 



Balata founds.. free 209,629 



Guayule gum 7 1 3,040 



Gutta jeluiong 1,928,264 



l. una percha 125,351 



India lubber 15,477,653 



India rubber scrap or refuse, 

 lit only for remanufacture 441,989 



Total unmanufactun d 



Manufactures of — 



Gutta percha dutiable 



India rubber " 



Total manufactures of. 



$64,804 



201,760 



I 



13,583 



,593,737 



1,938,142 

 2,844,734 

 10,219,462 



90,481,060 



38,710 7,289,277 



Substitutes, elasticon and sim- 

 ilar dutiable 



$8,000,458 



$106 

 57,630 



$57,736 



$2,056 



$763,200 



828,544 



483,447 



142,479 



42,285,467 



487,761 



$44,990,898 



$10,293 

 610,464 



$620,757 



$24,559 



IMPORTS OF CRUDE RUBBER BY COUNTRIES. 

 From: 



Belgium pounds 



France 33,675 



Germany 



Portugal 



Unit.-d Kingdom 10.581,465 



Central American States and 



British Honduras 67,782 



Mexico 43,455 



Brazil 3,483,244 



Other South America 343,127 



East Indies 26,420 



Other countries 898,485 



Total 15,477,653 $7,593,737 90,481.060 $42,285,467 



EXPORTS OF AMERICAN RUBBER GOODS. 

 India rubber, manufactures of: 



Scrap and old pounds 



Reclaimed 



Belting, hose and packing. . . 

 Boots and shoes — 



Boots pairs 



Shoes 



Tires — 



For automobiles 



All other 



All other manufactures of.. 



123,787 

 524,095 



12,818 



130,443 



Total 



$12,608 



65,039 



144,777 



97,026 

 85,281 



351,546 

 $1,057,795 



1,352,641 

 3,904,007 



298,011 

 1,773,396 



$139,807 



528,440 



1,240,296 



671,358 

 1,838,999 



2,260,103 



248,277 



1,869,859 



$8,797,139 



EXPORTS OF AUTOMOBILE TIRES BY COUNTRIES. 



I 1 1. - For automobiles: 



France 



England 



i ada 



Ml HO 



Philippine I 

 Other conn' 



$189,481 



56,326 



4,161 



69,492 





$351,546 



EXPORTS OF FOREIGN MERCHANDISE. 



$6,090 



1,081,141 



414,392 



65,017 

 157,247 

 536,216 



$2,260,103 



India rubber, etc., and substi- 

 tutes for, and manufactures 

 of: 

 Unmanufactured — 



Balata pounds, .free 



Guayule gum 



Gutta jelutong 



Gutta percha 



India rubber . 



India rubbi i cfuse, 



fit only for remanufacture 



Ti it al unmanufa* I 



111.580 $33,676 769,755 $300,139 



749,195 337,061 



3,460 



4,847,570 



1,488 



2,590,040 



$370,737 



Manufactures of India rub- 

 ber dutiable 



$33 



$2,891,667 



$5,442 



The Cole Course Protractor is the name of a recent invention, 

 which, in connection with a map or chart, enables the navigator 

 to quickly and accurately map out a safe course. This instru- 

 ment is made of polished brass, a circle of rubber being attached 

 to the under side of the base to prevent slipping on the chart. 

 | Marine Compass Co., Bryantville, Massachusetts.] 



