28 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Jan. 



THE WONDERS OF INDIA RUBBER. 



Among the recent applications of India Rubber 

 none are eo remarkable as the manufacture of 

 what is called "Hard India Goods," into which 

 the rubber enters most largely. There is in New 

 York a company called the Beacon Dam Company, 

 which is devoted to the manufacture of this class 

 of goods. By a process that originated with Mr. 

 Chaffee, coal tar is mixed with the rubber, and the 

 compound makes one of the most solid, elastic and 

 elegant articles that can be found in the market. 

 It resembles polished stone, is as black as coal, 

 needs no finish, and has of itself as hard and exqui- 

 site polish as it is possible for any metal to bear. 

 There seems to be no end to the articles to which 

 :t can be made. Canes of the most elegant form 

 are made of it, and are as tough as so much steel, 

 while they have all the elasticity cf whalebone.— 

 Cabinet work, inlaid and mosaic, ornamental to 

 the parlor and the chamber. Spectacle bows and 

 glasses for the eye are made so light as to be no 

 annoyance, while their elastic character causes them 

 to sit firm to the head ; opera glasses, castors, sand 

 stands, ink stands, brushes for the hair, that can- 

 not be harmed by hot water, tape lines, pen hold- 

 ers, pencil cases, cigar cases, government boxes for 

 the army and navy, government buttons, and an 

 endless variety of articles are thus made, and the 

 articles are of a most elegant character ; syringes 

 of a novel form and character ; machines for oiling 

 cars and engines, on a new principle, indicate that 

 this new use of rubber is to work a complete revo- 

 lution in the arts and manufactures. 



But one of the greatest applications of this new 

 rubber manufacture is the new telegraph wire that 

 is made from it. It needs no poles, as it is laid in 

 the ground. Is needs no covering; a trench of 

 a fuw inches is dug ; the rubber telegraph wire is 

 put in and covered up ; the wire is enclosed with the 

 rubber ; no dampness can effect it ; no storm ren- 

 der the wires inoperative ; no insect sever ; no rust 

 corrode. It would appear fabulous if we should 

 state the miles of this wire that have already been 



been afflicted in the way you see me since yesterday 

 noon, and had no rest or relief from any physician to 

 whom I applied for assistance ; I am worn out with 

 suffering." To whom the person replied. "Sir, I will 

 cure you in less than two minutes by the_ watch. — 

 Have confidence, for I am sure I can do it. Hold 

 up high above your head two fingers of the right 

 hand; lean back in your seat, open your mouth 

 and throat so as to give a free passage to your 

 lungs ; breathe very long and softly, and look very 

 steadily at your fingers." In less than_ the time 

 specified the cure was performed, one hiccup only 

 occurring during the trial. The patient^ could not 

 express his gratitude, while the practitioner only 

 extracted from him as a fee the promise that he 

 would extend the knowledge which he had impart- 

 ed as freely as he had received it, assuring him 

 that he would never be disappointed in the result. 

 We were all struck with the fact. Since then I 

 have often had occasion to practice upon patients 

 in the same disorder, and never without the most 

 signal success. — ff^aier Cure Journal. 



NEW FEATURE IN THE SUGAR TRADE. 



The New York Tribune of the 18th inst. has 

 the following communication in reference to the 

 sugar trade. 



The recent general enchancement of the cur- 

 rent prices of sugars, though stimulated and 

 swelled by speculation, has a genuine basis. In 

 the first place, there is an increase of several per 

 cent, in the population of the civilized world with- 

 in the last quarter of a century, insuring a like in- 

 crease in the natural demand for sugar. Then it 

 is not doubtful that, in the general absence of 

 wars, the proportion of people able to purchase 

 and consume sugar and other luxuries to the ex- 

 tent of their desires, has likewise increased. It is 

 further true that the general manufacture and use 

 of preserved fruits, &c,, is rapidly increasing. — 

 But the successive failures of the grape for several 

 vonrs rvnqt Vifls Ipd tn the diversion of the beet crop 



