THE MANUFACTORY AT NEW HAVEN. 



The inventor commenced his experiments in a small dwelling, 

 mixing the gum by hand, and spreading it upon a marble slab 

 with a rolling-pin. He here also commenced the art of embos- 

 sing on glazed cambrics. It was now supposed by himself as 

 well as others, that his success in the treatment of gum-elastic 

 warranted his attempts to manufacture the goods. 



By the disinterested and timely aid which was gratuitously 

 offered him by a gentleman of New Haven,* he was enabled 

 to commence the manufacture on a small scale, pulling and 

 kneading the gum by hand, and spreading it with an iron pin 

 upon a marble slab, as above stated. With the aid of a few 

 hands, he succeeded, among other things, in the manufacture 

 of a few hundred pairs of shoes from the embossed goods, which 

 would even now be considered beautiful. 



Being impressed with the idea that the difficulties which were 

 met with in the manufacture of the gum, were attributable to 

 the solvents which were used, he considered himself fortunate at 

 this time to find in the market some forty or fifty barrels of India 

 rubber sap, among which were a number of casks in which the 

 gum had not coagulated. It was said to be kept in that state 

 by mixing a portion of alcohol with it, before it was exported 

 from Para. The inventor now hoped to surmount all difficul- 

 ties by using the sap in this hquid state, if he failed to succeed 

 with other experiments. 



A son of Erin, who had been employed to work at the gum, 

 had imbibed the same idea from his employer, and was before- 

 hand in putting it in practice. On the arrival of the barrels 

 containing the sap, he opened one at night, and on meeting his 

 employer at the shop in the morning, Jerry good humoredly sig- 

 nified to him that he had supplanted him, and that a Yankee 

 was not so quick at inventing as an Irishman, at the same time 

 pointing to the trowsers he had on, which he had dipped in the 

 barrel of sap. The job was so completely done, that at first the 

 impression was produced that the improvements were com- 

 pleted, and that experiments with gum-elastic were nearly at an 



* Ralph B. Steele, Esq. 



