THE BOOM IN RUBBER.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 434, 27 January 1912, Page 7

THE BOOM IN RUBBER.

Indiarubber now stands at famine prices, and day after day sees the previous record broken. The rise in price has been suck that many men Have made their fortunes, aid a result of the '"boom" is tlr: great number of companies which been floated to grow the indiarubber tree in various countries of the world.

The company promoter is in his glory at present, th? most absurd schemes being floated. Never since the days of the great "Xatr.r Boom" ha? there been surh a time on the Stock Markets ; stockbrokers being at work the whole night thro "gh. Indiarubber itself is ono of the most peculiar substances ima ,in ilile, and the trade is equally rcmar.ia'le. There is no suitable means of analysing the substance as in the ens2 of other commodities., so, slrr.ngc to say, most of the manufacturers buy th2ir raw material simply from a superficial examination of a sample. Naturally such a method frequently involves great errors in judgment, but no better way of buying is known. As a result the business lias to be carried on by relying upon the common honesty of the sefiers. The material comes on to the market in such a variety of forms, and admixed with so many different impurities that any analysis of a part would not be indicative of the complete stock. Naturally there arc buyers who are more expert than others, men who develop a sense of judgment amounting almost to intuition. Such a buyer depends' upen the use of his senses of sight and smell to judge of the value of any parcel.

Even when the substance has been cleansed from all impurities by the process of manufacture there remains no adequate test of deciding its quality beyond that of wear. There then comes about the result, that the business depends upon the commercial morality of those connected with it. The great rubber marts are Liverpool, London and Antwerp, the latter city being the big market foi "red rubber." The raw material is subjected to a boiling and masticating process, but the particular process of manufacture, of course, depends upon the article which is tc be produced. The indiarubber trees themselves vary in appearance, some being huge trees, others little plants. The most remarkable fact, however, is that the trses which are of any use grow in a belt round the Equator ; trees growing outside this area are of no use whatever, although they secrete e similar juice to that from which indiarubber is prepared. By far the greatest quantity ol indiarubber comes from tropica'. America, the Para productions fron Brazil being of the finest quality. Para rubber, by the way, obtains its creosote-like smell from the fact that in curing it is smoked over a fi r < made from palm-nuts. The raw material reaches England in all sorts of shapes and sizes, fine Para coming here in the form of "loaves" 01 "biscuits" having a dark brown exterior and a cream coloured interior. Generally speaking, the names given to the substance which reaches the markets arc very appropriate ; th is "liver" is well named from the appearance of the smooth cakes. "Sausages," "tongues," "twists," "thimbles," and so on, are equally descriptive. Some rubber comes in the shape of balls weighing about two pounds and over. These are termed "Ncgrc Heads" from their appearance. The technical name of this class of rubber is "Niggers" the kind known as "Red Niggers" being the most valued of African rubber.

In the process of manufacture various productions are used to form a special brand. It is practically impossible, however, to assure the brand always being the same quality. A word oil advice to tvrc users may not be out of placs here. Oil is on' of the most injurious substances that can come in contact, with a tyre ; it causes the rubber to swell, then to soften, and finally practically turns it into a sticky waste mass. Copper also has an evil effect, and it is for this reason that copper wires used for electrical purposes are tinned before being coated with rubber.

For the benefit of those who us j elastic bands, and what not, it may be advisable to state that red rub ber is by far the best. Not only are red bands preferable to grey owing to the fact that, they do not soil the fingers nor emit unpleasant odours, but they also retain their vitality longer than those made of grey rubber.

In the best kinds of indiarubber manufacturers England is far in advance of any other country, though the same cannot be said with rs-ard to vulcanite articles. In sheet rubber England is greatly to tho fore, and a single factory turns out 3,000 tobacco pouches alone each day.— "Weekly Telegraph."