The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1853-07-21
NUMBER 618.
Gutta Percha.

lti :, uuttd feTcha.
: The NJ Y. Times thus describes tn
capabilities and uses Of this valuable gum
: After referring to thesgreat extension of tn
i India rubber trade, itssays: -
"While the India rubber trade was thu
dawning and perfecting, the great origina
forests Of MaIacca and Borneo, which hs
90 1ong shaded.;thespesinsala and slane
, held in their Iiehc trunks a new materia
I unknown to the world, but VIII Cd was. des
: tined to become offncalculable value. Th
!; trees are of a different order from the Indi,
: rubber, and then product distinct and dis
, similar. Dr.yNontgomery, an assistan
surgeon at Singapore, discovered in ths
, hands of native the handle Of wood chop
per, of such Singular material that it awaken.
ed his atte" "tion, and on inquiry he found il
: to have been made ofthe gum ofths strange
I tree-becomi1g plastic when dipped in hot
water, and when cold regaining its original
i stiffness. This was. only ten years ago
but in this short period the exudations Of
4 these dense forests have assumed, more es-
pecially in England, innumerable forms.
4 This gum has qualities entirely differing
from the sap Of the. India rubber. 1t tcannot
be wcrn out. It can be melted and remelt-
ed. and epeatediy moulded, without chan
ling its properties, or losing its virtue. 1t is
lighter than rubber, possesses certain repel-
liant properties unknown to that material.
is non-elastic, much harder, and of finer
grain. and of superior density and toughness.
Cold water does not affectit. 1t is nom
conductor of heat and electricity, disregards
alkalies and acids, laughs at frost, and dis
/ plays certain important acoustic qualities.
But there were great difficulties in the way
of its application to many Of the uses to
which the rubber was capable. Its stiffness
and non-elastieity, and its disposition to
melt under high degree OF heat, prevented
the accomplishment Of anything else than
the mere conversion of the raw material in
to different shapes, having great hardness
and no pliability. Eminent chemists through
several years, toiled in vain for the secret
they believed to exist, which should endow
the percha with the elastic qualities OF vul-
canized rubber, without depriving it of other
superior properties. 1t remained for the
Messrs. Riders, of our own city, to unlock
the hidden secret. and to discover the art of
superadding plabihty in different degrees
to the strange capabilities this wonderful
gum already possessed. The range of its
uses is thus Indefinitely enlarged. 1t were
easy to enumerate thousand applications
and new ones are suggested every day.
1t carries the Croton through tube Of
thousand feet in length-from New York
to Blackwell Island-and does not mingle
with the water any of the hnrtful material
which metallic pipes impart. Beneath the
waves Of the British Channel it sheaths the
uncorroded wire, and brings Paris and Lon
don within the. limits of watch-tick. Its
tubes remain buried in damp ground with
out injury for years. By attaching one end
of a tnbe to a nas-nipe- lirhf may he con-
of sound. 1t conveys the voice to the ear
of the deaf, carries tito the engineer through
the rear OF railway train, conveys domestic
messages to different parts of the house,
opens the closed ears of the congregation
to the words Of the minister. and faithfully
transmits the slightest whisper to the miner
in the lowest depths. For bleaching and
chemical purposes its resistance to acids
makes it particularly available. For pump
barrels, syphonss and suction-pipes, it is
growing into extensive use. The recent
iscoyeries of our townsmen now make it
an absolute necessity for boots and shoes,
clothing, ,car-sprngs, betting. carriage cloths,
and a whole army Of appliances. A thin
coating, spread on the finest silk, forms
fabric, light, beautiful and glossy. dark or
light. and perfectly waterproof. While II
may receive the elasticity Of India-rubber.
it has the advantage assuming the stiffness
aud density Of bone. In opposition to every
known law of physics, it contracts with heat.
When spread on cloth, a given quantity
covers half more surface than the same
quantity of India rubber, and presents
natural polish which rubber can only receive
by a coat of varnish.h