The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1880-05-06
A REMARKABLE DISCOVERY.
An Invention by which All Kinds OF
ArtinIos Cen be Made NYateraProof

AaAANtANHeH ~ 80
pronounced by Professor DOTemus and
ex. Secretary MCCulloch n OF the
greatest of modern times, and surpass-
ing the electric light in importance as
promoting 10 a remarkable extent the
health and comfort of mankind The
exhibition was given at the house OF the
inventor, Mr.. Daniel NJ, Lamb. The
correspondent says In his letters
1t is very generally known that, in all
really waterproof garments, the rub
Der, no matter how applied, remains on
the surface TO n greater or less extent, or.
of course, visible TO the eye, detected
frequently by the odor, and always by
the touch. Fortunes have been spent
by rubber companies in the vain effort
TO discover some solution Of hydro
carbon gums that could be applied TO
fabrics without percePtibly changing
their appearance and adding 10 their
weight. Day and Goodyear alone. il is
said, have expended 800, 900, but in
vain; and it was 10 see the result OF the
labors of a practical, self-educated
chemist in this line that we assembled.
Mr.. Lamb, plain in speech and man
ner, vet with an honest, pleasant cOun-
tenance, and a smile that lightened his
somewhat stolid features, wal seated at
a center-table when We entered. and
while waiting for the others TO arrive
YOUR correspOndent chatted for u few
moments with him, asking casually If
this was his first invention. He re-
piled: "Oh, no. / have taken out
something like fifty patents for one
thing and another, and / never am
happy except when at work to discover
something. | was born in Canada,
brought up out West in Michigan, and
have spent the last twelve years and
all my money, perhaps $4,000, in ex-
perimenting."
What do you consider your most
important invention IeXt to thisP"
-" may say~d discovering the use of the
milkweed, which | consider the most
valuable of American plants. You see
the supply of rubber is becoming more
dear and scarce every year, and at least
twenty-fi five per cent. of that imported
is nothing but dirt and sand mixed IN
by the natives TO increase the weight.
1t struck me that judging from the
present state of things in the purse Of a
few years it might prove necessary TO
find a substitute, and one day on pull
ing a bit OF milk-weed apart, | noticed
now gummy and sticky the juice or sap
was, and, after working over it for a
time, ! decided it could be made to take
the place of rubber, and, on account of
its superior lightness, would be especial
ly useful in manufacturing t~eeth-plates,
some of which | had made.
From the seed of the milkweed can
be made an oil equal to the best linseed,
and an admirable cathartic, and the re-
fuse Of the plant makes capital fuel. |
planted a ten-acTe lot on purpose to
carry on my experiments, and am salts
fed it would pay better than raising
hay, if there was a market for it. These
processes ISatented, and then devoted
myself to finding a perfect water repel.
liant, which could neither be seen,
smelt nor felt in the goods which had
been treated with il, yet could be played
upon with the hose and remain chip
dry"
By the time Mr.. Lamb had concluded
speaking the rest of the company APP
peared, including ex-Secretary McCu!-
loch and daughter, Mr.. and Mrs.
Frank B. Carpenter and Mrs. Elizabeth
Thompson, the philanthropist. Mr..
Lamb was introduced by Mr.. Carpen-
ter, who really discovered the discov-
erer. And then, with a large basin be-
fore him and a pitcher of water at hand,
the inventor proceeded TO show us how
the rains might pour and the floods de-
scend, yet we remain with a dry smile.
or smiling dryly, or rather dry and
smiling.
A pair of new pale-pink kid gloves
was first examined by those present,
and it was decided they had not been
treated, though Mr.. Lamb said one of
them had, but which one it was no one
could decide, for they looked precisely
alike in color, gloss and freshness;
however, one was laid in the basin and
some water poured on it; in a moment
it was discolored, fiabby and spoiled.
The other was picked up and a quart of
water poured on and in it until the
fingers were filled as if by a hand, then
emptied by a little shake, and there it
was-smooth. pink, and without n
particle of moisture.
This seemed a little like legerdemain
and some one in Joke asked the inventor
to try the experiment upon a piece of
mosquito-netting Promptly enough he
drew asquare of it froma heap Of varied
fabrics and TUNED on the water. AT
first it skate6 round like peas and straw,
and, as the volume increased, went
through the meshes, but leaving the
thread dry. This was a convincing
answer, and Immediately afterward Mr.
Lamb handed Mrs. Opdyke two sam
Piles of delicate blue silk, and asked her
TO decide which had been treated. They
were apparently alike, but at last, de-
tecting one to be a little creased, the
lady decided it had been treated. 1t
was then thrown in the basin. In a
second it was saturated and dragged;
while the other, being freely soused,
came out as blue, lustrous and smooth
as before.
Every sort of dress fabric, including
silk, velvet, brocades, satins, cashmere
and even muslin and calico was treated
in the same way with the same result,
and while the different guests guessed
in turn as to the samples having
been treated, nine times out of ten they
settled on those that had not as having
been.
This passing of the water through the
fabric proves it will permit of %perspira-
ton evaporating. One reason why
water proof garments have always been
objected to is that it will not permit
that, said Mr.. Lamb. Ostrich feathers
were dipped again and again, retaining
their curl; kid boots like the glove
were filled and set in water in vain;
and, as some one remarked, the major
generals daughters (pirates of Pen
zance) could go in padding with their
shoes and stockings on. Paper bags
were filled with wafer and hung up on
the wall, and with a twinkle in his eye
Mr.. Lamb dropped in the basin an arti-
ficially waved front, and it emerged as
crepe as before; II piece Of sealskin, a
book, cover, n silk bat and u square of
~broadcloth were successfully and sue.
cesslully treated to a bath, and all alike
rejected water with the scorn of an old
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