The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1891-08-03
eUrrA PERCHA GETTING scARCE
No Good substitute Tor t mas Yet Becr
Dlscoyered- WAsteA By Natives.

Discovered Wasted By Natives.
Gutta percha has now became 80 scarce that
tho price Is about $i.3ja ipoudd, and the i'm
portations to this country have gradually do.
creased until now they arc about nominal and
there 10 very little Of It for sale in our markets.
1t is now about ffty years since the attention
OF Europeans was directed TO the use Of gutta
percha as substitute for india rubber. and
also for other purposes for which india rubber
Is not suited. Tho discovery that guttA percha
a non-conductor OF electricity and the best
insulator led to great demand for It all over
the world. No other substance has been
found 30 efficient and so durable for subma-
rine cables. and as the scarcity OF 1t liner ased
and the price rose the use OF It for thousand
and Que purposes decreased. until now IL Is
mainly used for the insulation OF electric wires.
The difficulty Of procuring 1t has become 80
great that tho price OF II seriously affects the
construction OF submarine cables. Recently q
large engineering firm in tho United States
proposed to undertake on large scale the
manufacture OF submarine cables. but they
were compelled to abandon 1t because Of the
difficulty and cost OF obtaining 0u,ta percha-
Some people, who have not examined the
subject. suppose that gutta percha is a sort OF
india rubber. This Is not so. Gutta percha Is
atotaly different substance. and 10 the prod
uet OF different tree. 1t was formerly plen-
tiful in the Malayan Peninsula In the forests
at the foot Of the hills. The. Ma avs used it
long before Europeans heard OF it, When It
pursued the most ss,Iaesvs meth the 81 o.
tanning It. They out down tho trees to procure
the 1uiss until finally they exterinina,ed the
Borneo and other Island Is ands in the i indian Arcbi.
pelego. But the same destructive process was
mYusly. until now 1t Is seriously proposed to
oultivats the tree as Tho only, means OF pre-
liz sua rsa sse ass q .bs
10 ieet and 6 feet In diameter. The wood Is Of
apthy nature and contains the gum in pro.
is soft and plastic under heat 1t was long
used by the natives for making domestic uten-
so 81 81 SSss 81 Tla uEc:
pean chemists and mechanics soon became an
i nrc a,I article q commsree. AZ ne
nte. were found ior o'her nsss '! Tsas
pounds came to be- devised. but none Of these
can he said to lie In al respects equal to gutta
slightly above that toni erature It may be
moulded into any share. md drawn out In
IN salt %atep The Ainnse eas. IN sa IL Sysn
y stu preserved by its eut,a percna covering.
son,Sns and ' ssrons aa. and ak1 :;
therefore used to. make vessels to contain
these substances: beng much, better ior tho
1t has been male tho subject OF q mnltitude OF
patents Tor various processes OF treatment;
fortunes have beon spent in securing and de-
Tending those patents: other fortunes IN os-
tablishtnE great factor ca III different purts OF
the world. and vast fortunes have been made
In the products OF this famous gum.
An effort was made some years ago to check
the destruction OF the gutta-percha tree and
to substitute system OF tapping the trees
eimil liar to that adopted for tapping the trees
for india rubber or maple sugar. but the
avartce OF The natives has worked such sad
havoc with the Gutta- rerchn tree that cuItiva-
extinction. and. at the best. many years must
elapse before the old -time plentiful supply and
low price can be restored.
There Ia q curious fact about gutta percha
that shows how far.reaching are tho eyes OF
commerce In securing slight pscuniary adj
yantaSe. S"me on" got the idea that a thin
flm Of gutta percha could be used AZ substi-
tute for oiled silk on tho bottom OF mems
pRntaloons. and 1t was 30 used for many years
The pro 'ess used W q to apply the flim with a
hot iron which would cause 1t 10 adhere to the
cloth and thus save. the cost OF tho
silk and the sewing This might seem a
trifing saving on tho small piece that would be
used on one pair OF nantaloons. hut when the
Hnds o! pantaloons the saving amounted 10
considerable both in time ana money But as
the cost OF the gutter percha increased the use
OF Il for this purpose Increased.
There are of course many Substitutes for
gutter percha oven AS insulators. and the busy
trains OF inventors and chemists arc still
at work on the problem. but at present the
sea rcity OF gutter percha and its high price arc
serious facts.