Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1892-11-18

however, really only recent matter Oh
discovery that this particular milky juice
of the rubber tree (siphonia elastics) was
Of any real economic value to man. 1t
was not until the expedition OF the
French academicians to South America
in 1875 that its utility and nature was
made known to Europe by memoir
published upon it by NJ. de la Conda-
mine. THIS notice excited little or no
attention. Then again subjects OF this
kind we're again called up in 175l by
NJ Fresneau aud in 1888 by N. Mac
ouer It was so little thought oil b5
economical man. however, that not until
1896 and 1905 did it even get notice
in Great Britain. Then it came there IN
small pieces, dark reddish Jumps, which
were used for rubbing out black lead
pepcil marks and that gave it the name
of rubber, which it wears, though the
native name in South America, where
most of it comes from, was then and Is
now 'caoutchouc.'
"By 1920 the substance was nodded
into waterproof boots and Shoes out
the color of the material was so d''a-
croeable that no one liked to wear it un-
less literally obliged 10. But along oy
1880 Charles Goodyear began to expert
meut at Philadelphia on the employment
of gum elastic as we also called 1t
then 80 as to fit it for general use by q
nsrsicular nitric acid process, which he
40 nerfected in 1888 that he had about
solved the problem, aud by 1889 he had
.ettled the difficulty aud succeeded in
vulcsuiziug orebonizing India rubber BY
means of sulphur. He kept improving
his processes and took out over sixty
United States patents before he died In
1860.
"Well, the result Of this work oil
Goodyear was to make the rubber boots,
shoes and coats at once popular aud
slightly articles Of wearing gear, and the
demand was suddenly increased and has
been steadily increasing ever since' for a
supply of the raw material. To give
vou some idea of the jump which
made then in 1880 only $1,000 pounds
of natural caoutchouc was imported into
the whole market of Great Britain; In
1912 or about two years after, Good
wear had produced clean, shiny black
shoe. the British market called for SOO,-
OOOpouuds, aud to-day the amount has
prodigiously increased over these figures
not only in Great Britain, but the
United States aud all the rest oil the
civilized world; this immense demand
Of thousands and thousands OF tons an'
nually for every market on the face oil
the earth. What the whole aggregate is
I dare not say. This demand has set al
the natives of India, of Madagascar, OF
South America, of Java aud OF Central
America aud the Indian archipelago hard
at the work of tapping the rubber torest
of their native lands.
"No, believe that we have tuiiy
-eocbed the maximum limit Of raw rub
Der supply, that it will never be any
greater and we shall be lucky II 1t doe
not steadily grow less. But we have
not reached the full limit OF demand
More boots and shoes will be called ioI
every year, and we shall have them sen
to us cast thinner aud thinner until the
sbam will declare itself 10 the dulle''
buyer. What we will do then don''
know. Perhaps some inventive geniu
will find a substitute.
ga rubber cimpin one of the South
American or Indian districts put me II
mind somewhat Of a maple sugar grow
as Il is worked in Vermont or Ohio, only
everything about tho place is wilder
darker and ruder. The natives dig ou
a rude trench or hole at the foot OF tn
rubber tree, which is not large tree
never much larger than ten to twelv'
inches in diameter and hfty or sixty fee
high. They then make an iuclsion Il
the trunk Of this tree, which Is jus
about the same cut that a pine tree Gu
for resin down in North Carolina exh'o
its.
| "The caoutchOuc, when in the tissue