The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1892-06-16
Rubber From Cotton Seed Oil.

A quiet real estate deal was made last
week which, if present indications hold
good, will prove of great interest to Sa-
vannah.
It is no less than the establishment of
an immense manufactory of an entirely
new article of commerce, substitute for
India rubber from cotton seed oil.
The scheme is not visionary one, but
an established fact, the process having
been thoroughly Investigated by leading
rubber manufacturers at the North and
Endorsed by them, with the offer to put
any amount of capital needed into the
manufacture of the article.
Capt. D. G. Purse has sold to j. G.
Carter, of this city, through Jones &
Wood6n. tract of ninety-seven and
half acres of land fronting on the river,
adjoining Greenwich park on the South.
The price paid, itlis understood, was very
fair and mutually satisfactory to both
buyer and seller.
MIR. Carter is an artist, with studio
at No. 1876 York street, having come
South about two years ago for his health.
For over a. year he has been expert
menting with cotton seed oil, with the
object of reducing or converting it into
solid which could be used as subs!i.
tute for india rubber. He appears 10
have succeeded in discovering process
by which this can be quicklyand cheaply
done and in large quantities, and if the
samples exhibited by him are fair speci-
mems of the results he has fortune
within his grasp which may exceed that
of Goodyear when he perfected his pro-
cess of vulcanizing rubber.
Mr.. Carter's invention comes at a most
opportune time, when the demand for
crude rubber is rapidly increasing while
the supply is as rapidly diminishing, and
at the same time deteriorating in quail
ity. Rubber in its first stage of manu-
faoture is now worth 81 per pound, or
by che ton 67 cents. There is practically
an unlimited demand for a cheap and
reliable substitute.
Mr.. Carter was seen at his home on
Liberty Street yesterday afternoon. He
talked readily of his discovery and his
intentions, though evidently not special
ly desirous of notoriety. BE is just back
from Boston, where he exhibited sam
Piles of his manufacture to the leading
manufacturers of rubber goods of that
city. He also explained his process to
them to q certain extent without giving
away his secret. They were 80 we'll sat
isfed that they Immediately offered to
put up all the money necessary for its
manufacture and to take all that he could
produce at remunerative prices. Mr..
Carter produced several specimens of his
manufacture. One WAS small disk
about u inches in diameter and one.
quarter of an inch in thickness. To all
appearances it was as genuine rubber as
was ever manufactured. 1t was only so
per cent. pure rubber, Mr.. Carter aaid,
and the other so per cent. was originally
cotton seed oil. The specimen WAS soft
and pliable. He produced another spec.
linen several times larger than the first,
very hard and tough, having the appear.
snce of a quality of rubber largely used
for commercial purposes. This, Mr..
Garter said, contained only per cent. of
pure rubber. 1t would have taken an
expert to have declared that either SAM
pie was not genuine rubber.
As the pure rubber coats 67 cents a
pound by the ton and the substitute can
be manufactured for less than 90 cents a
pound, it would seem that there is room
for considerable profit. The character of
the process, Mr.. Carter said, is secret
known to him only, and which he will
continue to keep. He arrived at it after
twenty years experiment with various
oils, for the purpose Of reducing them to
solids and to ascertain their value lor
varnish and other products. He first
discovered a process after beginning his
experiments by which cotton seed oil
could be made available for high class
varnish, use 10 which manufacturers
have as yet been unable to put it to any
extent. His first trip to Boston was with
the idea of establishing varnish factory
at Savannah, but discovering the great
demand for substitute lvr rubber, and
having this idea already in view, he re-
turned and perfected it. He is now sat.
isG 1! # his ability to produce this sub
in any quantities.
Garter las nQt the least doubt of