The Coconino weekly sun., 1895-07-03
MAKING RUBBER GOODS
American waterproofs Better Than p.L glish, But Have an Unpleasant Odo,

I R-L
 glish, But Have an Unpleasant Odor-
 "For some reason, rubber oyercoot.
 mackintoshes and waterproof par'
 ments made by English manufacturer
 will not stand the American climates
 said man who has made the studv o,
 rubber goods his chief business fo,
 years. 1.-The English goods are what
 is called acid-cured," he continued
 while the best American dealers vpI'
 canize their garments by means of .he
 dry-heating process, subjecting them
 to certain degree of steam heat. in
 an air-tight compartment, for over
 twelve hours. A year or two ago
 certain firm in New York laid in sun. ply of English garments from a trust.
 worthy factory, which it cost them one
 dollar and ninety cents to import. The
 entire invoice turned hard, sticky and
 absolutely unsalable on their hands.
 although they had only been in stool,
 short time. They were glad to sell
 them of at auction at ten cents apiece.n
 What is it that makes rubber capes
 and coats have that disagreeabte odor
 peculiar to them?" questioned the lis.
 tener.
 "They have that smell because thev
 haven't been deodorized," was the re.
 ply. "All the leading rubber factories
 in the country deodorize their goods.
 Manufacturers of cheap goods do not take this trouble, and the compound
 which it is necessary to mix with the
 rubber in order to make it pliable and
 yielding is bound to have an odor if
 the garment is not so treated. A cer. tain herb common to China, Japan and
 other eastern countries, an herb which the Chinese in New York smoke in lit-
 tie sticks, as we do cigars, is used to deodorize rubber goods Tier upon tier of finished garments are hung in an air-tight apartment and subjected to the fumes of this herb or weed. : After a thorough Immigration of this kind, not the slightest scent or odor : can be detected on the goods.
 "Of coursc," added this authority, "u people buy any of the common rubber
 garments sold at one dollar and eighty cents and two dollars apiece, they will find much to complain of in their pur- chase. Not only will the garment have disagreeable odor, but it will not be waterproof. It will be merely pro- lection against cold, and will contain a very small modicum of rubber in it's composition. One can easily see how that is by thinking little on the sub. ject.
 , ''One of these so-called rubber coats 2 ,,rLe of laact yn,1n1S A fatx quality of para, which is the technical l name given to rubber in the trade, sells ] at seventy-five cents pound. Itwould r be impossible for the garment sold at
 less than two dollars to contain much : para at those figures, to say nothing of a the cost of cutting and making. There :, is a vast difference between the old I fashioned white-back, single-surface I rubber coat and the ideal rubber coat of to-day. In the last eight years, es pecially, great Improvements have /, beer made in the manner and making of rubber goods. Now the best gar.
 ments are double-teXtured, that is, the | rubber compound is contrived between Q the outer and inner surface, although . all are cemented together.
 II have worn out three pairs of rub. Der overshoes this season, and have e just bought a fourth" said young '' woman. "I wonder why they wear out l. so fastP"
 5 II can tell you" sa i'd the expert, talk. 'i u ing the new rubbers in his hand and II examining them. "There is little separate piece of rubber which we call U the 'cording' missing from these shoes. All the old-fashioned rubbers had this ' cording put in between the sole and e the upper just where the pieces joined. !, In order to secure more ele' :. gass;l29kipg ruRhsg shoe ,ss gang; Y factufers Nave T5cently let off put. y ting in this cording. The experiment , has proved gain in the matter of ap' pearance and distinct loss in the
 matter of durability, but the con
 sumer forced the manufacturer to it. le because the demand is always for shapely looking goods at whatever cost. I predict that in season or 'e two that clumsy but necessary cord ' ing will be reinstated to overshoeS. o One would scarcely credit it, but E. woman's rubber shoe is made up ot ie nine separate pieces. Sometimes when 'u rubber shoe cracks across the toe 1t I is because it has been overloaded or 'i overbaked. It is in the process of vui- canizing that the different parts ot ', the shoe are thoroughly united, but the temperature of the heater has to '' be adjusted with great judgment and u, discrimination according to the grade ,u and kind of goods to be treated. 's ''The vulcanizers consist of huge ie wooden boxes covered with sheet tn on the inside and filled with steam s pipes, the doors of which are hung al
 the top. After they have been filled ' the steam is turned on and the goods sujected to its peculiar power, the te, V gree of heat being carefully regulated 's by means of thermometers seen from e the outside through small windows u Everybody has studied about the won
 derful rubber tree which grows so pro p fusely in Africa, South America ana ;; other. hot countries. They remember '' that the cream-like sap it yields N
 hardened by the natives into big balls