The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-01-17
TRUE STORY OF THE AUTOMOBILE TIRE From Rubber Forest and Cot
 ton Field to Factory DISCOVERY OF THE GUM Is Not Derived From Sap of Trees, as Generally supposed-Long Staple
 Cotton Fibre Is Used In
 Manufacture.
DISCOVERY OF THE GUM

By H. S. FIRESToNE,
 President Firestone Tire and Rubber
 Company.
 Every motorist knows that the pleasure or discomfort of an automobile ride de- bends largely upon his tires. But how many of them know anything about the life story" of these scapegoatss of mo- tordom? It is a story of immense human effort in crude rubber forest and cotton field; chapter of interest not only to the motorist, but to the average citizen as we'll
 Civilization first heard of rubber in Herrera's account of the second voyage of Columbus in the year 1493, where he speaks of elastic balls made by the na- tives from the gum of tree.
 The first authentic account of it's prac- tical use was recorded in 1745 by the lead CT of a French governmental expedition returning from South America who re- ported that the natives secured from the juice of a tree a certain gum which was very elastic, impervious to water and used in making bottles, shoes and squirt guns.
 Thirty years later it was introduced to commerce when an Englishman brought from Assam, India, a soft spongy sub stance which would erase lead pencil marks and which afterward became known as India rubber.
 Many primitive uses were found for this wonderful gum, but owing to its sus- ceptiblity to changes of temperature, which rendered it sticky and more or less fluid, rubber did not come into it's own until early in the last century. At that time 1t was discovered after great deal of experiment that by mixing sul- phur with crude rubber and subjecting 1t to high degree of heat, these former deficiencies were eliminated and a ma terial was produced which was both tough and elastic, and would retain those properties under varying temperatures. This process of curing was called vulcan ization and is the basis of rubber mak- ing today.
 So great has been the development of rubber manufacture since that time that It's products now exceed value of $500,- OO0,000 annually.
 Contrary to the popular impression rub Der gum is not derived from the sap. It is secured from a milky juice or latex which is found only in the bark. This latex contains a substance known as caoutchouc Cthe active principle of rubber), together with certain albuminoids, resins etc., which upon the evaporation of mois- ture coaguate, forming a thick, spongy substance. The percentage of caoutchouc, in proportion to other ingredients con- tained in the latex, determines the qual- ity of the rubber
 The regions from which rubber gum is secured form an irregular belt in the tropics and sub-tropcs extending around the earth, the quality procured varying greatly according to the species of plant the soil and the climate. Great quanti- ties are produced in Africa, Mexico, Cey- lon and the Malay islands, but the most desirable rubber for resiliency and wear resistance Is secured from tree found in the Amazon river district, South Amer ica. This rubber Is known as Para the name being derived from it's chief city of export It not only contains as high as 95 per cent of caoutchouc, but the methods used by the natives in preparing 1t for market are so much superior that it is selected in preference to all others for the manufacture of the best automobile tires.
 Rubber gathering in the Amazon river district Is a hazardous and difficult un- dertaking. The supply comes from wild trees scattered throughout dense forests, to which paths must be cut through the tangled and luxuriant undergrowth. Even then the trees can only be reached during three to five months of the year. as throughout the wet season the forests are completely inundated. The climate is so 1nhpa1tbu that whitn this work and it is necessary to rely upon the native blacks, who at best are un- dependable and lazy. Their reluctance to join rubber gathering expeditions can readily be understood when it Is remem- bered that out of a seasons expedition perhaps only half will return alive. When rubber tree is found the native gatherer cuts series of gashes into the bark with his machete, encircling the tree from the ground up, as high as he can reach Cups are fastened to catch the latex as it oozes out When sufficient quantity is collected it is removed to the temporary hut where dense smoke-pro- ducing fire is made of certain nuts and palm leaves. Then taking his wooden paddle the native dips 1t into the latex and holds 1t over the fire, turning it round and round until the latex coagulates. As soon as it is hard a new layer of latex is added and coagulated as before This pro- cess is continued until the mass has grown too large for handling, when the paddle is taken tout and the rubber set aside for export. In this form it Is known i as a ham or biscuit of Para. The process of coagulation and fumgation with these specially selected nuts and leaves prevents decay and adds to the life and wear re- sistance of the manufactured product. Tapping the trees for rubber does not necessarily destroy them, nor is 1t be- lieved to materially shorten their life; but unfortunately many thousands Of trees are annually rendered useless by careless and improper methods. Although the source of crude rubber gum is prac- tically inexhaustible, the limited native labor supply and the diff cqlties eneoun- tered up to the time of marketing 1t have tended to keep down the supply and maintain a high cost of production The output has been increasing steadily, but has not yet been able to keep pace with the enormously increasing demand for manufacturing purposes.
 In order to ohviate the difficulties en- | countered in gathering wild rubber and | facilitate production artificial cultivation | has been resorted to in various locaii- !, ties. Scores of millions of dollars have | been lost in ventures of this character, 1 many of them merely wildcat promoted | schemes. It Is estimated now however | that there are 300,000 acres of rubber | plantations in Ceylon and the Malay re- zion and 100000 acres elsewhere, prin- | cipally in Mexico, some of which have | already started to yield and promise | handsome returns to investors.