Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-11-09

to chew some of the bark, and make
rubber balls from the rubber so ex-
tracted. It was also known that goats
feeding on this shrub died because
rubber balls formed in their intes-
tines.
The experiments of extracting rubber
from the shrub in commercial quanti-
ties date back more than fifteen years,
but 1t was not until about seven years
ago that a practical and economical
process was discovered for doing this.
The first guayule rubber factory in
Mexico was erected at Saltillo by Adolf
70 Marx in 1903. E. Delefond, French
chemist, obtained a number Of patents
on a rubber extraction process in 1904
and erected q small factory. The crude
rubber from these two factories was
shipped to the United States and Eu-
rope, where the manufacturers of rub
ber goods made exhaustive tests or 1t.
The results of these tests were so high
w favorable that an enormous demand
for the product was almost instantly
created. It was then that large sums
of money began to be invested In the
new industry and 1t soon attained big
proportions. The various factories that
were established began to overbid one
another for the shrub and prices quick
ly scared to $125 a ton for the raw ma
terial in the field and $40 to $3.50 per
49,. dal;yarod OF fha factory
The fact that much Of the guayule
shrub grows some distance from rail-
road stations and often thirty to forty
miles away from the nearest water
supply makes it necessary to carry
along provisions and water for men
and mules to last as long as the cut
ting. The laborers either pull the qua
yule I'D by the roots or cut 1t, tie 1t
into bundles and carry 1t on mules to
the central station, where 1t Is put into
bales by presses. 1t Is then loaded on
mules or wagons, one OF the latter
sometimes pulled by sixteen to twenty
four mules, and brought to the factory
or nearest railroad station.
Two processes are in use for extract
ing the rubber. One Is mechanical and
the other chemical In the mechanical
process the shrub is first crushed by
rollers and then put into vat, where
It is reduced to a pulp and the woody
portion Is separated from the rubber.
The liquid is then drawn off ana the
woody portion, which is soaked with
water, Is put through cylinders and
still further crushed and then washed.
The product then goes to the drying
kilns The chemical process consists
Of first crushing the shrub. It Is then
placed in a vat where the rubber Is
separated from the wood by means Of
certain chemicals. The rubber is pre-
cipitated and the refuse material
drawn off.
Practically all Of the guayule crude
rubber output Is now shipped to New
York, where 1t Is refined and then used
for the manufacture Of various kinds
Of rubber goods and articles. Boot and
shoe manufacturers are using large
quantities of guayule rubber. The
mechanical goods manufacturers, for
valves, packing, betting, mating, uling
and hose, are scarcely making a COM
pound where guayule does not enter In
larger or smaller proportions. The
guayule product is used largely in the
manufacture Of automobile and car
riage tires. Ink and pencil erasers and
jar rings are now practically all made
with pure guayule. Insulated wires
and cables and friction tape are now
made from a guayule mixture.
The guayule is producing more
wealth than any other desert shrub In
the world.