Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1922-07-16
INTERESTING STORY
ABOUT THE VARIOUS
n KINDS OF RUBBER

Crude rubber differs so much in
appearance from manufactured
rubber that only those familiar
with it would be likely to recog-
II nize it as rubber.
During the war. when the allies
were taking such stringent pre-
4 cautions to prevent rubber from
reaching Germany. the secret ser
vice men had to receive special
instructions so that they would
know rubber when they saw 1t.
Rubber is obtained from many
plants and trees in the tropics and
4 1t reaches the markets in many
widely varying forms. But the fine
n grades of crude rubber are the
Y smoked sheets and pale crepe from
the great rubber plantations of
the Far East, and Para, the rub
Der obtained from trees that grow
wild in the jungles of the Amazon.
Crude rubber comes to the man
ufacturer today in much better
shape and condition than when
the industry was young. Then
many of the inferior grades were
Shiny, foul-looking messes that
We're anything but pleasant to ham
die. Modern methods have Pro-
duced many changes and the rub
Der comes in today, especially in
the finer grades, looking almost
good enough to eat.
Para rubber makes its way to
the markets in the form of "bis-
cults" large balls weighing about
90 pounds each. They are rich
brown in color. The native work
er in the Amazon district makes
these biscuits by dipping a wooden
paddle into the latex--the LIQUID
form in which rubber comes from
I the trees-and then holding the
paddle with the rubber that ad-
heres to it in the smoke of GER
tain leaves and nuts until the la
tex is coagulated. When the first
layer is thoroughly smoked, the
paddle is again dipped, layer and
all, and the second layer given the
smoke treatment So the biscui.
is built up, layer upon layer, until
g Dali of the desired size Is made
The methods used are very crude
and the workmen are none too
careful and it is necessary before
the rubber Is used in manufacture
70 give 1t a thorough cleansing to
remove impurities.
Into the production of crude rub
Der on the plantations of the Far
East. on the other hand. have
gone the ingenuity and resource
lulness of the scientific minds of
line white race with the result that
the rubber coming from the plan
tations Is very largely free of i'm
purities and carefully packed. Each
plantation has its own views as TO
enc best form of preparing the
Ypper for market, but it comes
Achiefly in three forms, smoked
f7heet, thin, pale crepe and thick
kpale crepe. AS its name implies,
smoked sheet has received a smoke
treatment but the crepes are nm
smoked. Crepe takes its name
IRON Its resemblance to paper
4 crepe.
The thick pale crepe looks 50
much like tripe that If some of
t We're displayed in a butchers
WINDOW a housewife would likely
ask Tor "a couple of pounds oe
tnat nice looking tripe in the
WINDOW 1t is made up in sheets
ABOUT one-half inch thick and has
lemon tint. Thin crepe is made
IN sheets about as thick as heavy
flannel and looks like flannel
the lemon color being more nro'
nounced.
Smoked sheet might easily pass
Tor the black molasses CANDY thai
was SO popular with the bows and
kirls or SO years ago. It is about
q quarter of an inch thick and has
2 deep brown color. verging On
PACK Its shiny surface is usuaI1v
stamped with some simple design
sucn as squares or diamonds, each
piantation following its own fancy
II smells decidedly like bacon
Inc United States Rubber com |
pahy, which owns in Sumatra thn |
largest single plantation in tba |
world, has gone a step beyond 9TH |
er plantation owners, who onerate |
no factories. and Introduces NC
eesses into the preparation of its
uIuae RUBBER which especially tit
.e rupper FOR manufacture into |
tne goods into which 1t is 10 he
mace. Experiments have shown
TOT instance, that certain methods
Of treatment produce a rubber that
~ better suited for tires than 9TH
ers In fact. on the plantation of
the United States Rubber cornany
every step In the handling of NH,
per from the moment II leaves tta
tree as latex In taken with a vtor,
70 the particular kind Of eoods
ufactured. NC iii'li-