CHAPTER I._The Boot and Shoe Manufacturers' Assistant and Guide. Containing a Brief History of the Trade. History of India-rubber and Gutta-percha, and Their Application to the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes. Full Instructions in the Art, With Diagrams and Scales, Etc., Etc. Vulcanization and Sulphurization, English and American Patents. With an Elaborate Treatise on Tanning.

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THE

BOOT AND SHOE MANUFACTURERS’ ASSISTANT AND GUIDE.

CONTAINING

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TRADE.

History of India-Rubber and Gutta-Percha,

AND THEIR APPLICATION TO THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES.

FULL INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ART,

WITH DIAGRAMS AND SCALES, ETC., ETC.

VULCANIZATION AND SULPHURIZATION,

ENGLISH AND AMERICAN PATENTS.

WITH

AN ELABORATE TREATISE ON TANNING.

“SUTOR ULTRA CREPIDAM.”

COMPILED AND EDITED BY

W. H. RICHARDSON, JR.

“Give good hearing to those who give the first information in

business.”—BACON.

BOSTON:

HIGGINS, BRADLEY & DAYTON,

20 WASHINGTON ST.

1858.

Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1858, by

W. H. RICHARDSON, JR.,

In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

PREFACE.

[Illustration]

In preparing the following pages, the author has aimed to supply a want

hitherto unsupplied. No work devoted to the wants of the Boot and

Shoe-maker, manufacturer, or merchant, has ever been compiled. Able

articles upon the “Trade,” statistical statements, and general comments

upon matters of interest local in their character, and having particular

reference to the state of the times in which they were written, have

been published, perused and forgotten. But no work, containing a history

of this important mechanical interest, together with instructions in the

science of the Boot and Shoe manufacture, has ever been written. The

Author does not flatter himself that he has, by any means, exhausted so

fruitful a subject, but that he has prepared and compiled important

facts and rules, and submitted valuable suggestions which are correct in

theory, and practical in their application, he has not a doubt.

Within a few years, this important industrial interest has assumed

almost wonderful proportions, and it now towers in magnitude and

importance, above all its compeers. New elements have been introduced

into the manufacture of boots and shoes, and fortunes have been expended

in endeavoring to introduce new methods by which to cheapen the process

of manufacture, as well as the raw material. The introduction of

India-rubber and Gutta-percha as articles of mechanical use, has

quickened the pulses of invention, and has already produced wonderful,

and important changes in all departments of the mechanic arts, and more

especially in that of boots and shoes. Already have these important

vegetable gums, and the thousand uses of which they are susceptible,

attracted the attention of the world, and last but not least, we are

indebted to the discovery and use of _Gutta-percha_ for the successful

insulation of the _Atlantic Cable_, without which substance, the cable

could not have been safely submerged. Establishments for the manufacture

of India-rubber, and Gutta-percha, into almost every conceivable shape,

have sprung up, as it were in a day. Patents for its use and

application, are constantly presenting themselves. Heretofore, it has

been the policy of all interested in the manufacture of India-rubber and

Gutta-percha, to surround their inventions with an air of mystery. “No

admittance” has been blazoned upon their laboratories, and no “open

sesame” pronounced by the uninitiated, has succeeded in opening the

doors to their carefully guarded treasures.

In this work, we have endeavored to make clear, simple, but important

facts, scientific discoveries and observations, which, from _practical

experience_, we know to be of great utility. A collection of the most

approved recipes for the preparation of compounds of India-rubber, and

Gutta-percha, would alone, make a volume worthy of preservation. But we

have endeavored to present all the important rules, practical hints, and

observations, necessary to the manufacture of boots and shoes, also an

important and _economical_ method of _repairing_ the same.

Herein may be found a history of the discovery of India-rubber and

Gutta-percha, its uses and applications, the inventions which they have

called into existence, the patents that have been taken out, the

“claims” set forth by different individuals, the causes of the failures

of many of them, and a brief history of their pretensions. We herein

introduce a process of manufacturing boots and shoes, of the _most

durable character_, at about one-half the expense of the old method, by

a process so simple that the humblest cordwainer in the land, no less

than the wealthy and extensive manufacturer, can at once enter upon the

field of competition; but time and _experiment_ will determine the real

value and utility of Gutta-percha as a substitute for “pegs” and

“stitches,” in the manufacture of boots and shoes.

Particular attention has been given to the application of Gutta-percha,

and India-rubber, in the manufacture of boots and shoes, inasmuch as it

is a new field, and much interest is manifested by the “_craft_” to

understand its value and use.

Not least in the application of this process of shoe manufacture, is the

invaluable benefit to be derived by all who wear _thin soled shoes_ or

boots, inasmuch as shoes thus made are _impervious to water from the

sole_, thus allowing the most delicate lady to walk with impunity upon

ground, wet by the morning shower, or evening dew. Perspiration of the

foot is in no wise confined by this process, as it escapes from the

_upper portion_ of the shoe.

The _system of cutting Patterns_, herein set forth, is alone worth the

price of the work, as its simplicity, scientific correctness, and

application to every description of boot or shoe, enables any mechanic

possessing ordinary ingenuity, to prepare sets of patterns for all

classes of work desired. Diagrams, to assist the beginner are explained

so clearly, that every important rule is at once understood.

A “Treatise upon Tanning” is also introduced, in which the subject is

treated in a comprehensive manner, and compilations from the most

approved authorities are made.

The history of Vulcanization, Adulterations of India-rubber,

(caoutchouc) and gutta-percha, will be found to contain many important

facts and suggestions.

The author is indebted to various sources for many of the scientific and

historical facts herein contained. First, to a Boston gentleman of high

standing, long identified with the Boot and Shoe interest, for facts in

the early history of the trade in New England.

A great number of English works have been carefully examined, and such

of their contents as bear directly upon the elucidation of facts, and

theories set forth, copied. The Scientific American, has also furnished

us with many important facts and suggestions.

All the _practical_ and useful compounds herein described, with a few

exceptions, are the results of long, patient, and laborious

investigation; also the process of making boots and shoes by the new

method, are from actual tests, and personal experiments. This portion of

the work, or rather the facts therein set forth, were furnished by a

gentleman who has devoted many years to the prosecution of experiments

in gutta-percha, and India-rubber compounds. He is acknowledged to

possess great practical knowledge, and scientific research in this

department of mechanical art.

A general, rather than a scientific compilation has been adopted, so

that the work shall be found universal in its application, although

addressed especially to the mechanic. All technicalities have been

avoided as far as possible, and simple descriptions, and popular terms

substituted.

The “Assistant and Guide,” is dedicated to all interested in the great

industrial interest which it represents. It is a humble pioneer in a new

field, and is submitted with the hope that it may be found a valuable

“_assistant_” to those just starting in the first years of their

apprenticeship—a “guide” to such as are desirous of perfecting

themselves in the calling to which their efforts are directed, and a

“companion” to the merchant, and all who seek for information, in the

thousand varied channels through which it flows.

W. H. R. JR.

BOSTON, October, 1858.

CONTENTS.

[Illustration]

INTRODUCTION—An account of the various styles of “covering for

feet,” before the Christian Era; with illustrations, xv

BOOK I.

CHAPTER I.

IMPORTANCE OF THE BOOT AND SHOE TRADE, 9

CHAPTER II.

RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE BOOT AND SHOE TRADE, 14

CHAPTER III.

GUTTA PERCHA—ITS PROPERTIES, MANUFACTURES, &C., &C., 19

CHAPTER IV.

GUTTA PERCHA—ITS FIRST APPLICATION AS A CEMENT IN THE UNITED

STATES, 39

CHAPTER V.

GUTTA PERCHA FOR BELTS, HARNESSES, &C.; ITS APPLICATION TO WOOD

WORK, &C., 43

Testimonials, 45

CHAPTER VI.

INDIA RUBBER—ITS DISCOVERY, USES, &C., 51

Cleaning Processes, Mackintosh Cloth, 56

Cutting Processes, India Rubber Liquid, Braids and Webs, 58–60

Vulcanized; Comparison of India Rubber and Gutta Percha, 61–65

BOOK II.

CHAPTER I.

PREPARATION OF STOCK, 66

Middle Soles; Spur or Spring Lifts; To Prepare Leather Soles;

To Prepare Counters; Preparation of Stock for Cloth Shoes;

Preparation of the Upper Stock; To Prepare Uppers made of any

description of Leather, or part Leather and Cloth;

Instructions for Lasting; Cementing Processes after Lasting;

Directions for applying Thick or Thin Soles to Shoes and

Boots; Remarks on Finishing; Taps or Soles for Repairing;

Preparing the Boot or Shoe to be Repaired; Important Facts

for Manufacturers; Compounds for Heels of Shoes or Boots;

Various Fibrous Compounds for Leather Soles, &c.; Practical

Hints.

CHAPTER II.

HINTS AND INSTRUCTIONS ON PATTERN CUTTING, 79

_Diagrams_ on pages 82, 83, 84, 85, 87, 96, 97, 99; Fitting

up Lasts for the Measurement of the Foot, 88; Cutting Boot

Patterns, 89; Scales for Lasts, 91; Scales for Medium

Proportions of Feet, 93; Directions for Pattern Cutting,

93–101.

CHAPTER III.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING FRENCH CUSTOM BOOTS, SHOES AND GAITERS, 103

BOOK III.

CHAPTER I.

DISCOVERY OF THE VULCANIZATION AND SULPHURIZATION OF INDIA

RUBBER IN AMERICA, 106

Nathaniel Hayward, 109; Importance of the Discovery, 113;

Causes of Failure, 114; Charles Goodyear, and Interesting

Account of his Trials, 114–124; Results.

CHAPTER II.

VULCANIZATION—INTERESTING REFLECTIONS, 128

CHAPTER III.

VULCANIZATION—TESTS OF QUALITY OF NATIVE GUMS, POWER TO BE USED

IN MANUFACTURE, 136; METHODS OF MANUFACTURE, &C.

CHAPTER IV.

VULCANIZATION—IMPORTANCE OF GUM ELASTIC FOR EDUCATIONAL

PURPOSES, 142

CHAPTER V.

ADULTERATION OF INDIA RUBBER (CAOUTCHOUC;) ENGLISH SYSTEM OF

ADULTERATION FULLY PRESENTED, 145–164

CHAPTER IV.

VALUABLE RECIPES—Purifying Gutta Percha, 165

Marine Glue; India Rubber Armor; New Gutta Percha

Composition; India Rubber Varnish; Water-Proofing Oil; India

Rubber Teeth; Emery Paper, &c.; Cheap Method of Making

Leather Water Proof.

BOOK IV.

CHAPTER I.

GUTTA PERCHA PATENTS, 174

First Patent by D. A. Brooman, fully described; Properties of

Gutta Percha; Artificial Fuels; Elastic Applications;

Applications in State of Solution; Patent for Improvements in

Boots, Shoes and Gaiters, 181; Description of Patent,

182–186; Patent by Charles Hancock, Improvements in the

Manufacture of Gutta Percha and its Application, 186:

Description of Process of Making and Applying Varnishes to

India Rubber Shoes, &c., 187; Method of Making Gutta Percha

light, porous and spongy, 190; Varnishes, 192; Parke’s

Improvements in Dyeing, 195; Hancock’s Patent for

Improvements in Preparation of Gutta Percha, and Application

to Manufacturing Purposes, 196–200; Re-Vulcanization, 200;

Lorimier’s Patent for Combining Gutta Percha and Caoutchouc

with other materials, 203; Compounds for Boots, Shoes, &c.;

Hancock’s Specification for Making Water Proof Shoes, &c.,

205; Claim for Making Shoes of Gutta Percha with other

materials, 208; Cartley’s Patent for Varnishes, 210; Burke

for Manufacture of Air-Proof and Water-Proof Fabrics, 211;

Hancock’s Patent for Gutta Percha Heel Tips, 213; Varnishes,

214; Gerard’s Patent for Dissolving India Rubber and Gutta

Percha, 217; Newton’s Patent Applicable to _Boots_, _Shoes_,

and _other coverings for the feet_, 219; N. S. Dodge’s

Improvements in Treating Vulcanized India Rubber and Gutta

Percha.

CHAPTER II.

AMERICAN PATENTS AND CLAIMS—INTRODUCTORY, 230

Synopsis of American Patents, commencing 1813, ending 1858,

232–284; Chaffee’s Patent, Application of India Rubber to

Cloth, 233; Goodyear’s Patent, Divesting India Rubber of its

Adhesive Qualities, 234; Hayward’s Patent, Sulphur

Preparation, 237; Chilcott & Snell’s Patent for _Improvement

in the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes_, 255; Reynold’s Patent

for Composition in Tanning, 257; Edward Brown, for

Improvement in Porous Elastic Cloth for Gaiters, 258; Hyatt &

Meyer, Improvement in Manufacture of Boot and Shoe Soles of

Gutta Percha and India Rubber, 258; J. A. Pease’s Improvement

in Over-Shoes, 262; Tyer & Helm’s Improvement in Manufacture

of _Boots and Shoes_, 264; Parmlee’s Attaching Metallic Heels

to India Rubber Soles, 265; Arthur’s Machine for Cutting Boot

and Shoe Uppers and Soles from India Rubber, 266; Rice &

Whorf Improvement in Lasting and Applying Soles to Shoes,

269–272; Tyer & Helm, Making India Rubber Cloth, 271–272;

Crockett, Making Sheets of Leather from Currier’s Shavings or

Buffings, 274; N. Hayward, Preparing Elastic India Rubber

Cloth, 275; Thomas C. Wales’ Water Proof _Gaiter Shoes and

Boots_, 279; Samuel Whitmarsh, Composition for Artificial

Leather, 282; Boyden & Frederick’s Composition for Varnishing

Leather, 283; F. Baschnagel, for Restoring Waste Vulcanized

Rubber, 284; Descriptive Index of Chemical Patents Issued in

1855–66, 284–285.

_Remarks._—Many of the Patents, described in this chapter,

are not here referred to, as they are not particularly

applicable to the Shoe and Leather interest

BOOK V.

CHAPTER I.

TANNING, 286

Description of the Art; Natural and Artificial Tanning, 289;

Extent of the Business in the United States, 290.

CHAPTER II.

TANNING AND THE TANNING WOODS OF AMERICA, 293

CHAPTER III.

PRACTICAL HINTS ON TANNING, 301

CHAPTER IV.

HIBBARD’S PROCESS OF TANNING, 308

CHAPTER V.

TANNING PROCESSES, 317

The Preller Process, 318; Tanning Buckskin, 321; New Method

of Tanning, 322; Dexter’s Process, 323; Fair Leather, 325.

CHAPTER VI.

PATENTS FOR TANNING, 326

Hibbard’s Patent, 326; Towle’s Patent, 327; Enos & Hunt’s,

328.

APPENDIX, 329

Jenkins’ Improved Heater and Press; Valuable Recipes for

Gutta Percha and India Rubber Cement for Boots and Shoes;

Varnishes, Gums and Glues, 331; Black Varnish for Boot and

Shoe Edges and Heels, 333; Water-Proof Cement, 334; Shellac

Varnish, 335; Glues, 336–339; Water-Proof Cloth, 340;

Japanning Leather, 343; Gums, 344.

DIRECTORY.

INTRODUCTION.

[Illustration]

The readers of the “Guide” will be interested in an examination of the

various styles of shoes, or rather “coverings for the feet,” that have

prevailed, dating some fifteen hundred years prior to the advent of

Christ. Some of the most unique, we have had engraved from Cantrell’s

designs, which we here furnish, to give correct views.

The first attempt, of which we have any account, to give style to the

coverings of the feet, produced the _Sandal_. These differed in style,

though slightly varied in form. Those used by the poorer classes were

constructed of flat slices of the palm leaf, which, lapped over in the

centre, formed the sole, and a double band of twisted leaves secured and

strengthened the edge; a thong of the strong fibres of the same plant

was affixed to each side of the instep, and was secured round the foot,

while those indulged in by the more wealthy classes were made of

leather, and were frequently lined with cloth, the point or end turning

up like a pair of modern skates. The sandal reached its greatest

perfection among the Romans. The emperor Aurelian gave the royal

permission to the ladies of his time to wear sandals of various colors,

the men not being permitted to indulge in so great a luxury. The Roman

senators wore buskins of a black color, with a crescent of gold or

silver on the top of the foot, while the soldiers wore simple sandals

fastened by thongs. In the reign of Edward the Third, of England, those

who worked at the shoe trade, were denominated the “gentle craft,” as

they produced shoes of the most gorgeous description, the richest

contrasts of color were elaborated and the greatest variety of pattern

devised.

[Illustration: Fig. 1 in this plate displays a beautiful design. It is

supposed to be worn by one of the royal family.]

The English shoe of the middle ages is “beyond all Greek, beyond all

Roman fame.” The second specimen in the engraving is simpler in design,

but not less striking in effect, being colored jet black, and worn with

red hose. Another curious fashion of those times was—see Fig. 3. The

left shoe was _black_ and the stocking _blue_, the other leg of the

wearer being clothed in a _black_ stocking and a _white_ shoe. This shoe

was cut very low over the instep, the heel being entirely covered, and a

band fastened by a small buckle or button passing round the ankle

secured it to the foot.

Coming down to the reign of Richard II., boots and shoes were made of

great length, so that they were _chained to the knee of the wearer_,

that he might walk with some degree of freedom. Of course, only the

nobility could afford so expensive a method of locomotion. Extremes were

introduced from time to time, as in our own day. During the reign of

Edward III., it was enacted that any shoemaker working for the

“unprivileged classes,” should not make any shoes, the toes which should

_exceed two inches in length_, under a penalty of twenty shillings. This

edict had the effect to _widen_ the toes to a most absurd extent; this

fashion was followed by a proclamation from Queen Mary, that the _width_

of the toes should not _exceed six inches_.

The mania for wearing expensive shoes, in 1588, was only exceeded in

folly by the Tulip excitement at a later date in Holland. Large sums

were expended in shoe decorations. The poet Taylor alluding to this

extravagance thus writes of those who,

“Wear a _farm_ in shoe strings edged with gold,

And spangled garters worth a _copy hold_.”

In the reign of Charles I., boots, which were made of elegant Spanish

leather, of a buff color, were cut so large and wide at the top, that

the wearer was obliged to stride so ridiculously, that it afforded much

sport for the satirists of that age. In the time of Cromwell, large boot

tops were worn by the Puritans, but were not adorned with lace. Upon the

restoration of Charles II. came the enormous French boot, in which the

courtiers of “Louis le grand” delighted to show their legs.

[Illustration]

The accompanying cut will furnish an idea of the amplitude of the tops.

The boot is adorned with lace around the upper part, and that portion of

the boot into which the leg is inserted was fitted with pliant leather;

over the instep is a broad band of leather, beneath which the spur was

fastened.

The shoes in the following cut were such as were worn by the ladies

during the reign of William III.

[Illustration]

The clog beneath the shoe on the left side, was simply a piece of stout

leather, evidently intended to protect the feet from excessive moisture.

The distinguishing mark of gentility in the reign of George I. and II.,

was _red heels_. The ladies preferred silk or velvet to leather, and the

favorite shoe worn by the ladies of the court were made of figured blue

silk with bright red heels and silver buckles.

[Illustration]

The above cut was the style worn in 1780. Ten years later a change

occurred by which ladies’ shoes were made flat and low, like the slipper

of the present day.

A picture by Fores was published in 1791, of a shoe worn by the duchess

of York. The shoe was made of green silk, ornamented with gold stars,

and bound with scarlet silk; the heel was scarlet and shaped exactly in

the modern style.

Shoe buckles disappeared about the commencement of the present century,

and were succeeded by the plain shoe string. In England the Prince of

Wales endeavored to preserve the custom, by persisting in their use, in

order to sustain the buckle-makers, but imperious fashion was too

powerful for even the influence of the great.

The accompanying cut represents a variety of shoes worn by females.

No. 1 is the sandal of a Russian lady of 1768. The second that of a

female of Finland, a low, slipper-like shoe, secured by a band across

the instep, having an ornamental clasp, like a brooch, to secure it on

each side of the foot; it was probably a coarsely made piece of jewelry,

with glass or cheap stones set around it, as the people of this country

at that time were fond of such showy decorations, particularly upon

their shoes. No. 3 is a production of the same country, and is similar

to those worn by the matrons of the upper classes. No. 4 is the shoe of

a Tartarian lady of 1577. Nos. 5 and 6 are examples of the shoes of

oriental ladies, which are sometimes highly ornamented; the covering

part being wrought with gold, silver, and silk, and perhaps set with

jewels, real or imitated. The shoes of noblemen are of similar

construction. They were no doubt easy to wear.

[Illustration]

Not so are the ladies shoes, for they only were allowed the privilege of

discomfort, fashion having in this country declared in favor of small

feet, and the prejudice of the people having gone with it, the feet of

all ladies of decent rank in society, are cramped in early life, by

being placed in so strait a confinement, that their growth is retarded,

and they are not more than three or four inches in length, from the toe

to the heel. By the smallness of the foot the rank or high-breeding of

the lady is decided on, and the utmost torment is endured by the girls

in early life, to insure themselves this distinction in rank; the lower

classes of females not being allowed to torture themselves in the same

manner. The Chinese poets frequently indulge in panegyrics on the beauty

of these crippled members of the body, and none of their heroines are

considered perfect without excessively small feet, when they are

affectionately termed by them “the little golden lilies.” It is needless

to say that the tortures of early youth are succeeded by a crippled

maturity, a Chinese lady of high birth being scarcely able to walk

without assistance. These shoes are generally made of silk and

embroidered in the most beautiful manner, with flowers and ornaments in

colored silk and threads of gold and silver. A piece of stout silk is

generally attached to the heel for the convenience of pulling up the

shoe.

The Turkish ladies of the sixteenth century, and very probably much

earlier, wore a very high shoe known in Europe by the name of a

“chopine.” This fashion spread in Europe in the early part of the

seventeenth century, and it is alluded to by Hamlet, in act ii., scene

2, when he exclaims, “Your ladyship is nearer heaven than when I saw you

last, by the altitude of a chopine,” by which it appears that something

of the kind was known in England, where it may have been introduced from

Venice, as the ladies there wore them of the most extravagant size.

Coryat, in his “Crudities,” 1611, says: “There is one thing used by the

Venetian women, and some others dwelling in the cities and towns subject

to signiory of Venice, that is not to be observed (I think) among any

other women in Christendom.” The reader must remember that it was new to

Coryat, but a common fashion in the East. The engraving is intended to

represent a singular fashion once adopted by the Venetians. It is called

a _chapiney_. They were of various heights, some half a yard, the

tallest being worn by the shortest women, although the height and

ornament usually designated the nobility. They were curiously painted

and gilded. It required the utmost skill to balance upon the _chapines_:

the ladies always in public, were supported by two servants or old

women, upon whose heads the ladies placed their hands, and in this

ridiculous manner proceeded to their gondolas.

[Illustration]

The _sabot_, a shoe peculiar to France, is here represented. They are

quite clumsy, but warm and comfortable. Those usually worn are entirely

plain, and the color of the wood.

* * * * *

The modern styles of boots and shoes do not require any particular

description. The Gaiter Boot inaugurated a new era in the history of

“coverings for the feet,” and its introduction is attributed to the

Countess of Blessington. This boot was found to be troublesome, owing to

the necessity of lacing and unlacing, the tags breaking off, holes

wearing out, and such like annoyances. All these difficulties were

obviated in a great measure by the introduction of the Elastic Gaiter.

American skill and ingenuity has completely rivalled the most elegant

specimens of Parisian handicraft, and the importation of French gaiters,

which was once quite extensive, has almost or quite ceased. Most of the

so-called French manufacture is the product of American artizans. This

“amiable deception” is practiced in order to gratify the whims of those

who lack confidence in the skill and taste of American manufacturers. An

anecdote illustrative of this prejudice is general in its application.

The incident related, occurred in a Broadway establishment, New York.

[Illustration]

A lady, after examining the slippers of the tradesman, said, “Mr. ——,

why do you not import your slippers from Paris?” “Madam,” was the reply,

“I have already sent out an order, and I expect every day the arrival of

an extensive assortment; if you will call in in about a week, I think I

can furnish you with just the article you desire.” The lady left,

promising to return, and Mr. —— visited his printer and had a number of

“tickets,” bearing the name of an imaginary French shoemaker, struck

off, and by her next visit he was prepared with a “very extensive

assortment.” She was fitted with a pair, and after extolling the style,

elegance, and comfort of her slippers, insulted the tradesman by

enquiring “why _he_ did not make such shoes.”

The Americans are rapidly securing to themselves a superiority over all

other nations in this important manufacturing interest, and in a few

years boots and shoes of American manufacture will be regarded as the

_ne plus ultra_ of the art.

BOOK I.

CHAPTER I.

IMPORTANCE OF THE BOOT AND SHOE TRADE.

The great importance of the Boot and Shoe Trade in the New England and

Middle States, and the vast amount of capital devoted to its

development, the energy, brains, and perseverance of its leading men,

place this branch of the mechanic arts high on the list of the great

industrial interests of the age. It is, therefore, a matter of surprise,

that some work has not appeared which should contain important

scientific, statistical, and practical information concerning the rise

and progress of the Shoe and Leather interests. Works upon Tanning have

been published, covering many of the collateral branches of that

science, and fugitive articles occasionally appear, giving accounts of

new discoveries, or new applications of old methods, concerning the

preparation of leather, &c.; but in the manufacture of boots and shoes,

no work has ever appeared which would enable the shoemaker to make any

advancement in his calling, other than that which his own observation or

genius might suggest. The Boston Board of Trade publish annual Reports

in which appear able articles upon the Shoe and Leather interests, but

these, of course, are mainly statistical and financial in their

character. There is published, also, in Boston, New York, and

Philadelphia, simultaneously, the _Shoe and Leather Reporter_, by J. D.

Field & Co., a valuable journal, devoted exclusively to the trade in

boots and shoes, leather, hides and its collateral branches, also market

reports and correspondence from various portions of the world. This

paper is the only organ, we believe, devoted exclusively to the shoe and

leather interests. Systems of measurement, the cutting of patterns,

preparation of stock, all of which can be gained by study and

application, have been, as it were, sealed from the direct investigation

of the inquiring mind. In other branches of the mechanic arts, volumes

have been published, and the ambitious student pursues his

investigations from primary principles to ultimate results in regular

gradations.

In the science of shoe manufacture, we must refer for information

principally to English works; and even these are collateral, rather than

direct, in their application. Dodd’s British Manufactories, Brande’s

Encyclopedia, Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, Penny Cyclopedia, Results

of the Late Exhibition, (London,)—all these are the repositories of much

that has been written upon the leather interests; sources of information

which none but the man of leisure, or the enterprising compiler, would

be likely to trace out.

It may be said that the simplicity of this branch of the mechanic arts

does not require that degree of study and investigation which the more

abstruse and complicated sciences demand, and hence there is no

necessity for works upon the subject. This objection is only true in

part. It requires the nicest adaptation of skill to make a perfectly

fitting shoe or boot, and no man, unless he who is fully conversant with

the rules and principles which enter into the preparation of the stock,

the _correct_ measurement of the foot, the “cutting out” of the several

parts of the stock, the lasting and fitting of the shoe or boot, can be

successful in his profession. The making of an easy, elegantly fitting

boot, requires a knowledge of the anatomy of the foot, a familiar

acquaintance with the angles, lines and curves, which are involved in

the perfect adjustment of part to part, and their relative positions.

Most shoe manufacturers, and ordinary village shoemakers, learn their

trades from their fathers, and the knowledge has been handed down from

generation to generation, without change or improvement, and shoes are

made to _fit lasts_, rather than the feet which are to wear them. Hence

intelligent instinct has taken the place of intelligent knowledge, and

progressive investigation. The workman knows nothing of the anatomy of

the foot, the science of pattern cutting, and therefore works on as

though all feet were cast in one mould, with the simple difference which

the “sizes” indicate. These “sizes,” as is clearly shown in another

portion of this work, are _regularly incorrect_. Hence, in the absence

of a correct standard, the system of boot and shoe making is simply the

following of established mechanical rules, upon a false foundation.

We refer in these remarks to the manufacture of what is known as “sale

work.” There are many, very many, “custom workers,” who proceed by

correct rules, and upon scientific principles; men who understand how to

_adapt the shoe or boot to the foot_, so that when the customer first

draws the boot or shoe on, it fits naturally and easily, adapting itself

to any, and every deformity or slight irregularity which the foot may

present. We make general statements, which every intelligent shoemaker,

or large manufacturer, will at once acknowledge. The whole trouble

arises from the want of some correct standard by which to be guided in

the preparation of the stock for the workman. All this cannot be gained

but by study, patient investigation, and the _practical application_ of

scientific rules.

The French are generally acknowledged to understand the art of boot and

shoe making better than those of any other nation, and they have carried

the science to a degree of perfection not yet attained by ourselves,

except in a few comparatively isolated cases. The whole secret of their

success is their patient perseverance, and artistic skill in

_understanding the rules which are vitally essential to success_.

In another chapter we have devoted considerable space to the elucidation

of the principles of measurement, pattern cutting, and such instructions

as will enable the manufacturer—and in this term we comprise all who are

engaged in this important branch of our industrial interests—to become a

_scientific proficient_ in his vocation.

This work, however, as its title indicates, is devoted more specifically

to the application of Gutta-Percha, and the various Rubber compounds, in

the manufacture of boots and shoes. Yet we regard the _principles_ of

their manufacture, as equally important, and as vitally essential, to

the perfect fitting of the boot or shoe, whether sewed, pegged, or

cemented.

CHAPTER II.

RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE BOOT AND SHOE TRADE.

The Boot and Shoe Trade of New England is of comparatively modern date.

The first vessel, the sloop Delight, ever freighted at Boston with a

full cargo of boots and shoes, sailed for the port of New York, in the

month of May, 1818, consigned to Spofford & Tileston, then the largest

boot and shoe jobbers in New York. This firm then commenced supplying

the shipping demand from that port, instead of Boston. The manufacture,

then, was confined to the New England States, but it soon commenced to

take a wider scope. The trade increased rapidly, but eleven years later,

1829, there were only four jobbing houses in New York. In Boston, the

centre of the trade, the whole jobbing trade for 1828 did not exceed but

little over one million of dollars. The trade has increased to an almost

wonderful extent. It now forms one-third of the whole manufacturing

power of the country; New England and Pennsylvania retaining two-thirds.

In the city of Boston there are about two hundred and eighteen wholesale

and jobbing boot and shoe houses, doing business to the amount of

fifty-two millions of dollars annually. In New York there are about

fifty-five jobbing houses, whose aggregate sales reach from fifteen to

sixteen millions yearly. The domestic and foreign boot and shoe trade of

the State of Massachusetts alone, amounts to between fifty-five and

sixty millions annually. The shipments from Boston to San Francisco for

1856, were $2,100,000.

_The manufacture of boots and shoes is the largest domestic trade in the

States_, and there is no country or nation that can successfully compete

with us, either as regards prices or quality. Common styles of goods,

such as men’s pegged boots and brogans, women’s pegged and common sewed

shoes and gaiters, are manufactured in the following villages of New

England, viz: Lynn, Haverhill, Worcester, Milford, Natick, Randolph,

Abington, the Readings, Danvers, Georgetown, Stoughton, Woburn, and

several other towns in Massachusetts. The amount of capital employed in

the city of Worcester, in the boot and shoe business, is one hundred and

seventy-six thousand dollars; the annual value of boots and shoes

manufactured, about one million of dollars. The total value of boots

manufactured in Milford, Mass., in 1857, was upwards of two millions of

dollars. The amount would have greatly exceeded that estimate had not

the financial troubles of the country prostrated this, in common with

every other manufacturing interest. According to present indications,

the manufactories of Milford, this year, 1858, will nearly, or quite,

reach the value of four millions of dollars. The city of Lynn, Mass.,

has employed in this business, about five thousand workmen, and its

sales for the year 1857, exceeded four millions of dollars.

Each New England village, town or city, where this industry is carried

on, is devoted to one kind of boot or shoe, and whole communities are

built up by this special industry. Some idea of the importance and

extent of the boot, shoe and leather interest may be inferred from the

fact, that there are forty-one thousand men in Massachusetts who work

upon leather, either in manufacturing the article or moulding it into

various forms. Every eighth man in the State is a shoemaker.

The Shoe and Leather Trade of Boston takes its date, as a prominent

branch of commerce, about the year 1830, caused principally by the

change made in conducting the business. It was formerly the custom for

Manufacturers and Dealers in Boots and Shoes to _seek_ a market for

their goods, by consignment on their own account, to New York,

Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans, Havana, and

other West India Islands. It was found to be remunerative for a while,

but on the increase and competition of trade, it became a losing

business. The leading houses failed. Since 1828 and 1829, an entire

change in the method of conducting the shoe business has taken place.

Manufacturers and Dealers now sell their goods on their own account

instead of consigning them to other States. The consequence is that

Boston is made not only the head-quarters for nearly all the

manufactories of New England; and although the city of Lynn and the

towns of Haverhill, Danvers, &c., sell a large portion of their goods at

home, a large number of the manufactories have offices in Boston for the

sale of their goods. If the domestic trade of Boston had been conducted

on the home principle, the expansion of the city would have greatly

exceeded its present limits.

The great industrial and trading interest is a correct type of New

England thrift and industry. No branch of our mechanical pursuits is

conducted with so much safety, energy and intelligent perseverance, as

is the great Boot and Shoe interest. When convulsions come which rend in

pieces other commercial or internal trading interests, the boot, shoe

and leather trade, is the last to succumb, and the first to reinstate

itself. The great financial crisis of 1857, thoroughly tried the

strength of this branch of trade, and nobly did it sustain itself, even

extending the helping hand to such as required assistance. Especially

applicable is the latter remark to the merchants of Boston. All this

demonstrates the soundness of their basis—the back-bone which enables

the Shoe and Leather interest to hold itself up under a pressure which

easily crushes all departments of trade and commerce built up on a paper

foundation.

The peculiar characteristics of the boot and shoe trade, its democratic

elements, its freedom from all monopoly, gives it a strength and power

which corporations can never wield. Every man is his own director, and

as all interested are subject to, and dependent upon, their individual

shrewdness and enterprise, it is very seldom that success fails to crown

their efforts. The day is not far distant when all our industrial

interests will be conducted upon a like basis, and corporations cease to

exist.

CHAPTER III.

GUTTA-PERCHA—ITS PROPERTIES, MANUFACTURE, &c.

The almost numberless uses to which this remarkable gum has been, and is

applied, has awakened an interest in the public mind concerning its

discovery, and its uses, and especially the different applications, and

their methods.

The discovery of Gutta-Percha is comparatively recent. The first that

was known of this wonderful production by Europeans, was in the year

1845. Dr. Montgomerie, an English gentleman, residing at Singapore,

observed in the hands of a Malay woodchopper, a strange material used

for a handle to his axe. Curious to learn its nature, he questioned the

native, and ascertained that he procured it from a tree in the form of

sap; that upon exposure to the air it became solid; also, that in

immersing it in hot water it became soft and plastic, and could be

moulded into any desired form. Dr. Montgomerie at once obtained samples

of the material, which he forwarded to the London Society of Arts and

Sciences, with a description regarding it. After subjecting it to

various tests, the Society were unanimous in their opinion concerning

its great value. They awarded to Dr. M. a gold medal for the valuable

knowledge thus communicated to the manufactories of the world.

It is observable, however, that this substance may be said to have had

two European discoverers, independent of each other; for the tree, and

the gum which exudes from it, were discovered or observed by Mr. Thomas

Lobb. This gentleman visited the islands of the Indian seas in 1842–3,

on a botanical mission, as agent to Messrs. Veitch, the scientific and

energetic florists of Exeter; and it was during his rambles that he

became acquainted with the gutta-percha tree.

In proportion as the value of this substance has become known, so has a

desire extended to ascertain the range of its growth in the East. It is

now known that the gutta-percha tree abounds in that extreme

south-eastern point of Asia, which obtains the name of the Malay

Peninsula; in the neighboring island of Singapore; in the important

Bornean island, which Rajah Brooke has been the means of making so

familiarly known to us; and in various islands which constitute the

Eastern Archipelago. There seems very little cause to apprehend any

failure in quantity; for even if the present supply from the

neighborhood of Singapore should be exhausted, the capabilities of more

distant islands are quite beyond present calculation.

It appears that _percha_ (of which the pronunciation is _pertsha_, not

_perka_ or _persha_) is the Malayan name for the tree which produces the

gum; while _gutta_ is a general name for any gum which exudes from a

tree. The tree belongs, of course, to the group in which botanists place

_sapotaceous_ or gum-exuding genera. The wood of the tree, being soft

and spongy, is applied to many useful purposes. The fruit yields a thick

oil, which is used by the natives with their food; and either from this

or some other parts of the tree an ardent spirit is capable of being

distilled. But it is the sap which forms the most valuable product of

the tree. It circulates in small vessels which run up between the bark

and the wood.

Thrifty methods are teachable to rude islanders, as to more civilised

men, when the advantages have been once made apparent. The natives

around Singapore, when they first found a market for the solidified gum,

proceeded ruthlessly to work; they killed the bird which laid the golden

eggs, by cutting down the trees in order to obtain the gum. But they

have now been taught better; it is shown to them how, by tapping or

cutting notches in the branches at certain intervals of time, the sap

may be made to flow, without endangering the life of the tree.

Experiments are now being made to determine whether the gutta-percha

tree can be planted so as to maintain a continuous and inexhaustible

store of gum or sap; should these attempts succeed, the supply would

equal any imaginable demand.

The gutta-percha is sold at Singapore by weight, according to the

apparent quality of each lump; but, when the consignment reaches

England, it is not unfrequently found that a large stone or a piece of

heavy wood is imbedded in the heart of it, to increase the weight. It

would entail a serious loss of time to cut open each lump at the time of

purchase; so that at present Oriental honesty is rather an important

element in the commercial value of this article. There is, too, a great

amount of difference in the quantity of bark, leaves, and dirt, which

become accidentally mixed up with the gum.

The crude gum is imported to the extent of about two millions of pounds

annually.

GUTTA-PERCHA IN THE FACTORY.

The extensive and highly interesting establishment of the Gutta-Percha

Company, situated near the City Road Basin of the Regent’s Canal, is

worthy of attention even beyond the general average of such centres of

industry, for the peculiar character of the substance operated upon

necessitates the employment of new processes, new machines, and new

tools. An incessant course of invention has marked the manufacturing

history of this material during the brief period of its existence. If

the gutta-percha is to be applied to some new useful purpose, tools and

processes of novel character have to be employed; if an ornamental

application is determined on, methods are adopted for developing any

natural beauty which the grain of the substance may present; if an

attempt be made to supersede leather, or wood, or papier-mache, or

metal, by this singular gum, great pains are bestowed on a study of the

special qualities to be imitated, and the process of imitation often

requires operations and tools differing considerably from those before

employed.

The first process consists in cutting the block into slices. There is a

vertical wheel, on the face of which are fixed three knives or blades;

and while this wheel is rotating with a speed of two hundred turns a

minute, a block of gutta-percha is supplied to it, and speedily cut into

thin slices—much on the same principle as a turnip-cutter performs its

work. Woe to the steel edges if a stone be imbedded in the block.

These slices show that the gutta-percha is by no means uniform in

different parts, either in color or texture. To bring about a uniformity

is the object of the shredding or tearing process. The slices are thrown

into a tank of water, which is heated by steam to such a temperature as

to soften the mass; dirt and heavy impurities fall to the bottom,

leaving a pasty mass of gum; and the mass being thrown into another

rotating machine, is there so torn and rent, and dragged asunder by

jagged teeth, as to be reduced to fragments. The fragments fall into

water, upon the surface of which (owing to the small specific gravity of

the material) they float, while any remaining dirt or impurity falls to

the bottom. These fragments are next converted into a dough-like

substance by another softening with hot water, and the dough undergoes a

thorough kneading; it is placed in hollow heated iron cylinders, in

which revolving drums so completely turn and squeeze and mix the now

purified mass, that all parts become alike, and every particle presents

a family likeness to its neighbor.

The kneaded state may be considered the dividing line between the

preparatory processes and those which relate to the fashioning of the

material. The soft ductile mass may be formed either into sheets or

tubes. In forming sheets the mass is passed between steel rollers,

placed at a distance apart corresponding with the thickness of the sheet

to be made—whether for the heels of a rough-booted pedestrian, or for

the delicate “gutta-percha tissue,” now so much employed by surgeons. By

the time that the substance has passed through the rollers it has cooled

sufficiently to assume a solid, firm consistency. By the adjustment of a

few knife edges, the sheet may be cut into bands, or strips of any

width, before leaving the machine. In making tubes and pipes, the soft

mass of kneaded gutta-percha is passed through heated iron cylinders,

where a singular modification of the wire-drawing process reduces it to

the desired form and dimensions.

From the sheets and tubes thus made, numberless articles are produced by

cutting and pressing. Machines, somewhat like those used in cutting

paper, are employed to cut the gutta-percha into pieces. If for

shoe-soles, a cutting press produces a dozen or so at one movement; if

for string, or thread, narrow parallel slips are cut, which are then

rounded or finished by hand; if for producing stamped decorative

articles, the sheets are cut into pieces, and each piece is warmed and

softened to enable it to take the impress of a mould, or die. But the

mode of casing copper wire for electro-telegraphic purposes is, perhaps,

one of the most singular applications of the material in the form of a

sheet. Several wires are laid parallel, a strip of gutta-percha is

placed between them, another strip is placed above them, and the whole

are passed between two polished grooved rollers; the pressure binds the

two surfaces of the gutta-percha firmly together and to the wires, while

the edges between the grooves indent the gutta-percha so deeply, that it

may easily be separated longitudinally, each slip containing its own

core of copper.

GUTTA-PERCHA BOATS.

When Lady Franklin fitted out an expedition in search of her gallant

husband, a year or two ago, Captain Forsyth, the commander of the

vessel, took out with him a gutta-percha boat, presented for that

purpose by Messrs. Searle. His account of the behavior of this boat,

under the rough usage to which it was subjected in the ice-bound regions

of the north, is most laudatory. He states that “whilst the other boats

constructed of wood suffered much by the cutting of the young ice, the

gutta-percha boat was not in the least damaged, and returned to England

in almost as good condition as when she left, although she underwent all

the rough work of the voyage.” Mr. Snow, who had especial charge of the

gutta-percha boat belonging to the ‘Prince Albert,’ has detailed in a

clear manner the remarkable way in which this material resists the rude

buffetings of those regions. It must be remembered that the boat had a

skeleton of wood and a covering of India rubber. Mr. Snow says, “The

severest trial it endured, and endured successfully, was on both my

visits to Whaler Point, Port Leopold. To those unaccustomed to the

nature of such ice as was there met with, it will be impossible fully to

conceive the position a boat was placed in. The mere transit to and fro,

among loose masses of ice, with the sea in a state of quiescence, would

have been quite enough to have proved or not the value of gutta-percha

boats; but when, as in the present case, those masses were all in

restless agitation, with a sea rolling in upon an opposing current, it

might have been well excused—and without deteriorating from the

previously attested goodness of the article—if it had not been able to

have resisted the severe shocks it received.... Sliding through and over

the ice; sometimes lifted completely out of the water by the sudden

contact of a resistless floe; and at others thrown side-ways upon an

adjoining craggy piece; I think it would have been next to impossible

for any other kind of boat to have been otherwise than crushed or stove

on the instant.” It was in a right spirit that the explorers gave the

name of “Gutta-Percha Inlet” to the spot where the boat had rendered

them such important service.

GUTTA-PERCHA—MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS.

A rare catalogue we should present, if all the useful applications of

gutta-percha were duly set forth. We should have to speak of

breast-coating for waterwheels, of galvanic batteries, of shuttle-beds

for looms, of packing for steam-engines and pumps, of cricket and

bouncing balls, of felt-edging for paper making, of curtain rings whose

merit is noiselessness, of window-blind cord and sash lines, of clothes’

lines (recommended to the laundress as defying all attacks of weather,)

of bosses for flax-spinning frames, of whips and sticks, of policemen’s

and ‘special constables’’ staves, of flax-holders for heckling machines,

of skates, of fencing sticks, of washers for the axles of wheels, of

plugs or solid masses used in buildings, of buffers for railway

carriages, of gunpowder canisters (which ‘keep the powder dry,’) of

sheet-covering for damp walls, of linings for ladies’ bonnets, of jar

covers, of sponge bags, of foot baths, of funnels, of goldsmith’s bowls,

of bobbins for spinning machines, of covers for rollers, of book covers,

of moulds for electrotypes, of coffin linings, of sounding boards, of

portmanteaus, of beds for paper-cutting machines, of fine and coarse

thread, of envelope boxes, of powder flasks, of portfolios, of a

stopping for hollow teeth—a tolerable list, this, which shows how

multiplied are the applications for which this singular vegetable

product is available.

GUTTA-PERCHA—ORNAMENTAL WORK.

When softened by heat, this substance will take the impress of a mould

or stamp with delicate precision; and in the course of a few minutes it

reassumes its tough state, retaining permanently the pattern given to

it. The power of application is thus unlimited, or limited only by the

inclination of the purchaser. Whether the mould be of copper or of

brass, of pear tree or of box, an impress can equally well be obtained

from it. In practice, all these four materials are employed, and

sometimes others. The mould being carved and in a state of readiness,

the piece of gutta-percha (always, or nearly always, in the form of

sheet) is laid upon a marble slab, which is heated by steam from

beneath; and the gum being thus brought into a pliant and yielding

state, it is placed on or in the mould, a counter mould is laid upon it,

and the action of a press forces the material into the minutest parts of

the device. If the pattern be deep and the relief bold, a hydraulic

pressure of a hundred or a hundred and fifty tons is brought to bear

upon it; but if of lighter and simpler character, a hand-press is

brought into requisition.

In this way, aided by minor manipulation, are produced the varied and

ever-increasing specimens of ornamental gutta-percha work. Trays are

produced of every imaginable (or at least of every usable) form and

pattern: bread trays, biscuit trays, cotton or work-table trays, counter

or card-table trays, pen trays, pin trays, card trays, soap trays,

shaving trays, &c. Then there are work-baskets and hand baskets, flower

vases and bouquet holders, plates and platters, decanter stands and

watch stands, bas-reliefs and alto-reliefs. The desk fittings admit of

much beauty in this material; inkstands are produced in most diverse

forms; while pen trays, paper weights, wafer boxes, envelope boxes, &c.,

are beginning to establish a formidable rivalry to the similar articles

made in papier-mache. Beauty, pattern, graining, clouding, or whatever

we may choose to term it, is produced in a very remarkable way on the

surface of gutta-percha. Some specimens of gutta-percha are darker than

others, and all have a tendency to darken by age; and the workman

dexterously avails himself of these varying tints to produce a pattern.

He softens two or more pieces, of different tints, passes them between

two rollers to thoroughly unite and amalgamate them, and then presses

them into the mould; leaving it to the freaks of chance to bring out the

wavy lines, the curls, the streaks, the knots, which the intermixture of

tints produces. This diversity is not very apparent at first; but it

becomes developed when the substance is polished, and considerably

enhances the beauty of the article produced.

GUTTA-PERCHA PIPES AND TUBES.

Water-pipes have had a few vicissitudes in their history. Those who

remember the arrangements for the water-supply of London, in past days,

will have been familiar, with the wooden pipes, formed of bored trunks

of trees, which were wont to be laid down beneath the paving of the

streets. These gave way to iron. The smaller pipes have chiefly been

made of lead; but zinc in one quarter, brown ware in another, glass in

another, have invaded the domain of lead. A new competitor now enters

the field. Gutta-percha claims to be not merely an efficient material

for water-pipes, but to possess certain sanitary qualities very

important in this sanitary age of ours. It is very strong and tough (say

the patentees); it possesses much durability underground; it stoutly

resists frost; and it leaves the water as pure as it finds it. Hence it

is applied to pump barrels, to ships’ pumps, to locomotive feed-pipes,

to syphons and mine-pipes, and to fire-engine pipes. But if the

testimony of medical men is to be deemed authoritative, the substitution

of gutta-percha for lead as a material for water-pipes is a matter of

yet higher import. Dr. Thomas Smith, of Cheltenham, states that “Many

serious and alarming disorders, such as mania, epilepsy, sudden death,

nervous affection, paralysis, consumption, hydrocephalus, heart disease,

&c., owe their origin in some instances, their intractable character in

others, to the gradual and continuous infinitesimal doses of lead,

copper, &c., introduced into the system through the channel of our daily

drink.” It appears that the carbonic acid contained in water has a

tendency to combine with the lead of the pipe which contains it, and to

generate a compound possessing poisonous qualities. That gutta-percha

resists such action, all authorities agree; and although at first the

gum imparts a slight taste to the water, this effect seems speedily to

disappear.

There are many other circumstances which render tubes of this material

very advantageous for the conveyance of water. It bears an amount of

friction and hard usage which is frequently surprising. At New York

there is a gutta-percha pipe a thousand feet in length, which conveys

the water of the great Croton Aqueduct to Blackwell’s Island; the pipe

lies along the bed of the intervening river, and is kept down by upwards

of a hundred small anchors, and yet it resists both the friction of the

bed and the weight of the anchors. With an immense pressure of water,

gutta-percha pipes have been found to remain unharmed, where leather

hose would be disrupted. It resists the action of marine insects, which

would soon make ravages on stout timber. If water be contained in a

gutta-percha pipe, it remains liquid at a temperature which would

produce ice in almost any other pipes. For watering gardens and roads,

for sprinkling malt in a kiln, for applying water from a fire engine,

these pipes appear to be singularly well fitted, since, with a great

power of resisting pressure, they may be bent, or twisted, or

lengthened, or shortened, in any required degree. Nor is this material,

_per se_, the only efficient part of such pipes; for a gutta-percha pipe

may be firmly united to a metal pipe in five minutes, with no other

cement than warm water; the end of the pipe being softened in warm

water, and drawn over the end of the metal, the gum contracts on cooling

so as to grasp the metal tightly, and thus form an impenetrable joint.

But if water be conveyed thus effectively through tubes of gutta-percha,

the qualities of the material are still more remarkably displayed in the

conveyance of chemical liquids. Few persons are so ignorant of chemistry

as not to be aware that the stronger acids and alkalies play sad havoc

with the vessels and tubes which contain them. On the other hand, there

is an obstinacy of constitution about this singular substance which

enables you to battle a whole host of formidable opponents. It does

yield, certainly, to concentrated sulphuric and nitric acids; but if

these acids in a weaker state be the liquids in question, or if

muriatic, acetic, or hydrofluoric acids, or chlorine (all of which have

a very destructive action), then the gutta-percha stoutly resists them,

and renders good service. Carboys, pipes, dye-vats, flasks, funnels,

bowls, ladles, syphons, troughs, measures, buckets—all are now made of

this material, for use in chemical works, print works, dye and bleach

works, and other establishments where strong chemical liquids are

employed.

CEMENT EXPERIMENTS.

The chemistry of cement is a curious one; for the stony particles adhere

with a force which is in some instances almost equal to the power of

stone itself. The so-called Roman cement has long been famous for its

cohesive property; but the Portland cement recently introduced far

excels it. In an experiment lately conducted, two solid blocks were

prepared, one of Roman and the other of Portland cement; and they were

placed in such positions that weights might be suspended from them. The

Roman cement yielded to a disruptive force of eleven hundred pounds, but

the Portland cement stoutly maintained its integrity till rent asunder

by a weight of nineteen hundred. But this cement has still more

strikingly shown its strength when used as a mortar in brickwork. On a

recent occasion in Hyde Park, a brick beam was built up with Portland

cement as a mortar. The bricks were hollow, and were so ranged as to

form a beam about four feet in height by two in width. This beam was

rested at the two ends on supports more than twenty feet asunder, and

weights were suspended from the centre; and not till the astonishing

weight of nearly seventy thousand pounds was thus applied did the beam

yield and break. It was not the actual binding power of the cement alone

that resisted this enormous force, for thin slips of iron were

introduced at different parts; but the experiment was intended to show

how much strength might be obtained by hollow bricks and Portland

cement, aided by a little iron.

STEREOTYPING FROM GUTTA-PERCHA.

Mr. Muir, of Glasgow, has invented a mode of stereotyping, managed in

the following way. A page of common type is first set up, and well

fixed: a warm cake of gutta-percha is applied to it, screwed down

tightly, and allowed so to remain a quarter of an hour; when this

gutta-percha mould is removed, it is brushed over with fine black-lead,

and an electro-copper cast taken from it; the printing is then effected

from this cast. It is found that gutta-percha constitutes a very

convenient and efficient substance for the mould, owing to the readiness

with which it can be softened, and its toughness when cold; while the

electro-copper cast is said to bear the action of the printing press

throughout a much greater number of copies than an ordinary stereotype

plate.

The same inventor also practices a plan in which the gutta-percha

performs not only its own work but that of the electro-copper also. A

mould is taken from an engraved wood-block, in gutta-percha; and this

mould, when brushed over with black-lead, is made to yield a cast also

in gutta-percha, in an exactly similar way; and from this cast the

impressions are printed. It seems difficult to conceive that, after this

double process, all the delicate lines of a wood engraving should be

preserved on the surface of such a material as gutta-percha; and yet,

without this preservation, the method would be practically valueless.

ACOUSTIC USES OF GUTTA-PERCHA.

The conveyance of _sound_ is, perhaps, the most extraordinary service

which gutta-percha tubes have yet rendered.

There are two qualities required in a speaking tube; first, that it

shall concentrate a large amount of sound into a small space; and

secondly, that it shall not stifle the acoustic vibrations within the

tube itself. Any material will answer equally well, so far as the

first-named quality is concerned, for it requires simply a

trumpet-shaped mouth at one end, and a very small orifice at the other;

but gutta-percha possesses rare qualities in respect to the second kind

of service. Whether it is the smoothness of the texture, or the peculiar

kind and degree of elasticity, or the relation of the substance to heat

or electricity—whatever may be the cause, a tube of gutta-percha

preserves sonorous vibrations with a surprising degree of clearness and

equability; and the modes in which this quality are brought into useful

requisition are also very numerous.

There is, for example, the _long ear-trumpet_, with a wide orifice at

one end and a small one at the other; and there is the _portable

ear-trumpet_, differing from the former only in bringing the speaker and

the hearer closer together, by a ‘French-horn’ system of twisting in the

tube. There is the _ear-cornet_, so small and neat that one may be

almost invisibly attached to or near each ear. There is the _paraboloid

trumpet_, in which the sound is echoed from a large concave receiver

before it enters the tube. There is the trumpet with a long flexible

tube, or with several tubes, so that several persons round a table can

communicate in turn with the user. In short, there have been almost as

many useful variations of the principle as there are variations in the

social inconveniences of those who require such aid.

A different group altogether is formed by those contrivances which are

intended to aid—not partially deaf persons—but those whom noise or

distance would otherwise disenable from conversing together. Drivers of

omnibusses now sometimes communicate with the conductors, and captains

of steamboats with the engine-men, by gutta-percha tubes. But these are

trifling services compared with such as the tubes render at greater

distances. The _Domestic Telegraph_, as it has been called, is simply a

gutta-percha tube conducted from one apartment to another: it is

employed as a medium of transmitting messages, and saves many a weary

footstep to those who are at the beck and call of others. The _Medical

Man’s Midnight Friend_ (a lack-a-daisical sort of a title) is a

gutta-percha tube extending from the ‘doctor’s’ street-door to the

doctor’s bed, by which a message can be transmitted to the awakened

practitioner, instead of merely the sound of his bell. In factories and

large establishments such speaking tubes are advancing extensively in

favor; for the communication between distant buildings is most complete.

In printing offices, spinning and weaving mills, in union poor-houses,

in hospitals and infirmaries, and in various other establishments of

magnitude, the advantages are so self-evident that the use is becoming

very general.

The church acoustic apparatus is in many respects the most interesting

and remarkable of these highly curious applications. Let us conceive,

for clearness of illustration, that in a remote pew of a church is a

person who, though not deaf, yet fails in ability to hear what is said

in the pulpit or reading-desk. A gutta-percha tube is laid down either

on or beneath the floor from the pulpit to the pew—the material bends so

easily that it may be carried in any form—and a small ivory or hard wood

ear-piece is attached to one end, while the other end expands in

trumpet-form. Now the remarkable circumstance is, that the required

effect is brought about without necessitating the approach of the

speaker’s mouth to the tube; his head may be two or three feet above, or

below, or behind, or at the side of the trumpet-mouth; and yet the sound

will reach the remote end of the tube in audible quantity. The truth is,

that if the tube receives a _mouth-full_ of sound (which it can in any

direction round and near the speaker), that quantity is so economised,

and so faithfully conveyed to the other end, that it becomes condensed

to an audible pitch; if the trumpet-mouth be large, and the ear-piece

very small, we may liken the action to the condensation of many threads

of sound into one; and the ear of the auditor becomes sensible to this

condensed power. In practice, the trumpet-mouth is usually fixed to the

front of the pulpit, mouth uppermost, and is stamped or moulded in an

ornamental form consistent with the decorations of the pulpit. Beyond

all this, the sound may be _laid on_, like gas, to any pew or any

quarter of the church; for there may be a tube (which we will call the

main-pipe) laid along the centre aisle, and lateral tubes may spring

from this to any required spot. Some clergymen have what they call a

_deaf pew_; that is, a pew in which those are congregated who may be

collectively benefitted by this admirable apparatus. This contrivance

has been used at some of the great meetings (four thousand strong) at

Exeter Hall, by those to whom the speeches would otherwise have been

little else than dumb show.

Gutta-percha has been discovered in the British province of Mergui, and

though not precisely identical with the gutta-percha of commerce, it

possesses all the valuable properties of that substance, including

plasticity in hot water, and the power of insulating electric currents.

The tree from which the true gutta taban is produced (erroneously

misnamed gutta-percha, a gum yielded by a different tree,) is one of the

most common in the jungles of Johore and the Malay Peninsula. It is not

found in the alluvial districts, but in undulating or hilly ground.

There is a great uniformity in the size of the full grown tabans, which

rise with perfectly straight trunks from sixty to eighty feet in height,

and from two to three feet in diameter, the branches being few and

small. The natives, after felling the tree, make an incision round it,

from which the milk flows. This is repeated at distances of six to

eighteen inches along the whole trunk. It appears that the taban, or

milky juice, will not flow freely like India rubber, but rapidly

concretes. Its appearance in this state, before being boiled, is very

different from that of the article as imported and shipped. It has a

dry, ragged look, resembling shreds of bark, and instead of being dense

and tough, is light, and possesses so little cohesion that it is easily

torn to pieces.

Various statements are made as to the produce of each tree, which is

somewhat surprising, considering the uniform size of the trees. It takes

twenty trees to produce one picul of 133 lbs., and as the exports of

gutta-percha, from the commencement of the trade up to the close of

1853, amounted to 3,107 tons, it follows that upwards of one million

trees must have been destroyed to obtain that quantity in nine years.

The natives, however, do not appear to be under any apprehension that

the trees will be extirpated, and smile at the probability when

suggested; for it is only trees arrived at their full growth, or at

least at a very considerable age, that repay the labor of felling them

and extracting the gutta; and those of all inferior ages which are

therefore left untouched, will, it is supposed, keep up the race.

The collection of the gutta has widely extended, embracing now the

Johore Archipelago, Sumatra, Borneo and Java. Unfortunately, the quality

has deteriorated by the admixture of other inferior gums, the products

of different trees, which are often used to adulterate the taban.

CHAPTER IV.

GUTTA-PERCHA—ITS FIRST APPLICATION AS A CEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES.

Gutta-percha, as a cement, was first introduced to our notice in 1849. A

medical gentleman having received a severe cut upon one of his fingers,

dissolved a portion of the gutta-percha in chloroform, then with a fine

brush, first immersed in the solution, passed several times around the

finger in order to produce the required thickness; then, immersing his

finger in water for a short time, thus formed a neat and durable

covering, air and water proof. Thus protected, it healed quickly without

soreness or farther trouble. With this cement and crude gutta-percha, we

first applied it to Boots and Shoes, and found it held very firmly the

fibres of cloth and leather together. A sample in sheet form, we applied

with a warm iron. It held with great tenacity, and with an additional

quantity, we applied it with entire success, in the repairing of about

five hundred pairs of shoes. These shoes had cloth uppers, without

“foxing” around the heels, and were badly cut in taking out the “raw” in

finishing the knife work around the heel. We have continued the use of

gutta-percha as a cement for shoes, also as a water-proofing substance

between the inner sole and the outer sole, and our experiments were

fully successful. This process also prevented the boots and shoes from

“squeaking,” that horror of nervous temperaments, at the same time

_adding greatly to the durability of the leather_.

OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING GUTTA-PERCHA AND RUBBER IN THEIR USES IN THE

MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES.

Among the many advantages we have observed in our experiments in the use

of gutta-percha in the manufacture of boots and shoes, are its exceeding

fine grain, its perfect water and oil repellent properties, which render

it far superior to all rubber cements and combinations ever offered to

the public. Gutta-percha is proof against water, acids, and oily

substances, dampness and decomposition. It is very tenacious, clean, and

sweet, and will stand all weathers, and will not become sticky. The

boots or shoes made with it, may be worn in damp or dry localities,

through water, oily or acid combinations, without injury to the cement.

These statements are corroborated by actual tests of the severest

nature.

No one will doubt who will investigate the subject of the application of

gutta-percha to boots and shoes. It is worthy the study of all engaged

in the manufacture of these articles, and will amply repay the closest

study and investigation. Nor can it be doubted that it is destined, in a

very brief period, to supersede all other improvements in the

manufacture of boots and shoes.

In 1855, the “_The North American Patent Boot and Shoe Co._” tested

gutta-percha as a cement after they had abandoned a rubber filament or

cement as useless. They continued to manufacture boots and shoes by the

use of gutta-percha, and found, after a long and satisfactory trial,

through all seasons of the year, that it remained firm and uninjured,

not being in the least affected by the oleaginous substances or fluids

used in preparing the various kinds of upper leather or sole leather.

The oily matter here referred to, destroys all the rubber cements, and

the Company found that gutta-percha continued as firm and tenacious

after their tests, as when first applied to the shoe, and was not

affected by other chemical combinations used in the construction of the

shoe. That Company spared no pains or expense in perfecting _part_ of

the manufacture of the shoes, whereby they were enabled to produce a

quality of goods never before equalled in lightness, style, or practical

utility, _exceeding_, as they did, the most sanguine expectations of all

interested. They fully demonstrated that shoes thus manufactured were

far superior to the sewing or pegging process, or rubber cements; thus

proving conclusively that the process is destined to produce an entire

revolution in the manufacture of every description of fine shoes and

boots.

Gutta-percha cement applied to sole leather renders it water-proof just

in proportion as it is mixed with its fibres, and the quantity applied;

at the same time improving the leather more than one hundred per cent.

as it adds to its solidity and durability. _The mixing, mingling, or

saturating the fibres of the leather, or other fibrous substances, as

cloth, with the cement, gives it its firm and tenacious hold_ on the

various substances to which it is applied in the manufacture of boots

and shoes, _and all other combinations that require a tenacious cement_.

PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING BOOTS OR SHOES BY SIMPLY CEMENTING THE EDGES

OF THE IN SOLE AND OUTER SOLE.

Objections are sometimes urged against the gutta-percha _sole_ as being

liable to sweat the feet. This objection we regard as purely mythical,

as no such result will follow _unless_ the feet are _encased_ in rubber

or gutta-percha. The top of the foot being covered with leather, thus

allowing the _perspiration_ to _escape_, the gutta-percha sole acts

_only_ as a _protection_, thus avoiding the unpleasant effects realized

in wearing India-rubber shoes. Shoes or boots may be made, if desired,

by cementing the edges of the inner sole and outer sole only. This

process obviates the objection just alluded to. We have manufactured

shoes in this manner, which have worn at least _one-third_ longer than

when pegged or sewed, the materials being the same. For _perfectly dry_

walking they are a very desirable article. Only about one-fourth the

quantity of cement is required when manufactured in this manner.

CHAPTER V.

GUTTA-PERCHA FOR BELTS, HARNESSES, &C.

Belts of leather may be put together by this cement, which adds greatly

to their wear and durability, not being in the least affected by

dampness, neither by the oils which may come in contact with them from

the machinery. In cutting up belt for harness leather, there is usually

great waste and loss of stock, as portions of the sides are very thin,

and unfit for use. But by this process every particle may be saved. Cut

the stock the proper width, stretch it, then raise a strong thick fibre

on all the thin parts and the laps. Apply the cement hot with a brush to

all the thin portions and laps. Let it dry until the solvent has

evaporated; then heat the parts sufficiently, and press together with a

vice or clamps. On all the thin places apply a piece of the cemented

leather until the belt is of an even thickness; press firmly together,

then shave off the projections with a knife or cutting machine. Trim the

edges: you will thus produce a firm, smooth belt, _without a stitch,

rivet, or lacing_. All portions of a harness or saddle may be cemented

in the same manner. This process is exceedingly simple, at the same time

economical—a saving of time and money, and adds greatly to their

durability.

GUTTA-PERCHA IN ITS APPLICATION TO WOOD WORK, &C.,—IMPORTANT TO SHIP AND

BOAT BUILDERS.

It may be applied to vats, drains, cisterns, sinks, etc., to great

advantage. All square joints should be first prepared by raising a

fibre, as in veneering work. Apply the cement hot, as glue is spread. In

a few hours the solvent will evaporate; then heat the parts sufficiently

to melt the cement; press together firmly. The gutta-percha will be

found to be an excellent cement for all leaky places in stone, brick or

wood work. Mix it with sand, or any fibrous substance, apply hot, or

melt it in with a hot iron. The _pure_ gutta-percha will cement broken

stone, marble or brick, so firmly that it will remain for years. It is

undoubtedly _the best cement ever yet discovered_. Ornamental work,

centre-pieces, etc., may be thus cemented to their position.

It is a well known fact, that sub-marine wires, enclosed in the

gutta-percha tube, are _indestructible_, as all sea insects, worms, &c.,

never molest it. In caulking all ships, boats, &c., oakum, or _any_

fibrous substance, may be saturated with _pure_ gutta-percha, and then

pressed hot into the joints with a hot iron. This process renders the

joints _proof against all agencies_. The joint thus cemented is made

_more firm and solid than the plank itself_.

TESTIMONIALS

CONCERNING THE PRACTICAL VALUE OF GUTTA-PERCHA, AND ITS APPLICATION TO

BOOTS AND SHOES, IN LONDON.

_Gutta-Percha Company of London, Oct. 1st, 1849._

The application of gutta-percha soles for boots and shoes have been

extensively and satisfactorily tested, its merits having been

acknowledged by all who have worn them. Indeed, experience has proved

that _gutta-percha_ soles wear _twice as long as leather_, with great

additional personal comfort, and remain _perfectly impervious to wet_

until worn through.

_Southampton Row, Sept. 1st, 1847._

_Gentlemen_: I write to thank you because I can speak confidently of the

advantages of gutta-percha over leather soles. I made the first pair

last October, and wore them _eight months_ before I wore the soles

through. I had them heeled six times, and one pair of extra _fronts_ I

put to the _same_ soles. I only kept one pair in use to see how long

they would last. I will never wear another leather sole so long as I can

obtain gutta-percha soles, and I walk from twelve to twenty miles a day.

C. WRIGHT,

_Boot and Shoe Maker._

_To the Gutta-Percha Co._

_Gutta-Percha Company’s Works._

_Patent Gutta-Percha Soles._—The applicability of gutta-percha soles for

boots and shoes having been extensively and satisfactorily tested, we

can unhesitatingly recommend the material prepared for the purpose, its

merits having been acknowledged by all who have tried it. Indeed,

experience has proved that gutta-percha soles wear _twice as long as

leather_, with great _additional personal comfort_, and they remain

_perfectly impervious to wet_, until quite worn through.

_London, Nov. 4th, 1847._

_Gentlemen_:—I have given the gutta-percha boot soles what may be

considered a fair trial, namely: _three month’s constant wear_ on a

rough, gravelly road, and can bear testimony to its usefulness. _With

proper care in putting them on_, and a little attention afterwards, I am

persuaded that it will last longer than leather, and being impervious to

wet, will be found invaluable to persons subject to damp or cold feet.

W. DIAR,

_Principal Officer of H. M. Customs, Whitstable._

_Manchester, England, March 8, 1848._

TO MR. HENRY STATHAM:

_Dear Sir_:—It is with pleasure that I bear testimony to the good

qualities of gutta-percha soles. You are aware that my occupation

requires me to be on foot a great deal, upon all kinds of roads, and in

all weathers, and since I began to wear gutta-percha soles, I have _not

had_ to complain of _wet or cold feet_. The pair I have on now have been

in almost daily use for more than four months, and my fear is, that the

upper leather will be worn out first. I am quite sure that _I save from

thirty to fifty per cent._, in the cost of shoes, in consequence of my

family wearing gutta-percha soles, and, so long as I can get them, I

intend to wear them in preference to anything else I have seen.

Yours respectfully,

THOMAS WHITEHEAD,

_Gas Office, Town Hall, King Street_.

_London, April 1, 1848._

_Gutta-percha Boot and Shoe Soles for Summer Wear._—The fact of the

total imperviousness of these soles to water, enables the most delicate,

by the use of them to escape the suffering which the proverbial

uncertainty of our climate, even in summer, so often inflicts upon the

incautious. All injurious effects may be entirely prevented by a sole so

thin and light, as to afford to the wearer a degree of ease and comfort,

unattainable in conjunction with security against damp. At the same time

the _remarkable nonconducting properties_ of gutta-percha, afford a most

valuable protection to those who are subject to suffering or

inconvenience by walking upon heated pavements. No instance of failure

has ever come to the knowledge of the company, which may not be ascribed

to the neglect of the wearer.

The following article from the _London Weekly Despatch_ will be read

with interest. The writer has, evidently, not only a knowledge of the

subject upon which he writes, but an appreciation of the value of

gutta-percha, and its invaluable importance in the mechanical arts.

“We have lately visited the extensive works belonging to the

Gutta-Percha Company, in Wharf-road City-road, and confess that we were

delighted and astonished. The premises in which the business of the

company is carried on cover a large area of ground. Several floors of

the building are devoted to the operations of the workmen, amounting to

nearly one hundred and seventy individuals, including a sprinkling of

stout, hearty-looking boys. The basement is occupied by two

steam-engines, without whose presence the works would by no means be

complete. These groan from “early morn to dewy eve,” in turning lathes

in the engineering department, in kneading the gutta-percha, cutting out

soles and heels for boots and shoes, rolling out driving bands of every

dimension, and heating the steam-chests by which the gutta-percha is

rendered pliable and fit for the hands of the workmen. On the principal

floor there are several hydraulic presses, used in the process of

manufacture; and we had the good fortune to witness the production of a

complete dessert service of the most chaste and elegant pattern, and in

imitation of gnarled oak. The subjects of adornment were brought out in

high relief, and after undergoing the process of varnishing, were

surprisingly beautiful, light, and incapable of being fractured or

broken by a fall or blow.”

Some of these sets were of the vine-leaf pattern, in close imitation to

nature. These things were pressed out with some rapidity, but not

without great manual labor, notwithstanding the aid of the powerful

presses alluded to. Inkstands of the most beautiful character were also

fashioned in a short time; indeed, all sorts of ornaments, elaborated

with the most ingenious devices, were made during our stay. We observed

a vast deal of ornamental work, intended to supersede the labor of the

carver. There were frames of large dimensions ready for the reception of

pictures. We were particularly struck with the appearance of one

intended for a large pier-glass. The foliage was of the most sumptuous

workmanship, and possessed a sharpness and finish which the hand of man

could scarcely accomplish. A design for a bible cover was exhibited. The

subject harmonized with the nature of the book it was intended to

enclose, and was in bold relief. It is believed that gutta-percha will,

in a short time, be in general use among book-binders, not only in the

shape of massive covers, but to supersede the present cotton binding

which has so pretty an appearance, but is not of that lasting character

as to induce persons to adopt it in cases where strength and durability

are required. In other portions of the factory, workmen were employed in

making instruments used by surgeons, to be employed in cases of a

delicate nature; others were finishing off the numerous objects just

turned out of the moulds. Amongst the other articles of curiosity, we

observed several yards of gutta-percha rendered exceedingly thin by

machinery, and _intended_ for _ladies’ dresses_. It was of a light pink

color, by no means displeasing to the eye, and possessed of great

strength. By the aid of delicate machinery, the gutta-percha was run out

into thread, to be used in the manufacture of ladies’ work bags, fishing

nets, and for a hundred other purposes.

Large tubing, and some with an inconceivably small bore, was run out to

lengths of various dimensions. Wagon and cart harness, of enormous

strength, combined with lightness, we observed hanging up in the

establishment, besides gentlemen’s riding-whips, and things of every

kind. Greatly as we were delighted with all these things, we had yet

another treat to come, which infinitely surpassed anything we had seen.

We were shown several specimens of enormous panelling, on which the

carving of the original design was brought up with remarkable fidelity.

Considering that gutta-percha is an indestructible material, we have

little hesitation in stating, that the mansions of the nobility will

soon be decorated with ornamental work produced by this new system of

multiplying objects, produced by the ancients to their glory and eternal

honor.

CHAPTER VI.

INDIA-RUBBER, ITS DISCOVERY, USES, &C.

This important gum is known by a variety of names. Caoutchouc,

gum-elastic, and India-rubber. It is a product of the syringe tree of

South America. This substance was first brought to Europe in 1735, by

some French astronomers, who were sent to Brazil to make astronomical

observations. It is found abundantly in Peru, Brazil, and Quito, and has

recently been discovered in Asia. Considerable quantities of it are now

obtained in Java, Penang, Singapore and Assam. In some places hundreds

of miles are covered with trees. They are very lofty, rising to the

height of fifty or sixty feet, without branches, but covered with a rich

tufted foliage. The bark is exceedingly smooth, its leaves deep green,

thick and glossy, and six or seven inches in length. The fruit consists

of white almonds and is regarded by the natives as very delicious. The

process of obtaining the liquid is very simple. A longitudinal gash is

cut in the bark of the tree with a hatchet, a wedge is then inserted to

keep the aperture open; the gum then oozes out in the form of a milky

juice. A small clay cup is attached to the tree into which the sap

flows. In the space of four or five hours the milk ceases to run, and

the quantity received is about five table spoonsful. The cups are now

emptied and the process of smoking is commenced; this with the forming

process must be done as soon as the milk coagulates. A fire is built

upon the ground made of the nuts of the wassou palm tree; over this fire

an inverted earthen pot, with a hole in the bottom is placed, from

whence issues a jet of pungent smoke. The smoke changes the color of the

gum very slightly at first, but by exposure to the atmosphere it becomes

first brown, then quite black, presenting the appearance which we see it

has in articles of commerce. The sap of the tree is laid on a mould in

successive layers, which are allowed to dry, and are formed into bottles

and cakes, in which form it is exported. The natives of South America

are very ingenious in the uses to which they apply it. Boots, shoes,

syringes, and tubes, are among the many articles of domestic use into

which it is converted. The tubes they use as torches, which burn very

clearly, and emit but little odor. According to the celebrated chemist,

Faraday, its composition is carbon, 87.2, hydrogen, 12.8—a hydro-carbon.

It melts when exposed to a heat of 248°, and is resolved into vapor at

600°, and can be condensed into a liquid called caoutchoucin. In 1770, a

cubic inch of India-rubber was sold in London for seventy-five cents, to

erase pencil marks. It was not used to make water-proof fabrics until

about the year 1800. These were first invented by Charles Mackintosh, of

Glasgow, who applied a naptha solution to the surface of two pieces of

cloth, then laid them together, passed them between rollers and thus

cemented them together.

[Illustration: NATIVES GATHERING GUTTA-PERCHA.]

A “Mackintosh” was the name applied for many years to a water-proof

coat. Dr. Ure, although well aware of Mr. Mackintosh’s invention, coldly

passes it over in his dictionary. It is supposed that personal feeling

was the cause of this, as Dr. Thomson and Ure were once rival chemists

in Glasgow, and Mackintosh was the friend and pupil of the former. The

fabrics of Mackintosh had a most disagreeable smell, still he was the

first person who established India-rubber manufactures in Britain, and

perhaps the world. He afterwards removed his factory to Manchester,

England. Various kinds of goods made of India-rubber soon afterwards

began to be manufactured in England, but they were all decidedly

objectionable to use, until the grand discovery of sulphurization was

made; for this the world is indebted to an American inventor, Nathaniel

Hayward of Woburn, Mass.

This substance, or rather, compounds of it, is now manufactured into so

many articles of beauty and usefulness, that it forms an object of no

small wonder to witness the rapidity with which such manufactures have

sprung into existence.

The following description of the India-Rubber tree and its fruit is

given by Chevalier D. Claussen, inventor of the flax cotton. He says

that in the course of his travels in South America, he had occasion to

notice the different trees which produce the India-rubber, and of which

the _Hancornia speciosa_ is one. It grows on the high plateaux of South

America, between the tenth and twentieth degrees of latitude south, at a

height of from three to five thousand feet above the level of the sea.

It is of the family of the _Sapotacæ_, the same to which belongs the

tree which produces gutta-percha. It bears a fruit, in form, not unlike

a bergamot pear, and full of a milky juice, which is liquid

India-rubber. To be eatable, the fruit must be kept two or three weeks

after being gathered, in which time all the India-rubber disappears, or

is converted into sugar, and is then in taste one of the most delicious

fruits known, and regarded by the Brazilians (who call it Mangava) as

superior to all other fruits of their country. The change of

India-rubber into sugar, led him to suppose that gutta-percha,

India-rubber, and similar compounds contained starch. He therefore tried

to mix it with resinous or oily substances, in combination with tannin,

and succeeded in making compounds which can be mixed in all proportions

with gutta-percha or India-rubber without altering their characters. By

the foregoing it will be understood that a great number of compounds of

the gutta-percha and India-rubber class may be formed by mixing starch,

gluten, or flour with tannin and resinous or oily substances. By mixing

some of these compounds with gutta-percha or India-rubber, he can so

increase its hardness that it will be like horn, and may be used as

shields to protect the soldiers from the effect of the Minie balls, and

some of these compounds in combination with iron, may be useful in

floating batteries and many other purposes, such as covering the

electric telegraph wires, imitation of wood, ship-building, &c.

A description of the various uses to which India-rubber is applied, will

be found exceedingly interesting and instructive. The English have thus

far succeeded more perfectly, or rather more generally in their

application of it, than we, although since 1856, rapid strides have been

made in perfecting the manufacture of the various fabrics in which it is

used in our country, especially New England. It must not be forgotten

that to an American is due the discovery of the process of

sulphurization, which discovery immediately gave a new value, and a new

impulse to the application of this wonderful product of the forests of

South America.

The following account of the various uses to which India-rubber is

applied, is taken principally from English sources, and refers to the

manufactures of that country.

INDIA-RUBBER CLEANING PROCESSES.

The India-rubber, or caoutchouc, now imported to the enormous extent of

six or seven hundred thousand pounds annually, reaches this country in

masses of varied shape, but mostly of a dark color. In its imported

state it is used for very few purposes; considerable modifications being

necessary for its adaptation to practical service. It requires to be

transformed into cakes, or sheets, or tissues, or tubes, or solutions,

preparatory to its ultimate use; and this transformation requires

operations of a somewhat peculiar kind, owing to the necessity of

rendering the whole mass homogeneous in substance.

The bottles, and masses, and fragments, as imported, have much

inequality in texture, and are, moreover, contaminated with much dirt

and refuse. To separate these, the India-rubber is first cut into very

small fragments, and then steeped in warm water, by which the dirt is

precipitated. The fragments are dried, and are then thrown into a kind

of kneading machine, where immense pressure is employed to bring them to

one homogeneous mass. The India-rubber, though put in cold, becomes so

hot by the agitation that it could not be safely touched by the hand; it

is necessary to supply the machine with cold water, which is made nearly

to boil by the caloric driven out of the elastic mass. So thoroughly is

the mass pressed, rolled, pricked, cut, and kneaded, by the severe

turmoil which it undergoes, that all dirt, air, water and steam are

expelled, and it presents the appearance of a dark colored, uniform,

smooth mass. It is put into cast iron moulds of great strength, and

brought, by hydraulic or screw pressure, to the form of blocks, slabs,

or cylinders, according to the purpose to which it is to be applied.

MACKINTOSH CLOTH.

The manufacture of the Mackintosh cloth is a singular one. The material

is merely two layers of cotton cemented with liquid India-rubber; but

the junction is so well effected, that the three become to all intents

and purposes one. The stout and well-woven cloth is coiled upon a

horizontal beam, like the yarn beam of a loom; and from this it is

stretched out in a tight state and a nearly horizontal position. A layer

of liquid or rather paste-like solution is applied with a spatula, to a

considerable thickness, and the cloth is drawn under a knife edge, which

scrapes the solution and diffuses it equally over every part of the

cloth, which may be thirty or forty yards long. The cloth is then

extended out on a horizontal framework to dry; and, when dried, a second

coating is applied in a similar way; and a third and fourth may be

similarly applied if necessary. Two pieces, thus coated, are next placed

face to face with great care, to prevent creasing or distortion; and,

being passed between two smooth wooden rollers, they are so thoroughly

pressed as to be made to unite durably and permanently. Cloth, thus

cemented and doubled and dried, may be cut and made into garments which

will bear many a rough trial, and many a deluging before rain or water

can penetrate.

INDIA-RUBBER CUTTING PROCESSES.

It is as a _sheet_ and as a _thread_ that India-rubber meets its most

extensive application; and both of these are made by cutting from the

blocks and slabs. A block is cut into sheets by an ingenious machine, in

which a sharp knife-edge has a rapid vibratory motion in a horizontal

plane, so adjusted as to cut a thin film from a block of India-rubber

supplied to it by a steady motion. The knife requires to be kept cool by

a flow of water, or it would adhere to the India-rubber. In this way

thin sheets may be cut, or thicker sheets from which stationers’

India-rubber may be obtained, or sheets of any thickness, great or

small, according to the purposes required.

The separation of the material into shreds or narrow strips is a very

pretty operation, exhibiting much nicety of manipulation. A continuous

strip may be cut from a bottle or any other curved mass of the

India-rubber. The bottom of the bottle is cut off, and is pressed into a

round and tolerably flat form. The cake thus fashioned is fixed to the

end of the horizontal shaft, or lathe-axis, and is made to revolve with

great rapidity; and while so rotating, a circular knife, rotating at

high speed, cuts through the substance, and advances steadily towards

the centre of the disc; thereby separating the disc or cake into one

continuous spiral thread. This thread can be easily drawn out

straightly, and can even be separated into two or more finer threads, by

drawing it through a hole where one or more sharp-cutting edges

encounter it. If a bottle or any other hollow piece of India-rubber can

be drawn over a cylinder of uniform diameter, it may be cut into a

continuous thread, by a modification of the same machine; the cylinder

being made to revolve, a steel cutter is placed against it, and as the

cylinder has a slow longitudinal motion given it, the gum is cut

spirally from end to end—just on the same principle as a worm or thread

is cut on a bit of iron by the screw-cutting machine. Machines of this

kind were invented in France more than twenty years ago; but the

machines used in our own country are of English invention and of later

date.

INDIA-RUBBER LIQUID.

When once it was discovered that India-rubber may be dissolved in

petroleum, in naptha, or in oil of turpentine, it was speedily seen that

a new and extensive sphere of utility was given to it. The coarsest

pieces, as imported, the waste from the kneading operations, and the

parings and cuttings from other manufacturing operations, are placed in

a close iron vessel, to which the liquid solvent is added. A brisk

agitation is kept up, and the heat thereby generated in the elastic gum

warms the liquid and increases its solvent power, until at length the

whole of the gum is dissolved. This operation is conducted on a somewhat

extensive scale; for the iron vessel is large enough to contain more

than half a ton of India-rubber, which requires three days of constant

agitation for complete solution. The liquid thus produced has a

consistency which fits it to be used as a varnish, or as a

water-proofing medium, or as a cement, or for many other purposes which

the sagacity and self-interest of manufacturers have enabled them to

discover.

INDIA-RUBBER BRAIDS AND WEBS.

If we glance among the stores of the India-rubber manufacturers and

retailers at the present day, we find the braids and cords, webs and

bands, form no inconsiderable portion of the wares exposed for sale.

These, in most cases, require that the India-rubber should be first made

into blocks or cakes, next cut into sheets, and then separated into

threads, or cords, or narrow strips. Supposing these preliminary

cuttings to be effected, the making of braids and webs is exceedingly

curious, for it involves a combination of the India-rubber with other

materials. Let us briefly trace the processes. In the first place, the

narrow cords are stretched by a kind of wheel, and kept extended till

nearly deprived of their elasticity, and till they form a thread of the

desired thickness. The thread is then put into a braiding machine which

is a complicated and very ingenious apparatus, whereby a sheathing of

cotton, silk, flax, or worsted, is wound round the India-rubber thread.

In such a machine several threads are twisted round each other, from

three to nearly thirty in number; each thread has its own bobbin, and

all the bobbins revolve round a common centre, giving out their threads

in the proportions and order required. Generally speaking, the braiding

machine is employed in making stay-laces, braid, upholsterers’ cord,

&c.; but it is also applicable to making the numerous elastic cords and

webs which owe their elasticity to India-rubber. When an envelope of

cotton, silk, flax, or worsted, has been given to the thread of

India-rubber by the braiding machine, the threads are laid as warp in a

loom, and woven into the required kind of web, whatever it may be. Then

comes a curious development of the properties of the material; in the

preliminary stretching, the India-rubber was made somewhat stiff and

unyielding; but by now exposing it to the action of a hot smoothing iron

upon a table, the elasticity is restored, the riband or web contracts in

length, and the sheathing or envelope corrugates or wrinkles up on the

surface. The web thus produced is very soft and elastic. The warp

threads may be alternated with others of non-elastic character; and the

weft-threads may be either elastic or non-elastic, so that any desired

degree of elasticity may be obtained.

INDIA-RUBBER VULCANIZED.

Why a piece of India-rubber, when it has been somewhat modified by heat

and chemical action, should be deemed vulcanized, it is for the inventor

to say. Let us take the name simply as an expression of a fact, that

fire or heat has been brought to bear upon this substance as a means of

affecting its qualities. The method was invented by Mr. Hancock seven or

eight years ago, and it has been the means of giving a wide extension to

the use of India-rubber.

This vulcanized India-rubber is in fact a compound of sulphur with the

vegetable gum. When a sheet of India-rubber is immersed in liquid

sulphur, a marked change takes place in its qualities; the sulphur acts

upon the gum and combines with it; and indeed the two may almost be said

to form a new substance. The methods by which the combination is brought

about are varied, but the effect is in all cases very remarkable. The

strength of the India-rubber is increased to an extraordinary degree.

The elasticity is rendered more permanent, analogous in some respects to

that of gutta-percha. The new substance will absorb essential oils

without injury, whereas such oils would dissolve India-rubber. It

retains its properties at a temperature so low that India-rubber would

be too much hardened for use; and at a temperature so high that

India-rubber would be destroyed. Later experimenters have found that

antimony, and many other substances, may similarly be combined with

India-rubber; and it is reasonable to expect that many useful novelties

are in use for us in this “vulcanized” rubber.

INDIA-RUBBER OR (CAOUTCHOUC) AND GUTTA-PERCHA—COMPARISON OF THE CRUDE

MATERIALS.

Much ignorance exists in relation to the intrinsic merits of

gutta-percha and India-rubber. It is generally supposed that there is so

little difference that it is hardly perceptible, and that the one or the

other may be used for the same purposes, with the same results. In order

to correct this impression and convey an intelligent idea of their

relative properties, we here give an analysis of the two gums:

Gutta-percha when immersed in boiling water contracts considerably in

bulk, whilst India rubber, when immersed in boiling water, expands and

very materially increases in bulk. Gutta-percha juice also is of a dark

brown color, and consolidates in a few moments after exuding from the

tree, when it becomes about as hard as wood. India-rubber sap, on the

contrary, is perfectly white, and of about the consistency of thick

cream; when it coagulates it gives from four to six parts water out of

ten. Gutta-percha first treated with water, alcohol, and ether, and then

dissolved with spirits of turpentine and precipitated, yields a

substance consistent with the common properties of gutta-percha; but

India-rubber similarly treated, results in a substance resembling in

appearance the gum arabic. Gutta-percha by distillation yields 57⅔ per

cent. of volatile matter; India-rubber by the same process, yields 85¾

per cent.

India-rubber, or caoutchouc, is produced from a milk-white sap taken

chiefly from the Sephonca Cahuca tree, afterwards coagulated, and the

whey pressed out or dried off by heat—the residue is the India-rubber of

commerce.

Gutta-percha is produced from the Isonandra, or Gutta tree; is of a

brownish color, and when exposed to air, soon solidifies, and forms the

gutta-percha of commerce.

India-rubber of commerce, is of a soft, gummy nature, not very

tenacious, and astonishingly elastic.

Gutta-percha of commerce is a fibrous material, much resembling the

inner coating of white oak bark, is extremely tenacious, and without

elasticity, or much flexibility.

India-rubber, when once reduced to a liquid state by heat, appears like

tar, and is unfit for further manufacture.

Gutta-percha may be melted and cooled any number of times, without

injury for future manufacture.

India-rubber, by coming in contact with oil or other fatty substances,

is soon decomposed and ruined for future use.

Gutta-percha is not injured by coming in contact with oil or other fatty

substances—in fact one good use of it is for oil cans.

India-rubber is soon ruined for future use, if brought in contact with

sulphuric, muriatic, and other acids.

Gutta-percha resists the action of sulphuric, muriatic, and nearly all

other acids—in fact one great use of it is for acid vats, &c., and other

vessels for holding acids.

India-rubber is a conductor of heat, cold and electricity.

Gutta-percha is a non-conductor of electricity, as well as of heat and

cold.

India-rubber, in its crude state, when exposed to the action of boiling

water, increases in bulk, does not lose its elastic properties, and

cannot be moulded.

Gutta-percha, in its crude state, when exposed to the action of boiling

water, contracts and becomes soft like dough or paste, and may then be

moulded to any shape—which shape it will retain when cool.

India-rubber is vulcanized to reduce its elasticity and give it more

firmness than is natural to the crude material.

India-rubber, vulcanized, is not so perfectly a repellent of water, as

before being vulcanized.

India-rubber is _not_ a perfect repellent of water, but is more or less

absorbent, according to quality.

Gutta-percha has an exceedingly fine grain, and its oily property makes

it a _perfect repellent_ of liquids, oils, acids, and all oleaginous

substances, so that when united to tanned leather, the _oil_ in the

leather _will not affect the adhesive properties of the gutta-percha_.

Whereas oil in leather _will decompose any India-rubber_ cement that may

be applied to it.

Pure gutta-percha is _without_ smell or disagreeable odor, and whenever

it is found to produce any but a perfectly sweet odor, it arises from

its _impurities_, and may be regarded as a test of its quality.

India-rubber when vulcanized has an odor about it very disagreeable. It

_will decompose_, become sticky like tar, and much of it becomes

entirely useless. It is vulcanized to reduce its elasticity and give it

more firmness than is natural to the crude material, and when exposed to

friction, even after vulcanization, it rolls up a dirty, sticky mass.

The foregoing analysis is so simple and clear, that the attentive reader

will at once comprehend the natural as well as chemical differences

existing in gutta-percha and India-rubber, being not only chemically,

but mechanically and commercially different.

BOOK II.

CHAPTER I.

PREPARATION OF STOCK.

In the preparation of the leather for outer soles, after it has been

stripped up in the common form, remove all the loose flesh by skiving or

splitting, or any other process. The stock should be thoroughly dry.

Then raise a thick and even fibre on the flesh side, (_remembering

always, that the adhesive quality is in proportion to the thickness of

the fibre_) with a common card or rasp, or other convenient tool. The

cement should be applied hot, with a coarse paint brush, as evenly as

possible, then expose the leather to dry air a day or two, in order to

allow the solvent to evaporate. If the first coat is too thin, apply a

second in the same manner, until the leather is well coated. Then the

leather should be again exposed, as before, until completely dry. It may

then be wet in water, in the _usual_ form, until properly tempered or

prepared. The leather is then in a condition to be rolled, or hammered.

If hammered it should be _first_ cut up into soles. If rolled it may be

placed in a cutting machine, and cut up in the usual form. Sole leather

is cut to the best advantage by hands with the proper patterns, or

“dies.” After the soles are properly rounded to the desired pattern, for

all thin edged work the cement should be featheredged, from the edge of

the sole at a proper distance, in order to secure a good finish. This

process prevents the cement from adhering or sticking to the upper, when

the sole is pressed on.

MIDDLE SOLES, AND SPUR, OR SPRING LIFTS.

After they have been properly fitted, ready for use as in the common

form, the parts should be dried and a thick fibre raised, as before

described for the outer sole, only that a fibre should be raised on

_both sides_, as will be readily understood. Cement on _both_ sides.

This process may be done before cutting into soles or lifts, at the

option of the manufacturer.

TO PREPARE IN-SOLES.

Cut from thin leather skirting or shavings. After properly fitting to

the pattern or last, the edges of the in-sole should be reduced to a

proper thickness. A strong fibre should be raised on the side on which

the cement is to be applied, the stock being previously dry. Then cement

as before. One coat is sufficient if the cement is thick. If not, spread

again upon the edge, as that portion of the sole should receive the

thickest coating, for the purpose of holding, with great firmness the

linings or upper, when lasted, as the shoe may require.

TO PREPARE COUNTERS OR STIFFENINGS.

After properly fitting and drying, cement on both sides of the _lower_

edges, corresponding to the cemented portion of the lining or “upper.”

PREPARATION OF STOCK FOR CLOTH SHOES.—PREPARATION OF THE UPPER STOCK.

First cement the linings on both sides entirely around, as far as they

are to be drawn over the edge of the last. Then cement inside of upper,

to correspond with the cemented portion of the linings. Place them in

position for drying, so that the cement shall not be brought in contact

with any _other part_ of the upper. In order to facilitate the cementing

process, the uppers or linings, may be so packed or placed, the one upon

the other, that large quantities may be cemented at the same time. This

should be done before binding.

TO PREPARE UPPERS MADE OF ANY DESCRIPTION OF LEATHER, OR PART LEATHER

AND CLOTH.

The linings, (if any are used), should be cemented as described for the

cloth shoe. The inside of the leather portion or parts of the upper

should be made as fibrous as possible. Then apply the cement as

described for linings. When fully dry they are ready for lasting.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR LASTING.

The process of lasting is simple and may be done with great despatch,

when all parts of the stock composing the shoe or boot are properly

prepared, according to instructions. Tack the in-sole on the last, place

it in the “Improved Heater,” or other drying apparatus, the heat being

about 160° Fahrenheit, in which place the counter or stiffening. Allow

it to remain in for two or three minutes, until the cement has softened

somewhat. At the same time place the upper inside, or on the top of the

“Heater.” Heat carefully, but slightly, until the cement becomes tacky.

Then tack the inner sole on the last, on which place the upper. Last

over the linings, put on the counter, press over evenly, then draw the

upper over neatly and smoothly to its proper position. Great care must

be observed in lasting over the lining or upper, to remove all

unevenness. On cloth uppers, all the superfluous stock around the heel

and toe, may be removed with scissors, on leather uppers with a knife in

the usual form. At the same time press, rub, or hammer each part that it

may be retained firmly and evenly in its proper position. If the uppers

are small, tacks may be used to hold each part in its place. In such

cases, do not remove the tacks until the cement is _cold_. If during the

operation of lasting, the cemented surfaces become too cool to stick

firmly, heat again over the “Heater.” Then hammer the parts lightly. The

lasting thus prepared, (if _wholly of cloth_) are now ready for the

cement. If the upper is part leather, the leather portion that is drawn

over the edge of the last, must have its grain or enamelled surface

removed as in Patent leather. This outer surface should be very

carefully removed with a rasp or knife. A rasp is preferred as it leaves

a desirable fibre. The grain thus removed should extend no farther than

the edge of the inner sole. The shoe is now ready for the cement.

CEMENTING PROCESS AFTER LASTING.

The cement should be spread on the inner sole, and the edges of the

upper that are lasted over, smoothly and evenly, to the edge of the

in-sole, and _no farther_. Place the shoe or boot to dry in such a

position as shall prevent the cement from running, or spreading over

other portions of the shoe. One coat of thick cement is usually

sufficient. But thick cloth of various descriptions, as Felting, Pilot

cloth, etc., will require a double coating. Also some kinds of leather,

as buckskin, it being very porous on its surface. All the fibres should

be fully saturated with the cement; the _solvent_ of the cement should

be _entirely dried out_, or evaporated, before putting on the outer

sole. If the solvent is not entirely removed the cementation soon

decomposes. The drying process is _all-important_.

DIRECTIONS FOR APPLYING THICK OR THIN SOLES TO SHOES AND BOOTS.

First it must be remembered, that all _heavy_ or _thick_ soles should be

_first_ wet in _warm water_, thus softening them, so that they can be

easily formed to the shoe. Then wipe dry from the _cemented surface_,

place them in the “Heater,” (or other suitable heating oven,) with the

other portions of the stock that are required in the construction of the

shoe or boot. Place the shoe upon the “Heater” allowing it to remain

only long enough to melt the cement; then if the shoe be a “spring

heel,” place it (the heel) upon the shoe. If for a _double sole_, place

the middle sole in its place, then the outer sole. Hammer and rub down

_firmly_, so as to _exclude all the air_. Keep them in this condition by

wetting slightly with _cold_ water, with a sponge, until they are firmly

united and _cold_. _Thin stock does not require wetting._ This being

done, the shoes are ready for the finisher. The finisher may wet the

soles by soaking them in cold water, providing the upper stock is not

injured thereby, as would be the case in bronzed or delicate stock. In

such cases let them be carefully wet with a sponge. They can then be

finished in the desired style.

[☞ By using due care, and following the directions as laid down, any

style of boot or shoe may be put together, from the coarsest brogan,

to the finest kid stock of any color, enamelled leather, in short,

all classes of stock without any damage to any portion thereof. Also

all kinds of cloth, from the coarsest Felting or Pilot cloth, to the

finest and most delicate satins. All may be made in a superior style

without the least defect.]

REMARKS ON FINISHING.

Sometimes by accident, there is seen some cement pressed out, adhering

to the upper, caused by fitting the sole too full, or pressing over too

far. In such cases it can be readily removed after the sole has been

properly wet, by the use of a _thick_ knife. Its edges must be _round_

and _smooth_ so that it will not cut or mar the upper. Warm the knife

sufficiently to soften the cement, then the outer sole may be set off

from the upper at a proper distance, sufficiently to pare the edge

neatly in finishing.

_Caution._—Great care must be used in the use of the warm knife. If too

hot, it burns the leather upper. The finisher will soon learn the

precise heat required.

Having given full instructions concerning the manufacture of the

gutta-percha cemented shoe, we will now proceed to the process of

repairing _every description_ of boots and shoes, pegged, sewed, or

cemented. A discovery of great practical importance involving cheapness,

lightness, quickness and wonderful durability, rendering them

_water-proof_ on the sole, thus affording a protection against wet, or

dampness to the most delicate shoe; an invaluable consideration when we

remember that the primary cause of nine-tenths of the colds that are

experienced, arise from damp or wet feet, which cannot be prevented by

the old process. Every considerate mind must acknowledge the great

advantage thus gained by the water-proof sole. The sole thus prepared

being a _non-conductor_ of _heat_, the shoe retains its warmth, no

matter how damp or cold the surface of the earth may be. Shoes or boots

thus prepared may be emphatically denominated “_health preservers_.”

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING TAPS OR SOLES FOR REPAIRING.

First to prepare leather taps, fit them in the usual manner, by

“skiving” or shaving off the proper portions of the sole or tap to the

desired thinness. The stock being _perfectly dry_, next raise a thick

fibre, and cement as before described, for outer soles, As a rule the

cement will dry in the space of an hour, or even in _much less_ time, if

desired.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING THE BOOT, OR SHOE, TO BE REPAIRED.

Shave off the various portions in the usual manner of repairing. The

soles should be clean and dry. Now raise a strong fibre, with a rasp or

card, then cement the loose or broken parts of the old sole, if any,

fully. When dry, the sole or _tap_ being in the same condition of

_dryness_, properly heat them in the “Heater,” as described for putting

on the outer sole. Hammer and rub them so that the tap shall unite

_firmly_ to the shoe. Let them remain until cool, say from four to six

minutes. Then wet and finish as before described. It is desirable to

have a quantity of taps on hand, ready for use when wanted. Stock thus

prepared will be sure to adhere, if properly put on, until worn off,

unless removed by _improper_ exposure to heat.

Boots or shoes made, or repaired by this process, are made to be _worn_,

not roasted and burnt, as is too often the case, by the reckless and

imprudent. The feet may be _warmed_ as _thoroughly_, and even more so,

with the _gutta-percha cemented shoe_, as with the common pegged or

sewed shoe. Yet _care_ must be used not to heat the shoe to the _injury_

of the leather. Persons wearing these shoes will soon learn that they

seldom require to be warmed, as the soles _retain the heat_ much longer

than the common shoe. Hence, whenever it becomes necessary to warm the

feet, much less heat is required, and _less time_ in warming them.

HINTS TO REPAIRERS OF BOOTS AND SHOES.

Repairers of the gutta-percha cemented shoes will soon find that

gutta-percha for a cement, is far superior to the old method, for all

kinds of repairing. _All the thin stock or bits of leather can be

cemented for taps, lifts, counters, or for any other purpose_, and

worked up to the best advantage to all concerned. He can apply leather,

or sheet gutta-percha for soles or taps, of any thickness desired.

IMPORTANT FACTS FOR MANUFACTURERS.

Various compounds of fibrous substances can be used and made by mixing

and grinding gutta-percha with the following substances, between heated

rollers.

_Artificial leather_ may be made by rolling and mixing saw-dust of any

kind, or other fibrous substance, with gutta-percha, as chopped tow,

flax, juto, cotton waste, etc., etc. Take maple saw-dust, two parts,

gutta-percha one part. This compound thus prepared, will resemble

oak-tanned leather. For the gutta-percha cemented shoe, this leather is

considered as being _far superior to any leather in use_, being more

durable, and leaving no waste, as all scraps can be again mixed and

rolled as at first. The more it is mixed and rolled the better it

becomes. Mahogany saw-dust, or other red-wood saw-dust, mixed and

prepared as before, will produce an article resembling red sole leather,

or hemlock tanned.

For repairing shoes, these compounds, or artificial leather, is superior

to common leather, as it can be moulded and heated and applied at once,

without the preparation required in common leather. It is, therefore,

simply to heat and apply, as the gutta-percha is thoroughly mixed and

ready for use; or it may be moulded into heels, in a solid form, and

then applied.

COMPOUNDS FOR HEELS OF SHOES OR BOOTS.

Take two parts gutta-percha, one part sand, ground flint or granite, mix

them well by passing between heated rollers. It is now ready to be

moulded into heels, and will produce an article of wonderful durability.

The compounds may be varied to suit the fancy of the manufacturer. The

proportions may be varied by mixing a portion of saw-dust, or other

fibrous substance. Heels thus made are exceedingly cheap, and will

out-wear the firmest leather.

It will now be observed, that we have processes for the manufacturing of

a _purely vegetable leather_, far superior to any other, at _one-third_

the price—which will not decompose in any latitude, and is not affected

by atmospheric changes—is perfectly sweet, and may be worn at any time,

through heat or cold, wet or dry—through acids or oily combinations,

with entire safety.

VARIOUS FIBROUS COMPOUNDS FOR IN-SOLES, STIFFENINGS OR COUNTERS, FOR ALL

DESCRIPTIONS OF CEMENTED BOOTS AND SHOES.

May be made by the same process as the artificial leather, and rolled to

any required thickness. These compounds make the best counters for all

kinds of cemented boots and shoes, as they are _water proof_, and easily

fitted and moulded to the shoe, after being properly warmed in the

“Heater.” Old sail cloth, or cotton fabrics of every description, that

may have become useless for any other purpose, make good in-soles, by

rolling thereon a thin sheet of gutta-percha, and may be combined to any

required thickness. Gutta-percha may be applied to all kinds of

pasteboard, straw-board, coarse paper or cloth, thus forming a _cheap

and convenient water-proofing_. This may be done by simply spreading the

warm gutta-percha upon its surfaces. After the cement has been submitted

to a drying process of a few hours, it should then be subjected to a

heat of about 180° for the space of five minutes. This process

completely expels the solvent, at the same time causes the cement to

penetrate the substance upon which it is spread. This material for

linings and coverings of boxes, or boxes made of heavy coarse paper thus

prepared for packing boots and shoes, all kinds of fine goods,

medicines, vegetable compounds, highly finished tools, etc., may be thus

shipped on long voyages, and subjected to damp, mildew, and

decomposition, with the utmost safety. Edges of boxes may be cemented

together with gutta-percha by a warm iron, precisely like the soldering

process.

Common paper boxes may be made water-proof by the process just

described.

The cloth or paper thus prepared, forms an excellent water-proof lining

for trunks, valises, or chests.

Stout cloth thus prepared may be made into tubes for conveying water to

all parts of the house, or from the spring to the house. Water thus

conducted _remains as pure and sweet_ as when taken from the spring, and

the tube is _literally indestructible_ by all ordinary agencies.

Excellent _speaking tubes_ may be thus prepared at a trifling expense.

PRACTICAL HINTS.

Gutta-percha may be mixed and ground together with almost an endless

variety of substances, which substances are usually regarded as of

little or no value in themselves; but being combined with gutta-percha,

are thus transformed into valuable articles of mechanical manufacture.

Much of the gutta-percha which is introduced into the market is nothing

but a mixture of dirt, bark, and mineral substances, which entirely

destroy its value. Great care should therefore be observed in its

selection, _as its purity makes its value_.

Gutta-percha must be mixed or combined with what may be denominated

imperishable substances, or _substances which the gutta-percha renders

imperishable_.

In many of its combinations found in commerce, it is entirely destroyed

and the manufactured article made worthless. In very many instances

which have come to our knowledge, boots and shoes have been thus

rendered of little or no value, and were justly returned to the

manufacturers. Kid and leather shoes, with baked or burnt upper stock,

and combinations of _rubber_ cement, rot or decompose the fibres of all

cloth or leather to which it is applied that contains any oleaginous

substances. Thus kid and leather shoes, with baked or burnt upper stock,

and combinations of RUBBER cement, which rot or decompose the fibres of

all cloth or leather, which contain any oleaginous substance to which it

is applied, have been thrown upon the market, thus producing a prejudice

in some minds, and destroying confidence in their utility.

In England and France, where the use of gutta-percha is better

understood and appreciated, it has been used in its application to shoes

for several years. Gutta-percha soles are prepared to suit the various

sizes of boots or shoes, and are thus sold in packages. Prepared cement

in small boxes with directions is an article generally for sale. Thus

any person can mend his shoes without the aid of the cobbler. The

process is exceedingly simple, the sole requiring only to be warmed and

pressed upon the shoe with the hand.

Thousands are thus enabled, especially in the manufacturing districts of

those large commercial centres, to mend their own shoes at less than

one-half the usual cost, and in a much superior manner. Foreigners, on

arriving in this country, are greatly surprised at our lack of

enterprise in this direction, and loudly call for the gutta-percha taps,

especially after using the miserable, half-tanned, and poorly made,

sewed or pegged trash, which is so abundant, quantities of which are

sent to our Southern and Western markets. This is well illustrated by

the anecdote of a Southern negro, who, having worn a pair of these

cheap, roughly-constructed brogans, and finding them falling to pieces,

said to his master, “What make these shoes come to pieces so soon?”

“Why,” said the master, in reply, “those shoes _grow_ at the East on

trees.” “Is dat it, massa; well, den dese was _picked before dey was

ripe_.”

CHAPTER II.

HINTS AND INSTRUCTIONS ON CUTTING PATTERN

FOR BOOTS AND SHOES OF EVERY DESCRIPTION.

It is well known to all shoe manufacturers, that great difficulty and

trouble is constantly arising for the lack of some _standard system of

measurement_, which shall enable the workman who is dependent simply

upon his own unaided labors for a livelihood, or the manufacturer who

employs many “hands,” to _cut out their own patterns_. As it now is,

there are “pattern cutters” to whom the workman must apply for his sizes

and patterns, thereby subjecting him to expense and loss of time. In

order that all obstacles of that nature may be obviated and a reliable

system or plan of cutting patterns be introduced, we herewith submit a

system for cutting diagrams, or patterns of boots and shoes. The plan is

_simple_, _scientific_, _correct_. For those whose experience has been

limited, this method will be a perfect key to the mysteries of pattern

cutting. The great desideratum with all boot and shoe makers, is to

construct a neat, comfortable, well-fitting boot or shoe, so that in all

cases they shall fit the _foot_. This can only be done by having the

last made to fit the foot properly, and the upper cut to fit the last.

Boots and shoes are usually cut, and lasts are made, to suit the eye,

the fancy, whims, or traditions of manufacturers, as they are the

responsible parties, as from them all “orders” emanate. Ask the

manufacturer why the lasts are made crooked on the bottom—why hollow the

shanks equally on both sides—why make a hollow on the outside of the

last affect a fulness on the foot—why make the inner ball _straight_,

when in the _foot_ it is always _round_. No satisfactory answer can be

given. Are these unnatural deformities required to make a well fitting

boot or shoe? Why not make the last the _natural_ shape, and let the

shank remain firm and solid? If the last is made in perfect conformity

to the foot, all parts of the boot or shoe would then remain in their

proper positions, natural and easy to the foot. So far as our

observation extends, there is no established principle in constructing

lasts, as there is no conformity as a general thing, to the shape of the

foot. This fault does not attach to the last maker, but to those who

order them.

As a rule, we may say, all lasts should be made nearly straight on the

bottom. The ball on both sides should be equally distant from a

longitudinal line drawn from the centre of the toes to the centre of the

heel.

As the foot indicates, the inner shank should be formed by rounding it

from behind the large toe ball, and near it and forward to the heel

seat, and two-thirds across it, passing the centre of the last, leaving

the outside shank _full_ and _properly rounded_ to fit the foot. All

parts of the last should conform to the shape and thickness of the foot.

For ladies’ lasts, the spring of the toes and bottom of the last should

be so concave as to give perfect ease and rest to the foot when

standing, as seen in Fig. No. 1. No. 2. represents a last in common use;

the upward course from the centre of the heel to the back portion of the

heel, places it on an inclined plane, thus _always pressing the foot

forward_, and pinching the toes, until from continuous pressure, the

heel seat gives way and the stitches or pegs start at every step. For

ladies’ high-heeled boots, see Fig. No. 3. By the horizontal and

perpendicular line of the last, as represented, the foot is at rest. The

slight curve prevents the foot from pressing forward, at the same time

the elastic takes its proper position, thus allowing the boot to be

drawn on with ease, and to be worn with comfort.

No. 4. represents a boot once very much in use, and even at the present,

frequently seen. The wearer stands and walks, it will be observed, _upon

an inclined plane_.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.—_See page 81._]

[Illustration: FIG. 2.—_See page 81._]

[Illustration: FIG. 3.—_See page 81._]

[Illustration: FIG. 4.—_See page 81._]

Every step presses the foot forward, causing the shoe to slip up at the

heel, and always crowding the front portion of the foot and toes into a

most uncomfortable position. Thus causing great pressure on the upper

portion of the foot; if the foot is of a side-lace cut, the lacings are

strained, torn, or broken by the continued efforts of the foot to bring

the upper, and sole, to the _natural_ position of the foot. Shoes thus

cut, and made on such lasts are almost invariably bent in the shank in

order to conceal the ignorance of the manufacturer or designer. But the

foot is sure to betray the deformity of the last and the cut of the

uppers. Boots and shoes thus made are literally spoiled, unless the

wearer can keep the ankle _back_ to an angle of forty or forty-five

degrees, which is the position of the foot when thrown forward, while in

a sitting position.

No. 5. represents a side view of a lady’s last for high-heeled boots,

and its block. The blocks are changed to give any desired fulness on the

same lasts. The blocks are represented in Nos. 1, 2, 3. Mr. John Kimball

first invented and introduced them to the public in 1827. Since that

period they have continued in general use, giving the most perfect

satisfaction both in style and comfort. The _practical utility_ of Mr.

Kimball’s system is of the highest importance to the shoe dealer and

manufacturer. It is equally clear that the same system should be adopted

for mens’ and boys’ lasts so as to indicate the dimensions of boots or

shoes by the use of a single letter of the alphabet. The mechanical part

of the above mentioned system has been performed in a very faithful and

workman-like manner by Mr. Joshua Hitchings, of Boston, Mass. The

letters used by Mr. Kimball to indicate the width of soles and lasts

are, A B C D E F. If a wider last is wanted it would be called G.

[Illustration: FIG. 5.—_See page 86._]

In taking the measures of the foot, the tailors’ tape is the best, as it

is non-elastic. Great care should always be used in taking measurements.

In taking the length of the foot, it should rest evenly upon the

size-stick, the weight of the body being about equal in its position. In

taking the measure for the heel, place the end of the tape on the curve

of the instep, and pass it around the end of the heel back to the centre

or starting point; then place the end of the tape about three-fourths of

an inch forward of the curve of the instep, pass it over the prominence

of the foot, entirely around it; next place the tape on the ball of the

large toe, pass it over the ball of the small toe around to starting

point. These are the common measurements. Sometimes deformities of the

foot require variations on account of corns, etc.

FITTING UP LASTS TO THE MEASUREMENTS OF THE FOOT.

For children, and youths, cut and fit them up full to the measure, and

in some cases fuller. For boys and misses, fit full. For ladies fit

closely, and be guided by the foot, rather than the fashion, or what is

termed “style;” fit the heel full, the instep half an inch _less_ than

the measure, and most of the other measures one-quarter of an inch less.

For Oxfordties, fit them one-quarter of an inch less than measure; the

same for shoes with long quarters. For short quarters, as brogans, &c.,

fit over the instep full in order to produce ease. For coarse boots fit

up _full_ to all parts of the measure; for kip boots if thin,

one-quarter of an inch _less_ than the measure, but in all cases be

guided by the hardness and thickness of the upper. In gentlemen’s fine

boots, for all parts, let taste and fashion be your guide in length,

toes, &c. Fit the heel up full to the measure, and all other parts

snugly to the foot; be guided by flexibility or hardness of the foot,

making all due allowance for tender parts, corns, callouses, or rolling

of the small toes, and fulness of great toe joints, by fitting a piece

on the last in the proper position and shape, to correspond to the

variations as above.

CUTTING BOOT PATTERNS.

Opinions concerning the cutting of boots are very numerous. There seems

to be little or no uniformity in the system of cutting. Mr. S. C. Shire,

of Bloomsbury, Pa., received a patent for a boot-drafting, cutting,

blocking machine, which patent bears date August 14th, 1847. It has

received the approbation of the Southern and Western manufacturers, and

has been adopted as a guide by them. Many of our own manufacturers have

also adopted it. It operates with ease and accuracy, and is easily

adjusted to any size.

As the process of boot cutting is very simple, many manufacturers cut by

the eye. The apparatus alluded to will assist all who are commencing the

business. Have the last agree with the foot in every part, then cut the

boot-upper to fit the last, so that in lasting, it will come over the

last easily and smoothly without straining, as all such pressure is an

actual damage to the boot. Most boot-uppers are not crimped but jammed

and crushed into their position. The crimping is of great importance and

should be done with care. The crimp should agree in its form to the last

in all its upper curves; then, when cut properly and fitted, it will

last over smoothly and all parts will adapt themselves to their proper

position, thereby preventing all friction, which is the origin of corns,

and the various diseases of the foot. It is absolutely necessary that

the measures be taken with great accuracy, and the _last fit the

measure_, and the boot cut to fit the last, and all parts of the work

_done well_, then the wearer will enjoy the luxury of a closely fitting

boot, without any of the painful results which are usually consequent

upon wearing new boots. The great secret of the ease, comfort, and

elegance of a French boot is its _perfect conformity to nature_. The

_style_ of a boot is simply a matter of fancy. The boot-trees should

more nearly imitate the natural limb, and not present that extreme

swelled appearance, as many do, thus causing the side seam to burst out.

Make the top of the boot leg slightly larger than the heel measurement

as a general rule, and add to or diminish from it, as the instep is high

or low. In some cases of high instep more room is wanted, consequently

more leather in the instep; this is obtained by cutting the upper fuller

at the _bottom_.

All lasts should be made with blocks, and high combs, for all kinds of

boots or shoes, as thus the uppers are kept smooth, in good shape, and

clean.

There is much confusion in the _length_ of boots and shoes. This is

caused by the manufacturers using the size sticks in common use, which

are incorrect. Thus shoes marked fives, are made on a four and a half

last; a five last should be made just ten inches long, and all below

that should vary just one-third of an inch to each size, and all sizes

_above_ five should be subject to the same variation.

WOMEN’S LASTS.

Marked 2 is 9 inches long.

Marked 3 9⅓ inches long

Marked 4 9⅔ inches long

Marked 5 10 inches long

Marked 6 10⅓ inches long

Marked 7 10⅔ inches long

Marked 8 11 inches long

BOYS’ LASTS.

Marked 1 is 8⅔ inches long.

Marked 2 9 inches long

Marked 3 9⅓ inches long

Marked 4 9⅔ inches long

Marked 5 10 inches long

MEN’S LASTS.

Marked 5 is 10 inches long.

Marked 6 10⅓ inches long

Marked 7 10⅔ inches long

Marked 11 12 inches long

Marked 12 12⅓ inches long

Marked 13 12⅔ inches long

Marked 14 13 inches long

The width of mens’ lasts on the bottom, vary _one-twelfth_ of an inch

for each size, and _three-twelfths_ of an inch over the instep for each

size. A man’s ten last of a good fulness measures across the ball three

and three-eighths inches; across the heel two and five-eighths, and in

the same proportions of fulness; the five’s last measure across the ball

three inches, and the heel two and three-eighths, and the same

proportions of fulness should for a ten’s last, girt ten and one-half

inches over the instep, and the five’s should girt nine and one-quarter

inches. A ten’s vamp for men’s Oxford-tie, measures across its extreme

points, _nine_ inches; five’s vamp, _eight_ inches. Draw a line across

from one extreme point to the other, and six and seven-eighths inches of

that line will give the length for the ten’s vamp, and six inches will

give the length for the five’s vamp. Five and one-half inches will be

the proper length for the base line of a ten’s quarter; five inches for

the five’s quarter; the quarter at the back of a ten’s upper is three

and one-half inches high; the five’s quarter is three and one-sixteenth

inches high. Draw a line from the front point of the quarter, to the top

of the heel line on the quarter, and eight and one-quarter inches gives

its length, and seven and one-quarter the length for the five’s; the

front base line for the ten’s is three and three-eighths of an inch

long, the five’s three inches long. Draw a line perpendicular from the

base of the ten’s quarter to the top point, and five and one-eighths

inches will give its height; four and five-eighths will be the height

for the five’s quarter. Draw a line on the upper, after it is closed

from the centre of the toes, to the top of the quarter, and also to the

heel, and its length will be twelve and seven-eighths. On a ten’s last

it is eleven and five-eighths full. The upper when _folded_ and

_pressed_ together, will be three and one-half sizes _larger_ than the

last.

The width of Mr. Kimball’s seven F last across the ball is three and

one-eighth inches; width of heel two and one-sixteenth inches. The A’s

seven last across the ball is two and one half-inches, the heel two and

three-sixteenths. By this it will be seen that his system for varying

the width of his lasts, is _one-eighth_ of an inch for _each_ size

across the _ball_, and _one-sixteenth_ of an inch across the _heel_.

With his three marked C, M, F,[1] &c., you have three degrees of fulness

for each last, making it the most convenient system in use. The upper of

A. No. 6 ladies’ shoe, should measure eight and five-eighths inches over

the highest part of the instep; the No. 2 should measure seven and

seven-eighths and one-sixteenth, over the same part. In this manner, the

variation for each size is _one-twelfth_ of an inch on _each_ side of

the vamp; this is the same variation as in the men’s uppers.

Footnote 1:

C—common; M—medium; F—full.

Children and misses shoes can all be arranged on the same system of

diagrams. Every Boot and Shoe manufacturer and maker, should have _full_

sets of patterns. By having a pattern of each size and style, there is

no waste of time in drafting. The patterns can be easily and correctly

altered or varied to meet any emergency that may arise. It is not safe

to trust to the eye as it is liable to mistakes.

By following the directions here given, together with the instructions

already laid down, any person of common capacity and ordinary ingenuity,

can cut a full set of patterns for _any_ description of boot or shoe

required.

COMMON OR MEDIUM PROPORTIONS OF FEET.

MEN’S SIZES.

_Size._ _Length of foot._ _Heel measure._ _Over the instep._

6 10⅓ inches. 12½ inches. 9¼ inches.

7 10⅔ inches. 12½ inches. 9⅜ inches.

8 11 inches. 13 inches. 9⅜ inches.

9 11⅓ inches. 13½ inches. 9⅞ inches.

10 11⅔ inches. 14 inches. 10¼ inches.

11 12 inches. 14½ inches. 10½ inches.

LADIES’ SIZES.

_Size._ _Length of foot._ _Heel measure._ _Over the instep._

3 9⅓ inches. 11¼ inches. 8½ inches.

4 9⅔ inches. 11½ inches. 8¾ inches.

5 10 inches. 11⅞ inches. 9 inches.

6 10⅓ inches. 12 inches. 9¼ inches.

7 10⅔ inches. 12⅛ inches. 9¼ inches.

BOYS’ SIZES.

_Size._ _Length of foot._ _Heel measure._ _Over the instep._

1 8⅔ inches. 10½ inches. 7⅞ inches.

2 9 inches. 11¼ inches. 8¼ inches.

3 9⅓ inches. 11½ inches. 8⅞ inches.

4 9⅔ inches. 12 inches. 8⅝ inches.

5 10 inches. 12¼ inches. 8⅞ inches.

YOUTHS’ SIZES.

_Size._ _Length of foot._ _Heel measure._ _Over the instep._

9 7 inches. 8¾ inches. 6½ inches.

10 7⅓ inches. 9 inches. 6¾ inches.

11 7⅔ inches. 9¼ inches. 7 inches.

12 8 inches. 9½ inches. 7¼ inches.

13 8⅓ inches. 10 inches. 7½ inches.

MISSES LASTS.

_Size._ _Length of foot._ _Heel measure._ _Over the instep._

10 7⅓ inches. 10 inches. 6⅔ inches.

11 7⅔ inches. 10⅓ inches. 6⅚ inches.

12 8 inches. 10⅔ inches. 7 inches.

13 8⅓ inches. 11 inches. 7⅙ inches.

1 8⅔ inches. 11⅓ inches. 7⅓ inches.

2 9 inches. 11⅔ inches. 7½ inches.

C LASTS.

All Children’s Lasts should always be made _Block Lasts_.

_Size._ _Length of foot._ _Heel measure._ _Over the instep._

10 7⅓ inches. 10 inches. 6⅔ inches.

9 7 inches. 9⅔ inches. 6½ inches.

8 6⅔ inches. 9⅓ inches. 6⅓ inches.

7 6⅓ inches. 9 inches. 6⅙ inches.

6 6 inches. 8⅔ inches. 6 inches.

5 5⅔ inches. 8⅓ inches. 5⅚ inches.

4 5⅓ inches. 8 inches. 5⅔ inches.

3 5 inches. 7⅔ inches. 5½ inches.

2 4⅔ inches. 7⅓ inches. 5⅓ inches.

1 4⅓ inches. 7 inches. 5⅙ inches.

0 4 inches. 6⅔ inches. 5 inches.

_Remarks._—The _toes_ of the smallest sizes of children’s lasts should

be made _two_ sizes _wider_ proportionately, than the largest size, i.

e., one-sixth of an inch, as the small foot is _wide_ and _soft_,

requiring more room for its expansion. Thus the practical advantages to

be derived, by cutting the patterns by the _packed diagram_ principle,

(No. 8,) are made clear, as the foot of a child grows faster in _length_

than in _width_.

By the foregoing scale the length of the foot and other measurements in

inches, and all shoes from the smallest child’s to men’s elevens, are

obtained, and by following the same rule, smaller or larger sizes may be

cut.

By having all lasts, diagrams, and patterns, made by the scale, and all

proportions of fulness of lasts regularly graded, making the children’s

much the _fullest_ in _width_, owing to the greater degree of roundness

of the foot, and wider in proportion, on account of rapid growth. In

preparing patterns for children, due allowance must be made for the

increasing _fulness_ of the _ankle_. The same caution is applicable to

misses, but not to so great a degree.

No. 6 is the side view of a gaiter boot upper, with last and block,

giving the “pitch” line, concerning which there is quite a diversity of

opinion, also the heel line, instep, waist and toes.

[Illustration: FIG. 8.—_See page 95._]

[Illustration: FIG. 6.—_See page 95._]

By measuring the instep of a foot with callippers, one half of the

distance gives the centre. Then take the thickness of the large toe in

the same manner and half the thickness gives the centre; then draw a

line from that to the instep centre—carry the line a short distance

beyond, to where the callippers strike the bottom of the foot just in

front of the heel, and the end of the last, (as seen by a dotted line in

the centre) whatever “pitch” you may give the toes. The “pitch” is

governed by the height of the heel as seen in No. 3. Boot cutters make

it a convenient practice to draw from that centre, a perpendicular line

in order to give the centre of the boot leg at the top, and all is

governed by the height of the heel.

By a little attention to the front line (No. 7,) will be seen, the true

shape of a boot form or crimp, and the back line, the boot properly

treed; the centre line, the seam. By passing the eye up the instep

measure line, at the top is seen the curve that the fulness represents.

That curve, or line, from the toes to the ankle line is carried in, or

out, as the heel measure may determine. By having a pattern of that

curved line, from the toes to the ankle line, all the variety of fulness

is obtained, as is readily seen.

The ankle measure in many cases, is three-eighths of an inch shorter in

a direct line than the heel line; that is, when these lines are

_doubled_, as seen in No. 7.

[Illustration: FIG. 7.—_See page 98._]

Having a pattern of that curve line from the ankle to the toes, of all

styles and varieties of boots and shoes, by moving it out in the same

direction as the heel measure, to the instep, one-twelfth of an inch,

(as that is a size) as seen in Mr. Parrott’s diagram for cutting uppers;

that makes it a size fuller and _vice versa_. As that curved line

remains the same through all the sizes, by having that pattern, and one

side of it properly curved, for the heel line, and a portion of the same

for the bottom line or curve, and those lines properly divided off and

numbered, for each size of any desired design, by that pattern _all

sizes_ may be cut with ease and accuracy. Some have their several

patterns fitted for the varieties of shoes they wish to manufacture. For

custom work, they are very convenient. As the measure of the foot is the

proper guide, draw the bottom line, then the heel, giving it the

position desired for the shoe or boot, then the width of the toes,

observing their elevation, as the shoe may be heeled or not. Then apply

the heel measure; draw the instep line from the toes to the ankle, draw

a line for, or _from_ the toes and ankle, and you have the desired

result.

Some cutters draw only one instep curve line, and make one-third of a

size allowance for the length on the heel, and two-thirds of a size on

the toes, for each size, and one-twelfth of an inch on the bottom at the

heel, and a little more on the toes. It produces about the same result,

regulating the height of the quarter by the same heel scale, as fancy

may dictate.

In 1832, we made the first full set of diagram patterns that we ever

used; since that time the principle has spread from Maine to the far

West, and a change has been wrought in the manufacture of shoes by

machinery that causes the old-fashioned manufacturers to blush at the

reflection that new tools, new machines, new ideas, have been introduced

successfully, in spite of their determined opposition. But it must be

confessed that a great proportion of the machines and tools now in

general use, are exceedingly imperfect. Most of the really important

improvements that have been made, are the products of that class of

mechanics who have brains, but shallow pockets. The ideal must always

precede the actual, and the poor shoemaker who conceives an idea that

his superior genius discovers to be really practical, is too often

regarded as an idle dreamer, and the old adage is at once applied, “_Ne

sutor ultra crepidam_”—no shoemaker should go beyond his last.

The science of shoe manufacturing is yet to be greatly changed and

improved. There is, in our opinion, no branch of the mechanic arts more

susceptible of improvement than this; we mean in the process of

manufacture, none that admits of more machinery and tools. All parts of

the stock can be cut and fitted by machinery, far superior to the hand

methods. The rounding of pump out-soles, feather edging, the pricking of

holes or stitches, all in-soles for welted boots or shoes, can be fitted

precisely alike. All this work should be done by the “Boss” before the

work is distributed to the workmen, then, of course, the shape of the

shoe and edges would present a uniform appearance.

The foregoing suggestions may be questioned by those who have little

perception and less knowledge, but nevertheless, the march of progress

will surely witness factories arranged with perfected machinery, so that

all parts of the work will be done under the supervision of skilful and

practical workmen. By improved processes of manufacture, boots and shoes

will be made durable and firm as the stock will admit, and the finish

will far exceed that now produced by the ordinary methods, while those

who take the lead in the market, by the facilities they possess, will be

able to introduce and form the prevailing styles or fashions. There are

many obvious advantages which readily suggest themselves, to be gained

by the introduction of improved machinery which we have not space to

enumerate.

In collecting the “Hint’s and Facts,” here presented, we have carefully

considered the subject, and examined those tools and machinery that are

now in general use in this country; also the drawings of many and

various machines, tools, etc., that have been published in England and

France. From these sources, and our general observations, experiments,

etc., we are fully convinced that the day is not far distant when marked

and beneficial changes will be successfully introduced into this

all-important branch of the mechanic arts. We will here remark, that in

conversation with very many of our most energetic and leading shoe

manufacturers, we have found the most sanguine believers in the various

improvements suggested. New and improved machinery for sewed, pegged and

cemented work; cements for rubber compounds, gutta-percha and chemical

unions, are now being successfully introduced, together with new tanning

combinations, all of which are yet to take a prominent and important

place in the manufacture of boots and shoes.

CHAPTER III.

INSTRUCTIONS

FOR THE

Manufacture of French Custom Boots, Shoes, and Gaiters.

BY FREDERICK LAUGENBECK.

First, place the foot to be measured upon a sheet of white paper. Mark

around the foot with a long pencil, being careful to hold it in a

perpendicular position. Next, take the circumference across the ball and

instep with a tape measure. Next measure the heel and calf.

For calf boots, the boot must be one-fourth of an inch _wider_ on the

_heel_ than the _foot_, and the _ankle_ one-fourth of an inch _less_

than the _heel_ measure.

CALF-LIKE MEASURE OF THE LEG.—LAST MEASURE.

The last must be one and one-half of a size _longer_ than the foot, and

as wide as the widest part of the foot.

For stubb toes, the last should be _one_ size longer.

Proper allowance should be made for corns. Place a round knob made of

leather, or any other suitable substance, on the last, just the size of

the corn, or enlargement, on one or both sides of the last, according to

circumstances.

The _instep_ must be one-eighth of an inch _less_ than measure.

For a sound, healthy foot, make the last one-fourth of an inch _less_ on

the _ball_, and three-eighths of an inch less on the _instep_.

Patent leather boots, around the ankle must be _full with the measure_

as the stitches _contract_.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR LASTING BOOTS.

If a boot is well cut, and _not_ properly lasted, the boot _will not

fit_.

Soak the counters well in water. Paste between _each_.

Draw the uppers _smoothly_ over the last, as _tightly_ as the leather

_will bear_.

In drawing the uppers over the last, the counter should be left about

_half way_ into its place or position.

After the uppers are well lasted over the ball, then _drive_ the heel

last _down to its place_.

Now commence to last the boot in the _shank_; _smooth either side

alternately, towards the toe_, until it fits _smoothly_.

_Remarks._—Judgment should always be used in the manufacture of boots or

shoes for _tender feet_. No _specific_ directions can be given; the good

sense and discretion of the artizan will suggest such modifications of

the rules as the case requires. The instructions given concerning

“corns,” will usually correct the difficulty, but in cases of _general

tenderness_ of the feet, the alterations must be made _throughout_.

Around the _heel_, the _patent leather boot_ should be three-eighths of

an inch _larger_ than is the _calf boot_.

SHOES.

The _last_ should be two sizes _longer_ than the foot in order to secure

comfort. The reason is obvious; the _foot works farther into the shoe_,

than in the boot.

The last, at the instep, should be as wide as the foot, because the

stitching _contracts_ the leather; otherwise the shoe will cause great

discomfort. The shoe should be made one-fourth of an inch _less_ than

measure across the ball of the foot.

GAITER BOOTS.

The last should be made the _same_ as for calf-skin boots, whether

patent leather, or _other_ material.

PREPARATION OF STOCK.

Soak the leather well in water. Remove all the fleshy substance, from

stock of every description.

Draw the in-sole well over the last. Let it remain until _nearly_ dry.

Hammer the in-sole after removal. Next, cut the in-sole as required; by

the sole thus prepared, cut the other sole.

The remainder of the stock should be _nearly_ dry before cutting up.

TO PREVENT SQUEAKING.

Ruff the soles with a rasp, then paste between them. Put every piece

comprising the heel on _separately_, rasp _every_ lift, and paste as

before.

BOOK III.

CHAPTER I.

DISCOVERY

OF THE

SULPHURIZATION AND VULCANIZATION OF INDIA-RUBBER

IN AMERICA.

It may be safely stated that no chemical discovery within the last

century, has produced such wonderful results as those here alluded to.

From being a simple gum, the use of which was limited to the erasure of

the school boy’s blunder, or the merchant’s mistakes, India-rubber, by

the process of vulcanization, has become one of our most important

articles of commerce. It is one of the most wonderful products of nature

that has ever been applied to the arts.

The first attempt to manufacture caoutchouc or India-rubber into

clothing, and articles of daily use in this country, was upon the

discovery that the essential oils was a dissolvent of the gum sufficient

to spread it upon cloth. This was the beginning of the excitement. The

idea of making water-proof clothing took possession of the public mind

at once. This was about the year 1834. Spirits of turpentine was the

cheapest and most effectual solvent. A company organized and established

a large manufactory in Roxbury, Mass., and the shares at $100 par value

soon went up in the market to 3 or 4 hundred.

It was soon found however, that they had not sufficiently investigated

the matter. In a few months, or perhaps weeks, the manufactured articles

which at first presented a substantial face became soft again and

adhesive, so much so that masses of clothes adhered together and became

almost a solid body. But the excitement continued as the real facts were

not made known to the public; companies were formed, and factories were

erected to a considerable extent before the bubble burst.

The discovery of sulphurization in the United States was made about the

year 1835, by Mr. Nathl. Hayward, a native of Easton, Mass. Mr. Hayward

was at this time a resident of Boston, the proprietor of a livery

stable. Being of an inventive turn, his mind for a long time had been

revolving the idea of applying some substance which would remove the

cause of the adhesiveness of the manufactured article so fatal to the

success of this great enterprise. Not possessing a thorough knowledge of

chemicals or their compounds, Mr. Hayward purchased at random a great

variety of drugs to mix with the dissolved rubber. These he placed in

the sun hoping that he might, by chance hit upon that substance which

would cause the rubber to become hard and retain its consistency. White

lead, and all other substances which possessed the virtue of “driers”

were successively subjected to his alembic. For months Mr. Hayward

prosecuted his investigations, but hitherto without success. Finally,

becoming discouraged, he one day collected all the various drugs, etc.,

which he had purchased, and threw them indiscriminately into a boiler,

happening to have some sulphur in hand which he had procured for his

horses, he mixed that in with the rest. _Nil desperandum_—the result of

this experiment was the key to the long sought for secret. A fine

substantial India-rubber cloth was produced _free_ from stickiness, and

presenting the peculiar appearance of sulphurized rubber.

The _result_ was produced, but _which_ of the agencies had caused this

wonderful transformation? For months Mr. Hayward pursued his

investigations, until at length the mystery was unveiled. Thus by

ACCIDENT was this important discovery made.

Yet another discovery was necessary in order to fully complete the

magnificent results which Hayward had developed. Sulphurized goods were

found to emit a very unpleasant odor, and what was of still greater

importance, the goods became rigid in cold weather, and loose and

elastic in warm weather. These objections must be removed, or the

discoveries of Hayward would lose their chief importance. Vulcanization,

subsequently discovered by Goodyear, was the important element to be

applied. To Hayward and Goodyear conjointly is the world indebted for

the benefits which have followed as a sequence to their discoveries.

They stand like the Siamese twins connected by reciprocal inventive

faculties, the one equally dependent upon the other for the success

which has crowned their united efforts. The intelligent reader cannot

fail to see the relative importance which the one holds to the other,

and how admirably the genius of Goodyear completed what the untiring

energy of Hayward first disclosed. This much is necessary at this point

to introduce the reader to what follows concerning vulcanization.

On the 24th day of February, 1839, Mr. Hayward secured a patent for

vulcanizing India-rubber by means of sulphur, which patent was assigned

to Charles Goodyear—a man of shrewd and future grasping mind. Some idea

of the importance of this improvement may be formed from the fact that

it has been a subject of continual litigation for a number of years;

yea, almost since the day the patent was issued. It is the real

vulcanizing substance now used in the manufacture of India-rubber

fabrics of every description. The claim is in these words: “the

combining of sulphur with gum-elastic, whether in solution or in

substance, either by mixing with the digested India-rubber, kneading it,

or sprinkling it on the surface of sheets and pressing it in.”

At the time of the famous contest between Goodyear and Day, testimony

was produced by which it was endeavored to be proved that the

vulcanization of India-rubber was discovered in Germany by F.

Luedersdorff, six years before Hayward’s patent was granted. Some doubts

have been expressed concerning the statement. Whether true or false, we

cannot see why the circumstance should detract in the least from the

claims or position of Mr. Hayward, inasmuch as it is very conclusive

that his discovery was purely accidental.

A Prussian pamphlet published at Berlin in 1832, describes the

experiments made by F. Luedersdorff with India-rubber, and the

production of sulphurized India-rubber compounds. The Scientific

American in speaking upon this subject, and combating the claims of the

learned Prussian has the following:—

“The clamminess of dissolved India-rubber, and its tendency to

decomposition are attributed to its resinous properties. On page 28, the

following language occurs: ‘After a long series of experiments, in which

neither deodorizing or oxidizing substances, neither alkalies, nor

mechanical means, which affected the speedy drying, produced the desired

result; I succeeded at last in finding in sulphur the substance, which

even in very small quantities, perfectly prevented the injurious effect

of the resinous aggregation.’ Instructions are given how to prepare the

sulphur solution, by heating and stirring three parts of flour sulphur

in one hundred parts of rectified oil of turpentine, bringing them to a

boiling heat, then dissolving the India-rubber in the solution. By

Hayward’s patent, one teaspoonful of sulphur was mixed with that

quantity of oil of turpentine required to dissolve a pound of

India-rubber, and in this respect, there is little difference between

his method and that of the Prussian doctor. It is the sulphur which is

the grand agent in the production of vulcanized India-rubber, no matter

how combined, in solution, or with India-rubber softened by heat. Leave

sulphur out of the question, and we would have no vulcanized

India-rubber fabrics.

“The question now arises, what reliance is there to be placed upon the

authenticity of this pamphlet, published six years before Hayward’s

patent was obtained? We have been assured that the original work is in

the College Library, at Providence, R. I.; but it is rather singular,

that in the many controversies on this subject, and the numerous suits

at law which have taken place, respecting the originality of the

invention, that such information was not produced as testimony before

some tribunal.

“That Dr. Luedersdorff made the experiments described, we will assume to

be true in every respect, but neither is our country or any other

indebted to him in the least, for the introduction and success of

India-rubber manufactures. To American inventors alone, is the world

indebted for the invention of vulcanized India-rubber. Hayward was no

doubt totally ignorant of the Prussian doctor’s experiments; he probably

could not read German; he made the discovery of sulphurized India-rubber

by his own efforts, and he is an original inventor, in this sense of the

term.”

We have thus given a brief account of this remarkable discovery.

Heretofore but little has been written or published upon the discovery,

and the subsequent inventions to which it gave rise. The books which

have been published have carefully avoided full and complete statements

or facts, and have contained little or no information of value, but on

the contrary, have seemed, at least, to deal in generalities calculated

to befog and mislead.

In the long and tedious trials which tasked the ingenuity and power of

Webster and Choate, it was clearly proven that the articles claimed to

be made by specifications there introduced, _could not be manufactured_

by such compounds. To all who are interested in the facts, etc.,

elicited upon these celebrated trials, we would refer them to “Day’s

Bible” if obtainable, containing the Genesis and Revelation of all that

could then be said or written upon the subject.

“The profits on the India-rubber business will reach almost two millions

of dollars in the year, and the present manufactories cannot supply the

demand. Shoes which weigh nine ounces per pair have only about three and

a half ounces of rubber, the other materials being worth only from one

to six cents per pound. One girl can make from twenty to thirty pairs

per day, hence, enormous profits have been derived by the manufacturers

of such goods. The best valve packing is made of 30 lbs. of

India-rubber, 6 lbs. of lampblack, 22 lbs. red or white lead, and 22 oz.

of sulphur; these metalizing substances are all very cheap. India-rubber

is easily rendered plastic, and combines readily with almost every

substance, such as the oxides of metal, clay, pulverized sand, gums,

carbon, saw-dust, ground cork, &c. It is, certainly, one of the most

wonderful and useful products of nature that has ever been applied to

the arts.”

The importance of the discovery of the vulcanization of India-rubber to

the world, can hardly be over-estimated, whether regarded in the light

of science, or political economy. But comparatively few years have

elapsed since its highest uses were discovered and applied; and even

now, with all the success which has thus far crowned the efforts of

those engaged in its development, it is yet in its infancy. Like many of

the most important discoveries in the mechanic arts, that of

vulcanization was imperfectly applied, and millions of dollars were

expended in the manufacture of improperly vulcanized goods, mills,

machinery, &c.

No sooner had the practicability of manufacturing boots and shoes from

India rubber been demonstrated, than the attention of capitalists, and

inventors, was turned to this new field of enterprise. Without stopping

to test the _nature_ of the gum which was to be moulded in golden

ingots, viz., the manufacture of boots, shoes, etc., and the effect of

the seasons upon the manufactured articles, the anxious speculator, and

the enthusiastic manufacturer plunged boldly into the sea of trade. All

classes became interested in its success, stock companies were formed,

the shares of which were eagerly snatched up, and visions of untold

profits were divided _in anticipation_. But the “bubble” soon burst,

goods manufactured and solarized in April, became a sticky mass of

useless rubbish in July. The warm weather literally melted the hopes and

expectations of the incautious adventurer. A panic was the consequence,

mills were abandoned, thousands of artizans were suddenly thrown out of

employment, and this vast field of enterprise so promising but a few

months before, was swept as by a hurricane. Hundreds of thousands of

tons of India-rubber, both raw and prepared were either given away, or

sold at ruinous sacrifices. Hilltops blazed with its ignited masses, and

the illuminations of the fourth of July succeeding the failure, were

made unusually brilliant by the aid of the India-rubber panic.

As before intimated, the _cause_ of this great loss of money and

material, originated in the “indecent haste” of the manufacturer. In the

first place, solarization, that is heating in the sun the cloth, or

other substance upon which the gum or compound of rubber, and some

foreign substances was spread, was an imperfect process, as the heat of

the sun was not sufficiently powerful to evaporate the solvent, and form

a chemical union between the sulphur and the rubber, which union

constitutes perfect vulcanization.

The unfortunate result of the “experiment” was so dearly purchased, that

all who were engaged in the traffic, abandoned it without an attempt to

profit by experience. It is at this point that we introduce Mr. Charles

Goodyear, a man of observation, possessing a larger share of

perseverance than is usually found in any single individual, together

with fair inventive genius. He saw the sad results of that zeal which is

without knowledge, and resolved to find if possible, the thread which

should guide him safely through the labyrinth of this mystery. He

undertook the task alone, as the severe reverses which had visited the

pioneers in the movement, had disgusted them with further attempts to

correct, what appeared to be insurmountable objections. Mr. Goodyear

seemed to be impressed with the idea that nature never plays practical

jokes, and that what had already been accomplished in the uses of rubber

was simply an earnest of what might be realized. Acting upon this

conjecture, we see him devoting himself to the elucidation of the

mysterious problem. Two important points were to be gained. To those

acquainted with the India-rubber or gum-elastic, it is well known that

after it has been subjected to a certain tension for any considerable

time, it loses its elasticity; also, that during hot weather it melts

and becomes sticky or adhesive, and in cold weather becomes stiff and

rigid, and correspondingly less pliable. These important, in fact,

_fatal_ objections must be removed, or India-rubber would become

comparatively valueless. Mr. Goodyear engaged in the work with all the

enthusiasm of his nature, and notwithstanding he was without money, and

the sympathy of friends, and was frequently the subject of privations,

hardships, and imprisonments, still he labored on, as though a

presentiment of the discovery of the long sought for secret was

continually before him, encouraging him to work and he should finally

triumph. His persistent efforts were finally successful. The admixture

of sulphur with the gum at a heat of about 270°, was the “open sesame”

to the treasures which he ultimately realized in the prosecution of his

labors.

The Commissioner of Patents of the United States, the Hon. Joseph Holt,

in his late decision upon the “extension” of the Goodyear Patent, thus

eloquently discourses concerning the early efforts of Mr. Goodyear, in

the search of his ultimately wonderful discovery.

“As early as 1834–’5, Mr. Goodyear seems to have formed a most exalted

estimate of the capabilities, as a material for manufacture, of the gum

known as caoutchouc or India-rubber. This gum had been previously

extensively employed in the fabrication of a variety of articles, but,

owing to their indifferent quality, all concerned in these enterprises,

as well as in those which followed for a series of years afterward, were

involved in bankruptcy and ruin. The fabrics thus made could not keep

the market, because they were found to grow rigid under the influence of

cold, and to soften and become sticky under that of heat, while they

rapidly decomposed when brought into contact with perspiration and the

animal oils. The applicant was thoroughly convinced that these

qualities, which had proved so disastrous to the trade, could be

removed, and he set himself resolutely to work to ascertain the process

for accomplishing this result. Sulphur had already been advantageously

combined with India-rubber by Hayward, so that the discovery had been

approached to its very verge. The step, however, which remained to be

taken, short as it was, was indispensable, and without it all those

which had preceded it would have been unavailing. Science could afford

but little assistance in the inquiry, for, as the event proved, the most

potent element in the process was too subtle to be disclosed by the

severest chemical analysis. The applicant had therefore to pursue the

investigation gropingly; but he persisted in it with an ardor and a

courage which nothing could abate or daunt. His aim was definite, his

conviction as to its attainability complete. As one who searches for a

hidden treasure in a field where he knows it is to be found, so pursued

he his explorations in quest of this secret. He sought it on the right

hand and on the left, by day and by night, in the midst of ceaseless

toil and lavish expenditure, and by the light of every form of

experiment which his most fertile genius and daring spirit could

suggest. He became completely master of everything known in regard to

the properties of the material which it was his ambition to improve, and

so thoroughly was he imbued with the soul of his inquiry, and so

intensely quickened was his vigilance, that no phenomenon, however

minute, could meet his eye, no sound, however faint, could fall upon his

ear, without his at once detecting and appreciating its bearing upon the

great problem whose solution he was seeking. From four to five years

were passed in these unremitted labors, when an incident occurred which

at once revealed the long sought truth. And it is a singular

coincidence, that the spark of light yielded by this incident, was

elicited by a collision, so to speak, the result of that intense zeal

which, so far as health and fortune were concerned, had been the

consuming fire of his life. In one of those animated conversations so

habitual to him, in reference to his experiments, a piece of

India-rubber combined with sulphur, which he held in his hand as the

text of all his discourses, was by a violent gesture thrown into a

burning stove near which he was standing. When taken out, after having

been subjected to a high degree of heat, he saw, what it may be safely

affirmed would have escaped the notice of all others—that a complete

transformation had taken place, and that an entirely new product—since

so felicitously termed “elastic metal”—was the consequence. When

subjected to further tests, the thrilling conviction burst upon him that

success had at length crowned his efforts, and that the mystery he had

so long wooed, now stood unveiled before him. His history in this

respect is altogether parallel with that of the greatest inventors and

discoverers who have preceded him. The lamp had swung for centuries in

the Cathedral of Pisa, but of the thronging multitudes who worshipped

there, none had heeded the lessons which it taught. It was reserved for

the profound and observant intellect of young Galileo to extract from

its oscillations the true laws of the pendulum, which led to the

creation of an infallible measure of time. The theory of universal

gravitation loses nothing of its grandeur or value because suggested by

the falling of an apple from the tree. In all lands, by teeming

millions, this phenomenon had been observed, but to none had it imparted

instruction—to none had it spoken of that wonderful secret which lurked

beneath its simple features. At length its “still small voice” fell upon

the delicate and appreciative ear of one whom it startled into inquiry.

The light thus afforded, to which all had been blind, was indeed dim and

twinkling; but, following its guidance, as one who traces back the dawn,

the great Newton soon plunged into the full-orbed splendors of a

discovery confessedly the most brilliant which has gilded and ennobled

the annals of science. On all the hearthstones of the civilized world,

for thousands of years the kettle had boiled and lifted its lid by the

expansive power of its steam; yet for none had this seemingly trite and

ever-recurrent incident been significant—to none had it announced that

measureless power of which it was the humble but distinct exponent. At

length the movement caught the eye of a lonely student of nature, then a

prisoner in the Tower of London, and in the soil of his prolific mind it

proved the rapidly expanding germ of that steam-engine whose triumphs

have changed the social, political, and commercial aspects of the globe.

So India-rubber in combination with sulphur may by accident have been

exposed to a high degree of heat often before without attracting the

attention of any; and it is safe to allege that it might have been thus

exposed a thousand times afterwards, without the world’s having been

wiser or wealthier for it. The thorough self-culture and training of the

applicant and his unwearied researches prepared him at once to seize

upon, to comprehend and embody in a practical form, the truth he sought,

the moment it presented itself, no matter how dimly, to him. This was

his merit—the same in kind with that of the most illustrious inventors

who have appeared in the world, and by that of but a few of them

surpassed in degree. It is a figure of speech—but an exalted mode of

expression—which assigns to man any part in the work of _creation_.”

The importance of this discovery is well understood. Gum-elastic is

thereby made _permanently_ elastic—it resists exposure to heat and

cold—is elastic under compression—is impervious to wet—resists the

action of solvents to a remarkable degree, and the attacks of vermin of

all kinds. It can be moulded into almost every conceivable shape for

use, or beauty. In the mechanical arts it has been subjected to a

thousand uses, with remarkable success. And here we may remark

_en-passant_, that gutta-percha was discovered subsequently, and is

already a formidable rival of India-rubber inasmuch as the latter is

affected by oils, and will, in a short time, except as a hard gum,

become decomposed, whereas the former (gutta-percha) is _not affected in

the least by oils or acids_, in its pure state; and here is the grand

secret of the failure of those shoe manufacturers, who, ignorant of the

fact that those shoes or boots cemented by a rubber filament would in a

_short time become useless, owing to the decomposition of the cement

caused by the oil in the leather_, were induced to make heavy outlays in

the fitting up of large manufacturing establishments which were finally

_abandoned_ from this cause alone. Gutta-percha is a firmer and more

consistent gum than India-rubber. Gutta-percha when placed in boiling

water contracts considerably in bulk, while India-rubber expands.

Gutta-percha juice, when taken from the fire, is of a dark brown color,

and consolidates in a few moments, and becomes hard like wood.

India-rubber sap is perfectly white, and has the appearance of thick

cream; when it coagulates, it gives from four to six parts water out of

ten. Gutta-percha first treated with water, alcohol, and ether, and

dissolved with spirits of turpentine and precipitated, yields a

substance consistent with the common properties of gutta-percha; but

India-rubber similarly treated, results in a substance resembling in

appearance gum arabic.

_Gutta-percha by distillation yields 57⅔ per cent. of volatile matter;

India-rubber by the same process, yields 85¾ per cent._

But Mr. Goodyear’s discoveries of vulcanization, as applied to the

softer elastic compounds, did not end there. He continued his

experiments for the space of five years from the time of his first grand

discovery, when he obtained his patent for _Vulcanized Hard Rubber_.

This invention was the crowning result of his long, patient, and

laborious researches.

Probably the entire history of inventions cannot furnish an instance of

more intense self-sacrificing, entire self-immolation to the elucidation

of a great scientific principle, than is shown in the persistent labors

of Mr. Goodyear while in pursuit of the crowning discovery of the age.

Let us read the glowing account of his toils and disappointments, his

defeats and victories, as given by the Commissioner from whom we have

previously quoted.

“From the first moment that the conception entered his mind until his

complete success—embracing a period of from sixteen to eighteen years—he

applied himself unceasingly and enthusiastically to its perfection and

to its introduction into use, in every form that his fruitful genius

could devise. So intensely were his faculties concentrated upon it that

he seems to have been incapable of thought or of action upon any other

subject. He had no other occupation, was inspired by no other hope,

cherished no other ambition. He carried continually about his person a

piece of India-rubber, and into the ears of all who would listen he

poured incessantly the story of his experiments and the glowing language

of his prophecies. He was, according to the witnesses, completely

absorbed by it, both by day and night, pursuing it with untiring energy

and with almost superhuman perseverance. Not only were the powers of his

mind and body thus ardently devoted to the invention and its

introduction into use, but every dollar he possessed or could command

through the resources of his credit, or the influences of friendship,

was uncalculatingly cast into that seething cauldron of experiment which

was allowed no repose. The very bed on which his wife slept, and the

linen that covered his table, were seized and sold to pay his board, and

we see him, with his stricken household, following in the funeral of his

child on foot, because he had no means with which to hire a carriage.

His family had to endure privations almost surpassing belief, being

frequently without an article of food in their house, or fuel in the

coldest weather—and indeed it is said that they could not have lived

through the winter of 1839, but for the kind offices of a few charitable

friends. They are represented as gathering sticks in the woods and on

the edges of the highways, with which to cook their meals, and digging

the potatoes of their little garden before they were half grown, while

one of his hungry children, in a spirit worthy of his father, is heard

expressing his thanks that this much had been spared to them. We often

find him arrested and incarcerated in the debtor’s prison, but even amid

its gloom his vision of the future never grew dim, his faith in his

ultimate triumph never faltered. Undismayed by discomfitures and sorrows

which might well have broken the stoutest spirit, his language

everywhere, and under all circumstances, was that of encouragement and

of a profound conviction of final success. Not only in the United States

did he thus exert himself to establish and apply to every possible use

his invention, but in England, France, and other countries of Europe, he

zealously pursued the same career. In 1855, he appeared at the World’s

Fair in Paris, and the golden medal and the Grand Cross of the Legion of

Honor were awarded to him as the representative of his country’s

inventive genius. Fortune, however, while thus caressing him with one

hand, was at the same moment smiting him with the other; for we learn

from the testimony that these brilliant memorials passed from the

Emperor and reached their honored recipient, then the occupant of a

debtor’s prison among strangers in a foreign land—thus adding yet

another to that long sad catalogue of public benefactors who have stood

neglected and impoverished in the midst of the waving harvest of

blessings they had bestowed upon their race. Throughout all these scenes

of trial, so vividly depicted by the evidence, he derived no support

from the sympathies of the public. While the community at large seemed

to have looked on him as one chasing a phantom, there were times when

even his best friends turned away from him as an idle visionary, and he

was fated to encounter on every side sneers and ridicule, to which each

baffled experiment and the pecuniary loss it inflicted added a yet

keener edge. The mercenary, naturally enough, pronounced his

expenditures, so freely made, culpably wasteful; the selfish and the

narrow-minded greeted the expression of his enlarged and far-reaching

views as the ravings of an enthusiast; while it is fair to infer from

the depositions, that not a few of the timid and plodding who cling,

tremblingly apprehensive of change, to the beaten paths of human thought

and action, regarded him as wandering on the very brink of insanity, if

not already pursuing its wild and flickering lights. Such in all times

has been the fate of the greatest spirits that have appeared on the

arena of human discovery, and such will probably continue to be the doom

of all whose stalwart strides carry them in advance of the race to which

they belong. With such a record of toil, of privation, of courage and of

perseverance in the midst of discouragements the most depressing, it is

safe to affirm that not only has the applicant used that due diligence

enjoined by law, but that his diligence has been, in degree and in

merit, perhaps without parallel in the annals of invention.”

The change produced in the native gum has been aptly compared to the

change which is wrought in the perishable hide by the process of

tanning. We can hardly estimate the uses to which this “vulcanite” may

be applied, or rather we may say we shall find it quite as difficult to

say what uses it _cannot_ be made to subserve. It can hardly be

denominated an improvement, but a creation. Daniel Webster in his great

plea, Goodyear _vs._ Day, eloquently remarks that, “it introduces quite

a new material into the manufacture of the arts, that material being

nothing less than _elastic metal_. It is hard like a metal, and as

elastic as pure original gum elastic. It is as great and momentous a

phenomenon occurring to men in the progress of their knowledge, as it

would be for a man to show that iron and gold could remain iron and

gold, and yet become elastic as India-rubber.” Mr. Goodyear denominates

this improvement “metallic gum elastic.” This article is extensively

used, and may be wrought into thousand shapes, from massive blocks to

the thinnest sheets. It is susceptible of a beautiful polish, and

possesses great firmness and durability. It already constitutes an

important staple of commerce. Millions of dollars are invested in its

manufacture, both in Europe and America. It is largely wrought into

imitations of marble, wood, leather, whalebone, shell, horn, &c. The

imitation is so perfect as to deceive even a practised eye, and while it

so closely resembles the various articles alluded to, it is more durable

and permanent than many of them, inasmuch as it remains unaffected by

heats or colds, dampness or extreme dryness; no corrosion, oxidation,

nor decay. It excels in beauty, nicety of finish, and in durability,

those trinkets of glass and jet, which, in the common form, are so

liable to instant destruction by children.

Few persons have any adequate conception of the wonderful

transformations to which vulcanite may be changed, or its important

position in the industrial arts.

Having traced at length the discovery of vulcanization and its

contingent results, we now call attention to remarks that have appeared

in various English scientific works, of acknowledged authority. The

whole process of vulcanization and its application is fully and clearly

set forth. And here we would remark that the English have not been

backward in publishing with commendable liberality the various

discoveries and improvements as they were perfected. On the other hand,

all the American inventors have studiously avoided, not only the

publication of their discoveries, but have endeavored to obstruct and

prevent all investigation, the publication of which would simply make

known to the world the results of their genius. The object seems to have

been to throw an air of mystery around their discoveries, and by thus

preserving to themselves their secrets, be enabled to place an undue

value upon the manufactured article. Were they not fully protected in

the manufacture and sale of their goods, by the patents which have been

so lavishly granted, American inventors would be fully justified in

preserving as profound secrets, the results of their perseverance and

patient toil, but as it is, we can see no substantial reason for this

endeavor to shield from the public eye that which would add to the

general stock of scientific knowledge, and could but be honorable to the

manliness and genius of the discoverer.

We are indebted to the _London Mechanic’s Magazine_ for many of the

valuable thoughts which we shall now introduce to the reader.

CHAPTER II.

VULCANIZATION.

We have attempted to show, that amongst the number of advantages claimed

for the hard vulcanized India-rubber, is that of the power of closely

imitating almost any article, substance, or material. In doing this, we

ought to have referred to the Vulcanite Court of the Crystal Palace for

a full corroboration of the position we desired to assume. We are now

about to advance a step farther, and shall put forward proofs that hard

India-rubber, submitted to a certain facile process, not only has a

right to be placed side by side with almost all and every material it

affects to imitate, but has a further right to be considered as

superior. Of course there are exceptionable cases to this, as in all

rules, and these will be pointed out during this attempt to give a

thought-bearing digest of the present position of this discovery.

The material produced by vulcanization being as hard as, and capable of

a greater amount of wear, than iron, brass, and, in many cases, even

than steel, we have the element of durability to start with; and it must

be recollected, that this wonderful power of resisting wear, both from

friction and the action of the atmosphere is endowed by a process as

facile as that possessed by the baker of ship biscuits. That while the

mass or dough is in its soft state, it falls into, and as it were,

courts the required form of its future existence with a fluency

possessed by scarcely any other material. Designs of the most exquisite

kind, or of the simplest character, may thus be turned out like tea

cakes, and like tea cakes carried to the vulcanizing oven. But here, the

simile stops, for these biscuits of Mr. Goodyear defy the teeth of time

and the digestion of ages. There are manufacturers, however, that cry

out, “we don’t want articles that will last.” This is a narrow view of

things. Experience is opposed to so unjust a sentiment. A moment’s

thought would forever dispel the illusion. Is there any less demand for

iron furniture or iron household utensils, because such articles in that

metal will last longer than others? Or is the diamond less prized

because it is nearly indestructible? The family of mankind, ever growing

and increasing, with its varied wants, its constant changes of fortune

and alterations in its tastes, its coquetry, and its caprice, will find

for the industry of the world quite enough to keep it employed.

With the introduction of machinery there was to have been a less demand

for “hands;” with the introduction of railways, horses were literally to

go to the dogs. Need instances be multiplied? Perhaps it would be better

to do so, while such a feeling is in the ascendant; but space is

imperative, although prejudice is stubborn. But, very naturally observes

the reader who has possessed himself of some one or more of the

specimens from the Crystal Palace, “this quality of cheapness is a

myth.” I for one have put it to the test, and this stick, for instance,

cost me 5_s._ or this pencil 2_s._ Now, in the first place, the stick or

the pencil should be compared with any other sticks or pencils

professing all the recommendations of those in question, to arrive at a

fair appreciation; and in the next, it should be remembered that those

examples are produced from abroad. They bear a duty, and in many cases,

they proceed from small and experimental operations. We have made

especial inquiries into these facts, and find that such is the case, and

that such circumstances are no more than reasonable, as appertaining to

every invention upon its first introduction.

The Daguerreotype is a case in point. The inventor, and all those

concerned in placing the discovery before the public, take care that the

prices shall be kept so that a remuneration shall be obtained before it

is let down to the bare cost of production, added, it may be, to

interest upon capital employed.

The mass, in its soft stage, does its own work; that is to say, a sheet

of it may be laid over a mould, and the bare weight of a shovel full of

sand cast upon it will press it into every lineament of the matrix. This

sheet of the soft material may have for its components, a large

proportion of oxide or of saw-dust, as the desire may be either an

imitation of bronze or of some particular wood, or other material. * * *

Mr. Charles Goodyear, in an unpublished work upon the subject, states

that the first pair of India-rubber over-shoes were made by himself and

daughter in a cellar in New York. There are now millions of them made

each year at the various India-rubber mills throughout America, France

and Belgium. But a singular desire to appreciate and follow sequences,

and an indomitable perseverance in conquering difficulties, appears to

have acted upon the industrious mind of Mr. Goodyear, in this direction

with peculiar force. The India-rubber over shoe perfected, Mr. Goodyear

did not sit down quietly to contemplate his work, even when apparently

complete, but strongly convinced that there was more to do than covering

the feet of nations with a water-proof substance, however symmetrical in

its form and comfortable in its fit under almost every circumstance, he

felt that if the leather boot or shoe could be altogether dispensed

with, and there could be substituted for it an India-rubber boot or

shoe, a boon of priceless worth would be conferred upon humanity, the

more so as the item of boots and shoes to a poor family, or even to a

person of moderate means, was one of considerable importance. To reduce

the cost of this article of clothing, and to give to the poor man a pair

of boots at one-third of the present expense, and not as now, at more

than one-half of his week’s wages, has been one of the special objects

of Mr. Goodyear’s untiring life. That he will succeed in this, there now

exists not a shadow of doubt. The combinations of the hard, the

semi-hard, and the soft vulcanized India-rubber, have given him all the

needful elements of success, and ere long, boots and shoes of

India-rubber which need not a morsel of leather for their formation,

will be as plentiful as over-shoes are now, and even more so. The power

of the hard, the semi-hard, and the soft vulcanized India-rubber to

resist wear, is one of their extraordinary features. Heels, for

instance, made of the soft material, have been put on to shoes of boys

at the United Parish School at Norwood, and on to the toes of the same

boots iron tips of the eighth of an inch have been secured. The result

of this test has been that the iron has been worn out, and the heel,

when removed and weighed, has scarcely suffered the slightest

appreciable difference in weight or density. Mr. Goodyear has already

made arrangements to disperse heels of this material by the hogshead. He

fashions them in a circular form making the outer margin of the hard

material and the inner circle of the soft. The hard material is smooth

and beautifully polished. It does not require blacking, and will keep

its lustre a long time. The centre bulb projects beyond the surface of

the hard ring, and when trodden upon yields and is flattened by the

weight of the body. One of the applications of this form of heel bears

directly upon the perfectibility of a boot or shoe wholly made of

India-rubber. In the first place, the rotary principle of heel is

employed which one might suppose almost an unnecessary arrangement, and

in the next, the peculiar form of the bulb or lobe acts when pressed

upon as a valve or air-pump, and sends at every step into those shoes or

boots properly prepared, a certain amount of air, or perhaps it would be

more correct to say, it displaces a certain amount of air which finds

renewal from other parts of the boot. Is a boot made unsightly?—not in

the least. They are really elegant in form and general contour. Our

readers are familiar with the corrugated dress boots. The India-rubber

boots we have seen closely imitated these, but it may be added, that in

thus copying, Mr. Goodyear copies his own, as the corrugated dress boot

was introduced more to prepare the eye for what was to follow, than to

give the beau of New York, of Paris, and of London, any particular style

of dress boot. In this, Mr. Goodyear displays a consummate knowledge of

human nature. Had he brought out a corrugated boot without this avant

courier and child of fashion, his invention might have possessed very

essential recommendations but that of “optical familiarity,” and the

work of years would have been as nought.

We may mention here a characteristic of Mr. Goodyear’s inventive genius.

He considers failures as stepping-stones to success. He tells one of the

many well selected aids by whom he is surrounded, to do such and such a

thing. The mechanician returns after giving his earnest attention to the

task, with a something so clumsy or so ridiculous that it either raises

the fear of censure or the dread of laughter as the reward of his pains;

but neither laughter or censure await him. The result is just what its

originator expected; the practical application confirms his views. A

dozen failures, perhaps fifty, perhaps two hundred, wait upon these

efforts, but with this valuable difference, that each failure

approaches, directly or indirectly, the something that the mind desired

to arrive at. Thus, each thing is, as it were, hemmed in; it is

check-mated by these far-seeing moves, and science, the antagonist in

this noble game, renders up the coveted object of an intellectual

struggle. In a word, it is a practical exercise of inductive philosophy,

or the algebra of mechanics getting at positive and useful facts by

means mysterious and unintelligible to ordinary comprehensions.

CHAPTER III.

VULCANIZATION.

Camphine or turpentine, oil of sassafras, and all the essential oils,

are faithful tests of the quality of gum elastic, and as certain in

their tale-telling as nitric acid is of the genuineness of gold. As the

native gums, and also the common manufacture of gum elastic have the

same general appearance as those that are vulcanized, more particularly

to persons not acquainted with the manufacture nor judges of the goods,

these tests are of the utmost importance, not alone to determine whether

the goods are genuine, but also to ascertain whether those that are

vulcanized are properly done. When these tests are applied to any fabric

of native gum, it is rendered very adhesive, and so quickly as to

destroy any light fabric almost immediately, while upon goods that are

well vulcanized, they should have no such effect. If they do so the

manufacture is bad.

Although the manufacture of hard India-rubber goods, by the process of

vulcanizing, is extensively known and appreciated in the United States,

and in France and Belgium, very little appears to be understood in Great

Britain. Indeed, in Birmingham, which is justly termed the “work-shop of

the world,” little or nothing, or if anything, a something amounting to

a misunderstanding, would comprise the quantity of intelligence upon the

subject. There can be little doubt, however, that as the infinite

capabilities of the material become known, and justly esteemed, and its

amazing applications get manifested, no one thing of late years,

surprising as the changes have been in that neighborhood, will have

caused so great a revolution in very many of the staple manufactures of

that town as will the introduction of this discovery.

As regards the power to be used in the manufacture, steam has a decided

advantage over water, as in the plastic state of the mass there exists a

variety of proceedings, according to the nature of the material to be

made or the object to be imitated, in which steam would have to play a

conspicuous part. But it must be in this country as in America and

elsewhere, that as the manufacture extends, so will the best and most

suitable machinery and power be devised and rendered subservient to its

development. When the manufacture is favored with the advantages of

steam power, and large capital, the most profitable results have been

and are attendant upon it; and perhaps there are few manufactures which

require less comparative space, and in which less waste is consequent.

There should not be a particle of the substance lost, as all cuttings,

sweepings of the factory, and the very dust upon all things around, can

be re-worked with profit and advantage. Indeed, it is here that we

should make publicly known the fact that every article of vulcanized

India-rubber, bears its value according to its make and kind, however

old it may be.

As a general impression exists that India-rubber when once vulcanized

cannot be again used, this statement should be borne in mind, and the

greatest publicity given to it in order that the millions of pounds now

lying waste in the shape of galoshoes, &c., may not be heedlessly thrown

away. The old Jew clothesmen will at once open their eyes to the fact,

and the valet or humble servant girl will find in their collection and

sale an increase to their perquisites, in proportion to the consciences

of those with whom they deal.

Here, then, we have important elements of economy, at the very beginning

and end of the manufacture, if end that can have which has the attribute

of a renewal of usefulness. Galoshoes may be called in as worn out

sovereigns and shillings are now, and returning to their mint, be melted

up and re-stamped for renewed circulation. Another advantage in the

manufacture is, that the same tools are employed for its various

branches, and the same operatives can be turned from the making of one

description of an article to another, without delay or expense. A girl,

for instance, who may be engaged as the maker of garments one day, may

become the next a trunk, a harness, or a shoemaker; and on the third,

find herself occupied in pressing out of the soft and ductile mass

brooches, and other articles of adornment, which being afterwards

vulcanized, and thus rendered almost imperishable, may serve to encircle

the neck, clasp the arm, or hang pendant from the waist of Britain’s

fairest daughters. The machinery employed in the manufacture of

India-rubber, since the first attempts to work it, has been subjected to

variation and gradual improvement. Numerous expedients and divers

machines were early tried for chopping, grinding and spreading the gum,

and also for flowing it in a liquid or semi-liquid state, which have

been abandoned. It is now generally agreed by manufacturers in this

business, that the machinery is as near perfection as can be attained;

that is to say, they are all satisfied with it. But in this age of

improvements, we might see to-morrow one machine doing the work of two

or more, and all calculations as to perfectibility obliterated, but to

begin again upon fresh data. It must however be admitted that it is of

the most simple kind, doing the work well and with astonishing rapidity,

although requiring great mechanical power, owing to the toughness and

tenacity of the gum. The machine used for cutting and washing the gum is

the same as that employed by paper-makers in cutting rags. A large

proportion of the India-rubber was nearly useless from the quantity of

bark in it until this engine came into use. Gum-elastic or India-rubber

can be readily mixed or combined with almost every other substance. It

may be mixed with other gums, oils, coal-tar, carbon, and with the

earths, and oxides or pulverized metals or ores. It can likewise be

combined with all fibrous products.

It is compounded in the manufacture with many of the above substances,

for the purpose of obtaining particular advantages for special uses.

Ground cork and other light materials are sometimes mixed with the gum

to increase the bulk, and make the articles light. The oxides of metals,

their filings and pulverized silicas will give imitations of marble. The

fibre of cotton, or the dust of different woods will afford simulations

of wood of greater or less gravity, as may be required. The combining of

plumbago gives the crayon; oxide of zinc, produces lithographic stone,

and so on, and on. Pigments and earths are used for color and cheapness,

and to increase the weight of the fabric as in the case of carpeting.

Bitumen and rosin are sometimes used to give articles a finish, or high

lustre. Oxides of some of the metals are used, but white lead and

litharge are commonly preferred. From two to four ounces of either of

these metals to the pound of gum cause the articles, and particularly

those that are thick or massive, to be readily changed or vulcanized,

and more completely, or with greater uniformity. Sulphur is applied

through the medium of heat in different ways, according to the nature of

the articles or fabrics, and their uses. It is generally mixed in the

process of crushing or grinding the gum, in the proportion of half an

ounce of sulphur to the pound of gum for the vulcanized elastic goods,

and about five or six ounces to the pound of gum for the “vulcanite,” or

hard goods. In the former case, about 270° of heat are necessary, and in

the latter, 300 to 310°. At other times the sulphur is dusted upon the

articles in the form of flour of sulphur before they are placed in the

heater or oven. This is commonly done in the manufacture of elastic

thread and other articles, which possess no extraneous mixture, in which

case the gum is penetrated or impregnated with the sulphur, without its

being mixed with the gum in the crude state.

Enough has been given in this chapter to permit of the intelligent and

thoughtful at once following us, in the manufacture and finish of—we

will say for example—buttons. The mass in a tough but plastic state, a

toughness and plasticity in combination with which there exists no

approachable parallel—having been so rendered by simply plunging it into

boiling water, becomes of as easy manipulation as clay. Indeed the

material in this stage being so like clay, we can scarcely point to any

better illustration than the porcelain button manufacture, which being

familiar to most, there can be no need to detail. Treated thus like

clay, the moulds may be filled by the gross, and the buttons afterwards

submitted to vulcanization. The moulds may bear any impress, and however

fine such patterns may be, the material will receive and retain them

after vulcanization, to a degree which will defy every power that

destroys all other substances short of those of actual cutting, filing,

or grinding. Thus a button is produced at an extraordinary economical

rate, and with marvellous ease, which, while comparing the facility of

its origin to that of the porcelain, possesses the superlative qualities

of being comparable with one made with the properties and strength of

iron or other metal, and in imitation of bronze, ivory, cameo, and is,

indeed, a substitute for any other, and the very best material or thing

ever used for button making. In a word, it may possess the closest

similitude to the most exquisite carving, with the properties of bronze,

ivory, or any hard and scarce material. The applications as far as

results are concerned, are attended with like favorable characteristics,

whether the article produced be nearly every one of those innumerable

and familiar things, which meet us at each turn, either within the

palace or cottage, or the many others to be met with out of doors.

CHAPTER IV.

VULCANIZATION.

The importance of the improvements in gum-elastic for educational

purposes, has been previously commented upon in previous portions of

these notices, and we would now give a little additional space to some

of the many purposes in this direction, which assist in filling up the

almost infinite measure of the uses of vulcanized India-rubber. Much has

been done to perfect them, but enough has already been accomplished to

prove that the causes of education will hereafter be promoted by the use

of many articles made of the vulcanized fabrics. The cheapness of some

of these articles, compared with the cost of those of other materials,

gives double assurance of the correctness of this view. The

expensiveness of globes, for instance, which are admitted by all to be

by far the best means of imparting and obtaining geographical and

astronomical information, has rendered them accessible to few persons,

either pupils or teachers. The adaptation and application of gum-elastic

to these purposes, will bring within the reach of every youth in the

commonest school, a perfect globe, at a price within their means, and

maps more durable than leather or parchment, at cheaper rates than paper

maps are now made when mounted on linen.

* * * * *

The outline maps which we have seen, are printed upon the vulcanized

India-rubber fabrics, both transparent and opaque, and also upon various

articles to be used for other purposes besides maps, such as piano

covers, crumb cloths, and carpets. Arrangements are being made for this

manufacture, which may facilitate the method of teaching from outline

maps by printing on this material, maps of the world, upon a scale large

enough for “papering” the sides of an ordinary sized room of a school

house, academy, public lecture room, or dwelling. The same map, when

suspended at a suitable distance from the wall, with lights placed

behind it, may be used as a transparency for teaching at night. A series

of sectional maps printed on a scale as large as can be conveniently

printed upon calenders, after the manner of calico-printing, may be

cemented together, and arranged upon rollers.

* * * * *

The globe has heretofore been so expensive, as to be found only in

schools of the higher class. No form of map or atlas can give so correct

an idea of the surface of the earth, or of the relative situation of

places, as a globe. An attempt appears to have been made by Mr. Goodyear

to make them of gum-elastic, soon after the discovery of the “acid gas

process.” These attempts have been followed up at intervals, until the

production of the present process. They are made of various sizes, and

when embossed by the method described in the manufacture of hollow

ware—by steam and vulcanization—they may be made to supply the present

deficiency of globes for the blind.

Their utility and importance to the cause of education need not, we are

sure, be insisted upon, when it is understood that any child can be

furnished with a perfect globe at a price to come within ordinary means.

When used they are inflated with air, and when collapsed, may be folded

in so small a compass as to be no incumbrance under any circumstances.

When the large sizes are filled with hydrogen they become highly

ornamental and beautiful objects.

CHAPTER V.

ADULTERATION OF INDIA-RUBBER—(Caoutchouc.)

Every article of commerce that is susceptible of adulteration is sure to

fall into the hands of those who seem to be peculiarly educated to the

work of diluting, and reducing by various chemical processes the real

value of the article to be counterfeited. No matter how cheap the pure

substance can be obtained, some method must be conjured up by which the

innocent purchaser or consumer is unconsciously duped. India-rubber and

gutta-percha are among the vegetable gums, which have been _most

extensively_ adulterated. It long since became a matter of scientific

research in England, to ascertain how great a per cent. India-rubber

could be reduced, by the admixture of worthless compounds, and the same

skill has been thus perverted in our own country.

In Prussia, a law was passed in 1856, making the adulteration of

chemicals and articles of consumption by which life shall be endangered,

an offence punishable with death. The simple adulteration of food or

drink with any deleterious substance, is punishable with fifteen years’

hard labor; and any other adulteration is regarded as cheating (betrug),

and is punished accordingly. However severe or stringent these laws may

seem to a republican mind, they are nevertheless just. What is the sale

of an adulterated article, but the obtaining of money under false

pretences, and why should not every rude infraction of the law of right,

be visited by some adequate penalty?

A series of letters were published in 1856, in England, under the above

caption, which shows very clearly the extent to which the practice of

adulteration had then been carried. We herewith give the most important

statement contained in those letters. The letters referred to were

written by William H. Herbert, Esq., and addressed to the Editor of the

London Mechanics’ Magazine.

He commenced the series by remarking that as adulteration by cheap

compounds mixed with caoutchouc or India-rubber, are extensively used by

engineers, he desires to submit a brief account of the processes, etc.,

by which they are mixed. Java and Para rubber will float upon water, and

all manufactured goods _free of foreign matter_, are of the same

density; and just in proportion as manufactured articles, such as

valves, rail buffers, carriage and engine springs, washers, hose, &c.,

_sink in water_, so in exact ratio, are they adulterated with some cheap

pigment, of which the following are a few, and usually in extent from 30

to 100 per cent. Say then, chalk, Paris white, Cornwall or porcelain

clay, barytes, oxide zinc, white and red lead, ivory black, lampblack,

black lead, Spanish brown, &c., &c. Interested manufacturers will tell

you they improve the article, bear greater pressure, &c.; but as a rule

this is a _mere trade subterfuge_, the truth being, it enables

manufacturers to obtain extortionate profits, which, when I submit the

_exact formulas_, will be _very clearly seen_.

Engineers do not seem sufficiently alive to this question of density. Of

course in colored articles, it is necessary to use _some_ pigment, but

it is the _monstrous excess_ that I wish to expose, and applies more

particularly to the American inodorous system. I think it only fair to

Messrs. Mackintosh & Co., to admit, that most of their goods I have

examined float on water; but I know nothing, and have no interest

whatever in their establishment, but simply state the fact, because I

have found they form the exception to this adulterating or mixing

system.

What I wish more especially to impress upon the minds of engineers, is

the ready mode they have of discovering or ascertaining whose make is

best and cheapest, and it is more likely an India-rubber valve of same

dimensions at 2_s._ 6_d._ per lb., will _cost more money_ than one at

4_s._ 6_d._ per lb., arising solely from the extravagant mixture of

these cheap pigments, and its great density over the latter. Java

India-rubber, which is mostly used, is at this moment about 7_d._ per

lb., and best Para sheet about 1_s._ 11_d._ * * If they are fair goods

for usual work, then I trust the information I supply may enable

contractors to obtain their wants by competition, furnishing their own

form. This will realize a great saving to them; but they must not be

induced to accept goods of greater density under the plea of being

better. The Java gum used in these adulterated articles is ground

without undergoing the process of cleansing, but in all articles of

light density, the cleaning machine frees it from all gritty matter, and

it is usually employed in this cleansed state for such, as well as all

gray or white goods.

Messrs. Mackintosh & Co., claim in their patent for vulcanizing all the

preparations of sulphur, and without it, so far as I know and believe,

no substitute has yet, or is likely to be discovered at a price which

can render it commercially available. Indeed, I doubt whether any other

than sulphurous bodies will vulcanize, or render fit for the use of the

engineers the gum called India-rubber. Hence, the reason why many of the

manufacturers are licensed under that firm, and subject to have their

goods so stamped. The American inodorous makers attempted to shield

themselves, (but on legally trying the point) in vain. The screen

against Mr. Mackintosh’s patent was called, as a blind, “hypo.” It is

prepared in several ways, but is a compound of sulphur and lead, and

when perfect and the lime well washed away, is a very excellent black,

costing about 30_s._ per cwt.; but its whole efficacy rests with the

sulphur, and without it would not vulcanize, (though lead works kindly

with caoutchouc). This chemical contains about 20 per cent., of sulphur,

consequently, five pounds is about equal to twenty-five ounces of

sulphur. This extra cost was readily submitted to, rather than to

knuckle under to Messrs. Mackintosh’s patent. In many cases it was only

said to be used, and what really was used, was white lead or lampblack,

oxide of zinc, all in connection with sulphur, according as the color of

the goods required, rendered necessary. It was pretended also, by these

inodorous manufacturers, that white goods, such as the elastic beds,

advertised as “Improved Hydrostatic Beds,” and “Hospital Sheeting,” were

vulcanized with sulphuret of zinc, prepared chemically; when, in fact,

it is well known that the cost of manufacture is quite prohibitory, and

is only of value in proportion to its richness in sulphur. What was in

reality used, was, and is, the “yellow sulphur,” and the “pure

precipitate of that article.” I mention these things to clear the

mystification it may be to the interest of manufacturers to keep up, and

as I only write from experience, I have reason to believe your readers,

who are interested, will better understand the nature and value of

unmixed and mixed caoutchouc, after my fund on this topic is exhausted.

With these remarks I will give the recipe for common black packing at

2_s._ 2_d._ per lb., in quantity, discount as agreed.

The chemical termed “hypo” is manufactured thus: The sugar of lead is

made into a solution with water in a separate vessel. The sulphur and

lime are then boiled in water, so as to make a solution of sulphur with

the lime. The latter solution (clear) is then poured into the former,

which unites with the sulphur, and the precipitate is the “hypo.” The

hypo is then washed and dried. The lime merely enables the lead to take

up the sulphur.

£ s. d.

Grind 15 lbs. Java Caoutchouc at 7d. 0 8 9

Grind 15 lbs. Para Caoutchouc at 2s. 1 10 0

Grind 15 lbs. Oxide of Zinc at 3d. 0 4 0

Grind 16 lbs. China or Cornwall clay 0 0 3

——

Total, 16 lbs.

28 oz. Yellow Sulphur 0 0 3

Mill-costs at 3d. per lb., on 73 lbs. 0 18 3

—— —— ——

Total, 3 5 3

Costs therefore, 10½d. per lb.

_The above is 110 or 112 per cent. of adulteration._

I should here remark, there is also a kind of packing in use, which

perhaps is practically best known as “Rag Packing,” made principally

from the useless cuttings in the manufacture of India-rubber coats,

where the gum is run or spread on calico foundations, which is usually

the case with water-proof garments offered for sale at the shops. It is

made as follows:

Rag packing for valves, bearing springs, or in sheets of any thickness,

where less elasticity is required, and great pressure.

£ s. d.

Grind 35 lbs. Useless scraps, say 0 3 0

Grind 18 lbs. Black Lead, at 2¼d. 0 3 4½

Grind 16 lbs. Java Gum, at 7d. 0 9 4

Grind 1 lbs. Yellow Sulphur, 0 0 1½

—— —— —— ——

Total, 70 lbs.

Mill-costs at 4d. per lb. on 70 lbs. 1 3 4

—— —— ——

Total, 1 19 2

This is sold at 2_s._ per lb. in very large quantities, or 1_s._ 6_d._,

if a shrewd man, net, or a small discount for cash.

Our gardens, fire engines, brewers, and pump-makers (for suction, &c.,)

have found the value of this gum, and the following is the form used

with success, and perhaps the adulterations are the best substitutes for

pure caoutchouc that the cheap compound market offers.

£ s. d.

Grind 20 lbs. Java, at 7d. 0 11 8

Grind 10 lbs. Para, at 2s. 1 0 0

Grind 14 lbs. White Lead, at 3d.} 0 7 0

Grind 14 lbs. Red Lead, at 3d.}

Grind 1½ lbs. Yellow Sulphur, 0 0 3

——

Total, 59 lbs. at 3d. per lb., Mill-costs, 0 14 9

—— —— ——

Total, 2 13 8

Consequently costs 10½d. per lb.

This is spread upon flax cloth, (Messrs. Richards & Co., Broad Street,

are manufacturers,) which weighs 10, 16, and 32 ounces to the square

yard, and is about the same cost as the compound, so that the _weight_

is the _truest criterion of cost_, and is so calculated by the

manufactory. * * * *

Excepting garments every other description of black goods are made from

such forms as I have figured, with very little variation according to

the requirements of the engineer, and which needs very little judgment

or experience to meet. To those who cling to these heavy goods, the

formulas I have rendered will enable them to have supplies at a fair

competing charge according to quality, and it is their _own fault

entirely_ if they persist in _purchasing 100 per cent. of cheap powder_

at the _same_ charge as for “pure caoutchouc” of a third of their

density.

Your readers must be good enough not to lose the fact of “specific

gravity,” and test all the above goods made with pure, unadulterated

India-rubber, by their floating on water. Any deviation from this is a

proof of some cheap stuff unfairly introduced. It will be just in

proportion as they keep themselves well posted up in this matter, that

manufacturers will be sly of throwing into their caoutchouc such mad and

infamous proportions of cheap adulterations, and drive them (_for they

will not volunteer_) to the necessity of manufacturing from the pure

gum, and thus place better disposed traders upon a more just footing,

and enable the latter to compete (if need be) upon their own terms, or

upon recipes supplied by the engineer. Another fact must not be lost

sight of, and that is the use of “_light carbonate of magnesia_,” which,

mixed with the gum, does not increase its density, as will in some

measure be illustrated by the recipe I shall now figure out, merely

remarking that a somewhat heavy carbonate was used, as well as in an

unroasted, and hence the somewhat increased density. This article is

worth the attention of buyers of rubber goods, as in a moderate quantity

it reduces the costs without correspondingly injuring the manufacturer.

(_Light buffer spring just sinks in water._)

Grind together 25 lbs. Clear Java Rubber,

5 lbs. Para Rubber,

10 lbs. Common Magnesia,

25 oz. Pure Sulphur.

Costs 19 cts. per pound—Sells for 60 cts.

per pound.

This is brown at first, but in a few days the sulphur blows over the

surface grey or white, and would lead an amateur to judge they were of

that color throughout. Buffer springs and other moulded goods from this

compound are a little heavier than Messrs. Mackintosh and Co.’s. A

density railway spring, at 4_s._ per lb. gross, and were made at first

to meet it, also sold at 2_s._ 6_d._ per lb. net. It is a most useful

spring, and in competition should be bought at 1_s._ 3_d._ to 1_s._

6_d._ per lb. net, but I should strongly recommend that engineers try a

substitute of all “Java gum,” by obtaining a few _away from their usual

manufacturer_, ON TRIAL, as I believe their quality as a spring would

not be injured, and the price would be reduced, and, moreover, it would

guard against the manufacturer being left tempted to do so, without

reducing the charge.

For the guidance of engineers, I remark, that a spring of this quality

and dimensions, 4½ × 2½ × 1, pressed to half an inch, showed 3½ tons on

the dial, and one with equal quantities of oxide of zinc and magnesia,

of same size, &c., indicated 1½ tons on equal pressure, while the

quality of Mackintosh and Co.’s, referred to before, and of which this

was an intimation, marked 1¾ tons on the dial; of course, a spring with

a smaller bore than 2½ inches would show greater tonnage.

The next recipe is for grey packing, which is largely and exclusively

used by some dealers for marine engines, &c., as well as in sheet; and

if the price (3_s._ 6_d._ per lb.) was not _excessive_ for so much

adulterated matter, I would pass it over in silence as a very fair and

useful article, and if approved, my form will enable the engineer to

obtain it much cheaper by competition.

Say then,

Grind together 25 lbs. Para Rubber,

5 lbs. Cleaned Java,

16 lbs. Oxide of Zinc,

6 lbs. Carbonate of Magnesia,

3 lbs. Porcelain or Cornwall Clay,

2 lbs. Red Lead,

30 oz. Pure Sulphur.

So that it costs 25 cts. per lb., and hence I submit that 75 cts. per

lb. is _excessive_, with discount from 10 to 20 per cent. Unless the

magnesia in this packing is well calcined it will cut porous, but does

not show its valves cut to shape before vulcanizing. It may seem I lay

too much stress upon high prices, and if the goods were bought in

trifling quantities, it would carry argument; but as the orders are

usually large, and show good monied invoices, there is a wide margin for

reduction; besides in many cases these long prices prohibit the use of

caoutchouc. _The prices are about right if the goods were of pure

India-rubber_.

* * * * *

I ought to remark that in all formulas which I use, _Para rubber is

used_, which is now nearly _four times the cost of Java_, and is

frequently more. This circumstance has for some time been attracting the

attention of manufacturers, and bids fair to shut out almost the use of

the former in all goods confined in moulds to vulcanize. I would call

the especial attention of engineers to this fact, as Java materially

reduces the cost, and needs very little judgment on their part to adopt

it in these forms, in place of the expensive kind. I do not say it is so

strong a gum as Para, but I feel certain that the manufacturers will be

awake, and use it, without perhaps yielding the advantage out of their

own factories, and therefore it is necessary for consumers to try how

far they can “assist themselves” without their benevolence, especially

as “Java gum” is now so readily and cheaply cleansed of all dirt or

gritty matter. These remarks apply to the recipe I now hand, which is

termed—best pure spring, or washers, &c.

Grind together 30 lbs. Para Gum,

5 lbs. Oxide Zinc,

2 lbs. Carbonate Magnesia,

3 lbs. Common Chalk,

2 lbs. Porcelain or Cornwall Clay,

30 oz. Pure Sulphur.

This costs about 33 cts. per lb. and is sold at $1 per lb., and though

heavier, is intended to meet Messrs. Mackintosh and Co’s. article at $1

12½. The difference in density renders the latter the cheapest to the

consumer, while the reduced price of the former catches the unsuspecting

trader in these goods, and frequently obtains his preference.

The companion quality to the above for large valves, and packing sheets,

is made as follows, and is styled—best pure packing.

Grind together 30 lbs. Para Rubber,

5 lbs. Oxide Zinc,

5 lbs. Porcelain or Cornwall Clay,

28 oz. of Pure Sulphur.

This costs about 31 cts. per lb. and is sold at $1 per lb., and is a

trifle heavier than the pure spring quality.

It will be perceived that sometimes pure sulphur is used, and sometimes

the common flour of sulphur; the former is thought to render the goods

more soft and velvety, but the difference in their relative cost is very

wide, and the writer will not undertake to say how far the marketable

value of the goods is improved, but thinks it will be admitted that

their intrinsic value to engineers is not altered in any way.

I may here observe, that carbonates work best in all moulded goods, but

not otherwise, and it is necessary they should be retained therein until

quite cold, or they swell out of shape; but in packing, &c., vulcanized

openly, oxides should be selected, as there is little or no chemical

action with sulphur or heat. I have made no mention in these papers of

very finely pulverized talc, or French chalk, which, from its cheapness,

if well bought, and its being unaffected by heat, and its slippery

nature, is invaluable as a top dressing, well rubbed in, upon the

surface of all white goods for open vulcanizing, as well as dusting the

sheet zinc upon which they are laid. It is equally valuable in all goods

cured in rolls, such as medical sheeting, &c., and renders entirely

unnecessary the rays of the sun afterwards, needing only to be wiped off

with a dry cloth after vulcanizing.

* * * * *

There are many most respectable manufacturers, and these should have

their sense of honorable integrity acknowledged, and, as far as

possible, be protected from their inferiors in morality. In writing

these papers off hastily, one is really tempted to get into a violent

rage with this vicious system; especially when one calls to mind that,

no sooner does an ingenious man invent something really valuable and

useful, but these kidnapping and adulterating traders counterfeit the

same instantly, and render their make to all appearance (and to the

unsuspecting) equally good, though, in reality, not so, being merely

cheapened by this adulterating and tricky system. Added to which, if the

originator is not very sharp in obtaining his protection for the really

valuable service he has rendered to science, and to the sale of which he

is looking very naturally and justly, as a remuneration of what may have

probably cost the inventor many days and nights of weariness, and

possibly involved the spending of his money capital, and perhaps, even

besides, months of labor, disappointment, poverty, and sorrow, I say, if

he is not very quick in his protection, the unblushing effrontery and

impudence of these “second hand people” will rob him of the whole. I

believe no pen can sufficiently protest against those individuals who

thrive “and make haste to become rich” from the oozings of other men’s

brains. Theirs is the basest class of felony our laws cannot reach, and,

consequently, their infamous and nefarious habit continues unheeded and

untouched, and often (because unknown) unscorned. This applies to

caoutchouc. Special reference to particular manufactures must be

discussed another day; but, if I am rightly informed, Mr. C. Goodyear

especially, and others, to some extent, have suffered from these

copyists very egregiously and seriously. Though my testimony would be

confirmed by our best men in every branch of trade, where there is scope

for genius. I must not digress, and trust you will excuse my hasty

protest against this _counterfeit coin_.

I will therefore, at once, hand you the formula for

COMMON WHITE BUFFER-RINGS, WASHERS, ETC.

Grind 30 lbs. Java caoutchouc,

Grind 18 lbs. Oxide of zinc,

Grind 6 lbs. Carbonate of magnesia,

Grind 6 lbs. Clean chalk or whiting,

Grind 2 lbs. Flour of sulphur.

This costs about 13 cents per lb., and is sold at 50 cents per lb., and,

as you will perceive, contains about 110 per cent. of adulterating

matter. Considering the mass of foreign substances in the above formula,

(and yet sold under the name of “caoutchouc,” which _should be pure Java

gum_, of less than half the density, for a great deal less than 50 cents

gross price), one is almost astonished that the “gum-elastic” should

retain any of its original liveliness, mixed up with so much dead

weight; but so it is, as I shall show, by stating that a buffer-ring (4½

× 2½ × 1 ins.) of this quality exactly, and of the same size as those of

which I gave the tonnage in your Magazine of the 24th of October,

indicated, on the same being pressed to half an inch, 4½ tons on the

dial. Of course the weight of the ring was fully double those then

remarked upon, arising from increased density by adulteration. Pursuing

the same subject of density, I have observed that these manufacturers

have been compelled to charge _less than the actual weight_ of their

goods, as the people at Berlin would not pay caoutchouc price for so

much rubbish. This in the “good old red-lead time,” when the

manufacturers, with more faith than judgment, considered they could not

include too much of that metal, but they have since become more crafty

and subtle, and use it less madly. I weighed a cylinder or spring some

few months since, of which a like quantity are now in use by the London

and North-western Railway, and, I expect, at their station at Wolverton,

which contained at least, 100 to 130 per cent. of cheap, heavy

adulteration; and yet they paid 1s. 6d. per lb. in quantity nett. The

size was 6½ × 2½ × 4, and weighed close upon 6 lbs. I should say, if the

charge had been 9d. per pound, no manufacturer could need a better

trade, hence I have chosen to throw a little a “free trade light” upon

the subject.

The washer trade is a very lucrative one to the manufacturers, being

principally cut from the spare or waste ends unavoidable in the make of

springs, cylinders, and buffer-rings.

I will now give you the formula for what is termed

HYPO-CLOTH FOR WATER-PROOF COATS, &C.

Grind 30 lbs. Clean Java gum,

Grind 5 lbs. Lamp black,

Grind 11 lbs. Dry chalk, or whiting,

Grind 5 lbs. Sulphuret of lead.

Costing about 12½ cents per pound.

Sometimes the Para gum is used in this mixture; but, though better, its

use is not considered imperative if the Java caoutchouc is well

cleansed. A cured coat, well vulcanized, is a great improvement in all

respects upon the filthy naptha or varnish coat, and should, when

competition is thrown into the market, exceed it very little in charge.

As long as the calico upon which these are run is covered, the thinner

that covering the better; and by far the best I have seen are made by

Messrs. Mackintosh and Co., Moulton & Co., Moses, Son & Davis. I have

seen some very bad ones, ill-shaped, non-vulcanized, and altogether only

useful _in bringing the better make into unjust dislike by the public_.

The sooner these latter daubs are improved, or withdrawn from sale, the

better for the reputation of the India-rubber garment dealers. The cloth

upon which the material is spread weighs about four ounces by the yard,

and therefore the quantity of gum on each article is readily assessed,

and the scale will determine which are lightest and best for a storm.

The article termed “sulphuret of lead” in the formula, is the chemical I

have before remarked upon, and the screen or blind, nick-named (_for

reasons therein explained_) “hypo,” and is only useful in so far as _it

is an excellent black pigment_, which is only of importance in the

garment branch of the trade.

ADULTERATION OF INDIA-RUBBER, IN CONNECTION WITH THE MANUFACTURE OF

INVALID WATER MATTRESSES AND CUSHIONS.

There is no necessity for the monstrous charges at present made for

these goods, and hence I desire to open up the subject fearlessly. The

amount of adulteration necessary to bring up the desired color, is from

4 to 10 per cent. of the pigment termed _oxide of zinc_; but the formula

used for the manufacture of the water or air mattresses and cushions

referred to, contains about _thirty-five per cent. of this cheap

substitute for India-rubber_. In writing thereon I take leave to state

at the outset, that, like the “air,” or Mackintosh cushions or pillows

we have known for so many years, they can be had of any size or shape,

and differ from them in being of pure caoutchouc, or elastic gum,

(_minus the adulteration_) instead of only a _thin coating_ of pure gum,

upon a cloth or non-elastic foundation. Hence their increased value to

medical men in preventing bed sores, &c.

In my judgment, what is understood in these days by the word “humbug,”

has gained such ascendancy over common sense, that honorable people, who

disdain to practice it, are so out-distanced by the many who do, that

they lose thereby several of the chances of trade. This “popular pet

humbug” is, therefore, largely dealt in by puffing advertisers (even in

these articles) who perpetually issue illustrated catalogues, &c., under

the word “patent,” _where none exists_, “Improved Hydrostatic Water

Mattresses,” “Inventor” and “sole manufacturer,” and a host of other

fanciful and attractive names, through our Post Office, to the whole

medical profession in the United Kingdom, as well as to the staff of

medical men connected with all the Hospitals, Poor Law Union

Infirmaries, East India and other companies, &c., and these mattresses

are now in use at most of such establishments; and if the retail prices

were not highly extortionate, and altogether beyond all reasonable

limit, I would not throw the “sunshine” upon this valuable medical

appliance. It just strikes my memory that there is a quiet notification

in the interior of the envelopes of these circulars, that a discount of

12½ per cent. is allowed to the “profession,” (but which some refuse.) I

may as well add, that these dealers, of course, have _no exclusive

right_ to the above names, as they would lead the public to infer, _the

manufacture being as free as the air we breathe_; and of “hydrostatics,”

they understand about as much as they do about general “chemistry,” and

I am quite sure that of the latter exquisite science they know only just

as much as the letterer can actually embody and make inherent in the

words he may be instructed to paint on the door posts or facia outside.

It is a melancholy truth, that this lettering is now accepted as proof

that the “professor” _inside_, is in fact, a “practical” or “operative

chemist,” though he may live and keep shop at the west end of the

metropolis, and exhibit a framed notification, that he is a member of

the “Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain,” but without examination.

It is incredible, moreover, how these people, by their presumption, even

seem to deceive medical practitioners, judging from the numerous “good

names” they append to some of their valueless compounds of _exhausted

roots_. In many cases beyond the capacity of informing an enquirer why,

in “camphorated spirit” the addition of “water” precipitates free

camphor, (to use a figure) they know no more of chemistry than the

writer’s “foot;” and yet if one had not daily experience and proof that

true science is modest and retiring, one would be liable to put these

“professors” down as real living “Faradays,” “Herapaths,” “Redwoods,”

and other equally illustrious chemists instead of quacks. Excuse the

digression, but these characters who disgrace an intellectual science,

will cross one’s mind in writing.

Returning to the water mattresses, I will show in figures, in the

manufacturer’s price in 1850, and the manufacturer’s charge in May,

1856, (and it must be less at this moment,) and the uniform retail

price, and to this latter I invite the special attention of your

readers, and ask them carefully to note the _retailer’s profit_ on each,

and decide the advantage to be derived from purchasing of the

manufacturer. I have no personal interest in any of them. I will show

also their usual sizes, and their weight, as they are all sold by the

manufacturers, on this basis.

I trust this may stir up increased demand for so useful and necessary an

article for the alleviation of human suffering, the use of which the

_immense retail profits have hitherto prohibited_ among the middle and

humbler classes.

The formula for water mattresses and cushions—(India-rubber) is:—

s. d.

1 lb. Fara Gum (in sheet,) 2 0

(Present cost, 1s. 7d., per lb.)

6 oz. Oxide Zinc, 0 1½

1 oz. Pure Sulphur, (common equally good,) 0 1½

Mill costs, 3

—— ——

2 5

Or 1s. 7d. per lb.

Say of the above compound, 1 0

Making waste, 0 ⅓

Grinding, running, cleaning and vulcanizing, 0 6

Add 36⅓ mill profit, or 0 10

is 3 2 per lb.

This is the price per pound the weight should be estimated at. The

mattresses vary in size from 8 + 14 inches to 48 + 72—some with

cells—some without cells. The _retail profits_ on these goods, over the

manufacturer’s prices, in 1856, ranged from 13s. 6d. to £7,

6s.—according to the size of the mattress. Or in American currency, from

about $3.00 to $36.00 profit on single mattresses.

Should so serviceable an article be thus clogged and fettered by such

immoderate charges by the retail shop-keepers? It may probably be a

guide to some of our readers to state, the best size pillow is 17 + 22,

and that the celled mattresses 27 + 30, and 30 + 40, are found most

useful, and of adequate length to support the trunk of invalids, and

admit the other portion of the body to rest upon the usual feather bed,

and thus steady a weak patient; as a full length mattress of elastic

gum, 33 + 72 is beyond the safe control of such invalids.

The retailer, for obvious reasons, recommends the larger mattresses, and

which are _not_ returnable, _even if the patient dies before they reach

him_.

CHAPTER VI.

VALUABLE RECIPES, ETC.

PURIFYING GUTTA-PERCHA.

H. H. Day, of New York, has obtained a patent in England for extracting

from gutta percha a peculiar etheric oil which it contains, preparatory

to its being subjected to the process of vulcanization, by submitting it

to the action of a liquor which dissolves out the etheric oil, and also,

at the same time, by acting upon the woody matter, disengages the sand

or other foreign substances held therewith. This liquor is composed of

caustic potash (hydrate of potassa) dissolved in water, with an ether

formed from a solution of chloride of lime and alcohol added, and after

the crude gutta-percha is placed therein the whole mass is heated to a

boiling point, and so kept for about nine hours, and then treated

between rollers under water, in the ordinary manner. When taken out, the

gum will consist of a pure and solid mass, resembling India-rubber, and

fully equal to it in fineness, and in the readiness with which it may be

worked to prepare it for the additional process of vulcanization.

PURIFICATION OF GUTTA-PERCHA,

By James Reynolds, of New York City. Gutta-percha, in the raw state in

which it is imported, contains large quantities of bark, dirt, and

foreign substances. In the common processes of manufacture these cannot

be extracted, and bad results often ensue. For example, in the covering

of telegraph wires, holes are often left wherever foreign substances are

present, and thus the insulation is impaired. The only method heretofore

employed, for preventing the quality of the manufactured article from

being too much injured by the presence of these impurities, has been to

reduce the bark and dirt into fine particles, by long-continued and

tedious grinding, and then incorporating them with the gum.

The object of the present improvement is to effect the entire extraction

of the bark and other foreign particles, and thus improve to a very

great degree the quality of the manufactured article. The invention

consists in first cutting the gutta-percha into extremely thin slices or

sheets, and then submitting it to heating, rubbing, and screening

operations. Under this treatment the foreign matters, are almost

entirely extracted, and the gutta-percha left pure. This is a valuable

invention.

MARINE GLUE.

Take one pound of India-rubber and then dissolve it in the exact

quantity of naptha, or oil of tar to render it moderately thin, (about a

gallon) to which is added shellac, and the whole allowed to macerate for

ten days, until it attains to a cream like consistency. After which more

shellac is added to make it pretty stiff, when it is heated and then

poured out into plates. It is heated to 250°, when applied. The mixture

is that of India-rubber and shellac dissolved in naptha. It is insoluble

in water and not affected by the heat of the sun.

INDIA-RUBBER ARMOR.

In Paris a new kind of cuirass for the use of the army, is shortly to be

tried. This cuirass is of vulcanized India-rubber, about half an inch

thick. The thickness, it is stated, is more than sufficient to resist

the action of a ball projected from any kind of firearm. All the

experiments tried have proved entirely successful. The force of the ball

is completely broken by the elasticity of the India-rubber, and it falls

on the ground at the feet of the person against whom it was sent.

NEW GUTTA-PERCHA COMPOSITION.

Alfred H. Gaullie, Paris, patentee. This improved composition is formed

by mixing together equal parts of gutta-percha and of Roman cement

reduced to a pasty consistence with ox-gall. The operation of mixing is

to be performed while the gutta-percha is in a heated and plastic state,

and the two ingredients must be well masticated so as to cause them to

combine intimately together. Any kind of coloring matter may be combined

with the materials according to the effect desired to be produced.

INDIA-RUBBER VARNISH.

A. Ford, of London, has obtained a patent for making solutions of

India-rubber and gutta-percha, which solutions can be used for

water-proofing as a varnish. The India-rubber or gutta-percha, is

dissolved in warm turpentine or naptha. The turpentine, or naptha, is

prepared by mixing a caustic alkali, such as potash, in it—one pound to

the gallon—then agitating them in a suitable vessel, and allowing them

to stand for about three days, when a dark colored residuum is found at

the bottom. The clear liquor is then poured off and used for dissolving

the India-rubber. It is stated that this makes a very beautiful varnish.

WATER-PROOFING OIL.

A patent has been obtained by Alex. Parkes, of Bury Port, Wales, for a

preparation of oils similar in its nature to the improvement of Mr.

Daines. He treats oils with the chloride of sulphur, which changes their

character, rendering them similar to vulcanized India-rubber, and

insoluble in mineral naptha and sulphuret of carbon. He heats about 2

parts by weight, of the chloride of sulphur with 8 parts, by weight, of

oil, up to about 250°, when the combination of the two is effected. This

vulcanized oil, it is stated, can be mixed with gutta-percha or

India-rubber, to cheapen the manufactured articles made from these

materials. This, apparently, is also an important invention.

Mr. Parkes has also taken out a patent for a varnish made of gun cotton

dissolved in alcohol, or any solvent of gun cotton. This varnish is

transparent, and he applies it to coat silk, sewing cotton, thread,

leather, plaster, wood, &c., to render them water-proof. Gun cotton

dissolved in chloroform is a well known varnish.

INDIA-RUBBER TEETH.

This article, in the form of purified white India-rubber, has been

patented in England, for making artificial teeth, gums, and palates. By

its adoption, many advantages hitherto impossible to be attained, have

been introduced. The adhesion is complete, it can be moulded with

perfection, to suit every inequality of the gums and teeth, and supplies

an artificial periosteum, as it were, to the teeth, when become painful

by the wasting away of the gum, added to these is the elasticity of the

material, which completely obviates the inconveniences that arise from

any motion with artificial teeth, as made by other means.

EMERY PAPER.

The _Moniteur Industriel_ mentions an ingenious method of obtaining fine

emery paper for polishing metals. Strips of paper coated with fresh

starch-size are hung on ropes at different altitudes in a small room,

which is afterwards carefully closed. A quantity of fine emery is then

blown in by means of a ventilator, through an aperture left for the

purpose, by which means a dense cloud of emery dust fills the room, but

only the finest particles rise in the air to a sufficient height for

them to be deposited on the upper slips; those of the second row receive

a somewhat coarser sort, and so on, while such particles as are too

heavy, and therefore too coarse for delicate polish, fall to the ground

at once. Thus emery paper of different degrees of fineness may be

obtained by a single operation, and sorted with mathematical certainty.

SULPHURIZED OIL PAINT.

At a recent meeting of the Society of British Architects, J. B. Daines

stated that by subjecting eight parts (by weight) of linseed oil and one

part of sulphur, to a temperature of 278°, in an iron vessel, he

obtained a species of paint possessing singularly preservative

properties. Applied to the surface of a building with a brush, it

effectually keeps out air and moisture, prevents deposits of soot and

dirt, and preserves the beauty of the stone, wood, or brickwork to which

it is applied. It has long been known that a portion of sulphur can be

dissolved in oil, but until recently such a composition, as a paint or

varnish, has attracted no notice; in fact, its preservative and

impervious qualities when dry, were unknown. It is well known to

chemists that sulphur, (the substance employed to give _body_ to the

oil,) is unalterable in the air, and is not acted on by moisture; hence

its quality as a preservative for coating the outside of structures

exposed to the weather. It is capable of preserving plaster of Paris

figures exposed to the air, also monuments, and buildings of the brown

freestone, which are liable to detrition, from the action of the

weather. It is stated that it improves the color of the stone to which

it is applied, as well as preserves it; therefore it is a most useful

paint, and deserves to be very generally employed.

INDIA-RUBBER AND COAL TAR.

Mr. C. Goodyear has recently taken out a patent in England, for a new

compound, composed of India-rubber and coal tar vulcanized with sulphur.

Coal tar is heated in an open boiler until it acquires the consistency

of melted rosin, when it is mixed with India-rubber, in proportions

which may vary according to the character of the material to be produced

for a specific purpose. It is mixed with sulphur and then heated to

vulcanize it.

LIQUID GLUE.

Dissolve two pounds of strong glue in one quart of water, in a glue

kettle, or in a water bath; when the glue is entirely melted, add little

by little to the amount of ten ounces of strong nitric acid. This

addition produces an effervescence due to the disengagement of

hyponitric acid; when the whole of the acid is added, remove the vessel

from the fire and leave it to cool.

Glue thus prepared, kept in a stopped flask, will remain good for two or

three years.

ENORMOUS STRENGTH OF GUTTA-PERCHA TUBING.

A series of interesting experiments have just been concluded at the

Birmingham Waterworks, relative to the strength of gutta-percha tubing,

with a view to its applicability for the conveyance of water. The

experiments were made (under the direction of Henry Rolfe, Esq.,

engineer,) upon tubes three-quarters of an inch in diameter and one

eighth of gutta-percha. These were attached to the iron main, and

subjected for _two months_ to a pressure of 200 _feet head of water_,

without being in the slightest degree deteriorated. In order to

ascertain if possible, the maximum strength of the tubes, they were

connected with the Water Company’s Hydraulic Proving Pumps, the regular

load of which is 250 lbs. on the square inch. At this point the tubes

were unaffected, and the pump was worked up 337 lbs., but to the

astonishment of every one the tube still remained perfect. It was then

proposed to work the pump up to 500 lbs., but it was found that the

lever of the valve would bear no more weight.

The _utmost power_ of the hydraulic pump could not burst the tubes.

The gutta-percha being somewhat elastic, allowed the tubes to become

slightly expanded by the extraordinary pressure which was applied, but

on its withdrawal, they resumed their former size.—_London Mechanics’

Magazine, Vol. LI._

CHEAP AND SIMPLE METHOD OF MAKING LEATHER WATER-PROOF.

Two pounds of tallow, a pound of hog’s lard, a half pound of turpentine,

and the same quantity of bees-wax are melted together in an earthen

pipkin. The boots and shoes are dried and warmed, and the composition is

well rubbed into them with a piece of tow dipped into it; the articles

being held near a hot fire until they have imbibed as much as they can

take up. This mixture is used with very good effect by sportsmen.

Another mixture for the same purpose, which is much used by fishermen,

is applied in the same way. It consists of a pound of bees-wax, a half

pound of rosin, and the same quantity of beef-suet.—_Morfit._

BOOK IV.

CHAPTER I.

GUTTA-PERCHA PATENTS.

Gutta-Percha is destined to exert a very important influence in commerce

and manufactures. Since its discovery it has made rapid strides as a

useful and important agent in the arts. Its uses may be said to be

innumerable, and although it was discovered but a few years since, it

has completely superseded other substances, which were before regarded

as indispensable. Our object is to give to manufacturers and all

interested in the use, history, or application of this gum, as much

insight as possible into the patents which have been issued in relation

to it, both in England, France, and the United States. We have very

carefully examined all the English works which treat upon the subject,

and shall give a faithful history of all that has been written upon it

which is of _practical_ importance to the shoe manufacturer. A better

knowledge of its properties and uses cannot, we think, be obtained than

is set forth in the various patents and communications which have been

issued. Here may be found, not only a general idea of gutta-percha as a

gum, but the results of scientific investigation, application, and

analysis. We have, therefore, carefully avoided all the superfluous

technicalities connected with patent papers, except such as are

important to the object proposed, and selected only such as will be of

real importance to the shoe manufacturer, or the scientific enquirer.

The first patent ever issued in England, and which may be considered as

the master patent, was taken out by Richard Archibald Brooman, of

London. Patent dated March 11, 1845. Specification enrolled September

11, 1845.

After reciting the specification, the patent describes the properties of

the gum.

_First._ It is of a highly combustible quality, being chiefly composed

of carbon and hydrogen, while at the same time it inflames only at a

very high degree of heat, and is _not injuriously affected by any known

degree of atmospheric heat_.

_Second._ It is soluble in essential oils, but resists, to a great

extent the action of grease and unctuous oils.

_Third._ It mixes readily with paints, pigments, and most other coloring

matter.

_Fourth._ It is repellent of, and _unaffected by cold water or damp_.

_Fifth._ It may be so softened by mere immersion in hot water, or by

exposure to steam or hot air, as to be capable without further

treatment, of being kneaded or moulded, or rolled out, or spread in any

desired shape, and to any extent of tensity.

_Sixth._ It is of a strongly adhesive or agglutinating quality, and when

dry is free from stickiness.

_Seventh._ In the dry or solid state it is flexible, of great tenacity,

and to a slight degree elastic.

_Eighth._ It is impermeable to, and not injuriously affected by

atmospheric air.

_Ninth._ It is, in a pure state, nearly inodorous.

_Tenth._ _It is little, if at all injured by use_, (except as fuel), and

may, after it has been employed in a manufactured state, be recovered or

renovated, and manufactured anew.

In some of these properties, namely, its adhesive, and water and air

repellent properties, gutta-percha resembles caoutchouc, or

India-rubber, but it is advantageously distinguished from it in its

freedom from stickiness when dry, in its not being so affected by

atmospheric heat, or by unctuous oils, and in its being _workable by

means of hot water alone_.

[The patentee then described how this substance may be applied,

either by itself, or in combination with other materials.]

1st. _Artificial Fuels._—Five different sorts are described, the

peculiarity in all of which consists in the substitution of the

gutta-percha, in different forms or proportions, for the coal tar, or

other agglutinizing substance ordinarily employed.

2d and 3d. Artificial _mastics and cements_.

The gutta-percha is directed to be first freed from the fibrous and

foreign matters with which it is usually found intermixed, when first

imported, after which it is to be applied in any one of the three

states, namely, 1st, a plastic state; 2d, a granular or pulverized

state; and 3d, a state of solution.

PLASTIC APPLICATIONS.

The kneading machinery is similar to that used in the manufacture of

rubber. When it is desired to give to the mass of gutta-percha a greater

degree of elasticity than is natural to it, I mix up and incorporate

with it, while it is going through the kneading machine, either a

portion of caoutchouc or a portion of sulphur, or portions both of

caoutchouc and sulphur.

The following are good average proportions: about three parts caoutchouc

for every six parts of gutta-percha, or one part of sulphur for every

eight parts of gutta-percha, or two parts of caoutchouc, and one part of

sulphur for every six parts of gutta-percha. When caoutchouc, however,

is employed to increase the elasticity of the gutta-percha, a degree of

heat, of not less than 150° Fahrenheit is necessary to effect the

amalgamation of the two substances. The caoutchouc is most conveniently

introduced into the machine at the same time with the gutta-percha, but

the sulphur should be dropped into and upon the gutta percha from time

to time, and in small quantities at a time. The gutta-percha takes up

the other materials readily, and the whole are, at the end of the

process, thoroughly amalgamated. Should it be desired to give any color

to the mass, the requisite pigment or coloring matter is introduced in

the same manner as the sulphur, and also in small quantities at a time.

The coloring matter penetrates every part of the mass, and becomes

perfectly amalgamated and identified with it. The gutta-percha may be

also improved in smoothness, by incorporating with it some pulverized

French or Turkey chalk, or other soft powder, adding it in same way as

the sulphur, or should it be desired to make it rough, and abrasive, it

may be mixed up with some ground emery, sand, or other hard substance,

in a granular state.

* * * * *

There are other combinations in which the gutta-percha in its plastic

state, intimately mixed or blended with other materials, as for

example:—There may be added to the gutta-percha, while in the kneading

machine, paper pulp, wood dust, leather dust, hair bristles, oakum, &c.

(taking care when they are not in a comminuted state, to cut them up

small) and compound fabrics will be thus produced very suitable for

paring, roofing, sheathing, and other purposes.

APPLICATIONS IN STATE OF SOLUTION.

As before stated the gutta-percha may be dissolved in most of the

essential oils, and by the application of a gentle heat, the patentee

states that he prefers using for the purpose, rectified naptha, or

rectified oil of turpentine. It may also be applied in a state of

solution to rendering water and air proof, or cementing the various

articles to which gutta-percha has been before stated to be applicable

for these purposes in a plastic state, when sulphur imposed upon or

between the surfaces of articles. It may be applied in this fluid state,

to the saturation of cordage of all sorts, in order to increase its

strength, and render it water proof, and as a size for stiffening silks,

ribbons, and other fabrics. And lastly, it may be employed in this

liquid state mixed with colors, for printing silk, cotton, leather, and

other fabrics.

R. A. BROOMAN caused another patent to be issued, under date of March

27, 1845.

The invention comprehended under this patent is stated to have for its

object the “the manufacture of a thread of great strength and

durability, and perfectly water-proof, from the substance called

gutta-percha, and the application thereof to the manufacture of piece

goods, ribbon, paper, and other articles.”

The specification then describes the manner in which this object is

carried out. The machinery is very simple. It consists of a die-box kept

hot by steam, from the bottom of which a number of small tubes project

downwards into a tank filled with cold water; and a cylinder and piston

mounted on the top of the box. The mode of operation is as follows:

A roll of the prepared gutta-percha is introduced into the cylinder

immediately above the die-box. The piston is then replaced, and forced

steadily downwards by hand or other suitable power upon the

gutta-percha, which, becoming softened at the lower end by contact with

the hot die-box, escapes from the pressure through the tubes in a series

of threads, which, as they drop into and are cooled in the water in the

tank, and carried around a roller, whence they are conducted to and

wound upon a set of revolving reels, after the manner of hand-spinning,

that is, by working the thread between the fingers and thumb, the thread

may be stretched about four times the original length. The threads are

then wound off on bobbins and ready for use.

I twist and spin two or more such threads together into one round

thread, by means of a bobbin and fly frame, such as is used in the

manufacture of cotton. Besides giving to the gutta-percha threads the

desired roundness, these whirling and twisting processes have the effect

of greatly improving them, in point of elasticity.

* * * * *

A strong, and perfectly water-proof fabric is formed by simply laying a

number of gutta-percha threads side by side upon a foundation of cotton

or linen, or other textile fabric, and passing the two materials between

heated rollers, which have the effect of cementing the threads firmly to

the cloth and to one another; and such fabrics may, by using the threads

of different sizes and color, have every nicety of striped appearance

given them.

Articles resembling diaper, or mosaic work, are made of gutta-percha

threads of different colors or shades, very rapidly and economically. In

the manufacture of paper, an article very difficult to rend, and which

will, therefore, be found extremely suitable for documents exposed to

much tear and wear, as bills of exchange, certificates, also for

wrappers, envelopes of all sorts is formed by interposing between two

sheets of paper pulp threads of gutta-percha, laid cross-wise like net

work, at distances of an inch or two apart, more or less, and combining

the two sheets by any suitable machinery as heated rollers. The

gutta-percha thread may also be plaited either in the naked or sheet

state, into hats, cans, bonnets, or into bags, baskets, basket work, or

into coverings for chairs as a substitute for cane, or into whips,

bridles, reins, or into any other similar articles—and finally, cordage

of great strength may be made by twining together threads of

gutta-percha with threads of flax, or other durable fibrous material, by

the same processes as are ordinarily followed in the manufacture of the

different sorts of cordage.

The following described Patent for improvements in Boots, Shoes,

Gaiters, &c., is of great importance, inasmuch as it fully describes the

method of manufacture, the solution used, &c. It will be observed that

Mr. Keene mixed caoutchouc or India-rubber with gutta-percha. This

process is now found to be very detrimental to the durability of the

boot, shoe or gaiter, inasmuch as a rubber mixture is sure to become

decomposed by the oils in the upper stock or soles. It also renders the

shoe a nasty, sticky mass, making it impossible to repair them. The

process has been tried here, evidently a copy of the Keene patent. After

an expenditure of thousands of dollars, the manufacture of boots and

shoes by this admixture of India-rubber _has been abandoned as

impracticable_.

_Gutta-percha, on the contrary, is not affected by oils_, and here is

the grand secret of the success and triumph of boots and shoes cemented

by it. Goods of various descriptions, including boots and shoes, were

largely manufactured in England, between 1845 and 1848, which, being

made with a mixture of India-rubber and other foreign matter, were thus

rendered valueless. In six months after many of these varieties of

elegant fabrics were put into the market, they were discovered to be a

sticky mass of worthless trash, or where the rubber was omitted became

brittle like glass. _Whereas, goods that were manufactured from the pure

gutta-percha, such as picture frames, &c., remained uninjured to the

present day_, and are now apparently as firm and indestructible as when

first made.

Here follows the Patent.

CHARLES KEENE, of Sussex Place, Regent’s Park, Esq., for improvements in

Boots and Shoes, Gaiters, Overalls, and other like articles. Patent

dated May 29th: Specification enrolled November 29th, 1845.

My improvements in boots, shoes, gaiters, overalls, and other like

articles of apparel, consist in rendering the same more or less weather

and water-proof, and more easy of wear, by the application of the same,

in whole or in part, of the substance recently imported from the East

Indies called gutta-percha.

_First._ I coat the pieces of leather, or other material, of which the

boots, shoes, gaiters, overalls, or other articles of apparel, are made,

on either one or both sides, with a solution of gutta-percha, or a

solution of gutta-percha mixed with a portion or portions of caoutchouc,

or sulphur, or coloring matter, or any other substance or thing which

may be calculated to improve the quality of the said solution as

directed and explained in the specification of certain letters patent,

of date March 11th, 1845, granted to Richard Archibald Brooman, for

“certain improvements in the preparation and application of artificial

fuels, mastics, and cements,” and this I do either once, twice, or

oftener, according to the thickness of the solution, and the thickness

desired to be given to the coating; and sometimes, instead of so coating

the whole of the said pieces, I coat those pieces which are likely to be

most exposed to the weather or wet, as for example, the outer sole and

upper leathers only.

_Second._ I protect in like manner the said pieces of leather, or other

material, some or all of them, by covering the same, either on one or

both sides, with a layer or layers of gutta-percha in the plastic state,

or of gutta-percha combined in the said plastic state with a portion or

portions of caoutchouc, or sulphur, or coloring matter, or of French

chalk, or other soft powder, as directed in the aforesaid specification

of the patent of Richard Archibald Brooman, applying the said layer or

layers by the means and in the mode also described in the said

specification.

_Third._ Instead of either coating or covering, as aforesaid, the

materials of which the boots and other articles before mentioned are

made, I sometimes interpose between the same or certain portions of the

same, as for example, between the inner and outer soles, or between the

upper leathers and linings, pieces of gutta-percha in any of the sheet

states in which it is manufactured under the said patent of Richard

Archibald Brooman.

_Fourth._ I manufacture boots, shoes, gaiters, overalls, and other like

articles, in whole or in part, of a compound fabric, formed and

described by the specification of the said Richard Archibald Brooman, by

adding to the gutta-percha while in the kneading machine (whether

previously combined, or not combined with caoutchouc or sulphur, or

coloring matter, or French chalk, or other soft powder, as aforesaid) a

portion of leather, dust, or hair, or bristles, or ground cork, or

woolen shearings, or other membranous or fibrous substances, in a finely

comminuted state.

_Fifth._ I also manufacture boots, shoes, gaiters, and other like

articles, in whole or in part, of a certain other fabric which is

directed in the specification of the said Richard Archibald Brooman to

be formed by saturating a bat or fleece of cotton wool, or other fibrous

material, with a solution of gutta-percha, or a mixed solution of

gutta-percha and caoutchouc; preferring, however, for the purpose of

this part of my invention, such bats or fleeces, as have been saturated

with a solution containing in it a portion more or less of sulphur and

of some coloring matter.

_Sixth._ I make boots and shoes, and the other articles aforesaid, of

gutta-percha, or of a mixture of gutta-percha and caoutchouc, either

sulphurized or not sulphurized, all in one piece, without sewing or

stitching, as usual, by casting the same in cored moulds, made of the

required form of the boot, shoe or other article. I either fill the

mould with the material in a state of hot solution, and leave it to

cool, or I fill it with the material in a granular state; heat the mould

till its contents become in a pulpy state, and then set it to cool. I

sometimes use a single matrix only, and cause the material in a sheet or

in a plastic state, to assume the state of that matrix by forcing it

into the recesses thereof, by means of the pressure of water or air, and

sometimes in order to give greater springiness to the boot or shoe, or

other article, instead of casting it all in one piece, I cast it in two

or more pieces; as for example, I cast the front part in one piece, and

the heel or back part in another piece, and unite the two parts by means

of an interposed piece or pieces of leather or of gutta-percha in the

sheet, and sulphurized state, or some other like flexible material.

_Seventh._ Instead of uniting the different parts of which boots and

shoes, and other articles aforesaid are made, by stitching or sewing, as

usual, whenever any two of these parts, or any one or two parts consists

of gutta-percha, or of a mixture of gutta-percha and caoutchouc in any

of the sheet states aforesaid, I pass a hot iron over the joint or

joints, which causes the two surfaces to adhere firmly together.

_Eighth._ I take boots, shoes, gaiters, overalls, and other articles as

they are now ordinarily made of unsulphurized caoutchouc, and greatly

improve the same in point of smoothness of texture, and capability of

resisting variations of temperature by exposing them for from thirty to

sixty minutes to the fumes of sulphur, in a close vessel, heated to a

temperature of 210 to 250 degrees more or less, or immersing them for

the same length of time in a bath of melted sulphur. In either case, in

order to prevent the articles from sticking to one another, they should

be done over with a paste made of French chalk, flour and water, and

that paste allowed to dry before subjecting them to the action of the

sulphur. Boots, shoes, and other articles made in whole, or in part of

unsulphurized gutta-percha, may be treated in the same way, but I prefer

incorporating the sulphur in the first instance with the gutta-percha,

when it is in the state of solution, or in the plastic state, or in any

of the other states of preparation and combination aforesaid.

_Lastly._ I improve the shoes of horses by laying upon and securing to

the upper part of the same, a sheet, or layer of sulphurized

gutta-percha, or of sulphurized caoutchouc, or by making the same wholly

of either of the said materials. In the former case, the sheet or layer

of sulphurized gutta-percha, and sulphurized caoutchouc, may be either

attached to the shoe by rivets, before it is applied to the foot, or it

may be laid loosely between the shoe and foot when the horse is being

shod, and be made fast by passing the shoe nails through it. It affords

a soft and yet firm footing to the animal, and resists, without injury

to its shape, very high degrees of heat and pressure.

The following described patent was taken out by CHARLES HANCOCK, of

Grosvenor Place, for “certain improvements in the manufacture of

gutta-percha, and its application alone, and its combination with other

substances.” Patent dated Jan. 12, 1846.

In copying these patents our aim is to make perfectly plain and clear to

all interested, certain chemical facts, compounds and the like, which

produce desired results, and which have thus far been preserved, as

profound secrets. For example, in selecting certain claims or

descriptions in the Hancock Patent, we here describe the process of

_making and applying varnishes to India-rubber shoes, etc._, which

varnishes are perfectly sweet, “shutting in” all disagreeable odors,

from sulphur and other combinations.

These varnishes may be applied to leather or cloth, giving them a

beautiful glossy exterior, also rendering them water-proof.

The inventor says—“My invention consists _firstly_, in certain improved

methods of preparing gutta-percha for manufacturing purposes. If the

gutta-percha to be operated upon, is not very impure, it may be at once

submitted to the process hereafter described. * * * * If impure, the

gutta-percha may be cleansed by the process as laid down by R. A.

Brooman, March 11, 1845.”

Mr. Hancock continues—“According to one of my improved methods of

preparing gutta-percha, I place it in a plastic state in a cylindrical

screw press, kept hot by a steam jacket, or otherwise, and having the

bottom perforated with numerous holes, and _squeeze_ it through the

strainer and perforated bottom, from which it falls in a much purified

state.

“This operation may, if necessary, be repeated; I then transfer the

gutta-percha in this purified state, to a masticating machine, such as

is commonly employed in the preparation of caoutchouc, and kept hot by

any suitable means, and work and knead the gutta-percha until it is

brought to the consistence of dough or putty. According to another of my

modes of preparing gutta-percha, instead of passing it through the

screw-press, as before described, I take the plastic mass and pass it a

number of times between heated rollers, kept hot by hot water, steam, or

any other convenient means. Or, thirdly, I take the gutta-percha as

imported, and dissolve it by means of rectified oil of turpentine, or

any other suitable solvent, and filter the solution while warm, through

flannel, or felt, or fine wire gauze, after which I distil off the

solvent, and evaporate the residuum to the consistence of dough or

putty.”

_Secondly_, “My invention consists in making a compound, elastic,

water-repellent substance for manufacturing purposes, by combining

gutta-percha with an elastic and water-repellent substance, called

“jintawan.” I combine the two substances in a masticator, and then

operate upon the two materials by that machine; at the same time adding

any coloring matter that may be desired, continuing the operation of the

machine, until they are intimately blended together. And I make the

triple combination of ‘gutta-percha,’ ‘jintawan,’ and ‘caoutchouc,’ and

by means of a masticator, in the same manner. For the purpose of making

these combinations. I vary the proportions of the two, or of the three

substances which I combine according to the quality which it is desired

that the combined substance shall possess.”

* * * * *

_Thirdly_, “My invention consists in combining gutta-percha, or

gutta-percha, caoutchouc, and “jintawan” with orpiment, liver of sulphur

or other sulphurets, having like chemical properties, which will enable

it to combine effectually with the other articles above mentioned, and

afterwards subjecting the compound substance to heat, as herein

described. * * A good compound for bands or tapes, is found by combining

50 parts of gutta-percha, 24 parts of “jintawan,” 20 parts of

caoutchouc, and 6 parts of orpiment. I may state as a general rule,

deduced from the experiments which I have made, that the proportion of

orpiment, or other sulphuret used, ought not to exceed 25 per cent.

* * * * *

“When jintawan, or caoutchouc is used in making this compound article,

the combination of the materials will be much facilitated by previously

moistening the jintawan and caoutchouc, or such of them as are used,

with rectified oil of turpentine, or some other solvent, so that they

may be softened in the manner aforesaid. The orpimented, or sulphureted

compound is next to be exposed to a heat of from 300° to 340°, for a

period varying according as the temperature is higher or lower. With a

heat of 300° Fahrenheit, I keep the article exposed to it for about

sixty minutes; with a heat of 340°, for about fifteen minutes only. The

required heat may be obtained by means either of high pressure steam, or

water heated under pressure, or of hot air.

* * * * *

“I consider the use of sulphur to be objectionable, because of the

_offensive smell which it imparts to the article_, and of the tendency

which sulphur has to effervesce, or exude from the surface of it. And

therefore I prefer the use of orpiment or some other sulphuret which

will combine more effectually with the other component parts of the

article.”

* * * * *

_Fourthly_, “My invention consists in a mode of rendering gutta-percha,

or a combination of that substance with ‘jintawan’ and caoutchouc, or

either of them, of a light, porous, and spongy texture, forming a

species of artificial sponge, suitable for stuffing or forming the seats

of chairs, cushions, mattresses, saddles, horse collars, buffers, and

for many other useful purposes.

* * * * *

“To gutta-percha, which is intended to be made porous or spongy, for

such purposes as aforesaid, must be added about 10 per cent. of

rectified spirit of turpentine, or other proper solvent, and the whole

mixed together by any convenient means. And if any of the

above-mentioned compounds of gutta-percha is intended to be similarly

treated, the caoutchouc or “jintawan” used therein, must be previously

dissolved in from 100 to 200 per cent. of a similar solvent, the

quantity of solvent being more or less, according as the product is

intended to be more or less spongy and elastic. To the article which is

intended to be made porous and spongy, must be added alum or carbonate

of ammonia, or some other description of volatilizable substance.

“If the article which is intended to be made porous and spongy, is

required to be made more permanently soft and elastic, it should be

combined orpiment, liver of sulphur, or a sulphuret, in the same way as

described in the third part of my invention. A portion of sulphur may,

in such a case, be used, but I prefer orpiment, liver of sulphur, or a

sulphuret, for the reasons I have before stated.

“The article which is intended to be made spongy and porous must then be

thoroughly mixed with from ten to twenty per cent. of alum, carbonate of

ammonia, or some readily-volatilizable substance, either in the

masticating machine, or by any other convenient means. The material thus

prepared, may be put into moulds, or forms, or upon trays, or confined

in such a way as to cause it to assume the form which it is intended to

possess. The material is then put into an oven or chamber, heated by

steam or other convenient means, to a temperature of from 250° to 260°

of Fahrenheit, at which temperature the article must be kept from one to

two hours, according to the desired result. The effect of the exposure

of the article to this high temperature will be to drive off the solvent

with which it has been mixed, and at the same time, the alum, carbonate

of ammonia, or other volatilizable substance before mentioned, cause the

article to swell, and will render it porous and spongy. When the article

has been exposed to this temperature for about one hour, it will be in

the most porous and spongy state, and if the operation is further

prolonged, the effect will be to render it less elastic and more rigid.”

_Fifthly_, “My invention consists in imparting, by the following

process, to gutta-percha and its various combinations with caoutchouc

and “jintawan,” when orpimented or sulphureted as aforesaid, almost any

degree of hardness and tenacity, without injury to its water-repellent

properties. I take the gutta-percha, or gutta-percha compound, after it

has gone through the process described under the third head of this

specification, and while it is yet in a plastic state, and press it into

moulds, which I bind tightly together with iron plates, screws and nuts.

I then place these moulds in a chamber or vessel raised by steam or hot

air to a temperature of from 300° to 380°, for from one to five or six

days, varying the degree of heat and the time of exposure to it,

according to the degree of hardness and tenacity required, after which I

set the moulds aside to cool slowly. The gutta-percha and gutta-percha

compounds may be so hardened by this means, as to be turned in the

lathe, like wood or ivory. And they are thus rendered applicable to a

great variety of purposes, for which they could not in any other state

be suitable, such as picture-frames, knife and sword handles,

door-handles and panels, walking-sticks, chess-men, seal-holders,

paper-cutters, combs, flutes, musical-keys, buttons, pulleys, ornamental

and architectural decorations, &c.

“The material may be either at once formed into any of these articles,

by making the moulds of the form and figure of the articles; or it may

be produced in the first instance in plain blocks, and afterwards cut up

and fashioned at pleasure, by such tools and instruments as are

ordinarily used for like purposes.”

_Eighthly_, “My invention consists in forming in manner certain

varnishes which may be applied to the water-proofing of leather or

cloth, and in applying them either alone or mixed, without coloring

matter, to gutta-percha or its compounds, or to articles made from them,

they may have _a fine, glossy exterior given to them_, and the smell of

any ingredient which may have been mixed up with them, and which may be

of an offensive nature, (such as sulphur) may be effectually shut in.

For this purpose I take the gutta-percha, or gutta-percha combined with

“jintawan” and caoutchouc, or either of them, orpimented or sulphureted

as before described, or sulphurize and dissolve it by confining the mass

in a steam-tight vessel, and by placing that vessel in a chamber heated

by steam or other convenient means to a temperature of 300° to 380°

Fah., or I mix gutta-percha and caoutchouc, or gutta-percha and

“jintawan” (using the substance indifferently, so far as the proportion

one bears to the other,) with sulphur or orpiment, or other sulphuret,

in the proportion before directed to be observed, where these substances

are introduced with about eight to ten parts of animal or vegetable wax,

or of animal or vegetable fatty matter, and then dissolved in rectified

spirits of turpentine, and evaporate as before. As these varnishes

combine readily with colors, they afford the means of rendering a

numerous class of articles, such as elastic rings, bands, bandages,

straps, &c., much more extensively, suitable and vendible than before.

These varnishes mixed with colors, may also be used for the purpose of

painting or printing cloth, leather, or any other fabric. These

varnishes will also be found very useful as cements, particularly in

combining gutta-percha and its compound, with silk, cotton, and other

textile fabrics.”

* * * * *

_Eleventhly_, “My invention consists in making cards for carding cotton

and other fibrous materials, in manner following—I make the backs either

of _gutta-percha alone_, spread in a plastic state to a sufficient

thickness on a cloth, or felt, or other suitable foundation, or of any

of the gutta-percha compounds which are of sufficient flexibility and

consistence for the purpose. And I insert the metal teeth in these

backs, according to any of the known methods followed in the manufacture

of such cards.”

_Twelfthly_, “My invention consists in mixing with the gutta-percha

prepared in the manner first hereinbefore described and exemplified in

the masticating machine, shellac, or resin, or asphalt, or some other

resinous or bituminous matter; and when the materials are thoroughly

amalgamated, I spread the mixture while in a fluid state, upon cloth or

leather, or any other suitable foundation.

* * * * *

“For low priced articles, I sometimes combine caoutchouc and sulphur

with vegetable or Stockholm pitch; and when spread into sheets or made

up into other forms, I vulcanize the compound. The proportions may be

varied very considerably, as well as the temperatures at which they are

vulcanized; but I find the following to answer well: 8 parts caoutchouc,

2 sulphur, 3 pitch; or 8 parts caoutchouc, 2 sulphur, 1 pitch, submitted

to a temperature of 290° for an hour. To prevent blistering and

porosity, if necessary, I employ pressure by means of screw cramps and

plates, or otherwise, during the vulcanizing. This material is

applicable to railway packing, and other rough uses.

“I also combine and vulcanize in the same manner caoutchouc, sulphur,

and resins, preferring on account of its cheapness the common resin of

commerce. The proportions and temperature, as in the case of pitch, may

be varied; but the following I find to be useful for many purposes: 16

parts caoutchouc, 2 parts sulphur, 6 parts resin; or 16 caoutchouc, 4

sulphur, 2 resin. These compounds may be submitted to the same treatment

as in the case of pitch, and are applicable to similar uses. For some

purposes, I also combine caoutchouc and sulphur with wood or cork dust,

or fibrous substances, such as hemp and flax, or any other suitable

material cut into short lengths, and vulcanize such compounds, either in

blocks, or spread, or otherwise wrought into sheets, or formed into

figures, or embossed, or ornamented as before described.”

* * * * *

The following account of “Parke’s Improvements in Dyeing” will be found

to be very important:

I will now proceed to describe another part of my invention, which

consists in dyeing caoutchouc and gutta-percha alone, or in combination;

and afterwards, when desired, treating those matters by changing agents,

according to either of the methods herein described.

To dye caoutchouc, or gutta-percha, or their compounds, black, I boil

the same from a quarter of an hour to half an hour in the following

preparation: I take one pound of sulphate of copper dissolved in one

gallon of water, one pound of caustic ammonia, or muriate of ammonia; or

I take and boil one pound of sulphate or bisulphate of potash, and half

a pound of sulphate of copper with one gallon of water. To dye

caoutchouc, or gutta-percha, or their compounds, green, I take one pound

of muriate of ammonia, half a pound of sulphate of copper, two pounds of

caustic lime, and one gallon of water, and boil as before, from quarter

to half an hour. Another dye producing a purple tinge, I obtain by using

one pound of sulphate or bisulphate of potash, a quarter of a pound of

sulphate of copper, and a quarter of a pound of sulphate of indigo, and

boil the caoutchouc, or gutta-percha, or compounds, from one quarter to

half an hour. The depth of color may be varied by varying the proportion

of the ingredients used. When it is wished to color caoutchouc, or

gutta-percha, or their compounds, I employ the following colors, but do

not confine myself thereto, nor do I make any claim to the same. For

_blue_, those known in commerce as Victoria blue and ultramarine. For

_red_, vermillion, carmine or rose lake. For _green_, Brunswick green or

acetate of copper. For _yellow_, chrome yellow or oxide uranium. For

_white_, the color known as satin white; and I prefer generally to use

this color as a _ground_ for the colors above named, and I would here

observe, that the coloring processes precede those for “the change.”

HANCOCK’S PATENT.

To CHARLES HANCOCK of Grosvenor Place, Middlesex, London, for certain

improvements in the preparation of gutta-percha, and in the application

thereof, alone and in combination with other materials, to manufacturing

purposes; which improvements are also applicable to other substances.

Sealed, February 10th, 1847.

This invention relates, _firstly_, to the methods and machinery employed

for preparing gutta-percha for manufacturing purposes.

_Secondly_, to certain improvements or processes previously secured to

the present patentee, and consisting in sulphuretting gutta-percha,

(since called metallo-thionizing) and in applying these improvements to

the sulphuretting of caoutchouc and jintawan.

In the last-mentioned specification, the patentee recommends that the

sulphuretting of the gutta-percha should be effected by means of

sulphurets, such as orpiment or liver of sulphur, in preference to

sulphur itself; and he there states that though a portion of sulphur

might be used in place of an equal portion of sulphuret, yet he

conceives the use of sulphur to be altogether objectionable, because of

its offensive smell and tendency to effervesce. He has since ascertained

that if a minute portion of sulphur be used along with a sulphuret, a

better result is obtained from a combination of the two than from either

substance alone. The proportions which he finds to be the best are, 6

parts of sulphuret of antimony, or hydrosulphate of lime, or some

analogous sulphuret, and 1 part of sulphur to 48 parts of gutta-percha:

when these materials have been mixed, the compound is to be put into a

boiler and heated (under pressure) to a temperature of from 260° to 300°

Fah.; and it is to be left in this state for a period varying from half

an hour to two hours, according to the thickness of the materials; by

which times the gutta-percha becomes completely sulphuretted or

metallo-thionized. The patentee applies precisely the same combination

of materials (i. e., a sulphuret and a small quantity of sulphur) to the

sulphuretting of India-rubber and jintawan, and in the same way. * * *

The _fourth_ mode consists in making a paste of the sulphuret and

sulphur with the addition of a small quantity of gutta-percha or

caoutchouc solution, brushing it over the material to be sulphuretted,

and then subjecting the same to one of the three processes as described.

The invention consists, _fourthly_, in the following means of improving

gutta-percha, both in a sulphuretted and unsulphuretted state, and in

the application of the same to caoutchouc and jintawan in the like

conditions.

The patentee either exposes the material for a minute or two to the

action of binoxide of nitrogen gas, (obtained by the usual method of

dissolving a metal, such as zinc, copper, mercury, in nitric acid) or he

immerses it in a boiling and concentrated solution of chloride of zinc,

for a period varying from one to five minutes, according to the strength

of the solution; and in either case, he afterwards washes the material

with some alkaline solution, or with soft water. The material may be

subjected to the action of the binoxide of nitrogen gas, either by

putting it into the acid while the metal is in the course of being

dissolved and the gas evolved, or by introducing it into a chamber in

which the gas has been collected for the purpose.

Gutta-percha which has been thus treated (whether sulphuretted or

unsulphuretted), becomes exceedingly smooth and of a lustre approaching

to metallic: so also does common unsulphuretted caoutchouc (rubber) with

the addition of being entirely freed from that stickiness peculiar to

it, while sulphuretted caoutchouc acquires under such treatment, all the

downy softness of velvet. * * *

The _sixth_ part of the invention consists in producing a new compound

of gutta-percha by mixing, in a masticating machine, six parts thereof

with one part of chloride of zinc; and in forming new compounds of

caoutchouc and jintawan by a like proportional combination. All these

compounds admit of being afterwards sulphuretted or sulphurized.

The _seventh_ part of the invention consists in an improved combination

of materials for _producing a porous and spongy gutta-percha_, fit for

stuffing or forming the seats of chairs, cushions, mattresses, saddles,

horse-collars, railway carriage-buffers, and other like articles,

similar to that described in the specification before alluded to; and in

the application of the said improved combination of materials to the

rendering of caoutchouc and jintawan similarly porous and spongy. The

patentee takes 40 parts of gutta-percha, India-rubber or jintawan

(moistened when a very light product is desired, with oil of turpentine,

naptha, bi-sulphuret of carbon, or other proper solvent), 6 parts of

hydrosulphuret of lime, sulphuret of antimony, or any other analogous

sulphuret, 10 parts of carbonate of ammonia, carbonate of lime, or other

substance that is either volatile or capable of yielding a volatile

product, and one part of sulphur. He mixes these materials together in a

masticator, and then subjects them to a high degree of heat, observing

the same conditions in respect thereof, which are set forth in the

specifications alluded to; except only that the heat may be pushed with

advantage several degrees higher, say to from 260 to 300°.

The _ninth_ part of the invention consists in producing by the

combination of gutta-percha, caoutchouc and jintawan, with other

materials, a fabric of a permanent lustre, resembling that of japanned

goods, and in giving the like lustre to articles made of any of these

materials in a sulphuretted state. The patentee takes the gutta-percha,

caoutchouc, or jintawan after it has been sulphuretted, and either

before or after it has been made into an article of use, and brushes it

over with a solution of resin in boiling oil; he then places it for from

two to five hours in a chamber heated to from 75 to 100° Fahrenheit; and

afterwards polishes it by the means and in the manner usually adopted by

Japanners. In some instances coloring matters are mixed with the

Japanning materials, which are to be applied by blocks, cylinders, or

rollers, in the usual way of floor cloth printing.

RE-VULCANIZATION.

Patent dated December 30th, 1847, for “Improvement in the Treating and

Manufacture of Gutta-percha, or any of the varieties of Caoutchouc.”

Patentees, THOMAS HANCOCK, of Stoke Newington, and REUBEN PHILLIPS, of

Islington, chemists. Specifications enrolled June 30, 1847.

The patentees state that their improvements consist in the dissolving of

gutta-percha, or any of the varieties of caoutchouc, or of reducing any

of them to a soft, pulpy, and gelatinous state after they have undergone

the process of “vulcanization or conversion;” also in preparing or

treating unvulcanized, or unconverted solutions of any of these

substances, so as to bring them into a vulcanized or converted state;

and, lastly, in the moulds employed in the manufacture of articles

therefrom. The term “vulcanized” or “converted” are used to designate

certain processes by which these substances are rendered less liable to

be injuriously affected by exposure to comparatively high temperatures,

and which were described, the first in the specification of a patent

granted to Mr. Thomas Hancock,[2] November 21, 1843, and the record in

that of a patent granted to Mr. Alexander Parker,[3] August 25, 1846.

Footnote 2:

See London Mechanics Magazine, vol. xlii. pp. 112 and 150.

Footnote 3:

See London Mechanics Magazine, vol. xlv. p. 400.

The patentees desire to be understood, that when employing the term

gutta-percha, or any of the varieties of caoutchouc, as referring to all

those substances known to the Indians, or natives of the country where

they are produced, under the names of saiknah, gutta-tuban,

gutta-percha, jintawan, dollah, &c., in this country of bottle, root,

sheet, scrap, India-rubber, &c. In operating upon any of these

materials, which have previously undergone the vulcanizing or converting

process, it is preferred to use the cuttings or waste of them, as being

an _economical application_ of what _would otherwise be useless_. These

cuttings or waste, are first submitted to the action of rollers, or

other suitable machinery for reducing them to shreds, and then boiled in

oil of turpentine until reduced to the requisite consistency. Other

solvents may be employed, such as coal, naptha, &c., but in that case,

in order that the solvents may attain to a degree of temperature

sufficiently high to dissolve the material, close vessels must be

employed, for which reason, oil of turpentine is preferred.

No fixed rule, it is stated, can be given for the guidance of the

workman to enable him to determine the relative proportion of the

material to the solvent, the time for conducting the operation, or the

degree of temperature, on account of the varieties of the material, and

the degree of vulcanization or conversion to which it has been

subjected; for these and other details he must rely upon his own

intelligence, and the result of actual experience.

The rule which the patentees, however, state that they have found to be

the best, under ordinary circumstances, it is to just cover the material

when prepared and placed in the vessel with the solvent, and then to add

about one-third more, and maintain the mixture at the boiling point of

oil of turpentine, for about from 15 to 30 minutes. The consistency of

the mixture may subsequently be increased or diminished by evaporating,

or by the addition of oil of turpentine, coal, naptha, or other solvent.

When the material has been rendered hard or horny by vulcanization or

conversion, the time necessary to dissolve it or reduce it to a soft

pulpy state would be so long, as to render the preceding process

worthless.

The mode of operating under the second head consists in mixing from

eight to twelve parts of sulphur, with every one hundred parts of the

solid material in solution, and then subjecting the mixture to the

necessary degree of heat to produce the vulcanized or converted state.

The patentee mentions numerous applications of these solutions, among

which may be cited water-proofing, and the employment of them as a

medium for colors in painting, and in printing calico, &c.

The improvements in moulds consists in making them of a material easily

soluble at low temperatures, such as D’Arcet’s metal, &c., so that they

may be broken up, and easily removed from the moulded article without

injury to them.

To ANTHONY LORIMIER, London, England. For improvements in combining

gutta-percha and caoutchouc with other materials. (Sealed 10th of July,

1848.)

The first part of this invention consists in cutting gutta-percha into

very thin shavings, (which the patentee prefers to effect by the use of

certain described machinery, or any other suitable means may be

employed); then drying the same by spreading them over any suitable

surface, and afterwards subjecting the shavings of gutta-percha to the

action of other machinery, by which they are bent in various directions

and reduced or divided into smaller pieces; by this means the impurities

will be separated without the use of heat or water, and the gutta-percha

rendered suitable for use at a very small cost.

* * * * *

The second part of the invention consists in combining gutta-percha with

burned clay, burned flint, broken articles of earthen ware and china,

marble, Portland, Cornish, or other stones, crushed and sifted, likewise

oxide of zinc, oxide of copper, hydrate of lime, oxalate of lime, and

also a compound of lime slaked with oxalic acid dissolved in water; in

preparing this compound, about three pounds of acid are used to each

bushel of lime; the acid is first dissolved in a sufficient quantity of

water for slaking that quantity of lime; and after the solution has been

added to the lime, the product is well dried and sifted. Any one or more

of these materials may be combined with gutta-percha, with or without

other materials, so as to produce new compounds of gutta-percha, useful

for moulding articles, or for making sheets, _suitable to be cut into

soles for boots and shoes_, straps, bands and other articles.

The above matters are to be ground very fine and sifted; and the

gutta-percha may be combined therewith, by any convenient means; but the

patentee prefers to lay the gutta-percha on a heated plate, and roll it

into a sheet, then to sift the materials over the sheet, and fold and

re-fold the same, and to repeat the rolling, folding and sifting of the

materials, until the desired compound is produced; or he rolls the

gutta-percha between two smooth heated rollers, then dusts on the powder

and folds the sheets, and again and again rolls the same till the

desired mixture is obtained. He further states that in place of using

the “welding machine,” he can employ like means to those just described

for combining the small pieces or shavings of gutta-percha into a mass.

The compound of gutta-percha may, whilst still in a heated state, be

moulded to any desired form, or rolled into sheets. When great

_elasticity is required_, caoutchouc (India-rubber) is mixed with such

compounds of gutta-percha.

CHARLES HANCOCK, of Broughton, gentleman. For “certain improved

preparations and compounds of gutta-percha, and certain improvements in

the manufacture of articles and fabrics composed of gutta-percha alone,

and in combination with other substances.” Patent, dated May 11, 1848;

specification enrolled Nov. 11, 1848.

_Specification._—In making water-proof shoes and galoshoes of

gutta-percha, I begin with casting the gutta-percha in moulds into

pieces or blocks, of a form suitable for the purpose. * * * * I next

take a last of the form desired to be given to the shoe or galosh, and

draw upon, or otherwise fit closely to it, some elastic or flexible

material which may serve as a lining for the gutta-percha, such as

cotton or woolen cloth, or knitted silk, or worsted, or cotton. I then

coat the outside of this intended lining, with a solution of

gutta-percha or caoutchouc, and leave it to dry. I next select a

gutta-percha block of the best form, adapted in its general outline to

the said last, and, by heating it in any convenient way, bring it to

such a plastic state that it may be readily moulded by the hand. I warm

also the last, with its elastic or flexible covering, but not to such a

degree as to decompose the gutta-percha or caoutchouc solution spread

over it; and these preparations having been made, I place the last upon

the block, adjust by hand the one to the other, and press the

gutta-percha, of which the block consists, into as close combination as

may be, with the elastic or flexible covering of the last. But, as in

the course of the preceding manipulations some inequalities of surface

may have been unavoidably produced, or the limits between the sole and

the upper not have been sufficiently defined, I once more bring the

whole into a warm or plastic state, by dipping the shoe or galosh (with

the last still inside of it) into hot water, or by exposing it to steam

or hot air, and then smooth it carefully all over. When it becomes cold

and hard, I run a revolving stile or other suitable instrument over the

contour lines, after which the last is withdrawn, which leaves the shoe

or galosh complete. Sometimes I use _hollow lasts_ made of _metal_,

glass, or earthen ware, and heated by steam, hot air, or hot water.

When made in the manner just described, the article, though water-tight,

is of a dull appearance; but it may have a _high polish_ given to it, or

to any part of it, by applying glass or porcelain moulds to it, after it

has undergone the process last hereinbefore mentioned, and while it is

yet in a warm and impressible state; each of these moulds being a fac

simile in reverse, in some portion only of the last, (as for example,

the sole or the upper) and not removed, after being so applied, till the

materials beneath have become quite cold. Shoes made of gutta-percha, on

foundations of elastic or flexible materials, in the manner before

described, possess this great advantage over others, that the

foundations take up and disperse the perspiration of the foot, and

prevent it from condensing, to the injury of the health and comfort of

the wearer.

Exception has been taken to gutta-percha shoes and galoshoes on account

of their want of or deficiency in springiness. I remedy this, (when

desired) by making the block out of which the sole and upper is formed,

of two sheets or pieces of gutta-percha, and interposing between them,

while they are yet in a warm and plastic state, a thin plate of steel,

slightly bent in the direction from heel to tip, and press the whole

closely together, so that the metallic spring may become permanently

fixed, embodied in, and combined with other materials.

_Third._ I paint and print articles and fabrics made in whole or in part

of gutta-percha, and also other articles and fabrics of any color or

colors, and of any design or pattern, by using as a vehicle for the

pigments or other coloring matters, the following compound: I take one

part of caoutchouc and one part of gutta-percha, each dissolved in

spirits of turpentine, (or other suitable solvent,) add thereto four

parts of gold-oil size; mix the whole of these materials together in a

bath of hot water, and then thin with spirits of turpentine, it being of

advantage to use this compound in a very thin state. The pigments or

other coloring matters should be well ground up in turpentine before

they are mixed with the vehicle. The proportions such as I have given,

are such as I find to answer, on the whole, best in practice.

In carrying out the different improvements which I have hereinbefore

specified, I uniformly prefer employing such gutta-percha, or compound

of gutta-percha, as has been prepared by boiling or by masticating it in

a bath of water and muriate of lime, but to this mode of preparation I

do not here lay any claim.

To make a compound preferable to any yet in use for casting and moulding

purposes, for water-proofing cloth, leather, and other articles and

fabrics, and for coating ships’ bottoms, lining tanks and cisterns, &c.,

I mix with gutta-percha which has been first boiled in a bath of muriate

of lime, and then masticated thoroughly, and while it is yet undergoing

the process of mastication, a compound of shellac and borax, adding the

same little by little as the mastication proceeds, and using more or

less, according as it is desired to make the compound more or less

tenacious. The compound of shellac and borax is prepared by boiling in a

steam kettle over a common fire, five parts stick lac, or shell lac, or

seed lac, with one part of borax, in so much water as will just cover

these materials, and evaporating the water according to the thickness

desired to be given to the compound. Any desired color may be given to

this mixture of gutta-percha, shellac and borax, by mixing the requisite

pigment or coloring matter with the shellac and borax compounds.

The improvements which I claim in my invention are as follows:

_First._ I claim the mode of making shoes and galoshoes of gutta-percha,

combined with other materials first before described, in so far as

regards the combination of elastic or flexible foundations with

gutta-percha soles and uppers.

_Second._ I claim the employment of glass moulds to give a polish to the

exterior or parts of the exterior of shoes and galoshoes made in whole

or in part of gutta-percha, as before described.

_Third._ I claim the making of backs and stocks for brushes in whole or

in part of gutta-percha, in order to give springiness to the same.

_Fourth._ I claim the making of backs and stocks for brushes in whole or

in part of gutta-percha, as before described and exemplified.

_Fifth._ I claim the employment for painting, printing, or otherwise

applying colors to articles and fabrics made in whole or in part of

gutta-percha, and also to other articles and fabrics of the particular

compound or vehicle hereinbefore specified, but without limiting myself

to the exact proportions in which each of the materials has been

directed to be used in such compound or vehicle, inasmuch as the said

proportions may be varied without affecting the general result.

_Sixth._ I claim the employment, for all manufacturing purposes to which

the same are applicable, of the several other improved preparations and

compounds of gutta-percha specified under the fourth head of this

specification, each in the peculiar combination of materials of which

the same consists, and the peculiar process or processes by which it is

prepared.

JAMES CARTLEY, of Harpenden, Hertford, manufacturing chemist, _for

improvement in the manufacture of varnishes from resinous substances_.

Patent dated January 11, 1849.

This invention consists,

_First._ In manufacturing in manner following, from resin spirit, and

the gum resin called gutta-percha or gutta taban, a new compound or

varnish which possesses the properties of being strongly adhesive and

perfectly _water repellent_. The patentee puts into a pot three parts,

by weight, of the gutta-percha or gutta taban, as imported or as it may

be bought in the home market, and adds nine parts of crude resin spirit,

(obtained by the destructive distillation of common resin) and subject

them to a heat of from 120° to 140° Fah., stirring the mixture

occasionally. The resulting solution forms a varnish which answers well

for the coating of all coarse fabrics, such as tarpaulings, rick cloth,

&c. But to obtain a varnish of a purer and better quality, suitable for

fine articles, he rectified resin spirit, which he obtains by passing a

current of steam through the crude resin spirit until the condensed

product which comes over exhibits a specific gravity of about 0.870, at

which point the process of distillation must be stopped, all products of

a higher specific gravity being injurious to the quality of the spirit.

_Claim 1st._ The manufacture of the new varnish compounded of

gutta-percha and resin spirit, (crude, rectified, or purified,) as

before described.

_Second._ The manufacture of the new varnishes compounded of gum damar

and resin spirit, or of gum mastic and resin spirit, whether such spirit

is rectified and decolorized or rectified only, as before described.

WILLIAM HENRY BURKE, Tottenham, manufacturer. For improvements in the

manufacture of air-proof and water-proof fabrics, and in the preparation

of caoutchouc and gutta-percha, either alone, or in combination with

other materials, the same to be applicable to articles of wearing

apparel, bands, straps, and other similar useful purposes. Patent dated

April 26, 1849.

_First._ Mr. Burke proposes to employ a compound of antimony instead of

sulphur, for the purpose of rendering caoutchouc, gutta-percha, or their

compounds permanently elastic, and unaffected by changes of temperature.

The compound is prepared by mixing 1 part of crude antimony with 25

parts of crystallized carbonate of soda, or 20 parts of carbonate of

potash, and 250 or 300 parts of water. The mixture is boiled from half

an hour to three-quarters, and allowed to precipitate, when the

supernatant liquid is run off. The precipitate is then dried and

incorporated with the caoutchouc in a masticating machine in the

proportion of from five to fifteen per cent. When bands or other

articles are to be cut from blocks of caoutchouc, it is taken, while

warm, from the masticating machine, and subjected to pressure for one or

two days.

_Second._ It is also proposed to manufacture driving bands, by spreading

the material dissolved in a suitable menstrum, with calender rollers,

upon pieces of calico or other fabric, powdered with French chalk, to

allow of the easy separation of the two, and to increase the rigidity

and durability of gutta-percha driving bands, stripes of some fabric are

to be affixed to the wearing parts, and both surfaces coated with the

antimonized caoutchouc.

_Third._ To remove the shiny appearance of single texture garments, &c.,

Mr. Burke coats them with the antimonized caoutchouc, dissolved in some

suitable menstrum, and mixed with ground silk or cotton, which is stated

to have the effect of giving the article the appearance of cloth.

_Fourth._ Gutta percha soles and heels are proposed to be defended at

the edges, where they are exposed to great wear and tear, with metal

tips, shields, and guards.

CLAIMS.

_First._ The treating caoutchouc, gutta-percha, or their compounds, with

the antimony compound.

_Second._ The mode of manufacturing driving bands.

_Third._ Coating water proof articles with antimonized caoutchouc, mixed

with ground silk, cotton, or wool.

_Fourth._ The manufacture of gutta-percha soles and heels with metal

tips, shields, and guards.

DESCRIPTION OF HANCOCK AND CO.’S PATENT GUTTA-PERCHA HEEL TIPS.

_From the London Mechanics’ Magazine, Vol. LI._

SIR:—We are reminded weekly by the advertisement in your Number, that

gutta-percha “must be regarded as one of the blessings of a gracious

Providence.” Doubtless this, as well as every other natural production,

should be so regarded, although in the state in which it is left by

Providence it would be of little use were it not for the additional

blessings of ingenious-minded men, (as the Hancocks and others) by whose

skill the crude gifts of Providence are manipulated and presented to our

acceptance in a thousand beautiful and highly useful forms.

As weather-proof, and consequently _health-preserving soles_ for boots

and shoes, gutta-percha most assuredly stands unrivalled. The

application of this material to _heels_ has not hitherto been equally

successful, from its being unequal to withstand the vast amount of wear

and tear, to which this part of our understanding is subjected, one

consequence of which is liability to spread, and become worn and ragged

on its edges. For this defect, however, an efficient remedy has been

provided in the compound heel tips, invented by Mr. B. Tyler, of

Sheffield, and manufactured under Messrs. Hancock & Co.’s patent. The

frame or border of this improved steel tip consists of a rim of cast

iron or steel, furnished with tangs or projections. This frame is filled

up with a tough compound of gutta-percha and cork, which encloses the

tangs. The heel thus formed, requires no nailing to affix it to the boot

or shoe, a coating of solution being sufficient for that purpose. Thus

arranged, the metal and gutta-percha mutually aid and support each

other; no spreading can take place, nor can the edges become worn or

ragged. These tips never become loose, neither are they liable to become

slippery. Having worn them for more than two years, I can with

confidence assert them to be the best contrivance extant for the

purpose. * * *

I am, Sir, yours &c.

WILLIAM BADDELEY,

_29 Alfred Street, Islington_.

EDWARD JOHN PAINE, Chancery Lane, London. For improvements in marine

vessels, in apparatus for the preservation of human life, and moulding,

joining and finishing hollow and solid figures, composed wholly or in

part of a certain gum, or a combination of a certain gum; also for

improvements in dissolving the aforesaid gums, and in apparatus or

machinery to be used for the purposes above mentioned. Patent dated June

7, 1849.

* * * * *

A WATER PROOF VARNISH.—Mix together 1 lb. gutta-percha, 3 oz. gum opal,

½ lb. linseed oil, 8 oz. sugar of lead, 2 lbs. spirits of turpentine.

Place the mixture in a tincture press, the cylinder of which is heated

by a sand bath, and the produce is the varnish required.

A VARNISH WITH WHICH COLORS MAY BE MIXED, AND VERY SUITABLE FOR COATING

ARTICLES IN GUTTA-PERCHA.—Take 100 lbs. gutta-percha, 18 lbs. 12 oz. gum

opal, 50 lbs. linseed oil, 200 lbs. spirits of turpentine, and mix the

whole together.

A VARNISH FOR UNPAINTED ARTICLES IN ROUGH WOOD.—Take 50 lbs.

India-rubber, 100 lbs. gutta-percha, 30 lbs. gum opal, 70 lbs. gum

damar, 150 lbs. linseed oil, 75 lbs. sugar of lead, 500 lbs. spirits of

turpentine.

A VARNISH FOR ARTICLES OF METAL.—Take 100 lbs. gutta-percha, 20 lbs. gum

opal, 75 lbs. linseed oil, 25 lbs. sugar of lead, 200 lbs. spirits of

turpentine.

W. JOHNSON. Improvements in the treatment, preparation, or manufacture

of sheet caoutchouc, and in the combination thereof with cloth and other

fabrics. (A communication.) Dated October 3, 1856.

This relates to a mode of preparing sheets of caoutchouc, and combining

them firmly with cloth and other fabrics, to produce goods for the

manufacture of articles of various degrees of elasticity, and consists

in preparing sheets of vulcanized caoutchouc, by desulphurizing their

surfaces by first boiling the sheets in caustic alkali, and afterwards

in salt pickle, to neutralize the alkali remaining on the sheet, and

then washing the same. These sheets are then roughed on their surfaces,

and the fabric to which they are to be applied is prepared by coating

the surfaces thinly with a solution of caoutchouc dissolved in some

solvent, and then thoroughly evaporating the solvent.

F. C. JEUNE. An improved manufacture of floor cloth. Dated May 26, 1856.

The patentee mixes in a masticating machine, India-rubber, (partly the

waste of vulcanized rubber) and gutta percha, to produce a binding

substance, and throws in ground cedar wood, or other vegetable dust, for

increasing the bulk, and reducing the cost. When the mixing is effected,

he adds fibrous substances in length, to impart toughness, and rolls the

compound between rollers into sheets, which he submits to steam or hot

air, to complete the adhesion of the particles.

C. GOODYEAR. An improvement in combining gutta-percha and asphalt or

pitch. Dated August 30, 1856.

This consists in combining gutta-percha with asphalt or pitch, by the

aid of hot water. They are, when desired, further combined with sulphur,

with India-rubber, or other matters; and compounds are, when required,

subjected to high temperature.

A. LORIMIER. An improvement in re-working vulcanized India-rubber. Dated

October 20, 1856.

This consists in preparing the waste of vulcanized India-rubber by

crushing the same between pressing rollers, then subjecting it to a

considerable degree of heat, and whilst so heated causing it to be

stirred, by which means the mass is progressively brought into a fluid

state. It is then allowed to cool, but before becoming cold, a solvent

of India-rubber is added, by which an India-rubber cement is produced.

GEORGE SIMPSON, Newington, Butts, chemist, and THOMAS FOSTER, Stratham,

manufacturer. For improvement in manufacturing, or treating solvents of

India-rubber, and of other gums or substances. Patent dated April 26,

1849.

_First._ Bisulphuret of carbon is placed in an iron still, the top of

which opens into an earthen ware vessel containing pentuchloride of

antimony, and a pipe leads from the top of this vessel, to the worm of

an earthen-ware condensor. The still and first vessel are heated by

steam jackets. The resulting product flows from the condensor to a

reservoir, after which, it is rectified by lime and is then ready for

use as a solvent. Before rectification, the India-rubber, gutta-percha,

or other gum may be immersed in it, or exposed to its fumes and thereby

rendered less liable to injury from the effects of cold or heat.

_Second._ Coal is purified and rendered applicable as a solvent of these

gums by being subjected to a similar process, chloride of lime in

solution being substituted for the pentuchloride of antimony.

_Claims._ 1st, The manufacture of chloride and bichloride of carbon, and

its application as a solvent of India-rubber, gutta-percha, and other

gums not soluble in water, and the mode of treating rubber, as

described.

_Second._ The mode of treating coal oil with chloride of lime, for the

purpose of obtaining a solvent of the before mentioned gums.

TO GUSTAVE EUGENE MICHEL GERARD, of Paris, in the Republic of France.

For improvements in dissolving caoutchouc (India-rubber), and

gutta-percha. [Sealed May 7, 1850.]

This invention consists in certain improved means of dissolving

India-rubber and gutta-percha.

The patentee commences his specification by remarking that heretofore

all solutions of India-rubber, whether clear or thick, have possessed

great coherence and elasticity; the solvent, whatever it may have been,

has always expanded the gum to a great extent; and as it is not until

after this has taken place that the real act of dissolving the gum

commences, a large quantity of the solvent is consequently required.

* * *

The new process consists in mixing with the solvent (of whatever nature

it may be) a certain quantity of alcohol, and macerating therein the

India-rubber or gutta-percha, which will expand very little, and at the

end of twenty-four hours, it will be in the state of paste, suitable for

being moulded into any desired form. The patentee prefers to employ as a

solvent, sulphuret of carbon, chloroform, sulphuric ether, naptha,

essential oils of coal, or turpentine, and to add thereto from five to

fifty per cent. of alcohol. The caoutchouc is mixed with the alcoholized

solvents in all proportions, varying from equal parts to thirty parts of

the latter, to one of the former, according to the thickness of the

solution required, and after one or two days, the paste is submitted to

the ordinary process of masticating, if the solution is made of equal

parts, or when it is made of small quantities of the solvent; in other

cases it is not necessary. The patentee adopts the same system when

treating gutta-percha. He dissolves it in the alcoholized sulphuret of

carbon, and dilutes it until it arrives at the consistence of thick

syrup of sugar. In this state he permits it to remain three or four

days, during which time, the impurities will be precipitated or rise to

the surface; and then he draws off the gutta-percha in a state of

complete purity.

It will be seen that the character of the invention is the mixture of

alcohol with the solvent used for dissolving caoutchouc, and

gutta-percha. As alcohol is the liquid which most quickly precipitates

India-rubber from its solutions, the patentee avails himself of this

property, by causing the alcohol, by means of a solvent, to enter into

the interior parts of the India-rubber, or to detach all the adherent

atoms which form the mass of the caoutchouc. By the addition of the

alcohol, the particles are rendered less adherent among themselves, and

are easily separated by pressure, retaining the form resulting from this

pressure, and not returning to their ordinary form. On the solvent and

the alcohol being evaporated, the caoutchouc will return to its original

state. All liquids which possess the properties of alcohol may be mixed

with the solvents. The principle of this invention is the causing

matters which are not of a solvent nature, to be introduced into the

body of the India-rubber by means of a solvent, such matters having the

property to disunite the parts constituting the mass of India-rubber,

and destroy the adherence of the particles, whether these matters are

combined with the solvents, or introduced by themselves.

TO WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office of Patents, 66 Chancery Lane,

London, England. For improvements applicable to Boots, Shoes and other

coverings for, or appliances to the feet. [Sealed 6th of June, 1850.]

The first part of this invention consists in providing the under surface

of India-rubber shoes, buskins, gaiters, boots, and over-shoes, with

projecting metallic points, permanently secured in or to the soles, so

as to render the same less liable to slip or slide, when used in walking

over snow, ice, or other smooth or slippery surfaces.

In carrying out this improvement, the inventor procures short metallic

points, in the form of headed rivets, in length very slightly exceeding

the thickness of the sole, having a head of any convenient size. The

diameter of the head is not material, but it should not be less than an

ordinary rivet-head; and the size of the projecting portion should be,

for light shoes, about 1/20 of an inch in diameter, which may be

increased according to the size of the shoe,—care being taken not to

render the shoe burdensome. Before the sole is applied to the shoe,

these rivets or points are inserted through perforations in the sole, so

that the heads shall rest upon the inner surface, and the points project

through and beyond the outer surface, but so slightly that they can

scarcely be felt in passing the hand over the surface. The sole thus

prepared, is then applied in the usual manner, to the shoe. Another mode

of providing the sole with such points, differs from the foregoing, in

this respect only;—instead of using a number of headed rivets, the

patentee takes a metallic plate, with projecting points, which may be

cast for the purpose, so that when the points are inserted in the sole,

the projecting points on the outer surface will be similar to those

prepared with rivets as above described; while, on the inner surface,

instead of presenting several heads, there will be one plate, which may

be treated as one connecting head for all the rivets.

The third part of the invention relates to a method of making that kind

of shoes known as clogs, and consists in making them of India-rubber, or

the compounds thereof, and of what the inventor denominates India-rubber

sponge, moulded of the desired form, with the upper part of the sole,

which comes in contact with the sole of the shoe or boot, formed with a

ring all around, and protuberances, so as to give the desired elevation

with little weight.

The operator mixes sugar or resin with the India-rubber, prepared in the

usual manner for vulcanizing, in the proportion of one-quarter of a

pound of sugar or resin to each pound of India-rubber; and after the

compound has been worked and treated in the usual manner, he forms the

clog thereof, in a mould, and subjects it to the curing or vulcanizing

process, by which it is rendered spongy and light. The mould is so

formed as to make the sole thin, with a rim all round and protuberances

within, for the boot or shoe to rest on, to give the foot the required

elevation from the ground. The sole thus prepared, can be provided with

a toe-piece and heel-strap, as described under the second part of the

invention, or it may be provided with any other means of securing it to

the foot.

The last part of the invention relates to a mode or modes of making

India-rubber shoes or coverings for the feet pervious to perspiration,

and yet impervious, under ordinary circumstances, to water or damp. This

object may be effected by taking a quantity of India-rubber sponge and

rolling it into thin sheets, which sheets may be made into boots, shoes,

or coverings for the feet, and as they will be found to be covered with

a great number of very fine holes, they will allow the perspiration to

pass through, but will effectually keep out the wet.

It is preferred, however, to perforate the India-rubber by mechanical

means, as a greater amount of regularity may be thereby attained, and

the perforating process will be more under command. When the sheet

rubber is made up into boots or coverings for the feet, it will be

necessary either to leave those parts of the boot nearest to the sole,

and most exposed to the wet, unperforated and impervious, or to cover

those parts with an impervious material, leaving only the upper part

pervious to perspiration. Under this head of the invention the claim is

for making boots, shoes, and other coverings for the feet, pervious to

the perspiration of the wearer, by making such articles of sheet rubber,

previously perforated with minute holes.

TO ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office of Patents, in Chancery Lane,

London, England. For improvements in the preparation of materials for

the production of a composition or compositions applicable to the

manufacture of buttons, knife and razor handles, inkstands, door-knobs,

and other articles, where hardness, strength and durability are

required. (Sealed 4th of March, 1851.)[4]

Footnote 4:

This is one of the most important patents ever taken out, _being of

great practical utility_.

This invention relates to the preparation and treatment of caoutchouc

and gutta-percha, either alone or in combination, for the purpose of

producing a new manufacture or composition, applicable to various uses

where hardness, strength and durability are required. The composition

designed to be produced, will possess some of the characteristics of

horn, ivory, jet, and may, according to the color imparted to it, be

employed in place thereof; or it may be used as a substitute for costly

woods, and be applied to furniture in the form of veneer.

In treating caoutchouc (India-rubber) for this purpose, it is combined

with sulphur,—the best proportion being about equal parts, by weight, of

each ingredient. By combining sulphur in this proportion, with the

caoutchouc, and subjecting the compound to the curing operation,

(hereafter to be described) a hard substance will be produced, but a

still better result will be obtained by the introduction of magnesia or

lime, or of carbonate, or sulphate of magnesia, or carbonate or sulphate

of lime, or calcined French chalk, or other magnesian earth, into the

composition, in which case, the following proportions will be found

highly advantageous, viz.; one pound of caoutchouc, half a pound of

sulphur, and half a pound of magnesia, or lime, or carbonate or sulphate

of magnesia, or carbonate or sulphate of lime, or calcined French chalk,

or other magnesian earth. The proportions specified in both of these

compounds, may be considerably varied without materially changing the

result; but in no case is it desirable to use a much less quantity of

sulphur than four ounces to every pound of caoutchouc. With either of

these compounds just described, gum lac, or gum shellac, may be combined

to great advantage,—say, in the proportion of from four to eight ounces

of gum lac to every pound of caoutchouc. Rosin, oxides or salts of lead

or zinc, of all colors, and other similar substances, both mineral and

vegetable, may be added in small quantities, to either of the compounds,

for the purpose of imparting a polish, or a color thereto, and for

making the mixture work more easily; but no precise rule for these

additions can be given; nor, indeed, is it necessary, as the taste and

judgment of the operator will be his guide in this particular.

The compounds produced according to the above plans, are next treated in

the manner to be presently described; but, as this process is equally

applicable to the treatment of other compositions included in this

invention, the patentee first explains of what these compositions

consist. When using gutta-percha in lieu of India-rubber, the inventor

takes certain proportions of gutta-percha, sulphur and magnesia, or

lime, or a carbonate, or a sulphate of magnesia or lime, or calcined

French chalk, or other magnesian earth, and mixes them in a convenient

manner.

The portions preferred are the following, viz.—one pound of

gutta-percha, six ounces of sulphur, and from six to eight ounces of

either magnesia or lime, or a carbonate, or a sulphate of magnesia or of

lime, or calcined French chalk, or other magnesian earth. Instead of

using the specified proportion of the magnesia or lime, or of the

carbonate or sulphate of magnesia or lime, or of calcine French chalk or

other magnesian earth, the same proportion of any two or more of these

substances combined, may be employed, care being taken that the quantity

of this third ingredient in the composition does not vary from the

proportion of six or eight ounces. These proportions may, however, be

slightly varied, without materially changing the result.

To the composition above specified, a fourth ingredient may be added,

viz., gum shellac, by which a still better article will be produced—the

body thus obtained being stronger and more easily worked. The quantity

of shellac, in such case, should be about four ounces to every pound of

gutta-percha.

Resin, oxide or salts of lead or zinc, of all colors, and other like

substances, both mineral and vegetable may be added, in small

quantities, to either of the above compositions, for the purposes before

stated with respect to the India-rubber composition.

The compounds described may be mixed by a masticating machine or other

means, until the several ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. The

mineral ingredients should be finely divided, and good results are

obtained by reducing them before mixture, to an impalpable powder.

When rolled or moulded, the compounds are then to be “cured.” This is

effected by exposing the compound to a high degree of artificial heat,

using for this purpose either steam, hot water, or hot air. The degree

of heat to which this compound is to be exposed, and the duration of its

exposure, will depend somewhat upon the size and thickness of the

article; but in ordinary cases the heat should be raised to about 260°

or 270°, Fah., and the compound exposed to such heat for about four

hours; as a general rule, however, it may be stated that the heat should

range from 250° to 300°, Fah., and the time of exposure from two to six

hours. The compounds or compositions by undergoing this heating or

curing operation, will become of a hard, stiff character, in many

respects resembling tortoise-shell, horn, bone, ivory, and jet. In the

compounds described as compositions of caoutchouc, considerable

proportions of gutta-percha may be substituted for caoutchouc (rubber)

without injury; and, in the compounds described as compositions of

gutta-percha, considerable proportions of caoutchouc may also be

substituted for gutta-percha without injury * * * *

The compositions, when hardened, may be worked like wood or bone; but,

in some instances, it is proposed to mould, shape, or otherwise treat

the compositions so as to render them better suited to the purpose for

which they are intended, prior to submitting them to the hardening

process. Thus when it is desired to use these new compositions in

combination with common flexible vulcanized caoutchouc, the parts

intended to be hardened may be united to a connecting band, or

connecting pieces of flexible vulcanized caoutchouc, by cementing or

pressing together the surfaces required to be joined, before the heating

or curing process has been effected; by which means, during the process

of curing, the abutting elastic and non-elastic surfaces will become

firmly united together.

* * * * *

Another mode of applying the composition consists in uniting them in

their plastic or green state with iron, or other metals or rigid

substances, which will bear a high degree of artificial heat without

alteration or damage, roughened in such portions of its surface as are

intended to be brought into contact with the compound of caoutchouc or

gutta-percha, and the compound is then applied to the roughened surface

of the article. When it is desired that the compound of caoutchouc or

gutta-percha shall serve as a covering to the iron or other substance, a

thin sheet of the compound (sometimes one thirty-second part of an inch

in thickness or less) is pressed with great care, upon the iron or other

substance, so as to expel all air from between the adjoining surfaces,

and to cause the most perfect union and adhesion, as the coated article

is bound with strips or ribbons of cloth, or other suitable material,

whereby the compound is kept in close contact with the article during

the process of hardening. The combined materials thus treated, will be

found to possess the qualities desired—the iron or other substance

giving strength and the compound giving a hard and durable surface. In

this way may be produced many articles used in and about harnesses or

carriages, such as saddle trees, buckles, terrels, bits, stirrups,

martingale rings, dasher-irons, and articles intended to be used as

furniture, either in whole or in part, and a great variety of other

useful objects.

A. FORD. _Preparing and dissolving in naptha or oil of turpentine,

vulcanized India-rubber for the purpose of water-proofing, and for all

or any of the other purposes for which the same not so prepared and

dissolved is now applicable, and expressly for the coating of iron

ships’ bottoms._ Dated June 27th, 1856.

The inventor first cuts the vulcanized India-rubber into small pieces,

and places it in a boiler, having within it an agitator or stirrer, kept

in constant motion during the process. The only openings into this

boiler are a main hole with a screw top; a safety-valve which comes into

action only when the pressure on the inner surface of the boiler exceeds

25 lbs. to the square inch, and the opening occasioned by the passage of

the stem of the agitator, which passes in at the summit. He then applies

heat in such a manner as that three-fourths of the outer surface of the

boiler shall be at once exposed to its influence, and at a temperature

of never more than 300° Fah.; and he continues the same until the

India-rubber shall be reduced to the consistence of dough, when he takes

it out, and having mixed with it a sufficient portion of French chalk in

powder to remove its adhesiveness, passes it a few times through metal

rollers, after which it is capable of being dissolved in naptha or oil

of turpentine in the manner of ordinary India-rubber. The _rationale_ of

the process is, that by means of the heat applied to the boiler, he

decomposes a small portion of the vulcanized India-rubber, whereby a gas

is generated which, filling the interior of the boiler, acts upon the

remaining portion, and softens it. The not allowing the gas to escape

is, therefore, a very important feature.

N. S. DODGE. _Improvements in treating vulcanized India-rubber or

gutta-percha._ Dated January 18th, 1856.

This invention relates to a mode of treating vulcanized India-rubber,

for rendering scraps or waste pieces, such as old shoes, &c., fit to be

re-used without requiring to be vulcanized. The material is reduced into

small pieces, and placed in a vessel hermetically closed, and to it is

added pure alcohol and bisulphate of carbon (¼lb. of the former, and 10

lbs. of the latter, to 100 lbs. of the material,) the alcohol and the

bisulphate being previously mixed together, and then poured over the

material to be treated. The vessel is then closed air-tight for two

hours, at the end of which the process is complete.

W. A. TURNER. _Improvements in the manufacture of elastic tubing._ Dated

February 29th, 1856.

The invention relates to tubing made of India-rubber and gutta-percha,

either separately or in combination, and is designed for rendering such

tubing capable of withstanding a pressure of from 50 to 100 lbs. on

every square inch of surface. The novelty consists in combining with the

aforesaid material a rigid substance, such as a helix or a series of

rings of metal or other material.

CHAPTER II.

AMERICAN PATENTS AND CLAIMS.

INTRODUCTORY.

No sooner had the nature of India-rubber began to be developed, than the

spirit of American enterprize commenced to work, in experimenting upon

the various uses to which it is susceptible. Of course, the progress was

at first slow and tedious. Charles Mackintosh, of England, seems to be

the first individual who discovered the process of dissolving the gum in

spirits of turpentine, and to introduce the manufacture of those goods

which now bear his name. But it seems that as early as 1813, eight years

prior to Mackintosh’s discovery, Jacob H. Hummel, of Philadelphia, had

secured a patent for “India-rubber varnish.” What the method of

preparation was, the “report” does not state. From that date to 1831,

the spirit of investigation and experiment in this direction, lay

dormant.

The next step in this country, (in 1831,) was a patent secured for

“_India-rubber Fluid_,” to render articles water-proof. In about one

year from the issuing of this patent, Wait Webster, of New York, secured

a patent for attaching India-rubber soles to boots and shoes. With the

introduction of Chaffee’s patent for India-rubber shoes, in 1832, the

spirit of invention, experiment and competition commenced, and has

continued until the present time. The new, curious, and almost universal

application of India-rubber and gutta-percha, in the industrial arts,

has wrought a wonderful change, and has given an added stimulus to our

manufacturing and commercial interests. The importance of these gums can

hardly be over-estimated, and, it is hardly too much to predict that

discoveries in the combination of gutta-percha and India-rubber with

other substances, will yet be made, which will almost or wholly

supersede the common sole-leather, now so extensively used. Already have

patents been secured for _artificial leather_, that in appearance is

hardly distinguishable from the best sole-leather. Its DURABILITY, it is

contested, together with its CHEAPNESS, will, when the processes of its

manufacture are perfected, give it a decided superiority over all other

leather.

In preparing and arranging the following list of “American Patents and

Claims,” we have given all the really important ones ever issued. Some

of the descriptions are very brief, and necessarily so, from the fact

that the Patent Office Reports have given but little more than the

title, or “text” of the patent issued. It is a very singular, and

somewhat remarkable fact, that our Patent Office Reports are exceedingly

barren of information concerning the _nature_ and _description_ of

inventions. Why this meagreness of detail is put forth, and important

information thus withheld or _suppressed_, is a problem that we cannot

solve. We have before alluded to the marked difference which exists

between the English and American Patent Offices in this important

particular, and while we are able to give full, minute, and instructive

descriptions of English patents, we can only afford, in many American

patents herein referred to, but little more than the announcement of the

issue.

SYNOPSIS OF AMERICAN PATENTS.

_First American Patent_, received by Jacob H. Hummel, of Philadelphia,

April 29, 1813, for India-rubber Varnish.

_Second_, to George H. Richards, Washington, D. C., April 11, 1831, for

India-rubber Fluid, to render articles water-proof.

_Third_, to Wait Webster, New York, May 19, 1832, for attaching

India-rubber soles to boots and shoes.

_Fourth_, to Edwin M. Chaffee, Roxbury, Mass., Feb. 6, 1833, for

India-rubber shoes.

_Fifth_, to Nathaniel Ruggles, Bridgeport, Conn., Feb. 20, 1833, for

attaching India-rubber soles to boots and shoes.

_Sixth_, to Samuel D. Breed, Philadelphia, Pa., April 4, 1833, for

attaching soles to boots and shoes by means of India-rubber.

_Seventh_, to Samuel D. Breed, Philadelphia, June 29, 1833, for hose

from cloth and gum-elastic.

_Eighth_, to Edwin M. Chaffee, Roxbury, Mass., Dec. 31, 1833, for

India-rubber mail and travelling bags.

_Ninth_, to Edwin M. Chaffee, Roxbury, Mass., May 17, 1834, for boots

and shoes from India-rubber.

_Tenth_, to Patrick Mackie, New York, Oct. 16, 1834, for covering ropes

with India-rubber.

Re-issued, Dec. 3, 1834.

_Eleventh_, to A. L. Van Horn, Philadelphia, Pa., June 26, 1835,

India-rubber webbing for riding-saddles.

_Twelfth_, to Charles Goodyear, New Haven, Conn., Sept. 9, 1835, for

India-rubber cement.

_Thirteenth_ and _Fourteenth_ to William Atkinson, New York, Oct. 6,

1835, for cutting India-rubber into threads; also, another patent same

date, for spreading and drying India-rubber upon cloth.

_Fifteenth_, to Patrick Mackie, New York, March 23, 1836, for dissolving

India-rubber in naptha and sulphate of zinc.

_Sixteenth_, to Ranson Warner, New York, May 18, 1836, for manufacturing

gum-elastic suspenders.

_Seventeenth_, to E. M. Chaffee, Roxbury, Mass., May 31, 1836, for

India-rubber application to cloth. Mr. Chaffee obtained another patent

in August, 1836, for softening India-rubber and applying it to cloth,

without dissolving it, by pressing it between heated rollers. This was

and is, a very important patent. It is not reported in the United States

Patent Reports, and the reason for its _suppression_ is variously

accounted for.

_Eighteenth_. Specification of a Patent for divesting caoutchouc or

India-rubber of its adhesive qualities, and also of bleaching the same,

and thereby adapting it to various useful purposes. Granted to CHARLES

GOODYEAR, New York City, June 17th, 1837.

Mr. Goodyear claims the discovery of a new and improved mode or process

of divesting caoutchouc, gum elastic, or India-rubber, of its adhesive

properties. I employ the various acid solutions of the metals, and with

such metallic solution I wash over the surface of the caoutchouc, of

which I mean to destroy the adhesive property; or instead of washing the

surface of the caoutchouc, I dip it, or the article coated with it, into

such a solution. * * *

The metallic solutions are not, by any means, equally effective in

destroying the adhesiveness of the caoutchouc; the stronger acids being

in all cases preferred, as being perfect in their action, nor is it

indifferent what kind of metal is employed. The strong nitric acid,

undiluted, is that which I in general prefer; and among the metals, I

prefer either copper or bismuth, forming a nitrate of copper, or a

nitrate of bismuth, as the full effect is produced by these solutions in

from one to five minutes. After the action is thought to be complete,

the article acted upon is to be washed with water, so as to remove the

whole of the acid solution, and it will be found that not only the

surface of the caoutchouc will resemble that of a soft cloth, but that

the surface may be worn off to a considerable depth, and the new surface

not manifest the slightest tendency to adhesiveness; it is indeed so far

altered in its properties as to resist, to a considerable extent, the

action of those menstrua by which it is ordinarily dissolved. It may,

for example, be washed in spirits of turpentine, or in the oil of

sassafras, without being rendered sticky; and it will equally resist the

action of solar or of artificial heat, under all ordinary temperatures.

I have sometimes covered the surface of the caoutchouc with the metallic

powder known by the name of bronze, and have afterwards washed it over

with nitric acid, which has produced the same effect as the washing it

with, or dipping it in the metallic solution, such a solution being in

this case immediately produced by the action of the acid upon the metal.

It is a common practice to add some of the absorbent earths, or some

pigment, to the dissolved caoutchouc, and when this is done the metallic

solution may be readily made to operate to a greater or less extent

throughout the whole mass of a sheet of considerable thickness.

Instead of the process above described, or preparatory to it, I combine

the caoutchouc with quick lime, as I have found this earth is

preferable, in fitting the sheet caoutchouc to be acted upon throughout

its whole thickness by the metallic solution; but besides this, the lime

has the property of bleaching the caoutchouc, and of giving to it a

surface and texture adapting it to the receiving impressions from copper

plates, or by other modes of printing, rendering it, either alone or

when used as a coating for cloth, applicable to the purpose of printing

charts, or other devices. The caoutchouc so prepared with lime, will be

rendered adhesive by the action of heat or of solvents, unless the

metallic solutions be applied to it; in which case much of the whiteness

communicated to it by the bleaching property of the lime will disappear.

The following is the process:

I slake a portion of the finest quick lime, and then mix and agitate it

with so much water as that it shall not be thicker than milk, when on

allowing it to stand at rest, all the coarser particles contained in it

will rapidly subside; the upper portion containing the finer particles,

is then to be poured off, and the fine lime allowed to subside, the

water left on the surface of this being poured off, it is obtained in a

state fit for incorporation with the caoutchouc when in that form of

thick paste into which it is brought by the manufacturer, preparatory to

its being rolled into sheets.

What I claim as my invention, and wish to secure by letters patent, is

the destroying of the adhesive property not only of the surface of

caoutchouc, gum elastic, or India-rubber, but also to a considerable

extent below the surface, whether the same being in sheets unconnected

with cloth, or other substances, or when used as a coating therefor, by

the application thereto of an acid solution of the metals, substantially

in the manner set forth.

I also claim the manner of preparing and incorporating lime with the

caoutchouc paste, for the purpose of bleaching it, and giving to the

sheets formed of it a color and texture adapting it to receive printing

impressures and rendering it applicable to various other purposes,

either without or with the treatment by the metallic solutions, as set

forth.

I further claim, as an entirely new manufacture, the sheet caoutchouc

prepared by the within described process of treatment, by the metallic

solutions as herein described, as it is thereby so essentially changed

in its properties as to bear but little resemblance to such articles as

have, heretofore, been manufactured out of the same material, and is

rendered applicable to a variety of new purposes hitherto unattempted,

or attempted without success.

_Nineteenth_, to Stephen C. Smith, New York, December 7th, 1837.

Manufacture of India-rubber.

_Twentieth_, to Charles Goodyear, Roxbury, Mass., July 24th, 1838. For

manufacturing India-rubber.

_Twenty-first_, to Nathaniel Hayward, Assigner to Charles Goodyear,

Boston, Mass., Feb. 24th, 1839. For an Improvement in the mode of

preparing India-rubber for the manufacture of various articles.

Sulphur, it is known, is soluble in the essential oils, which also are

the solvents usually employed for dissolving caoutchouc, the oil of

turpentine being generally employed for that purpose. I take the

essential oil, say oil of turpentine, and dissolve in it, by digestion,

a portion of sulphur generally using about a teaspoonful of sulphur, in

flour, to a quantity of oil of turpentine which is to dissolve a pound

of India-rubber; the exact proportion not being important, and that

indicated being sufficiently near for practical purposes. With this

solution I proceed as with the ordinary spirits of turpentine.

Instead of making this solution of sulphur, I sometimes use the flour of

sulphur, or sulphur in fine powder, and incorporate it in the proportion

above indicated with the gum when brought to a pulpy mass by any of the

common solvents, or when worked by heated cylinders without any

solvents, taking care that it is intimately mixed with the mass. Another

mode of using the sulphur is to apply it to the surface of the gum after

it has been applied to the cloth, or rolled into sheets, causing it to

adhere by pressure or otherwise. After which the gum is to be submitted

to the action of metallic salts, in the manner described by Charles

Goodyear.

The effect of the sulphur in whatever way it may be added to the gum, is

to cause it to dry more perfectly, and to improve the whole substance

thereof, rendering it much superior to that prepared by any other

combination therewith. The subsequent process of curing, or tanning, the

surface above referred to, as patented by Charles Goodyear, removes all

the odor of sulphur, and is intended to be generally applied to all

articles manufactured as above.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by letters patent, is

the combining of sulphur with gum elastic, whether in solution or in

substance, in either of the modes above pointed out, or in any other

that is substantially the same, and which will produce a like effect.

_Twenty-second_, to Charles B. Rodgers, and E. Arnold, Charlestown,

Mass., June 21, 1841. Assigns to E. Chaffee, Cambridgeport, Mass. For

manufacturing India-rubber Balls.

_Twenty-third_, to Sewall Gleason, New York, Nov. 24, 1843. For Machine

for making India-rubber Hats.

_Twenty-fourth_, to Charles Goodyear, New York, March 9, 1844. For

India-rubber Fabrics.

_Twenty-fifth_, to Charles Goodyear, New York, June 15, 1844. For

India-rubber Fabrics.

_Twenty-sixth_, to H. G. Tyer and J. Helm, New Brunswick, N. J., October

9, 1844. For India-rubber Cutting.

_Twenty-seventh_, to Horace H. Day, Jersey City, N. J., October 12,

1844. For India-rubber Goods corrugated and shirred.

_Twenty-eighth_, to Nelson Goodyear, Newton, Conn., April 22, 1845. For

manufacture of India-rubber.

_Twenty-ninth_, to Nelson Goodyear, Newton, Conn., May 13, 1845. For

India-rubber Fabrics.

_Thirtieth_, to James Bogardus, New York, May 21, 1845. For Sheering

Machine for India-rubber.

_Thirty-first_, to Horace H. Day, Jersey City, N. J., June 7, 1845, H.

G. Tyer, and J. Helm, New Brunswick, N. J. For Machine for cutting

India-rubber Threads.

_Thirty-second_, to Charles Goodyear, New York, June 10, 1845. For

India-rubber Fabrics.

_Thirty-third_, to James Bogardus, New York, November 21, 1845. For

Machine for cutting India-rubber Threads.

_Thirty-fourth_, to Horace Day, New York, June 15, 1846. For

India-rubber Portable Boat.

_Thirty-fifth_, to J. W. Harrison, New York, June 15, 1846. For process

for grinding India-rubber previous to softening.

_Thirty-sixth_, to William F. Ely, New York, April 17, 1847. For

preparing India-rubber.

_Thirty-seventh_, to Charles J. Gilbert, and Gamaliel Gay, New York,

July 17, 1847. For India-rubber Fabrics.

_Thirty-eighth_, to Robert Story, and Thomas Hopper, New Brunswick, N.

J., August 17, 1847. For India-rubber Shoes.

_Thirty-ninth_, to James Thomas, New York, September 4, 1847. For

preparing India-rubber.

_Fortieth_, to Charles F. Durant, Jersey City, N. J., October 25, 1847.

For process for softening and dissolving India-rubber in Chloroform.

_Forty-first_, to Charles Goodyear, New Haven, Conn., April 25, 1848.

For process of making hollow spheres, various hollow toys, or other

hollow articles of India-rubber (caoutchouc), the same consisting in the

employment of a mould, and heat, and air, substantially in the manner

above set forth.

_Forty-second_, to Charles F. Durant, Jersey City, N. J., April 25,

1848. For application of per-chloride of formyle, otherwise known as

chloroform, to soften and dissolve gutta-percha, and to soften and

dissolve rubber.

_Forty-third_, to Horace H. Day, Jersey City, N. J., May 2, 1848. For

finishing or treating cloth, or other articles made wholly or partly of

gutta-percha, and cloth and fabric made of these, with Japan varnish,

such as is generally used in the manufacture of patent leather.

_Forty-fourth_, to Horace H. Day, and Francis D. Hayward, of New

Brunswick, N. J., May 7, 1848, re-issued November 7, 1848. For forming

and rendering elastic suspenders, shoulder braces, riding belts, and

other similar articles, by use in combination therewith of the elastic

rings, for the purpose of giving spring and draught.

_Forty-fifth_, to Henry Bewley, Dublin, Ireland, May 23, 1848. For

application of gutta-percha in any of the states, and by any of the

processes before specified, to the manufacture of flexible syringes,

tubes, bottles, hose, or other like vehicles or vessels, or to the

improvement of such articles after manufacture.

_Forty-sixth_, to Charles Hancock, Grosvenor Place, London, May 23,

1848. For a method of making bands and belts of gutta-percha, or the

compounds thereof, by the process of forming, in combination with the

process of stretching or drawing out, substantially as described; and

this I claim irrespective of the methods that may be employed for

forming and stretching, or drawing out the bands or belts.

_Forty-seventh_, to R. A. Brooman, London, England, May 23, 1848. For

manufacture of various articles, by moulding, stamping, or embossing,

&c., to give to such articles the form required to be retained, whether

useful or ornamental, whereby I am enabled to produce articles useful or

ornamental, or both, at less cost, more durable, more easily applied,

and in short, more valuable than when made of any other known substance;

and this I claim, whether made of gutta-percha alone, or in combination

with such other substances as are herein specified.

_Forty-eighth_, to Charles Keene, Sussex Place, Regent’s Park, England,

May 23, 1848. For the manufacture of boots, shoes, and other articles of

any known kind of cloth or leather, lined or coated, as herein

described, with gutta-percha in any of the states of preparation or

combination, by cementing instead of sewing or stitching them together.

_Forty-ninth_, to Richard Solis, November 7, 1848. For a mode of

preparing the cloth for the rubber by stretching, also placing the

rubber on the cloth obliquely.

_Fiftieth_, to H. G. Tyer and John G. Helm, January 30, 1849. For

improvement in the manufacture of India-rubber. We here disclaim the use

of rubber and sulphur alone, as also the submitting of rubber, or rubber

compounds to a high degree of heat, patents having been granted for that

process, in this and other countries; neither do we wish to secure the

right of coloring rubber, such having frequently been done by rubber

manufacturers.

But what we do claim and wish to secure by letters patent, is the

combination of caoutchouc in its several varieties, with either

carbonate of zinc, sulphate of zinc, or the other salts of zinc with

sulphur, in manner, form and proportion as hereinbefore set forth.

_Fifty-first_, to H. G. Tyer and John G. Helm, Aug. 7, 1849. Re-issue.

For improvement in the manufacture of India-rubber goods by means of

zinc compounds.

We here disclaim the use of rubber and sulphur alone, as also the

submitting of rubber or rubber compounds to a high degree of heat;

neither do we wish to secure the right of coloring rubber, such having

frequently been done by rubber manufacturers.

But what we do claim as our invention, and desire to secure by letters

patent, is India-rubber fabrics made by the combination of caoutchouc in

its several varieties, with zinc compounds, in their various forms, as

herein set forth, and sulphur; and in combination with these, the

submitting our compound to the action of a high degree of heat; the

whole being combined and manufactured substantially as above described.

_Fifty-second_, to Nelson Goodyear, Oct. 16, 1849. For improvement in

elastic cords for suspenders. I do not claim simply covering threads of

metallic or vulcanized rubber with braid, as this has long since been

done, but not whilst the India-rubber is in a state of tension; nor do I

claim simply combining non-elastic cords with the button-hole pieces,

and with the shoulder straps of suspenders, by passing such cords

through loops or around rollers attached to the shoulder straps, as this

has also been long known; but—

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by letters patent, is

the making of elastic cords for suspenders, by braiding or winding silk,

cotton, or other threads, around cords of metallic or vulcanized

India-rubber, whilst in a partially distended state, substantially as

described, whereby springs of greater resisting force are produced, than

by any other known plan.

_Fifty-third and fifty-fourth_, to Charles Goodyear—re-issued—Dec. 25,

1849. For improvement in processes for the manufacture of India-rubber.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by letters patent, is

the curing of caoutchouc or India-rubber, by subjecting it to the action

of a high degree of artificial heat, substantially as herein described,

and for the purpose specified.

And I also claim the preparing and curing the compound of India-rubber,

sulphur, and a carbonate or other salt or oxide of lead, by subjecting

the same to the action of artificial heat, substantially as herein

described.

For improvement in felting India-rubber with cotton fibre. What I claim

as new and of my invention, is incorporating the fibres of cotton or

other substances, with India-rubber, by pressing the fibres of a fleece

or bat of cotton or other fibrous substance into a sheet of India-rubber

in the green state, without subjecting the fibres, after they have been

incorporated, to a stretching or drawing operation, substantially as

herein described.

_Fifty-fifth_, to Francis C. Hayward and J. C. Bickford, of Colchester,

Conn., March 19, 1850. For process of rolling India-rubber cloth. The

“claim” is a new or improved process of applying rubber to cloth, by

means of rollers; the process being a combination of the method of

spreading rubber by the pressure of rollers, and the method of grinding

and spreading, at one and the same time, against and into the substance

of the cloth.

_Fifty-sixth_, to John Pridham, Assignor to Horace H. Day, New York,

March 19, 1850, for use of oxide of tin, in the manufacture of

India-rubber. He does not claim the combining of ochre or pipe clay with

India-rubber, or submitting rubber to high heat, or mixing sulphur with

rubber. The specific claim is, the combining rubber with tin, as set

forth, and the combination of these with sulphur and heat, whereby is

produced a fabric having a black surface, which is capable of

withstanding all the elements which distinguish vulcanized from other

preparations of rubber.

_Fifty-seventh_, to Fowler M. Ray, New York, April 2, 1850. For springs

for cars, &c., of India-rubber. A method of making cylinder or rolls of

prepared India-rubber, by rolling up a thin sheet of India-rubber, on a

mandrel, while the sheet is in a green state, and as it comes from the

heated calendering cylinders, substantially as described. He also claims

a mandrel or cylindrical rod pressed against the periphery, or a

cylinder or roller, so that the thin sheet of prepared rubber in the

green state, and taken as it comes from the calendering cylinder, may be

wound upon the mandrel, and the several windings made to adhere, by

pressure, substantially as described.

_Fifty-eighth_, to S. T. Armstrong & C. J. Gilbert, of New York, N. Y.,

for improvement in the process of working gutta-percha. Sept. 17, 1850.

What we claim under the first part of our invention, consists in the use

of lime or other alkaline substance, with heat, in the manner

substantially as herein described, in the cleaning of gutta-percha, to

neutralize the acid or acids contained in that substance in its crude or

native state, and thus preserve and render more permanent its useful

properties, as specified.

And in the second part of our invention, we claim compounding lime with

gutta-percha, substantially as herein described, for the purpose of

improving its qualities, preserving it wholly or partly from

deterioration, and protecting it against the injurious effects of the

atmosphere and heat, substantially as described.

REMARKS.—Two patents for improvement in the manufacture of India-rubber,

were granted in 1850. The first of which is for the use of the

hypo-sulphate of zinc. This salt is prepared in the following manner. In

a solution of caustic lime, potash, or other caustic alkali, boil flour

of sulphur until the liquor is saturated, and into this liquid pass

sulphurous acid gas, by any of the known means, for the purpose of

obtaining a hypo-sulphate of the alkaline base. The liquid is allowed to

stand and cool. The clear liquor is then decanted into a vessel

containing a suitable quantity of a saturated solution of the nitrate or

other analogous salt of zinc. On mixing these solutions the zinc is

precipitated in a white powder, which is regarded as the hypo-sulphate

of zinc. It is then washed on a filter, dried and subsequently ground in

a paint-mill. Three pounds of this powder is mixed with ten pounds of

India-rubber, and heated from three to five hours, at a temperature of

260° to 280°. The rubber, according to the inventor, will be found

completely cured or vulcanized, and requires no free sulphur to be used

in any part of the process, and no washing with alkali, as do the

ordinary materials used for vulcanizing. Hence it is alleged that this

process is adapted to the covering of silks and other delicate textures,

and colored fabrics.

Another patent was granted for a compound for vulcanizing India-rubber.

The mode of treatment is much the same as the last, and produces the

same results. The material is the artificial bi-sulphuret of zinc. The

inventor claims the use of this composition _without the use of sulphur_

in any part of the process of manufacture, and the washing with alkaline

solutions is not required, and is not used in this mode of manufacture.

_Fifty-ninth_, to Fowler M. Ray, New York, Oct. 18, 1850. For vulcanized

India-rubber springs. The “claim” as set forth in the employment of a

ring, or rings, or disks, made of any of the preparations of caoutchouc,

known under the various appellations of metallic or vulcanized rubber,

as a substitute for metal or other kinds of springs, heretofore known

and used, when such ring or rings, or disk or disks, or the equivalent

thereof are applied, in manner substantially as described, whether made

of metal or other solid or non-elastic substance. Also making the

surfaces of all or either of the plates above and below, and interposed

between the elastic rings or their equivalents, or the surfaces of the

elastic rings or other of their convex, substantially in the manner and

for the purpose specified.

_Sixtieth_, to Jonathan Trotter, of New York, Dec. 3, 1850. For

vulcanizing India-Rubber. The claim is the use and employment of zinc,

in a manner whereby a hypo-sulphate or similar preparation of zinc is

obtained in combination with India-rubber, for the purpose of curing or

vulcanizing it, substantially as set forth with the use of free sulphur

in any way in combination with the rubber.

_Sixty-first_, to Jonathan T. Trotter, New York, January 1, 1851. For

improvement in the manufacture of India-rubber.

Having described my improved process of curing rubber, I will state what

I claim and desire to secure by letters patent. What I claim, therefore,

is the use and employment of zinc, substantially as prepared by the

process above described, in combination with India-rubber, for the

purpose of curing or vulcanizing it, in form and manner as herein set

forth, without the use of free sulphur in any way in combination with

the rubber.

_Sixty-second_, to David McCurdy, Newark, N. J., April 1, 1851. For

improvement in the manufacture of India-rubber.

Having described my invention, and the best mode known to me of

manufacturing the same, what I claim as my invention, and desire to

secure by letters patent, is the combination of potash with rubber and

sulphur, and submitting the same to a high degree of heat, whereby to

produce the change upon rubber known as vulcanizing.

_Sixty-third_, to James Reynolds, New York, April 22, 1851. For

improvement in machines for gutta-percha tubing and covering wire.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by letters patent, is

the use, for the purposes specified, of feed-rollers, C, C, in

combination with the stomach, G, G, having a lip, or mouth, _h_,

arranged and operating substantially as shown and described.

_Sixty-fourth_, to Nelson Goodyear, New York, May 6, 1851. For

improvement in the manufacture of India-rubber.

I do not claim the heating or curing process, as it is termed; that

having been patented by Charles Goodyear.

What I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by letters patent,

is the combining of India-rubber and sulphur, either with or without

shellac, for making a hard and inflexible substance, hitherto unknown,

substantially as herein set forth.

And I also claim the combining of India-rubber, sulphur, and magnesia,

or lime, or a carbonate, or a sulphate of magnesia, or of lime, either

with or without shellac, for making a hard and inflexible substance,

hitherto unknown, substantially as herein set forth.

_Sixty-fifth_, to Horace H. Day, Jersey City, N. J., May 20, 1851. For

improvement in India-rubber shoes.

Having described the advantages of my improvement, and the best way

known to me of manufacturing the same, what I claim as my invention, and

desire to secure by letters patent, is the manufacture of rubber boots

and shoes without cloth, being made of separate pieces of different

degrees of elasticity, and each piece having its peculiar and requisite

degree, the shoe to possess different degrees of elasticity in different

parts, and uniform elasticity in each different part, and having no part

without some elasticity in every direction, by the means herein

described, or any other substantially the same, whereby I lessen the

cost, obtain a shoe not liable to break, which can be kept clean,

stretched in every direction at the same time, easier to the foot,

adjustable to larger boots, and yet not rendered useless to wear over

smaller, light and elegant, and retain permanently their shape.

_Sixty-sixth_, to S. T. Armstrong, New York, June 24, 1851. For

improvement in making gutta-percha hollow ware.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by letters patent, in

the process above described, is the method, as described, of moulding

articles of gutta-percha, or the compounds of gutta-percha with other

substances, by first making the same in the form of a pipe, and whilst

in a partially heated and plastic state, giving to it the form required

in a mould, by forcing a liquid inside to expand the gutta-percha, as

described.

_Sixty-seventh_, to John Ryder, New York, June 1, 1852. For improvement

in the process of manufacturing gutta-percha.

The claim is the preparation of gutta-percha for vulcanizing by a

preliminary separate heating of it, to such a degree as to expel its

volatile ingredients, which generally can be effected at the high

temperatures of from 285° to 430° Fah. Mr. Ryder also claims the process

of vulcanizing gutta-percha by first heating it to a sufficiently high

temperature to expel all the volatile ingredients specified, which it is

believed can be done between 285° and 430°, and then incorporating with

it a hypo-sulphate, either alone or in combination with metallic

sulphurets or whiting, or magnesia, or with all of them together, and

then subjecting the mixture to a temperature of from 285° to 320° Fah.,

all the steps of the process being performed as set forth. Mr. Ryder

disclaims the vulcanizing of gutta-percha in all cases save when it has

been prepared for the vulcanizing operation by the aforesaid preliminary

heating.

_Sixty-eighth_, to Frederick Bonner, Vera Cruz, Mexico, Sept. 7, 1852.

For preserving India-rubber.

The nature of my discovery, is by applying the before mentioned quantity

of Campeachy salt, or muriate of soda, to the rubber, in its sap state,

and that by so doing, to prevent putrefaction and fermentation of the

juice, to which, more especially, I confine the claim of my invention.

_Sixty-ninth_, to Charles Goodyear, New Haven, Conn., October 12, 1852.

For improvement in making India-rubber Bat cloth. The claim is passing

the bat or fleece cotton, flax, silk, or other fibrous substance,

together with dissolved or softened India-rubber, gutta-percha or other

vulcanized gum, or the compounds or preparations thereof, between

calendering rollers, with an elastic substance interposed between the

bat or fleece, and one of the rollers as described, or between the

glazed apron and one of the rollers, substantially described.

_Seventieth_, to John L. Kingsley, New York, January 18, 1853. For

improvement in metallic gum composition.

The nature of this invention consists in the process of preparing and

using compositions made by grinding metals, earths, and other similar

materials, with the raw uncured gums of gutta-percha and caoutchouc

(India-rubber.)

Also claims—The making of stereotype moulds, and plates of the raw

uncured gum, combined with the pulverized oxides of iron and antimony,

or other equivalents.

_Seventy-first_, to Richard Solis, of New Brunswick, N. J., February,

1853. For India-rubber. I claim the manufacture of India-rubber fabrics

by the mixture of ground or powdered vulcanized rubber, with the

ordinary India-rubber of commerce.

_Seventy-second_, to Charles Goodyear, New York, April 12, 1853. For

improvement in manufacturing articles composed of gutta-percha.

This invention consists in using or employing sand, pulverized

soapstone, plaster, or some similar granular or pulverized or porous

matter, or moulds made of porous substances, to sustain and keep the

form of moulded or modelled article composed of caoutchouc or its

compounds, and other gums, during the process of vulcanization, in

proper shape and form. The caoutchouc or other gums are taken in a green

state, and formed into the exact shapes desired, then covered with

pulverized soapstone, or other similar granular or adhesive powder; they

are placed in a box and heated to 200° or 300° Fahrenheit, from three to

seven hours when the articles are vulcanized.

_Seventy-third_, to Charles Goodyear, and Robert Haering, of New Haven,

Conn., April 12, 1853. (Assigners to Charles Goodyear.) Patented in

England, March 4, 1851. For manufacturing India-rubber and gutta-percha.

The art or method of manufacturing articles composed in part of

caoutchouc, or other gums, susceptible of vulcanization, by heating or

vulcanizing the same, when surrounded with and pressed upon, externally

or internally by or moulded in pulverized soapstone, sand, plaster, or

other similar granular, pulverized or porous matter, or in moulds of

plaster or other porous substance, as described.

_Seventy-fourth_, to John L. Kingsley, New York, June 14, 1853. For

improvement in moulding gutta-percha Stereotype Plates.

The nature of this invention consists in making moulds for stereotyping

of India-rubber, or gutta-percha, by mixing the gums with the metallic

or earthy substances, and by expelling all air from the mould while it

is being filled, to render the cast in all respects perfect. (The

process would require too lengthy a description for this report.) The

“claim” is the process of expelling air from the surface of the type

when forming the mould, and from the surface of the mould when forming

the plate. Also the method of dressing, levelling, or thickening the

moulds and plates, when made of any compounds that run, so that all

plates made shall be invariably of the same thickness.

_Seventy-fifth_, to Lenardo Westbrook, of New York City, July 19, 1853.

For Gutta-percha Stereotype Composition. An improvement on the patent of

Josiah Warren, dated April 25, 1846, first, the compound described, of

shellac, plumbago or graphite, asphaltum and gutta-percha, treated by

sulphate of copper and water, as described, as a substitute for type

metal.

_Seventy-sixth_, to H. L. Novis, (Assigner to S. T. Armstrong) New York

City, July 26, 1853. Patented in England, February 24, 1853, and in

France, March 13, 1853. For preserving India-rubber in the liquid state.

Mr. Novis claims the compound, consisting of the native juice of the

caoutchouc, with aqua ammonia or the equivalent thereof, as set forth,

when said ammonia or its equivalent is mixed with said juice of the

caoutchouc in a liquid state, by means of which, the juice above named

is preserved for a great length of time, and can be manufactured at less

expense than the India-rubber of commerce, which is mixed with other

foreign substances.

And I also claim the solid elastic article when manufactured from the

said composition of matter as described.

_Seventy-seventh_, to John Chilcott, and Robert Snell, New York,

September 13, 1853. For improvement in the manufacture of Boots and

Shoes.

The sole is made of three parts, viz., the India-rubber sole, a leather

lining, and a leather border, or edge. The India-rubber sole is made

smaller than the sole it is intended to cover, and its edges are

bevelled off thin all around; the leather lining is of the full size of

the bottom of the boot or shoe, and united to the upper side of the

India-rubber sole by water-proof adhesive material, leaving a margin of

the lining all around the edge of the India-rubber sole; the leather

border or edge is of the same thickness as the India-rubber sole, and

overlaps the bevelled portion of it, and is also bevelled so thin that

its outer face will be level with the outer face of the India-rubber. A

solid sole is thus made of uniform thickness, which may be secured to a

boot or shoe, by sewing, cementing, or pegging.

Claim connecting the whole or any portion of the sole of a boot or shoe,

substantially as described, of India-rubber, with its inside or edges

covered and protected by leather, which is united with it by any

water-proof cement, with or without stitching, and forms a hard, firm

leather edge.

_Seventy-eighth_, to Charles Goodyear, New York, October 11, 1853. For

improvement in coating metals with gutta-percha.

The nature of this invention consists in the application of “caoutchouc

or gutta-percha” when mixed with pulverized sulphur (six or eight ounces

of sulphur to one pound of gum) to the surface of metal. The article

covered is subjected to a high degree of heat, from 260° to 300°

Fahrenheit, from three to seven hours. The hard compound covering may

then be polished and varnished.

_Claim._—The art or method of coating articles composed wholly or in

part of metal with compound of India-rubber or gutta-percha, and

subjecting the same to a high degree of artificial heat, or the process

of vulcanization, substantially as specified.

_Seventy-ninth_, to L. Otto P. Meyer, Newton, Conn., December 20, 1853.

For improvement in the manufacture of caoutchouc or other vulcanizable

gums.

The nature of this invention consists in producing by means of oil and

other fatty substances, smooth and glassy surfaces upon the material

commonly known as hard compound of vulcanized caoutchouc, or

gutta-percha, or other similar gums, which may be manufactured according

to the process described in letters patent granted to Charles Goodyear,

May 6, 1851.

_Claim._—The producing smooth and glassy surfaces upon hard compounds of

caoutchouc and other vulcanizable gums, by means of the use of oil, or

other equivalent substances, applied to the surface of the prepared gum,

and between the gum and the plates or the moulds.

_Eightieth_, to William E. Rider and John Murphy, of New York. For

improvement in sulphurizing gutta-percha and like gums. Patented

November 7, 1854. The improvement consists in the removal of superfluous

sulphur from India-rubber or gutta-percha, when it has been vulcanized

or is in the act of being vulcanized, by filling the vulcanizing oven

with hydrogen gas during the heating process, called the curing, and

allowing the gas to escape as fast as it becomes neutralized; by which,

as the inventor alleges, the after accumulation of sulphur upon the

surface of said gums, is prevented, and consequently the necessity of

boiling them in caustic alkali, entirely avoided.

_Claim._—The claim covers the whole ground, substantially as set forth.

No illustration.

_Eighty-first_, to George Reynolds. For improvement in composition for

tanning. Patented Dec. 19, 1854. Twenty hides with the hair on, are

steeped for six weeks, in the following solution, viz.: 1 bushel of

muriate of soda, 1 bushel of alum, and 6 pounds of sulphuric acid,

diluted with three hogshead of water. The hides are to be beamed, and

when steeped as stated, they are removed and dried, and then stuffed, or

rubbed with tallow or oil, according to circumstances. But the hides are

not steeped in tanning liquor till finished. They are calculated to be

used for mocassins, &c., with the hair next the person.

_Claim._—The claim is confined to the composition stated.

_Eighty-second_, to Edward Brown. For improvement in porous elastic

cloth for gaiters. Patented Sept. 26, 1854. This improvement consists in

cementing between two pieces of stocking fabric, strips of India-rubber,

or a sheet of India-rubber previously perforated, for the purpose of

furnishing a material pervious to moisture.

_Claim._—The above described elastic fabric, the India-rubber being

confined between two thicknesses of stocking-work, in the manner and for

the purpose set forth.

_Eighty-third_, to Elias C. Hyatt and Christopher Meyer, of Milltown, N.

J. For improvement in the manufacture of boot and shoe-soles of

gutta-percha or India-rubber. Patented January 17, 1854. The material,

in its plastic state, is passed between two rollers, marked 1 and 2 in

the engraving, so as to form a continuous sheet of various thicknesses

in its different parts, suitable for the heel, the shank, and the toe.

The external surface of the sole is formed by No. 2—_a_ being a

corrugated surface for the toe parts, _c_ for the heel part, and _b_ a

smooth surface for the shank part. After the continuous sheet has been

formed between the rollers, it is cut up into pieces of suitable width

for soles.

The inventors say: We are aware that India-rubber has long since been

reduced to sheets by rolling, and that the rollers used for this purpose

have sometimes been engraved to produce a figured surface, analogous to

that often connected to the heels and fore parts of shoes; but these

sheets have been substantially of uniform thickness, varying only in the

slight indentations, &c., required to produce an ornamental or figured

surface. This we do not claim. But we are not aware that India-rubber

has ever been rolled into sheets having a substantial variety of

thickness in its different parts. Nor are we aware that shoe-soles,

having the proper variety of thickness, have ever been rolled out, or

made in one solid piece, before our invention; nor was it known that

such forms could be produced, as we have produced them, in India-rubber,

until our experiments practically illustrated the fact.

What we claim, therefore, as our invention, and desire to secure by

letters patent, is—

1st. Producing a shoe-sole, or other analogous manufacture, in

India-rubber or gutta-percha, in one piece, having a variety of

thicknesses in its different parts, by the use of rollers whose surfaces

present the reverse of the forms to be produced, at a single operation,

substantially as herein described.

2d. Forming soling of India-rubber or gutta-percha, with shanks,

fore-parts, and heels of appropriated differences of thickness in one

solid piece, at one operation, as described—thus producing a useful,

economical, and novel manufacture.

3d. Also, forming such solings, or analogous manufacture, in continuous

sheets, at one operation, by rolling, as described.

_Eighty-fourth_, to Charles Goodyear, of New Haven, Conn. For

improvement in treating vulcanizable gums. Patented April 4, 1854. The

improvement and claims consist in the method of manufacturing compounds

of caoutchouc, gutta percha, and other gums susceptible of

vulcanization, in sheets, by covering the surface or surfaces of the

sheets of gum with sheets of paper or cloth, or the equivalent thereof,

and then confining the same during the process of vulcanization, by

pressure between plates of metal or their equivalents, or otherwise,

substantially as described. No illustration.

_Eighty-fifth_, to Julius Herriet, October 24, 1854. For improvement in

gutta-percha Stereotype Composition.

Equal parts, by weight, of gutta-percha or caoutchouc, and pulverized

graphite, or soapstone, or plaster of Paris, or chloride of lime, or

peroxide of manganese, or other equivalent, are mixed together, heated,

and moulded while hot. The proportions may be varied to suit the desired

softness or toughness of the mass. The alleged qualities of the

composition are plasticity, sufficient hardness to present sharp-angle

lines and yet to resist pressure, aptness to be remoulded, and

cheapness.

_Claim._—The making of moulds and plates, for printing characters or

figures, of gutta-percha or India-rubber, compounded with some other

substance, substantially such, and for the purposes as described.

_Eighty-sixth_, to Henry Forstrick, Hoboken, N. J. For working over

vulcanized India-rubber.

I claim the manner of extracting inorganic matter from vulcanized

India-rubber, gutta-percha, and other gums or their compounds, by the

application of diluted nitric acid and the use of fusel oil (grain oil)

either in a heated state, mixed with the gum, or in the shape of vapors,

for the restoration of the cleansed gums to the state of cohesion.

_Eighty-seventh_, to L. Otto P. Meyer, February 28, 1854. For

improvement in vulcanizing India-rubber and other gums.

The invention or claim consists in the heating or curing of the material

commonly known as the hard compound of vulcanized caoutchouc, or other

vulcanizable gums, by means of the immersion of the material in, or

under water, or other suitable liquid, heated to about 300° Fah., daring

the process of curing.

_Eighty-eighth_, to Ellsworth D. S. Goodyear, assignor to the New York

Rubber Company, March 28, 1854. For improvement in processes for

treating India-rubber.

The improvement refers to the manufacture of hollow articles from

India-rubber, and consists in filling such ware, as balls, &c., to a

certain extent, with water, which being, during the process of

vulcanization, converted into steam, exercises the necessary inside

pressure to impart any desired pattern to the exterior face of the

article.

_Claim._—The introduction of water or any other liquid into the interior

of articles which require expansive force for their perfect formation

against the interior surface of moulds, said liquid to be converted into

steam, substantially as, and for the purposes, specified.

_Eighty-ninth_, to L. Otto P. Meyer, April 4, 1854. For improvement in

treating caoutchouc and other vulcanizable gums.

The interposing between sheets of gum, &c., to be cured, sheets of

flexible material, when the series of sheets thus piled are confined

between plates of iron during the process of vulcanization, being

disclaimed, the improvement and claim are restricted to covering the

surface of what is known as the hard compound of caoutchouc with tin

foil, or other equivalent substances, to preserve the form previously

given by embossing or moulding, the contact of the tin foil during the

curing process having the effect to preserve the form and the surface

without pressure or moulds.

_Ninetieth_, to Julius A. Pease, November 14, 1854. For improvement in

over-shoes.

The claim explains the character of this invention, by reference to the

accompanying figure. A. represents the ribs, and B. the depressions

between them.

_Claim._—Making India-rubber or gum shoes with the inner surface ribbed,

corrugated, or otherwise made uneven, for the purpose of allowing a

circulation of air between it and the boot or shoe over which it is

worn; and this, whether it be effected in the precise manner stated, or

by lining the shoe with a similar ribbed, corrugated, or otherwise

raised and depressed surfaced fabric, as described.

_Ninety-first_, to John Murphy, May 30, 1854. For improvement in the

process of treating gutta-percha.

The improvement refers to the process of re-heating, as patented to John

Rider, in June, 1852, and consists in mixing two ounces of sulphur with

ten pounds of gutta-percha, and heating the latter to about 285° Fah.,

preparatory to the regular vulcanization; this amount of sulphur,

although not enough to vulcanize the gum, being alleged to serve the

purpose of expelling certain volatile ingredients preparatory thereto.

_Claim._—Incorporating with gutta-percha, substantially, the proportion

of sulphur, or its equivalent, herein specified; and then subjecting it

to such a degree of heat, and for such a length of time, as to expel

therefrom its injurious volatilizable ingredients, preparatory to

vulcanizing the gutta-percha thus treated, or of using it in the

condition that said process of treatment puts it into.

_Ninety-second_, to Daniel Haywood, August 29, 1854. For improvement in

the manufacture of India-rubber.

The improvement consists in the use of the steam-jacket both for the

mould and the die employed in the manufacture of India-rubber goods, and

in the sudden introduction of cold water after the hot steam into the

jackets. By the first device the vulcanizing of new articles is alleged

to be more perfect, and the remelting and remoulding of old, worn-out

India-rubber to be rendered attainable. By the second device the degree

of hardness of the product, or its adhesiveness on the surface, can be

moderated at pleasure.

The drawings exemplify the improvement as applied to manufacturing

buckets.

_Claim._—The claim is confined to remoulding worn-out India-rubber

goods, by the means stated.

_Ninety-third_, to Henry G. Tyer and John Helm. For improvement in the

manufacture of boots and shoes. Patented March 27, 1855. The object of

this improvement is to produce a boot or shoe combining the qualities of

India-rubber with the lightness and elegance attainable by the use of

other materials, and capable of being re-soled when necessary.

The upper _a_ and in-sole _B_ having been cemented together,

perforations are made around and through the upper _a_, until the

cemented surface of the in-sole _B_ has been pierced. Then these holes

are filled up with cement, and the outer sole _c_ properly cemented, is

pressed upon the in-sole. If sufficient strength be used, slightly to

separate those several parts of the sole, see fig. 2, the rubber

filament can be seen in threads H. as represented in fig. 2.

The inventors say,—we disclaim the use or application of this our

device, or invention to any other matter or thing than is described, and

set forth. We claim the uniting of the outer sole and upper,

manufactured wholly or in part of vulcanized India-rubber, with the

in-sole of boots and shoes, by means of cement, the cement passing

through preparations made for that purpose in the upper, in the manner

substantially and for the purpose described.

_Ninety-fourth_, to John M. Wimley, (Assignor to J. &. B. Shaw), June

12, 1855. An improvement in attaching gutta-percha soles to Boots and

Shoes.

The melted gutta-percha is filled into mould A, up to the rim B, and the

shoe placed thereon and firmly pressed down, until the sides of the shoe

come in contact all around with the rim B. The gutta-percha is forced

into, and through the holes purposely made, through the in-sole and

edges of the upper.

The inventor says, I am aware that India-rubber, after being cut out,

and shaped like a sole, has been united to the in-sole and upper, by

means of an intermediating cement, caused to penetrate holes made in the

in-sole and upper, but I do not claim this, nor do I claim uniting

gutta-percha and leather for any other purpose than that of

manufacturing boots and shoes as before described. But I claim

manufacturing, or making boots and shoes, with the outer sole made

entirely of gutta-percha, when the said outer soles are simultaneously

formed and united to the upper and in-sole, by means of heat and

pressure in a mould substantially as described and set forth.

_Ninety-fifth_, to S. T. Parmelee, New Brunswick, N. J., July 17, 1855.

For improvement in attaching metallic heels to India-rubber soles.

The India-rubber is vulcanized after having been filled within the

metallic casing. It could not be done after the vulcanizing, as

vulcanized rubber cannot be rendered sufficiently soft. The inventor

claims having the metallic rings or casings formed with recesses

arranged in any proper way, so that the soft or elastic India-rubber

mixed with the proper vulcanizing materials, may be fitted therein, and

the rubber and rings or casings be permanently locked together, by

subjecting the rubber to steam heat, and vulcanizing it when fitted

within the rims or casings for the purpose as set forth.

_Ninety-sixth_, to John Arthur, and Evan Arthur, New Brunswick, N. J.,

July 24, 1855. For improvement in Machine for cutting boot and shoe

uppers, soles, &c., from sheets of India-rubber.

After describing the machine the patentees set forth the following as

their

_Claim._—1st. The cutting or separation of India-rubber by placing it on

a wet cloth, or other suitable moistened surface, and submitting it to

the pressure of a heated die, having an edge of the form of the article

to be cut, substantially as set forth.

2d. The combination of one or more reciprocating die-frames, each

carrying a set of dies with a stove, and with carrying and pressing

apparatus, to carry the sheet or piece of rubber, so that the dies by

their reciprocating movement, may be carried into the stove to be

heated, and then return to cut or stamp out the pattern or article from

the piece as set forth.

3d. The method of raising the die-frames to carry the dies on their

return movement towards the stove. Providing pins for the ends of the

die-frames to strike against, to throw up the opposite ends carrying the

dies.

4th. The swinging frame with its fingers, arranged and operating to

conduct the points or ends of the patterns, as soon as they are cut or

separated between the roller upon which the cutting is performed, and

another roller by which they are at once prevented curling it, and are

conveyed along towards where they are delivered from the machines.

_Ninety-seventh_, to Edwin B. Larchar, Baltimore, Md., July 24, 1855.

For improvement in making gutta-percha boats.

_Claim._—The method of making a safety boat or other vessels of

gutta-percha mixed glue, so that the air chambers or other parts, if

separately formed, may together with the boat body, be so united and

completed at one pressure, that if the braces, thwarts, knees,

supporters, or other accessories to the boat proper, are solid, the

whole, with the inner and outer forms, may be made or completed together

at one time, and at one pressure, as described.

_Ninety-eighth_, to William F. Converse, Harrison, Ohio, April 17, 1855.

For improvement in India-rubber springs.

_Ninety-ninth_, to Sigismund Beer, assignor to Lewis Feuchtuanger, and

Sigismund Beer, New York, May 29, 1855. For improvement in

de-vulcanizing India-rubber.

_Claim._—The restoration of caoutchouc, gutta-percha or other similar

gums, which have undergone the process of being cured or vulcanized, so

that those gums may be capable of being used again as a substitute for

native gums, may be capable of being used again as a substitute for

native gums of like character, or in combination with such gums, by

first treating the vulcanized gum with alkalies, or compounds of

alkalies and oils, as potash with any common grease or oil, for

extracting the sulphur, &c., and then submitting the mass to heat and

turpentine, or any other liquid known to be a solvent of the gum in its

natural condition.

_One hundredth_, to Francis Baschnagel, New York, Aug. 14, 1855. For

improvement in compositions for treating rubber and gutta-percha.

_Claim._—The conversion or restoration of caoutchouc or gutta-percha,

whether they have been vulcanized or not, into a soft, plastic, and

workable state, (by a new combination of chemical agents) so that they

may be re-manufactured in a state already vulcanized or not, according

as the substance converted or restored had or had not been vulcanized;

the substances which I use for this purpose being bi-sulphuret of carbon

in conjunction with alcohol absolute, and not common alcohol, without

the addition of any other chemical agent; and without the application of

heat.

_One hundred and first_, to James West, October 30, 1855. For

improvement in roofing compositions.

The proportions are: Sixteen ounces naptha, half an ounce of

India-rubber, half an ounce of shellac, and half an ounce of

gutta-percha dissolved in linseed oil, gum shellac dissolved in alcohol,

two ounces “puzzolan” (composed of pulverized glass,) quick lime

pulverized and sifted, and two ounces of smalt.

_Claim._—The use of lime in combination with the rubber, gutta-percha,

and shellac solutions in the composition, as set forth.

The solution of rubber, gum-shellac, gutta-percha, and the naptha, are

to be warmed to blood heat, then the “puzzolan” to be mixed therewith,

and immediately to be applied to the roof and rubbed smooth; then the

smalt is to be sifted on.

_One hundred and second_, to Charles Rice and Sylvanus H. Whorf, Nov.

13, 1855. For improvement in lasting and applying soles to shoes.

The sole and the upper are first placed together upon a last A, the

upper being made to overlap the outer surface of the in-sole, and

affixed thereto by cement. The whole being thus prepared, is next placed

within the clamping bed, B, and the parts of the latter closed; next the

platten of the press is to be depressed, so as to carry the punches.

_Claim._—The holding clamp, B, and last, A, as used together, and in

connection with the pressing or punching mechanism, or both, for the

purpose of fixing soles to shoes by cement, substantially as set forth.

_One hundred and third_, to Charles Rice and Sylvanus H. Whorf, Nov. 20,

1855. For improved machine for preparing leather for the manufacture of

boots and shoes.

_Claim._—The above described mechanism, or machine, for preparing

leather for the manufacture of boots and shoes, the whole being arranged

and made to operate, substantially in the manner, and for the purpose

set forth.

_One hundred and fourth_, to H. G. Tyer and John Helm, New Brunswick, N.

J., Jan. 2, 1855. For improvement in processes for making India-rubber

cloth.

This improvement consists in subjecting the cloth, which has been

previously coated with a layer of India-rubber, suddenly to a degree of

heat from 140° to 180° Fah. By this sudden application of heat while the

goods are still in a green, undried state, the camphene used in the

cement evaporating very rapidly, and leaves the gum punctured with

minute orifices, which are too small to allow the passage of globules of

water through them, but are large enough for the passage of air through

them.

_Claim._—The peculiar mode, so described, of preparing the uppers of

boots and shoes.

_One hundred and fifth_, to Charles Morey, citizen of the United States,

residing at Paris, France, Jan. 9, 1855. For improvement in re-working

hard rubber compounds.

The material is placed in an iron mould closed and subjected to a

powerful pressure. It is then placed between two red-hot iron plates,

and thus again introduced into the press. When the mould is sufficiently

hot, it is put into cold water until it has become cool. The soldering,

after the article is taken from the mould, is performed in the following

manner: The broken parts are scraped off; dust of hard vulcanized

India-rubber is introduced between the scraped parts; the whole is

submitted to a high degree of heat and pressure, whereby the broken

parts are united in a perfect manner.

_Claim 1st._—Forming or moulding scrapings, filings, dust, powder, or

sheets of hard vulcanized India-rubber, into a compact, solid mass, by

means of a high degree of heat and pressure, as above described.

_Second._—The application of dust powder, filings of hard vulcanized

India-rubber for soldering or uniting hard vulcanized India-rubber.

_One hundred and sixth_, to Henry G. Tyer and John Helm, Jan. 30, 1855.

For improvement in processes for making India-rubber cloth.

The India-rubber compound, (in a plastic state) is introduced at C,

between cylinders 1 and 2, as it passes between the said cylinders, and

adhering to cylinder 2, is carried round and down until it comes nearly

in contact with cylinder 3, when the end of roll of cloth A is inserted

between cylinders 2 and 3, and the compound is pressed upon and into the

cloth by the action of the cylinders. When the cloth and compound thus

united on one side have passed round cylinder 3 until they have have

become nearly in contact with cylinder 4, the end of the cloth from

roller B is inserted between cylinders 3 and 4 so as to come in contact

with the compound on cloth A. The two pieces of cloth, with the compound

between them, then pass between cylinders 3 and 4, when the two pieces

of cloth become firmly united with the compound.

_Claim._—The process described of making elastic fabrics without a

previous preparation of threads, strips, or sheets, or the coating of

the cloth by cement.

_One hundred and seventh_, to Sylvanus H. Whorf, assignor to himself and

Charles Rice, Jan. 8, 1856. For improvement in the manufacture of boots

and shoes.

The inventor says: “I do not claim uniting the sole to the upper by

means of cement, made to extend through the upper alone, but what I do

claim as my improvement, is the manufacture of a shoe by cementing its

sole and upper in extending the cement not only through perforations in

the upper, but in and through the perforations made in and through the

in-sole or the outer sole, or both, the same presenting great

advantages, not only in securing the parts together, but in rendering

them water-proof when the cement employed is of a character to resist

water.”

_One hundred and eighth_, to G. Tyer and John Helm, New Brunswick, N.

J., Jan. 9, 1856. For improvement in making gum-elastic cloth.

_Claim._—An elastic fabric composed of pieces of cloth either woven with

the threads of the weft in a diagonal position to the threads of the

warp or of common cloth stretched so as to force the threads into such

relative diagonal position, combined and caused to adhere together,

exclusively by vulcanized compound of India-rubber or gutta-percha, the

two pieces of cloth being first united by the vulcanizable compound and

the compound being vulcanized after the union.

_One hundred and ninth_, to Sylvanus H. Whorf and Charles Rice, March 4,

1856. For improvement in the application of soles to boots and shoes, by

means of pressure, and gutta-percha or other cement.

The nature of this invention will be understood by reference to the

claim. The machine for pressing the sole to the upper is illustrated in

the engraving, where H represents a hollow last, into which steam can be

introduced by means of pipe I; and the sole can be pressed to the upper

by means of the pressing apparatus and the platten C.

_Claim._—We are aware that a gutta-percha sole has been applied to a

shoe by melting gutta-percha in a mould and subsequently pressing the

shoe therein. We, therefore, do not claim such. We are also aware that

in book-binders’ presses, and in smoothing irons, the platten of the

one, and the body of the other, have been provided with an air-chamber

for the reception of either steam or heated air, or other means of

heating. We, therefore, do not claim such. As we use heat not for either

drying or smoothing alone, but for a different purpose, and in a process

of manufacture wherein it has not been before applied, to our knowledge,

in the way in which we employ it, being used by us for softening or

melting gutta-percha, after it has been applied to a last, as specified;

and therefore we claim our improvement in the process of manufacturing

and finishing shoes with either gutta-percha soles, or soles formed of

leather or other material, and united to the upper and in-sole by means

of gutta-percha or its equivalent, and through the agency of pressing

mechanism, as specified, our improvement consisting in supplying heat

within a last by means of a chamber and pipe and steam or means of

heating said last, the same not only enabling the gutta-percha of the

sole to be softened or rendered adhesive while it is being pressed upon

the in-sole and upper, but also serving to smooth and finish the upper,

as described.

_One hundred and tenth_, to Richard McMullin, March 17, 1856. For

improvement in processes for making elastic rubber cloth.

_Claim._—Rendering vulcanized India-rubber, for the manufacture of

shirred goods, adhesive by boiling it in a solution of potash, to remove

the sulphur from its surface, thus fitting the sheet of rubber to

receive a coat of cement, whereby it is caused to adhere firmly to the

cloth, or other fabric between which it is placed, in the manner and for

the purposes substantially as herein set forth.

_One hundred and eleventh_, to John H. Cheever, March 11, 1856. For

improvement in the manufacture of India-rubber belting or banding.

_One hundred and twelfth_, to Charles F. Crockett, June 17, 1856. For

improvement in making sheets of leather from curriers’ shavings or

buffings.

The inventor says: “I do not wish to confine myself to any particular

kind of cement, although I found India-rubber cement to answer the best

purpose. Curriers’ glass is a good instrument to press the edges

together.”

_Claim._—Making sheets of leather of any desired size and thickness of

curriers’ shavings or buffings, by lapping and cementing them together

while in a moist state, and then subjecting the mass to pressure.

_One hundred and thirteenth_, to Nathaniel Hayward, Colchester, Ct.,

April 15, 1856. For improvement in the manufacture of India-rubber.

_One hundred and fourteenth_, to Nathaniel Hayward, Colchester, Ct., May

6, 1856. For process of preparing elastic India-rubber cloth.

_Claim._—The producing an elastic fabric of uniform strength by uniting

a sheet of rubber with sheets of cloth thinly coated on one side with a

vulcanized compound of rubber; the sheet of rubber before it is united

with the sheets of cloth being in the modes set forth so prepared that

the central part of it is completely vulcanized, while the surfaces are

not.

_One hundred and fifteenth_, to A. D. Puffer, Somerville, Mass., May 20,

1856. For improvement in lining metal pipes with gutta-percha.

_One hundred and sixteenth_, to James Reynolds, New York, June 16, 1856.

For improvement in Mandrels for making gutta-percha tubing.

_One hundred and seventeenth_, to Austin G. Day, Seymour, Ct., June 10,

1856. For improvement in cleaning India-rubber.

_One hundred and eighteenth_, to James Reynolds, New York, June 10,

1856. For improvement in feed apparatus for working gutta-percha.

_One hundred and nineteenth_, to James Reynolds, New York, July 29,

1856. For improvement in gutta-percha apparatus for covering wire.

_One hundred and twentieth_, to William F. Shaw, Boston, Mass., August

12, 1856. For improvement in treating India-rubber.

_One hundred and twenty-first_, to Jacob H. Howell, Ansonia, Ct., Oct.

21, 1856. For improvement in making India-rubber hose.

_One hundred and twenty-second_, to Henry Forstrick, Hoboken, New York,

Oct. 28, 1856. For improvement in working over vulcanized India-rubber.

_One hundred and twenty-third_, to Nathaniel Hayward, Nov. 4, 1856. For

improved catch for India-rubber shoes.

_Claim._—The use of a steel rubber or other kind of spring catch of any

proper shape, in the heel of an India-rubber over shoe or clog, having a

projection or lip extending out horizontally or through the quarter as

specified, whereby the over shoe is prevented from slipping at the heel,

and is susceptible of being disengaged from the under boot or shoe

without using the hands.

_One hundred and twenty-fourth_, to T. Gault, Seymour, Ct., Nov. 11,

1856. For process of cleaning India-rubber.

_One hundred and twenty-fifth_, to Henry Davenport, New York, Dec. 23,

1856. For improvement in machines for cutting India-rubber threads.

_One hundred and twenty-sixth_, to James Reynolds, New York, Dec. 9,

1856. For mode of making gutta-percha cord.

_One hundred and twenty-seventh_, to Charles Goodyear, of New Haven,

Conn., June 15, 1844. Re-issued December 25, 1849, in two separate

patents, being Nos. 156 and 157 of re-issued Patents, viz. For

India-rubber fabrics.

No. 156. PROCESSES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF INDIA-RUBBER. I claim the

curing of caoutchouc or India-rubber by subjecting it to the action of a

high degree of artificial heat, substantially as described and for the

purpose specified.

And I also claim the preparing and curing the compound of India-rubber,

sulphur, and a carbonate of other salt or oxyd of lead by subjecting the

same to the action of artificial heat, substantially as described.

No. 157. FELTING INDIA-RUBBER WITH COTTON FIBRE. I claim incorporating

the fibres of cotton or other substance with India-rubber by preparing

the fibres of a fleece or bat of cotton or other fibrous substance into

a sheet of India-rubber in the green state, without subjecting the

fibres, after they have been incorporated to a stretching or drawing

operation, substantially as described.

_One hundred and twenty-eighth_, to James Reynolds, of New York City.

For Machine for making gutta-percha pipes and covering telegraph wires.

This invention is for the purpose of forming, tubing, or coating

wires—both operations being substantially alike—by forcing the

gutta-percha, while rendered plastic by heat, through a die. The

necessary pressure for this purpose is applied by a piston working in a

cylinder, in which the material is placed and kept heated, or by other

suitable forcing apparatus.

One improvement consists in connecting the cylinder with an air pump, or

other suitable exhausting apparatus, whereby any air remaining in the

said cylinder after it has been filled as full as possible with

gutta-percha and closed, may be extracted before applying the pressure.

The manufactured article is thus rendered free from blow holes, and is

perfectly firm. This is a result of great importance for small tubing

and the covering of fine wire.

A second improvement consists in arranging the die and core by which the

tube is produced or the covering of the wire performed, in a position

transverse to the direction in which the piston works to produce the

pressure, to allow a hollow core to be used for the admission of air

into the tube as fast as it is formed, and also to prevent it from

collapsing by the formation of a vacuum within. The same arrangement

also permits the passage of the wire through the die when it is being

covered by the percha.

A third improvement consists in providing the stomach in which the die

is placed, with an opening, to allow of the constant escape of a certain

quantity of material during the operation. By this means the quality of

the manufactured article is rendered more uniform. Without such an

arrangement it is almost impossible to produce small tubing or cover

fine wire with any degree of uniformity of thickness.

A fourth improvement consists in the employment of a continuously

revolving trough of water, suitably arranged to receive the tube or

covered wire as fast as it leaves the die, and coil it up in the water

to cool it, to prevent the coils from sticking together.

_One hundred and twenty-ninth_, to Thomas C. Wales, of Dorchester,

Mass., February 2, 1858. For Water-proof Gaiter Shoes and Boots.

I do not claim the vulcanizing process, nor do I claim making articles

of cloth cemented together with rubber cement and afterwards vulcanizing

them, nor do I claim making shoes partly of leather and partly of cloth,

the same being made by connecting the leather and cloth together by

water proof caoutchouc cement, as such when made partly of leather

cannot be vulcanized, owing to the fact that the great heat required in

the vulcanizing process, injures or destroys the leather.

I claim a new or improved manufacture, or water-proof vulcanized rubber

and cloth gaiter shoe, made in manner and with its external layer of

cloth, and its lining of cloth arranged together, and with respect to

the remainder or rubber parts or foxing, substantially as specified.

_One hundred and thirtieth_, to Edwin M. Chaffee, of Providence, R. I.,

February 26, 1858. For India-rubber Door Mat.

I do not intend to confine myself to the lozenge cells, as it is obvious

that square and some other forms will do as well.

Neither do I intend to confine myself to ribs or ridges intersecting

each other, as it is evident that ridges forming various figures will

answer much the same purpose, such, for instance, as run circular,

parallel, serpentine, zig-zag or angular, or any other raised surface of

rubber.

Nor do I confine myself to rubber alone as the only gum, as

gutta-percha, and other gums may be substituted for it.

I claim the mat as formed by ridges or grating, together with the cells

or spaces, of whatever form, the one to serve as scrapers to clean the

foot, and the other to contain the dirt, whether of rubber,

gutta-percha, or other flexible gums.

_One hundred and thirty-first_, to Gustavus Cuppers, of College Point,

N. Y., July 20, 1858. For manufacture of Hard Rubber Goods.

I wish to have it distinctly understood that I do not claim as my

invention the heating or curing process, as it is called, nor the

combination of India-rubber and gutta-percha with sulphur, nor any other

combination already patented and described.

But I claim the improvement in the hardening or curing process of

caoutchouc or India-rubber and of gutta-percha, by which articles,

wares, goods and merchandize may be manufactured into any desired size,

form or shape, substantially as described.

_One hundred and thirty-second_, to Abraham Brower, of New York City,

July, 1858. For Water-proof Cement.

I am aware that water-proof compositions for leather consisting of

tallow, suet, wax, rosin, tar, oil, and India-rubber have been employed;

these I do not claim of themselves, singly or combined.

I am not aware, however, of shellac or glue ever having been employed in

unctuous water-proof compositions for leather; but these I do not claim

of themselves in my composition, apart from the other ingredients, as

all are required combined, to render it so excellent for the purposes

set forth.

What I claim is, the composition composed of all the ingredients

described, and in about the proportions for the purpose set forth, the

same constituting an improved new and useful article of manufacture.

By a judicious compound of tallow, bees-wax, resin, shellac and glue,

the inventor produces a very superior water-proof composition, the

leather remains soft and pliable, will take a polish, and repel water

very perfectly.

_One hundred and thirty-third_, to Austin G. Day, of Seymour, Conn.,

August 10, 1858. For treatment of caoutchouc.

I do not claim in the broad, vulcanizing rubber or equivalent gums, and

irrespective of the special process used and product made. Therefore—

What I claim is, running the heat for vulcanizing elastic hard rubber

compounds as set forth through the several grades of temperature, and

the several intervals of time described and illustrated in the

specification.

I also claim making, as described, the elastic, hard rubber composition

of two parts by weight of rubber, and one part of sulphur, when such

composition is made preparatory to the running of the heat through the

several grades of time and temperature as set forth in the

specification.

I also claim equalizing the temperature in the heating apparatus by

mechanical means or by a current of steam, or its equivalent, in the

manner set forth.

_One hundred and thirty-fourth_, to Samuel Whitmarsh, of Northampton,

Mass. For Composition for Artificial Leather.

I do not claim, broadly, the saturation of cloth and other fabrics in

linseed oil containing umber or other substances.

But what I claim is the fabric specified, composed of cotton or other

fibrous substance, in a woven or unwoven condition, saturated or coated

with a compound of linseed oil and burnt umber that has been prepared as

described.

Samuel Whitmarsh, of Northampton, Mass., has invented a new fabric which

is intended to supply the place of leather in many of its applications.

The fabric is composed of cotton or other fibrous substances either

woven into cloth or in an unwoven state, and saturated or coated with a

compound of linseed oil and burnt umber, prepared by boiling in every

gallon of oil about three pounds of umber in a powdered state, for such

a length of time, that the composition when cool will roll in the hands

without sticking. The fabric may be made in forms suitable for the soles

of boots and shoes, coverings for trunks, traveling bags, cap fronts, or

as a substitute for carriage or harness leather, or for machine belting

or hose pipe.

The mode of producing the fabric differs to some extent according to the

use for which it is designed, but the general principles are in all

cases the same. The umber is stirred into the boiled oil until it

reaches the point desired, when it is ready to be applied in the manner

best calculated to produce special articles.

_One hundred and thirty-fifth_, to O. S. Boyden, and M. C. Fredericks,

of Newark, N. J. For Composition for varnishing leather.

We claim the employment in the compounds used in the manufacture of

glazed, japanned, or painted leather, cloth, silk, and paper—either

wholly or in part as a substitute for camphene or spirits of

turpentine—of a paste made of the glutinous properties of flax seed,

substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

The compounds commonly employed for the first, or first and second

coats, in the manufacture of glazed or japanned leather or cloth, is

made by boiling a certain quantity of umber in linseed oil, and adding a

quantity of lampblack or other coloring matter with a quantity of

camphene or spirits of turpentine, about equal to one and a half times

that of the linseed oil. O. S. Boyden, and M. C. Fredericks, of Newark,

N. J. have invented an improvement on the above composition, which

consists in the substitution either wholly or in part for the camphene

or spirits of turpentine in the compound, of a paste made by boiling

flaxseed, either whole or after the oil has been expressed, and either

ground into meal or unground, in water till its glutinous property is

extracted. The use of this paste as a substitute for camphene and

spirits of turpentine not only reduces the cost of the compound, but

also renders the goods more pliable, and less likely to crack.

_One hundred and thirty-sixth_, to Francis Baschnagel, of Beverly,

Mass., assignor to the Beverly Rubber Company. For restoring waste

vulcanized rubber.

I claim the application of heat from 150° to 600° Fahrenheit, to waste

vulcanized rubber with or without immersing it in cold water or any

other cooling fluid as specified for the purpose of restoring the same,

so that it may be used again in the manufacture of India-rubber goods

and substances, hereby expressly disclaiming all and every right to the

application of artificial heat to new rubber, vulcanized or not

vulcanized, and to the application of heat to rubber in any manner and

for any purpose except as above set forth.

DESCRIPTIVE INDEX OF CHEMICAL PATENTS ISSUED BY THE U. S. PATENT OFFICE,

IN 1855-6.

The following is an epitome of the chemical patents issued by the United

States in 1855-6. It was prepared by Dr. Daniel Breed, of the U. S.

Patent office.

_India-rubber Cloth._—Made pervious to air but not to water by sudden

drying (of fresh cement) at 160° Fahrenheit, (evaporation of camphene

makes the gum porous): H. G. Tyer, and John Helm, January 2.

_India-rubber and Gutta-percha._—Vulcanized or not, rendered plastic by

treatment with “bi-sulphurate” of carbon (?) and absolute alcohol:

Francis Baschnagel, August 14.

_India-rubber Cloth._—Made by pressing cloth upon each side of

sheet-rubber by means of rollers: H. G. Tyer, and John Helm, January 30.

_India-rubber._—Scraps and powder of hard, vulcanized, moulded and

cemented by heat and pressure: Charles Morey, January 9.

_India-rubber, Vulcanized._—Treated with alkalies and oil to remove

sulphur: Sigismund Beer, May 29.

_India-rubber._—Crushed, washed, treated with potash, or soda, in

vacuum, and washed to purify: A. G. Day, June 10.

_India-rubber Sheet._—With surfaces not vulcanized, united to cloth:

Nathaniel Hayward, May 6.

_India-rubber._—Surface of vulcanized made rough, then coated with

cement, and heated to 235° to render adhesive: Nathaniel Hayward, April

15.

_India-rubber._—Treatment of sulphured rubber with drying oils; or

common rubber with sulphured oils: Wm. F. Shaw, August 12.

_India-rubber._—Treatment of vulcanized with nitric acid and fusel oil,

to purify and render adhesive: Henry Forstrick, October 28.

_India-rubber._—Boiling in potash to remove sulphur from the surface of

vulcanized and render adhesive: Richard McMullin, March 18.

BOOK V.

CHAPTER I.

TANNING.

The science or art of Tanning is the process by which the animal hide or

skin is converted into _leather_, thus rendering it subservient to the

use of man. The art of tanning in its most simple form was known to

antiquity, and consisted simply in the drying and cleansing the skins,

which were then converted into articles of clothing. Thus used, they

answered but a temporary purpose, as the re-absorption of moisture would

speedily cause them to decay. The Egyptians were among the earliest

tanners of whom we have any definite account, and Thebes was justly

celebrated for its artificers in leather. But unlike most of the arts in

which the Egyptians excelled, they do not seem to have reached an equal

degree of skill in the preparation of leather, although it was wrought

by them into tapestry, and made to subserve various useful purposes. In

later times this useful art has been reduced to scientific principles,

owing to the investigations of Sir H. Davy, Sequin Proust, and others.

Leather considered chemically is a compound of tannin and gelatine,

possessing the qualities of durability, pliability, and insolubility in

water.

The important elements in the manufacture of leather are, first,

_cleansing and softening the skins_. Second, the depilation or removal

of the hair. Lime is principally used for the latter purpose, although

any agent which possesses the power to soften or destroy the roots of

the hair, and facilitate its removal is equally desirable.

The process of depilation with lime is slow, and tanners have yet to

learn that practically there are other chemical processes which will

greatly facilitate it. Hydrosulphuret of calcium is recommended.

The great secret of tanning consists in so preparing the cuticle or

porous surface of the hide as that the gluey or gelatinous tissue shall

unite with the tannin. This is produced by immersing the skins in an

infusion of oak bark, or other substances containing tannin. Therefore

any process which will open the pores of the unhaired skins so that they

become light and spongy and thus facilitate the union of the tannin with

the tissue of the skin, is desirable. The name of _tan_ takes its origin

from a coarsely powdered bark, which contains the active principle in

the tanning process. The component is called _tannin_.

To Seguin, a celebrated French chemist, the discovery of a property in

nut-galls of combining with the albumen and gelatine of skins, thus

forming an insoluble and unalterable compound, is due. This is the key

to the theory of tanning.

Morfit’s definition of the principle is, “to saturate a skin with tannin

in such a manner as to promote the slow combination of this principle

with the gelatine, albumen and fibrine contained in the former, so as to

form with them a new compound. This reaction, in the operation of

tanning, does not proceed spontaneously, but is the result of a slow

process, requiring great care and skilful manipulation.”

Tannin exists in the bark of the trunks of nearly all perennial trees,

and especially that portion of the bark next to the fibre and sap wood.

It is found in the leaves of trees in small quantities. The oak-tree

bark, leaves and fruit, contain a larger amount of tannin than any other

tree species in North America. The bark is usually gathered from May to

July, as during those and the intervening months they contain more

tannin than during the other portions of the season. There are various

kinds of oak in the United States, all of which yield a large amount of

tannin. There is a species of oak which grows in Delaware, Maryland and

Virginia, known by the name of Spanish Oak, which is superior for its

tannin properties. The rock-chestnut oak, the black and white oaks, and

Spanish oak, are considered the most valuable, and are used almost

exclusively by the manufacturers of leather in the United States. The

wood of almost every tree, the bark of which contains tannin, is also

useful for the same purpose. There are several varieties of tannin. The

pure tannin and the impure tannin is a generic term for the different

varieties. It was a long time before tannin was separated in a pure

state. It is so intimately combined with other extractive matter that it

was with difficulty separated.

Chemists give us four varieties.

_Natural tannin_, comprising several species, originating from the

different proportions of extractive and gallic acids. Also three kinds

of artificial tannin, obtained by the action of nitric acid upon

charcoal; also upon indigo and the various resins; also that obtained by

the action of sulphuric acid upon the resins and camphor.

The best kinds of hides suitable for tanning into leather are those of

heifers. The large ox hides are those which are used chiefly for

conversion into sole leather. The skins of horses, cows, bulls, and

buffaloes, are used for thick sole leather. For upper, thin, and the

various fancy leathers, the skins of small animals, dogs, sheep, goats,

seals, &c.

The quality of the leather depends upon several circumstances; the

nature of the skin, its condition in curing, upon the method of tanning,

also the nature of the food upon which the animal fed, and its

healthiness. Hides from cattle slaughtered in cold weather are said to

produce five per cent. more leather than when taken in the warm months.

Dry hides produce more leather than salted hides. For the production of

40 pounds of leather, the average is estimated 30 pounds of dry hide—60

pounds of salted, or 74 pounds of market hide. Large supplies of skins

are imported from Buenos Ayres, Brazil, California, and Texas. Sheep

skins are received from the Cape of Good Hope and Buenos Ayres; goat

skins from Barbary; lamb and kid from Italy. Very few hides,

comparatively, are obtained at home. In order to form some idea of the

extent of the leather trade, as represented in the tanning

establishments, a few figures will enable the reader to judge.

There are, according to Morfit, 6,263 Tanneries in the United States,

the largest number being in Pennsylvania. These unitedly employ 20,909

persons, and in which business is invested the sum of $18,900,557. The

value of the products is $32,861,796. About 6,000,000 skins of sheep,

goats and other small animals, are tanned and dressed annually, which

are not included in the above estimate.

The _Scientific American_, in alluding to Morfit’s excellent work on the

“Arts of Tanning,” had the following notice which we here insert:

“In looking over this book, and reading the different plans for

improving leather, and for reducing the time occupied in tanning a skin

or hide, we are more and more convinced of the important fact that the

tanning art has been greatly improved by modern discoveries and

application—a contrary opinion to that held by the universal mass of the

people. We know it is very difficult to introduce new plans of tanning,

for tanners are, like others, wedded to old things; thus the rolling of

leather—an operation now generally practiced—was opposed with much

bitterness by some of our most experienced tanners, one of whom said ‘he

never would roll a hide while he lived,’ an assertion which he wisely

lived either to forget or repudiate.

“The whole science of tanning depends on two principles, one the removal

of the hair from the skin, with the least injury to the gelatinous

matter of which it is composed, and the other is the rendering of the

skin insoluble in water, and to resist the action of the atmosphere, and

yet be flexible. The hair can be removed by lime, sweating, and other

means, but the employment of a substance or substances that will combine

with the gelatine of the skin to form a new substance, insoluble in

water and incapable of being injuriously acted upon by the atmosphere,

offers a wide field for the historian of the tanning art, and presents a

subject for the study of every tanner at least in our country. The art

of tanning was known, we suppose, before the flood; it is practised

among all nations, civilized and savage, and the gist of it lies in

soaking the skins in different solutions of various vegetable substances

of an astringent character, until the tanning juices of those substances

have combined with the whole skin and rendered it a new substance named

leather. Oak and hemlock barks, sumac, willow, blackberries, catechu,

kino, &c., are employed. Those who wish to get an account of the various

processes and substances employed, must consult this book.

“We have only another remark to make, it is this, we have never known

any of the metallic solutions to be employed in tanning, and from their

nature, in rendering some vegetable substances insoluble, we believe

that it would be worth the trouble for some of our tanners to make a few

experiments. We would recommend the chloride of tin; it is made by

feeding drop-tin into muriatic acid until effervescence ceases. The way

to try it would be to make up a solution of it in a tub of cold water,

until it stood about 1½° in the hydrometer; the skin should have

undergone through the whole tanning process before it is placed in this

solution, in which it should lie about two hours, and be stirred up two

or three times. After this it should be well washed in cold water, and

then finished in a milk-warm water bath, when it will be ready for

drying. It is our opinion that a superior leather would be produced by

this addition to any of the present processes.”

The Boot and Shoe Manufacturers' Assistant and Guide. Containing a Brief History of the Trade. History of India-rubber and Gutta-percha, and Their Application to the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes. Full Instructions in the Art, With Diagrams and Scales, Etc., Etc. Vulcanization and Sulphurization, English and American Patents. With an Elaborate Treatise on Tanning. · 第 1 / 6 章