THE RUBBER INDUSTRY.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 30, Issue 27, 9 April 1918, Page 4

THE RUBBER INDUSTRY.

The demands of the rubber industry Upon the special accommodation provided for it at the London Dock show no sign of abating, stocks being heavier at the present time than a year ago. Deliveries appear to bear but little relation to fluctuations in the price of the commodity. Among facilities provided for its handling may bo noted the recent use of a mechanical conveyor for the transport of rubber direct from barge to the large show rooms where the packages are sampled and their quantities verified. This means a considerable saving of labour. Some of the skilled assistants formerly employed by the Port Authority in the rubber show rooms have been called to the colours, but their places have been filled by ethers who in many cases have speedily proved themselves adaptaole to the work. In the vault beneaiu the show rooms, which is between two and three acres in extent, the rubber which is not wanted for immediate consumption is kept in a cool and consistent temperature. The quantity now stored in the vault scarcely suggests that London is in any danger of ceasing to bo the principal market for this commodity. The bulk of the supplies is plantation rubber. Imports of wild rubber nowadays are negligible.