Rubber and Rubber Planting. By R. H. Lock. (Cambridge University
Press. is. net)—India-rubber was first used in England in the eighteenth century, for the humble purpose of removing the marks of black-lead pencils—whence its name. The first patent for its employment in the manufacture of water-proof garments was taken out in 1791. In 1839 Goodyear discovered the process of combining robber with sulphur, which is known as vulcanization. About the same time Hancock first suggested the desirability of cultivating rubber, which was then gathered in the forests. But rubber-planting only became a serious industry in the last decade of the nineteenth century ; in 1912 over a million acres were in cultivation. Mr. Lock, who is a high authority, gives a full and lucid account of the rubber industry in this excellent book.
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