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T H E J O U R s A L OF IIVD U S T R I A L A N D E.\7GIlVEERIAVG C H E M I S T R Y .
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE RUBBER SECTION.’ December 29. The morning session was opened with 37 members present, and 17 came in during the session. The following program was presented. “Scientific Tests and Methods for Rubber Content in Raw and Vulcanized Rubber,” by W. C. Ducca. Discussion by Messrs. Boggs, Cutler and others. “The Treatment of Crude Rubber, ” by Mr. Peabody. Discussion a t some length by Messrs. Whipple, Barrier, and Boggs. “Rubber Goods Required in Beet Sugar Factories,” by Mr. Hanslick. “A Punching Machine for Rubber Samples,” by H. P. Mills. Dr. Leo Baekeland announced the joint meeting to be held during the summer of 1912, in conjunction with the Section of Plastics of the International Congress of Applied Chemistry. The secretary announced that the former chairman of the Section, Nr. Goodrich, had donated $roo to the funds of the Section, and that the present chairman, Mr. Cutler, and also Mr. Harold Van der Linde had agreed each to donate the same amount. Dr. Knight, Chairman of the Committee on Standard Methods of Analysis, reported for t h a t committee, and submitted such figures as had been received by him. The report was discussed by Messrs. Wesson, Boggs, Walker, Hibbert, and Cottle. It was then voted that the report of the Committee on Methods be accepted, and that the committee be discharged with thanks. “Does the Acidity of Rubber Indicate its Botanical Origin?” by Mr. Bloom, was read, and discussed by Messrs. Evans, Boggs, and Maywald. The chairman called up for discussion the subject of Synthetic Rubber and made a lengthy report as to work which had been done on the investigation of synthetic rubber by the Rubber Goods Manufacturing Company. He stated, among other things, that the synthetic rubber made by his company from isoprene obtained from turpentine could not be vulcanized by itself, but that vulcanization did take place if any other rubber was added to the synthetic rubber. He said further, however, that synthetic rubber made from isoprene obtained from Cameroon rubber could be readily vulcanized. He also stated that his Company had been investigating the subject of synthetic rubber for the past ten months, and that with isoprene at 5 0 cents a pound, the price a t which they had obtained it, the price of the resulting synthetic rubber would be thoroughly satisfactory. The matter was discussed by Messrs. Boggs, Maywald, and others. Mr. Barrows gave a short talk on his theory of the formation of the rubber molecule. This theory was discussed a t length by Mr. L. G. Wesson and others. The chairman called for discussion on the effects of oils and other adulterants in reclaiming rubber. Discussion by Messrs. Whipple, Cutler, Boggs, and Boughton. In the absence of Mr. Thacher’s paper on “Mineral Compounds Used in Rubber,” the question of the use of sublimed
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white lead in rubber compounds and its exclusion from such compounds by various specification was brought up by hlr. Boggs, and discussed by Messrs. Whipple, Barrier, Walker, Tuttle, Hanslick and Wesson. December 30th. The meeting was called to order a t 9.50 by the chairman, with 37 members and visitors present. The meeting mas first addressed by Mr. Parsons, Secretary of the Society. Officers were elected for the ensuing year: Xr. Cutler, Chairman; Mr. Whipple, Secretary. There was then a general discussion on the appointment of a Committee on Standardizing Methods of Rubber Analysis, by Messrs. Walker, Fay, Geer, Culter, Boggs, and Parsons. I t was voted that a committee of five, consisting of the chairman, secretary, and three of the members, elected by ballot, appoint a Committee on Standard Methods of Analysis. Messrs. Geer, Boggs, and Fay were duly elected to serve with the Chairman and Secretary, and on motion this Committee was made the Executive Committee for the ensuing year. Mr. Walker, on behalf of the Bureau of Chemistry, and Mr. Smith, on behalf of the Bureau of Standards, offered the facilities of their respective bureaus to the committee. Mr. Geer announced informally that his Company was prepared to detail some of its chemists to carry on work for the committee. It was unanimously voted that every member of this Section would cooperate with the Committee on Methods of Analysis. A vote of thanks was extended to Mr. Goodrich, the former chairman, for the work which he had done during his administration. The question of abstracts in the Abstract Journal was discussed by Mr. Evans, Mr. Barrier, and others. The secretary read a letter which he had received from Mr. Whittelsey in reply to criticisms which had been made as to rubber abstracts in the Journal. Dr. Gray announced that he had found isoprene present in certain crude petroleums, but would not state in what particular petroleums he had found them. The following new members joined the Section: I. V. Stone, Revere Rubber Co., Providence, R . I. John A. Schaeffer, Picher Lead Co., Joplin, MO. F. E. Barrows, Patent Attorney, 918 F St., Washington, D. C. H. B. Rodman, Pennsylvania Railroad, Altoona, Pa. E. W. Boughton, Bureau of Chemistry, Washington, D. C. Norman G. Madge, Chief Chemist, Continental Rubber Co. of N. Y.,11 Vandewater St., New York, N. Y . John B. Tuttle, Bureau of Standards, Washington, D. C. William H. Smith, Bureau of Standards, Washington, D. C. D. Whipple, 114 Liberty St., New York, N. Y . Percy H. Walker, Bureau of Chemistry, Washington, D. C. Henry Fay, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston. Joseph Westesson, Navy Yard, Washington, D. C. Laurence G. Wesson, Bureau of Standards, Washington, D. C. F. J. MAYWALD, Secretary.
NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE NOTE ON THE PRODUCTION OF MERCURY FULMINATE. B Y CHARLES E. MUNROE.
Although i t is stated that mercuric fulminate has been produced through the reaction taking place between sodium nitromethane and mercuric chloride, yet, since the discovery of mercury fulminate by Edward Howard in 1800, it has been Forty-fifth Meeting, American Chemical Society, Washington, December, 191 1 .
commercially produced through the reactions occurring between ethyl alcohol, mercuric nitrate and nitric acid or its derivatives. In 1888 I began, in a desultory way, the study of this reaction when other alcohols were substituted for ethyl alcohol and, though methyl alcohol failed to give any satisfactory results, i t was found that propyl, butyl, amyl and.the higher alcohols gave bodies allied to fulminic acid but containing a larger number Of atoms Or groups. A closer study of these reactions and particularly the ob-
