Page:Miscellaneous Papers on Mechanical Subjects.djvu/151

 where it is kneaded and worked up with the necessary composition.

The indiarubber, so mixed, is passed in the form of an endless web through four rollers placed vertically one above the other, and comes out a broad web fit for use.

The "gumming process" is performed by three rollers, Nos. 1, 2, 3. Nos. 1 and 2, the two lower ones, revolving side by side, and No. 3 revolving above and in contact with No. 2. The indiarubber is fed between Nos. 1 and 2, and the cloth to be gummed or covered is passed between Nos. 2 and 3, taking up from No. 2 a thin and equally spread coating of rubber.

The indiarubber cloth is cut out from the sheet by workmen, in the shape required to form shoes. The parts so shaped are put together by women, who form them on lasts, closing the joints by cohesion after touching them with camphine. Each woman finishes an entire shoe, and about 1,400 pairs are made daily.

The shoes are then covered with a coat of varnish, and taken to the stove drying room, where they are subjected to a heat from 250° to 280°, and allowed to remain a night.

To provide for an equal distribution of heat in the drying room two large heating stoves are placed underneath, each in a separate compartment. These are fed with fuel from the outside,