Abstract The rubber manufacturer of today is brought up in the tradition of facts and figures. The one without the other is useless. There can be no doubt that much of the present prosperity of the rubber industry is due to widespread benefits conferred by the publication of research work on rubber, and the standardization of production. The major discoveries in the recent history of rubber, such as the discovery of accelerators, the discovery of reinforcing action, and more recently the rediscovery of latex, have invariably followed a similar trend. The first activities in each case have been purely of a qualitative nature. After the frenzied rush to patent discoveries has subsided, everybody has settled down to find out the quantitative effects of the respective products when incorporated into rubber, subjected to the various rigorous processes normally employed. Careful research work has brought its reward, in so far as the scope of the respective products has widened, quality has improved, and costs have been very much reduced. In every case progress has been made on all sides, physical, chemical, and technical. In this respect latex is lopsided. It is a remarkable fact that at the present time, when latex appears to be more and more widely employed, manufacturers are not at all enthusiastic about it. They certainly are not falling over themselves to apply it. This is a matter that warrants investigation.