Passing Comments • Will Transparent MOT the least attractive Tyres and
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Tubes Be1 1 feature of synthetic rubbers come Practicable? . •lies in the opportunity they present of escape from certain limitations inherent to the natural product; in thjs connection, colour and transparency are two minor factors often forgotten. Polyisobutylene rubber, for example, is initially obtained as a glass-clear mass. Unfortunately, this particular synthetic is not yet suitable for abrasion-resistant applications, so the comment recently made -that we could easily tell whether or not our tyres wanted internal repair or had 'absorbed unwanted articles and -materials is a , little premature Watch Your Tyre 'ROM a reply given recently Wear—You Have I in the House by Mr. P.
Been Warned . . Noel-Baker, Parliamentary
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Secretary to the M. of W.T., it appears that this Ministry, in conjunction with the MiniStty of Supply and other Departments concerned, is considering the adoption of an Order which would, make it an offence to use a pneumatic tyre on any vehicle or trailer after the cotton or other fabric used in the casing becomes visible. A few days ago we noticed a dust-collecting van in Finsbury, with one of its tyres so worn that several" plies of the casing had been worn through, and it appeared in imminent :danger of bursting.
How Road Motors Lead in U.S. Food Transport . . .
A SURVEY by the U.S.
JTh Department of Agriculture reveals that two-thirds of all the livestock received in the largest United States stockyards make the journey from farm to slaughterhouse by way of motor cattle trucks. In 1941 nearly 70 per cent. of the cattle, 67 per cent, of the calves, 70 per cent. of the pigs, and 34 per cent. of the sheep and lambs travelled by road motor. Two dozen of the largest cities in the . United States receive their entire milk supply by road; New York oletains two-thirds of its milk by this means and Philadelphia gets four-fifths. In 16 large cities road transport supplies two-thirds of the eggs consumed, as well as 98 per cent., of all the live poultry which provide for that traditional American institution—the chicken dinner.
ONE of the world's busiest thoroughfares is now the road between Teheran and the
Caspian Sea, and, as is mentioned in a recent issue of " Tran§port Topics," of Washington, this route, which is called Russia's Burma Road, is bearing materials and supplies to the Soviets, and actually carries more tons per month than did the real Burma Road during its most active period. It also resembles the latter in its topography, and is about the same length. From the first mile, in the south Of Iran, where the material is off-loaded from ships on to lorries, the vehicles travel more than 1,000 miles and traverse many mountains and deep gorges. The last part, which is that controlled by Russia, rises to 12,000 ft., but within 20 miles drops to below sea level. The Russians Now Have Their Own " Bu rma " Road .