Show i I Ama Amazon on Valley V l ey Natives First Users of Rubber Rubbe The earliest known use of rubber was made by natives in the Amazon valley who made mad waterproof boots by pouring latex on their feet and legs and letting it oxidize in the sun They also aso made crude but rather effective effective effective ef ef- ef- ef waterproof garments Early in the Nineteenth century notes a writer in the Chicago Tribune Tribune Trib Trib- une raincoats air pillows hose carriage carnage tires and similar products were produced in England In 1832 the first plant to produce a similar similar simi simi- lar line of rubber articles was established established es es- es- es in Roxbury M Mass ss At first rubber articles all had one basic defect they defect they were sensitive to temperature changes The remedy vulcanization of rubber was discovered discovered ered by Charles Goodyear in 1839 Goodyear found that by heating rubber he could make it permanently permanently permanently perma perma- flexible and unaffected by temperature conditions After this discovery factories sprang up in New England to make rubber boots and shoes and waterproof waterproof waterproof water water- proof fabrics With V th the coming of the automobile and adoption of mass production methods factories were were set up throughout the country to meet needs for tires tubes and other accessories I 1 I i I I i I |