Compression tests are used to a small extent in ordinary control testing of rubber mixtures prepared in the laboratory, but it is not possible with such tests to decide from an examination of various finished products which of the products will give satisfactory service under compression. Results obtained by this test have been in many cases contradictory, and it is safe to say that their conversion into analytical expressions has led to as many conclusions as there are authors who have worked on the subject. It appears then that the number of variables involved in a compression test is so great, and at the same time these variables are so little understood, that the test is meaningless at present. Naturally then one is induced to study the subject in detail, with the hope of being able to decide on the ultimate possibilities of the test and on the most favorable conditions under which it will give clearly defined results. With this in mind, it seemed opportune to determine the distribution of the deformations which take place in cubical test-specimens when their surfaces are lubricated and when they are not, and when the specimens are solid and when they contain holes in various locations.