IMPROVEMENTS IN WIRE CARDS FOR CARDING COTTON, WOOL, SILK, FLAX, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES, AND FOR PRODUCING TOW AND YARN FROM LINE AND TOW YARN WASTE, WHICH COMES FROM THE SPINNING FRAMES, COM- MONLY CALLED HARD WASTE
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, RICHARD
KITSON, of Cleckheaton, Card Manufacturer, and JOHN GARTHWAITE, of Leeds,
Flax Spinner, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-seventh day of February, in the seventh year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Richard Kitson and John Garthwaite, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that we, the said Richard Kitson and John Garthwaite,
our exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Richard Kitson
and John Garthwaite, our exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of
years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WIRE CARDS FOR CARDING COTTON, WOOL, SILK,
FLAX, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES, AND FOR PRODUCING TOW AND YARN FROM
LINE AND TOW YARN WASTE, WHICH COMES FROM THE SPINNING FRAMES, COM-
MONLY CALLED HARD WASTE;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that we, the said Richard Kitson and John Garthwaite, or one of us,
shall cause a particular description of the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Richard Kitson and John Garthwaite, do hereby declare that the nature of
our Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are
fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof
(that is to say):-
In the manufacture of wire cards as heretofore practised, when leather has
been used for the fillets or sheets through which the wire teeth are set, it has
been usual to employ the best parts of hides of leather, and, notwithstanding
great care has been generally taken in selecting the best parts, still the backs
of wire cards have been very irregular in the substance and strength of the
different parts of the same fillet or sheet. In addition to which, such hides
are very costly compared with the fillets and sheets used by us in carrying out
the first part of our Invention, which consists in applying the descriptions of
leather called sheep skins, and also called basil, and roan basil, cemented on
woven fabrics, by which means we greatly improve the manufacture of of
wire cards. And in respect to the second part of our Invention, it is well
known that in spinning yarn from flax and tow much waste, called "hard
waste," takes place, which is comparatively of little value. Now, the object
of the second part of our Invention is, to submit such hard waste to a process
of machinery, and boiling in soap and water, so as to clean, unravel, and obtain
the fibres of tow again into a suitable condition for spinning into yarn. And
in order that our Invention may be fully understood, and readily carried into
effect, we will proceed to describe the means pursued by us.
In making backs of wire cards we use sheep skin, basil, or roan basil,
together with woven fabrics, in various ways. And it should be understood,
that the object in thus combining the descriptions of leather above mentioned
with woven fabrics is, that although the leather offers an excellent substance to,
receive the dents or teeth for making wire cards, yet it is of such a character
as not to bear the strain necessary for fixing the wire cards, hence the woven
cloth becomes desirable to give strength to the backs of cards made by apply-
ing one or more thicknesses of such description of leather. There are various
qualities of sheep skin, or basil, or roan basil, and the same are of different
thicknesses, and the descriptions we prefer are such as are known as light and
dark brown basil; and where the thickness is sufficient for the description of
wire card required, then we make proper fillets and sheets by cementing, such
description of leather on to a strong woven fabric. We generally employ
linen fabrics, though others may be used, and we cement the woven fabric on
to the flesh side of the leather; and in setting the wire teeth in forming wire
cards we prefer that the crowns of the staples should come against the

page_text: leather, and the woven fabric be upwards when at work; at the same time
we do not confine ourselves thereto, as that may be varied. The wire teeth
are set in such combined backs in the ordinary manner of making fillet cards
and sheet cards, as is well understood, therefore the machinery for such pur-
poses will not require to be described here. In joining the edges of the leather
we use isinglass, but for cementing the leather to the linen or other fabric
we use the following composition:-Eight pounds of the best glue dissolved
in a solution of Irish moss in water, using about six quarts of water to about
half a pound of Irish moss; the moss being dissolved, we remove the stalks,
and then dissolve the glue therein; at the same time we do not confine our-
selves to such cement, as others may be used, but we believe the one above
given to be the best. In some cases, particularly where the leather is thin,
we cement a piece of woven fabric between two thicknesses of the leather,
placing the flesh sides of both inwards, and in other cases we, in addition to
leaving a thickness of woven fabric between two surfaces of leather, also
apply a surface of woven fabric to one of the outer surfaces, and in other
cases we apply woven fabrics to both surfaces of leather. And we wish it to
be understood, that this part of our Invention has for its object the combining
such descriptions of leather with woven fabrics by cementing the same
together, and is not confined to a particular mode of doing so.
We will now describe the second part of our Invention. We take the
"hard waste" and submit it to the action of a "devil," which will con-
siderably open out and unravel the fibres of which such hard waste of flax or
tow is composed; we then boil the same with soft soap in water in the pro-
portion of about two pounds of the soap to one cwt. of waste, for four or five
hours; we then pass the fibres between pressing rollers and dry the same.
The fibres are next submitted to a breaker carding engine, and then to a
finishing carding engine, the sliver from which is received in cans, and con-
veyed to and drawn through what is called a screw gill frame, having drawing
rollers close up to the gills; the sliver thus obtained is then formed into a rove
and spun, as is well understood. The devil, the carding engines, the gill frame,
and roving and spinning machinery, being of the ordinary descriptions, and
such as are commonly used, it is not necessary to enter into any explanation
thereof in this our Specification. And we would remark, that we make no
claim to such machinery, nor do we confine this part of the Invention to the
use of these machines, as others acting in a similar manner might be employed,
this part of our Invention being to obtain tow from hard waste, and spinning
yarn therefrom.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the best means we

page_text: are acquainted with for performing the same, we would have it understood
that what we claim is,
First, the mode herein described of manufacturing of wire cards, by applying
the descriptions of leather, combined with woven fabrics, as the backs of such
cards.
And, secondly, we claim the making of tow yarn by employing the tow
obtained from line or tow yarn waste, called "hard waste," as herein
described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Richard Kitson and John Garthwaite,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-fourth day of
August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
forty-four.
RICHARD (L.S.) KITSON.
JOHN (L.S.) GARTHWAITE.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-fourth day of August, in
the
year
of our Lord 1844, the aforesaid Richard Kitson and John Garthwaite
came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged
the Specification-aforesaid, -and-all-and every thing therein contained and
specified, in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was
stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-seventh day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-four.