IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF COTTON AND OTHER SIMILAR FABRICS, BY THE INTRODUCTION OF CHEMICAL AGENTS TO SUPERSEDE THE USE OF DUNG IN THE DUNGING PROCESS
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Herm Jäger, of. Ludgate Hill, in the City
of London, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE TREATMENT OF COTTON AND OTHER SIMILAR FABRICS, BY THE
INTRODUCTION OF CHEMICAL AGENTS TO SUPERSEDE THE USE OF DUNG IN
THE DUNGING PROCESS."-A communication.
Sealed the 11th December 1852, and dated the 5th October 1852.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Herm Jäger at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th October 1852.
1, HERM JÄGER, of Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, Merchant,
5 do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF COTTON AND OTHER SIMILAR FABRICS, BY THE
INTRODUCTION OF CHEMICAL AGENTS TO SUPERSEDE THE USE OF DUNG IN THE
DUNGING PROCESS," to be as follows:-
colina inted with alumina

page_text: First. Its extreme cheapness, not surpassed by any other substance
ever used for the same purpose, not excepted cow-dung. Second. The
perfection with which all mordants are precipitated almost immediately
on coming in contact with silicate of soda, by reason of which less age
or aging is required before the printed pieces may be subjected to the
dunging operation, so that pieces of cotton, &c. may be dunged a few
hours, and even immediately, after printing, if the solution is used a
little more concentrated, as if required for pieces which have the proper
age. Third. Purples are bluer and almost always a shade darker if
dunged with the substitute than with cow-dung, as also are choco-
lates. Though having apparently an alcaline reaction, the mordants
are not in the slightest degree attacked or dissolved by this new sub-
stitute, from the palest lilac up to the most delicate pink. Another
advantage which this substitute partakes only with cow-dung, and
which all other substitutes, for instance, phosphate or arseniate of soda,
have not, is the perfect precipitation in the liquor itself of all the excess
of mordaunt not being capable of combining with the cloth. All excess
of alumina or iron mordaunt is precipitated immediately as a silicate in
the form of a perfectly insoluble floculent precipitate, which floats about
in the liquor, incapable of combining with the whites, which almost
remain pure and clear, even if the liquor is quite thick and muddy
from silicate of alumina or iron through passing many pieces in it.
The precipitation is so perfect that by pouring into the dung cistern
iron liquor in quantity sufficient to precipitate half the silicious acid,
not the slightest trace of iron can be detected in dunging pinks or
catechu afterwards. This perfect precipitation of all the excess of
mordaunt making it entirely harmless is the most valuable quality
of cow-dung, and which made heretofore cow-dung always preferable to
arsinate or phosphates. A trace of iron is always present in silicate of
soda, but in a perfectly masked state, incapable of uniting either with
any colour or the white cloth.
Muriate of chrome, or any other neutralized oxide of chrome salt,
printed into the cloth in a soluble form is entirely fastened by dunging it
with silicate of soda. It represents in this case just as well a mordant
as alumina mordants, and gives, either alone or in combination-with-

page_text: iron or alumina, new shades, which are entirely fast, and stand soaping,
and which may be made available in generating new styles; catechu,
chrome, iron, alumina being capable of being precipitated at the same
time. Indigo tin precipitate is raised and fastened to the cloth by this
solution just as well as by means of lime; chromates of potash may be
mixed directly with silicate of soda just as well as with cow-dung for
the purpose of fixing catechu colours destined to go through madder;
even without addition of chromate, a fine bright shade of catechu is
obtained, being dunged with silicate of soda. I prepare silicate of soda
with dry white sand and soda ash of the purest quality, mixed in certain
proportions, and molten together to a glass of vitrified substance, which
is afterwards pounded coarsely, or ground and dissolved by boiling it
with water in an iron kettle for several hours. This solution being
turbid by small quantities of silicate of lime and magnesia not dissolved
is next filtered through cloth, when it becomes perfectly clear; this
clear solution is afterwards mixed with water; the various proportions
I will give in my Final Specification.
I intend to claim the sole use for the purposes herein-before men-
tioned of all soluble silicates, especially the silicates of soda & potash.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Hermi Jäger in the Great Seal Patent Office,
on the 4th April 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
HERM JAGER, of Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, Merchant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the six-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said Herm Jäger, Her especial
license that I, the said Herm Jäger, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Herm Jäger, my exccutors,

page_text: administrators, and assigns, and no others, from time to time and
at all times, thereafter during the term therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT
OF COTTON AND OTHER SIMILAR FABRICS, BY THE INTRODUCTION OF CHEMICAL
AGENTS TO SUPERSEDE THE USE OF DUNG IN THE DUNGING PROCESS," Com-
municated to me by a certain foreigner residing abroad, upon
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Herm Jäger, by an in-
strument in writing under my hand and scal, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention (so.com-
municated to me), and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Office of the Commissioners for
Patents within six calendar months next and immediately after the
ilate of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Herm Jäger, do hereby declare
the nature of the Invention so communicated to me, and in what
mainer the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement (that is to say):
In the use and application to cotton and other similar fabrics of
soluble silicates for all purposes where cow-dung, or other substances
for cow-dung, as phosphates, arseniates, arsenites, and others, are used
at present in the treatment of printed cotton, woollen, silk, or linen
goods, after the mordant or colors have been applied to the fabric to be
operated upon.
Having stated the object and nature of the improvements communi-
cated to me, I will now proceed to describe the Invention, that it may
be fully understood, and be readily carried into effect.
Amongst all soluble silicates I give the preference to the use of
silicate of soda on account of its cheapness, though the soluble silicates
of potash, commonly called water glass, gives equally good results.
There are several distinct combinations of silicic acid and alkali
known to chemists, which are soluble in water, and though I do not
_confine_myself to any particular combination of soda or potash with
silicie acid, I find it hest, for the before-mentioned purposes, to use a

page_text: combination which contains, of all silicates easily soluble in water, the
greatest amount of silicie acid in proportion to the alkali present. The
silicate of soda I propose to use, known for many years by the designa-
ion of water glass, is prepared by inelting one part of clean white
sand or flint quartz, or any other crystallized silicie acid, together with
two parts of crystallised carbonate of soda; instead of crystallized car-
bonates of soda, its equivalent of soda ash may be used, or any other
soda or potash salt whose acid being volatiles is driven out or decom-
posed by the action of silicic acid on them at a high temperature, as,
for instance, sulphates or nitrate of soda or potash. I prefer em-
ploying soda ash, containing but a small amount of caustic soda, and
of no lesser strength than 54 degrees of pure soda, or 92 or 93 degrees
of carbonates of soda; a soda ash being weaker, containing too large an
amount of foreign salts, as sulphates, or chlorides of soda will influence
the composition of the product obtained...
In making silicates of soda I use different proportions, according to
the amount of acting alkali the soda ash contains, viz., 100 parts
of sand and 77 parts of soda ash, containing 56 degrees pure
soda or 955 degrees carbonate of soda; 100 parts sand and 79%
parts soda ash of 55 degrees pure soda; 100 parts of sand and 80%
parts of soda ash of 54 degrees pure soda, or 824 parts of soda ash,
containing 58 degrees of pure soda. The sand and soda ash are to be
well mixed, and then submitted to a smelting heat till all effervescence
produced by the escaping of carbonic acid has ceased.
By cooling, a vitrified substance is obtained, which is brought to a
coarse powder, and dissolved in boiling water, as is well understood.
The solution obtained is hereafter filtered and brought to a density of
14 degrees Twaddel's hydrometer, when it is ready for use.
The sand ash and soda used ought to be dry, white, and of the best
quality, and as free from iron as possible. The solution of silicates of
soda prepared in any of the ways indicated is now fit to be used for
the operation known to all calico printers as dunging.
This operation is conducted in the ordinary manner; the same pre-
paration, the same mode or modes of operation which have served
heretofore are adapted just as well to the use of soluble silicates.

page_text: The proportions of water and standart silicate of soda solution varies
from 20 parts up to 80 parts, and even more, of water, to one part
of silicate of soda solution at 14 degrees Twaddel, according to the
pattern or colours which are going to be produced.
A proportion from 40 to 60 parts of water to one part of silicate of
soda solution of the indicated strengths will be found to answer very
well for all ordinary processes of dunging.
Very good results may be obtained also by making use of an addition
of carbonates of soda or potash solution, say one part of silicate of soda
solution of 14 degrees Twaddel, one part of carbonate of soda solution
of 14 degrees Twaddel, and 80 or 100 parts of water; but it should be
well understood that I do not confine myself to any strength or dilution
at which the silicate of soda solution may be used, either alone or in
combination with carbonate of soda or potash.
If pieces of calico printed with mordants have no age at all, and
contain accordingly a larger amount of free acid, the solution of silicate
of soda ought to be somewhat stronger, say th, to produce the same
effect in dunging as if those pieces had had their proper age.
For second dunging I prefer using (according to styles or patterns)
either a solution of silicates of soda somewhat weaker, as stated above, 2
or a solution of silicate of soda containing free silicie acid, prepared by
the addition of such a quantity of diluted sulphuric or other acids to
the silicate of soda solution as to take away one half of the alkali
present.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention communicated to 2
me, and the manner of performing the same, I would have it under-
stood that I do not confine myself to the precise details as herein
described, so long as the peculiar character of my Invention be retained.
I do not claim the manufacture and preparation of soluble silicates, as
these are well known and understood by chemists, nor do I claim the 3
application or use of. soluble silicates in calico printing and dyeing
otherwise than as substitutes for dung.
But what I claim as of this Invention is,
The application and use of soluble silicates as substitutes for dung
in the well-known operation of the process termed dunging in calico-3

page_text: printing and dyeing, after the mordant or colors have been applied to
the fabric to be operated upon; and while I do not confine myself to
any soluble silicate, I prefer the combination of silica and soda herein-
before mentioned and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Herm Jäger, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
Witness,
HERM JAGER. (L.S.)
JOHN GEDGE,
Patent Agent,
4, Wellington, Strand, London.