IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESERVING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES."
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Davis Wilson Rea, of Upper Thames Street, in the
City of London, Provision Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN PRESERVING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Davis Wilson Rea at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th November 1863.
I, DAVIS WILSON REA, of Upper Thames Street, in the City of London,
Provision Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESERVING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES," to be as
follows:-
If the substances to be preserved are intended to be secured for an indefinite
period I first pack them in an air and water tight package, of metal, glass,
earthenware, or wood, so constructed or lined as effectually to exclude air.
After they are securely packed I introduce, by means of a funnel or otherwise,
through an orifice in the package, a mixture of refined lard, lard oil, suet,
fat, or other like substance, with a decoction of grated horseradish well boiled
in refined lard or lard oil, in the proportion 1 to 4; this, after being boiled for
about two hours, well strained and cleared, is to cool to a temperature of 90
degrees, and then added, in proportion of 1 to 50, to refined lard, hard oil,
suet, fat, or other like substance, heated to a like temperature. I then pour
this mixture into the package containing the article or body to be preserved

page_text: until it is thoroughly filled with the fluid; then, by means of a cork stopper,
I exclue the air and allow the vessel or package containing the article or
body and the fluid to remain for about a quarter of an hour, in which time a
certain portion of the liquid will be absorbed. I then fill up any vacancy
which may exist and immediately close the orifice by the application of solder,
cement, caoutchouc, rosin, or other adhesive and air-tight matter, when the
operation is complete. It should be conducted throughout in a temperature
not lower than 60 degrees, although, provided the article to be preserved be
packed down shortly after death, or when perfectly fresh, a higher temperature
is no detriment to the process. It must, however, be noted that I use only
refined kettle or steam rendered lard, lard oil, fat, suet, salad oil, or other like
substance for this process, although it may be accomplished by the appli-
cation of crude or unrefined lard, fat, oils, or other similar material. I,
however, recommend that in the preservation of fruit or vegetables and of fish
of all kinds, the preserving fluid should be heated to a higher temperature,
say, from 100 to 120 degrees; but in preserving birds (which may be packed
either with or without feathers) and some animals, such as hares, rabbits, or
meat, such as veal and other dry flesh, the temperature of the heated fluid
may be as low as 70 degrees; for general purposes, however, I find that the
temperature of 90 degrees is efficient. As the action of the horseradish
decoction is to neutralise acidity in the bodies or articles preserved, it is
important, in preserving articles known or suspected to contain an unusual
amount thereof on their surfaces, that the proportion of the decoction should
be increased; but I recommend that it should never be greater than 1 to 20.
I find, however, that in applying the fluid the heat at which it is introduced
should be in inverse ratio to the proportion of the decoction, i. e., the higher
the temperature of the fluid the less should be the proportion of the decoction,
except, of course, that such fruit, vegetables, meats, flesh, fish, or animals are
to be preserved as are known or suspected to contain on their surfaces acidity
above the average, in which case the proportion of the decoction must be
regulated by the amount or extent of the acidity known or suspected.
My Invention also consists in the preservation of all articles of food of all
kinds soever, whether animal or vegetable, and all animal and vegetable
substances, whether whole or in pieces, in a cooked or uncooked state, by
means of any combination of refined or crude lard or lard oil, or other oil, fat,
or like substance being poured over such articles when packed in vessels or
packages of metal, glass, wood, or earthenware, air-tight or otherwise, so that
they shall be thoroughly covered to the exclusion of air from their circum-
ferences; and as far as possible I prevent contact between the articles.

page_text: The mode of application I recommend is somewhat similar to that described
for the application of the preserving fluid; but I find it advisable that the
average temperature of the lard, oils, or fat should be somewhat higher than
that of the fluid, but it should never exceed 140° Fahrenheit; and I consider
it important that the process should be carried on from first to last in a tem-
perature of not less than 70° Fahrenheit.
In preserving articles or bodies in packages to which access is necessary
I recommend that the packages shall be of metal, or of timber metal-lined,
with a supplementary lid of metal or wood perforated, so constructed as to fit
the package on every side and keep the articles immersed, but of such dimen-
sions as to enable it to move with ease from top to bottom of the package,
and that the exterior lid be so adapted as to overlap the package and ensure
as much as possible the exclusion of air. The packages may be of any shape
which may be deemed advisable, with this proviso only, that for such as have
the supplementary lid it is of course indispensable that the dimensions shall
be the same throughout; but the articles or bodies may be preserved in open
vessels if care be taken that they be always covered by the preserving matter
or fluid.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Davis Wilson Rea in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
24th May 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DAVIS
WILSON REA, of Upper Thames Street, in the City of London, Provision
Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Davis Wilson Rea. Her special licence that I, the said Davis
Wilson Rea, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Davis Wilson Rea, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN PRESERVING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES," upon the

page_text: condition (amongst others) that I, the said Davis Wilson Rea, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Davis Wilson Rea, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
If the substances to be preserved are intended to be secured for an indefinite
period I first pack them in an air and water tight package of metal, glass,
earthenware, or wood, constructed or lined so as effectually to exclude air.
After they are securely packed I introduce, by means of a funnel or otherwise,
through an orifice in the package, a mixture of refined lard, lard oil, suet, fat,
or other like substance, with a decoction of grated horseradish, well boiled in
refined lard or lard oil, in the proportion of one to four; this, after being
boiled for about two hours, well strained, and cleared, is to cool to a tem-
perature of 90 degrees, and then added, in proportion of one to fifty, to refined
lard, lard oil, suet, fat, or other like substance, heated to a like temperature.
I then pour this mixture into the package containing the article or body to be
preserved until it is thoroughly filled with the fluid; then, by means of a cork
or other stopper, I exclude the air and allow the vessel or package containing
the article or body and the fluid to remain for about a quarter of an hour, in
which time a certain portion of the liquid will be absorbed.
I then fill up
any vacancy which may exist and immediately close the orifice by the appli-
cation of solder, cement, caoutchouc, rosin, or other adhesive and air-tight
matter, when the operation is complete. It should be conducted throughout
at a température not lower than 60 degrees, although, provided the article to
be preserved be packed down when perfectly fresh, a higher temperature is no
detriment to the process. It must, however, be noted that I use only refined
kettle or steam-rendered lard, lard oil, fat, suet, salad oil, or other like sub-
stance for this process, although it may be accomplished by the application of
crude or unrefined lard, fat, oil, or other similar material. I, however,
recommend that in the preservation of fruit or vegetable, or of fish of all kinds,
the preserving fluid should be heated to a higher temperature, say, from 100
to 120 degrees; but in preserving birds (which may be packed either with or
without feathers) and some animals, such as bares, rabbits, or meat, such as

page_text: veal and other dry flesh, the temperature of the heated fluid may be as low as
70 degrees for general purposes; however, I find that the temperature of 90
degrees is efficient. As the action of the decoction of horseradish to reutralize
acidity in the articles or bodies preserved it is important, in preserving articles
known or suspected to contain an unusual amount thereof on their surface,
that the proportion of the decoction should be increased; but I recommend
that it should never be greater than one to twenty; I find, however, that in
applying the fluid the heat at which it is introduced should be in inverse
ratio to the proportion of the decoction, that is to say, the higher the tem-
perature of the fluid the less should be the proportion of the decoction, except,
of course, that such fruit, vegetables, meats, flesh, fish, or animals are to be
preserved as are known or suspected to contain on their surface acidity above
the average, in which case the proportion of the decoction must be regulated
by the amount or extent of the acidity known or suspected.
My Invention also consists in the preservation of all articles of food of all
kinds soever, whether animal or vegetable, and all animal and vegetable
substances, whether whole or in pieces, in a cooked or uncooked state, by
means of any combination of refined or crude lard, or lard oil, or other oil, fat,
or like substance being poured over such articles when packed in vessels or
packages of metal, glass, wood, or earthenware, air-tight or otherwise, so that
they shall be thoroughly covered to the exclusion of air from their circum-
ferences, and as far as possible I prevent contact between the articles.
The mode of application I recommend is somewhat similar to that described
for the application of the preserving fluid; but I find it advisable that the
average temperature of the lard oil or fat should be somewhat higher than
that of the fluid, but it should never exceed 140 degrees Fahrenheit; and I
consider it important that the process should be carried on from first to last at
a temperature of not less than 70 degrees.
In preserving articles or bodies in packages to which access is necessary I
recommend that the packages shall be of metal or of timber metal-lined, with
a supplementary lid of metal or wood, perforated, so constructed as to fit the
package on every side and keep the articles immersed, but of such dimensions
as to enable it to move with ease from top to bottom of the package, and that
the exterior lid be so adapted as to overlap the package and ensure as much
as possible the exclusion of air. The packages may be of any shape which
may be deemed advisable, with this proviso only, that for such as have the
supplementary lid it is of course indispensable that the dimensions shall be the
same throughout; but the articles or bodies may be preserved in open vessels

page_text: if care be taken that they be always covered by the preserving matter or
fluid.
In witness whereof, I, the said Davis Wilson Rea, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of May, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-four.
DAVIS W. REA. (L.S.)